Builds 2002 HZJ76 Build

[Rigster]

Install of the seat went pretty quick as well

I think these seats are technically able to fit 2 people side by side on them, but I only installed one seat belt as I really don't think I will have a need to haul 9 people.

Folded up. I seem to be missing the little strap to hold the seat up and the leg down when not in use, so I just used a bungie for now.

All in all, it was quicker and easier than I expected. Unfortunately there were no captive nuts in the body for these seats like I was hoping for... hence the nut-serts.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Perhaps the strap is available separately.

 

[Rigster]

Haven't done much with the cruiser other than enjoying driving it... it was a nice spring day today so I took it to run a couple of errands and wash it after work.

Not exactly @FJBen quality photo's, but I thought it worth sharing. Oddly, a fellow in a 4 door jeep (TON's of them around here) gave me a tentative one finger (not but - lol) wave as he passed me when I was leaving my neighborhood. That almost never happens. I get folks in Land Rover's wave to me more often and I hardly ever see one of those around.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Haven't done much with the cruiser other than enjoying driving it... it was a nice spring day today so I took it to run a couple of errands and wash it after work.
View attachment 3308375
Not exactly @FJBen quality photo's, but I thought it worth sharing. Oddly, a fellow in a 4 door jeep (TON's of them around here) gave me a tentative one finger (not but - lol) wave as he passed me when I was leaving my neighborhood. That almost never happens. I get folks in Land Rover's wave to me more often and I hardly ever see one of those around.
View attachment 3308384

I think it’s a universal Jeep thing. They never wave however much like your experiences, the Land Rover guys, especially the older Defender guys, almost always wave.
Maybe it’s a gender thing. Most of the Jeeps around here are driven by teenage girls and middle aged women.

 

[JDM Journeys]

It was probably a 35s "respect" wave. Although... Possibly that's moved on to 37s now? Lol. Looks great dude!

 

[FJBen]

I think it’s a universal Jeep thing. They never wave however much like your experiences, the Land Rover guys, especially the older Defender guys, almost always wave.
Maybe it’s a gender thing. Most of the Jeeps around here are driven by teenage girls and middle aged women.

The Jeep folk around here are terrible. Since it’s Colorado (call-uh-ROD-o yes I know you aren’t from here) And your jeep literally has some terrible name on the side, ducks and every piece of chincy bolt on everything on every panel looking like some dollar store max max rig. They purposelessly won’t even look or wave or anything. And yes mostly young girls or middle aged women lol.

Now the Tacoma/4Runner guys. I expected better but sadly the vast majority are the same. Big fancy rims, $8,000 slide in campers, roto-pax, Max-trax and iron man stripes down the sides.


Honestly the older rig drivers are always much cooler no Matter the brand. POS lifted 90s S10? Bro is catching up to chat and thumbs up.

Although the old bronco crew is starting to turn…I’ve seen 2 in town a few times, they used to wave, now l think snobbery is kicking in with the new broncos. (Never been waved at by a new bronco)

I mean Cruiser folks don’t segregate like that? I mean unless you have IFS, Nice Forrester… I mean 100 series!

 

[Rigster]

I'm about 5 mins from town, and 20 mins to the city (40,000ppl) where my 3 boys go to high school, and the 2 older have jobs, so I will often be back and forth. Once in a while I stop by the major large box grocery store for supplies while there. Lately it has been pretty warm.

The boys and I came out to a Jeep all decked out like @FJBen described above parked next to the land cruiser and one of the boys noticed a puddle under the jeep and said "uh-oh, it looks like they might have a problem" (it was just a/c condensation).

Me: It's ok guys, that's just submission pee
My 13yr old: What's submission pea?
Me: Well, in the dog world, there is always a fight amongst the males to find a pack leader. When certain males come into the presence of an alpha dog and they KNOW there is no chance of challenging them to a fight and winning, they pee submissively a little bit to show they "give up"
My 13yr old: Huh, yeah that makes sense...

So maybe the jeeps are just cowering a bit? Or perhaps it is a shame thing... not sure.

Next opportunity for educating my kids on how the "real world" works, I will use the food chain analogy.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

My home town has an unusually large number of Defenders (not the be confused with the LR 3-1/2 that they are now calling a Defender) and all of those guys wave. Ironically most of the local Defenders remain in stock form.
The LR 3-1/2 guys just see me as another old Toyota pickup and don’t take time to acknowledge the “lesser people”,

 

[jayp2]

Spent my lunch time putting the new pickup in the fuel tank, last part to getting this ready to re-install. Took about 5 minutes or so fuddlemucking around getting it in the correct position because of the baffles in the tank. I suppose one could say it was (dare I say it?) somewhat "baffling"... cue groans here.
View attachment 3268872
All internal/external parts replaced, whether they "needed" to be or not... one of those "while your in there" moments. I do not want to pull this tank AGAIN for another 20 years or more. The actual problem replaced:
View attachment 3268874
New filler hose and tank connection, plus new hose on the expansion breather:
View attachment 3268876
New fuel gauge sender:
View attachment 3268877
I was chatting to @JDM Journeys this morning and in our discussions, I realized between troubleshooting and ordering parts by the time I found the actual problem, it has been at least 2 months since I have been driving this regularly... I am getting excited to put this tank back in and get back to driving the cruiser again.

