What would you do to “modernize” a 62?
- Thread starter pipernd
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Youd like my truck a lot man. Your LS Swap is fancier than mine, but Ive done a lot of the things you are talking about already, as my truck is my daily driver and i wanted it to be more comfortable and better suited to daily driving.
-Scheel mann seats. Im torn on these because while they are super nice. I think they are priced higher than what they are worth. They are in recaro seat pricing, and they are not as nice as recaro seats.
-led headlights. Get Holley retrobrites. end of story. worth it.
-get your steering wheel leather embroidered with some padding underneath by an upholstery shop
-the amp research slider steps are on the list for me. im not sure how much more durable they are compared to the regular sliders i have now but if they are strong im going to try em out.
-if you go wheeling, and if your head unit allows... add a front camera. Park it in the grille above the TOYOTA embelem. Its nice offroad when cresting steep hills. or parking with a steel bumper.
-imo the speedhut gauges arent worth it. They have poor backlighting (EL Lighting) and kinda ruin the vibe of the interior. The best route is to keep it as factory looking as possible, so if someone sat in your truck theyd never know it was modified. That is much more difficult than slapping a bunch of aftermarket parts in there.
-get a scangauge 2 or the fancy screen one when your swap is done.
- if you didnt put MLV under your carpet when you did sound deadening... do it
-replace the door seals and the door frame seals to the ones with the extra bulb and eliminate wind noise
- sliding cargo windows are amazing for dogs.
*The 80 series supsension and axles will kind of knock out a few things at once for you.
-fixes and modernizes your steering. Tighter ratio, less slop. and lighter. much better geometry, and no relay rods to add steering slop. Swap in the 80 series steering box during your swap. Also since you wont have leafs, you wont get steering deflection from the front shackles and leaf packs themselves anymore either.
-bigger and better brakes and also rear discs while retaining a cable actuated parking brake. Bigger bore MC with the 80 MC. you can use oem pads and rotors and it will be infinitely better than any brake upgrade you can do to your 60 axles outside of the $3K brake upgrade
-better steering angle. My 60 now turns in a much tighter circle than my wifes 100 series. Since the 80 axles add width, and you wont have leafs anymore. You can adjust your steering stops in and make your wheels turn even further than they do stock on the 80 series. (youll need to make sure you get good offset on your wheels though)
-less steering wheel slop
-full floater rear axle
-coils for significantly better ride comfort, tracking, and better flex
-the ability to fine tune your suspension height in 10mm increments between different springs and spring spacers.
-bigger birfields
-Another thing you can do is use more modern dash switches in your dash from an 80 series and various other toyotas from the 1990s. They are back lit illuminated, and have illumination LEDs when they are on. Theyll fit in your dash slots for your older 62 switches. You can get @ChaserFJ60 to print you some extra slots for the dead spot on the fj62 dash for a locker dial from an 80 series.
you can see an example here on my fj60 dash. Chase 3d printed this bezel for me
-Scheel mann seats. Im torn on these because while they are super nice. I think they are priced higher than what they are worth. They are in recaro seat pricing, and they are not as nice as recaro seats.
-led headlights. Get Holley retrobrites. end of story. worth it.
-get your steering wheel leather embroidered with some padding underneath by an upholstery shop
-the amp research slider steps are on the list for me. im not sure how much more durable they are compared to the regular sliders i have now but if they are strong im going to try em out.
-if you go wheeling, and if your head unit allows... add a front camera. Park it in the grille above the TOYOTA embelem. Its nice offroad when cresting steep hills. or parking with a steel bumper.
-imo the speedhut gauges arent worth it. They have poor backlighting (EL Lighting) and kinda ruin the vibe of the interior. The best route is to keep it as factory looking as possible, so if someone sat in your truck theyd never know it was modified. That is much more difficult than slapping a bunch of aftermarket parts in there.
-get a scangauge 2 or the fancy screen one when your swap is done.
- if you didnt put MLV under your carpet when you did sound deadening... do it
-replace the door seals and the door frame seals to the ones with the extra bulb and eliminate wind noise
- sliding cargo windows are amazing for dogs.
*The 80 series supsension and axles will kind of knock out a few things at once for you.
-fixes and modernizes your steering. Tighter ratio, less slop. and lighter. much better geometry, and no relay rods to add steering slop. Swap in the 80 series steering box during your swap. Also since you wont have leafs, you wont get steering deflection from the front shackles and leaf packs themselves anymore either.
