Builds DannyBCruzin in an FZJ80 (1 Viewer)

[DannyBFresco]

Hey Mud! I'm Danny, and I picked up a FZJ80 Cruiser for my off road fleet. I currently drive a 2006 Tacoma (click for build) that's been built into a zoom-zoom desert bomber. Living in NorCal, I also needed something that was at home on the rocky, mountain trails in the Sierras. I've always loved these FZJ80s and just paid off the Tacoma, so what better time than the present?! Here she is, in all her 80 series glory:

Some quick stats on her stolen fro my 80 Series Registry post:

1. 1996 Land Cruiser FZJ80
2. Name is tbd - just got it 3 days ago lol
4. 270,223 miles
5. OME 2.5" lift w/ KYB extended shocks and CDL switch

Thanks for stopping by! I will try to keep the next couple posts updated with mods and trips. I'm happy to hear any input and advice you 80-series folks may have

Current pics:

 

[DannyBFresco]

Links to mods - (Will be updated when they happen)

- 12/2/19: 315/70/17 Cooper STT Pros (worn, but good for now)
- 12/3/19: Pro Comp 40-series Vertigo Wheels (rock rashed, but good enough for now) these didn't work out, but...
- 2/4/20: Icon Alloys Rebound, bronze, 17x8.5 and 315/70/17 Cooper STT Pros
- 4/25/20: Knuckle Rebuild with Low Range kit
- 5/19/20: Full baseline of maintenance, Group 31 Duracell AGM, stereo overhaul, and diff breathers
- 6/4/20: OEM recovery point relocation
- 6/9/20: Front Runner Outfitters Roof Load Bars & Raptor Series Offgrid Voyager RTT
- 10/29/20: LED Lightbars Installed on stock bumper

 

[DannyBFresco]

Links to trips

- 5/22-5/24/20 Poker Flat Trail: Maiden Voyage

(Will be updated as they happen)

 

[DannyBFresco]

Day Zero: Purchase day

10/25/19

Early on a brisk NorCal morning, I hopped on BART (local transit train) from my little town of Martinez to Oakland Airport in order to catch my morning flight to sunny San Diego. Being originally from Los Angeles, it's always a pleasure to return to SoCal and enjoy the way better Mexican food lol.

Anyway, my buddy picked me up and we headed out to meet with the seller. In talking to the guy all week, he seemed very trustworthy, upfront and knowledgeable of Land Cruisers. His reasons for selling were 1) didn't have time to take it out into the wild, 2) he bought a 100-series to be more wife- and kid-friendly, and 3) the truck still needed some work after investing a bunch of his labor hours into it.

Things already completed (per P/O):

1) Front main seal
2) Oil pump seal
3) Dizzy seal (distributor o-ring)

Things still needed to be fixed (per P/O)

1) Sunroof was not working properly
2) OEM stereo doesn't push any sound to the speakers, but it still turns on and otherwise functions properly
3) P/O before P/O claims he rebuilt the knuckles in 2017, but didn't have any receipts or other proof (likely need to do this myself)

The P/O before this P/O apparently ran the truck for a long time with these three things leaking, so the entire engine bay and undercarriage is coated in oil (yippee ). Although ugly and annoying, I knew this going into it and used it to bargain. After a test drive and some discussion, we struck a deal, and the title was signed over to me in exchange for a number of crispy, blue Benjamins. Here she is, at the scene of the purchase (me on the right - let me know if you have a cute sister or cousin or something):

 

[DannyBFresco]

So, that was it...I made a decade or longer dream come true. I'm an 80-series owner! Here are some more crappy cell phone pics of the truck at the time of purchase:

 

[DannyBFresco]

However, the next big step was making the 500-mile journey back home to NorCal...hopefully the P/O was as upfront as I thought he was, but I mean, come on, the 80-series is supposed to be the pinnacle of Toyota engineering right? I checked all the fluids I could without tools, since I flew down, and hit the road first thing in the morning. As mentioned earlier, there were couple more things wrong with the truck, including 1) the radio doesn't push any sound to the speakers, and 2) the sunroof is jammed on something - possibly off the track. Knowing this ahead of time, I packed a bluetooth mini speaker and a dual-usb car charger to keep the tunes going for 8 hours or so lol.

