Builds 1997 6M1 Collectors Edition Restore and Build (1 Viewer)

[jomelo]

I have another thread going on my other 1997 build thread Builds - 1997 FZJ80 to HDJ80 1HDFT + Wholesale Automatics Extreme A442F. This truck is not going to be that level of build.

I have been wanting a green Collectors Edition for a while now. I finally came across this one in Oklahoma and shipped it to Florida. It was delivered new without the factory roof rack or running boards. Yes, it has factory front and rear lockers. The mileage was decent (170k) and condition was pretty good. It had a collision a few years ago but the owner was able to supply me photos to confirm the impact was upon the front ARB bumper and no body damage occurred. All in all, the truck checked a lot of boxes for me so here we are today.

 

[OGBeno]

Beautiful. Good luck with the new project John!

 

[jomelo]

The first task is going to be cleaning up the truck. It has not been driven much in the last couple of years and could use a good wash and wax. Hopefully, I can get to that this weekend.

The woodgrain has to go. In the process of collecting all new trim pieces, sans woodgrain, to install for a nice clean look.

I have also ordered a set of Scheel-Mann seats from @wardharris. I have the Vario XXL’s in my other truck. I decided to order the Traveler LR editions for this one. They are the same style seat but the Traveler is slightly shorter. Plus, the LR version has a flip up seat bottom.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Nice find! If you repaint I have perfect OEM copy CE decals

 

[jomelo]

Nice find! If you repaint I have perfect OEM copy CE decals

I’ve checked those out and almost bought a set. The paint is actually in really nice shape and will probably shine up after a good detail. If not, I’ll be placing an order.

 

[jomelo]

Found this cleaning out the truck last night. If only it had the cassette inside....

 

[ERG80]

Awesome! My old 6m1 cruiser was my first love. Looking forward to seeing the restore.

 

[jomelo]

I am getting good at these things.

 

[jomelo]

This truck had been sitting outside for the last year or so and the hood has started to develop some oxidation. Not to the point of paint peeling, but it definitely needed some love. I have never attempted to buff or polish a car before but after watching some YouTube videos and reading some threads I thought I would give it a try. What’s the worst that could happen?

I purchased a Griot’s Garage DA polisher from Amazon after reading some reviews. It wasn’t cheap but it wasn’t the most expensive. I think I paid around $150 for the polisher along with some various pads to try out. I bought some Meguiar’s Ultimate Compound and decided to take my new toy for a spin.

The hood definitely had a strong haze before I started this project. It wasn’t so bad I felt like I needed to get it painted, but it certainly made me notice it every time I walked past the truck.

The entire hood took maybe an hour or so. I took my time and worked my way around the hood in small portions. The end result was much better than I hoped and the picture doesn’t do it justice.

I am not sure why it took me so long to buy one of these. After doing the hood, I walked around the truck and took out some scratches here and there. Overall it’s a huge improvement.

 

[NorCalFJ100]

Looking good!!!!

 

[landtank]

I have the same exact truck, only in tan. No rack, running boards or hatch deflector with locking diffs. Pretty rare setup from what I can tell.

 

[jomelo]

I took some time over the weekend and addressed the non-working radio. The truck still had the factory CD radio but it would not change channels. Basically, it would not do much of anything besides turn on. I had some Best Buy points so I scored a pretty sweet Kenwood unit. It was originally $499 and now discounted to $349.

The wiring was pretty straightforward. I decided not to wire up the power antenna because it’s not really working and I have plans to swap it out for a short antenna. Overall, very pleased with the unit. It has apple CarPlay along with the ability to incorporate front and rear cameras.

 

[jomelo]

The last of the woodgrain was removed tonight. I found a nice shifter console that was woodgrain free. After a fair amount of cleaning, I think the final result is pretty sharp.

A few years back I bought several of these oak colored console lids. I’m not sure they are even available anymore and this was my last one. I am a big fan of the color as it will match the inbound ScheelMann seats much better than the lighter tan leather.

 

[jomelo]

I cannot believe it’s been 2 months since I posted. Well, I got word from Toby that my Scheel-Mann seats will be arriving on Monday. Pretty excited to rip out these stock ones and install a huge improvement.

 

[Overland Tailor]

Congrats. You will love the Scheel-Mann Seats. best thing I've done in mine.

Enjoy !

 

[jomelo]

Congrats. You will love the Scheel-Mann Seats. best thing I've done in mine.

Enjoy !

Yea they are great. I bought a set a few months ago for my other 80 series. This set has the flip up bottoms so I can have storage underneath. I also bought some extra fabric to recover the back seat in matching fabric. Should turn out pretty nice.

 

[jomelo]

Seats arrived! The only problem is that the Planted brackets did not arrive so will be a week or so before I actually get them installed.

In the meantime, I am going to work on having the rear seat recovered to match these seats. I ordered a supply of the brown leatherette and fabric material from ScheelMann when I ordered these seats. My upholstery shop is going to get started on that project pretty soon. Should be really cool.

 

[jomelo]

Well....I decided I could not really wait on the new brackets to get here. I pulled my red 80 series out and decided to swap some things over since I already had the Planted brackets in that truck.

I ordered the Traveler edition seats because I wanted to get the fold-up bottom section. There is a good amount of room under these seats and the fold-up seat bottom allows that storage to be properly utilized (no clue what I'm going to store yet). Here are a couple of photos of the seat bottoms.

 

[jomelo]

These seats are also shorter than the set in the red 80 series. That truck has the Vario XXL seats and they are about 3 inches taller (compared to the Traveler LR) in the seat back position. I originally thought the Vario would be too tall for the 80 series. However, I'm not sure I prefer one option over the other at this point. I think each have their pros/cons. Here is one next to the other for comparison.

 

[jomelo]

I have several cruiser builds ongoing and had to enlist the help of my buddy @ca18sean to assist with this one. The first project was finally getting the BP51 setup installed.

Huge improvement over the stock setup that was starting to show its age. I now have the OME BP51’s on three trucks and love it so far.

Everything looks so clean and high tech. Performance is nice too with a silky smooth ride. And the overall stance looks great.

Next up a new ARB winch bumper and Come-up winch thanks to @cruiseroutfit. Still need to decide on a rear bumper setup. No need for a real rock crawling bumper in Florida and I already have a Kaymar on a different 80. I guess I may keep it stock for a while.