Builds The Sister Wife - Dottie (1 Viewer)

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Great work so far. Glad @woytovich 60 went to a good home. This interior rehab is motivating. I might get around to that some day! Lol I’ll keep watching!
 
Great work so far. Glad @woytovich 60 went to a good home. This interior rehab is motivating. I might get around to that some day! Lol I’ll keep watching!
Stretch, stay hydrated and have a bottle of Advil. The removal of interior is a piece of cake, but prepping for POR15 and then getting in all the nooks takes a lot of time. The sound deadening was a PITA! Wheel wells are a royal pain to get covered properly with material that doesn’t want to bend and stretch that way.

The goal is to not only reduce noise, but add insulation for the NH winters. Hoping I can keep some of that warm air from the heater inside the cab.
 
After waiting 45 minutes on hold with 4WP, I found out that the distributor is short 2 wheels in PA, but CA has a truck load. So I cancelled the mount and balance option and they are shipping the 4 tires and 2 wheels from one place and the other 2 wheels from another. Hoping to get these new shoes on the old girl before my oldest son comes to visit on Aug 10.

Carpet is en route to be delivered tomorrow (a day early) so things are at a standstill until then.

Throwback: My first 4x4 in 1995. It didn’t have a straight piece of sheet metal anywhere, but sure was a lot of fun. Sold it in 1997, when I joined the USMC.

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Final parts arrived for the interior (well that I have ordered anyway). Luckily UPS stopped at my house early.

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So I RTFM from @dnp and I feel like it came out amazing.

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Now I gotta figure out what to do with the wheel wells and back panels.

Wheels and Tires finally shipped from 4WP, so I have that going for me!
 
Final parts arrived for the interior (well that I have ordered anyway). Luckily UPS stopped at my house early.

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So I RTFM from @dnp and I feel like it came out amazing.

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Now I gotta figure out what to do with the wheel wells and back panels.

Wheels and Tires finally shipped from 4WP, so I have that going for me!
Looks GREAT! Man, you don't waste any time, do you? Pro tip: if you'll pull up the scuff plate, trim a little off the outboard edge of the carpet, that surged seam under the seat will lay flat on the floor. The carpet is molded to match the floor contour, so that means it's just a little long under the scuff plate.

Oh, and how did you mount your Sniper display? I've been trying to figure out a good way to mount it in the former choke cable location, but the place you mounted yours would make it easier to hide the communication cable.

Thanks!
dnp
 
SOR sells molded wheel arch covers in both carpet and vinyl. A little pricey, but very good quality and fit perfectly. I have the older carpet ones on mine and they've held up well; They didn't offer the vinyl style when I bought mine.


 
Looks GREAT! Man, you don't waste any time, do you? Pro tip: if you'll pull up the scuff plate, trim a little off the outboard edge of the carpet, that surged seam under the seat will lay flat on the floor. The carpet is molded to match the floor contour, so that means it's just a little long under the scuff plate.

Oh, and how did you mount your Sniper display? I've been trying to figure out a good way to mount it in the former choke cable location, but the place you mounted yours would make it easier to hide the communication cable.

Thanks!
dnp
I didn’t mount it, @woytovich did, but I can takes some pictures and send the to you. I’ve thought about moving it for better visibility since I’m 6’8”.
 
Man this weekend has been brutal here in New Hampshire. Like 95 all day. Yeah I know you Southern folks know the heat, but here in NE most homes don’t have AC. Since moving here last winter, that is gonna change in this house.

Needed a R134a recharge, which she now blows cold!

So Dottie is going to have yet another busy week. Fitted her with new back panels using 1/8 Masonite. Not sure if we are gonna paint them or cover them with another material.

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Wheel arch vinyl from SOR, 35” ProComp MT2 & Wheels, and my rear seatbelts all should show up by Thursday!
 
Ahhh, never been a shoe guy, but Dottie is gonna look sexy in these! Now I’m gonna have to give her a pedicure to make it all nice and neat.

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Oh My!

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Quick update. SeatBelt delivered and Installed. Received my SOR wheel arch covers!

I’m sure more interior items will be planned and changed, but she’s Family ready now!

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Now to start the dirty work.

-Bushing refresh all around
-Front knuckle rebuild
-Inspect / Refresh Brakes
-New Hampshire Oil Undercoating (better than rattle can rust prevention)
 
Finally did a quality long drive shake down yesterday. Drove 120 miles to the White Mountains close to Jericho State Park to Flume Gorge.

The new wheels and tires are definitely easier to drive on, and not as loud. Based on the reduced noise, I think there might be a very small exhaust leak. So might be replacing with a new SS exhaust from @OTRAMM soon. Anyone got an opinion on keeping manifold vs header?

At 65+, the brakes were not happy and shook the entire front end. Wondering if the rotors just need a good turning. Probably going to replace it all just to be safe.

To finalized the Interior, I’m working with Jason at Stronghold Shift Boots (www.strongholdshiftboots.com) to design a shifter boot that cleans this up nicely. I’ll provide pictures once done.