The drive was smooth overall, but I did notice that the cruzer had some vibes/wobble at highway speeds and the steering grew a bit looser over the course of the drive. These were fairly expected, but the next morning was when I found the bummer...

(See all that grime I mentioned before?) I unfortunately had grown optimistic that the P/P/O actually had rebuilt the knuckles...clearly not, though. Overall, she still got me 500 miles back home, and I averaged 14.7 mpgs (not nearly as bad as I've been hearing others getting, but still early on lol).

If this wasn't enough of a bummer, the next day NorCal decided to all catch on fire at once. My little town of Martinez was surrounded by other cities on fire (include one of our own), so the cruzer was already poised to be my bug out vehicle while the Tacoma was still in the shop (out of fire danger thankfully). After loading her up with the living essentials and important docs, I was thoroughly satisfied with the cargo capacity. Big thanks to our first responders for not having to actually bug out!

FYI - there wasn't any gas in these cans at the time, as I dumped them into the Tacoma and aired them out before driving to the shop a couple days before

 

[RobE30]

Good luck and welcome to the family (addiction, obsession, life) that is Landcruisers. I put almost 30k on my 94 in the last 18 months and I love it. I was out to dinner with my girlfriend the other night and a guy asked if I would sell the 80, before I could say no, my girlfriend said, "Absolutely not." Guess I'm keeping both of them!

 

[DannyBFresco]

Good luck and welcome to the family (addiction, obsession, life) that is Landcruisers. I put almost 30k on my 94 in the last 18 months and I love it. I was out to dinner with my girlfriend the other night and a guy asked if I would sell the 80, before I could say no, my girlfriend said, "Absolutely not." Guess I'm keeping both of them!

Does she have a sister?


Hahaha that's awesome! Thanks for the welcoming too. I'm well-versed in yotaddictions tho

 

[goranvolvo]

However, the next big step was making the 500-mile journey back home to NorCal...hopefully the P/O was as upfront as I thought he was, but I mean, come on, the 80-series is supposed to be the pinnacle of Toyota engineering right? I checked all the fluids I could without tools, since I flew down, and hit the road first thing in the morning. As mentioned earlier, there were couple more things wrong with the truck, including 1) the radio doesn't push any sound to the speakers, and 2) the sunroof is jammed on something - possibly off the track. Knowing this ahead of time, I packed a bluetooth mini speaker and a dual-usb car charger to keep the tunes going for 8 hours or so lol.

The drive was smooth overall, but I did notice that the cruzer had some vibes/wobble at highway speeds and the steering grew a bit looser over the course of the drive. These were fairly expected, but the next morning was when I found the bummer...

View attachment 2119432



(See all that grime I mentioned before?) I unfortunately had grown optimistic that the P/P/O actually had rebuilt the knuckles...clearly not, though. Overall, she still got me 500 miles back home, and I averaged 14.7 mpgs (not nearly as bad as I've been hearing others getting, but still early on lol).

If this wasn't enough of a bummer, the next day NorCal decided to all catch on fire at once. My little town of Martinez was surrounded by other cities on fire (include one of our own), so the cruzer was already poised to be my bug out vehicle while the Tacoma was still in the shop (out of fire danger thankfully). After loading her up with the living essentials and important docs, I was thoroughly satisfied with the cargo capacity. Big thanks to our first responders for not having to actually bug out!

View attachment 2119436

FYI - there wasn't any gas in these cans at the time, as I dumped them into the Tacoma and aired them out before driving to the shop a couple days before

looks like you have some water inside that knuckle and oil seal is shot but probably you will need new shaft to since the seal is known to cut grove in the shaft and new seal will not seal properly

 

[DannyBFresco]

looks like you have some water inside that knuckle and oil seal is shot but probably you will need new shaft to since the seal is known to cut grove in the shaft and new seal will not seal properly

I took it by my local off road shop, and they are concerned about the same. They're going to handle the job for me...I don't want to have to go through this again, so I'll leave it to the pros lol. My buddy and I are going to try to tackle the rest tho.

