Finally starting the Baja 45 project! Little background. After years of looking for the right one I bought a 63 FJ45 SWB from a guy in Sacramento. I had big ideas from the get go but I was not sure what way to take this little truck. I knew what I was going to be using the rig for and that it had to be very dependable, store a fair amount of gear and be fun to drive. My original thought was 5.3 Chevy, 4L60E, Atlas. To be honest I have done a fair amount of fuel injected conversions and wanted a new challenge. Why not keep it Toyota? Not a week after this revelation a buddy of mine wrecked his 98 Taco with a 3.4 and a stick. I took this as a sign and bought the truck from the insurance a couple days later.
This truck will be taking my Girlfriend (Kelly) and I on many camping trips, and the trip it is really being built for, spending at least a month at a time on the Baja. Plus She loves Toyotas and would love to have something fun to drive in the summer.
Here are some pictures of the 45 and the Taco.
Kelly likes to come up and tinker once in a while so I put her to work.
We will set the perches once I set it back under the car.
That should be about it for the flipping part. Pretty simple, little labor intensive but easy. Next up is 5.29's, locker and Marlin highsteer.
MAN!!!!!!!!!!
Now that is a GREAT FUCKING IDEA welding the housing in place to do the turn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brilliant man!
Ill have to keep that in mind!
So with the housing flip, you had to build the new cover because the ring gear is on a different side? Just making sure that I follow that. If I dont have a pic immediately in front of me to visualize, then Im screwed!
NICE WORK !!Justin , good to see your makin progress ,that turned out nice...:grinpimp: WOW!! Kelly's got some gun's good luck with fire season it has started here too
The award for the 100 year players is on this coming Saturday in Colorado Springs. Kelly is the female host for a baseball/softball portion with male host San Francisco Giants pitcher Sergio Romo No Big Deal
Pretty much got it back to roller status today. Still messing around with the front axle fine tuning caster and pinion angle but close to done. This time of year is busy busy for me. I only get to work on it for about 2 days a month for July, August, Sep but I am doing what I can.
I like the Dave gore idea of the short side tube lengthen but I wanted to keep it stock FJ60 width. Outboarding is not an option on this rig. I figured this thing is all cut up anyway may as well give it a shot and notch the housing. I used a modified Ruffstuff perch. Notched the 3rd about 1/2" still have about 1/2" of flange for sealing it. I got the housing 1/16" from being perfectly centered past that you are to far into the 3rd member to get a seal.
Here it is all mocked up.
Well it took lots of measuring, grinding, testing, and back and forth but got her dead nuts centered and no welded nuts or goofy mounts. Here is the finished product minus welding. Sitting back on jack stands.
Also got the marlin High steer and FJ60 box rocking now.
I want some 37" Krawlers if any one has some used ones they may be selling? Blue Label or course.
Well its out of luck that this fits! I have been thinking about the exhaust from the get but with so many other things to make fit/work I thought I can get the exhaust later. Well the factory crossover works, I may have to trim the flange a 1/8" but its gonna work just fine!
The Tcase is not offset any longer so the cross member is in the way. I was going to cut the stock one out and just use some DOM but decided to try this.
Cut the stock one at lengths that once removed and flipped around it would be centered. Once I had it where I wanted it I tacked it in place and sleeved it from the outside in with 2" tube.
It seems like one area that needs some beefing up on this chassis is the rear spring hangers. Not that this rig is going to see hard trail use but some insurance in these areas is a good stroke of business.
Kelly comes up to the shop and she gets put to work. Not many wilderness rangers are into rockcrawlers and fourwheeling First we built a plate for the inside of the frame. This is a notched piece off 5"x3" angle.
The exhaust is all but done. I just bought some bends from Columbia River, 150$ exhaust including the muffler and bungs for the Toyota O2 Sensors. You will notice I cut them out of the old Tacoma pipe:shaking:
I have been trying to do this on the low budget side of things lately.
Other pics are of the little bumper I made with incorporated frame plating.
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