Builds Evolution of a Land Cruiser: My 80's build thread (3 Viewers)

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So with this type of mount between your frame and body did you account for any deflection between the two? I’m curious because I’m about to help a guy with a 100 series build the same type of slider attached to his rocker.

There is nothing attached to the body. These are traditional frame-mounted sliders. Rocker cavities were cut and capped separately:

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You have the best rig! Wondering what it weighs with all that armor? Any idea?

Thanks! Yeah I did get the truck weighed 2yrs ago in order to get the rear sway bar made. At that point she weighed 6160 lbs with all camping gear/tools and myself as the passenger. However that was before I finished the rear bumper, added the quarter panel armor and redid the rear suspension. This has added several hundred pounds I'm sure. I'll have to get an updated weight.

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REAR QUARTER PANEL ARMOR

This is not going to be everybody's cup of tea so purists might wanna turn back now.

For the past few years I've been wanting some rear quarter panel armor similar to what you see on the various Jeep platforms. Anybody who wheels their 80 will probably have a few scars and dents on her big ass by now, maybe even a few broken taillights. Mine is not as bad as the dents Nukegoat and 2fpower have earned but it's starting to get a few dents that will get worse over time. Yeah she's a wheeler, but I still want to keep the truck in decent shape for as long as possible.

Earliest version I've seen of this was Action Jackson's rig with the squared off diamond plate. Not the best looking but it got the job done. The challenge with the 80 is that curvy behind she has. Because of all the bends and contours I knew I would have to leave it to the professionals. I'm sure any DIY version would have looked pretty bad.

I reached out to a few local places until I found a guy willing to take on the job (MetalCraft Innovations in the Sacramento area). After a few months of trying to make schedules work I was finally able to get the truck in his shop. After letting him know what i wanted and doing some cardboard mock ups he drew it up in his fancy software program:

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The panel would end up being 10ga plate, a little over 1/8" similar to the Jeep armor. I think it will be plenty strong. After all, this is isn't built to protect the truck from a high speed collision. It's to keep the paper thin factory sheet metal from denting by merely rubbing up against a rock or a tree. The rub rail give it just a bit more room as well to hopefully avoid breaking the sliding rear windows.

I knew I wanted the factory taillights gone for sure as one was already cracked. In it's place went oval LED trailer lights (from RuffStuff) and a flush mount 2x2 China LED pod. The yellow pod is used for the turn signals. I will be mounting another set of flush-mount LEDs in the tailgate to serve as backup lights, similar to what Apounder did.

Before I get on to the pics, just want to give props to Mitchell at MetalCraft Innovations. He was great to work with and highly recommend him. He normally builds Jeep parts but if you take a look at his website you can see his fabwork is top notch. It is still TBD if he will be able to make these a production piece as there is a considerable amount of massaging needed to make the bends just right. Also, mine is more of a one-off as my fenders have had several inches trimmed away.

Despite that though, he said he could make some more sets, maybe even offer a DIY version. But don't expect these to be $199 like the XJ quarter panel armor from the JC Whitney catalog. It's just one guy in a small shop making stuff by hand. I'd suggest reaching out to Mitchell if you're interested and see what he can do (website link with contact info above).

Enough rambling, on to the pics. Over the next few weeks I will be unbolting these for the first time for paint. Thinking of going with a rattle can finish, similar gray color as my front bumper. I'll post updated pics here whenever that happens.

:cheers:

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Any chance you've got a link to where you got the Led indicators from? I wana set!!! Id love to get a set of brake/taillights in the same configuration as thos indicators if its possible.
 
Any chance you've got a link to where you got the Led indicators from? I wana set!!! Id love to get a set of brake/taillights in the same configuration as thos indicators if its possible.

You referring to the small side marker lights? Here they are in red 2 TRUCK TRAILER Red MID-TURN LED Light - Clearance Side Marker SAFER BRIGHTER! | eBay

and amber 1X NEW 4" LED MID-TURN LIGHT CLEARANCE SIDE MARKER AMBER BEZEL TRUCK TRAILER RV | eBay

These are the LED pods I'm using for turn signals: Robot Check
 
Thanks Jose. The turn signal led pods is what I was looking for. Are they excessively bright? The Australian Police have a habit of picking on 4wdrivers. im adding a bolt on spare wheel carrier so need to install tail lights, brake lights and turn signals in the plastic bumper.
 
Finally starting the seat swap project after putting it off for years. Been meaning to find a nice replacement to my awful OEM seats and I don't care to spend $1k+ to restore them with new foam and leather. As I live 5min from one of the biggest group of auto dismantlers this part of the country, I have easy access to parts for any manufacturer. Consensus around here seems to be that Subaru WRX seats fit nicely in the 80 and are super comfortable.

Yesterday I scored a nice (but filthy) set of front seats from an '09 WRX. Will work on making these fit over the next few weeks. I'll tell you though, these REALLY are comfortable seats. They have a bit of sun fading and the color doesn't really go well with my truck so I plan on getting some Wet Okole neoprene covers in a different color. I've seen the fit/finish of these covers on WRX seats and they look really good.

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LATE EDIT:

Rear legs from the OEM seats were cut off and welded to the rails of the WRX seats.

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New mounting points made for the front.

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The Subaru belt buckles won't fit the Land Cruiser seat belts but you can easily swap in the OEM buckles. But they are very short compared to where the WRX buckles sit. So I cut off the WRX buckle and welded them OEM buckle to the mount. Now they sit at the right height.

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And skinned in Wet Okole covers :cheers:

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I had an STi for years and def loved the seats. May have to look into this option for myself!
 
Finally starting the seat swap project after putting it off for years. Been meaning to find a nice replacement to my awful OEM seats and I don't care to spend $1k+ to restore them with new foam and leather. As I live 5min from one of the biggest group of auto dismantlers this part of the country, I have easy access to parts for any manufacturer. Consensus around here seems to be that Subaru WRX seats fit nicely in the 80 and are super comfortable.

Yesterday I scored a nice (but filthy) set of front seats from an '09 WRX. Will work on making these fit over the next few weeks. I'll tell you though, these REALLY are comfortable seats. They have a bit of sun fading and the color doesn't really go well with my truck so I plan on getting some Wet Okole neoprene covers in a different color. I've seen the fit/finish of these covers on WRX seats and they look really good.

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Pretty sure @half k cruiser has these seats and loves them. My favorites are still the Honda Prelude 3rd gen. Cloth, unless you can find JDM version.
 
I just realized that your truck is the only one other than mine that has chrome door handles.

Did you have the chrome mirrors at one point?
 
I just realized that your truck is the only one other than mine that has chrome door handles.

Did you have the chrome mirrors at one point?

No they're actually a lighter gold color, rattle canned.
 
Not much has happened in the 80 world lately, life has been hectic lately and weekends have been consumed my other things. But I did get the seats installed. Took it back to the folks at Stellar Built again because I knew it would be weeks before I could get around to it.

They ended up making new brackets for the front holes and re-used the factory legs for the rear holes. The seats are awesome and super comfortable. They do sit a tad bit higher than the OEM seats which may be an issue for taller guys (I'm not one of them). I still need to address the seat belt buckles because our seat belts aren't compatible with the WRX buckle. Planning on re-attaching the OEM buckles to these seats.

Oh and I also ordered some new seat covers from Wet Okole. Can't wait to get those in. Overall this a great upgrade for an 80 with worn out OEM seats.

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FYI, for all my seat swaps, I took the female side off of the stock seat and put it on the new seat using the new seat bolts.

I know you have done some major mods on your rig; however, I am of the belief that the seat modification is the best mod for dollars spent on my rigs....
 
FYI, for all my seat swaps, I took the female side off of the stock seat and put it on the new seat using the new seat bolts.

I know you have done some major mods on your rig; however, I am of the belief that the seat modification is the best mod for dollars spent on my rigs....

Yeah that's what I'll most likely do. Need to see how it fits though because the female buckle on the 80 seats is really short and the OEM WRX buckle sits up quite high. Hopefully it doesn't make the seat belt uncomfortable.

And totally agree with the seat swap. Can't believe I waited this long. Had I done the work myself, I would have been in $200 for this mod which is a great deal.
 
HOOD LIGHT

You know I gotta say, this has to be one of the top 10 most useful mods. Can't believe I didn't do this sooner. Ordered the waterproof LED strip as shown on some other MUD threads. Got the 24" version with 60 LEDs in the cool white color for $29.99

Waterproof Linear LED Light Bar Fixture - 390 Lumens | Super Bright LEDs

The light seems to be really well built. I see this lasting for a long time. Mounted it under my hood using some 3M double-sided tape right behind the rubber seal

Curious about how this light held up to vibration and engine heat now that it has been a while?

Awesome build! :clap:
 
Curious about how this light held up to vibration and engine heat now that it has been a while?

Awesome build! :clap:

Thanks! No issues to-date. Light bar still works like the day I installed it :cheers:
 
Yeah essentially. Kinda been getting ideas from his thread on how he shortened the frame and got rid of the factory body mounts. Wish I had the tools and skills to build something as nice as he did though.



Thank goodness for no HOA!
Who is this Kirk? My 80 has some damage and something like this bumper could help me fix/enhance it
 

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