67 fj40 SANDcruiser project

LT · Nov 29, 2011

You're going to need to mount the center of the bolt for the coilover a 1/4" below the center line of the link. If not you'll experience the wheel barrow affect where your link will want to flip flop on both sides and will destroy your coilovers.

67sandcruiser · Nov 29, 2011

oh yea I'm planing on that. Those links will be a three tube boxed in link. i just didnt draw all that. Thats the next thing I'm doing in the program is designing the links and for proper fit up of links and towers to the shocks. Majority of the truck is finished in the program or at least what wont change, stuff like the links and exact shock placement I'm designing and building as I get to that point. It's close enough I know it won't change much.

67sandcruiser · Nov 30, 2011

I got some more gas yesterday for the welder and finished my welding for the cage that's there. I started making my toyota Sand Cruiser emblems which have come out awesome so far. forgot to snap a picture though. My Tig welding has been looking a lot better. AND i was able to laser cut all necessary pieces for the miter boxes I'm going to build!

I also bent up the radiator support bar going around the rad but I'll snap a picture after I weld it in place

Here's the miter box pieces

I know its hard to tell what I'm doing with all the pieces but when I get it together it'll be easier to see it coming together. All the holes are basically for bears, sleeves and the seals. Rings are other supports but i thought it just cool I actually have access to a laser!! hehe makes things so much nicer and cleaner for stuff like this.

Slowerthanu · Nov 30, 2011

Your fabrication looks good. I don't have an issue with the cage but I don't have a back seat in my FJ40.

Are your coilovers canted in towards the bottom in your drawing?

TPIfj40 · Nov 30, 2011

my take on the rear portion of the cage is it is to open, nothing protecting the rear pass. i think that is what everyone is saying about the rear of your cage. look how much protection driver and pass have compared to the rear pass. if you did not have a rear pass it would be fine. just my .02 keep the pics coming :smokin::smokin:

67sandcruiser said:

67sandcruiser · Nov 30, 2011

Oh ok. Well if that's all that's the issue it should be fine. If you look at the pics of the actual truck with the cage welded in where i put the rear seat in with the buckets. Those buckets would be the same height as me and I'm 6'2". with the cage there's still about 9" of empty space on each side of the rear seat to the cage. Height wise we're ok too. it may just be the program that makes it look smaller but there's plenty of room in the rear. Mind you there will only be a single seat in the rear. You can see on the cad drawings the front of the cage isn't that much wider but its 2 seats plus room for a shifter between them so actually the rear has more room around them than the front seats.

And yes the shocks lean out slightly. I thought twice about doing that but I don't see a problem with it, it's not much of a lean to want to cam over and with a 4 link will keep it from doing that anyway. i have them towards the outside to keep them as far away from the front seats as possible. You see something wrong with doing it or any potential problems with a slight outward lean?

peesalot · Nov 30, 2011

Just thinking here and the way you have the rear coilovers set will cause enormous stress on the chassis end of the lower link. IMO having them tilted out at the top is no biggie but you may wanna explore moving the mount point on the canoe rearward. I have no question that you can build a trailing arm/canoe/link that will be strong enough but that geometry shown in the pic is gonna wreak havoc on those mounts and link ends.

67sandcruiser · Dec 1, 2011

I see your point and have been thinking about that. I've seen many other vehicles close to the pivot side like that so I went with the same idea but it concerns me. It's not something I'm in love with lol. The shocks I'll be running I think from what I worked out will limit me from moving rearward. Those shocks are the 18" stroke too. I'll take another look tonight and try and re-work it a little to possibly mount the shocks on the rear side of that center cage upright. Just off the top of my head with shock sizing and what not that should be around 7.5" to the rear. Do you happen to know of a general thumb rule of percentage of the link not to pass when link mounting the shock? like say no more than 40% of the link from the T-case side with a 4000Lbs vehicle?

peesalot · Dec 1, 2011

Nope, but if I were doing it I would search pics of say Trent's canoe arms and maybe the ones JR did on Jeff's car and model my attachment point off that. I would look at alot of builds just to see where others are setting them and gauge mine based off that research. I was looking at your pic and I saw the same situation in regards to moving the upper attachment to behind the B pillar. Maybe down a little to. 18" for a link mounted unit seems tall. The idea of link mounting is to accomplish several things, create more room, lessen the amount of shock travel vs. suspension travel there by reducing the work the shock does and creating less heat. Angling the top of shock forward seems to be the common method these days. If you really intend to cycle the suspension through all of the 18" with it mounted that far up on link it translates to some super huge numbers for axle travel that you may never need.

67sandcruiser · Dec 12, 2011

Ok update for whats gone on. Not as much done as I would like bc I got a little busy plus had to re-make the frame stand. So here it is!! As for the shock placement I think I'll be moving them to the rear side of the b pillar. That makes mounting it on the lower arm at 62% to the rear instead of 38% like in the cad drawings. Less stress and leverage on the shock and the frame-link mount.

