Have thought about this for a while and I've decided to go forward. What I'm looking for is any "lessons learned" from Cruiser Heads who have gone down this road ??? Much appreciated and thanks in advance, Cahil
Well a guy in our club has done several restorations. His screen name is Hard40, he has a good bit of knowledge. You can find him in the SC room.
I've thought about this too and it's on my "to do" list. I've been told you can pick up stock good frames from California/Arizona/etc./etc. for about $500 plus shipping. Alternatively, the guys at Cruiser Parts could hook you up. http://www.cruiserparts.net/ Now, if you really want to check something out - these guys are REALLY COOL! http://www.matkinsextreme.com/ - I want one. As my truck's a New Englandah it's had the usual issues with rust. I'm lookin to fix up the rear brace for the bumper as its pretty well gone - though the bumper still looks pretty good. (good excuse for a Kaymar or ARB). Or maybe I'll just pick up the welder I've been needing and ............... Anyway, good luck with the hunt for a good frame!
I'm getting mine done next month in Honduras. The frame I found down here still has paint on it from the factory where ours get rust holes. The new frame is getting painted with RustBullit first though as I don't intend to do this twice.
When I get the dough gathered up to put in a diesel, I'm going to put in a new frame. I'm going to powdercoat it first though, to resist these harsh New England winters. BTW, I'm in upstate NY, where the snow is abundant, and where there is snow in the Northeast, there is always twice as much salt.
I don't want to start any crap with vendors or their fans on this board, so if you don't mind I'll PM you my frame-buying horror story with one of the vendors who may or may not have been mentioned in this thread Let me know if you want to hear about it, as I don't like PMing people with my crap if they don't care. Fred
Fred, Please PM away. I want to know everything I can gather. Mucho thanks. I'm like you. No dirty laundry in public but in private ... fire away. Cheers, Cahil
Cahil, I can probably fix you up with a good Central American frame if you want. Shipping to Daytona Beach shouldn't be too bad.
Hold that thought ... The shipping info I have for quotes is: 800 lbs. x 200 inches long x 65 inches wide x 24 inches tall Shoot, your metric ain't ya' ? I'd be shipping to Morgantown, West Virginia. Have a great friend/mechanic there whose been helping me with the bigger projects. He use to do complete vehicle frame off restores so this is right up his alley on experience. Plus, full auto shop. Located a nice 1981 FJ60 frame, west coast, almost no rust. From the info I've gathered there appears to be two different frames. 81 - 85 and 85 - 87 The change (major) appears to be the transmission mount. Dunno if possible to mount the 87 driveline on the 81 frame. I'm sure it's possible with enough fabbin' but I'd like to stay as simple as possible. I'm on the books, schedule to start mid-October. Will keep you posted. Cheers, Cahil P.S. Considering that less than 10% of Cruisers are sold in the US, importing is very realistic.
If simplicity is paramount then go with the west coast frame as most '60 series Cruisers I've seen in the wreckers were H/2H diesels. There are some gassers too but I haven't seen too many in the wreckers. Now if you want diesel.... I hope to get mine swapped maybe on the Thanksgiving week (it's not a holiday for the locals).
Hmmm ... diesel ... Just a bit out of my price range. P.S. I did do the math and found all the major components. Moving forward with trying to procure a early 1981-1985 frame from the west coast. Baically from my research and asking bunches of folks, all the mount points should line up but the trans mount is different. Check with Geo whose lead mechanic on this project and a custom trans mount is no big deal so the project is moving forward. Cahil
found frame ... Cruiser_Guy, Found a West Coast(California) frame off an early FJ60 for $865 USD *delivered* to Morgantown, West Virginia. Have seen plenty of pics so should be a great frame. Rear leaf spring forward mount is where Toyota's rust the most (on frames) and this is the most important place to check. Will have to fabricate the transmission mount location but the friend/mechanic whose helping me reply was that "... this is no big deal." My best & will let you know how it goes. Scheduled for mid-October. Cheers, Cahil
