Tighe's 2nd FJ60 Thread

[Tighe]

Thanks! To be honest the 'before' pic looks a bit worse than it actually was. I just used some Turtle polishing compound with a variety of pads on a high speed drill, making sure to use the polishing rag last. Used water to cut it and keep it cool. Was a messy job but they cleaned up nicely- looking forward to driving it...

 

[Tighe]

Installed a bunch of stuff this weekend and got the 60 back on the road. Freshly machined manifold with a new gasket, downpipe gasket, new belts, new rebuilt PS pump with new hoses and an inline filter, recurved dizzy from Jim C, etc etc. Quite a difference, runs quieter and seems to be leak free. Will need to continue tweaking the timing a bit, but so far so good. Thanks to all for the help along the way, much of this process was new to me. The manifold in particular was a bear to get back on and get all 8 screws aligned. I found loosening the exhaust so it dropped a bit helped, but it definitely required some finesse.

The PS rebuild came with an o ring and directions saying it goes at the inlet hose. I don't really see where this would go, and I don't see any leaks after two days of driving. Not sure what to do about this.

Nice to drive with the restored dash and cluster too, although I was not able to solve my shaky speedo cable issue. I've tried cleaning it from not ends now, but it still shakes up to about 40mph, at which point it settles down and reads the speed properly. Looks like it's time to bite the bullet and buy a new one.

 

[Tighe]

I've been looking to restore the OEM cold air intake routing, but the accordion tube costs an arm and a leg so I've been piecing things together bit by bit.

While looking through the tubing I had laying around, I found a high flow cone filter from another project. I was curious to see if I could tell a difference so I dropped it in and removed the stock air filter. I don't know if it's just me...I swear it opened up and smoothed out the power supply. Maybe the stock filter was clogged up and I hadn't realized it.

Anyway, any foreseeable issues with this setup?

 

[Spike Strip]

OK as long as you don't have any unfiltered air entering the housing... Are all those ports that would be around 9 o'clock just out of the picture frame plugged ?

Other than that, I don't like those K&N type filters. Contrary to the marketing wank, they don't filter as well as a good paper element, but may be less restrictive...

 

[Tighe]

Thanks for the response. Everything's capped- I'll probably end up replacing the OEM filter and routing some tubing into the fender wall to mimic the stock setup. This was a bit of a wake up call though, but per your suggestion I'll err on the side of OEM.

 

[Spike Strip]

@BTUMAN was selling a nice replacement cut from garage exhaust tubing. Inexpensive and good quality. Don't know if still available.

 

[Tighe]

Got some helper springs from Rancho in the mail and realized they're considerably shorter than I expected. I'm trying to counter a bit of sag in the rear but don't need or want to lift it, so I thought AAL would be a good route. I'm worried though that these springs are too short and will stiffen up the ride.

I bought the RAN-RS60612, as there are a few others on here that have gone this route with success. Mixed reviews about increased stiffness in the ride. Now that I'm looking at it I feel like I should have gotten a longer spring instead. These are only about 21" long, depending on how you measure them.

Anybody with some experience with longer AAL's? I see that Skyjacker sells a 'long style' that is 2.5" wide, which seems like it might work. Any suggestions on lengths of replacement springs? Will the 21" Rancho's be too stiff?

I rarely/never tow so that's not an issue.

 

[Tighe]

Question about leaf springs. When installing the aforementioned Rancho add a leaf, I found that one of my springs was cracked- the third from the bottom. I removed it and added the Rancho, but the spring lengths don't progress evenly now. I will replace and get it set up properly, but am wondering if the current setup is ok to drive with, or if it's likely to cause too much of a point load on the longer leaves above. Some pics would be helpful...in the photo below it's the long leaf that's cracked- crack is visible near center pin hole.

Because I could not reuse that leaf, the lengths do not progress evenly, as seen below.

The other side went on smoothly- I removed the bottom two leaves and put the AAL leaf at the bottom. It doesn't have a clamp on it now so I'll keep an eye on whether it shifts around.

The 'correct' setup:

...I'll cut off those centering pins once I'm done getting the springs sorted.

