Soccer Mom Grocery-Getter Makeover

[Spotter's Wife]

Because the trail is really difficult between our house and the soccer field, we opted for some minor modifications to our FJ. :laughing:

We ultimately decided to go with All Pro Offroad for the makeover. We've got the front and rear suspension kit with Walker Evans 3.5" coilover adjustable reservoir shocks, rear 2" coil springs, upper and lower heavy duty rear links, rear extended brakelines, front All Pro bumper with a Warn 9.5xp winch hidden in the front bumper (billit aluminum hawse fairlead and synthetic rope are forthcoming), rear All Pro bumper (tow hitch is also forthcoming), All Pro rock sliders, Walker Evans Beadlock wheels, and 35" Pro Comp Xtreme Mud Terrains.

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.... YOU THINK THE DAD'S WILL BE JEALOUS???

[Spotter's Wife]

front and rear suspension

[Spotter's Wife]

Frank says the parts were fairly easy to install... take off the old part... bolt up the new one. Rear bumper required a bit of cutting to the existing plastic, but the instructions are pretty specific. Front bumper was easy, no cutting. Front and rear suspension only took a few hours a couple of days after work, with some mods to the body mounts in front, but not too difficult. And the rear extended brakelines were super easy... the fastest job bleeding the brakes we've ever had to do!!

[eli1]

Hey Thanks for the Pics . . . Nice looking rig . . .

[RedBullJeep]

Looks AMAZING Nicole! For some reason Frank doesn't look too happy in the 4the from the bottom photo :)

And DAYUM, you even got Bender working on it!

Congrats on a nice cruiser.

[Jason M]

Looks good but WTF are the beadlocks doin on that rig?

[Spotter's Wife]

Looks good but WTF are the beadlocks doin on that rig?

:flipoff2: (jealous dad)

[Spotter's Wife]

For some reason Frank doesn't look too happy in the 4the from the bottom photo :)

Oh... you aren't looking close enough... he's doing the whole "hang loose" thing... that would mean he's smiling! (He purposely puts on his unfriendly camera face whenever I say, "Hey Frank, smile!")

[RedBullJeep]

More on what Jason mentioned...this is a daily driver that will see a ton of street miles. That means you'll have to stay on top of your bolts and beadlocks. You need to check all the bolts weekly, plus I'd consider swapping them out annually simply due to the stresses put on them. There's a reason most beadlocks are not street legal.

[Spotter's Wife]

There's a reason most beadlocks are not street legal.

yes.. we know the concerns, and discussed the decision in depth.. and are prepared to retorque frequently. We'd rather check them often, than settle for the Walker Evans Streetlocks, though they too look good, and regret it later when we pop a bead on a trail.

We DO intend to use this rig for what it was built to do, eventually. I haven't quite admitted that verbally to Frank yet... he wants to go tear it up like RIGHT NOW... I am cautiously breaking in the 07 Cruiser (as in BRAND SPANKIN NEW)... I will cry when we scratch it.

[Mustard Dog]

Looks good.

Bender is whoring himself out all over the place these days:laughing:

[Spotter's Wife]

Bender is whoring himself out all over the place these days:laughing:

That's because we run a whore house.

[rocknbronco]

Thats a nice set up my wife would like it.

[woooody]

I like what you pulled off. Any ball park on total mods? Looks like around $6K or so? maybe 8?

[Spotter's Wife]

I like what you pulled off. Any ball park on total mods? Looks like around $6K or so? maybe 8?

Yes, you are in the right ballpark

[Spotter's Wife]

Frank took it out behind Mount Potosi last night. Says the adjustable reservoir shocks are really nice. Softened up the ride, and wash boards are great at 50 miles an hour! Says he drifted it on the back roads and was "on the beeper" (broke the VSC loose, alarm sounded!). :shaking: Even was 3 for 4 jack rabbit hunting (notice the trophy 4th pic).

[BlueTorch]

looking good. can I drive it? I would keep Bender out of the drivers seat. I saw video of him in the tough tuck contest here in Bama. LOL. Umm he likes to stunt drive a little too much.

Talk to you guys soon.

-Dan

[Spotter's Wife]

yes, you can drive anytime Dan.... but not Forest Gump:)

[FJ-Ollie]

Looks awsome...

[RedBullJeep]

That last shot is a classic! Only Frank! :dustin:

[GRMhick]

Frank took it out behind Mount Potosi last night. Says the adjustable reservoir shocks are really nice. Softened up the ride, and wash boards are great at 50 miles an hour! Says he drifted it on the back roads and was "on the beeper" (broke the VSC loose, alarm sounded!). :shaking: Even was 3 for 4 jack rabbit hunting (notice the trophy 4th pic).

Pull it into 4wd. It will kick off the VSC, and makes those high speed runs alot more fun. :grinpimp:

Maybe then you can get it up over 50 in the desert. :flipoff2:

[redcheetah]

Hey - were you in Big Bear over Memorial Day Weekend? I swear I saw you at the Adventure Center. If it was you, I took a pic or two. I was digging the rig.

[Spotter's Wife]

Hey - were you in Big Bear over Memorial Day Weekend? I swear I saw you at the Adventure Center. If it was you, I took a pic or two. I was digging the rig.

That would be a yes! We ran the John Bull trail on Sunday... nice weather, great trail for the FJ!

