Box Rocket 1995 FZJ80 Build

Need some pics please

 

I've been on an LC100 kick for a while now, but I didn't know they came in groovy purple. That makes me think a little harder.

 

Still making tweaks for fitting the 37's while trying to keep flares etc intact. I started to address the bumpstops this weekend. Different suspension setups might need a slightly different solution but this will work well for the 3" Slinky suspension. Just to review, a 3" Slinky kit with 35's is an excellent combination and doesn't require a few extra mods that are necessary to run 37's. With 35's, no front bumpstop modification is necessary. With 37's, you want to have an additional 1" of bumpstop. That could be just adding a spacer to the stock inside the coil bumpstop, but there's an easier solution that doesn't require removal of the coil. The Slinky kit already comes with a 1" taller bumpstop for the rear (it measures 3.5") that is used with 35's. I got another pair of these bumpstops from Kevin at Endless Horizon Outfitters and it was a simple bolt-on bumpstop to the front frame. These add the necessary additional 1" needed to keep 37's for jamming into the wheel arches, but still maximize travel.

Here's the taller bumpstop.
Slinky Parts by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bolted in place using the factory threaded holes on the frame. Note: I think '93-'94 US spec 80s have the holes but not the captured nuts in this location. the '95 and later trucks should have captured nuts. I haven't verified this 100% but this appears to be the case, so if someone with an earlier model wanted to use these bumpstops, a captured nut would need to be welded in or the bumpstop could be attached with two short welds.
Slinky Parts by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

3.5" total height.
Slinky Parts by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

I have had some LCP swaybar disconnect brackets installed in this same spot and I had to remove them in order to use these bumpstops. I've found that with the Slinky kit there is very little difference in wheel travel with or without the swaybar attached. But I've still liked having the brackets. One example of why they've been helpful even if I don't regularly disconnect the swaybar, is while on a trip this past summer, the swaybar bushings at the axle came apart and fell out, leaving the swaybar eye clanking around on the pin. It was nice to disconnect the swaybar and pin it up purely for the sake of not having to listen to the noise, but also so I didn't damage the eyes or the pins with no bushing in place.
I plan to modify the brackets so that I can continue to have the option of disconnecting the swaybar.

 

The other swaybar related thing I tackled this weekend was to replace the front swaybar spacers. I have been running a set of spacers that were on my last 80 with the OME kit. When I did the Slinky kit on my current truck it wasn't exactly purchased as the standard kit and I didn't get the f/r swaybar spacers since I already had them. The old front spacers were only 1.5" tall. They worked fine with my OME kit, but with the Slinky kit they have resulted in some contact with my DC front driveshaft at full droop. So I picked up a set of the spacers that are part of the Slinky kit to replace my old ones.

Old vs new.
Slinky Parts by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

where the swaybar has contacted the driveshaft. Not a big deal since it's just the dust cap but a good thing to take care of.
Slinky Parts by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Slinky Parts by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

 

OK last piece of the puzzle regarding bumpstops. I got a full set of bumpstops from Timbren. I've heard good feedback from @woody and others who have Timbrens and since woody also has the Slinky suspension I was particularly interested in his opinion of them. He's a fan, so I got some to address the rear, but was also sent a pair for the front if I want to try them. Here's what I got from Timbren.
Slinky Parts by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

The short ones are the fronts. They would need to have the bracket trimmed a little so that they don't contact the coil during compression. But when compressed they should be the same height as the Slinky bumpstops I just installed so if I decide to use these they should work fairly easily.
Front:
Slinky Parts by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

The rears are another story. I don't know how Timbren is designing these for the rear with that massive bracket. Even with a 6" lift these would be too tall. But at least its a simple cut and weld to shorten the brackets. These also would need to be trimmed to not contact the spring and tire in the rear but I can get these set to add the additional 1" to the rear for the 37's. My initial calculations end up with a bracket that's roughly 1.5" tall. I'll post an update when I get them modified and proper fitment is confirmed.
Rear:
Slinky Parts by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

 

After the bumpstops are sorted, the last step will be to relocate the front axle ~1.5" forward. I plan to do this using the method Darren McRae has been using in Australia for some time now with the Slinky kits and factory radius arms. New plates are welded in to the frame bracket for the radius arms and new holes drilled farther forward. These will give better tire clearance at the firewall. Don't want to move it to far or there are clearance issues with the front panhard.
RadiusArmPlates by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

 

Once you've completed that, we're gonna do a trade, right?

You keep putting this off....and I feel bad (a little) because you're getting a stock 3rd gen runner....

 

I'm afraid I work really slow so this could take a while before I'm ready for the trade.

 

Saturday was spent doing my front axle relocation to improve tire/firewall clearance. Not a terrible job but maybe a bit slow because of my mostly basic tool set. EHO did not have any of the bracket plates on hand so I made my own from some 3/16 plate I had on hand.

