Build The Mongrel: FJ62 body + FZJ80 chassis + turbo diesel + ???

[SNLC]

Things are starting to move forward with the project. I sold some things and other stuff I know will sell soon.

I got some 37"R17 ProComp tires I can buy for $200 to hold me over. I need 37" tires for when I go to fit the axles because I plan to run 37" rubber. It will really help to have 37" tires mounted up to the axles on the wheels, not only to move things around but also to be able to check everything out for clearances and so forth. I am definitely using the 17" Walker Evans beadlock wheel I have in this build.

Nothing really happening with selling the portal axles so if something doesn't happen with that real soon I am pulling them off the market and planning to use them, which means W/E 17" wheels too as they are a 8 on 6.5 which suits the axles. They also have 6" of backspacing which not only tucks the portals up in them well it will keep me as narrow as possible.

First order of business is going to be to chop the frame down 6" and weld it back together. Next up get the axles under it and at the same time configure suspension. Once that is done I will move to body mounts and fitting the FJ62 body on the chassis.

As far as suspension, I just have not made up my mind yet. I am planning on coils all around but not sure how much of the stock stuff I will use and if I will keep the radius arms in front. One of the first things I need to do is buy some used old front coils for an 80-series, that is really all I lack to slip an axle under the chassis. It is looking like I will buy as much of the suspension stuff as I can and that I will need from RuffStuff. Have used them in the past and like their products and customer service!

 

[robustbambi]

WOW i need to quit looking at this build haha... it is giving me some crazy ideas that are gonna break the bank!

 

[Pacer]

So the Patrol is getting scrapped? That thing was awesome, nice write up too!

I vote stock lift and Portals, a-la TiredIron. The 80's suspension seems to be up to the task and he made it so he could bolt stock axles back under the truck and sell it.

Best of luck.
Subscribed!

 

[SNLC]

Yup killing the Patrol. I love the truck and will miss it but having a trailer queen truck doesn't suit me anymore. It is pretty much a done deal because I sold the shocks and bumps in the Patrol and have some other stuff pending.

I will be shooting for lower then the Tired Iron 80-series that has Volvo portals. Will also be bringing diff ratio down to 5ish for better streetability. One good thing about the cheap 37" tires is if I find the truck to tall I can then buy 35" when I get new tires.

Cheers

So the Patrol is getting scrapped? That thing was awesome, nice write up too!

I vote stock lift and Portals, a-la TiredIron. The 80's suspension seems to be up to the task and he made it so he could bolt stock axles back under the truck and sell it.

Best of luck.
Subscribed!

 

[Matthes]

Things are starting to move forward with the project. I sold some things and other stuff I know will sell soon.

I got some 37"R17 ProComp tires I can buy for $200 to hold me over. I need 37" tires for when I go to fit the axles because I plan to run 37" rubber. It will really help to have 37" tires mounted up to the axles on the wheels, not only to move things around but also to be able to check everything out for clearances and so forth. I am definitely using the 17" Walker Evans beadlock wheel I have in this build.

Nothing really happening with selling the portal axles so if something doesn't happen with that real soon I am pulling them off the market and planning to use them, which means W/E 17" wheels too as they are a 8 on 6.5 which suits the axles. They also have 6" of backspacing which not only tucks the portals up in them well it will keep me as narrow as possible.

First order of business is going to be to chop the frame down 6" and weld it back together. Next up get the axles under it and at the same time configure suspension. Once that is done I will move to body mounts and fitting the FJ62 body on the chassis.

As far as suspension, I just have not made up my mind yet. I am planning on coils all around but not sure how much of the stock stuff I will use and if I will keep the radius arms in front. One of the first things I need to do is buy some used old front coils for an 80-series, that is really all I lack to slip an axle under the chassis. It is looking like I will buy as much of the suspension stuff as I can and that I will need from RuffStuff. Have used them in the past and like their products and customer service!

I am absolutly in the same boat.Minus the diesel. Took the Toyota V8 and building a workshop right now. Look at my SUV if you like.

Matt

 

[SNLC]

Today = progress made!

I got me a rolling chassis!

