C R U I S E R questions...

[TrucksChixnbeer]

Guy i work with has a 77 fj40.. pretty much stock with 35's and a Chev 350..
He wants to make it a wheeler.. but hes kinda inexpreinced so i told him id help him build it... What i want to know is, what gears came stock in it ? what gears are availible he wants to go as low as possible? he wants to do a spring over so how much lift will that add? what springs are availible and he could get some flex out of?
is the rear end a 8" or ?? he wants to weld the rear and lock the front, whats a good locker for a cruiser?

When doing a spring over and adding power steering what steering box and pump do u use?

Thanks

Jake

[ranger]

Axles will be geared 4:11.
For 35" tires they are perfect, you can go with a 4:88, or a 5:29 with larger tires.
SOA with stock springs will yield the best suspension lift and ride. Flipping the leaf packs will increase wheelbase. Just make sure you flip the main leaf so the military wrap end in at the fixed mount, not the shackle end. I recommend doing a shackle reversal also. THis will require the front knuckles to be cut and turned for proper steering geometry, caster, and pinion angle. SOa will gain about 5-7" of lift depending on how it is done.
Detroit locker for the rear, ARB for the front. Not a fan of lincoln lockers (welded)
Few choices for power steering, Saginaw is the most popular, but not always the easiest. The box to use comes of of earlier model chevy passenger cars, late 60s early 70s. Mine came of a 70 Impala. 4 turn, 4 bolt box. You can't use truck boxes since they bolt to the outside of the frame.
Ypo can also do a Scout saginaw p/s, FJ60 P/S (easiest), and last would be the mini. Not a fan of the mini p/s, I would desribe it as power assist not true power steering.
Not too may cruiserheads venture on this board, your best bet in getting really good answers is on IH8MUD.com, since it is cruiser specific only.

[TrucksChixnbeer]

Hey thank you..

When we do the spring over we are gunna do a shackle reversle.. he wants to be able to run 38's or bigger will just the spring over do it ?

[Brian Passey]

It might be a bit of a tight fit, But it depands on how you do the SOA, I have 35's I could go 37's without much issue, But 38's I think I mat need to do a bit more rear fender trimming.
Mud is the place to be for Cruisers
Good luck

[ranger]

You would probably have to run 2 1/2" lift springs in addition to the SOA to clear 38s. If you want to run bigger heavier tires it would be a good idea to upgrade axle size, (think 60s) 38" tires are pushing over the limit with lockers and birfields.....
I run 35" on a SOA S/R, and it is close.

[TrucksChixnbeer]

well we are planin on long feilds

[atoyot]

It's stock with 35" tires? I don't believe I've seen this. Any chance of pics? Has he wheeled it in the current configuration? If he hasn't I would suggest taking it on a couple moderate runs to give him a good reference of what he really wants to gain from his modifications.

Also I used to live in Puyallup...kind of miss it up there.