Would anyone be interested in my doing a build thread of this?
I'm using a set of Toyota FJ60 axles modified to position the diffs in the same location as the LR diffs, and the WMS to WMS 59" instead of LR 55", might go 54" on rear.
I'm on the Big Island HI, and getting LR axle upgrade parts is expensive, plus I already have a set of FJ60 axles and diffs. I've got all the brackets and flanges cut off and cleaned up, ready to have the ends machined to make make them the correct width including a 4Plus housing sleeve and accept the knuckle balls and disc brake flanges. The pinion and castor angles will be set when welding on the Ruffstuff spring perches.
The front gets RCV 30 spline chromoly axles/CVs and chromoly hub gears.
FJ60 vented rotors, Toyota V6 Mini Truck calipers (4- 42mm pistons),
Sixshooter knuckles & ARP studs.
Ruffstuff knuckle ball gussets, spring perches, Mini Truck truss (modified to fit), shock mounts, rear diff cover (cut off sheet metal cover, welding on extra layer to flange, drilling and tapping to accept Ruffstuff diff cover).
Marlin 25mm steering pin upgrade kit.
4x4 Labs high steer from behind & GM 1 ton tie rod ends.
Rebuilt FJ60 steering box, with crush tubes and extra plating on frame rails for steering box. Aisin hubs. Probably forgetting something. Lol
The rear axle, gets RCV 30 spline chromoly axles with drive flanges pressed on.
Ruffstuff disc brake-FF flange, spring perches, mini truck truss, shock mounts.
LC front spindles and hubs, LC vented rotors, FJ60 Calibers (2- 42mm & 2-38mm) pistons. Outer part of housing sleeved (more on that later).
LC diffs, driveshafts get LC flange to diffs and LR flange to TC.
Land Cruiser, 5.5x16 split rims widened to 6.5" & 255/85-16 tires.
This gives strong set of axles, with 4" wider WMS to WMS, 4 wheel disc brakes, that are relatively inexpensive and readily available parts, and I have most of the components. Other than axles, diffs & steering everything will be Land Rover.
It's a 72' SIII SWB that is getting a new Series IIA type bulkhead from West Lakes All Wheel Drive, he is putting together a kit for me to build, I already have new foot wells, door pillars and making a jig from original bulkhead.
Fitting higher output & pressure PS pump for PS and for Vans Hydro brake booster. This eliminates the vacuum pump and bulky brake vacuum booster.
Putting in a 300Tdi, (rebuilding) with a new, Turner Engineering's ported and flowed head, moved 4" forward with new motor mounts, to keep the Series front.
Rebuilding the R380 Stumpy gearbox (basically just a R380 with a 4" shorter bell housing, and a few extra bits).
Ashcroft adapter kit to mate the Series TC (rebuilding) to the Stumpy R380. This lets me keep the Series front and the TC stays in the same position so I don't need to shorten the already short rear prop-shaft.
Building new chassis rails and cross members 1 & 4 out of 10 gauge,/3.5mm steel. The weight difference between 2.5mm (what Richards Chassis builds them out of) and 3.5mm for these is less than 20lbs, and the rear crossmember out of .188"/3/16", with the same shape & profile.
Building in mounts for a bolt in winch tray to fit a winch under floorboards and between frame rails, controlled with remote, air free spool actuator, opening in rear cross member for winch line and fairlead to mount.
From Richards Chassis, getting 1 Ton dumb irons, Australian Military SWB rear spring hangers
2" taller (longer?) to match the 1 Ton dumb irons, Military length extended shackles, under flywheel crossmember 2, scalloped (for driveshaft clearance) military bolt on under gearbox crossmember 3 and the 6 outriggers (all of the Richards Chassis parts are 2.5mm), to mount left side under seat, aux fuel tank.
I've got a fuel filler neck assembly so it will match the right side.
The front suspension gets Rocky Mountain 3 leaf Parabolic rear springs (one leaf can be removed if wanted).
Extending the front chassis horns 3.25" and and using Ruffstuff 2" dia through the frame rails shackle hanger mounts with 1.5" bushings, moved aft the accordingly and Ruffstuff offset shackles, spring perches, spring under U-bolt protecting cradle U-bolt plates and U-bolts.