Had to bolt knuckles on the axle housing which I simply hate doing as an assembly. Did it anyways cussing the whole time. After that hook up the radius arms and panhard. Slap on tires, lower it down and done deal! No front springs just sitting on bumps. Obviously no 3rd members but I have a rolling chassis!

I measure 107" wheel base on my FJ60 and 112" on the FZJ80 chassis. Anyone want to verify or dispute that? I think I am going to chop it less then the 5-6". I am going to check out moving the front axle forward 1-2". This gives better clearance for stuffing a 37" tire and trimming the front wheel wells if required, will be easiest. Soon I will have the portals out of my Patrol and start looking much closer at fitting the portals. I am really starting to consider custom links over the stock in the rear using 7075 1.5-2" aluminum and maybe Johnny Joints. May lengthen the arms too. In the front I am thinking 3-link much more or possibly even a 4-link similar to the rear. I have a shaved sump on the motor so may have room for something like that. I want to increase flex on the front but not sacrifice road handling or high speed dirt/sand/gravel. Even if I end up doing this or modifying the suspension in the rear too I am sticking with coil springs at all four corners. Don't really want to mess with the $$$ of coilovers or the needing to rebuild every 50k or so miles.

Tomorrow I am removing some things from the FZJ80 frame, the bolt on stuff. After that out with the sawzall to remove some more junk! Then time to pressure wash the rolling chassis.

 

[SNLC]

I am absolutly in the same boat.Minus the diesel. Took the Toyota V8 and building a workshop right now. Look at my SUV if you like.

Matt

Nice...sweet looking build!

 

[Matthes]

Nice...sweet looking build!

Not really, everything is in boxes right now, awaiting the workshop.Dont wanna go with any kind of compromise or temporary solutions on this one.
But the net keeps me alive, sort of.

Matt

 

[SNLC]

Didn't get much done today other then a pressure wash on the FZJ80 chassis. It cleaned up nicely and is in better shape then I had thought.

Had to do an axle swap on another truck, all part of the plan. As you can see this truck is blocking in the FJ62 so need to get it out of the way!

 

[SNLC]

Buying a sand blaster in a few days. Going 50/50 on it with a buddy. We were looking at renting a blaster and large 185cfm compressor for a week but honestly it makes more sense to buy the blaster and rent the compressor as needed.

Here is the blaster we are buying...

Hornet Blaster LLC | Gallery | Sand Blasting & Hornet Blaster Photographs

So, I will be blasting the FZJ80 rolling chassis myself and doing that sooner rather then later! This also means I can use up a bunch of sand blasting medium I have had sitting around for years!

 

[SNLC]

I just bought some stock 80-series coil spring from another Mud member for the front of the chassis.

Killed my 83 Patrol a few days ago. Pulled the shocks a bump stops and also the seats. Shocks and bumps are sold, just waiting to be picked up. Sale is pending on the 3G seats and hydraulic steering system. Just waiting on a check for the seats and steering....

As soon as I get the cash for the seats + steering I am going to buy some things for the project. I am thinking any suspension stuff I need so I can get the portal axles under the chassis. Will try and buy everything I need from RuffStuff. At the same time I am buying the $200 ProComp 37" tires and will get them mounted up to my Walker Evans beadlocks. In the meantime I think I better get moving on the frame chop!

I didn't do much to the FZJ80 chassis in the last few days. I did however remove all the remaining brake lines and electrical junk on the frame. I also removed some brackets and other junk I don't need. I then spent an hour or so scraping the heavy oil, grease and mud off the frame. Since I will be using starblast for a medium and it is re-usable it is just better to remove the heavy funk by hand first. This means less funk to sift out of the blast medium when I re-use it.

 

[Wheelingnoob]

Why not keep the rear link set up (maybe replace the stock links but keep the layout)? They seems to flex great and ride well. Most the improvements seem to come from the front, 3 links from what I have seen seems to be a relatively easy change and net huge increases in flex and minimal sacrifice in road going ability.

Looking forward ot see how this comes together with the Portals.

