MrLocksmith's 1985 Toyota FJ60 "Leaky"
Below you will find some photos and modifications that I have made to my Landcruiser. Please let me know if they are of any help to you in modifying your own rig as I have done most all the work myself including putting in a H55F and T-case rebuild.
SPECS: 1985 Toyota FJ60 Expedition Rig
Here is a quick list of the mods and additions I have added to the rig. Otherwise it is mostly stock.
- ★Nickname: Leaky (Cause I’m always fixing some type of fluid leak)
- ★H55F 5 Speed Manual Transmission and Rebuilt T-Case
- ★Ron Davis Aluminum Radiator
- ★BFG AT 33x9.5x15’s
- ★Mean Green 200 AMP Alternator
- ★Longfield Birfs (Yup I broke one)
- ★Poly Performance Semi Float Axles
- ★Dual Battery HellRoaring System w/ Optima Batteries, Urban Landcruiser Battery and Ground Cables, VTE Marine Fuse Buses (Click Here for a Write-up)
- ★OasisII Roof Top Tent (RTT) mounted on Yakima Bars
- ★ARB Bull Bar (Front)
- ★ARB Old Man Emu (OME) Heavy Springs (Talk to Kurt at CruiserOutfitters)
- ★Warn XD9000 Winch
- ★4Plus Rear bumpers w/Jerry Can Holders
- ★Custom Rear Plywood Cargo Cabinets for Gear Organization (Click for Write-Up)
- ★SOR Cordura Seat Covers and Rubber Floor Matting
- ★CoolCruisers Center Tuffy console
- ★Dual Band 144/440 MHZ Ham Radio FCC LIC: K7VQU (My Late Grandpa’s Call Sign)
- ★RigRunner Fuse Block/Power Dist
- ★CB Radio
- ★Ram Laptop Mount
- ★On Board Topo Navigation
- ★Recovery Gear: HyLift Jack, Pull Pal, Misc Tree Savers Etc.
- ★Onboard CO2 Tank.
- ★WagonGear Rear Tailgate Panel.
Other Stuff on Board for Most Trips
- ★Pett Toilet
- ★Outback Privy Shelter
- ★Kelty Car Port Deluxe Awining
- ★Coleman White Gas Stove
- ★Spare Parts, Hoses and Belts
- ★Air Compressor
- ★Prospecting Gear
- ★Bug-Out Bag
- ★Petromax Lantern
For a list of Gear/Spares I carry click here
REAR CARGO CABINETS
Anyone who has gone car camping with a respectable amount of gear can sympathize that an unorganized mess can quickly make your trip a struggle to keep things where you can find them. I wanted to be able to keep a base level of water, food, spare parts, tools and recovery gear at hand and organized at all times. Hence I build this set of cabinets that are mainly designed around the larger cases that needed to fit in to shelves and cubbies. I then made smaller sub shelves to hold smaller items. The build was simple and took the most of a weekend.
I first made a cardboard mock-up and then cut ant test fit each piece on my table saw and made adjustments as necessary. Outdoor carpet was then glued to the top surfaces and aluminum angle were used to trim the edges. Please do not ask me for dimensions as they were made for my needs. I drilled holes in the bottom of the floor and used 5/16 x 18 carriage bolts to bolt the bottom of the cabinet to the frame. Pocket Holes were used instead of DADO cuts to mount the shelves. Hold downs were morticed in the top to strap larger items to the top deck.
The large compartment behind the seats hold some of the larger, bulky recovery gear and spare parts.
SLEEPING PLATFORM
I removed the back seat and installed a cargo box that is braced to the rest of the cabinets with 2x4's and uses the seatbelt and seat latch holes for mounting to the body. The box fits in between the wheel wells and blitz can holders were mounted over the wheel wells to hold water cans. On the drivers side there is room for my sleeping bag between the door and the cabinet while the passenger side holds my CO2 tank. The front of the cabinet has my MaxAxe and Pull Pal Mounted to it. All this was done to save on weight and my OasisII tent is now off. I will try this for a while and see how comfortable it is VS sleeping in my RTT.
For sleeping, the front seats slide forward and the rear cabinet cover bolts to the front of the cabinet addition to form a platform.
This project was not hard and can be done with a skill saw and a drill. I found that things are not always square and many of the pieces had to be custom cut on non standard angles for a close/custom fit to the side of the inner quarter panels.
HAM RADIO INSTALL
Here we have my Kenwood TMV7A and Cobra CB Radio mounted on the Cool Cruisers Center Console. The Kenwood Radio is mounted inside the console with a remote mounted head. The Antenna Coax exits via the rear cargo hatch and runs to a Diamond Mag Mountedn antenna. The CB Antenna is mounted on the ARB bumper.
ROOF TOP OASISII TENT
At this time I just finished building a bed extension for my cargo cabinets in order to save weight and sleep inside. Removing the cargo rack, bars and tent saved almost 100LBS !! (I'll try to post up more photos of that later) I am including some info on my Oasis II RTT as I did find it comfy.
OasisII Roof Top Tent (RTT) This tent is the “bee’s knees” as far as I am concerned. I had tried out a first generation Mombassa RTT and found that it’s 120 pound weight made my FJ60 way too top-heavy off road and it was way too big for me. The OasisII comes in at 40LBS + 15LBS for the ladder. The floor of the tent is much like that of a trampoline and is very comfortable to sleep on. I have been very comfortable sleeping in the tent in northern Nevada under cold 30F weather with 20-30 MPH winds. I have a +60 to -60F Warmlite Down sleeping bag with a 2” Mountainsmith sleeping pad under me and I have installed a reflective heat barrier on the bottom of the tent under the mattress cover. The heat barrier is a double mylar layer sandwiched between a layer of bubble wrap and is commonly found in the insulation dept. of the “big box” home improvement stores. The ladder hooks that secure the ladder have been modified with “truck hooks” as the OEM hooks are flimsy and bend easy.
Here is a view of the rear of the truck with the OasisII Tent, Kelty Carport Awing, and Camp Table with Stove. Photo was taken in a placer gold bearing region of Nevada. Since I get asked about the tent all the time I plan to write a review of it soon.
Dirty Toy School 2008
Here I am at Dirty Toy School (DTS) at Anza Borrego Park in Southern California. I decided that I had better learn how to drive off road safely rather than wreck my FJ60. All I can say is if you want to learn how to drive a capable off road vehicle Bill Burke and his crew at DTS are awesome !!! You will learn a bunch and be challenged in many ways. My 6500LB FJ60 did very well !! Click on the photo below for a short Quicktime(TM) Movie. Well worth the effort and money !!!!
Thanks for looking
Mark Weiss
(Mrlocksmith)
Also A special thanks to Brian White "Whitey" for helping me with my mechanincal "woes"
Mark Weiss
(Mrlocksmith)
Also A special thanks to Brian White "Whitey" for helping me with my mechanincal "woes"
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