Tools needed:
Angle Grinder with cutoff wheel to cut the plates.
18mm drill bit to drill the plates and frame brackets
22mm, 24mm sockets for the radius arm bolts.
Jackstands.
Hammer/drift to knock bolts out if they don't just slide out.
Antisieze for the bolts
Welder.


Moved the axle 30mm forward (~1.25"). Drove it around town Saturday night, and 200 miles on the highway yesterday. No change in driving behavior (as expected) but an improvement in tire clearance. This is a worth while mod to help fit larger tires (37s or larger) to minimize the amount of fender/flare trimming. There is still a bit of trimming but nothing extreme so far. Still need to do a full stuff flex test but I think I'm just about there with proper 37"tire fitment with the 3" Slinky kit.
Axle relocation by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Axle relocation by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Axle relocation by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Axle relocation by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Axle relocation by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Axle relocation by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Axle relocation by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

It was getting late and I still had a date with my wife so I didn't take additional pics of the welding process and only snapped one pic after it was all buttoned up. Fresh paint makes my welds look worse than they actually were, oh well.
Axle relocation by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Coils are nice and straight now instead of the slight curve to the rear that you get with stock radius arms on a lifted 80.

 

Here's a bit more info as I find my way through the rabbit hole. Used the ramp at a local shop to check for tire clearance and get better bumpstop measurements. First off, the truck will go quite a bit farther up the ramp but I stopped where the tires were making contact so I can see where I may need to do a bit more trimming or spacing of the bumpstops.

The rear tires seem to be stuffing pretty well for the most part. As a reminder I have longer lower links (11mm) and 1.5" wheel spacers installed. The rear axle is centered well at ride height but because of longer lower links the tire moves to the rear as the suspension compresses. Even with the spacers it looks like it's going to tuck inside the wheel arch. I will still trim a bit of the flare, especially at the rear of the wheel arch. I think I will also trim a bit of the fender lip at the top of the wheel arch and some of the flare.
Bumpstops by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bumpstops by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

As mentioned the suspension will still compress farther in the rear, but at this point on the ramp (front tires were rubbing) there was ~4" of space between the frame bumpstop and the rear axle. My best guess at this point until I can trim up the front a bit is that a 5.5" rear bumpstop should be about right. We'll see how close my guess is at the next test.
Bumpstop measurements by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bumpstop measurements by Adam Tolman, on Flickr


The front is a little different story. The axle relocation mod looks to be very effective in improving tire clearance at the firewall. As the suspension compresses the arc of the radius arm pushes the tire forward for even better clearance when stuffed. However, it also causes some contact at the front of the wheel arch. I'm going to need to trim the bumper wings a little and do a little surgical hammer work to the inner fender in the front. The inside edge of the flare will get trimmed some, but I don't see anything too extreme to get this all sorted. Again, still lots of travel available in the suspension once I get the proper tire clearance.
Bumpstop measurements by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bumpstop measurements by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bumpstops by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bumpstops by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bumpstop measurements by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

More to come.

 

Made some brackets and put in an "attic rack" this past weekend.
Attic rack by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Attic rack by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Attic rack by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

 

Nice! I need to find a ramp somewhere close where I can really get a flex on to figure out what needs trimming. Having trouble getting mine to compress entirely with more mellow loading ramps locally and haven't ventured offroad yet with the snow and cold. Truck is looking good with those 37's though!

 

Thanks. There's a lot of travel left in the suspension, just gotta create the room for the tires. Don't want to add more lift. I love the height of the truck. Most guys with 37's have 4-6" of lift, I used to have almost 6" too. But I love how the truck behaves with the 3" lift and with these tires it feels great. Just a bit more "massaging" and things will be good.

 

Agreed. I always appreciate the least lift with biggest tire concept.

 

I've needed a second swingout for my rear bumper for a while and I finally got to working on it the past weekend. Using a Ruffstuff hinge kit. Spindle is in place and passes through the entire bumper, welded to the top and bottom. Main arm is done with a small bend to batch profile of the bumper. Simple pocket on the end of the new arm to fit the old arm so I don't need to add another latch. Should finish it up tomorrow.

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Don't mind the heavy layer of salt on the truck. We had a bit of snow this week and the salt trucks were out in force.
Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Not a great pic but you can kinda see the the spindle just through the bottom of the bumper.
Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

2.5" square 1/4" wall for main arm. Didn't get a pic of doing the bend, but it was just a cut through 3 sides and weld it up.
Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

"Stop" welded to the bottom of the arm to match the other arm and a pocket on the end.
Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

 

All finished up. Pretty simple setup overall to tide me over until I get a Delta bumper. Single fuel can basket (with room for a second if needed), hilift, shovel.
I replaced the gas struts on my lift gate a few weeks ago and the old ones still work well enough that I re-purposed them for the swingouts.
Bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

All done.
Bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

 

Ok look. I'm not sure I even want this thing anymore....


You better hurry up and send it to me, as I'm getting really close to changing my mind.

 

looking good Adam

 

Thanks Bob.