Builds The Great White Build Thread (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

tpizza01

Jedi WannaBe
SILVER Star
Joined
Oct 3, 2013
Threads
5
Messages
235
Location
Virginia
Well, it's been a little over a year now and I've gotten a lot done, so I figured it was time to try a build thread. Bear with me because I am used to posting replies, not personal threads. There are some really good build threads on here so I hope this is worthy! Thanks for reading!

Sooo, last year I got into a wreck with my FJ Cruiser, Lil' buddy ...

upload_2014-11-23_20-32-57.jpeg


It was nasty, and Lil' buddy didn't make it ...

upload_2014-11-23_20-24-20.jpeg


When this happened I was obviously shaken, but I was alive so that was what mattered. Anyway, I became frantic and wasn't sure what to do. Insurance helped me out but I was not about to purchase a new vehicle again. I consulted with the boys at Iron Pig Off-Road, who did my regular work, and went from wanting a 4Runner, to an 80 series. It became a mad search and what I found was that finding one of these that was worth it was a P.I.T.A.!! I had reasons for being so frantic about it: 1) I needed an off-road vehicle 2) I knew I was going to do things to it, so I needed it quick knowing that these things take time (and I was starting school again) 3) when I want something, I want it lol. I searched for about a month and located one up in NJ just outside of Philly and knew it was the one. Seemed clean and had no "reported" accidents, so I was going up to check it out.

1995 FZJ80, White, 156000 miles on it at time of purchase ...

upload_2014-11-23_20-30-31.jpeg


I gave myself a budget of about 10k to work with but we all know how that goes ...
 
Last edited:
Engine was fairly clean and it didn't seem to need a whole lot of work, but we know how that goes also.

upload_2014-11-23_20-35-48.jpeg


My big ticket items:

- Front Bumper w/winch
- Rear Bumper
- Suspension
- Bigger tires
- Rock Rails
- Re-gear to 4:88

However, I decided to baseline it and get the thing in basic good working order. All work from here on out was was done by my friend Dave at Chain Reaction Moto, and me. Dave owns CRM and he makes exhaust pipes for certain Ducati and Triumph. HE is one hell of a mechanic and has helped out tremendously with this project. There is no way I could have gotten half the things done by myself. If you have the need for a wicked nice exhaust for your Duc or Triumph check out his page here: http://www.chainreactionmoto.com/

We started with a knuckle rebuild. Kurt and Bryce from @cruiseroutfit Cruiser Outfitters helped me out in this area because kits were scarce at the time. They were getting everything in sooner than most, so I had them put a kit together for me. Arrived quickly and without any issues.

http://cruiseroutfitters.com/


upload_2014-11-23_20-43-55.jpeg


I have the FSM which I printed out myself, and that was helpful, and everything was going great until the spring from the inner seal came off from me messing up the install ...

upload_2014-11-23_20-44-14.jpeg

so called up Cruiser Outfitters and had another one at my door within a couple of days. Also ordered a few washers while I was there and a pinion seal because we found some leakage. Also ordered my exhaust from RockAuto, hangers pictured here ...

upload_2014-11-23_20-45-52.jpeg


upload_2014-11-23_20-48-23.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Great beginning to a build page! Great white cruiser!
 
Replaced all of the belts, changed the oil, and all of the necessary evils. Next up was the Pesky Heater Hose. I forget where I ordered it from but they can be found pretty much anywhere. @landtank AJIK Overland has a kit that is very similar to what I bought. Hose is silicone and comes with spring clamps.

http://ajikoverlandexchange.com/products-page/toyota-land-cruiser-80-series/1fz-fe-phh-kit-1/

As advertised this was a pain in the a$$, but we found a way to get it on there. I tried squeezing my hands in there and was cussing. Dave cussed too but he took the cuts and made it work. He cut like about 1/8 to 1/4 inch off then said he removed something but couldn't identify what it was lol. In any case, removing the mystery part enabled him to get the hose on without any issue. I think I remember him saying that after the hose was on, the hardest part was maneuvering to tighten the clamps. More amazing though was the old hose, surprised it lasted as long as it did, because that thing was knarly ...

upload_2014-11-23_20-56-9.jpeg


More to come but Walking Dead is about to start.

