Project "KILLER PIGGY"
 

Hi guys ... 1st off GREAT to be back on the 'build page' !!
After all the personal BS stuff and finally found a project that makes me excited about building again ... I FOUND ONE !!

After 2 years of searching I finally stumbled across a 1973 FJ55 ... otherwise known as the Iron Pig. The guy was literally days away from placing the truck on BAT when I stumbled across his video, chased him down to find he was in BC and did the deal. 2 weeks later she's home sweet home ...

So this 55 has been completely restored, BUT not with original interior nor the drivetrain which makes it a fantastic candidate for my next build.

To most FJ fans this ULTRA RARE truck is OMG ... to me this thing has the workings to be the finest Resto-modded FJ55 / PIGGY ever built

So here is my plan;

Look and feel - slightly on the Resto side, keeping with the original overall look of the truck, but look closely things are not as they seem :yes:
Making this truck the ultimate sleeper ...

Mods ... :G-Dub:

700HP LSA with Billet assembly
6L80
Advance Adapters
NEW Split case from Japan
OME with FOX2.0 shocks
PSI Harness
Wilwood 6 Piston
E-Stopp
Dakota Digital HDX
Custom CNC billet dash
Recaro M Houndstooth 2x2
Full custom interior
Spark Industries Truss polished wheel
Electric-Life power windows
Resto-Mod Air Vapir 3S with Reactor Controls
AAW HWY22 chassis harness
Switch Pro's SP9100 electronic switch panel
4X4 Labs rear bumper
4Plus front bumper
Wheelsmith Custom 17x9" smoothie wheels

Thats the big stuff ... I think you know where I'm going with this ... :thumbsup:

Anyway, love to hear what you guys think !!

Here she is, arrived this morning...looking forward to spending the next year here on this one with you all

Cheers
Steve


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...4011c2d4_k.jpgIMG_9121 by Steve Heck, on Flickr


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3545454c_k.jpgIMG_9128 by Steve Heck, on Flickr


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...35741013_k.jpgIMG_9133 by Steve Heck, on Flickr

There was a modded FJ55 on BAT right after your 40 sold. It looked great. Best of luck with this one, too. Looking forward to the updates.

You've lost it Steve lmao ... can't wait to see this one unfold

This thing is already nice. I can't wait to see what you do with it Steve. I'm tuned in.

Thanks
 

Thanks all !
yes I saw that Trey ... so many things wrong with that one and it still almost hit $70k

This one will be at a whole other level

Ryan ... Absolutely !
Cheers
Steve

Looking forward to following this build! Gonna be awesome!

Brian


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Are you going back down to the frame or building as is? Paint already looks beautiful, that alone would put you leap years ahead...


Jeff-

Hey Jeff ... hope you are well my friend

So, yes, this thing is coming completely apart down to bare frame for a few reasons. One... the finished product is not to my standard, I need to reverse shackle it and powder coat everything. Also, will spray white Raptor under the entire shell and firewall. Also need to repaint the entire front dash area as I am going with a bare dash, with dash pad only .. the front surface area will again be CNC billet aluminum panel(s), still need to sort out if I'll do a 1 piece or 2 piece

Yes ... outside paint and body is 9.5/10 so nothing required

Here is what I'll be working with, you see what I mean


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...5f3c7f2a_k.jpgScreen Shot 2020-11-11 at 5.55.54 AM by Steve Heck, on Flickr

This is gonna be cool!!!!!!!!!!

Oh I’m diggin this.

:popcorn2:

Teazer ...
 

From the builder ... BIG thanks to Jason (member here)

AMAZING engine builder ... Just waiting on the beautiful Wegner billet valve covers

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1b09a695_k.jpgIMG_9178 by Steve Heck, on Flickr

Well that looks like fun.

Update
 

As excited as we are about the new P-car build ... we can't forget about Piggy

Most of the parts are now flowing in, just waiting on the Advance kit for the 6L80 to split case TC.

1st automatic build and didn't realize that the 6L80 ECU has to be sent to PSI Performance for tuning.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...09fb25b1_b.jpgIMG_9709 by Steve Heck, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...98073570_b.jpgIMG_9710 by Steve Heck, on Flickr


Some of the selected parts are here ....

New Recaro's ... I cannot believe just how nice these are for the $$
Big thanks to Dale and the Schwartz crew

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f927fa40_b.jpgIMG_9464 by Steve Heck, on Flickr

1st time going with Resto-mod Air, cannot wait for this as I have had nothing but issues with the last 2 systems from Vintage Air.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f8d62ced_b.jpgScreen Shot 2020-11-25 at 9.26.14 AM by Steve Heck, on Flickr


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0b176da6_b.jpgScreen Shot 2020-11-25 at 8.41.33 AM by Steve Heck, on Flickr

New LED's

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8eaed006_b.jpgScreen Shot 2020-11-27 at 9.21.54 AM by Steve Heck, on Flickr

didnt realize you had problems with your VA systems ,,,what were they

Va
 

Ryan ... very disappointed with the quality, 1 of the ECU's was toast and on the other system we had to pull apart the fan control unit to find one of the soldered connections wasn't even attached !!

No bueno, the amount of time and energy to find out these issues was a HUGE pain in the a$!

Steve

Looking forward to the updates Steve. Your builds are always top notch. Always liked the FJ55. I'm super jealous you have two cool build going with this and a Porsche. How do you do it?

Builds
 

Ha ! Thanks Mark, first off I am very fortunate to have partner that is a total car buff, she's very involved in the Porsche build (the FJ55 not really her style LOL). Also I am working with some great people on these, and I spend a LOT of time researching and on the phone coordinating components and deliveries.

Very excited about both of these builds, both are super cool and obviously VERY different.

Cheers
Steve

You have 2 of the coolest builds on Lat G going on right now...:thumbsup:

dont forget ...shes a good looking girl too lol

Ha !! Thanks Ryan ... ya she's 'ok'

Just about all the parts are in, better get going soon ... running out of room !

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a7e53f27_b.jpgIMG_9871 by Steve Heck, on Flickr

Cant wait to open this one ...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7f74d944_b.jpgIMG_9870 by Steve Heck, on Flickr

Jewelry
 

Something truly special on the way ... BIG thanks to Jonathan at Sparc Industries down in Texas for building me this absolutely stunning custom steering wheel ...

Check out the Toyota Landcruiser logo !

Should be here soon ...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f5961b30_b.jpgIMG_0136 by Steve Heck, on Flickr

Jonathan makes some nice steering wheels. I have one too and love it. He's local here to me and has a nice shop/facility. He's gonna make me something, real sweet and one-off here soon.

Jonathan does some great work... I too have one of his steering wheels in my 57 Chevy truck which is at his brother Matt's shop (Torq'd Design) getting finished out.

Sparc Industries
 

Guys ... all I can say is WOW !!

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...06837f4f_b.jpgIMG_0199 by Steve Heck, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...4737a598_b.jpgIMG_0200 by Steve Heck, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...60f93a06_b.jpgIMG_0201 by Steve Heck, on Flickr

Expensive, but worth every penny.

Gorgeous.

What is the logo or name in the horn button? I can't make it out.

Thanks guys !
Trey, that is the actual Japanese TEQ logo for Toyota Landcruiser ... had Jonathan do this and turned out awesome

Steve

Thanks, Steve. I had no idea. You learn something new every day.

I did a search and found this site which I thought had some good history for anyone else that's interested.

https://www.theoldcruiser.com/genera...teq-logo-mean/

Thanks Trey
 

Thats link didn't work for me, found this one

https://tacomabeast.com/products/toy...tage-teq-decal

Starting to get really excited about this one, I just dropped off the truck partially disassembled now at my mechanics home to get started.

This full new custom 4-Link and 3-Link suspension setup is going to be sooo cool to build.

Lets get started ...

Found this, exactly what I am planning with a few changes
White/black theme, with bronze/gold wheels

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...cbd41bea_b.jpgPathfinde by Steve Heck, on Flickr


Method Racing Wheels

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...47242f3f_b.jpgScreen Shot 2021-02-23 at 1.48.49 PM by Steve Heck, on Flickr

Cheers
Steve

Ok guys ... lets get this crazy build started !

Completely stripped down to the frame, all non-use bracketry have been removed, and have spent the last week doing all the calculations for the fully custom 3-link front, and 4-link rear suspension.

This is undoubtedly the most technically challenging setup I've ever done, but my mechanic buddy is loving it, this is his 'dream build' so we're taking this one to the next level

New wheels ordered too ...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...dfc43e2f_b.jpgIMG_2938 by Steve Heck, on Flickr


These are MASSIVE !!


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...48712a83_b.jpg65438684084__515DDC2D-378B-4837-A846-4BB646EFCAF1 by Steve Heck, on Flickr


Hight-arm steer kit

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...dacc20c4_b.jpgTGI-308989-FLCL by Steve Heck, on Flickr


New Black Rhino beadlock wheels

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...588896a2_z.jpgtruck-wheels-rims-black-rhino-primm-6-lug-gold-machined-ring-17x8-5-std-700 by Steve Heck, on Flickr

Following, this is cool!

Thanks Joe ... I do my best to build some pretty cool sh!t and keep people entertained !!

Cheers
Steve

New wheels are in, and could not be happier with my colour choice, these on the white 55 will be perfect

These are BIG ! LOL

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...31e8acae_b.jpgIMG_2969 by Steve Heck, on Flickr

I think they'd look good on that one.

I agree with Wayne lol

LOL ... guys I don't think the little 4-banger would be even capable of turning these

Does look cool tough !

Steve

That’s OK from what I’ve seen you do you can swap that too!

Update !!

So, this is the 1st time I've been involved in building a custom suspension setup from scratch

Holy sh!t, this 4X4 stuff is seriously built !!
So cool learning about all of this ... should be all dialled in this week and on 4 wheels

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...87f8950f_b.jpg65913195861__FE50E135-A67D-492D-B2C3-60A120BBEACC by Steve Heck, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1d0cd501_b.jpgIMG_3243 by Steve Heck, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f98ee42b_b.jpgIMG_3245 by Steve Heck, on Flickr

You planning to take this thing off any sweet jumps?

LOL .. Trey, planning on taking it down town to Starbucks LMAO !

Steve