Every year for our Ultimate Adventure weeklong wheeling road trip we build some off-the-wall official vehicle, and this year we started with a brand spankin' new '07 FJ Cruiser from Toyota. A month ago our Ultimate FJ was on the rack with parts strewn all around it, and now it's done. We'll cover the final steps of the major buildup this month, and then next month we'll tie things up and give you a review of how everything worked on the trail. When we left off, the Ultimate FJ was still at All-Pro Off Road in Hemet, California, where all the axles and suspension were being replaced with Pro-Rock Dana 60s from Dynatrac. In addition, the standard full-time four-wheel-drive transfer case was replaced with a four-speed Atlas transfer case and custom adapter from Advance Adapters. However, there is still a ton of upgrades we need to show you, not to mention all the little things that needed to be changed to get this rig ready. So read on, and if you want to see even more buildup photos, check out www.ultimateadventure2006.com. We had mocked up the rear suspension and started on the front suspension in last month's coverage, so the next step was finishing up both. Our axles were built at Dynatrac, but a lot of work installing brackets was still required to be done at All Pro. Mike Schoffstal is the head fabricator at All Pro, and when you combine his years of SCORE desert and CORR short-course off-road racing fabrication with All-Pro owner John Bundrant's years of rockcrawling competition and design, you're sure to get a bulletproof suspension. On the rear axle a tall truss was built to attach the upper triangulated links. To attach the truss to the axle Schoffstal used our Hobart Tigmate TIG-welder.We had mocked up the rear suspension and started on the front suspension in last month's c The axle was moved under the truck where the mounting points are evenly spaced to the frame, even though the pinion was designed to be 2 inches towards the passenger side to keep the driveshaft out of the fuel tank on articulation. Since we had a mock-up axle, we had already measured and called Tom Woods Custom Driveshafts to order our driveshafts for the FJ.The axle was moved under the truck where the mounting points are evenly spaced to the fram Both axles are stuffed with chromoly shafts from Yukon Gear as well as Detroit Lockers and 5.38 gears. In the rear, full-floating assemblies were used for added strength. This required a custom set of double-splined shafts. Dynatrac drive flanges are bolted into the rear outer hubs to carry the torque, instead of locking hubs.Both axles are stuffed with chromoly shafts from Yukon Gear as well as Detroit Lockers and Up front we used a set of Yukon inner axleshafts and Dynatrac shorty stub shafts. The shorty stub shafts are required since we are testing Dynatrac's new stubby hubs that are tucked inside the wheel more for protection of the Warn locking hubs.Up front we used a set of Yukon inner axleshafts and Dynatrac shorty stub shafts. The shor We also installed a set of Ox Dana 60 U-joints. We really liked the ease of assembly these joints have. Instead of normal joints where there is a cross with caps that press over the trunnions, Ox joints have four separate trunnions that insert into the body of the joint and are then captured by caps that screw into the center of the body. However, we were disappointed that we had to grind an excessive amount on the joint's massive body where they interfered with the axleshaft ears to allow for proper steering angle.We also installed a set of Ox Dana 60 U-joints. We really liked the ease of assembly these We decided to add a ram-assist setup from Howe Performance Steering to our front axle. Running big tires at low air pressure puts significant strain on all of your steering components. However, adding a ram to assist the steering relieves the steering box and drag-link joints from a certain amount of abuse. We like the Howe steering since it is designed as a whole system with respect to pump volume and pressure, steering box and knuckle turning distance, and the throw of the ram.We decided to add a ram-assist setup from Howe Performance Steering to our front axle. Run In addition to porting an early IFS Toyota minitruck box for ram assist and supplying the ram and reservoir, Howe also did some work to the stock power-steering pump. This pump eventually worked very well even though the volume of fluid it moves is less than ideal for the large ram-assist system. If there had been more time to build new mounts, we would have followed Howe's recommendations to use one of its aftermarket pumps over this modified Toyota unit. However, every Howe pump is dyno tested prior to being shipped out and we had zero problems on the trip with this modified unit. With the axles assembled we began the final installation. Up front we attached our Panhard bar to a custom bracket welded to the end forging of the axlehousing.In addition to porting an early IFS Toyota minitruck box for ram assist and supplying the With the axles assembled, we began the final installation. Up front, we attached our Panhard bar to a custom bracket welded to the end forging of the axlehousing.With the axles assembled, we began the final installation. Up front, we attached our Panha Then new shock towers were