Vonhagen Offroad Hoz 73 FJ40 build up...

[hindsight]

Hoz,

I love the heater AND the setup! Will be following this thread closely

Doc

 

[Hoz FJ40 CO]

Its been a while but just updating this thread.

10) The custom one off front flat fenders and rear fender flares turned out great. I also had Mike from Vonhagen Offroad tie the rollcage into the frame. Here are a few pics.

 

[Hoz FJ40 CO]

A couple more pics of the flat fenders and rear flares.

 

[Hoz FJ40 CO]

I also have an update to issue # 7 :

7) Banging sound coming from the rear end. Pulled the rear diff and found that the pin for the locker was broke in 3 places.
Apprently the stock pin for the rear diff was or rather is used inside the locker. The factory pin apparently couldn't take the torgue from the V8 and snapped the pin. Mike is fabricating a custom hardened steel pin for the rear diff so handle the torque. This is a one off so I will let you know how it holds up. Also shattered pin had broken some of the teeth off the ring and pinion gears. New ring and pinion gears showed up today. Just waiting for the custom pin to get finished then will put the rear diff, along with a new rear seal back together.

The harden steel pin was NOT a good idea. The pin and its thickness are there for a reason, to break so ther parts don't break. The new ring and pinion gear I put in were chewed up in less than 5 miles of driving on the street. The pin didn't break but the $200 worth of brand new ring and pinion gears were gone. I have included a couple pics. Note to self don't do that again. With that said the weak point on this truck was the minitruck rear axle. I have replaced that with a Dana 44...details in a bit.

Photo 1 : New Ring and Pinion gear April 20, 2012
Photo 2 : New Ring and Pinion gear May 6, 2012
Photo 3 : Chewed up and spit out new ring and pinion gear

 

[Hoz FJ40 CO]

I joined an offroad club here in La Crosse, WI called the River City Wheelers. A bunch of great guys that roll in Jeeps and Buggy's. I'm the only Toyota representin but don't mind at all. All the folks I had previously talked to said there was no wheeling in WI. I beg to differ. If you look and ask around long enough, regardless where you live you will find a few great places to offroad. You just had to forego a few bucks, like $30 bucks a year and your all set.

I decided I wanted a beefier axle and was originally thinking Dana 60 but thats a little too big and requires too much modification so I started looking for a Dana 44. Its the correct width and alot beefier than the little minitruck I had in the Cruiser. I found a beautiful Dana 44 from one of the club members for $300. It had a spool in it and disk brakes. The spool alone is worth the $300 let alone having a truck now with full disk brakes. I am replacing the ring and pinion gears (it had 5.36 in it) with new 4.10 gears. I cleaned up the disk brakes by having them turned and the pads are almost brand new.

Mike from VonHagen offroad cut and turned the axle to the appropriate angel. He also fabbed up some really nice custom rear shock mounts. He is replacing the pinion seal as well. Here are a few pics of the axle. It will be done by the end of the week I will get completed pics when its all finished. Cheers!!!

 

[Hoz FJ40 CO]

11) Added a 4 speaker stereo system with Waterproof 600W Amp and CD Player.

12) Added a CD player inside the glove box of the 40 to keep out of the weather and also make it look like there wasn't a stereo installed to keep prying hands from tearing apart my dash. Also added front and rear speakers. Took the front seats off and bolted the amp under the seat frame and reinstalled the seat. Also where the stereo is supposed to fit I had Mike add the CB Radio and he added a cool Diamond plate surround. Check out photo 1.

13) The rear drive shaft has been professionally balanced.

 

[Hoz FJ40 CO]

#7) Continuation of rear axle build. The cut and turn on the Dana 44 rear axle is complete. Also added new rear pads, new calipers, cut and turned the rear rotors and am in the middle of getting the master cylinder replaced. Replaced the ring and pinion gealrs with brand new 4.10 gears. Also the Dana 44 has a rear spool in it so it has awesome traction on the trails. We also replaced the rear pinion seal and the drivers side front axle seal. No drips or leaks on this 40 whatsoever. I've learned that replacing a rear axle is not that hard but its EXPENSIVE. $300 for the axle, $200 for the ring and pinion gear, $300 for new Calipers and Pads plus maching the rotors, new pinion seal $12, custom one off correct spacer $100, New studs and lug nuts in the rear $90. Mike and I have an issue with making things correct and it was worth the money to have this rear axle built correctly. I do have rear axles for a minitruck if someone needs them, let me know. Will sell cheap!!!

I peeled the top off last weekend and am getting it painted black to match the fenders. I may be adding a paint job to it this fall, I haven't decided yet. Overall I have been driving this 40 to work everyday and it performs on the road well and on the trails well.

 

[DBrown2]

Before you got.. First pics are how it looked when I got.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/vehicles-trailers-sale-wanted/259780-1973-fj40-stroked-se-tn.html

 

[Hoz FJ40 CO]

Update on this truck. I sold this truck to a fella in Des Moines in August of 2012.

