01’ sas-ed uzj100 build thread
Where to start. My dad purchased this 01-land cruiser in early 2021 to build into his overland travel vehicle for heading out west for 5-6 months in the Fall every year from Rhode Island. He had 4 great traveling years before loosing a quick battle to bladder cancer. He was still buying upgrade parts a week before he passed. (not sure if an Overland pizza oven is considered parts but ..)
So, the idea of the build came together when we were camped out on Asetegue Island on the shore of Maryland. He in his sas-ed B190 van and me and my daughter in my 05 4runner. We came to the conclusion that while the B190 had everything at 10’6” if was top heavy and not really suited for the type of trails he wanted to do.
So, the Land cruiser idea was born. The parts list formed quickly their arrival not so much. He had sold his house and had redone the first floor of my family’s house and bought the property behind my house as a rental and built a 40x28 pole barn for his wood shop and building out the 100. We did as much as we could in the “barn” but most of the fabrication was done by FoxFab4x4 about 30 minutes away.
I will list the mods somewhat chronologically; the axles were the big purchase but did not arrive before his first trip west.
Axles: We ordered Diamond axles front and rear set up to take 9.5 80 series diffs and everything steering brake and hub 80 series. ARB lockers front and rear. The axles are 2” wider as well to match the 100 axle width specs, we had to wait a long time for the custom shafts to be made. Two mess-ups on the axles the abs sensors were 80 not 100 series and never got working correctly and we ordered a centered rear diff instead of having it offset by 4” so it has a tug to the right then left after you release the gas and he blew there a couple u-joints (about every 8,000 miles) these axle took 1.5 years to get his first trip he went with just an OME lift and 34”s Last fall I tried to get an axel made by Diamond that would be 4” offset but could never gain traction with an order so ordered one from ruffstuff and have had a different set of issues getting it made. But the axle will end up being an fzj80 spec rear end so as to keep all parts including the axle shafts, and easy replacement. We used the Trail tamer Sas kit and then did a re-enforced from plate for the 105 ps box.
Roof top tent: He went with a Awlteq roof replacement pop top, (the first for a 100 series) and got his kitchen slider set up to build his own kitchen. Eric was so amazing to work with. My dad drove out to Grand Junction once the top had been fabricated and in 3 days Eric cut the roof off and put the new top on. My Dad spent over 400 nights in that pop top.
Interior: We pulled out the whole interior, dynomated it, and went with Schliemann heated seats in the front and the Goose gear full deck in the rear. we first built a bench on the passenger side that houses the redarc battery manager 30 and the 2000-watt inverter, a gas Webosto heater 9plumbed into the aux gas tank) and 400 hours of Lithium batteries. (He had sleep apnea) on the other side we built a tall box with a slide out kitchen in the box was a 15-gallon water tank a cool water hub source for Australia and a water heater and he had his ice chest type fridge right behind the driver’s seat. We later added a center consul fridge for drinks and other overflow. The top of the we plumbed a sink and he had an induction cook top. The pull out had a propane two Burner stove, and all cooking equipment. He never used the induction cook top inside or the sink I have since removed both and the large water tank and move to a standup fridge int eh back and using roto pax tanks for running water. We had boat cushions made for the bench and for the mattress. We also ran 3 LED light strip lights with both red and white lights.
Roof: on the hood there is a 100-watt solar panel that keeps the starting battery happy, on the roof there is a 280-watt solar panel plugged into the redarc as well as a pair of maxtracs and a flat mounted starlink. Also, on the sides of the roof we had Mike (Foxfab4x4) create a 1” tube exo cage that has a rear corner ladder system for each side which offers tie down place for the drivers side awning which only uses poles and not arms) and a hand hold for stepping on the sliders.
Bumpers: we went with an ARB front in that we wanted some strike protection form deer and Baja designs light bar and driving lights (both in the bumper and as low as we could get them). A Warn 12k and Side bars back to sliders built by FoxFab4x4 and then a 4x4Labs rear bumper.