Next up: Exhaust
 
Last edited:
For the exhaust I went with the bosal system through RockAuto. Here are the part numbers and prices that I paid:

1995 TOYOTA LAND CRUISER 4.5L L6 DOHC
BOSAL 099128 (099-128) Catalytic Converter $ 209.99
BOSAL 099129 (099-129) Catalytic Converter $ 167.79
BOSAL 228241 (228-241) Muffler $ 111.79
BOSAL 256214 (256-214) Pipe Flange Gasket / Seal x2 @$1.94 = $ 3.88
BOSAL 256708 (256-708) Pipe Flange Gasket / Seal x2 @$ 2.36 = $ 4.72
BOSAL 256282 (256-282) Pipe Flange Gasket / Seal $ 2.74
BOSAL 228243 (228-243) Tail Pipe $ 73.79
DENSO 2344157 (234-4157) Oxygen Sensor $ 45.79
DENSO 2344153 (234-4153) Oxygen Sensor $ 47.79
STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS SGF1 Oxygen Sensor Gasket x2 @$ 6.23 = $ 12.46

Total shipped to my door was $692.31 and that was after the applied discount of $34.04
Not a bad deal if you ask me and this system does the trick. I had a Flowmaster set-up on the FJC and loved it but I didn't see the need on the 80. The sound is deep enough and I didn't think I would be getting much 'power' from it, especially since I was about to add on a bunch of other stuff that is going to take away from power - it seemed counterproductive.

I don't have pics of what the old exhaust looked like, but I will tell you that it was shot. Some holes in it and rust all about, it def needed replaced. Got the new system in and it went in fairly easy, but we had to bend the y-pipes about one inch. This worked well with a large vice and a 2x4 lol

As you can see, everything went in fine in the end ...
20140405_235625185_iOS.jpg
 
Last edited:
... the old crush seals were a major problem also and the old system was leaking like a baby.
20140405_233328599_iOS.jpg


I was getting lights and of course there were more than just leals at the seals. The O2 Sensors were leaking and were rusted in place so I had to chip away to get them loose. Think I lost a bolt in the process also, but most of this stuff was easily replaceable.

20140405_221733827_iOS.jpg
20140405_221733832_iOS.jpg
 
These were the original O2 sensors, and when I say "original" I mean original. It was surprising (or not) how much of what we pulled out was original. Or should I say that the fact that the truck was doing as well as it was considering that everything was original, was surprising ...
20140405_222739024_iOS.jpg
 
Had it since October 2013 and it was now spring. Did a Winter and didn't take it out much in the snow because the tires were not 'good to go' in my opinion and I wanted to live. Springtime was here now though and it was time to work again. First up, and not a crazy mod but ... the dirt collector on the roof. Removed the wind deflector. The thing was making too much noise anyway. Easy to remove, but not easy to clean up. I used a lot of elbow grease, some windex, and I think I used NuFinish. Picture is after round one of dirt removal.

20140420_233549531_iOS.jpg
 
Last edited:
Skip to June ... Shocks, Springs, Steering Kit, and some other goodies, all have arrived and I am ready to do the lift.

20140609_213219518_iOS.jpg
 
Welcome to the 80 family! Like your white cruiser, look so clean:)
 
June-July 2014. Not much time in our schedules to do this stuff so it took a while. As far as pictures go, this is definitely not a "how to" thread so I apologize for the lack of particular shots.

