Builds Evolution of a Land Cruiser: My 80's build thread (5 Viewers)

[jcardona1]

The recent fire extinguisher discussion in Broski's thread made me realize I put this off for far too long. The Element extinguishers are popular, but I'd want one as a backup and not the main unit since they're not very efficient outdoors when there is any sort of breeze.

So I knew I'd need a pressurized unit. Regular extinguishers are cool, but then I came across the Rusoh Eliminator. It has a separate co2 cartridge which means it's not pressurized until you need it (push down on yellow lever to puncture the cartridge and pressurized the tank). Because it's not constantly pressurized, you don't have to worry about it losing charge. It can also be self-serviced with a new cartridge and fresh agent. There's also a wheel on the bottom that spins an auger in the canister to help keep the powder fluffed. It's a really slick design.

To mount the unit I used their marine bracket. I welded a small plate to my 4x4Labs cargo basket and bolted it to that. Worked great in this empty space next to my fridge. I don't like the idea of having my main extinguisher this far out of reach so I'm thinking of adding an Element in the front cabin, or perhaps a 2.5lb Rusoh.

Painted my rear bumper after 5yrs of raw steel and added some flair.

Also took the truck to the grand opening of my buddy's shop, Stellar Built.

And won some free stuff in a raffle

 

[93yotasr5]

I work the area that shop is at and always see bad ass rigs over there. I planned to come by on Saturday but a last minute shift change prevented that from happening

Rig is looking damn good as always!

 

[jcardona1]

Over the past few weeks I've been working on getting caught up on maintenance that I let go for too long. Sometime during the last few years my motor mounts failed. That caused the fan to contact the shroud creating even more damage. The motor mounts also caused enough movement in my exhaust that the y-pipe/header gaskets failed and I had an annoying exhaust leak. So that created a nice laundry list of things to do. If I could go back in time I would have definitely replaced the damn motor mounts when I did the head gasket!

Here's a list of the parts replaced, all OEM parts:

- motor mounts
- transmission/tcase mount
- radiator
- fan
- fan shroud
- intake tube
- radiator overflow reservoir tank

Motor mounts are a massive pain in the ass to replace, especially when you don't have an engine hoist. I ended up following the tips in this thread which proved to be quite helpful. Because my axle was moved forward for the 3link, I had no access to lift the engine from the oil pan so I had to lift from the crank pulley. If you can borrow a hoist to do this job, your life will be much easier. Trying to reinstall the mounts with the engine supported by a jack is quite unnerving. One slip and you could lose several fingers.

Disconnected the draglink and lifted from the crank pulley:

Old vs new

Old mounts were still partially attached, but ripped almost all the way through

Transmission mount also starting to separate

Shiny new OEM parts

First time ever seeing the foam insulation on the radiator, mine had turned to dust

My original radiator probably would have given me a few more years, but I could start to see signs that it was seeping water at the crimp joints. And no way do I want to tear this apart again anytime soon. I cut off the tank of my old radiator to see how it looked. Amazingly clean after all these years.

While I had everything apart I also made new transmission oil hoses (Gates)

Also made a new fitting for my transmission temp sensor

For years I've had the annoying oil level warning light on the dash so I decided to finally fix the issue. The connector had disintegrated leaving the wiring exposed. I tested the sensor per the FSM and confirmed it still worked fine so I bought a new plug (90980-11235). I found an aftermarket option that came with wiring pigtail already installed and happy to report all is working as intended! Sure I could have just removed the bulb from the dash but I like to keep things in working order. In this thread we discussed how to rewire the sensor the correct way.

I FINALLY decided to get a tcase skid! GIS/HuddExpo seems like the all around best option. I made add the transmission skid later as well.

Manifold heat shields got a little TLC. Looks like they still have a bit of life left.

