KD7NAC_07FJ's 2007 FJ Cruiser Build-Up Thread
 

My Cruiser;
http://photos-410.ak.facebook.com/ph...27410_6099.jpg

Mods I've done so far;

BFG TA 285/70R17 (33's) KO

Atrac hack - works great.

Rear Dif breather relocate.

Bandi mount.

Dual battery - using painless solenoid and battery tray but custom switch and wiring.

Light bar add-on to stock roof rack (x4 PIAA 510's)

A pair of PIAA 1500 for the back mounted on the rack

Custom Switch Box

3" OME lift
-Front 885 coilovers, N140S struts
-Rear 895 coils, N141 shocks

Road Armor Front Bumper

WARN Rear Bumper

Replace factory sliders with All-Pro sliders

Factory front skid plate powder coated black

A pair of PIAA 520 fogs in the bumper

Warn 9.5xp

In Cab winch controls

Console 12v socket add-in

12v plugs with 115v socket in back.

Ellis Precision Grab Handles.

Black-out - My goal is to eliminate all silver, inside and out
Done:
Painted front Bezel
Painted Interior Dash trim
Steering wheel

Radios
-FT-857D & FT8900 under passenger seat

Springtail M-PAC rack(s)

Kenwood DNX7100 /w Bluetooth & HD

To Do:
Mirrors
Door Handles inside & out
Rims

In Work
Radios
-Cobra CB install on headliner /w remote Mic

AUX jack amplifier in-dash installation

Dude, c'mon!

:pics:

LOL - I had to get a new battery for my camera. I'll snap some tomarrow

I finally got a bunch of parts. A lot of them were sitting in Colorado for about a week :cry:

Palmer's 4x4 in Everett is going to install the OME 3" lift Wednesday. I don't have anything to compress the springs.

I'll have some before and after pics Wednesday.

I powder coated my Bandi mount
http://photos-355.ak.facebook.com/ph...27355_3583.jpg

I found this great powder coating kit from Summit and it works great.

I still have to finish fabbing the bracket for the second battery box and I'll get some pics of that too.

Darn, that turned out nice!

I want to powdercoat my WabFab sliderz adapter.
It is bare metal right now, and rusts easily.
I figure powdercoat it once, and never have to worry about it again.

How big is this kit you are using?

Bandi Mount
 

I really like the Bandi Mount, going to order one tomarrow. Don't think
their open today.

Mods
 

I think it will look great once it's all done. There was a time when I could tinker all weekend but I don't seem to know where that time went :)

The Summit Powder Coat kit isn't big but it isn't small either. It was really easy to use but make sure you go over the directions.

Some tips on powder coating. Make sure your work is perfectly clean especially from greasy finger prints. After the final MEK wipe down don't touch the metal at all, use pliers suspension wire etc. Unless of course you want a perfect thumb print relief in your work :D

One question, where did you BAKE IT ?

I've got an idea for the Daytime Running lights. See what you guys think.

Take the #2 pin that disables the DRL from the ECU and splice it to a relay. I'm thinking about running some smaller daytime running lights in the bumper I'm having built. I would then run a switch to turn them off when I need to. Some of the guards at the gate get a little uppity when you approach with your lights on and the FJ has pretty bright DRLs.

That way I can still have DRL on a separate set of lights and be able to turn them off whenever I need to.

Well - It used my oven. Now I'm not saying anyone should go against the manufacturers recommendations but I've powder coated many a part for my bike at a friends place. He has a professional powder coating set up and has baked many parts in his oven.

The issue is the potential possibility of contaminating food with the powder coating medium. If you ever get a chance to see a powder coating oven (autoclave) at a shop you'll see how a lot of residue gets knocked off, baked on the inside of the oven etc. The problem is that you powder coat at 400 degrees and rarely cook at that temp so the powder could potentially get in your food.

We are always very careful about putting small parts in and taking them out of the oven and it gets cleaned after every powder coat. It's not like we do a production line and we have actually talked about getting an old junker oven to use.

If your going to use your own oven you get the disclaimer - use at your own risk. Neither I nor anyone at YotaTech has any liability if you choose to go against the manufacturers recommendations.

Powder Coating

If you've ever read the instructions you'll see a term "flow out" the recommendation is to bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees after flow out.

Flow out is when the plastic medium starts to turn to liquid and flows together. The 20 minutes after flow out cures the covering.

The actual time will depend on how big the part is. The more mass the longer it takes to heat.

3" heels
 

This is how she stood yesterday

http://photos-363.ak.facebook.com/ph...27363_5316.jpg
And now she's wearing 3" heels :)

http://photos-373.ak.facebook.com/ph...27373_7190.jpg

Evergreen 4x4 on 4th and Evergreen did the install (used to be called Palmer's 4x4)

Looking good.
Did you use 885 coils up front, and 895s in the back?

You should find after it settles a bit in one day that it handles better.
A little stiffer, but that is good, a lot of the mushiness will be gone.

Almost;

Front 886 coilovers, N140S struts
Rear 895 coils, N141 shocks

I wanted the heavy ones for the bumper/winch to be installed and the rear bumper/towing.

It's a bit bouncy in the front but after Les Schwab's did the alignment it isn't wandering anymore. I figure it will calm down a lot after I get my bumper installed.

Oh and I've had a change on my bumper supplier. Trail Ready built the one for my Suburban it's the one in thier thumbnail on their site for the '81-'88 1500-3500 Series trucks. Curiously enough the Expedition One bumper looks exactly the same as the TR design with a modified mountain logo from Fab Fours.

So since Trail Ready is less then a mile from me and I'm kind of a loyalist I'm going to have them build me a bumper. It will be ready about the second week in February.

OK - Got off my butt and fabbed the bracket for the #2 battery box.

Mounting location;
http://photos-335.ak.facebook.com/ph...27335_9415.jpg

Box in place;
http://photos-336.ak.facebook.com/ph...27336_9612.jpg

Bracket welded to box;
http://photos-337.ak.facebook.com/ph...27337_9804.jpg

And tomorrow it will get powder coated.

Most cool.

You should market that, as of right now there is no commercial 2nd battery trays available for the FJ, they are all custom made by individuals.

I would buy a setup from you to run a 2nd battery, and probably rerun my winch to the 2nd one.

Ok - got a little caught up in the lift kit drama.

http://photos-338.ak.facebook.com/ph...9_527338_5.jpg

Battery box powder coated and mounted. I went with matte black because everything else black under the hood is matte. Gotta match ya know :)

Oh and Ford engine blue is a really close match for touching up the scrapes incured during the fab process. The flash from the camera shows lighter in the front but if I hadden't oversprayed the bolt you wouldn't be able to tell.

Looks great!

That back high lip, is that for the battery tie down clamps?

With the battery and hold-down bracket in place;

http://photos-339.ak.facebook.com/ph...527339_203.jpg