Shocks went in fine, but as with everything on this truck it was the old stuff coming out that was an issue really. lol Prior to putting everything in, I took a couple of comparison shots with the stock gear ...
20140615_163458000_iOS.jpg


20140615_165921000_iOS.jpg
 
Look at this beefy son-of-a-gun!!! lol (the attached picture is of the comparison)

We put the Trail Gear HD Steering kit in. In my opinion, Toyota should have made these things with an "All Mods" version, with this steering kit included. Makes the original stuff look super flimsy, even though it is actually good stuff.

The steering stabilizer was a little confusing at first, and you can see the way we had it installed first (first pic), we eventually went with the second picture because of the angle and preventing it from hitting the chassis. Pretty sure we got it right on that one ...
20140617_001534000_iOS.jpg


20140617_002125000_iOS.jpg


20140615_152455000_iOS.jpg
 
Last edited:
Last edited:
... But not without problems. When we were removing the old shock on the drive side, the top end needed to be cut off. We failed to protect the brake lines and once the cutter went through, we cut this little curly guy right here, well, the one next to it which is removed form the shot, but you get the picture; dumb mistake I know, but whatever, it happens, lol. It's okay though, we fixey, Dave's pretty handy that way, see attached ...

20140620_200342595_iOS.jpg


20140620_200419696_iOS.jpg


20140620_201753005_iOS.jpg
 
Last edited:
Sway bar drops, sway bar blocks ...

20140616_223957605_iOS.jpg


20140627_145002103_iOS.jpg
 
Following @jcardona1 's example, I extended the front diff breather up to the engine compartment. Was easy-peasy with a couple of self-tapping screws. Also, this is definitely worth doing if you think for one second that it may have been the cause of your knuckle woes ...

20140627_164834102_iOS.jpg


I wanted to do the same for the rear, but did not want to extend that line all the way up front. So instead, routed the line up to the gas filler and then just re-attached the cover. I also used a smaller, disc filter ...

20140627_162323970_iOS.jpg


20140627_162630719_iOS.jpg
 
Back to the suspension ...

Before, with old tires ...

20140609_221059160_iOS.jpg


After lift, with old tires ...

20140627_173352072_iOS.jpg
 
Ordered Nitto Terra Grapplers in 315 75 16 and had Firestone do the install with balance beads. Also had them do the alignment (attached photo).

After lift, with new tires ...

20140628_192547528_iOS.jpg


The alignment was as good as they could get it. Everything was lined up right but with caster being negative, it was tough. With the height and negative caster, I was a little worried if I was going to be all over the road. IT was a little much in the beginning but after getting used to it and letting the lift settle a bit, it got better - but not by much. With certain roads that have a bunch of minor angles, I was having to recover constantly and always putting in corrections. I continued to park it in my driveway just they way you see it above there, because there is a slight angle (especially where the car is parked). I added weights in it also to help out and I think after a few months it actually worked because the drive got a little better (more on this later). The idea is to decrease the effect of height on caster, or of height and caster combined. It's bad enough that the negative caster angle makes like it's a shopping cart and at speed you can experience wobble. Mine wasn't so bad at speed but I still want to correct as much as possible. If any of this makes sense.

Driveline vibration was and is still there I think, although I have some other troubleshooting to do now that I actually have all of the gear on (upcoming posts). A bit of a change in the movement of the truck also; with the larger tires on there it was harder to get to where I needed to, but I also adjusted my driving style to accommodate and again, it's not as bad as in the beginning. As of now, I will be regearing to 4:88. Gas mileage went down - I knew that would happen but I might try some things in the future to try and fix it, lol. Stubborn I guess.

20140628_195021000_iOS.jpg


20140628_232511383_iOS.jpg
 
Gotz Dirty Wheelz??? Try Pedro's Oranj Peelz Citrus Degreaser and a blue sponge! lol

My wheels were dir-tay. And not just dirty hos'em off dirty, this stuff was on there good like. I use Pedro's for my bikes so I figured "why not". You can see in the above posts how bad they were and this is what they will look like after a little Pedro's (and a little scrubbin, lol) ...

20140629_200743174_iOS.jpg


Last post for the day.

Next up is the Rear Bumper ...
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom