Update for the Pig-up

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mountain cruiser

mountain cruiser

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
May 26, 2007
Threads
132
Messages
675
Location
Silverton Colorado
Well, it's that time of year again that the desert and forest in AZ starts on fire figuratively and literally, so I am prepping the Pig-up for a recycled life in the mountains. I've found the 80 has too many creature comforts, and too many boxes with magical smoke for guys with collared shirts that have a pattern (preferably plaid), and i've decided to get to work on the 55 pig up. For those that don't know this pig sat in a field by Safford (IIRC, but too many light concussions have left my memory foggy) for a few years and upon my receiving it was 2-4" thick in pack rat feces and nests. I dubbed it the Hanta cruiser. It was missing a carb, brake booster, coil, no brake lines, and a fair attempt was taken at hacking the roof into a pickup. I decided it would make a great wood/work truck for my time spent living in Colorado.

-Stuff done after 3 days-
New old seats w/new mounts
New old tuffy, cause I need an arm rest as i'm showing grey hairs
Rebuilt Carb and installed with cable and linkage
New troll hole dizzy and Accel coil for added HP
Fix rat nest damage to harness
Runs and idles like a dream

-Still to do list-
Get cab sealed well enough to not drench my gear all the time during mountain monsoons
Get brakes working, but not a priority, as brakes only slow you down in life and slowing down is why some people lose the race..
Install speakers and head unit

Now when i figure out how to post pics again, I will get some up.
 
Ooohh, figured out how to add photos again! Yay!
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-Freshly Painted grill
-Carb in its natural habitat after a catch, clean, and release program
-4 Plus "Bad" 40 bumper, that was good enough for my application with winch plate I had on another cruiser that won't need the 1970's look and stick welding
-New old 60 seats mounted with tuffy mocked up
-rats nest repairs in dash

This is meant to be a fun "make that dang ol thing run" type project.
Hope you enjoy the pics as much as I enjoyed getting a jalopy running that was left in the pasture.

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Its like the Arizona version of "Wheeler Dealers". Breathing new life into a old rig so it can live again ~

Nice work - keep posting the journey with pics. LOve to follow this thread.

hey, i kinda like the pickup look :cool:
 
Hi Tony, wasn't this in your garage last summer when I was there? Or was that another FJ55? The 40 in my avatar came from Safford. It was in a little better shape but I think I may have paid more.:rolleyes: You don't happen to have the eight brackets that came off those seats? They are 60 series seats aren't they? Looking to change the seats in my FJ62 but don't want to take the brackets off the current seats because there are still in really good shape.
 
blue is faster :cheers:
 
first off i approve of mountain cruisers profile avatar secondly i approve of this piggy and blue is waaayy faster
 
Cool! I remember seeing that poor ol beast at your old desert digs when I was cannablising a certain FJ60 with a checkerd past. Good on ya for breathing new life into it.
 
Since I was the guy that got your drivers door, I'll try and offer some help finding another one for ya. The one I bought from you was crap and worse than what I had, so I scrapped it. I got another one from Clay, aka Rhino, which I ended up giving back to him cause it was no better than what I had either. That being said, maybe try and contact Rhino and see if he's interested in turning loose that door again. It's not in the best shape but it sure beats nothing.
 
murf said:
hey, i kinda like the pickup look :cool:
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-I thought the same, the price was right, and after some time aging at elevation it was ready to be put to use as a wood hauler/work truck-

Living in the Past said:
Hi Tony, wasn't this in your garage last summer when I was there? Or was that another FJ55? The 40 in my avatar came from Safford. It was in a little better shape but I think I may have paid more.:rolleyes: You don't happen to have the eight brackets that came off those seats? They are 60 series seats aren't they? Looking to change the seats in my FJ62 but don't want to take the brackets off the current seats because there are still in really good shape.
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-Don't have the seat brackets, they were mounted in another pig thats presently aging. Hanta was never living here till just recently, really only stopped for a week at the Toyota spa-

DSRTRDR said:
blue is faster :cheers:
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-And more reliable :grinpimp: Hanta has a slight hiccup but a refurbed head will fix that, I doubt the open for 10+ yrs intake had nothing to do with that :hillbilly:-

inkpot said:
She's a beauty!! :pig: Glad to see you get it back on the road.:wrench: I still have an extra hood if you need one.:idea: John
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-Thanks John, pigs have grown on me the more time I spent on mud. I will need a hood for the other pig thats currently waiting for a couple weeks of work :cheers:-

Living in the Past said:
I think Tony has the right idea. Get her running and transport her to his summer home where lock hubs are a option not needed.
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Lol, 2 weeks ago hubs were not an option. Had 6" of fresh snow above 9500' :santa:

Sno bored said:
Did that 40 series bumper bolt right up, or did you have to change the brackets in back to get it to fit the frame rails?
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-It was a second that wouldn't fit a 40 with brackets as it was 3/8" to short , but when measured the frame rails for a 40 and 55 are the same distance and size, I would bet that a 40 bumper with brackets and vice versa would work.-

Delancy said:
Subbed.

I may have a booster and MC, but it'd be a good time to consider alternatives....
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-I need a booster and master for sure to replace the ones I pirated for Hanta, let me know what you want for them in a PM-

JackA said:
Since I was the guy that got your drivers door, I'll try and offer some help finding another one for ya. The one I bought from you was crap and worse than what I had, so I scrapped it. I got another one from Clay, aka Rhino, which I ended up giving back to him cause it was no better than what I had either. That being said, maybe try and contact Rhino and see if he's interested in turning loose that door again. It's not in the best shape but it sure beats nothing.
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-Sorry it didn't work for what you needed, i'm definitely missing it now, just gonna store the passenger door till I find a replacement driver door. I'll ask Rhino, i'm sure one will pop up eventually. If you head to Colorado to Mtn bike let me know, new trails are in the works with FS and I will be back and forth till next summer.-
 
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So as it goes, my 4 day plan turned to a 7 day plan. But now the front brakes have been upgraded, new used master cylinder and booster, reused FJ60 brake lines from fire wall back and to the front, new rear brake shoes, shortened and sleeved Tie rod, shortened and sleeved drag link, rear cargo wall added, tie down points for tarps and dirt bikes are in, carb rebuilt, new air filter housing mount built (Stock one was missing), wheels and tires borrowed from another personal project, FS style spare tire mount, Front bumper added, seats replaced with ones that hide the spring ends, new diamond skid floor pans for the driver and passenger, headlights and tail lights work again, lots of welding to make the pickup conversion less scary and a few other odds and ends that any field project will need. In the end all I needed to purchase were headlights, front rotors, and pads. :hillbilly:

Some pics and more to come of it in its finished condition.

-Found a hornets nest and black widow webs in the usual places up front.
-Donor axle from an 82 FJ60
-All cleaned up with new rotors and pads
-Drivers Course spline birf oozing out of the axle
-Added a back wall out of diamond skid and a 1" .120 wall square steel frame that ties the back of the cab, floor and bed sides/rear doors together. Spare tire pondering its possible new home
 
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