Just bought a 77

I suspect that dropping the tank, inspecting condition, replacing all hoses and the screen previously mentioned is gonna be one of my first projects

That and suspension lift......

 

[Rigster]

Just bought a 77

I suspect that dropping the tank, inspecting condition, replacing all hoses and the screen previously mentioned is gonna be one of my first projects

That and suspension lift......

Congrats on the new 77 and welcome to the madness! Share some photos when you get a chance.

 

[jayp2]

Congrats on the new 77 and welcome to the madness! Share some photos when you get a chance.

Its just a new boost of the same old madness

I own a 76 FJ40 that I rebuilt back in 1990 that I need to re-rehab and get back on the road......but the 77 will give me something to have fun with now and is more pleasant to drive

Trying to figure out my suspension options....I know OME is offered as a kit to give 2" lift.....was hoping to get another inch on top of that....prob with shackes

Have some inquiries out about terrain tamer but havent heard back yet.

Dobinsons doesnt seem to want my money.....they block anyone using a VPN

I'm all ears if anyone has suggestions on suspension options

 

[Rigster]

Its just a new boost of the same old madness

I own a 76 FJ40 that I rebuilt back in 1990 that I need to re-rehab and get back on the road......but the 77 will give me something to have fun with now and is more pleasant to drive

Trying to figure out my suspension options....I know OME is offered as a kit to give 2" lift.....was hoping to get another inch on top of that....prob with shackes

Have some inquiries out about terrain tamer but havent heard back yet.

Dobinsons doesnt seem to want my money.....they block anyone using a VPN

I'm all ears if anyone has suggestions on suspension options

If it were me, I would first of all decide my long term goal for the 77. If you are planning to load it up/kit it out and have a static weight sitting in or on the truck, there are different options for additional load bearing. If you will only have additional loads once in a while, then I would go with the lighter load springs, and add optional airbags for those odd times you will be loading it up.

Parabolic springs are a newer addition to the market, but I have no personal experience with those. My lift consists of a bit of all the above, and have so far been happy with the ride. Whatever shackles you decide on, make sure they are greaseable.

 

[jayp2]

If it were me, I would first of all decide my long term goal for the 77. If you are planning to load it up/kit it out and have a static weight sitting in or on the truck, there are different options for additional load bearing. If you will only have additional loads once in a while, then I would go with the lighter load springs, and add optional airbags for those odd times you will be loading it up.

Parabolic springs are a newer addition to the market, but I have no personal experience with those. My lift consists of a bit of all the above, and have so far been happy with the ride. Whatever shackles you decide on, make sure they are greaseable.

The front is easier than the back

Its gonna get a winch and bar

The back is a tougher decision.....I'm inclined to go with standard/no additional weight springs and add airbags......its going to get a compressor regardless to support lockers sooner than later.

That way It "should" ride better for 75% of use and the minority of the time it has stuff in/on it the airbags should help pick up the slack

I think I saw a thread where someone already did airbags on rear of a 77...was that JDM Journeys?

 

[Rigster]

The front is easier than the back

Its gonna get a winch and bar

The back is a tougher decision.....I'm inclined to go with standard/no additional weight springs and add airbags......its going to get a compressor regardless to support lockers sooner than later.

That way It "should" ride better for 75% of use and the minority of the time it has stuff in/on it the airbags should help pick up the slack

I think I saw a thread where someone already did airbags on rear of a 77...was that JDM Journeys?

The airbag solution for varying loads is definitely the way to go. I have not had them (yet) on a Land Cruiser, but I have used them on a couple of trucks and it makes the ride a dream.

Yes, two folks that I know that have installed them on a 77 are @JDM Journeys and @Blomdala

 

[JDM Journeys]

I have them on top of my rear Leafs along with an old man emu 2 in suspension lift. So far with the bags at around 20 psi the ride quality is not affected. Haven't played with them a lot yet but I've used bags in coils a lot before this and was always happy with them as well.

 

[Rigster]

I have them on top of my rear Leafs along with an old man emu 2 in suspension lift. So far with the bags at around 20 psi the ride quality is not affected. Haven't played with them a lot yet but I've used bags in coils a lot before this and was always happy with them as well.

Typically the air bags will make no difference whatsoever until you load down the truck. When the load compresses the springs and you notice the "bum sag" this is where the airbags will shine. They can level out your ride again, and at this point you are actually using the airbags and you will notice the ride being a lot smoother.

