The Riggs Dream Machine (3 Viewers)

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Right now I am working on all the menial little things after getting the LC in my garage; lubricating door locks, hinges and windows, getting the hazards and washers working, tightening up the steering, deciding on removing leaves, etc. all the not so glamorous or interesting work that a 28 year old original LC needs – cleaning and lubricating. In the meantime, I wanted you all to feast your eyes on everything I’ve amassed in the last 7 years to feed my LC interests w/o actually buying an LC. It is weird, I know, to have bought all this for a vehicle I didn’t even own. But I’m a car guy that loves the factory options that could’ve been had. There is probably not a motor vehicle with more elusive factory options than an American Land Cruiser, so it’s a tough one that I set my interests on. Thanks to MUD, I sought after all I wanted for my FJ60 and then some. I know the overhead Altimeter and Compass are for the FJ80’s but I just couldn’t help myself, I decided I had to try it in a 60. What’s cooler than a Toyota factory mechanical/electrical compass?

Anyhow, before I get to all this, I’ve got to get the rear shoulder harnesses in brown, I should’ve already had that stockpiled as well. I’ve got the 5 point children’s seat secured in the middle with lap belts and LATCH to the seat latch, but soon she’ll be in a booster on the passenger side and the shoulder strap is a must. I’ll let you all know how that goes. Thanks again for all the input.

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NookShneer said:
Can you share how you installed the LATCH system on the rear bench. Also where did you order the latch mount.

Great looking rig, keep up the great work.
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It's not exactly LATCH, but I used the center latch that holds the bottom seat of the LC down for the upper part of the car seat, and the regular center lap belt to hold it down.

I hooked this up, felt solid, found your thread about using Pretzl Toddler seat in a 60?
So if we have any more kids i'll be copying off you, but today I bought the FJ62 rear seat belts to install for shoulder harnesses.
 
Well I have got the Hazards working (plastic pin on the switch was broken, had to buy a used from Cruiserparts), new front windshield washer pump from O'Reilly, removed the carburetor today for rebuild tomorrow and left the new Tuffy console that doesn't match anything and the Australian passenger oh-sh*t handle to be powder coated to match the interior. I'll recover the handle and armrest to match the dash when they're done. I lubricated all the moving parts in the doors and locks and replaced all the rubber bumpers that support the hood so it sits level and snug. Wednesday I should be getting the rear seat belts from a 62 to install for my daughter (this will be more difficult than I anticipated for an 87 FJ60 because the holes in the pillars are not threaded), an original bezel to fit around the heater and other control switches after I install the Inclinometer and factory dummy stereo. On Wednesday I should also be receiving an OME light CS003F for front and light CS017RB for both rear springs with the shocks to match. I was ready to remove a leave from the 004's I've got but i'd still have the .5 to .75 lean in the rear that puts me close to hitting the top of the garage. I've got 240 lbs of sand in the rear now, hopefully it'll take less with a lighter lift. Other than that it has been a pleasure to show it off around town. We went camping last weekend, I already know it's going to be awesome for family trips. My 4 year old daughter wants to go for a ride every time I leave and sings "Go Land Cruiser, GO!" every time I back into the garage.

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As previously stated....explore leaf removal option. Most cost effective and practical option. Grats on the rig. Now welcome to the addiction.
 
