OK, lets keep this ROTF thing going!
Well I had hoped that by now my truck would be lifted with sliders. That's pretty much why I was waiting to do my ROTW. But I guess it's not a bad thing to show the Newbies that you can wheel these bad boys stock, heck these are the best out of the box 4x4's ever offered in the US aren't they?
OK I have a ton of photos for you all to check out since I recently updated
my website and more importantly my
Cruiser Page so let's get to it.
About Me: I live in San Diego, CA and have been here for 12 years. The first 18 years I grew up about an hour from Death Valley in Ridgecrest, CA. Believe it or not but I only went on one 4x4 trip while I lived there. Of course in High School my buddies & I would beat up their Subaru Brat and sisters Wrangler, but my one 4x4 trip was in a Isuzu Trooper that my Dad's co-worker took us out in. Since moving to SD I started going out to the desert with co-workers in 99 or 2000. I mostly road with my boss in his Land Rover and then his Toyota Tundra. I learned to wheel by riding shot gun and finally gave it a go myself with my Dad's 70's International Scout. After almost sliding that Iron Beast off the side of a hill and freaking out that I was going to roll my Dad's truck I decided to try to get my own. For a few years I tried to save up 3-4 grand to pick up a second vehicle to wheel, an Isuzu Trooper. When my savings didn't happen I decided to sale my 99' S-10 that I had recently paid off and put that toward a 4x4. Once that sold, that's when I found my Cruiser. This would not be my first Toyota as I had my Dad's old 82' Supra in High School and an 87' Supra Turbo once I moved to SD.
My 87' Supra prior to my Chevy S-10
My first brand new vehicle.
About My Cruiser: I bought her in May of 06' with 125K miles for $11K. She is non-locked but I just couldn't pass up such a clean Cruiser. I named her Dezzy and she now has 158K miles.
Day 1
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Current Day
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So now how I got from Day one to how she looks now 3 years later.
1)
TIRES - New rubber was my first step so I could start wheeling her. After way too much second guessing and trying to find the perfect tires I went with 5 Cooper Discoverer STT Mud Terrains.
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Forum Thread
2)
Trim Flaps - I decided to trim off some excess mud flap since I had heard of them getting ripped off on boulders.
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3)
Skid Plate - Next I wanted to add some protection from the rocks with a Slee skid plate.
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4)
Spare Tire Mod - With a new fat spare MT I neede to get it up and out of the way. So I have to thank the MUD forums and the member who came up with this mod. to help bring the front of the tire up.
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5)
Door Speakers -Next I turned my attention to the interior and my ears. I desperately needed some better sound so I installed some Eclipse speakers in all four doors. I also disconnected the dash speakers.
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6)
Rear Cargo Light - I stuck to the interior mods and added some aditional lighting with a rear cargo light out of an earlier 80 series cruiser.
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7)
Flare Removal & Liner - This step was a major commitment to the look and possible re-sale of the truck. I had been on a few trips where fellow cruiser heads had knocked off their flares and I fell in love with the other flareless cruisers so I convinced my old boss to join me on deflaring our Toyota's.
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Forum Thread
8)
Floppy Visor Fix - I went back to the interior to fix an annoying floppy visor. It is still holding up pretty good but I am always searching the parting out forums for an oak visor.
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9)
Hanna Bumper - I got a call from a buddy of mine who had recently bought a 45 Series from a local Cruiser Head and saw a Hanna Quality bumper sitting on the ground next to his shop. So for a cool $750 I got a rear bumper with a tire swing. With about $400 to sand blast the black powdercoat off, some new parts from Hanna and paint I had a new rear bumper.
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10)
CB Install - I needed some communication so I did a CB install in the ash tray location and an antenna install that I am very happy with.
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11)
Cup Holder - I scored some police issued cup holders from a forum member and local cruiser head. So I sanded off the black powder coat and painted them to match and mounted them to the back of the center console.
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12)
Birff Job - This was the BIG maintenance item that I finally got around to last month. Man I had a heck of a week with this and learned that I am not one to wrench on my ride. I know some of you will be upset to read this but not everyone can
and that's why there are mechanics and I have the best in John of
SD Trux.
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Forum Thread
OK the
is dragging me away so I will post more later.
Off-Road Trips: ~Ocotillo Once I got my tires I met up with a co-worker and his friends. We started off in Ocotillo, CA went down Diablo Drop-Off into Borrego National Park and had a drink and some grub at the Iron Door.