Suspension: all fzj80 suspension parts. Delta front radius arms then the Dobinson’s MRR’s shocks and different trial and error Dobinson springs. Finally, Bagman air bags in the rear. I guestimate it has an 8” lift had to go high in the rear so the drive shaft would not hit gas tank. With new axle I plan to lower the rear to 5-6” lift and go from there. I have been trying to light her up a bit replacing some of the build out with lighter materials and the rear does not need the airbags as much. Sway bars are the white line in the front and a tundra rear sway bar. I was getting a bit of sway on bumps but the white line settled it down, something I may revisit when it’s a 5” lift. I also will be trying an antirock in the rear on the new axle build.
Tires: it had Falcon wildpeake 37” Mt’s but I have switched to 37” AT4’s just a bit tighter pattern and a bit more sipping. When I lower it, I will need to do some trimming but right now the tires do not rub even on full stuff.
Other: it had factory Nav and I finally did the swap and have pioneer head unit and Polk audio marine speakers, I just got a steering wheel from eBay (Pakistan) which has steering wheel stereo controls and plan to take a shot at rewiring the clock spring to work. Also, I put in a set of Teqcustoms projector LEDs (worth the build time wait) and before his last trip I vinyl wrapped it grey like my dad’s fighter planes were and put his call sign on the doors “Toro”. We nicknamed it “the 105” and I made stickers (which are way too big) but he loved them.
When he would take his trips, I was his copilot back home and would track down repair shops, BLM land camp sites, ect, and what cool things he was close too. I had him go through Salt Lake City to see the cruiser museum and he happened to show up the day of cruiser fest (lucky basturd). By writing this I would be remiss if I did not thank a few of those cruiser heads out there who kept my dad on the road. Casey A. after I flew out to meet my dad at Merus adventure park and blew out a knuckle
Everyone at LandcruiserTeq (cruiseroutfitters) Kurt and crew bailed my dad out too many times to count. Even driving out to his truck with a new starter 6 hours down the pony express trail to change it at midnight so they could make a 10am flight for their vacation.
So my plans now are to fix the rear axle issue and a lot of little things then start taking it on trips. it was built as a rocklander, but it sure looks cool in the grocery store parking lotI would like to retrace my Dad’s route to the Arctic in the next few years as well.
Where to start. My dad purchased this 01-land cruiser in early 2021 to build into his overland travel vehicle for heading out west for 5-6 months in the Fall every year from Rhode Island. He had 4 great traveling years before loosing a quick battle to bladder cancer. He was still buying upgrade parts a week before he passed. (not sure if an Overland pizza oven is considered parts but ..)
So, the idea of the build came together when we were camped out on Asetegue Island on the shore of Maryland. He in his sas-ed B190 van and me and my daughter in my 05 4runner. We came to the conclusion that while the B190 had everything at 10’6” if was top heavy and not really suited for the type of trails he wanted to do.
So, the Land cruiser idea was born. The parts list formed quickly their arrival not so much. He had sold his house and had redone the first floor of my family’s house and bought the property behind my house as a rental and built a 40x28 pole barn for his wood shop and building out the 100. We did as much as we could in the “barn” but most of the fabrication was done by FoxFab4x4 about 30 minutes away.
I will list the mods somewhat chronologically; the axles were the big purchase but did not arrive before his first trip west.
Axles: We ordered Diamond axles front and rear set up to take 9.5 80 series diffs and everything steering brake and hub 80 series. ARB lockers front and rear. The axles are 2” wider as well to match the 100 axle width specs, we had to wait a long time for the custom shafts to be made. Two mess-ups on the axles the abs sensors were 80 not 100 series and never got working correctly and we ordered a centered rear diff instead of having it offset by 4” so it has a tug to the right then left after you release the gas and he blew there a couple u-joints (about every 8,000 miles) these axle took 1.5 years to get his first trip he went with just an OME lift and 34”s Last fall I tried to get an axel made by Diamond that would be 4” offset but could never gain traction with an order so ordered one from ruffstuff and have had a different set of issues getting it made. But the axle will end up being an fzj80 spec rear end so as to keep all parts including the axle shafts, and easy replacement. We used the Trail tamer Sas kit and then did a re-enforced from plate for the 105 ps box.
