FJ40 I call Shipwreck

[Deaf Bob]

I'm thinking the 1 1/4 all thread we use for hood pins ran thru the side gears and plates on the ends with nuts to keep it square..
It's not like it will see highway speeds on asphalt..

[SuperBuickGuy]

well, now that rescue rig is gone - now I can spend for the expensive bits.. the tires and wheels... though, I'm going to Oregon to buy, tax on those tires and wheels would be deadly.

[SuperBuickGuy]

dammit, just what I thought... I got a great deal on tires and wheels - but they're not 38s, they're 36s... I guess I'll call them rollers - they're the right wheel dimensions (16.5 x 10) but I'm going to run 38s or even 39.5s ...

[SuperBuickGuy]

well, work accomplished
while I'm waiting for another carrier (an open carrier), I figured I'd pull apart the limited slip that came with the dana 60 and see its condition... rebuildable...


there's the spartan locker waiting for its new housing


so these tiny tires will be the rollers (though I will, I suppose be forced to use them)... I got them for cheap because the guy thought he had radials... uh, no. 36x12.5 16.5 on 8" rims... but they are basically brand new



much trimming would need to occur to put these where the stock axle is located







anyway, the rest of my week is going to be doing less fun stuff that shop stuff.... cpr, etc....

[SuperBuickGuy]

so those were 36s, welcome to the 38s






that's the major pieces (other than the narrowed front end, but I'll start on the suspension next

[Loren]

Trade'ja a pair of 29-18.50 15's for your Buick on the 35s...

[SuperBuickGuy]

I have something a bit bigger for the Buick


but - I traded the 36s for the 38s.

the guy I traded to has a 70 Chevy pickup that couldn't fit the 38s... tires have maybe 300 miles on them (as did the tires I traded to him)...

[SuperBuickGuy]

back to opinions... first... look at both of these ICON builds


in one, the rear wheel is forward, the other, the wheel is back. I propose doing both - opening up the rear fender and extending the rear section 3 1/2" to both clear the new tires and still have a traditional-looking FJ40. Front axle is moving forward 2" or so (I want the tightest turning radius, so to clear the 38s, the front needs to move forward a bit).
but the question. Broncos pull off the same elevation of rear wheel well and the front wheel well - so do I simply move the rear back 3 1/2" and weld in a filler or do I do a bit more work and raise the wheel well thus keeping the proportion?
obviously this requires sheet metal work, and I think I can fake knowing what I'm doing, but that proportion is just being a bugger to visualize.

[Loren]

IMHO, bigger wheelwell openings rarely hurt. You can mock it up with cardboard sheet painted black or "make" a whole panel with the opening in black and leave it for a couple days to ponder. I never get that kinda thing right at the first thought, I have to make something up that I can come back to later w/ a fresh mind. Did a Bronco in steel that way once, looked a lot better afterward.

[STINEY]

I'm digging the Jeep int the middle!

Both of those icon builds look weird to me. The first looks like a scrambler, and the second looks hacked in proportion. Not sure I am following what you propose but it sounds like you want to raise the stock opening so the top of the opening lines up with the front, then stretch the opening to make it longer?

If so, that sounds like a cosmetically pleasing plan to me. Or you could just comp-cut it (yuck!).

[SuperBuickGuy]

so pictures of simply putting bigger flares



on an FJ40

[SuperBuickGuy]

you've convinced me, this is what I'm getting

[SuperBuickGuy]

out with the old


mockup






so the black area is what I'm thinking I'll cut out once I get the 4" flares...

[hauen]

Looks good to me.

[STINEY]

Looks pretty right to me too. You have me actually checking out FJs now.....saw a broken down one at the car wash last week, thought about leaving a note on the windshield.....drat you SuperBuickGuy and your evil powers!