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Mean Green

55K views 146 replies 55 participants last post by  2bikemike 
#1 ·
This is currently how Mean Green sits.







These were taken at one of our favorite camping spots.





This is the build of my 2010 Army Green FJ. I had wanted an FJ for a little while. My dad bought a 2008 Sandstorm and I feel in love with it and loved the look of a lifted FJ. I then found this forum and the love and desire grew too much to contain. When I saw they were coming out with the Army green color that sealed the deal and I started shopping for a 2010 AG 6MT. I went to the local dealer and started shopping for one. Long story short I ended up calling all over God’s green earth and finally found just what I wanted, or closed enough to what I wanted. A 2010 Army Green 6MT with convenience package 2.
Where it all began, here are a few pics of it on the showroom floor.





I wanted to build my FJ in a way that would be expedition worthy, but would still have road manners to be able to drive it to work a couple days a week. I wanted a vehicle that would be able to take me deep in the mountains for camping and exploring and be able to get me home safely.
Coming from a Yukon the first thing I did was put a Baja Rack and ladder on it. The FJ is much smaller than the Yukon it replaced and I wanted to make sure we had enough room for gear and three doggies (doggies do not go on the rack). I had the rack shipped directly to Utah so I could put it on when I picked it up. I also thought my girlfriend would think that it came with that rack from the dealer. I could have saved some money in gas not putting it on until I got the FJ home, but oh well.





Second thing I added was a TRD short shift kit. Very easy to install and what a difference over the stock throw. I would say this is a must have for any 6MT owner.





Third thing I got was the Toytec Ultimate 3inch lift. Since they changed the front suspension a little from the previous models no one was really sure what if anything would fit. Luckily for me Toytec was about a hour and a half from me and arranged thought Shane 4x4 of FJC-Mag.com they had me up to test out their kit and to confirm what changed had been made. They typically don’t do installations but they wanted to make sure firsthand the kit they sold was going to fit the 2010. The guys at Toytec are great. Supper nice and I am glad to have gotten to opportunity to go up there and meet all of them.
Here are pics for before and after the Toytec
Stock driver side front



Toytec Ultimate Driver Front



Rear Stock Set Up



Rear after Toytec Ultimate



Turned out the only major change was the size of the bushing around the sway bar and having to drop the sway bar a bit so it won’t rub.
On the Ground



Stock tires look funny, not to mention suck so, on go a set of 285/70/17 BFG AT KO’s. I bought them from Discount tire and they matched a ridiculous low price I saw online. I got excited that they had them in stock I forgot to ask what the load rating was and I ended up getting an E load rating. They have a supper think sidewall good for not puncturing it but at the sacrifice of some ride comfort. I would suggest a lower load rating from some more comfort.



Next to get some Skids. I decided to go with the tried and true Budbuilt. So I called up Bud and about a half an hour of talking to him I ended up buying everything that he offered for the FJ, all skids and his kick out sliders. My girlfriend was not impressed after I got home late one night (actually up at Toytec) and there were I think nine boxes on the front step (high-lift and something else showed up from Amazon). Also since Bud’s plates are not exactly light she could not move them and had to get in the house from the garage. Needless to say dinner was not waiting for me.
All skids worked fine except the front skid as they had changed the mounting positioning. Bud was great, worked with me and kept me updated on his progress. In no time I was fitting Bud’s first 2010 skid plate on my FJ. Bud’s plated have really saved my butt a few times. This has to be one of the best investments I have made. Also they fit so well. The rear diff cover is so tight and flush it is amazing.



In Action





Rear Diff



Next the Black Out. I also had the windows tinted but after these pics were taken.





Oops forgot to take off some tape.



I ordered hi-lift mounts for the Baja Rack and mounted the Hi Lift



We all know how important it is to have your recovery gear. Which gets me thinking I may need to replace my tow strap it’s not looking so great.

 
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#2 ·
I somehow lucked out and made it on the cover for FJC Mag. Thank you Shane for letting me be on the cover of your magazine I am truly honored. Also thank you for the framed copy of the cover it will be something that I’ll treasure forever.



I really like the classic and utilitarian look of the factory steel wheel. I was able to trade my factory alloys to tisilverFJ in exchange for a set of factory steelies.