Roof top tent: He went with a Awlteq roof replacement pop top, (the first for a 100 series) and got his kitchen slider set up to build his own kitchen. Eric was so amazing to work with. My dad drove out to Grand Junction once the top had been fabricated and in 3 days Eric cut the roof off and put the new top on. My Dad spent over 400 nights in that pop top.
Interior: We pulled out the whole interior, dynomated it, and went with Schliemann heated seats in the front and the Goose gear full deck in the rear. we first built a bench on the passenger side that houses the redarc battery manager 30 and the 2000-watt inverter, a gas Webosto heater 9plumbed into the aux gas tank) and 400 hours of Lithium batteries. (He had sleep apnea) on the other side we built a tall box with a slide out kitchen in the box was a 15-gallon water tank a cool water hub source for Australia and a water heater and he had his ice chest type fridge right behind the driver’s seat. We later added a center consul fridge for drinks and other overflow. The top of the we plumbed a sink and he had an induction cook top. The pull out had a propane two Burner stove, and all cooking equipment. He never used the induction cook top inside or the sink I have since removed both and the large water tank and move to a standup fridge int eh back and using roto pax tanks for running water. We had boat cushions made for the bench and for the mattress. We also ran 3 LED light strip lights with both red and white lights.
Roof: on the hood there is a 100-watt solar panel that keeps the starting battery happy, on the roof there is a 280-watt solar panel plugged into the redarc as well as a pair of maxtracs and a flat mounted starlink. Also, on the sides of the roof we had Mike (Foxfab4x4) create a 1” tube exo cage that has a rear corner ladder system for each side which offers tie down place for the drivers side awning which only uses poles and not arms) and a hand hold for stepping on the sliders.
Bumpers: we went with an ARB front in that we wanted some strike protection form deer and Baja designs light bar and driving lights (both in the bumper and as low as we could get them). A Warn 12k and Side bars back to sliders built by FoxFab4x4 and then a 4x4Labs rear bumper.
Suspension: all fzj80 suspension parts. Delta front radius arms then the Dobinson’s MRR’s shocks and different trial and error Dobinson springs. Finally, Bagman air bags in the rear. I guestimate it has an 8” lift had to go high in the rear so the drive shaft would not hit gas tank. With new axle I plan to lower the rear to 5-6” lift and go from there. I have been trying to light her up a bit replacing some of the build out with lighter materials and the rear does not need the airbags as much. Sway bars are the white line in the front and a tundra rear sway bar. I was getting a bit of sway on bumps but the white line settled it down, something I may revisit when it’s a 5” lift. I also will be trying an antirock in the rear on the new axle build.
Tires: it had Falcon wildpeake 37” Mt’s but I have switched to 37” AT4’s just a bit tighter pattern and a bit more sipping. When I lower it, I will need to do some trimming but right now the tires do not rub even on full stuff.
Other: it had factory Nav and I finally did the swap and have pioneer head unit and Polk audio marine speakers, I just got a steering wheel from eBay (Pakistan) which has steering wheel stereo controls and plan to take a shot at rewiring the clock spring to work. Also, I put in a set of Teqcustoms projector LEDs (worth the build time wait) and before his last trip I vinyl wrapped it grey like my dad’s fighter planes were and put his call sign on the doors “Toro”. We nicknamed it “the 105” and I made stickers (which are way too big) but he loved them.
When he would take his trips, I was his copilot back home and would track down repair shops, BLM land camp sites, ect, and what cool things he was close too. I had him go through Salt Lake City to see the cruiser museum and he happened to show up the day of cruiser fest (lucky basturd). By writing this I would be remiss if I did not thank a few of those cruiser heads out there who kept my dad on the road. Casey A. after I flew out to meet my dad at Merus adventure park and blew out a knuckle
Everyone at LandcruiserTeq (cruiseroutfitters) Kurt and crew bailed my dad out too many times to count. Even driving out to his truck with a new starter 6 hours down the pony express trail to change it at midnight so they could make a 10am flight for their vacation.So my plans now are to fix the rear axle issue and a lot of little things then start taking it on trips. it was built as a rocklander, but it sure looks cool in the grocery store parking lot
I would like to retrace my Dad’s route to the Arctic in the next few years as well.