 

[SNLC]

Why not keep the rear link set up (maybe replace the stock links but keep the layout)? They seems to flex great and ride well. Most the improvements seem to come from the front, 3 links from what I have seen seems to be a relatively easy change and net huge increases in flex and minimal sacrifice in road going ability.

Looking forward ot see how this comes together with the Portals.

That is basically what I am planning to do in the rear. I am thinking about and looking at making the links/trailing arms longer though. This would get it flexing a bit more, if I even need that. I am also a bit concerned with the stock bushings in the rod ends and the portals. The portals are going to put a lot more stress on these bushings then with a stock axle. I don't want to be changing out bushes every 5-10,000 miles. I don't want to go rod ends like hemis but am thinking about using Johnny Joints or similar for the link ends.

In the front, ya the radius arms off-road is all I don't like about them. Not only do they not flex well I hear they like to unload on climbs. I am really looking hard at 3-link in front but what is holding me back there is not wanting to sacrifice road handling. On a drive to Central America I will be spending 90%+ of my time on pavement and do not want the truck to handle like crap on the pavement. I am even considering copying (or a similar set up) the rear axles 4-link with a panhard but do it in front. With the shaved sump on the motor I thinks I got room for something like this.

On the same note....

I have all the links with Johnny Joint ends from a previous build. I have 7 links, 3-link front and 4-link rear. Two of the front links, the lowers, are even 7075 aluminum so strong as can be and blinging too! The rest of the links are DOM. I had kind of agreed to sell all these links to a friend to use in his 4Runner but may change my mind. He is a good friend so he is cool with me backing out on our deal. I checked though and the JJ are to wide to use with any stock brackets which kind of sucks because it means new link brackets if I want to use them. However, new brackets are cheap, links with rods ends are not. I will dig out all the links with JJ soon, take a picture and post it up so people can see what I have and what I am considering using. For long trip it will be easy to carry a few JJ rebuild kits and not much different then carrying some stock bushes for the links.

A good friend of mine who has much more fab skills then me is coming over soon from Idaho. I live in Western Wyoming so it is a 100 miles for him each way. Any ways, he is coming over soon for a day or two. We will drink lots o' beers and figure out what route to go on suspension as well as the best way to fit the portals under the chassis. I kind of need his advice to make some final decisions about suspension as well as to plan out what I need to buy to mount the axles under the chassis. I got 100 ideas and questions to run by him! And it is not that I don't trust my own knowledge or ability to figure things out, I just think it is always good to have second opinions and the advice of those with more skills then me!

I have a plasma cutter so hacking crap off axles or frame is a snap. It is the grinding that is going to suck! However, for the frame chop and shorten I won't use the plasma, rather a grinder with cutting disc or a sawzall. My buddy thinks we can re-use the frotn housing on the portal axle. He thinks with the plasma cutter we can clean it up pretty good, even the big huge hydraulic ram mount and skid welded to the housing. Just going to have to see but it sure would be nice to save $600+ on a new housing.

Here is a fresh air system I am going to buy soon as possible too. I been needing to buy this for many years. I am finally getting around to that and buying it for this project. Not only do I need it to paint but it sure will be nice to have for grinding, sanding and jobs like that. I have painted a frame before but never painted a body. I have the spray guns (good ones) and nice filter for the compressor too. I just need this fresh air system before I am ready to do any painting.

Hobby air, pro air, Fresh air respirator, SUPPLIED AIR RESPIRATOR, Axis, Citation, 3M, Bill Hirsch car care.

Again, my plans for painting are Rust Bullet Automotive formula and then top coat with their Blackshell.

Car Rust Protection, Repair, Prevention by automotive car paint

 

[SNLC]

More screwing around with a tape measure, comparing things and all that jazz.

The Patrol and the portals are shockless, sitting on wood blocks as you can see. Ignore the hydro ram, it is getting pulled in the next 48hrs. The axle as it sits in the Patrol now can only compress another 2-3" max before there are problems. So ride height will need to be a little taller then this. It is also sitting on 40s still so I will lose an 1 1/2" by going down to 37s. Ride height is really not looking like it will be all that bad to me, same for width. However, there is a problem...

