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

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MANUCHAO said:
Awesome dude.... this is going to be an awesome build.... !!
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Thanks Frank! I just wish I could get into the project now and not later. I am finding myself thinking about the build a lot, while I work on another truck in the shop. That must be a sign! The ideal scenario would be a bigger shop, heh. It sure would be nice to pull the FJ62 body inside mounted to a rotisserie, set the 80-series frame up next to it, have the portals on stands, have the engine on it's stand, ect ect, blah blah blah. That will never happen though with my tiny shop so I am just glad to have a place to work that is warm and dry.

Like I said earlier in the thread, I did mount up the new (used roller) tires to the wheels and put them back on the Patrol without wheel spacers. I have already posted WMS to WMS on the portals somewhere above. But the axles are right about 80" wide from tire edge to tire edge with a 13.5" wide tire. This puts me about 5" outside the body all around. For sure going to need some of those big flares I have seen that are being made in Thailand (or somewhere over there). That or I am just going to incorporate some fender flares into my bar work. It will certainly be a wide truck but it will also for sure be very stable.

Cheers
 
FYI there is a thread on the for sale section of a guy selling the bolt on flares... They are 6" wide, a bit too wide for me but I think they might be right up your alley .......

The width of this project is going to make it look so bad ass and yeah stability will be a huge plus.....There is nothing like taking on a windy mountain road with confidence.......
 
So I got the Patrol sitting next to the 62 and figure it is a good time to take a few pictures. :)

I probably posted some of this before if not all of it. Oh well...

The 62 is actually 3-4", or even closer to 5" wider in the body than the Patrol. I can only get a rough measurement by myself! But the Cruiser is definitely wider. These pictures are with no wheel spacers and 13.5" wide tires on the Patrol. Previous pictures the Patrol was on 40x12.5's and had 2" wheel spacers. I don't like the 13.5 wide tires, I like skinnies and will be running a 12.5 but the 37's (13.5) are my "build" tires. It is looking really good width wise actually. I got approx 5" of tire sticking out on the Patrol body now. I will lose 1" in width from tires and gain 3-4+" in width on the Cruiser body. So this is putting me about 3-4" sticking out of the wheel wells on the Cruiser body when all said and done. That is not set in stone but is close. I am liking it any ways!!

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A better view of width along the body, believe it or not this is only about 5" sticking out!

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You got to admit, this rear axle is very sexy! How you like my lift blocks!? :hillbilly:

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After a lot of measuring (for the 50th time!) it is looking like the Cruiser will be close to the ride height of the Patrol as it sits now. I am aiming to keep it as low as possible. If I can go lower than the Patrol sits now I will but I can also deal with the height of it as is. It looks like a 12" c/o and stock rear coils from the 80 will be pretty close to where the Patrol sits now. I think I have also decided to tame down my suspension plans a bit. Driven a buddies 80-series a few times recently and I like how it rides, a lot. Even off-road and flexing up on a medium sized rock was not bad. For me it comes down to the percentage of use where extreme articulation will be needed and that is a small percentage. Moreover, down the road on pavement over long distances, I want it just right without having to re-do s*** a bunch of times. I also want high speed performance on washboard and like to be very good. Flex comes in at least 3rd on my list for suspension performance. Not sure if I mentioned it before but I have blown a seal in the portal box twice now. I am nearly positive it is because the portal box has no breather, oil gets hot and blows the seals. So I have plans to tap the portal box and add a breather line to it. The brakes on the Patrol/axles now work very good. Stop this 6,000lbs truck on a dime. So I won't be altering brakes much if at all. No idea if the Patrol m/c & m/v will bolt into the 62 but if they do I am likely keeping them. Both are brand new and from a GQ/Y60 Patrol, don't recall bore off the top of my head. I do have duel calipers on my rear axle, 2nd set for cutting brakes. Won't be using cutting brakes in the new build and I haven't decided if I will ditch the 2nd set of calipers or keep them for my e-brake.

Cheers
 
I vote keeping the 2nd calipers on the rear for an ebrake. Also, thank you for posting the patrol. I've finally found a front bumper with lines I like that I want to build. Do you have any more pics of that front bumper you can share?
 
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boots4 said:
I vote keeping the 2nd calipers on the rear for an ebrake. Also, thank you for posting the petrol. I've finally found a front bumper with lines I like that I want to build. Do you have any more pics of that front bumper you can share?
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Sure....lot's of pictures here of the Patrol, front bar included and also the PTO winch cage I built.

http://www.rmp-o.com/phpBB3/gallery2.php?g2_itemId=999

The only other thing I would do for e-brake is t-case mounted. The 2nd calipers are not set up for a cable and I am just not sure if I want to use a line lock for my e-brake. However, I have thought of doing a foot activate line lock, ie mimic Chevy style cable so I don't have a cutting brake lever anywhere in the center of the cab. With some thought and a bit of fab it could come out sweet with a dash mounted switch and a foot operated line lock. No idea if it would be doable, just brainstorming.