attached to the frame for the front Walker Evan's coilover shocks. The All Pro solid-axle swap kit includes these W.E. shocks with 12 positions of compression damping for different terrains.Then new shock towers were attached to the frame for the front Walker Evan's coilover shoc We also installed a set of nitrogen-charged Jounce Shocks from Light Racing. The coilovers act as both the spring and shock absorber, while the Jounce Shocks are special bumpstops with adjustable compression and rebound to protect the suspension against bottoming out, and help in controlling axle movement at high speeds. Next month we will go into greater detail of how these new products can be applied to your project.We also installed a set of nitrogen-charged Jounce Shocks from Light Racing. The coilovers In the rear we used the stock shock location for our coilovers. Since the coilovers must support the weight of the vehicle, we had to beef up the frame mounts. We chose to mount the shocks to our lower link arms, which required some additional reinforcement along with special bushings on the lower shock mounts to keep the links from rolling over. All of the lower links on the FJ use Currie style rebuildable Johnny Joints where all the uppers use Heim joints.In the rear we used the stock shock location for our coilovers. Since the coilovers must s In part two of the Ultimate FJ buildup (Aug. '06), we showed you how Fab Fours took measurements to build new front and rear bumpers for our Cruiser. After they were completed Greg Higgs brought them out from Colorado to help us install them. The front bumper bolted on and was equipped with a 9.5ti winch from Warn as well as custom Hella driving and marker lights.In part two of the Ultimate FJ buildup (Aug. '06), we showed you how Fab Fours took measur We used the forklift to help us heft the rear bumper into place. Though the bumper was designed to bolt on, we added other gussets and eventually fully welded the bumper into place. These bumpers are made of 3/16-inch plate and though we would ultimately need to trim them for our extra large 39-inch BFGoodrich Krawler tires, they definitely added to the burly look we were shooting for.We used the forklift to help us heft the rear bumper into place. Though the bumper was des With a truck that will weigh more than 5,000 pounds and only a V-6 to push it around, we started looking for options to give the aluminum block 4.0 some help. Our previous experience with supercharged V-6s had us hunting for a blower, and only one version is available for this new Toyota engine. The team at Underdog Racing Development (URD) answered our call and brought their new Rotrex centrifugal supercharger kit with them. Similar to a turbocharger, the Rotrex centrifugal supercharger increases boost with rpm, but it is also extremely efficient, compact, and reliable with no internal belts or gears.With a truck that will weigh more than 5,000 pounds and only a V-6 to push it around, we s To keep our buildup on schedule we somehow conned the owners of URD to not only meet us at All Pro to look at the FJ, but also fly in their top engineer from Maryland to install the kit on a blazing hot Saturday. The entire kit was so new that having them there to install it was priceless. Though it looks complicated, they had this premier kit installed in less than two days.To keep our buildup on schedule we somehow conned the owners of URD to not only meet us at The URD system also incorporates an intercooler and oil cooler. Luckily we were installing the Fab Fours front bumper the same day as the coolers and found that some custom brackets were needed to make everything fit together without interference.The URD system also incorporates an intercooler and oil cooler. Luckily we were installing Some ECU adjustment is needed to keep the fuel program happy with the increased airflow. URD's preprogrammed performance calibration unit also addresses engine timing and is plugged directly into the under-dash stock engine computer. There is also one additional fuel injector installed, also controlled by the calibration unit. In previous testing URD has achieved a 95 hp gain at the rear wheels of a two-wheel-drive truck with only 6 psi of boost. Though we didn't get a chance to dyno our FJ, we did feel that we had excellent performance from the supercharger.Some ECU adjustment is needed to keep the fuel program happy with the increased airflow. U SOURCES Howe Performance Steering www.howeperformance.com Off Road Design www.offroaddesign.com Underdog Racing Development www.urdusa.com Slee Off Road Walker Evans Racing www.walkerevansracing.com Tuff Country www.tuffcountry.com Advance Adapters 4320 Aerotech Center Way P.O. Box 247 Paso Robles CA 93446 805-238-7000 Dynatrac Flowmaster 8-00/-544-4761 www.flowmastermufflers.com Eaton 8-00/-328-3850 eatonperformance.com Warn 5-03/-722-1200 www.warn.com Hobart Welders N/A www.hobartwelders.com Light Racing www.lightracing.com Tom Woods Custom Driveshafts 877-497-4238 www.4xshaft.com Fab Fours www.fabfours.com Poison Spyder All-Pro Off-Road 581 N. Palm Ave., Bldg. B-3 Hemet CA 92543 9-09/-658-7077 www.allprooffroad.com Yukon Gear & Axle 8-88/-905-5044 www.yukongear.com BFGoodrich Tires 877-788-8899 www.bfgoodrichtires.com Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!