The 80-series front axle and the coil perches on that axle are approx 44" apart, outside to outside. The flanges on the portal axle are roughly 42" apart. So to fit the front portal axle with the stock coil spring configuration I got to lose nearly 4" in width. Not liking this option or how this would turn out. Moving the upper coil buckets on the frame inboard another 1-2" per side I am pretty sure will create problems under max flex. Raising the coil bucket on the axle to clear the flange is another option but that just gave me another 2+" of lift. The 3rd option is just don't use coil springs and go coilovers in the front. I am really trying to stay away from them due to cost but man I may just have to do it for these issues with width. Also if I link the front using my links and JJ's I won't have to do a lot to the front axle besides reconfigure panhard and maybe the upper link mount.

Any ways, here are some pictures so you can see what I mean.

Height comparison, the Cruiser is on 35s with 4" of lift.

Width comparison, the Cruiser is less than 2" wider over the Patrol body wise. Keep in mind these are 13.5 wide tires and I am going to run 12.5s. I had 2" wheel spacers on the portals before, I took them off the front but they are still on the rear axle.

It is definitely going to be a wide Wagon! By my measurements so far nearly 10" wider axle wise then it is now in my FJ60. That is a lot for cruising down the pavement! I am thinking though regardless how wide it works out to be I am doing fender side bars with a fender flare incorportaed into it. Maybe just cheap plastic garden edging though! Don't want to be getting hassled by cops everywhere I go outside Wyoming so something will have to be done because these axles are going to make it wide!

More dicking around...I dug the links I have out.

Five hours in the cold rain today was enough for me, it is now thirty!

 

[MANUCHAO]

I think this rig with the engine alone is going to be super sweet..
The Portal axles ARE going to be wide....
A WHOLE LOT WIDE !!!
My tires stick out about 1.5 -/+.25"... and it really bothers me..
As an overland rig the whole side panels have taken a beating due to no flares on it.
Im considering getting wheels with a 5" to 5.25" back spacing or flares..

Looking at the pics above, that rig is going to be one WIIIIDE....overland rig!!!

I think it is a good move to move the front axle for clearance purposes.. My 35"s fit and stuff just fine but I think 37"s would rub the rear of the front fenders... looking good !!!

 

[Delancy]

Is the expense of coil overs the primary reason they aren't utilized more on the 60/80 platform?
I've wanted to ask for awhile.

 

[SNLC]

I think this rig with the engine alone is going to be super sweet..
The Portal axles ARE going to be wide....
A WHOLE LOT WIDE !!!
My tires stick out about 1.5 -/+.25"... and it really bothers me..
As an overland rig the whole side panels have taken a beating due to no flares on it.
Im considering getting wheels with a 5" to 5.25" back spacing or flares..

Looking at the pics above, that rig is going to be one WIIIIDE....overland rig!!!

I think it is a good move to move the front axle for clearance purposes.. My 35"s fit and stuff just fine but I think 37"s would rub the rear of the front fenders... looking good !!!

I know Frank.... definitely wide. Not much I can do about that. Wheels are already 6" backspacing, can't go any more then that. The good thing about wide though, as long as I have body roll under control it will handle nicely on pavement. Off pavement it will be very stable.

If I was buying everything specifically for this build things could be different. But I am not, I am recycling what I got. So have to compromise and work with what I got. There is another overland rig around here that is super wide, an FJ40 or 45. They compensated by making nice wide fender flares.

 

[Matthes]

I know Frank.... definitely wide. Not much I can do about that. Wheels are already 6" backspacing, can't go any more then that. The good thing about wide though, as long as I have body roll under control it will handle nicely on pavement. Off pavement it will be very stable.

If I was buying everything specifically for this build things could be different. But I am not, I am recycling what I got. So have to compromise and work with what I got. There is another overland rig around here that is super wide, an FJ40 or 45. They compensated by making nice wide fender flares.

I am shure the guys from ISLAND have fender flares that cover your wheels properly.Try to remember where i can get a pic.

Matt

 

[Coyomog]

I like your formula. My build plan started off pretty similar...

 

[Radd Cruisers]

Great to see a few builds in the hard core section......

I like the direction you are taking, should be super pimp

Rob