Lastly, I cleaned my engine bay for the first time ever. I don't think I've cleaned/degreased anything under the hood since I bough the truck. It was seriously gross. Couldn't check my oil level without getting filthy. Actually surprised how good it looks when it's clean. Not as pristine as @TYM4FUN engine but Paul is on a whole other level!

 

[OffRoadScott]

For those interested, I finally resolved this problem with the stabilizer. I spent some time researching Bilsten 5100-series stabilizers and found one off the big Chevy 2500HD trucks that was just the right length.

In order to make it work I had to cut out both bushings and install some new ones so it would fit the big bolt I had welded on the tube clamp and also the factory mounting stud up on the frame.

The shock I used is the Bilstein 33-196619. It has an extended length of 22.46" and is 14.55" collapsed.

Feels a bit better than the old OME I had on there too

Good morning.
With the steering stabilizer how did you remove the stud shown in the picture, does it just unbolt, and which bushings did you replace the Bilstein ones with?

 

[GW Nugget]

Really digging the round head light bezel & grill.

 

[jcardona1]

SLICK ROCK WHEELING!

Two weeks we had a great Slick Rock trail run with a few other cruisers. 8 rigs total, one broken rear shock mount, one cracked radius arm bracket which punched a hole in the axle housing. Good times!

 

[jcardona1]

And two short videos

 

[jcardona1]

And lastly, picked up a new camera so I did some urban wheeling to test it out. Haven't used my old camera in years as smartphone cameras have gotten much better, but you can't beat the image quality of a DSLR!

 

[baldilocks]

Being that I recently had to repair my drivers side and then reinforce both radius arm brackets, I’m interested in how you guys dealt with that on the trail. My housing was not affected, only the bracket itself broke completely off rear of the housing. The last rock crawling trip prior to me discovering it in my garage was a couple months earlier. Kinda weird.

Your rig is looking good man……

 

[jcardona1]

Being that I recently had to repair my drivers side and then reinforce both radius arm brackets, I’m interested in how you guys dealt with that on the trail. My housing was not affected, only the bracket itself broke completely off rear of the housing. The last rock crawling trip prior to me discovering it in my garage was a couple months earlier. Kinda weird.

Your rig is looking good man……

Thanks Steve! It was @Outsane that cracked the mount. Luckily they had a grinder and welder to get it repaired, otherwise it'd probably need a tow home since it would have been unsafe to drive. It was quite the break!

 

[nukegoat]

You should try wheeling somewhere new, like the hammers

 

[Outsane]

I was at hammers last two years... Did a little Wheeling.

I am making some radius arm reinforcements

 

[jcardona1]

You should try wheeling somewhere new, like the hammers

No trees, not interested!

 

[nukegoat]

No trees, not interested!

There are joshua trees

 

[dahoseman]

Wh

Just saw these headlights and thought of your rig….

View attachment 2721597

View attachment 2721598

Where do you get these headlights?

 

[bryson]

Wh

Where do you get these headlights?

Ebay.

Toyota Land Cruiser 80 81 Black LED Headlights Lamp FJ80G FZJ80G HDJ81V HZJ81V | eBay

FJ80G&FZJ80&FZJ80G&HDJ81&HDJ81V&HZJ81V. Toyota Land Cruiser 1990 - 1998. Cool ring projector 6 LED black inner headlights. What is in the image is all of the product. Look closely at the photos. Adaptation to the vehicle is at your own risk.

www.ebay.com

Don't expect anywhere near OEM quality, and don't expect them to be plug and play. Pretty simple install still, but the wiring is not direct plug in.

 

[thelal]

Got the Speedi Sleeves installed. They went on relatively drama-free. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing?

How did the speedi-sleeve work out?

 

[jcardona1]

How did the speedi-sleeve work out?

So far so good! Have had several trips since these were installed and so far I don't see any signs of oil leaks.

 

[GW Nugget]

I've waited long enough... post up those 38s.

 

[jcardona1]

I've waited long enough... post up those 38s.

Nothing exciting to report yet. Just some tires in an empty garage until I get the truck back!