What have I done?

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Sleeving and plating thru the frame on both sides will give you the most strength and clearance but I'd also change out the rock catchers on the front for lower profile hangers. What springs are you thinking of running? This is also a good time to burn in some bracing on the rear spring hangers, they're outboarded and can flex/fail.

Great to see you the other night!
 
Yes, those goofy hangers are going away.

You guys are my inspiration.
 
Spring Over or Spring Under???????

Always thought I go Over, but now that I'm faced with the decision....

Under pros and cons:
I'm already 90% there with a spring under. I have the springs (unknown aftermarket) with plenty of lift and skid plate U-bolt plates. Better ride quality (due to progressive spring rate) and there's nothing to engineer or weld other than the shackle reversal (which will get redone in any case).

However, U-bolt skid plates notwithstanding, there is a bunch of crap hanging below the axles.

Over pros and cons:
Clean undercarriage. Cool factor!

However, I'd need different springs (saggy 60 springs or custom spec?), move the perches, fab or purchase an anti-wrap bar, poor ride quality (?).

I'm guessing that the overall vehicle height will be pretty much same either way - it was sitting pretty high as I got it with the aftermarket springs. So perhaps no new issues with drive line angles or handling problems due to high center of gravity.

Was figuring on 35 inch tires, but I'm second guessing that now, too. A full 33 might be just fine, especially with a clean undercarriage for clearance with a spring over. 33's would help with gearing solutions (assuming there are 4:10s in the diffs).

Obvious question: "What do you plan to use the rig for, John? Much depends on the answer..." "Yes, I'm glad you asked. I'm thinking expedition-style wheeling - Utah and Colorado camping trips for one or two people - serious wheeling when encountered but no rock crawling for the sake of rock crawling. A safe and comfortable highway drive to the trail head from home and back is critical."

Welcoming any and all feed back on a subject that everyone has an opinion on (except perhaps 80 owners).
 
That much lift, spring under is not going to ride very well in my opinion. I would go SOA, actually I already did. I am not using mine for highway/expedition style adventures but I still think it rides better than the 2" spring under lift that I bought it with.
 
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I should also mention that I'd like to keep a stock appearance for the rig - so no super stretched wheelbase.
 
Spring under, go 33" tires.
Spring over, go 35" tires.

I went spring over, with Alcan springs. They are just a little flatter than stock. I also have an anti-wrap spring on the rear pack, so no torque bars.
 
pappy said:
Spring under, go 33" tires.
Spring over, go 35" tires.

I went spring over, with Alcan springs. They are just a little flatter than stock. I also have an anti-wrap spring on the rear pack, so no torque bars.
Click to expand...

Well, that's interesting - an anti-wrap spring in the pack.
How do you like the road manners?
 
well, I think you are right smack in the middle of those choices. could go either way easily. SO will ride better, but with more body roll on corners(it will sit higher). the SR will help ride quality as well, but you are already there with that.

for me, the 3" lift spring I had early on were a stiff, terrible ride. the SO and SR made it a dream to ride in comparatively. but it can scare the uninitiated on the road on corners if you take them fast. I doubt your springs are 6-7" of lift. the other points made are good (tire size etc.). the anti wrap spring leaf may help with body roll. Jon will have to comment on that. SO gives more options IMHO. but it is a little more work. then, it is more opportunity to learn, for Anya.
the moving of the rear axle will depend on your drive train length. again, that is fairly easy.
 
It doesn't have anti-sway bars, so going around turns is interesting. I did have one issue on the way to Moab one year. I was passing a semi-truck. As I reached the front I got caught in turbulence, and the truck started to wobble side to side. I think Marc was behind me.

Other than that it rides fine.
 