That said, you should always maintain a minimum 10lbs or so pressure in the airbags. A word of caution - If you have pressure in the airbags, then load down the vehicle, this pressure will rise dramatically. Basically, don't have 60lbs in the airbags then throw 1500lbs of gear in/on the truck as that 60 psi could easily go over max pressure (100 psi)

 

[Rigster]

Ok, it was a busy weekend, but I did take some time to FINALLY remove the sub-orbital space bubbles off the windows. I can't believe you people let me drive around for nearly 2 years with those crazy looking things on there.

Hey! Who you calling YOU PEOPLE!

Ok, back to the scheduled programming.

The easy part (yes - EASY) is removing the deflectors. They are secured using 2 sided tape and a christmas tree style plug onto clips. Normally, one would lift the tab on the top of the christmas tree plug to remove, but these are "sunny side up" and pretty brittle, so I removed the bottom side with a small pry and pliers.

my tools I used

There are 2 on the rear windows, and one "permanent" one on the rear of the rear window. The 2 front windows have 3 to remove.
Once they are all off, I used a "plastic upholstery knife" to cut the 2 sided tape. I began at one edge and with just the thickness of my fingers I would follow along behind pulling it away and creating the space for the knife to saw through the tape. End result was about 5 mins per window and they were all off intact:

If anyone actually wants these, you are welcome to them free of charge. Just whatever shipping would be? You would need to purchase new plastic plugs and 3m 2 sided tape, but I saved all the clips. Mark the date of this post, because if no one is interested I will not store them - they will go to the recyclers.

Now for the hard part... getting the nasty tape and glue residue off the doors. My initial thought was heat and a plastic blade to scrape it off... well, that was a great idea in theory, but in practice it just made a gooey mess and spread it around more than remove it.

The idea was to minimize the amount of damage to the finish on the door using a plastic blade. However in practice, this was just not feasible as it was just making a big mess. I quickly discarded the heat idea, moved the cruiser into the garage and out of the hot sun.

 

[Rigster]

I swapped the plastic blade with an actual razor blade, consequences be damned. With a deft and steady hand you can actually cut the tape away from the door with minimal to no marking on the paint of the door. When the tape glue is not gooey from heat, it actually cuts away relatively nicely.

Now the harder part. After razor blading the tape and glue away, you are left with a relatively thin layer of tacky glue. I tried rubbing alcohol (evaps too fast), hand sanitizer (better, but still evaps pretty quickly), gasoline/paint thinner, before finally heading to the store and settling on this little wonderful product:

Spray this on, leave for 5 mins.

Those green plastic scratch pads for pots (don't tell my wife that it ended up in the shop) work GREAT at getting the glue off, but I found with the rubbing it was also taking the black finish off the door

So then I went back to the plastic blade in the scraping tool, and that became the MOP for the rest of the doors. A little cleanup of where the clips were attached will be necessary as well, so in the end I still needed to touch up the paint. The black that is around these windows is an odd color. It is not really FLAT black, it is not really glossy either, but something in between. I decided on flat for now and I can better color match it later, I suppose.

So... I am 6'3" and I must have gotten into the habit of ducking down when looking out the side window because of the low-orbit space bubbles. With them off now, I can just look out the side normally. What a nice change. Not to mention it no longer looks ridiculous.

 

[sleepydad69]

I'm going lo-jack your build...

I don't think there is any magic answer for getting the gunk off from the sub-orbital space bubbles but this is another option should you have more adhesive based removals.

somebody else here suggested this to me so I figured I would give it a go.

little bit blurry but all that ugly stuff

during the process you will be covered in small particles of dead whale, stuff goes everywhere. I wore a mask, and did it outside.

it does get the stuff off but as you can see with a little sunlight. it leaves the hardened edge of residue from 25 years of baking. However, it does not seem to harm the paint. So I will let this age a bit and try again in a couple of weeks to see if it comes off after some weather and a wash or 2.

 

[Rigster]

I'm going lo-jack your build...

I don't think there is any magic answer for getting the gunk off from the sub-orbital space bubbles but this is another option should you have more adhesive based removals.

somebody else here suggested this to me so I figured I would give it a go.

View attachment 3313203

little bit blurry but all that ugly stuff

View attachment 3313204


during the process you will be covered in small particles of dead whale, stuff goes everywhere. I wore a mask, and did it outside.

View attachment 3313205


it does get the stuff off but as you can see with a little sunlight. it leaves the hardened edge of residue from 25 years of baking. However, it does not seem to harm the paint. So I will let this age a bit and try again in a couple of weeks to see if it comes off after some weather and a wash or 2.


View attachment 3313206

No worries at all, and thanks for the suggestion! Now where were you LAST WEEK??? LOL

A test of patience this glue stuff is! Do, or do not, no try!

Thanks Yoda...