Mounting the 3 leaf rear springs, flipped, to keep front axle in same location.
Ford shock towers bolted on with through the frame crush tubes welded in, for extended travel shocks.
Rear gets Rocky Mountain 3 leaf Parabolic springs.
Ruffstuff shackle hangers, shackles, spring perch, spring under U-bolt protecting cradle U-bolt plates and U-bolts .
The spring perch has an additional spring pin hole drilled 1" to the rear and using a 1/2" thick axle relocating plate to be able to move the rear axle 2" to the rear and have 90" WB. If ever wanted the axle can be moved 1" forward or put in stock location,
Building a bumper and brush bar that basically looks like the 110 Camel Trophy ones, except the bumper and the lower brush bar won't have the bump out in the center for the winch, since the Series front is set back.
Have the hard top with the tropical roof panel and sides.
Using Exmoor Deep Weave tilt and sticks in Sand.
Body and wheel color will be Bronze Green.
Setting it up with dogclutch hydraulic pump for front and rear hydraulic winches later.
Most likely going with Red-Winches' Challenger winches, they weigh less than half the Mile Marker winches, Will decide later.
Every bolt, unbolted every rivet is being drilled out, steel parts sand blasted, aluminum parts soda or bead to bare metal blasted to bare meal, galvanized pieces re-galvanized, all others primed, painted and Raptor liner between the steel and aluminum parts before riveting back together. Basically building everything to new or better tolerances. Oh, did I mention I'm a little OCD? Lol
But for me the fun is in the details, whether designing how things go together or the finish work. I look at the whole build as a system and hopefully everything works together and it doesn't look bodged up. I'm really working to (hopefully) make everything look like it was built this way, not chopped and modded.
I trying to keep the look as LR as possible, I think the FJ axles wont be too noticeable, I mean I hope they don't jump out when giving a casual look, of course on closer inspection they won't look LR, (they have 6 instead of 5 lug nuts!) but over all I want to keep the basic look and feel of a Series IIA as much as possible.
Cheers, Allen
I'm using a set of Toyota FJ60 axles modified to position the diffs in the same location as the LR diffs, and the WMS to WMS 59" instead of LR 55", might go 54" on rear.
I'm on the Big Island HI, and getting LR axle upgrade parts is expensive, plus I already have a set of FJ60 axles and diffs. I've got all the brackets and flanges cut off and cleaned up, ready to have the ends machined to make make them the correct width including a 4Plus housing sleeve and accept the knuckle balls and disc brake flanges. The pinion and castor angles will be set when welding on the Ruffstuff spring perches.
The front gets RCV 30 spline chromoly axles/CVs and chromoly hub gears.
FJ60 vented rotors, Toyota V6 Mini Truck calipers (4- 42mm pistons),
Sixshooter knuckles & ARP studs.
Ruffstuff knuckle ball gussets, spring perches, Mini Truck truss (modified to fit), shock mounts, rear diff cover (cut off sheet metal cover, welding on extra layer to flange, drilling and tapping to accept Ruffstuff diff cover).
Marlin 25mm steering pin upgrade kit.
4x4 Labs high steer from behind & GM 1 ton tie rod ends.
Rebuilt FJ60 steering box, with crush tubes and extra plating on frame rails for steering box. Aisin hubs. Probably forgetting something. Lol
The rear axle, gets RCV 30 spline chromoly axles with drive flanges pressed on.
Ruffstuff disc brake-FF flange, spring perches, mini truck truss, shock mounts.
LC front spindles and hubs, LC vented rotors, FJ60 Calibers (2- 42mm & 2-38mm) pistons. Outer part of housing sleeved (more on that later).
LC diffs, driveshafts get LC flange to diffs and LR flange to TC.
Land Cruiser, 5.5x16 split rims widened to 6.5" & 255/85-16 tires.
This gives strong set of axles, with 4" wider WMS to WMS, 4 wheel disc brakes, that are relatively inexpensive and readily available parts, and I have most of the components. Other than axles, diffs & steering everything will be Land Rover.
It's a 72' SIII SWB that is getting a new Series IIA type bulkhead from West Lakes All Wheel Drive, he is putting together a kit for me to build, I already have new foot wells, door pillars and making a jig from original bulkhead.
