1997 FZJ80 "No more big projects" Build (2 Viewers)

[1MAC]

Background: I love Land Cruisers. I drive a 2015 200 daily that has been to Moab, Ouray, and many road trips and I love it. I also have a 77 FJ40 that I did a frame-off restomod, including LS swap and H55F/split case upgrade. It's been a lot of fun too. My son's first vehicle was a 96 LX450 that was triple-locked and we had tons of fun with it. I've always wanted an 80 for my own because I love the way they look, drive and how capable they are off-road. I started my search for the ideal candidate to build: my goal was a white 95-97 with minimal rust (kinda tough to find in the midwest). I found what I thought was a good candidate but it ended up being a Wisconsin truck and FULL of rust. I came home in a sad state and decided I was crazy for even thinking of taking on another project anyway.
As I sat there licking my wounds and going through all the MUD, eBay and Facebook ads and deleting the bookmarks, a new listing popped up that was about an hour away. In the pictures it looked very clean, so I hopped on the road and went to look at it. Long story short, I saw that it was 99% rust free and had been extremely well maintained. It wasn't my first choice for color, but the Moonglow Pearl kinda grew on me and I hadn't seen any other ones that color in my town. I bought it!
Here she is, as purchased. A clean 1997 with only 311,000 miles!

 

[1MAC]

First steps:
I pulled service records from Toyota and Carfax. Found records of 79 oil changes, usually every 3000 miles. Tons of dealer services. I knew the valve cover gasket was recently replaced. The only leaks were a seeping PS hose, a tiny drip around the VSS on the transfer case, and the rear heater lines. The knuckles were seeping. The truck started, ran and drove as well as our 96 with 100k miles.
I got to work deleting the rear heater, bypassed it and replaced the heater control valve. Then I replaced every coolant hose and the PHH. Replaced the water pump, thermostat and put in a blue fan clutch with the thicker oil.
When I got it all back together it threw a code for a lean condition and idled funny.
I replaced every vacuum line on the engine with new silicone and it was fixed!

 

[1MAC]

Of course, the truck needed a lot of the typical 80 issued addressed: I replaced the washer diverter valve, thermostat trashed steering column seal on the firewall, fixed the shaky mirrors and put Gamiviti seat gears in the passenger seat.
I rebuilt the front axle with parts from @cruiseroutfit and new OEM calipers and brake lines. Also added extended stainless lines from body to axle. Of course I struggled getting the system bled!
Ended up using posts on here to figure out how to activate the ABS module and that allowed me to get a good firm pedal back.

 

[1MAC]

Like most of them at this point, this old cruiser had the typical trashed leather and the wood veneer on the dash was crumbling/flaking. I pulled all the old veneer off and installed a leather Loncky steering wheel cover.

I added a little bit more sound deadening mat from Spectrum in the doors and rear quarters. Also added foam between the door panels and the doors.

I gave the whole interior a deep clean. Pulled out the seats, carpet and trim. Scrubbed and steam cleaned the carpet extensively. It was in great condition with only a few stains. I did find the very common rust around the rear seat belt mounts but it was easy to cut out and weld in new 16g steel.

The PO had installed an Alpine double DIN Bluetooth head unit, so I built on that with new speakers in all 4 doors hidden behind the factory speaker grills. That sounded pretty good, but it needed a little more bass, so I built a little sub around an 8" woofer and parked it in the factory location.

The big improvement was the new leather kit from @FJ60Cam. I ordered the dark leather from him and added heated seats via the JDM switches that go in the console. This was the thing that transformed the rig into a nice ride!

 

[1MAC]

Of course, I had to turn the exterior from its existing Mom-car to something with a potential for offroad use. I kept the OEM wheels but went up a size to 285 75 16 Goodyear Wranglers at a nice discount thanks to @Flatlanderfj40 !

To make room for the bigger tires, I picked up Dobinson dual rate springs and Icon shocks. After a little back and forth, I ended up with a 30mm spacer on the driver rear corner and 20mm spacers in the front and now I like the way it sits and the ride is NICE!

I had a local shop do 35% tint film all the way around to try to keep this fishbowl a little cooler.

I also added an ARB bumper and a Comeup 9.5 Seal RS winch for a classic look and some peace of mind when wheeling, and then a set of slider steps from @sleeoffroad . Makes it easy for the wife to get in and out, unlike the killer Metaltech sliders we had on my son's rig. They were angled and just too high for her to step up on.

 

[1MAC]

I did a few other little things along the way to make sure it's a reliable and comfortable daily driver-
New OEM Toyota battery and reman alternator
Added @landtank 2" seat bracket extensions. Game changer!
Replaced the glass runs and door seals.
Replaced all the belt moldings with OEM.
Changed interior bulbs and headlights to LED.
Removed RS3000 alarm and installed a simpler remote unlock system.
Replaced gold badges with chrome
Swapped in Lexus LS400 visors with clips from Solve function
Installed Slee caster correction plates
Installed a backup camera that feeds into the head unit
Upgraded to horns from a 200 series- truly plug and play
Adjusted the hood that was sitting proud and re-bonded it to the support structure. Cured the hood flutter.
Replaced the fiber insulator under the hood.
Added Weathertech mats in front row, second row and cargo area.

Since buying the rig in March, I've only put about 1500 miles on it around town and commuting to work. It's an absolute joy to drive and I'm loving the smiles per gallon. Still thinking about further mods like air lockers and maybe a little power upgrade?

 

[Mandrake]

I sure do love that color combo!