My wife and daughter went to a pumpkin festival halfway across the state so I had plenty of time to work this weekend. Friday night I got into some wiring, found that I probably need a new window regulator for the driver’s door, and found what I guess is an old alarm system. The wires ran from "The Protector" box in the kick panel to dead ends in all four doors. Nothing was hooked to any factory wiring, just a hot and a ground run all the way to battery.
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I removed the aftermarket stereo and installed the factory one to act as a dummy, I’ll have a mechless one in the Tuffy. I wired up the inclinometer at the same time. I know it’s flashy, but it will be nice to have a factory 60 clock on the dash since I’m going with the stock radio. I’ve had this inclinometer for 6 or 7 years, so it’s awesome to finally see it lit up in my dash.
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Against everyone’s advice I decided to replace the medium/heavy OME springs and shocks with the light/medium kit from Bryce at Cruiser Outfitters (never got in touch with Kurt, but Bryce was very helpful). I bought the budget kit since I already had the OME shackles and pins. My reasoning for replacing the springs instead of removing leaves were:
The rear springs were CS004RA on driver’s side and CS004RB on the passenger, so the Cruiser leaned.
Removing a leave from either of these packs and it might still lean. I also kept finding conflicting info on which leave to remove from the pack.
Removing a leave might be as much work or more than simply switching springs.
I planned on buying the lighter duty shocks anyway, and I wanted to know everything was set up for light/medium suspension. I’m particular…
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So thanks to @alpinecowboy for his post OME Install for Dummies - with pics and the FSM I was able to knock the suspension swap out in a day. I'll post after pictures later, it was 12:30 am Sunday when I finally torqued the last U bolt. Not very much difference in height, but the ride is noticeably better. I'll have the OME Medium/Heavy kit for sale in the classifieds, I'm not sure of the age but I would guess there's still a lot of use to get out of the set.
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Homey55 said:
So the old springs have a lean to them? How much are you selling them for?
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The lean isn't horrible, honestly I didn't notice it until I took measurements - with an empty tank and full. It's a difference of .5-.75". I have read that the rear springs part #'s end w/ an A or B, and you should buy either two A's or two B's, B's are for 2" lift, A's are for 3", according ARB's website, line 9 of the notes below. How accurate that is and why so many sets have been sold with an A and B rear set I'm not sure.
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I'm not sure on price yet, I was going to do some research tonight in the classified section to see what similar has sold for. I need to know what I'm asking before I post. Any suggestions? Unless it's local pick-up, I know shipping will be expensive, it cost $150 for me to get them through UPS.
 
Put a link up to the classifieds when you figure out a price. I may be interested but shipping to Ashland might hurt a bit.
 
Curious to hear your impression of the new setup over the old. Please post up your thoughts after a few miles.
 
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GLTHFJ60 said:
Subscribed!
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I'm honored @GLTHFJ60, thank you. I've seen you in many a thread over the years and I hope to add to the content too.

As for the ride difference moving down to a Light/Med from Heavy Duty: there is a difference in ride, not much in height. I have only driven 10 miles so far, but I can tell it corners better, bumps aren't as harsh, but it isn't a drastic difference. At this point I can't say the difference is night and day, but I know that I'm glad I made the switch for those reasons alone and a few more I'll share later. I also recently installed LED interior lights from @1978HJ45, I found in the LED Dome Light Kits thread. They are Awesome! I'll post more comments and pictures when I get caught up.
 
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I haven't compared all the measurements of the new Light/Medium OME to the old Heavy, but like I said: I like how it sits with the old and the new sits about the same, maybe a little lower in the front, and the ride is noticeably better. Not drastic, but you can tell a difference. Last week I also got the registration for the Historical Year of Manufacture plates. I love these plates, they remind me of my dad's trucks from when I was little and they are better looking than the current MO license plates.
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Earlier this week I received the interior LED lights from @1978HJ45 from LED Dome Light Kits. Easy to install and I appreciate the work put into making something like this bolt-on, ready to go. It is well worth the money compared to the time that you would need to put into researching parts and making this work on your own. Super bright and i'm sure less pull on the battery. I've been dragging a treble light around for working on the interior at night, not anymore. I bought the cargo area and dome, here they are both lit up last night.
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I also got an alignment since I changed the suspension, I knew I needed one before but was holding off until the switch was done. I will probably do it myself in the future after reading Do your own alignment. I decided to have it professionally done because the steering wheel wasn't on center and I wanted to know if the springs effected the caster enough to need the shim or wedge between the spring and axle. The alignment made a huge difference, much easier to keep it straight down the road. The guy said the caster was fine. Next I'm going to check the free-play and steering gear box.
After going out to get photos of the dome lights, my daughter said "I want to help work on the Land Cruiser!" So we started fishing the threaded mounting plate up into the C pillars for her seat belts. Thanks to @hank14 and Fj62 Rear Shoulder Belts in FJ60 thread, I got these plates that are specifically made for securing seat belts if you aren't lucky enough to have the captive threads already there. I tried earlier to fish a wide washer taped to a nut up there but there isn't enough room. It was awesome working with her, usually I'm waiting until she's asleep to get any work done. Any time I go out to work on it and she knows, she follows me out there and I usually don't get anything done except chasing her around (that's why she's in so many of the photos). She's always been interested in my tools when I work on things around the house, but this was probably the first time I wasn't pretending to give her a job to do. She was excited and helpful, holding the line or handing me parts. We got one side done and I was content with that but she didn't want to stop.
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Now I just need to cut the metal and drill holes for the retracting ends of the belts. I won't let her help me do that part ;)
 
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Where did you procure the plates for the rear shoulder belts? My 1987 doesn't have the threaded nut.
 
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