In keeping with the whole theme of having an expedition worthy vehicle that would get me home safely I turned my focus to communications. I have a cell phone and a wireless internet card, but those items don’t do much good when you are truly deep in the mountains. I pieced together a CB system similar to the Big Bill’s FJ combo, but went with a Wilson Silver Load on a Bandi mount. Then came along 1911, Shane 4x4, Mountain Man among others telling us of the benefits of HAM over the CB. What really hit home was Shane 4x4’s did a demonstration on the difference between both.
Can be seen here in post 51:

http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/colorado/99700-amateur-radio-test-redux-2.html

I wanted them to both be accessible and not look cluttered. I opted to buy a MPAC straddle to mount everything on. Here are a few pics.







You can see the full HAM install here:

http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/foru...ical/107852-yaesu-7800-ham-radio-install.html

I noticed after I lifted the FJ its road manners became worse. The FJ would float on the highway and would become upset whenever I went over a bump. I called up Doug at Toytec and had him send me a set of Light Racing UCA’s. After I installed these it allowed the alignment to get back into factory specs and corrected much of the problem. I decided to paint them silver to try and match the Toytec shocks, it’s not perfect but it is close.





For the breather mod I opted for FJNewb Scuba Drivers Mod as see here.

http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/4x4-off-road-tech/97966-fjnewbs-scuba-driver-mod.html

It is a very nice kit that utilizes very nice components.
Under hood breather line


Rear Diff all plumed



Finally all ran into the manifold



So after getting the Springtail MPAC saddle I was hooked on their products and decided to order the rear side combo was well as the rear door combo. I also ordered a Source CO2 tank from trdpart4u and mounted it to the side rack. Anyone on the fence about ordering MPAC stuff just go and get it. With the FJ’s limited space it comes in handy, organized, looks great and is a quality made product.






Ever since I was a little kid and first saw a truck with a snorkel on it I knew I would have to own a vehicle with a snorkel on it someday. The FJ was perfect for this. It was actually one of the first things I wanted to do, but with the changes in the intake to the 2010 I was hesitant to do it. I already had been the guinea pig with the lift and Bud’s skids I thought I would let someone else figure the snorkel out, especially since it mean drilling a 4 inch hole in my FJ. And I would like to thank Lost Souls for confirming that the Safari Snorkel does fit the 2010, with small modification. I love the looks of it, and I can cross off a childhood fantasy off my list.





After running some trails I noticed that my rear lower control arm mount and rear shock mount were starting to look a little rough so I added some skids to them as well. We had to use a ram to open up the shock skids a little as they weren’t big enough to go around the Bilsteins, after that they went on just fine.






I hope you have enjoyed my build of Mean Green. In the future I will be adding some fog and aux lights, winch and bumper, and God know what else. I would like to thank the forum for all of the support and ideas.

 
#9 ·
I have to say I really like that color...the rack and lift definitely make it look mean!!...NICE!!:rocker:
 
#10 ·
looks good :rocker:
 
#12 ·
Its about damn time you made a build thread!

I have been eyeballin your photo gallery forever!

You have the best AG on the forum. No lame or tacky mods, everything is simple, looks tough and is utilitarian.

It def looks army now!

When I get my AG FJ your build will serve as an inspiration.

SUBSCRIBED!
 
#17 ·
Nice Mike, you have come a long way, and about time you took the "Silon" spare tire cover off..... :lol:
 
#18 ·
Glad I found this thread! I've been eying your rig since I got my AG and wanted to see what kind of stuff you had added. I'm on my way, getting some steelies this weekend! :bigthumb:

Can I ask what method you used to do your blackout? There seem to be a quite a few different ways people do it. That's next for me since it's cheap! (well, as long as it's not line-x!)
 
#19 ·
Hey Tom,
steelies look good. For my black out I followed Road Rash's Black Out redo. If you search you should be able to find it. I use rustolum bed liner and then painted that with duplicolor bumper spray in a satin finish..

Kctay - I couldn't handle the robo cop rear disk anymore. It had to go. I was going to try and do something about the back-up camera but I've gotten used to the look at it does look better than the disk.
 
#20 ·
Looking good Mike! Seems every mod you have chosen is purposely made for real offroad use! I really like everything I see and I bet your AG Beast makes you happy out on them trails! :rocker:
 
#23 ·
Mike,
forgot that you had the snorkel. build up thread is nice. can't wait to see it with the mods you have planned for it. got to agree with the rim choice. no point in getting all these fancy rims to just tear them up. looks good on a true offroad FJ anyway. glad you still got your detective thing. wasn't for you, I wouldn't have an FJ to mod.
 
#24 ·
Real nice build Mike - good write up.

Your rig looks great.

-
 
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