-bigger and better brakes and also rear discs while retaining a cable actuated parking brake. Bigger bore MC with the 80 MC. you can use oem pads and rotors and it will be infinitely better than any brake upgrade you can do to your 60 axles outside of the $3K brake upgrade
-better steering angle. My 60 now turns in a much tighter circle than my wifes 100 series. Since the 80 axles add width, and you wont have leafs anymore. You can adjust your steering stops in and make your wheels turn even further than they do stock on the 80 series. (youll need to make sure you get good offset on your wheels though)
-less steering wheel slop
-full floater rear axle
-coils for significantly better ride comfort, tracking, and better flex
-the ability to fine tune your suspension height in 10mm increments between different springs and spring spacers.
-bigger birfields
-Another thing you can do is use more modern dash switches in your dash from an 80 series and various other toyotas from the 1990s. They are back lit illuminated, and have illumination LEDs when they are on. Theyll fit in your dash slots for your older 62 switches. You can get @ChaserFJ60 to print you some extra slots for the dead spot on the fj62 dash for a locker dial from an 80 series.
you can see an example here on my fj60 dash. Chase 3d printed this bezel for me
Last edited:
This dash looks brand new.
[/QUOTE]
Thanks man! thats all @ChaserFJ60. he 3d printed the bezel for me.
What ikamper model are you running? Fits the gamiviti perfectly!speak for yourself dude, my coil conversion was the best thing ive ever done to my 60. It rides VERY well. Like drive with one finger at 100mph well. I do not feel small bumps at all anymore, I jump railroad tracks at 45 or so mph on the way to work pretty regularly and while im not getting huge air or anything... i am leaving the ground, and mash speed humps at 50 without breaking a sweat. The way my suspension is set up, the faster i hit bumps, the less bumpy they are. Also, now that i have front and rear sway bars, i can stay right up on cars on cloverleaf on and off ramps with very little body roll. Offroad, i normally remove the front sway bar and both axles flex at least twice as much as they did with the leafs. I have many photos of my 60 where the front is flexed and the tire is completely off the ground because the leaf setup was past the limits of the flex. Now, the limit of my flex is my tire into my fender because i havent extended my bump stops. On leafs i didnt have bump stops at all
This was a regular occurance on leafs.
The @TRAIL TAILOR kit made the project super easy too. The coil swap paired with some well tuned adjustable shocks is money.
its the skycamp 2.0. I was able to get it when they released the 3.0 for less than half cost haha. Its the same dimensions as the 3.0. I got this specific tent because it matched the dimensions of the gamiviti. They work like perfectly together if you have the flat rack
Hell yeah, you scored for sure! They're not cheap! Been eyeing the gamiviti rack for a bit as the likely next purchase for my 62, and coincidentally an ikamper at some point as well. Thanks man.
sure thing dude. I always recommend the gamiviti rack because its made of powdercoated steel... so you can stick magnets to it. Every other rack is aluminum. we stick battery powered magnetic lights to the towers when we camp, and string lights using magnets, as well as my gmrs radio antenna is just stuck to it with a magnet. Works really well
- Thread starter
- #29
Haha, you’re to blame for my choice in engine!Youd like my truck a lot man. Your LS Swap is fancier than mine, but Ive done a lot of the things you are talking about already, as my truck is my daily driver and i wanted it to be more comfortable and better suited to daily driving.
-Scheel mann seats. Im torn on these because while they are super nice. I think they are priced higher than what they are worth. They are in recaro seat pricing, and they are not as nice as recaro seats.
-led headlights. Get Holley retrobrites. end of story. worth it.
-get your steering wheel leather embroidered with some padding underneath by an upholstery shop
-the amp research slider steps are on the list for me. im not sure how much more durable they are compared to the regular sliders i have now but if they are strong im going to try em out.
-if you go wheeling, and if your head unit allows... add a front camera. Park it in the grille above the TOYOTA embelem. Its nice offroad when cresting steep hills. or parking with a steel bumper.
-imo the speedhut gauges arent worth it. They have poor backlighting (EL Lighting) and kinda ruin the vibe of the interior. The best route is to keep it as factory looking as possible, so if someone sat in your truck theyd never know it was modified. That is much more difficult than slapping a bunch of aftermarket parts in there.
-get a scangauge 2 or the fancy screen one when your swap is done.
- if you didnt put MLV under your carpet when you did sound deadening... do it
-replace the door seals and the door frame seals to the ones with the extra bulb and eliminate wind noise
- sliding cargo windows are amazing for dogs.
*The 80 series supsension and axles will kind of knock out a few things at once for you.
-fixes and modernizes your steering. Tighter ratio, less slop. and lighter. much better geometry, and no relay rods to add steering slop. Swap in the 80 series steering box during your swap. Also since you wont have leafs, you wont get steering deflection from the front shackles and leaf packs themselves anymore either.
-bigger and better brakes and also rear discs while retaining a cable actuated parking brake. Bigger bore MC with the 80 MC. you can use oem pads and rotors and it will be infinitely better than any brake upgrade you can do to your 60 axles outside of the $3K brake upgrade
-better steering angle. My 60 now turns in a much tighter circle than my wifes 100 series. Since the 80 axles add width, and you wont have leafs anymore. You can adjust your steering stops in and make your wheels turn even further than they do stock on the 80 series. (youll need to make sure you get good offset on your wheels though)
-less steering wheel slop
-full floater rear axle
-coils for significantly better ride comfort, tracking, and better flex
-the ability to fine tune your suspension height in 10mm increments between different springs and spring spacers.
-bigger birfields
-Another thing you can do is use more modern dash switches in your dash from an 80 series and various other toyotas from the 1990s. They are back lit illuminated, and have illumination LEDs when they are on. Theyll fit in your dash slots for your older 62 switches. You can get @ChaserFJ60 to print you some extra slots for the dead spot on the fj62 dash for a locker dial from an 80 series.
you can see an example here on my fj60 dash. Chase 3d printed this bezel for me
Thanks, these are great ideas.
I agree on the Scheel-Mann seats, I just can’t get my arms around $4K/seat installed when I could do the front heated and bench seat in leather for $3250. Headlights and steering wheel are already set.
Interesting take on the SpeedHut gauges. I’ve read where some swear by them and think they’re awesome while others don’t like the change the dash. They’re custom so I think I’m all in there though!
with respect to the suspension, I think I’m going to drive it and then see what’s up from there. I’m guessing the 80’s suspension project is equal (or close to) the swap? I only owned the truck (sorry, “wagon”) for 6 weeks or so before it went in for surgery. now 4 months later I’m seeing light at the end of the tunnel and can’t wait to drive it again!
haha heck yeah man. The LS Swap is so good in these trucks!Haha, you’re to blame for my choice in engine!
Thanks, these are great ideas.
I agree on the Scheel-Mann seats, I just can’t get my arms around $4K/seat installed when I could do the front heated and bench seat in leather for $3250. Headlights and steering wheel are already set.
Interesting take on the SpeedHut gauges. I’ve read where some swear by them and think they’re awesome while others don’t like the change the dash. They’re custom so I think I’m all in there though!
with respect to the suspension, I think I’m going to drive it and then see what’s up from there. I’m guessing the 80’s suspension project is equal (or close to) the swap? I only owned the truck (sorry, “wagon”) for 6 weeks or so before it went in for surgery. now 4 months later I’m seeing light at the end of the tunnel and can’t wait to drive it again!
Id definitely drive it first to see how you feel. The 80 axle swap is a big financial undertaking. To get the most out of the leaf setup, i would do these things before you even drive it:
- replace your leaf spring bushings, with new ones
-replace all tie rod ends and relay rods. Adjust your relay rods in all the way then back out until you can get the cotter pin in before installing.
-adjust your steering box in to FSM Specs
-use a C clamp on the little clamps that hold your leaf springs together laterally and make sure they are nice and tight.
-make sure your wheel bearings have good preload
-35-40 psi in your tires
Thats about all you can do to get the best steering out of the60 series leaf setup.
As far as the gauges go, try and see if you can actually see some EL Lighting gauges at night time. Its an indirect light and is pretty dim compared to normal gauge clusters in vehicles. Ive seen them in s13s and they are always dim so i didnt go that route. Your stock gauges are really easy to get to work with the LS Swap.. with the temp gauge, fuel gauge, oil pressure gauge, speedometer, and volt meter not needing any wiring change at all. While the GPS speedo is nice, you can pretty easily correct your mechanical speedo with differential gearing, or a speedometer correction gear box. I kind of got lucky with my truck because with the 4.11s in the 80 axles my speedometer is pretty much dead on with my 34 inch tires.
you can pull exact digital oil pressure/water temp/volts/trans temp/mph/avg fuel economy/etc from the scangauge i mentioned in the last post since you are adding obd2 with the ls swap. It will pull it all from the GM computer
I'll second getting a Scangauge - I've got one in my 60 and it's been awesome. I just attached it to the windshield with their windshield mount.
FWIW I'm running OME Heavy + springs front and rear on my truck and it rides really nicely with the front & rear bumpers, and handles very well since the springs are pretty stiff. You will get better articulation with the coils sure, but for my uses, it's just not worth the cost.
FWIW I'm running OME Heavy + springs front and rear on my truck and it rides really nicely with the front & rear bumpers, and handles very well since the springs are pretty stiff. You will get better articulation with the coils sure, but for my uses, it's just not worth the cost.
- Thread starter
- #32
Thanks, I’ll pass this along to my guy! He’s on Mud and I told him to jump in but I haven’t seen him comment yet.
As for the gauges, luckily I got white background which, per my research (after I bought them mind you!) is much easier to see than a dark background so hopefully I won’t run into visibility issues w/ them bc they’re custom and, I assume, not easy to return! They do look cool though and I’ve read they’re easy to install and mate to the swap.
