Builds "The Milk Truck" FJ45 Preservation Sorta (7 Viewers)

[tornadoalleycruiser]

Give it some time to possibly off gas. I topcoated my frame too quickly and it had bubbles. They eventually went away

 

[Tank5]

Give it some time to possibly off gas. I topcoated my frame too quickly and it had bubbles. They eventually went away

I pulled an all nighter Saturday night trying to clean the frame up from the poor spray job I did. In some places it was easier to just strip the frame back to metal to get it to smooth out. I then reapplied POR15 by brush to fill in some gaps. I let that cure then applied the POR15 self etching primer. I needed a break at that point and decided to let it dry while I considered either applying the top coat or blasting it and starting over.
I went back out after letting it sit and applied some top coat in a few places to help me decide if I want to top coat or start over next.
I hate that it will look tacky after all the work I put into the frame but I am thinking despite the look it is well coated and protected.
I feel like I am rambling at this point, stay tuned for whatever is next.

 

[Tank5]

I decided that what was annoying me probably won’t be noticed much by anyone else. I did still clean up a few more spots but went ahead and applied a couple-few coats of top coat. The frame will be well protected from rust and that is the point after all.

I am going to let it hang for the week to completely cure. Glad to have this part behind me.

 

[Tank5]

Before I painted the frame I followed up with what @cruisermatt pointed out and added some gussets to frame side sway bar mounts.

 

[cruisermatt]

Perfect. Nice debris relief too.

 

[Tank5]

It is rolling again! I didn’t take many progress pictures but I installed new bushings in all of the control arms and painted a lot small parts.

I extended the front and rear bump stops two inches and installed a set Slee control arms up front to correct the castor. The springs on it now are OME 861 and 862. I expect I will end up going higher. We will see what happens after I get more weight on it.

I am happy to have it rolling again but there is still a lot to do.

 

[2fpower]

This thread is making me want to get back into Vera!!! Need more hours in the day....

 

[Tank5]

This thread is making me want to get back into Vera!!! Need more hours in the day....

I hope you can get back to Vera soon. I agree, if days were 48 hours instead of 24 hours long or if I was retired and didn't have a real job too.

 

[Tank5]

I have been searching Mud and google as well as talked to the shock manufacturer regarding the shock being the limiter in my suspension drop. The manufacturer says I should use limit straps as over extension could damage the shock.

In all of my searching I am not finding
very many 80 owners using limit straps. All of the 80s I have owned, 7 total with stock to 6 inches of lift, the shocks have always been the limiting component in the suspension.

I expect the manufacturer gives the best advice to protect their product. In my searching I see advice given on bothe sides of the topic, shocks should not be the limiter and others that say it is ok.

I am hoping to get some new opinions. What is the right answer yay or nay? Maybe it depends on how the vehicle is used?

With out the shocks limiting travel my axle drops enough that the springs can drop out easily. My project is being built as fun trail exploring rig, not a crawler or desert racer. I have been known to approach a dip or water bar with spirit. Which is probably the worst thing I would do to the rig. I am running a +26” shock front and rear and expect to have 4” of lift after I settle on the correct springs which I am playing with now.

Any thoughts?

 

[DangerNoodle]

Leaf springs act as the limit strap for the shocks on most 40s. I am less sure about coils, but unless they are attached firmly to both the frame and axle, I have heard they have a tendency to pop out if the suspension is over-articulated. With my front coil overs, they flex so much that I reach the working angle of my TRE's before the shock. I would personally not run a shock without a limit strap if I knew that the suspension could move enough to max out the shock. I would run limit straps. It's a very cheap insurance policy to keep everything in place, and not eating up shocks. I have no idea if the radius arms on the 80s are the limiting factor, but the straps a pretty dang easy to add, and will maybe run you $120. If you are running cheap shocks and don't care about them, meh. If you are running $200+ a piece, custom-tuned shocks, I would think that it would be cheaper to run limit straps than to blow out or destroy a shock or shocks on the trail.

 

[2fpower]

I agree with you --- on 80 series, the shocks are always the limiter and I have never seen one fail (actually break) when used as such.... I am sure there are examples of failures, but I would bet that they were taken to some extreme condition and hard wheeling. I have seen where the rubber bushing was compressed and disappeared, but the nut stayed and the rod did not break.

 

[Tank5]

Thanks guys for the comments.

I could be getting ahead of myself some but I trying to think ahead. I suppose I need to torque the radius and control arms down. I might find thy do more to limit the travel when torqued. I did not consider the tie rods as a limiting factor but they may be, so I will install the steering link to connect the axle to the steering box and see if that changes things

Without weight on the chassis it is hard to finalize spring height but I expect I will have to add taller springs or spacers.

I will add the limit straps if I have too but I might just wait until I get father along in the build process.

I bought some adjustable Radflo shocks for it, used but they are the nicest shocks I have put on a land cruiser, so I don’t want to destroy them.

 

[DangerNoodle]

Thanks guys for the comments.

I could be getting ahead of myself some but I trying to think ahead. I suppose I need to torque the radius and control arms down. I might find the do more to limit the travel when torqued. I did consider the tie rods as a limiting factor but they may be, so I may need to install the steering link to connect the axle to the steering box.

Without weight on the chassis it is hard to finalize spring height but I expect I will have to add taller springs or spacers.

I will add the limit straps if I have too but I might just wait until I get father along in the build process.

I bought some adjustable Radflo shocks for it, used but they are the nicest shocks I have put on a land cruiser, so I don’t want to destroy them.

Limit straps are really easy to add later. You may just need to knock some paint off the frame and weld on a mounting tab. You can attach them all over on the axle bolts. Mine are currently attached to my lower links. I'd see how it ends up doing after it is fully assembled and running.

 

[Dizzy]

The driveshafts will stretch enough, particularly on the passenger-side drop?

 

[Tank5]

The driveshafts will stretch enough, particularly on the passenger-side drop?

I don’t have driveshafts for it yet. I expect to have to have custom shafts made. I am going to wait until I have the suspension height dialed in.

 

[Tank5]

A little more progress, the steering box is cleaned painted and installed. The darling is done, it just need paint with the tie rod and then reinstalled. The rear sway bar is installed with new hardware and bushings.

I pulled the shocks out and installed them. I think I have settled on where the front reservoirs will be mounted. The rear reservoirs are attached to the shock housing and it is tight back there but I think I found a spot the will work in.

The shocks are at full extension as the frame sits unwaited. I extended the bump stops 2 inches already and still have 6 plus inches of space between the contact points. I feel like I will almost have to install limit straps. Anyone have a specific vendor they would suggest for limit straps.

 

[DangerNoodle]

I like TMR or Ruffstuff limit straps. I think the TMR are nicer.

 

[Tank5]

The TMR stuff looks good. I will do some measuring and figure out where I want the mount to go and place an order. I figured the shock length is not going to change, so I might as well go ahead and add the limit straps now. It is a lot easier to access the frame and axle now.

 

[Pura Vida]

A little more progress, the steering box is cleaned painted and installed. The darling is done, it just need paint with the tie rod and then reinstalled. The rear sway bar is installed with new hardware and bushings.

I pulled the shocks out and installed them. I think I have settled on where the front reservoirs will be mounted. The rear reservoirs are attached to the shock housing and it is tight back there but I think I found a spot the will work in.

The shocks are at full extension as the frame sits unwaited. I extended the bump stops 2 inches already and still have 6 plus inches of space between the contact points. I feel like I will almost have to install limit straps. Anyone have a specific vendor they would suggest for limit straps.

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Those coils are dope. Did you buy the mounds somewhere or did you fabricate them?

 

[Tank5]

Those coils are dope. Did you buy the mounds somewhere or did you fabricate them?

The reservoir mounts are from axial alloys. I bought the shocks used and they came with them. They are nice.