Hi everyone, thought i would share my project that i have been working onfor the last year. Rebuilding a 1997 vx manual 1hdt 80 series that rolled. Doing a body swap and engine rebuild.
1997 landcruiser 80 series rebuild (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Harry Nelson
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
- Thread starter
- #2
The donor body from a automatic 1993 vx. This vehicle had a head on accident but other than minor rust and some dents the cab was in good condition.
- Thread starter
- #3
Stripping it down to the chasis
- Thread starter
- #4
Derusted and repainted the chasis and axles. Thankfully it had only minor surface rust, which is rare for a vehicle that was kept on the Mozambique coast for many years, the body however had serious rust issues so i was glad i was replacing it.
- Thread starter
- #5
Lots of rust repair. Many hours where spent on the grinder and welder
mingles
GOLD Star
Nice save! Looks like a lot of work but you’ll end up with a nice machine in the end.
You may want to also post this in 80 Series Tech forum. It will get more views and feedback there.
80-Series Tech - https://forum.ih8mud.com/forums/80-series-tech.9/
Welcome to MUD!
You may want to also post this in 80 Series Tech forum. It will get more views and feedback there.
80-Series Tech - https://forum.ih8mud.com/forums/80-series-tech.9/
Welcome to MUD!
- Thread starter
- #7
Fixed up the fire wall brackets. The old design was quite bad and was a water trap. Decided to make my own style bracket and also to coat it in resin as well before painting for extra rust protection
- Thread starter
- #8
The donor body was an automatic so i had to covert the transmission tunnel. The dash board and cubby between the seats was quite an ordeal, the 1991 and 1997 dashboards are very quite different so had to move over alot of mounts and brackets to make it all fit. The clutch pedal brackets also had to be installed, so had to really make sure my measurements where correct.
- Thread starter
- #9
After more than a month just on pannel beating and rust repair the body was primed and coming together well.
- Thread starter
- #11
Reunited the body and chasis. I also installed the factory dual fuel tank system to this vehicle, so now she can carry 140l of diesel. She can also carrie two spare wheels now with the 1997 coming with the spare wheel mount underneath and the donor bcar having a wheel carrier on the back. Was originally planning on spraying it that landcruiser khaki colour but decided on 1G3 toyota graphite gray with black trim. Definitely a good look on the 80
- Thread starter
- #12
Yes please. I was wondering how to move it there but was also going to just post everything again in 80tech if necessary.
@woody ? Help a brother out?
- Thread starter
- #14
Replaced the carpet with a good second hand one and got all the interior back in. The door cards were in bad shape, a dog had chewed the arm rests but recovering them was relatively easy. There was too much grey in the original interior for my taste so i changed the steering wheel to a black one and the door armrests to black as well to match the exterior colour theme. I dont like the blueish grey chairs so will definitely get some nice canvas covers for them asap.
- Thread starter
- #15
The door cards with their new leather. Credits to my father who worked on them for me, the two tone definitely lifts the interior.
- Thread starter
- #16
The axles, diffs and brakes got a full check up and rebuild as well with all new seals and bearings. Its all in the details, so all the small bits also got a good clean and repaint. The old lenses were still in good shape so they got wet sanded with 1500 grit and polished. They turned out well as can be seen in the before and after.
- Thread starter
- #17
When reinstalling the rear pinion i somehow managed to strip the pinions threads, the nut gauld when it was half way on somehow and to reverse it off meant taking half the threads with it. Luckily with some welding and with a tap i was able to rescue it.
- Thread starter
- #18
The engine was next, over 400 000km had taken their tole and it was cranked whilst it still had oil in the cylinders so two conrods were bent in the process. The head was ok so i hand lapped the valves and put new seals there.Got the block rebored and sleeved, put all new toyota bearings and seals in it, new pistons, water pump and what ever else it desired.
- Thread starter
- #19
Engine was in but still need to get the new valve shims before being able to let it run for any length or time. She started right up first try. When the shims arrive i will start the break in procedure.
Great writeup, pics and build work here. The end result is looking great. Thanks for sharing!
What type/size tires you got there?
What type/size tires you got there?