I’m still trying to decide on seats at this point honestly. Mine are in great shape and were recently reupholstered but I hate having to cover them w/ the dogs. Much prefer a solid leather durable and easily cleaned (and heated!)
I’m also looking for the sliding cargo windows. I love that idea.
Thanks for the thoughtful responses and ideas!
- Thread starter
- #33
Love the humble brag on your speed!!! 95mph??
ah i didnt realize you had already bought them. run em and see how you like them!
I agree with @Beams37, the original seats dont compare to some good aftermarket seats. The recaros are worth a hard look. I sat in this dudes Defender 90 with some recaro ergomeds and they made my scheel mann seats feel like corbeaus
- Thread starter
- #37
Figured I’d update this 6mos later. . .
My swap is in and done. Still need to get it tuned but it’s amazing the difference a modern LS/6L80 makes.
I’ve also fell victim to mission creep. . . To wit: new Scheel-Mann heated front seats (amazing as long as you don’t look at the receipt); re-upholstered rear bench seat to match front seats (I’d like to do the door cards and dash at some point but. . .$$); AMP automatic steps (my wife and daughters can now comfortably get in and out of the truck w/o a step stool!) which are awesome; Speedhut gauges (no more guessing at my speed and I can get accurate mileage); KO3 AT tires; FJ80 steering box (this was partly out of necessity as my old box was leaking badly); 4-runner brake upgrade in the front (also necessity as I had a hairy situation where my front brakes began dragging on a major highway and, well, it could’ve been very bad but for a fire extinguisher!); and some other smaller odds and ends like 4 runner wiper upgrade and some Thule roof cross bars for my Thule box.
At this point I’m either almost out of ideas or out of money. . .either way it’s time for a break and to enjoy driving it again!
My swap is in and done. Still need to get it tuned but it’s amazing the difference a modern LS/6L80 makes.
I’ve also fell victim to mission creep. . . To wit: new Scheel-Mann heated front seats (amazing as long as you don’t look at the receipt); re-upholstered rear bench seat to match front seats (I’d like to do the door cards and dash at some point but. . .$$); AMP automatic steps (my wife and daughters can now comfortably get in and out of the truck w/o a step stool!) which are awesome; Speedhut gauges (no more guessing at my speed and I can get accurate mileage); KO3 AT tires; FJ80 steering box (this was partly out of necessity as my old box was leaking badly); 4-runner brake upgrade in the front (also necessity as I had a hairy situation where my front brakes began dragging on a major highway and, well, it could’ve been very bad but for a fire extinguisher!); and some other smaller odds and ends like 4 runner wiper upgrade and some Thule roof cross bars for my Thule box.
At this point I’m either almost out of ideas or out of money. . .either way it’s time for a break and to enjoy driving it again!
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I will chime in and say I think the 80-series suspension swap is over rated. Now I am not knocking it at all either except when you plug it’s numbers into a link calculator and see the results.
Any ways, you can most definitely dial in leaves to work extremely well. Especially with things like the parabolics available now or even just customizing your own leaf packs. Meaning, adding or removing leaves from say an OME kit to suit your desired suspension and ride.
I absolutely dialed in my FJ60 I had 15yrs ago suspension wise. Best riding leaf sprung truck I have ever been in. Custom assembled the leaf packs, cut perches off the housings to set pinion angles at desired lift. Cut and turned the front axle even though it was still SuA and set caster at 4.5*. Fit FJ62 sway bars front and rear. Installed real nice shocks and custom fit a nice steering damper. Oh ya high steer too to keep the drag link absolutely flat. Yup high steer on SuA and yes I dropped bumps too to stop up travel problems. Still flexed a lot more than a 80, especially up front. The finished result = absolutely awesome!!
Cheers
Any ways, you can most definitely dial in leaves to work extremely well. Especially with things like the parabolics available now or even just customizing your own leaf packs. Meaning, adding or removing leaves from say an OME kit to suit your desired suspension and ride.
I absolutely dialed in my FJ60 I had 15yrs ago suspension wise. Best riding leaf sprung truck I have ever been in. Custom assembled the leaf packs, cut perches off the housings to set pinion angles at desired lift. Cut and turned the front axle even though it was still SuA and set caster at 4.5*. Fit FJ62 sway bars front and rear. Installed real nice shocks and custom fit a nice steering damper. Oh ya high steer too to keep the drag link absolutely flat. Yup high steer on SuA and yes I dropped bumps too to stop up travel problems. Still flexed a lot more than a 80, especially up front. The finished result = absolutely awesome!!
Cheers
- Thread starter
- #40
I’ll grab some tomorrow and post. Took a bit of fab work that was well above my pay grade but they turned out awesome.