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Smurf Blue 74 FJ-40 Land Cruiser

article thumbnail This is my current project - a 1974 Toyota Land Cruiser. I have been working on it for 5 years and am in the process of adding the finishing touches.
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Home arrow Trucks arrow Solid Axle Swapped 86 4runner
Solid Axle Swapped 86 4runner
Friday, 02 June 2006

I bought this truck in March 2000 for a whopping $500. It was an '86 SR5 with around 150k miles. I put in a new engine, cleaned up the truck a little, and did a SAS with a 5" lift.



Suspension

5" lift leaf springs - brand unknown

Solid front axle swap (SAS)

RS9000 adjustable shocks

Ford shock mounts in the front

Allpro non-histeer crossover steering

2-1/5" longer that stock shackles - Downey

Energy suspension poly bushings all around

1" block in rear - Downey

Marlink heavy duty tie rod

Brake line mounts moved down to accommodate lift



Drivetrain

'94 22RE - 43,000 miles

'82 Celica intake manifold - powder coated red

'94 valve cover - powder coated silver

LC Engineering ceramic coated header

DOA (Racing) high flow fuel injectors

'94 W56 5 speed transmission/transfer - 43,000 miles

'85 Toyota solid front axle - totally rebuilt

4.30 differential gears - stock for auto tranny

33-12.50 BFG MT's

American Racing 15x8 black wagon wheels



Body

Rear bumperettes removed

Original Toyota decals removed



Interior

Shifter console/boot from '85 deluxe pickup

Rear heater

Speedometer in kilometers

Garmin Streetpilot GPS



Misc

Russell speed bleeders all around

Power locks/keyless remote entry


 

I bought this truck in March 2000 for a whopping $500. It is an '86 SR5 with around 150k miles.

When I purchased the truck it had a very bad rod knock. After pulling the oil pan and checking things out, I found that the #3 cylinder rod bearing was missing. The connecting rod and crank were too buggered up to salvage, at least for a reasonable amount of money.

The truck also had Independent Front Suspension (IFS), and an automatic transmission. I opted to swap the engine/tranny/transfer from a '94 Toyota pickup in rather than rebuild what was there since the original drivetrain had obviously not been taken care of. I bought the drivetrain from Woodward's - a salvage yard near Philly for $1400 total. I thought that this was a good deal considering that the parts only had 43,000 original miles on them, and I had heard so many bad things about almost all of the engine re-manufacturers out there.

I also swapped in a solid front axle using Toyota front spring hangers, and duplicating the through the frame factory mounting method for the rear of the front springs. With the solid axle in place I was able to install some 5" springs that came off of the '85 parts truck that I had purchased a year or so before. I don't know what these springs are, but with the addition of Ford front shock mounts and RS9000 adjustable shocks, the truck rides like a dream!

  

 **More Pictures Here** 

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 18 March 2008 )