Make a FJ45 from a 60?

[Cruiser Nerd]

I was looking at a 60 for parts (brakes, p/s, 4sp, split transfer) to use on my FJ40 project and thought:
Why not just shorten the 40, pop it on the 60 frame, and make a swb 45? I'd have to fab frame mounts for the body and modify the firewall for the steering and brakes, but anybody know of a reason this couldn't be done?

[cruiserbrett]

A guy that works at TLC did the same sort of thing, except actually used an FJ45 cab. It is based on an FJ62 frame axles enigne and tranny, but has FJ45 body/cab and a custom boxed bed. Not sure if they have pics, but I saw it about a week ago.
Check CalRocs pictures, for Reno, I think they competed there.
-Brett

[orangefj45]

if you got enough time on your hands you can do it. your girl might get pissed!

[BJ On Roids]

a guy over here did that, it was nice


and its a significant upgrade all at once:
wider diffs
bigger drums
disc front
crossover power steering,
shorter wheelbase, and wider chassis

should be a nice truck

[Cruiser Nerd]

My wife's already pissed, so I gotta spend more time in the shop.


Yep, I was looking for the upgrades. Trying to graft all that stuff into the 40 looked like a pain. The wider chassis will be real nice for a pickup. If I can snag the 60 for under a grand I'm good to go.

[orangefj45]

sounds like just the job for ya!

my buddy simon at fault line fab in san dimas CA is building up a customers fj45 wagon right now. stock body and frame but SOA, fj60 axles, V8, SM420,.....
i'm gonna go see it next weekend; i'll try to get a few spy pics.
only bummer about the 60 axles is that you have to outboard the springs on a 40/45 frame and you're not gaining any strength, although i gusee all you'd need is a set of better birfs.

[BJ On Roids]

hey orange fj45 wagon, i never outboarded my springs when i put 60 axles in and mine is FINE

you dont HAVE to, but its probly easier

[Spyder]

FJ-60 axles kick butt, they are wider, but not to wide, have more significant weld-on trusses, 3.73 gears if u need better on road performance with an older FJ-40, the 62's have 4.10 gears for late model FJ-40's that want a better crawl ratio, the cross over power steering stock from the factory (which ive heard is slightly stronger on the 62's), some had factory cable lockers, big front discs, and ive never heard it proved but the tubes and all look alot bigger than the FJ-40 counterparts


Mitch

[Cruiser Ken]

Other FJ60 bonuses, split transfer case, with low gears available, or 203 doubler kits available. H55F bolts up to it as well. I've kicked around this same idea.

[Peabody]

I've been thinking about doing a similar thing but making it into an extended cab 45. Shorten down the hard top to match for cold/wet season. I'd love to have a 45 but the cabs are pretty damn small and they're pretty spendy most of the time. The cut down 40 would probably cost more to build and certainly have more man hours into it but an extended cab 45 could be cool if done right.

[Stupid frnch jackasS]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned a full-length cab, troopie style body, with a shorter overhang though....

What's wrong with the troopies, then ?

I am considering this, but based on an HJ61

Bye,

[Cruiser Ken]

No troopies in the US Denis.

[seapotato]

Hm guess I did this the easy way, I just bought a bj 60 and chopped it up for parts. got the h55f, split case,3b and all sorts of goodies out of it.
up here in canada, I'd way rather have a 40 or 42 frame than a 60. 60 frames are kinda scary the way they look perfect till you put your hand through them. at least with a 40 you can see what's happening, tho they rust just as quickly. ( the joys of living in rust country)
I didn't use the front axle from the 60 , mainly because I already had a rotated knucke housing that I used. but also cause it looked like a pain to put in.
but driving that 60 home(and praying it didn't break in half when I went over bumps) I kinda got the urge to make a chopped top version of a 60....maybe like a half pickup even.
but it's hard to find one with a decent frame up here that isn't brutally expensive.
I like the sound of your plans man
cheers,
ryan

[orangefj45]

hey there BJ on hemroids! to you bro!!!
i know perfectly well that you can bolt up a set of 60 axles on a 40/45 frame but seeing as how the spring perches are more than 2 inches wider on a 60 it's pretty much a mickey mouse setup!
here's the proper way to do it:

[orangefj45]

but then again you can bolt them up to the stock hangers and have people on the trail tell you: hey, check out those springs, what the hell is wrong with that suspension geometry ?!
or if you're really into changing spring bushings all the time, go for it!

[Sundance]

What I want to know is..... does anyone else have a shop floor that looks that clean?!?

[Beanz2]

Originally posted by Spyder
some had factory cable lockers

Good luck finding a 60 series with cable lockers in the US!

[Erik D_lux]

screw the shop floor. Does anybody have a frame, spring hangers and springs that clean?

[Stupid frnch jackasS]

Originally posted by Cruiser Ken
No troopies in the US Denis.

I know that. There aren't too many of them here either.
I wasn't talking about swapping on the tub from a troopie, but lengthening say a 40 body to make it longer. There is really no difference, 'cept from the length...

Since you can consider shortening the body to a pu cab, lengthening would not be an issue

The hardest part would be the polyester/fiberglass top, but it's not that hard to work with anyway.

Last point : you don't have troopies...
Perfect ! the truck would look all the more unique then

Bye,

[Cruiser Ken]

Originally posted by Erik D
screw the shop floor. Does anybody have a frame, spring hangers and springs that clean?

Yes, someone else does have a shop that clean, frame, spring hangers, and springs... Jack Rice. But now he's got some competition.

Denis: good point about custom making a troopie. I still think it would be easier to shorten a FJ40 and throw on a flat bed with drop down sides.

[orangefj45]

speaking of medusa; i have'nt seen any progress pics in a few weeks! hook us up jack!

[2car]

Originally posted by orangefj45
hey there BJ on hemroids! to you bro!!!
i know perfectly well that you can bolt up a set of 60 axles on a 40/45 frame but seeing as how the spring perches are more than 2 inches wider on a 60 it's pretty much a mickey mouse setup!
here's the proper way to do it:

The other 'proper' way to do it is to move the spring perches inboard.

[orangefj45]

kinda toughto do on the pumpkin side, unless you want the whole axle to be offset to the drive's side by a couple of inches!

[BJ On Roids]

Originally posted by orangefj45
kinda toughto do on the pumpkin side, unless you want the whole axle to be offset to the drive's side by a couple of inches!

no you dont have to, i never did and bolted to my stock hangers, and what do you mean by gay geometry?

i inboarded the hangers and the diff is perfectly under the centre of the vehicle, so you must be smokin up, but you can pass the pipe anytime old dude, cause us young uns dont know all the outboarding tricks and like to think up new stuff!!

hey props on the shop though, it definitely reminds me of jack rioce (medusa) and his frame and shop floor (by how clean it all is) you could eat off that

good looking outboarding job, and outboarding is not that bad, i guess, but i was just saying its not necessary, but in theory you should get greater leverage on your axle if you dont outboard the springs so in theory my setup could work better (in theory)
although ill admit my inner u-bolt is not a u-bot it still works)

you know it 2 car, if you do yours email me and ill send you the pics, so you know what to do

[BJ On Roids]

orangefj45, dude, i hope i dont come off like i know a lot, (or being a smartass or anything) cause i learned a lot from these pages and you guys, so dont take it the wrong way, i was sort of showing off and saying you dont need to outboard, cause i didnt, but it took me a few minutes to sit down and work out how to do it

so ive done it without outboarding and i think jason m is trying to do it without outboarding aswell, so its doable, mines the only one ive seen done without outboarding, but yeah its not impossible is all im trying to say