Project FJ-Rankenstein.. rebuilding a drivetrain, toybox and more...

[baxter650]

Your onboard air setup is cool, i wish i had the room for another drive to add one.
Bored my exhaust flange out to 2 1/4" to get a little more flow, like you i will step up to 2 1/2'' exhaust pipe, left the manifold a little thin but i figure if i put the flex coupling closer to it, it should hold up OK.
Really liking your build.

[theslayer85]

man everytime I read the updates on this build I get jelous of it.  1. I love the fj 45. 2. you have a diesel in it which they didn't bring into the states and I want.  3. It is sweet.  This is a nice build good job. 

[hilux-1983]

 

[fj-rankenstein]

i will have a huge update pretty soon!!!    i got the truck done and ended up taking it to the Black Hills Cruiser classic for its first shakedown run..   the truck did super great!!!  i drove the truck to and from this event.. (700+ miles each way..)  i did blow up a front ujoint and melted the bushings out of my rear spring from having my exhaust poorly routed but other than that i am quite happy with how it turned out!!

[the dude]

This update will be killer.  The truck is on the road and looks BAD ASS

[theslayer85]

I am excited for this update.

[Dooner]

Good to hear your on the road Bro, Congrats! Post upsome video when you get a chance

[fj-rankenstein]

well, i will start with this for now..   the goal was to get my cruiser done to go to the Black Hills Cruiser Classic and i just made it..   i worked till 3am almost every morning and then had to get up for work at 6am for the last 2 months so i could make this deadline..  looking back on it i cant believe how little sleep i got..  that would be about 15-18 hours of sleep for the entire work week.......every week for about 8 weeks straight!!!  Yikes..  i suck..   it was totally worth it though..   i also wouldnt have made it if it wasnt for my buddys Brad and Ben..  they saved me hours of work.... i literally was building my truck right to the minute that i left to go to North dakota for the Cruiser Classic..  zero seat time, had not been driven over 25mph and totally didnt know what to expect..
the trip started out good but shortly into it the truck got really boggy and i couldnt go any fast than 40mph..   it smartened itself up 3 hours before we got to our destination in south dakota but basically we turned a 12 hour drive into a 20 hour drive..  it worked flawless after that though.. i also stopped at a UPS store along the way to pick up some stuff that i had shipped in north Dakota Because shipping is always killer to Canada from the Usa..
the event was really good and it was a great first place to get my feet wet again..  i usually only build trucks and havent been out 4x4ing in years so it was a nice change of pace. the only troubles i had were a blown up front ujoit in my front driveshaft that i nursed along the second day  so i could keep using the truck and i ended up melting out my new suspension bushings in the rear shackle due to bad exhaust placement..  

i have a big gap of timeline to fill in from the last post till now with the rest of the fabrication of the truck but this will do till i get all my pics straightened out..

as well, we are for sure going to make it to the Marlin Crawler roundup this year..i am sending in my registration within the next few days!!  i am quite excited to be going.. the Cruiser Classic in south Daktoa  was a great warmup for the rubicon..

here is me and my buddys trucks who drove down with me to go wheeling in South Dakota..


the finished product


one of the few pics i got wheeling


and the new rooftop tent that we will be using when we come to the Marlin Crawler roundup this year on the Rubicon trail..

[locked 4x4]

Your truck turned out awesome.  That tent setup is pretty sweet.

[baxter650]

Outta the park!

[fj-rankenstein]

thanks guys!!!


well, although i realize that i will never win any races with this cruiser i do need to re-gear this truck.. earlier this year, or mabey last year already, Marlin crawler had a sale on yukon gears so i bought a set of 4.88s for my truck.. at the same time i also got Marlins landcruiser drilled pinion flanges.. tonight i got a spare set of 3rd members almost completely torn down so i can re-gear them with my 4.88s... this should help a little in the acceleration department..
as well, Monday is going to be an expensive day again.. i am ordering a new power steering pump kit from PSC performance steering, ordering a long slip drive shaft yoke, and an aussie locker because i am tired of scrubbing the tread off of my 500 dollar toyo's... i would love to get an arb for the front sinse i am tearing into there again but with my wedding coming up i am on a limited budget..

pics soon..

[Dooner]

The Cruiser is looking great! The roof tent matches the personality of the rig perfectly. Looks like its straight off the Outback or the African Plains. Half way expect to see lions and zebras strolling past it! Coolest Cruiser ever 

[fj-rankenstein]

mini update before we leave for the rubicon...

finsihed building my sliders and all of that stuff...

i also built a front bumper to keep the po po's happy..

i built a kick ass skid plate made from 3/8 plate and small kittins..

i also rebuilt my blown up front driveshaft with a new marlin crawler long slip section and with my 2 5/8" tubing dom.. 

oh yeah, i moved my cb antenna to its own mount behind the cab on the drivers side..  i couldnt mount it in the middle any more due to the tent wanting to share the same space...

i also changed the height of my tent rack to be able to store more stuff under it like the spare tire and all of our luggage for our trip..

and finally i put a 12 volt accessory plug in into the front of the box so i can run my arb fridge and also my 12 volt fan for the tent..

thats all for now!!  wish me luck at the rubicon!!!

here are some pics..

