The Desert Cruiser

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Joined
Oct 14, 2014
Threads
4
Messages
94
Location
Sydney, Australia
If you're familiar with the Australian mag 4WD Action you've probably seen my Surf before, and my reason for ditching it, long story short it was too small, too loud, and just not cool enough. I sold it about 6 months ago and put the funds into picking myself up a near mint FJ62.
The plan was pretty simple, make it cool, make it handle nicely and make it capable, and have a heap of fun along the way.

It's currently sitting in my buddies shed with the front end out and some new trick bits going in but we've got a bit of catching up to do before we get to that point.
The Surf, bought it stock as a rock about 4 years ago, built it, beat it like a red headed step child and then had kids so it had to do family duties too
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It was a pretty straight forward build, leafs all round, 35s, bar work, hydro assist yadda yadda
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With the 4Runner gone it was time to pick up a 60, I originally wanted a LWB 40 series but it was just a little too rough to chuck the kids in the back of, at least without spending a fortune keeping it running.

The 60 was practically mint, came with a rear ARB Air-Leaker, some crappy all terrains and the ugliest bar ever invented.
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But the good news is it had a heap more interior room for important stuff, like rum, and the spare tyre, and a fridge for the rum, and rum.
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It also had a heap of gear inside that made the 62s that little bit nicer, like the updated dash, power windows, power mirrors etc. Oh as this was Australian delivered it came with a Carb fed 3F Petrol donk backed by a 5 speed H55F
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The one thing i hated about the 62s was the square headlights, i know some people dig them, and heck, with the LED upgrades they actually worked pretty damn good, but i couldn't shake the feeling between those and the square fibreglass flares it just looked like an old crappy version of an 80 series, rather than a classic by itself.
 
With a heap of internet research and a couple of hundred bucks down at the wreckers well spent i decided the square headlights had to go, i just couldn't resist the old school look of the 7" round lights
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The actual swap took the better part of a weekend, not that it was particularly hard to do, just very fiddly.
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After test fitting the front end, and cutting myself about a gorillian times on the new rusty sheet metal it was time to strip it apart, fix the rust and paint it all ready to go in one last time.
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A little more mucking around making everything line up, a little custom wiring to make the headlights work and a whole heap of new fixings had the front end in, it wasn't as bright as the old square headlight setup, but it was a heap cooler, and i had a plan for more light anyway
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With the front end now looking the part, and some second hand 35" Dick Cepeks bolted up she was starting to look the part, only problem was the 15x10" -44 wheels were pushed firmly against the tie rod ends, something i found out when i went to replace them. The solution was straight forward, a couple of 6mm wheel spacers gave me the clearance i needed without needing extended wheel studs.
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After replacing the tie rod ends, doing a driveway wheel alingment and fitting the spacers i turned my attention to the very average Warn High-Mount winch sitting under the work bench. To say it was in bad condition would kinda be like saying Hitler was a bit of a jerk.
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I stripped it right down and had a local 4x4 shop fit a brace kit and sand blast the whole deal ready for a full rebuild kit, 6hp motor, pinned freespool blah blah blah
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Next step was to give the high mount a home. The old colour coded bar got sold off on eBay for some drinking tickets so i called a mate of mine who runs a small fab business on the side and got him to knock me something sorta pre-runner-ish. I slotted in a set of Baja Designs HIDs while i was at it.
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From here it did daily duties for a few weeks waiting for the next round of modifications. The front left leaf spring was shagged and it rode worse than a horse and cart so it was going to need some serious work underneath.
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I got on the blower to the guys at Down South Motorsport and ordered up a few goodies. King Performance Series 2.5" Coilovers with an external res, dual rate etc. I also got 2.5" 4" Bump stops and cans while i was at it. They'd go perfect with the 80 series radius arms and panhard sitting in the garage at the moment.
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The 60 is now sitting back at my mates shed with the frond end cut to pieces putting all the new gear in. The plan isn't so much chasing flex like my old 4Runner, more to be able to fly through dirt roads, cross deserts and bomb up beaches in comfort and style. It's part rock crawler, part pre-runner and part expo rig, so i think it's earned the name Desert Cruiser
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While i'm waiting to get it back i'll be terrorising the back streets on my tarded DRZ400, although that's my baby too so it stays inside nice and warm at night
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Stay tuned for more updates, there's a heap more cool mods heading this old girl's way over the next few months.
 
Hey mate loved the 4Runner when I saw it looked great love the 62 didnt you put the rectangle leds in the headlights spot also saw the other bullbar for sale you were in the team members garage article a while back same dan
 
Awesome build mate, a word of advice on the tard....look out for the Sheila's in clubby dunny doors looking for someone's day to ruin.
I almost lost my leg to one because "I didn't see you" and "I didn't think I hit you" somehow that story doesn't fly when you t-boned me and your number plate is still wrapped around my swing arm!!!
Any way that's the reason I bought my 3rd 60 series, circles belong in 40's, rectangles are for 60's, the 80 was just the bastard child between to two best landcruisers ever made and you will hear everyone's opinion on the headlights here.
 
A little progress tonight. All the janky leaf spring gear is out and starting to line up the arms to see where it all fits. Dropped the chassis end of the radius arm a little. It'll give a bit less clearance but should ride a bit better.

Looks like it'll need a custom panhard rod too, the 80 series one fouls on the insanely huge front pumpkin.
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Alright so we've hit the first speed bump. Was hoping to run a HD 80 series Panhard rod. Turns out on an 80 the panhard slots into the hole my tie rod is currently filling.
The solution we've come up with is a custom panhard a little closer to the diff but with a bend in it to clear the pumpkin. Should have some actual updates after the weekend, it's rum time and my TV isn't going to yell at itself.
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Awesome!
Do tel more aboot the carb on a 3F
Please.
 
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