70 Series on an 80 Series Chassis ? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter BarnFab
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- Thread starter
- #3
yeah ok hopefully they will chime in, I had a look around but weirdly enough could not find any good pictures or info and a lot of the builds I fund where using 70 series coild front and 60 series diffs etc , nothing really with the 80 series stuff. I know its about 8" wider and looking at the 70 body not to much I can do fender wise like we do on the 40 series . I can get some width back with wheel offset but I figure it is still gunna be 5 - 6" wider than the current 70 series stance .
FJBen
SILVER Star
For a while, and maybe still, that’s how a lot of newer land cruisers were getting into the US. They would put the newer body on an 80 series frame to get around the rules.
And maybe that is why it isn't heavily documented.
Just shorten or make it longer depending on what bodystyle 7x you will use . It’s not rocket science and there are a dozen treads on here showing this . I extended a frame for a new wide clip 79 body . Put a narrow nose 75 pickup on a stock 80 frame where the box just needed to be modified and I am about to put a 73 body on a shortened 80 frame .
Yup, and some of them ended up getting seized.
bottombracket
SILVER Star
I have two 79 on 80 build threads with a fair amount of picture and part number documentation. Others have even more.
Have you looked @sackwear (Tim) on Instagram? TONS of pics there. LMK if you need more.
- Thread starter
- #11
Doing the build isn't a concern, I am just looking for some pics of what the diff width looks like in an early gen 70 series ( 1986 BJ74 ) .
Why would I move any Vin tags ? Law in CA has no issues with a chassis swap and you can get the vin recorded as required.
I will look at your stuff again but I only saw the wide body stuff when I looked before
I don't use Instagram , if you could post a couple here that would be great.
Good article here about sackwear's rig; First In The U.S. Maltec Land Cruiser 80/79 Series - https://www.treadmagazine.com/features/1993-maltec-land-cruiser-80-79-series-double-cab/
There are aluminum and other VIN’s on at least the dash, firewall, and driver’s door besides the frame stamping. Some states have a harder time with shifting things. Just an FYI. Arizona is one of those that does not like shenanigans esp Pima county which I have run into multiple times.
WarDamnEagle
SILVER Star
Dozens and dozens of photos in all of the build threads that have been mentioned by others. By "diffs", I assume what you really mean is 80 series axles? I picked a random build thread just as an example. Post #1577 in this link has multiple photos and if you go earlier in the thread there are dozens more. Again, that's just one example of many.
- Thread starter
- #16
Dozens and dozens of photos in all of the build threads that have been mentioned by others. By "diffs", I assume what you really mean is 80 series axles? I picked a random build thread just as an example. Post #1577 in this link has multiple photos and if you go earlier in the thread there are dozens more. Again, that's just one example of many.
Hi, thanks for the info, Diff - yes axle its an Australian thing.
The build thread is what i would call a wide body and I was looking for teh earlier which has a different fender profile etc and from what I have been told is narrower but maybe it isn't
The fenders look to sit out from the door significanty more than the earlier which is more inline, I am thinking of doing a BJ74 thats an 86 model so its the earlier style body.
I have been through all the build threads people have mentioned and seen / found nothing with earlier 70's full body. Couple of 75's with tray backs have been built but no good front end pics.
Its not a huge issue I was just trying to get a better feel for how far out they would look as I didn't want it looking stupid . I have FRP Flares for it and based on measurements it wont be bad I just thought if someone had done it and had some pics it would be nice to see.
WarDamnEagle
SILVER Star
Gotcha. You probably won't find the earlier 70 series in the US threads because we can import them without doing anything. The only reason people are putting late model 79 bodies on 80 series chassis is to circumvent the import restriction on the 79 series pickups. Without those restrictions they would just import the truck and call it a day.
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FYI, you can go about 4.75”, maybe 5” max of backspacing on the wheels to help suck the tires in.
Cheers
Cheers
FJBen
SILVER Star
Question.
Do you have a reason for going to 80 series frame?
Coils?
Rusty original frame?
If it’s just coil ride, you can just coil swap/design setup or buy one from the 60 series guy..trail something ?
Do you have a reason for going to 80 series frame?
Coils?
Rusty original frame?
If it’s just coil ride, you can just coil swap/design setup or buy one from the 60 series guy..trail something ?
- Thread starter
- #20
There are a number of reasons I am looking at 80 series frame swap:
- The 80 series Frame is way stronger than the 70 series frame
- The ride of the factory 80 series geometry is going to be way better than a converted coil 70 series chassis
- parts availbility on an 80 series are OEM and readily availble
- A bit more width is not a bad thing
- 1HDT engine ( although I can fit it in the 74 frame )
That said I am not 100% in on the concept having only done 40s onto 80's previously I am just trying to decide as the 74 sries body is more comfy than a 40 but still has enough character to put a smile on your face.