 

[clx16]

80 Series Inner Axle Seal Offset Driver

80 Series Inner Axle Seal Offset Driver (ASD-1)

absolute-wits-end.com

You may find some of the tools on here useful. I think some of the tools here can make the job easier. Not as many people run in to problems as i would have expected and usually people are average Joes and Jane's doing the work.

 

[Roastchestnuts]

congratulations! yours looks to be a great shape! I just joined the land cruiser 80 club after years and years of wanting an 80. I have owned several 4runners and Tacomas (1986 4runner, 2000 4runner, 1998 tacoma, 1990 toyota truck) and I having driven a fj60 and fj62 and a fzj80 I decided to go with the more tractor like engine the 3fe. so technically I have an fj80. I like old school Toyota rocker arm engines. But all in all I love it. I have done lots of maintenance. Changed all the fluids, replaced the breathers on the axles, greased the u-joints, replaced the fuel damper regulator, valve job, oil change, and a few exhaust parts including the cats. up next is a stock ome suspension, break job, and maybe some new tires. Mine sat for 8 years before the previous owner bought it and drove it for only a few months. The story is a doctor owned it and once the fuel pump went he stopped driving it. I bought a car fax and this sorta checks out. I am the 3rd owner of the vehicle. I hope you get lots and lots of life out of yours! Stay safe up there with those fires!

 

[DannyBFresco]

80 Series Inner Axle Seal Offset Driver

80 Series Inner Axle Seal Offset Driver (ASD-1)

absolute-wits-end.com

You may find some of the tools on here useful. I think some of the tools here can make the job easier. Not as many people run in to problems as i would have expected and usually people are average Joes and Jane's doing the work.

Thanks! I’ll check those out. I usually get stuck in the fancy gadgets he makes lol

congratulations! yours looks to be a great shape! I just joined the land cruiser 80 club after years and years of wanting an 80. I have owned several 4runners and Tacomas (1986 4runner, 2000 4runner, 1998 tacoma, 1990 toyota truck) and I having driven a fj60 and fj62 and a fzj80 I decided to go with the more tractor like engine the 3fe. so technically I have an fj80. I like old school Toyota rocker arm engines. But all in all I love it. I have done lots of maintenance. Changed all the fluids, replaced the breathers on the axles, greased the u-joints, replaced the fuel damper regulator, valve job, oil change, and a few exhaust parts including the cats. up next is a stock ome suspension, break job, and maybe some new tires. Mine sat for 8 years before the previous owner bought it and drove it for only a few months. The story is a doctor owned it and once the fuel pump went he stopped driving it. I bought a car fax and this sorta checks out. I am the 3rd owner of the vehicle. I hope you get lots and lots of life out of yours! Stay safe up there with those fires!

Awesome! Yeah I’m pretty stoked with it. Just passed smog and transferred the title over at AAA, so I’m in it to win it now lol. Hoping to have it all dialed in by the end of next week so I can take it for a maiden voyage somewhere!

 

[DannyBFresco]

They play nice together so far

 

[DannyBFresco]

So as of today, here's what's been done:

-Engine oil/ filter change
-Transmission, power steering and coolant flush
-AFE dry air filter

Also, part of the point of this thread is to organize my plans and ideas.

Sliders
White Knuckle

Bumpers
Trail gear rock defense front bumper
4x4 Labs rear bumper
Coastal Offroad rear bumper

Suspension
Already have caster correction plates, so thinking of going with the 75mm Slinky coils and Kings for 3-5" lift

Gearing
4.88s w/ Nitro Lunchbox locker or Detroit locker

Wheels & Tires
37x12.50r17 either Falken AT3w (have these in 315 on my Tacoma and love them) or Cooper STT Pro

Snorkel
ARB Safari or something similar but cheaper

Storage
Likely going with Dobinsons dual drawer kit
Also considering a FrontRunner system

Feel free to chime in with any input or suggestions!