Cheers
 
Not much of an update but....


I am planning to pull the old ratty Patrol in the shop very soon, the one from Australia with the new motor. I am then going to pull the motor and mount it on a stand. I will probably strip the truck at this time too, keeping what I want and sending the rest to the scrap yard. This may start as soon as Sunday.

I had a project which I mentioned above in the shop, shop is to small for more than one truck. That project has now pretty much moved out of the shop. It is far from finished and will continue to take up most of my wrenching time however I have shop space now!

I have been waiting to pull the portals from the 83 Patrol because when I do that trucks will then live out it's life with me on blocks. I really need to be able to keep the truck as a "roller" for as long as possible just due to space on the property, to many trucks around, ect. So really I am not going to pull the portals until I have the 80-series chassis in the shop.

:cheers:
 
Have any profile pics of the Patrol(s)? Wheeling buddy of mine just got a barn find Patrol running and he needs some inspiration on what to do next.

:beer:
 
If it is a 1960's era, restore it. That or pull most of the gear from it and fit Cruiser stuff, ie axles and split case. 4BT would be sweet! I got a resto build thread on a 64 in chit chat if you want to check it out.

So I been working on pulling the motor from the Patrol, here are some pictures.

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Taking my time but making good progress. By tonight I may be ready to hook the hoist up to it. ;)
 
Thanks, I'll check out the thread for sure and pass it on to my friend.

Hope you don't mind a brief highjack here. Pics of our lil vintage off road club (there's a sweet old Scout included that didn't make the pics).

We just finished up the top on the Patrol this past weekend and will be sorting out how to get a roll cage in there without loosing the restored/original look.

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I got the motor all mounted to the stand. I had bought a 1250lbs engine stand a few months back just for the motor. However, once I got the engine on the stand, man I don't feel real comfortable with it. The motor is big and heavy and I don't trust it much on the stand, I could push it over if I tried. Due to this I came up with another plan. When I tore down the Patrol above I cut the frame at the front (but rear of them) leaf hangers. I left this whole piece of frame in one piece. I recently bought some 2" box tube. Plan is to weld some legs on the front frame and build an engine stand out of it. I won't be able to roll the engine in the stand (rotate or roll around) but it will very stable and I can run the engine in the stand which is a nice bonus.

I might just try and get it set up stable out of the way though since it is just going to sit for awhile. The next project I am doing once I got the 84 Patrol all broke down is a quicky SoA on a 77 Patrol. It will be getting the same diesel as I am putting in the Mongrel, less a whole lot of bling. So I may just end up using the Mongrels motor to set up the engine mounts and so forth in the next project. That would also give me a good place to leave the motor for awhile too until I am ready to bring in the 80-series Cruiser chassis.

Cheers
 
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Sadly, this build got pushed back and pushed aside twice now. I got a 64 Patrol I am restoring for a guy that takes priority. Then I got a 77 Patrol I need to whip out before I get real serious about the Mongrel. Between these two trucks, life and building the shop, the Mongrel just hasn't gotten the love I want to give it!

Hopefully in a couple months (at most) I can get what I need into the shop to start setting up the chassis. In the meantime, apologies for the premature build thread. :o
 
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Thanks guys but don't get your hopes up to much yet. I would have loved to be into this truck by now but the reality is I am not due to other projects. Not to mention cash flow. I need to buy some rather expensive items to really get into the build full swing. New steering box, coilovers, rear shocks and a new Spidertrax front housing just to name a few items. Will need to change out the drive flanges on the front axle to f/w hubs too. Oh ya and then there is my trans/t-case combo plus a bellhousing, clutch and few other bits. This is all a lot of cash when you add it up and I need most of it before I can get serious about the build.

I have a way of getting into a build and then going all out. For example I am working on this...

https://forum.ih8mud.com/chit-chat/676993-1977-nissan-patrol-ute-built-trails.html

When I started planning that I thought, oh I can get it done in a couple months tops. And I could if I would stick to my original plan. Thing is I get into a build and don't want to half ass it or anything like that. So now I am going to get some different leaf springs before moving forward with that build. And I am really really considering doing a 4.8 Chevy v8 in it. That all means $$$!

I still can't make up my mind if I want to build my own suspension, use most of the 80-series stuff or do a combo of both. And honestly I don't think I can truly decide until I got the axles pulled from the Patrol, 80-series frame set up to work on, ect ect.

I would expect that I get back into the Mongrel come spring. I need to finish tearing down the 62, pull the blown motor and scrap it, pull the trans, pull the body off the frame, build a rotisserie for the body, ect ect ect. But as soon as the snow is melting and the weather changes I would like to get a lot of that done.

Cheers
 
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