ALSO anyone know where I can get a narrowed fiberglass hood/fenders? I was just going to cut the fiberglass fenders I have and raise them for clearance but I also have the issue of being too wide at the lights. I can just limit the axle I guess but would rather just go with a narrow front clip. Pricing? Dimensions? Oh Oh and speaking of lights anyone know of a good deal for converting to hid and updating the headlight buckets?

Radiator hoop. it follows just inside the lights then out and around them and just under the hood. The stock light location will be the outside right at the second/lower bend. OH! and i stole the shocks off my dads baja for glamis new years then will buy my own later. see them in the back to the left? king pro race 16" and fox 14" both 2.5

b pillar welded in and "X" behind the driver seat.

67sandcruiser · Dec 16, 2011

Damn Heim joints are expensive!! for 16- 1"x14 heims with bungs and nuts costs me $720!! but thats actually cheap. Rated at 73,000 lbs so still a good heim, the same heim on the market about 60 i got them for 25. EBAY! For the bungs check out ballistic fabrication. decent pricing for bungs and what not. Got my chromoly today, 1.75 x .12 tubing for upper links and for lower supports plus .125 chromoly sheet to build the rest of the canoe links off the tubing. ill post pics of the canoes soon of the design. all together for chromoly...$517. I'm glad i love fabrication, design and off roading the shit out of what i build bc this crap is expensive!

Wilson · Dec 16, 2011

Hopefully the ballistic stuff ships..... Search around on here. Trent fab has Lexan hoods. I am running one and like it, nice and light! I think roundeyes.com will have bucket/ lens assemblies that will accept a hid retrofit. I'm running a product from a company that was called dirtlights.com, it's a glass lens assembly with a 55w h4 bulb for lo beam and 35w hid for hi. It's all plug and play, but cost almost $800. The company and product are not around anymore.

67sandcruiser · Dec 16, 2011

is that the guys from hole shot off road for the hood? from what i read trent is gone and josh is there but hard to get a hold of. tried calling nobody answers or calls back. yea round eye were the only ones i found i think ill go for those. hid i can get cheap i have a hook up for those. the hood i think ill end up just cutting my fiberglass and re fiberglassing the fenders in higher that way i can keep it a tilt front end one piece.

Wilson · Dec 17, 2011

Trent fabrication is a vendor on this board... Trentfabrication.com

67sandcruiser · Dec 19, 2011

This weekends update, majority of the cage finished and shock tower locations started. Tonight ill finish the cage and rear shock towers. This truck may not be a race proven design, but it's what I wanted it to be and damn do I love doing this!! Hey it's only my first truck. Already have a list of other future projects and would like to get as much experience as I can bc my goal is to start a company doing this. It's always been my dream and a huge reason why I'm going to college for engineering and design. Dreamin big or probable route to follow? This is the only reason I posted this build, I would like to see what other builders/offroaders have to say and if its a good investment to follow or stick to it being a hobby or side jobs.

rear view

actual height and placement of driver seat

over the rear passengers head I think I am going to do a double triangle and bar up and over. So profile shot the rear top of the cage will be square instead of the 45* chamfer. still debating that bc I don't do much rock crawling, it'll mainly be fast desert and glamis dunes. Nay or Yay on bar over the head? There's protection as it is and I like the look, added bar is added protection directly over head but I won't like that look.

jedrattle · Dec 19, 2011

I say protection first, style second! The worst off road accidents I have ever seen have been at Glamis. I have off roading for 30+ years(yes I'm old! :flipoff2

Besides how would you feel if something went wrong and your rear passenger got hurt because you didn't like how the cage looked with the extra tubes for protection! People lose friends and family everyday to crap like that!

jedrattle · Dec 19, 2011

Good luck with doing it as a business. A ton of competion out there! I like it better, doing it as a side deal because I can pick and choose what job I want to do. Not because bills are due and I gotta eat. For me, after a while it becomes a job and not something I enjoy! Lol

67sandcruiser · Dec 21, 2011

Haha!! Found some old pics of my truck. The ones at glamis was just before we put the fiberglass on it. I think it was just before it was givin to me by my dad too, not sure. You can see the original cage has the same double bend chamfer in the rear. partly why i have it in the new cage, try to keep at least a little of the old feel of my childhood truck

67sandcruiser · Dec 22, 2011

Majority of the cage is now done, have gusseting to do but thats no biggy right now. I think tonight I'll start building seat mounts. in the pic i set up where i want my seats to be, i might go an inch higher for better feel.

E WHEELER · Dec 22, 2011

Great progress, look forward to following this build. Stoked with all the 40 builds going on right now!

67 fj40 SANDcruiser project

LT

67sandcruiser

67sandcruiser

Slowerthanu

TPIfj40

67sandcruiser

peesalot

67sandcruiser

peesalot

67sandcruiser

67sandcruiser

Wilson

67sandcruiser

Wilson

67sandcruiser

jedrattle

jedrattle

67sandcruiser

67sandcruiser

E WHEELER

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