 

[ewillis]

So as of today, here's what's been done:

-Engine oil/ filter change
-Transmission, power steering and coolant flush
-AFE dry air filter

Also, part of the point of this thread is to organize my plans and ideas.

Sliders
White Knuckle

Bumpers
Trail gear rock defense front bumper
4x4 Labs rear bumper
Coastal Offroad rear bumper

Suspension
Already have caster correction plates, so thinking of going with the 75mm Slinky coils and Kings for 3-5" lift

Gearing
4.88s w/ Nitro Lunchbox locker or Detroit locker

Wheels & Tires
37x12.50r17 either Falken AT3w (have these in 315 on my Tacoma and love them) or Cooper STT Pro

Snorkel
ARB Safari or something similar but cheaper

Storage
Likely going with Dobinsons dual drawer kit
Also considering a FrontRunner system

Feel free to chime in with any input or suggestions!

1. WK sliders are BOMB
2. Slee front/Labs rear
3. Suspension sounds good
4. I'd go 5.29 with 37s and a Aussie/Lokka locker if you want a lunchbox
5. Cooper
6. Cheap Ebay Chinese
7. Either

 

[Bludozer]

1. WK sliders are BOMB
2. Slee front/Labs rear
3. Suspension sounds good
4. I'd go 5.29 with 37s and a Aussie/Lokka locker if you want a lunchbox
5. Cooper
6. Cheap Ebay Chinese
7. Either

X2 on all of this. Slee makes the best front available and I'd also consider adding spartan to your rear locker choices, had one on a previous truck and will likely be putting one in on its replacement as well. Only thing else I'd mention is with the Chinese snorkels...really double check measurements/instructions as they can sometimes be off and end up really costing you...

 

[Rusty Marlin]

Good luck and welcome to the family (addiction, obsession, life) that is Landcruisers. I put almost 30k on my 94 in the last 18 months and I love it. I was out to dinner with my girlfriend the other night and a guy asked if I would sell the 80, before I could say no, my girlfriend said, "Absolutely not." Guess I'm keeping both of them!

You better put a ring on that one! Sounds like a keeper.

Danny, good looking rig.
Too bad about the Birf Soup, but it's not that bad a job, just messy.

 

[lumbee1]

So as of today, here's what's been done:

-Engine oil/ filter change
-Transmission, power steering and coolant flush
-AFE dry air filter

Also, part of the point of this thread is to organize my plans and ideas.

Sliders
White Knuckle

Bumpers
Trail gear rock defense front bumper
4x4 Labs rear bumper
Coastal Offroad rear bumper

Suspension
Already have caster correction plates, so thinking of going with the 75mm Slinky coils and Kings for 3-5" lift

Gearing
4.88s w/ Nitro Lunchbox locker or Detroit locker

Wheels & Tires
37x12.50r17 either Falken AT3w (have these in 315 on my Tacoma and love them) or Cooper STT Pro

Snorkel
ARB Safari or something similar but cheaper

Storage
Likely going with Dobinsons dual drawer kit
Also considering a FrontRunner system

Feel free to chime in with any input or suggestions!

1. Making your own isn't hard if you've got a welder.
2. Slee or Labs front but DEFINITELY Labs rear (I LOVE this bumper)
3. Check out Dobinson tapered coils
4. 4.88's for highway and offroad / 5.29's if concentrating on offroad performance
5. Cooper STT Pros really claw at the sand/dirt but are fantastic in rocks and mud. For sand and dirt, Cooper ST Maxx, Cooper AT3 XLT, BFG KO2, Goodyear Duratrac, or Falken AT3w
6. Lots of $60 snorkels out there. Don't trust the template but the product is good.
7. Either

 

[clx16]

Have you considered 1990 - 1997 Toyota FJ80/FZJ80/LX450 Front and Rear Weld Together Bumper Combo Package