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To prepare for the New England winter, I reached out to New Hampshire Oil Undercoating to get a nice fresh coat of oil applied. After the initial 20 oil burn off the exhaust, we are set for winter and salt. All in cost was $240, but you can buy it from them for cheaper and DIY. This seems to be a little better than the typical spray rattle can stuff you pickup from Napa.


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So yeah, that shaking at 65 wasn’t a brake problem. The passenger front wheel bearing on the back of the hub was TOAST!!! When I took the rotor and hub assembly off, bearing pieces just dipped to the ground.

Luckily I was already prepared for a front-end rebuild and had all new parts ready to go.

With the assistance of the @OTRAMM videos, the front end is now rebuilt with all new goodies to include rotors, studs, and brakes. As others have said, it’s a messy job.

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If you have ever seen the movie "Armageddon", there is a scene when the guy at the observatory find the comet and wants to name it. Since this is my first FJ60, I have always liked that scene and thought it was funny.

So I recently purchased this FJ60 from @woytovich and hope to continue to make this beauty better with ever change. Since the truck has been built so well, I only have the small things that make it personal to my family as part of the joy ride called life. When Dotty was first seen on the MUD classified, I was giddy like a little school kid, but had to get the bosses approval to purchase such a stallion. At first she was a solid NO, because it didn't have a read seat and looked like it was going to run over the local towns people. After a week of wearing her down to a toothpick in size, I contacted Mark and we chatted. He was out playing at the Coal Miners ride and was going to be gone all weekend. I was nervous all weekend hoping someone didn't bring cash to the event and buy it on the spot. Obviously, that didn't happen.

The following week, My wife caught COVID, so I thought I was going to have to wait yet another week before I could arrange to pick it up. Turns out, after multiple tests, I never caught it from her and Mark was cool with me making a trip down based on a morning phone call. I rented a Uhaul trailer from the local shop and down to Long Island, NY from here in New Hampshire. The trip was easy, and Mark was waiting for me when I arrived. I did a quick once over, and he explained some of the cool additions he had made, and the truck was loaded and on the road we went. I had luckily stopped at the local trucker station on the way and picked up some trucker straps for cargo. This allowed me to connect them to where the tire straps are normally and ratchet the 38s down nice and snug.

Upon getting "Dottie" home, it was time to get to work. I hate MUD, literally! So my first order of business was to get this girl polished up for a date. I completed the 4 step process, starting with clay bar, then compound, polish, and finally a fresh coat of wax. Now she is smooth and shiny. My second order of business was to get the wheels and tires addressed. The truck came with Swampers, but I really don't her wearing combat boots on a daily basis. So I drove over to a local shop, ordered a new pair of shoes for her. We decided on some 17X9 wheels and 35x12.5R17 ProComp Xtreme MT2 tires. They should be here in the next day or two.

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Lastly I needed to address the main complaint from the wife. Better seats and adding the rear bench seat back into the mix for the crumb snatchers. I luckily live about 20 minutes from Cruiser Creations and talked with Jay about getting some better seats. The truck came with the front seats, but had been switched out for some Scion seats. They were comfortable, but I wanted a matched set to start with. Jay told me he had a set from an FJ62 that were either leather or vinyl, but it great condition with no rips,tears, or marks, but really dirty and needed a good cleaning. After some good ole fashion elbow grease and a large amount of cleaning and conditioner, the seats have been installed and waiting for the seatbelts for the rear to arrive.

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Sweet rig! What is that 3rd stick below the transmission shifter? Is it a doubler? I am asking because I am possibly getting a rig with that same setup.
 
Sweet rig! What is that 3rd stick below the transmission shifter? Is it a doubler? I am asking because I am possibly getting a rig with that same setup.
Marlin ToyBox. It was installed by @woytovich (Previous Owner), and man does she crawl. You know when someone tells you they can walk around the truck while in 1st gear, but you almost don't believe them. Yeah, it's true. Super slow, almost too slow if you have both in Low.
 
So living in New Hampshire: Winter Is Coming!

So decided the 4Runner wiper upgrade was worth the money. I used Andrew Toyota in WI (free shipping), received the wiper arms, grabbed some blades from the local parts store. As I’m installing the I notice quite a bit of play. So down the rabbit hole I go.

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So like Home Depot, I cannot just order one thing when 26 is so much more fun.

- Wiper Linkage
- Back lock Pad
- Spark Plugs
- Wires
- Cap and Rotor
- PCV Valve and Grommet
- Air Filter
- Random bolts
 
Holley Sniper throttle lever extension installed. Definitely can tell the difference.

EDIT: I went for a second drive and felt like the throttle linkage was binding, so took the extension off until I can find a better way to connect without binding.
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Tune Up Day!!!! (126,748 mi)

-Plugs
-Wires
-Cap & Rotor
-Oil & Filter

On Order

-Air Filter
-Wiper linkage
-Misc bolts

Valve adjustment is on the plan for next weekend.

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