Fitting higher output & pressure PS pump for PS and for Vans Hydro brake booster. This eliminates the vacuum pump and bulky brake vacuum booster.
Putting in a 300Tdi, (rebuilding) with a new, Turner Engineering's ported and flowed head, moved 4" forward with new motor mounts, to keep the Series front.
Rebuilding the R380 Stumpy gearbox (basically just a R380 with a 4" shorter bell housing, and a few extra bits).
Ashcroft adapter kit to mate the Series TC (rebuilding) to the Stumpy R380. This lets me keep the Series front and the TC stays in the same position so I don't need to shorten the already short rear prop-shaft.
Building new chassis rails and cross members 1 & 4 out of 10 gauge,/3.5mm steel. The weight difference between 2.5mm (what Richards Chassis builds them out of) and 3.5mm for these is less than 20lbs, and the rear crossmember out of .188"/3/16", with the same shape & profile.
Building in mounts for a bolt in winch tray to fit a winch under floorboards and between frame rails, controlled with remote, air free spool actuator, opening in rear cross member for winch line and fairlead to mount.
From Richards Chassis, getting 1 Ton dumb irons, Australian Military SWB rear spring hangers
2" taller (longer?) to match the 1 Ton dumb irons, Military length extended shackles, under flywheel crossmember 2, scalloped (for driveshaft clearance) military bolt on under gearbox crossmember 3 and the 6 outriggers (all of the Richards Chassis parts are 2.5mm), to mount left side under seat, aux fuel tank.
I've got a fuel filler neck assembly so it will match the right side.
The front suspension gets Rocky Mountain 3 leaf Parabolic rear springs (one leaf can be removed if wanted).
Extending the front chassis horns 3.25" and and using Ruffstuff 2" dia through the frame rails shackle hanger mounts with 1.5" bushings, moved aft the accordingly and Ruffstuff offset shackles, spring perches, spring under U-bolt protecting cradle U-bolt plates and U-bolts.
Mounting the 3 leaf rear springs, flipped, to keep front axle in same location.
Ford shock towers bolted on with through the frame crush tubes welded in, for extended travel shocks.
Rear gets Rocky Mountain 3 leaf Parabolic springs.
Ruffstuff shackle hangers, shackles, spring perch, spring under U-bolt protecting cradle U-bolt plates and U-bolts .
The spring perch has an additional spring pin hole drilled 1" to the rear and using a 1/2" thick axle relocating plate to be able to move the rear axle 2" to the rear and have 90" WB. If ever wanted the axle can be moved 1" forward or put in stock location,
Building a bumper and brush bar that basically looks like the 110 Camel Trophy ones, except the bumper and the lower brush bar won't have the bump out in the center for the winch, since the Series front is set back.
Have the hard top with the tropical roof panel and sides.
Using Exmoor Deep Weave tilt and sticks in Sand.
Body and wheel color will be Bronze Green.
Setting it up with dogclutch hydraulic pump for front and rear hydraulic winches later.
Most likely going with Red-Winches' Challenger winches, they weigh less than half the Mile Marker winches, Will decide later.
Every bolt, unbolted every rivet is being drilled out, steel parts sand blasted, aluminum parts soda or bead to bare metal blasted to bare meal, galvanized pieces re-galvanized, all others primed, painted and Raptor liner between the steel and aluminum parts before riveting back together. Basically building everything to new or better tolerances. Oh, did I mention I'm a little OCD? Lol
But for me the fun is in the details, whether designing how things go together or the finish work. I look at the whole build as a system and hopefully everything works together and it doesn't look bodged up. I'm really working to (hopefully) make everything look like it was built this way, not chopped and modded.
I trying to keep the look as LR as possible, I think the FJ axles wont be too noticeable, I mean I hope they don't jump out when giving a casual look, of course on closer inspection they won't look LR, (they have 6 instead of 5 lug nuts!) but over all I want to keep the basic look and feel of a Series IIA as much as possible.
Cheers, Allen
I'll try to briefly explain the reasons for building something a certain way, it may not be a good reason, but at least what it is attempting to accomplish.