 

[Tighe]

Got a set of good condition used 62 springs over the weekend. Disassembled them and added a few leaves from each into my packs, along with the AAL. Just in time too...drawings need to go into the city for our first plan review tomorrow.

 

[Tighe]

Thanks to @landcruiserjunky and his thread about the Smittybilt console install. I followed and installed mine today. Easy install- required drilling new holes and a trip to the hardware store for longer machine screws to connect to the stock mounting points.

Quality overall feels great, tho the cup holders feel chintzy. For a hundred bucks tho it's a great deal- especially nice to have an armrest while driving.

Also installed a stable/stall mat in the rear cargo area, no pic but it's much nicer to have than bare metal. New front shocks and an oil change, and called it a day.

 

[landcruiserjunky]

Nice!

 

[RodrigzCrzr]

Hey Tighe,
Your truck is coming along great! Nice improvements on it.
hope all is well.
jorge

 

[Tighe]

Thanks Jorge! Hope to see you at the next car show!

@landcruiserjunky I added a small Velcro pouch to the underside of the Smittybilt console. I think it makes it easier to use- the main storage area is so deep that anything small quickly gets lost.

Couple bucks for a Velcro-backed "military" pouch online, and some Velcro, and done.

 

[Tighe]

Today I installed an interior wheel/tire carrier, pn# 255-06 from SOR. Install was straightforward with no issues. The carrier did not come with hardware or directions but it was self explanatory for the most part.

I went this route because the rear Smittybilt bumper I bought blocks access to the spare underneath.

Once mocked up, holes were drilled and panels were reinstalled.

The only concern I have is that a lot of pressure is put on the window by the tire. I would like to visit this issue again, but for now I'm very happy with the product.

And finally after it was all buttoned up.

 

[Breitz6989]

Looks awesome man. Question

I've been looking for something like this I'm running 255/85/16 bfg mud terrains. Does the SOR adjust to fit a 33" height?

 

[Spike Strip]

Looks good.

And just noticed the pic of your truck parked in front of 'The Reel Inn' in Topanga ... Man, haven't been there in years. Great fish Tacos!

 

[Tighe]

Thanks. I think the SOR carrier could fit a 33" tire. It works for a 31" no problem, with the threaded rod ending up perfectly centered in with respect to the rim. This is visible in the photo taken from outside the truck looking through the window. There is room for that threaded rod to slide up and down on the carrier post, but the 31" tire pushed it pretty far to its max height. Even if the rod ended up not perfectly centered, the triangular plate that restrains the wheel is large enough that I think it would still work. You could even drill a new hole in the restraining plate to keep it centered with the wheel, if needed.

This thing definitely feels like it's going to scratch the rim up - I'm not worried about it personally but it's worth pointing out I think.

Another thing worth pointing out is that the SOR website says this is for the passenger's side. I don't see why it makes a difference what side it's mounted on. Additionally, the driver's side of the cargo area has multiple access panels, making access to the backside (to tighten nuts) possible. I accessed the nuts through the panel in front of the rear windshield wiper reservoir. The passenger's side has one large panel and I don't have any idea how this would get reinstalled around the tire carrier. I'm sure someone else could figure it out but I knew I wanted to put it on the driver's side so I wasn't worried about it.

Yeah, The Reel! Great surf break right out front too!

 

[Tighe]

A minor improvement, or at least an adjustment, to the wheel carrier.

I didn't like how hard the tire was pushing against the window so I bought about 30" of steel pipe and slid it into the carrier. The 3/4" pipe measures exactly 1" outside diameter, and worked perfectly.

Now the tire pushes against the steel pipe, not the window.

 

[Spike Strip]

@Tighe

Really? You're selling ?

1984 Toyota LandCruiser FJ60, rebuilt engine and restored

 

[Tighe]

Yeah, we’ve got a baby (our first) on the way in March and this truck has the potential to become more of a burden than a boon for us.

I never really intended to keep this truck for the long haul anyway. We’re car shopping and the current plan is a GX470 for my wife and maybe an 80 or 100 series for me. But we need to sell our current cars first!

If any MUD member is interested I would of course be open to some discounting. We’ll see what price it’ll fetch- I have no idea what it’ll end up going for...