MBOGO2 Build Thread: (MBOGO is Cape Buffalo in Swahili)
This will take me a few posts to get up to date over the past 7 months.
I have loved Land Cruisers for a long time, and my intro to them was in Africa. I sell hunting and fishing trips around the world, and hunting Africa is my passion, so I have been exposed to a lot of LC’s in Africa, Australia, Asia, New Zealand and Europe over the years. Scheduled to do my 40th Safari in August. I bought a 2025 LC as a daily driver in April of last year, and I modded it a bit to make it functional to hunt out of, but I just hated to beat it up right off the bat as I plan to keep it indefinitely. So, I bought a 1992 FJ80 in November 2025 from a lady in Florida. It was her husband’s project beater. I got it cheap but knew it needed a lot of work inside and out. It was two tone silver/gray with quite a bit of oxidation. The hood had spacers, the front bumper was angled down on both corners, it had a number of leaks, ac was decent but not great, driver seat had a good sized tear, passenger side a small one but all back seats excellent, minimal surface rust on frame, but back bumper crossbar was really rusted at the bolt holes. It had a Prinsu roof rack and Cali Raised lightbar that I liked and would have added anyway, etc. It had hideous wheels and super aggressive tires. It probably wasn’t my smartest buy, but I always wanted an 80, the price was right, and my wife was all for it. She agreed I needed a “beater” to hunt out of, etc.
My son loves to work on vehicles and can do some things, and we planned to do what we could together, and then big stuff, we would have to take to a local 4x4 specialist, and now I have found a 50-year mechanic that specializes in old Toyotas who is just a jewel. I have a 2-3/10 knowledge of the 80, most of that learned from this forum, but am learning.
This will take me a few posts to get up to date over the past 7 months.
I have loved Land Cruisers for a long time, and my intro to them was in Africa. I sell hunting and fishing trips around the world, and hunting Africa is my passion, so I have been exposed to a lot of LC’s in Africa, Australia, Asia, New Zealand and Europe over the years. Scheduled to do my 40th Safari in August. I bought a 2025 LC as a daily driver in April of last year, and I modded it a bit to make it functional to hunt out of, but I just hated to beat it up right off the bat as I plan to keep it indefinitely. So, I bought a 1992 FJ80 in November 2025 from a lady in Florida. It was her husband’s project beater. I got it cheap but knew it needed a lot of work inside and out. It was two tone silver/gray with quite a bit of oxidation. The hood had spacers, the front bumper was angled down on both corners, it had a number of leaks, ac was decent but not great, driver seat had a good sized tear, passenger side a small one but all back seats excellent, minimal surface rust on frame, but back bumper crossbar was really rusted at the bolt holes. It had a Prinsu roof rack and Cali Raised lightbar that I liked and would have added anyway, etc. It had hideous wheels and super aggressive tires. It probably wasn’t my smartest buy, but I always wanted an 80, the price was right, and my wife was all for it. She agreed I needed a “beater” to hunt out of, etc.
My son loves to work on vehicles and can do some things, and we planned to do what we could together, and then big stuff, we would have to take to a local 4x4 specialist, and now I have found a 50-year mechanic that specializes in old Toyotas who is just a jewel. I have a 2-3/10 knowledge of the 80, most of that learned from this forum, but am learning.
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! From oil pan, so a gasket is ordered. Lasted 2 days dry…