[GotSandH3]

Thats a sweet looking rig!! Keep the mods coming!!

[rocknbronco]

X2

[WHITE RHINO]

that spare tire is gonna get stolen heads up

[Spotter's Wife]

wheel locks :)

[Spotter's Wife]

oh yeah.. update on the FJ... about 2 weeks ago, as I slowed for a stalled car in my lane, I got rear-ended by a little old lady who said she "was trying to hit the brake!"...:crybaby2:

Her Hyundai Santa Fe was wedged between the BRAND SPANKIN' NEW BUMPER and the spare tire. The cars were locked together and we sort of crab-walked in slow-mo for about 15', and luckily I avoided side-swiping the stalled car. (That would have really pissed me off!)

The old lady's hood was trashed, and both headlights were lost.

Not too much visible damage to the FJ, but the spare tire was pushed in near the bottom so much that the rear door frame was damaged and I could not open the back door. Not even one dent on the ALL-PRO OFFROAD BUMPER, but because there were visible scratches, the insurance replaced it.

So, I've been in a rental for about 8 days, and I'm headed off this morning to get the FJ back from the shop. I'm not too happy that the back door had to be replaced, but at least no one was hurt and everyone's been cooperative.

AND... the body shop is giving me the old bumper, which we can keep for a spare :)

Sorry, I don't have pics, but most of the damage was internal and wouldn't have been too noticeable in a picture.

Cross your fingers the body shop did a good job... well, I'm off to pick it up!

[gnob]

sounds like you needed another inch or two of lift. :flipoff2:

sucks about the truck though, my wife and i just got one and so far i love it, its definately head and shoulders above the old xterra, and still made in japan.

[RockMolester]

my wife and i just got one and so far i love it, its definately head and shoulders above the old xterra, and still made in japan.

Just curious, in what ways have you found the FJ to be such an improvement over the Xterra?

[gnob]

the two biggies are horsepower and quality.
dont get me wrong the X is a good truck.
but i think the fj will be a great truck.

however not the greatest thing since sliced bread,
i am really fond of the no carpet thing, i like the sideswing rear gate as apposed to the over your head gate.
i always hated the clutch in the X as well, its grabby or something.
the fj leaves a bit to be desired in the blind spot area, and could use a bit more rear leg room. but the cargo area is significantly larger in the fj also, we did have an 01 X mid you i think the new ones are a bit bigger.

thats all i can think of for now.

[Slowerthanu]

All Pro really nailed the look on that front bumper, nice and clean. My mothers FJ is identical but stock, I'm working her on the bumpers and suspension but the dark side is strong in the form of my father.

[Spotter's Wife]

So I got the FJ back two days after my last post, you know, the post that said I was literally walking out the door to pick up the FJ from the shop... yeah... it wasn't ready as promised.

ANYWAY... I had told the body shop that I wanted the old bumper to keep as a spare, they had said "no problem". Well, about 3 days later, once they pulled the old bumper and had the new one in hand, I got a call from the shop. The guy was like "you know, all the welds broke on the old bumper, I don't think you're gonna want it back." I told him that I still wanted it, and that I would let Frank decide once we got it home if he thought it was usable.

So the day I went to pick it up, the same guy was trying to talk me out of taking the old bumper (at this point I hadn't seen the FJ or old bumper yet). He said that it was really warped, and that it was probably no use keeping it. I told him I wanted it anyway.

Well, on the flip side, he had also commented that everyone really liked the bumpers and the suspension, and that even some customers were inquiring about where to get the stuff for the setup.

So... get this... I get my car back and they load the old rear bumper into the back. I can't see anything but trail dirt all over it, so Frank and I start looking it over once we get home... ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH IT. STRAIGHT AS AN ARROW. NO WARPING, NO BROKEN OR CRACKED WELDS. NOT EVEN A DENT. They replaced it because the powder coating was scratched during the collision. I'm telling ya... that All Pro Bumper ROCKS! The body shop wanted to keep it for them! Kudos to Jon Bundrant for strength and design!

My bumper was the envy of the entire shop! :D

(p.s. anyone wanna buy a bumper?)

[eli1]

Glad You folks are back on the road. You gotta love the power of the internet. It sounds like this guy at the body shop was trying to play You and Good for You for not falling for it.

Happy 4th. :)

[powdr7]

Ya so I know Im super slow here...

Where did the pics go? I wanna see what it ended up looking like and I missed it...:D

[Spotter's Wife]

Ya so I know Im super slow here...

Where did the pics go? I wanna see what it ended up looking like and I missed it...:D

Sorry, for a week or so I had a 1 MB limit on my pics here on the PBB... after some technical difficulty and all my pics disappearing, my account was fixed and now I can repost... so gimme a sec, and I'll try to remember which pics went where... I have to repost them... long story...


EDIT: PICS ARE BACK!!

And I'll post a couple more recent ones, too!

[Spotter's Wife]

Here's an updated pic of the FJ... we took our boys to Logandale reservoir with the canoe last week. :)

[AngryPirate]

nice fj
so those remote resi shocks really let it take the whoops at 50+.. wow thats awesome

[IRUNROCKS]

so you decided to throw your walker evans coil overs in the trash yet?

[Spotter's Wife]

so you decided to throw your walker evans coil overs in the trash yet?

And why would I do that? I love em.