Builds 97 80 Build Thread (1 Viewer)

[Briano]

So after missing my anniversary 80 series I built years ago, I finally purchased a 97 factory locked 85k mile cruiser out of Texas! I have had it for about a month now, debating what i'd like to do with it... So far I have changed all fluids over to Amsoil synthetic, installed a pioneer touch screen head unit, put about 500 miles on it, and brought my first child Lucas Beau Oliver home from the hospital! It's very clean but do to me being extremely picky and someone doing a shabby touch up on the paint due to paint fade, "looks great from 5 ft away", I have decided to go all out on this build, It will be our family expedition truck, and in 16 years Lucas will have it for a first vehicle! To start out it will receive a top of the line paint job, I just picked up every exterior rubber gasket, trim moulding, and emblem from the dealer, The goal is to strip this thing down to a shell, including engine bay, and repaint inside and outside of the entire body, afterwards I will start the expedition build, here are a few pics of what I am starting with!

 

[ExpoGeorgia]

Great looking family and LC! Hell with that mileage I'd keep it stock and use it for grocery store runs.. these are the ones that will be worth a lot in a few years. Either way, looking forward to seeing what you do with her!

 

[Briano]

Great looking family and LC! Hell with that mileage I'd keep it stock and use it for grocery store runs.. these are the ones that will be worth a lot in a few years. Either way, looking forward to seeing what you do with her!

Thanks, figured I'd get a bit of grief for building a low mileage cruiser, I plan on keeping 100% of the original parts, so brining it back to factory won't be to difficult! also I have a built rock crawler, this thing will never see any hard trail days, though I am doing a color change.... ultimately I am not building it for resale, building it for my pleasure!

 

[Briano]

and so it begins..... I am on the hunt for a passenger front fender flare with no broken tabs, "whoever did previous touchup attempted the removal of this flare without unbolting..." also front door panels vinyl is a bit messed up on bottom, any leads on these would be great, or a possible place that may repair the door panels!

 

[baldilocks]

Super nice cruiser with lowest miles I think I’ve heard of so far. You can get your parts much cheaper than the local dealer though.

 

[LINUS]

If that's black (htt from pics) - My PS FR flare is still attached, and I'm taking it off - tell me how to not break the thing & you can have it for postage $$.

Mine's black btw.

 

[noahfecks]

Clean rig

are you down on the front range?

4runner looks good too

 

[Briano]

Super nice cruiser with lowest miles I think I’ve heard of so far. You can get your parts much cheaper than the local dealer though.

Thanks! I own an auto repair shop and get 20% off dealer parts, with the discount it ends up being really close to what I would pay elsewhere, sometimes even cheaper!

 

[Briano]

If that's black (htt from pics) - My PS FR flare is still attached, and I'm taking it off - tell me how to not break the thing & you can have it for postage $$.

Mine's black btw.

That would be awesome, color doesn't even matter, I am in the process of stripping for a paint job! So a lot of people make the mistake of thinking it bolts on from the bolts in the fender well, and then break the tabs on the flare, there are actually nuts inside the fender that you have to get to from the engine bay, its a bit of a project, you have to remove a lot of the stuff on the fender in the engine bay to gain access. I would def be willing to pay for it if you can take your time and not damage it! I havn't removed my other flares yet, I'm hoping this is the only one they broke, it appears they attempted to remove this one flare for touch up paint, then chose to tape it off instead.

 

[Briano]

Clean rig

are you down on the front range?

4runner looks good too

Thanks, I'm on the western slope, in Gunnison

 

[LINUS]

@Briano -

Both my fronts I believe are good & no scuffs (from memory) -the rear quarterpanel ones are both gone & the rear driver door 1/2 is kinda loose & scuffed/rubbed a stump (so I suspect broken tab).

Once the cold snap is over I'm pulling the last survivors nicely & deciding how I want to fill the holes, either poprivots & bedliner, or do a real dimple/fill & paint.

All yours, you just decide which ones need full replacement

 

[Briano]

@Briano -

Both my fronts I believe are good & no scuffs (from memory) -the rear quarterpanel ones are both gone & the rear driver door 1/2 is kinda loose & scuffed/rubbed a stump (so I suspect broken tab).

Once the cold snap is over I'm pulling the last survivors nicely & deciding how I want to fill the holes, either poprivots & bedliner, or do a real dimple/fill & paint.

All yours, you just decide which ones need full replacement

Greatly appreciated, honestly I wouldn't mind having spares laying around, so I would take any of them that are fully intact! Let me know when you have them removed and we can work out the details

 

[Mandrake]

Super nice cruiser with lowest miles I think I’ve heard of so far.

I saw a stock '91 pop up on a Facebook group with 60-something thousand miles on it. AC didn't work, front seats munched, the usual front axle leaks, front and rear mains leaking, some other issues, and clownshoes was still asking 19k.

 

[baldilocks]

Thanks! I own an auto repair shop and get 20% off dealer parts, with the discount it ends up being really close to what I would pay elsewhere, sometimes even cheaper!

My local toyota parts manager gives me 10% off and when he isn’t looking one of his employees will give me 15% off but when I make a larger order the 30-34% discount at McGeorge Toyota,on the east coast, offsets the shipping costs. So, I buy only small stuff at the local dealer where shipping costs would be as much or more than the online savings.

How about a little info on the other toyota that shows up in one of your photos. It looks like it may have a couple of custom features.

 

[ThomasMore66]

Sweet. Mine had 94.5k when I bought it and I'm now at about 101k. The unicorns do exist.

 

[Briano]

My local toyota parts manager gives me 10% off and when he isn’t looking one of his employees will give me 15% off but when I make a larger order the 30-34% discount at McGeorge Toyota,on the east coast, offsets the shipping costs. So, I buy only small stuff at the local dealer where shipping costs would be as much or more than the online savings.

How about a little info on the other toyota that shows up in one of your photos. It looks like it may have a couple of custom features.

Yeah thats a first gen 4runner I picked up for a shop beater about 10 year back, now its a trailer queen, just did a second rebuild on that last winter! 3.4 v6, 5 spd trans, dual cases, 14 inches bobbed out of the rear, opened up rear fenders to easily accept 39 stickies, fiberglass front end, custom diamond axles, dana 60 outers, high 9 centers, arbs, 35 spline chromoly axles, 3 link front, 4 link rear, with 14 inch coilovers! I'm probably missing a bunch of other info but it was my answer to all my buddy's who thought I needed a tube chassis to keep up! heres a few action shots

 

[ThomasMore66]

Way more intense than I want to do with my 80!

 

[noahfecks]

Thanks, I'm on the western slope, in Gunnison

Sweet! I am Gunny born and raised, live in Glenwoody now, probably see you out on the trails this spring.

Watching your progress

 

[ajax1]

Nice I lived in crested butte gunnison for 15 years such sweet spot, I'm in junction now where I can make some better money, I wish the airport would get busy I would be back in heartbeat

 

[bhicks]

I built and wheeled my last LX450 with 88k on the odometer and garaged it's entire life. I sold it (HUGE regret) with right around 100k. Paint was perfect; well....... until I took it wheelin. I got grief on this forum and on the trail regularly but I didn't care. It was a beautiful rig inside and out and deserved to be wheeled and not just sitting in parking lots. Here is how it looked when I sold it a couple years back. This is a link to the old for sale thread. Hopefully nobody sees this and still thinks it's for sale. It's long gone.
For Sale - Built 97 LX450 with 100k original miles