[brainlessfool]

  wow

[fj-rankenstein]

well, i am still in Sanfransisco at the moment visiting friends so i have a few minutes to post some pics of the truck..   this was both my first time at a marlin roundup and the first time at the Rubicon and really only my second time really rock crawling so it was a complete eye opener for me..   the wifey and i met some really terrific people all the way through the rubicon and cant say enough good things about our entire experience there.. we hope to be back again within a few years...

here are a few pics...

[freds40]

Glad I had a chance to meet ya Jason. The truck looked great and you guys were waaaay too excited to be there. 

Brendan

[Wermz84]

It was so great to meet you on the trail.  Those pictures are great, and I am stoked you got a picture with Marlin your first time down. 

I don't know how i ever missed this thread.   My lust for a landcruiser truck probably blinded me to keep me from going insane.


Good Night Jason! 

[Zs Confederate Toy]

Sweet rig and great pics. Looks like fun

[TacoRunner]

If I were to own a LandCruiser, it would that type. FJ45 gotta love them.

[Nomad]

Great build on that 45. Looks like you had a great trip!

[Dooner]

Congrats on getting your Cruiser out to MC10! It was a long road to get it out there. It looks like Rankenstein did awesome on the rocks, how did everyting work out? I bet that rooftop tent was worth its weight in gold after a long day of wheeling

[Wermz84]

Congrats on getting your Cruiser out to MC10! It was a long road to get it out there. It looks like Rankenstein did awesome on the rocks, how did everyting work out? I bet that rooftop tent was worth its weight in gold after a long day of wheeling

It made for some tough spotting on the trail that is for sure.   But man I sure was jealous at how fast they got that thing camp ready/put away. 

[fj-rankenstein]

thanks for all the great comments guys!! my first time at the rubicon was increadable!!
the tent was really good..  the only downside is that its heavy and really added to the tippyness of the truck.  the tent weighs about 150 pounds so thats quite a bit when its as high as your roof..  especially on a sprung over cruiser.. i will never sleep on a ground tent again though if i dont have to.. if you can afford one, than do yourself a favor and get one..  so far i have nothing but praise for my rooftop tent..
   werms really helped get this truck through the trail though.. i was a little over my head on quite a few parts so it was relly nice having someone getting my tank through the trail.. thanks again..
overall the truck i think did pretty good but the lower gearing was definitally the missing link..   i have 37 inch tires and 4.10's in the diffs so the clutch took a horrible beating..  i think i did a few really good clutch smoke shows..   ..  the only thing really saving the truck is that i can really lug the engine low without stalling. that really helped but gearing is in the future...  as soon as marlin gets their toybox stuff for the h55f 5 speed straightened out again i think i am really going to get one..   as well, i have a set of 4.88's in the garage but didnt have enough time to install them before the round-up..   next time i will be fully prepared..

[fj-rankenstein]

Glad I had a chance to meet ya Jason. The truck looked great and you guys were waaaay too excited to be there. 

Brendan

it was good to meet you as well..  i wish i had more time to talk with ya!!  i was completely distracted by everything with how excited i was..  lol..    this whole trip has put a smile on my face so far..

[olfart]

Great build! Was a kick to run the Rubicon with you. Love those 300 RPM rock assaults!   

[olfart]

some pics of the Rubicon run up on our facebook page....   http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/120592807971089/

[olfart]

 even found a pic of you on Cadillac on Marlin's page
http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=84623.0

[Wermz84]

   next time i will be fully prepared..

Does this mean you will have your Canadian Air chuck next time?      So we don't have to drive 8 miles at 25mph on 10 psi!


It was a blast helping you.  Don't forget the guy behind the wheel (you) did a fantastic job navigating his first time out. 

[Dooner]

Hey Jason, when you coming back from that honeymoon, we need updates man!

[fj-rankenstein]

here are 3 vids of my Rubicon adventure....   my clutch started to slip quite badly on the first day from me riding it plus having my exhaust run to close to the bellhousing.. the clutch became glazed and kind of stopped working..  once it cooled down though it seemed to be working properly again..


http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v203/Jayp/?action=view&current=MOV00E.mp4

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v203/Jayp/?action=view&current=Cap0003.mp4

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v203/Jayp/?action=view&current=Cap0004.mp4