Also just a friendly warning to all Cruiser heads in the Minnesota/Iowa area. The builder, Mike Vonhagen is not a trust worthy source for fabricating or working on Land Cruisers. This fella was going by Vonhagen Offroad and Restoration, not sure if its the same or not. He's built 2 1/2 Cruisers for me and another one for a fellow mudder. I had contracted him to do paint and body work on my 79 Land Cruiser and he returned the cruiser unfinished a month later. He kept my $400 deposit and my vintage Land Cruiser Toyota manual. Just a friendly warning NOT TO USE VONHAGEN OFFROAD AND RESTORATION. I had attempted to call him many times and no answer or return call. Just putting this information out there for fellow Cruiser heads.

 

[vonhagenoffroad]

And here's the rest of the 'story'.... I'm a truck driver, I do repairs, builds, etc in my SPARE time. I changed jobs and went from working 7-8 hour days five days a week to working 12-14 hour days 6-7 days a week (do more than just drive a truck at the new job). I can't always answer my phone and when I get home at 7 or 8 at night after working a 14 hour day the last thing I want to do is sit on the phone. The Cruiser sat in my garage for months and then when it was decided on what was wanting to be done, it was wanted in 4-6 weeks. The body was covered in 3/4" or more of bondo that I was told to leave as is and paint over rather than cutting the panels out and replacing with new sheet metal and doing things the RIGHT way. I don't do things half @$$ed, it's either done the right way or I won't touch it. And when I wouldn't answer my phone or return calls right away Hoz contacted my wife on Facebook and when she explained to him that I was working a lot of hours and would get in touch with him when I had time he got snarky and wanted to know why I couldn't take 3 minutes to call him. After that 'encounter' is when I said enough and took the Cruiser to his brother's dealership. I spent my time tearing the body apart, the truck sat in my garage for months, plus I not only stored (for over two years), I moved his extra Cruiser parts twice, and then I had to put the body back together before I could take it to his brother's dealership.

 

[Hoz FJ40 CO]

We report, you decide.

1. Contacted VonHagen Offroad and Repair stated I wanted the truck painted and whatever body work finished by first part of the summer. Vonhagen Offroad said no problem. I dropped the truck off in March (while living in La Crosse, WI and truck being in Iowa).
2. Contacted Vonhagen Offroad and asked for a status update 30 days later. Mike Vonhagen with VonHagen Offroad stated he was busy with current day job and would get to it that weekend. Called Monday and nothing was done.
3. The same week talked with Mike and he stated he promised to get something done the following weekend (again I'm spending money and excited to get my truck paint so I can enjoy it for the weekend) so I just wanted to know. Not sure why this doesn't seem fair. That following weekend I showed up and started sanding on the truck to help Mike out because he stated he was 'busy'.
4. A week later I called to inform Mike I wanted to add a couple things to the ticket and left him a message. Waited a week, no answer. Called again and left a nice message stating to please call me. Again no phone call, no email, no nothing. At this point I had given a 'good faith' down payment of $400 to cover sanding materials, some labor, ect.
5. Two weeks after the no return of phone calls my brother calls me and asks whats going on with the Land Cruiser. My response was 'VonHagen Offroad' is working on getting the body work done and painting it. Then to my utmost suprise he says 'Your Land Cruiser has been sitting outside the shop half bolted together, stuffed with parts. (Now I don't know what your reaction would be but I was furious). Two weeks ago I was sanding this truck down supposedly trying to help a buddy get along with things and now my Land Cruiser is sitting in a parking lot, unlocked, pull of parts and I was not aware of it. SHAME ON YOU VONGHAGEN OFFROAD. SHAME ON YOU MIKE VONHAGEN. Who does that???
6. What was not in the Land Cruiser that was mine was the $400 deposit which I had put down in good faith for work to be completed. AND my Vintage Land Cruiser shop guide that was my grandfathers. After 4 or 5 phone calls stating I really needed that book back I gave up.

VONHAGEN OFFROAD and more importantly MIKE VONHAGEN is a thief and not to be trusted. At this point I don't care about the $400. I WANT MY BOOK BACK ASAP. If I can get my book back I will not retract my statement but I will delete this post. Until then WARNING to all Cruiserheads that this outfit is NOT TO BE TRUSTED!!!

Based on the information herein I've reported, you decide.

Oh and by the way a reputable builder put this together for me without cutting rear quarters.

Cheers friends!!!

 

[broth9640]

3/4 or more of filler! God I hope you were upfront with the guy you sold it to. Nice pic of a restored FJ without new sheet metal, but will it pass this test? I am not taking sides here, honestly I could care less about your squabble. I however don't care for people who flip vehicles by cutting corners and using excessive filler. I hope you aren't one of THOSE guys.

What the Truck?

 

[Hoz FJ40 CO]

The truck is not for sale its my personal truck. The metal underneath has been straightened and skim coated. Its all good!!!

Also your more than welcome to read through my build threads and check out my iTrader scores to do your own research. I'm just trying to help others in the Land Cruiser community not get burned by an unethical builder.