PHOTOS>>> ~Sierra Foot hills A little light wheeling with my Nephews, Sister & Dad before Christmas.
PHOTOS>>> ~Ocotillo A yearly trip I have been doing with old Co-workers since 2000 or so. We all used to work in Fire Protection hence the Pyro outlet we needed.
PHOTOS>>> ~Baja 250 A trip down to Baja for the SCORE 250 where we ended up driving the last 15 miles or so of the race course as the sun was setting in our Toyota's.
PHOTOS>>> ~Truck Haven A trip with Reid AKA LandCrusher'70 to Truckhaven Hills in Borrego.
PHOTOS>>> ~Borrego A trip covering quite a bit of the Western portion of Borrego including probably the best trail in Borrego, Sand Stone Canyon. Unfortunately it was recently closed down and I would love to find out if it is a permanent closure or not.
PHOTOS>>> |
VIDEO>>> ~Baja-Guadalupe Canyon A little anniversary camping with the
south of the border in Guadalupe Canyon.
PHOTOS>>> ~Death Valley Back home just an hour from where I grew up Death Valley NP.
PHOTOS>>> ~Borrego Turkey Sandwich A Thanksgiving outing with the
SoCal 80's in search of one of the handful of Oasis Palms scattered throughout Borrego.
PHOTOS>>> |
Video 1 |
Video 2 ~Baja 250 Another Baja 250 trip but back where it belongs in San Felipe, MX.
PHOTOS>>> ~Ocotillo And another Extravaganza with my old co-workers out in Ocotillo, CA.
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VIDEO>>> 55 sec. - 2:15 sec.
Got to take another break but still to come: Future Plans, Future Trips & Thank You's
Future Plans: ~#1 This Summer I plan to re-do the Hanna bumper again by adding a gas can basket to the tire swing and finally filling the hole I had cut in the bumper with the Slee hitch receiver. This will also give me a chance to replace the bearings and castle nut yet again since I had a bad cap on it for over a year and it's a little rusted now. But my plans with the basket are to basically do the same type of attachment that the license plate used to do on the Hanna bumpers in the middle of the tire. I will just cut off the current 1/2" pipe and put a 2" pipe to attache the basket with.
~#2 Another item I would like to work on this Summer is my single drawer cargo box / full sleeper. I don't feel that I need more than one drawer and would like the ability of using one of the rear seats if needed. So I have come up with a plan for a double lid that will swing over on piano hinges and two legs will swing out to support the second platform for my
to sleep on. Then I will have a board that will protect the back of the seats from shifting cargo and then when the seats are folded down will provide a nice firm support for sleeping.
~#3 I am also in need of some sliders. I almost scored some used on the forum here but the deal fell through. So I am always looking for used ones, or I will have some built locally, or I will buy from any fab company that will send them to me raw or primered so I can powder coat them gray.
~#4 When I finally do get funds in order probably after my wedding next year I plan on getting a FOR LIFT! Wish I could call you tomorrow Frankie.
Anything after those mods will just be icing on the cake. I guess a rear Aussie Locker would help get me in trouble down the road!
Future Trips: Unfortunately this past Fall / Winter was rough at work and pay checks became less reliable so I only went on one trip in January. But I hope things are now turning the corner and I may get up to Big Bear this Summer but the next trip I for sure will do anything to make happen is Death Valley again on Thanksgiving weekend. A few of the SoCal 80's guys seem interested and I hope to be starting up a trip thread come July.
Thank Yous:
First off, I have to thank this Forum which has been a huge help in the search & progress of my truck.
I need to thank my Fiance' who just recently loaned me the $$$ to do my Birff Job and Brakes and put up with my stressed out, grumpy, angry A$$ over those 9 days.
Thanks to my old Boss who let me ride shot gun all those years and taught me how to wheel and thrash a truck!
And thanks to the SoCal 80's for putting up with me when I ask stupid questions, stir the $h!t pot, & bail on a trip I planned because I couldn't do a birff job.
And thanks to some really good guys I have had the chance to wheel with or deal with from the Forums.
Major thanks to the best mechanic, John of
SD Trux. You have bailed me out several times after my attempts to
And the others I am leaving out because I don't want to be associated with you.
Bluetribal
Dezzy
TBD
Wonton
Lexi
Chuck the Truck
Pork Chop
the Girken
"The tan 60"
"yellow peril"
Linear Mode