BionicCruiser said:
well, I think you are right smack in the middle of those choices. could go either way easily. SO will ride better, but with more body roll on corners(it will sit higher). the SR will help ride quality as well, but you are already there with that.

for me, the 3" lift spring I had early on were a stiff, terrible ride. the SO and SR made it a dream to ride in comparatively. but it can scare the uninitiated on the road on corners if you take them fast. I doubt your springs are 6-7" of lift. the other points made are good (tire size etc.). the anti wrap spring leaf may help with body roll. Jon will have to comment on that. SO gives more options IMHO. but it is a little more work. then, it is more opportunity to learn, for Anya.
the moving of the rear axle will depend on your drive train length. again, that is fairly easy.
Click to expand...

You're right, Shawn, I was talking crazy talk about the current height.
I'm starting to lean toward the status quo.
I took the frame to Merle at Classic Cruisers for sandblasting today and I bombarded him with questions. He's pretty set against spring over for a highway vehicle.
 
pappy said:
It doesn't have anti-sway bars, so going around turns is interesting. I did have one issue on the way to Moab one year. I was passing a semi-truck. As I reached the front I got caught in turbulence, and the truck started to wobble side to side. I think Marc was behind me.

Other than that it rides fine.
Click to expand...


Scared the bejesus out of me watching him go all over the place until things settled down.
 
255/85-16 tires are a very full 33" tire and looked good with the spring over and very little stretch in the wheelbase. I think they would be the minimum tire size to go with on a spring over and the maximum if staying spring under. They are about an inch taller than my 33/10.50-15 spare.
 
spring under with a traction device will probably serve you best for occasional rocks. also a system to air up tires so you can air down often to soften the ride on dirt roads. that sounds like where you are thinking and I agree.

a SOA can always be done later if she wants to get into harder to get to places. that's the idea Brock and I are headed with his rear overhang. leave it where it is, if he finds it prevents him from wheeling how/where he wants to, we will cut it off.
 
juane said:
You're right, Shawn, I was talking crazy talk about the current height.
I'm starting to lean toward the status quo.
I took the frame to Merle at Classic Cruisers for sandblasting today and I bombarded him with questions. He's pretty set against spring over for a highway vehicle.
Click to expand...

Yep, a good highway ride will go a long ways toward giving your girls fun trips that they'll want to take on themselves later. You're gonna have to watch those mountain boys though...
 
you should see my stack of paper on our build! graph paper drawings, electrical diagrams, hand drawn and copied, ideas jotted down, work lists, measurements for later, info on parts, etc, etc.
yours, I'm sure, is getting there quickly. :D
 
I've been watching this thread as a voyeur from somewhere in the ether. Here's my 0.02.

An FJ40 will never handle that well on the highway because of the short wheel base. You can make things easier by ensuring tight steering and not too high a lift.

33s on the highway are OK, 35s would be a bit much for control, I would think.

SUA is probably your best bet to avoid driveline angle issues. If you go SUA the best option for cleaning things up underneath is a U-bolt flip kit. It cleaned up my clearance by about 3/4" over stock without the U-bolts hanging down, skid plates or not.

Regardless of whatever springs you run make sure that they sit with he shackles at an angle and not vertical - I've seen several FJ40s with springs that were too short so that the shackles stayed in the vertical position meaning that the springs wouldn't flex under normal driving conditions on the highway.

I can't believe how old these kids have gotten...
 
What's happening.....

Built a portable support for the tub so I can move it around my limited space.

20140307_164548.webp
 
Then...

I approached the thick, heavy bed liner some PO either sprayed or rolled on the inside of the tub with the idea of stripping it off.
Why? Well, I'm scared about what's happening underneath it corrosion-wise, but the main reason its not my modification.

This stuff is about an 1/8 inch thick and covers every interior surface as well as the inner surfaces of the front fenders. I had to excavate it with hammer and chisel to expose body mount bolt heads....

So it was with great trepidation I approached the seemingly daunting task of stripping it off. What would it take? Massive amount of heat? Cancerous chemicals? A pneumatic chisel? Certainly much time and effort.

But guess what? The crazy stuff is pealing off like second skin! Check it out - it is very durable and stout, but not bonded to the body very well. I may well be able to peal off the entire coat in ONE PIECE!

20140307_164630.webp


20140307_164645.webp
 
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