Builds 80 Build in 365 days (1 Viewer)

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Joined
May 24, 2014
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2
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Location
Boise ID
I never post on forums... I usually just use what others post on these threads and never thank them for their time they spent documenting their process that is invaluable for the rest of us. So thank you! I will say that this build thread is not going to be a step by step or a how too, but more just how it turned out the way it did. I have been a Toyota fanatic for over 15 years now and have owned everything from a Tundra to a Prius (don't laugh, I loved that car). I had a 1985 60 series that I had big plans for but at the time I didn't have the resources to do what I wanted with it so I sold it and like many of us have regretted it ever since. Especially considering how much people are wanting for 60's now. I started looking for a 60 again last year but just couldn't find a reasonable one. They are so expensive! A guy I went church with had a 1996 80 that I had told him years ago if he ever wanted to sell it to let me know. In June of last year he called me and told me his 80 of 15+ years was for sale but it had a blown engine. He told me what he wanted and I thought about for a few days and told him I would pass as I still really wanted a 60 and had no idea how much it would cost to replace the 80 engine. A couple days later he texted me and asked what I would give him for it. I told him what I would be willing to give him but by no means was it a fair price and I thought he could get way more for it. He told me to come pick it up. I headed over with a trailer on July 1 2016 and the new project began. I wasn't planning to do a build thread but I felt like it was my time to give back. So here goes...


When I picked it up I was able to jump start it as the PO said it did still kind of run when he parked it. I drove it up on the trailer and was able to drive it off. I parked it out at my father-in-laws for a few weeks while I did some research on what I wanted to do as far as the motor. I talked with a few people and someone suggested it might be something as simple as a head gasket. I didn't think it would be that easy considering how terrible it ran but at this point I figured what do I have to lose. I brought it home and parked it in my garage at the end of July and started to get busy on the engine. I have a little bit of mechanical knowledge but I had never done anything like this before. Without the posts from people like jcardona1 I wouldn't have been brave enough to try this but I jumped right in.


There was a lot of crawling all over inside the engine bay.
 
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Here you can see the chunk of HG missing between 5 and 6 which is why it was running so bad.




I was able to store and keep everything organized in the back of the cruiser.




Lots of cleaning.




I had the head surfaced and installed a new OEM gasket kit and put everything back together. I pushed the 80 out of the garage and crossed my fingers and it fired right up! I was pretty proud of myself.






I took it out for it's initial run and test it in stock form. It was a fun little family adventure.
 
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I didn't take any pics of the lift install but it was pretty straight forward. OME J springs with L shocks, extended brake lines and I removed the front sway bar. Also installed MT Baja MTZ 315's.






I painted the wheels black.




Added a roof rack.




With the body damage that was on the drivers side and the left rear fender flair broken I decided to ditch the flares and line the sides. I like how it turned out.




Part of my goal with this build was to teach myself how to weld. I had an idea about a bumper I wanted to build similar to the AOE. Started messing around with a cardboard mock up.
 
I ended up ordering 4x4 Labs rear bumper and sliders kits. The rear bumper was my learning experience with welding. It went together great and I was super happy with it. I forgot to take any pics of the process though.





Here is it all painted and ready for install.


Then I moved onto the sliders. They were a little more complicated but I like how these turned out as well.








Sliders and bumper installed!



More front bumper mock up.
 
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1/4" plate cut out and installed with winch on there for checking clearance.




I had the tire on the rack for a while but I didn't like to looks of it. It is in the back for now. I don't care for rear swing outs so I want to keep it inside.


The goal for my front bumper was keep the winch as low as possible between the frame rails, stick out no further than the stock bumper, better approach angle, and totally change the look of the front end. I could not be happier with how it turned out. To have an idea in your head for almost a year and see it in a finished form like this is so much fun. I just love the way it looks now. Let me know what you guys think.




All tacked up. I used 3/16" for the shell




Tubes bent and finish welded.
 
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This is how it sits as of yesterday.


I know there is tons I left out and hopefully I will have time to go back and edit some of this stuff but I wanted to get this on here before I got too far along.


Thanks again for all those that do detailed posts to help the rest of us along. It is much appreciated.


That is it for now but I am sure there will be more to come soon.
 
That's one heck of an entrance! Great job!
 
Looks really good!
 
Excellent build, glad it was an easier fix than originally thought. Did you get a new driver door, or did you fix it yourself?
 
Thanks! I was able to take the door panel off and pop some of the dents back out but the rest was repaired with body filler. The body work and lining was the only part I didn't do myself. I was going to but someone gave me a dirt cheap quote to do it and I jumped on it.
 
Thanks guys! I really appreciate the positive feedback.

Sorry about how I uploaded the pictures. I am not sure what I did wrong...
 
It is looking good. October lets plan a LC get together.
 
Lockers, nice leather, low price presumably, followed by lots of love.

A good start and a great looking cruiser.
 
I ended up ordering 4x4 Labs rear bumper and sliders kits. The rear bumper was my learning experience with welding. It went together great and I was super happy with it. I forgot to take any pics of the process though.





Here is it all painted and ready for install.


Then I moved onto the sliders. They were a little more complicated but I like how these turned out as well.








Sliders and bumper installed!



More front bumper mock up.

Did I get this correct that this was your first experience welding? You went straight up all in fabbing? Did you bend the pipe? Impressive stuff. Rig looks great!
 
It is looking good. October lets plan a LC get together.
Thanks ginericLC! And thanks for your help and input along the way. Anytime you are looking for someone to head out with just let me know.
 
Did I get this correct that this was your first experience welding? You went straight up all in fabbing? Did you bend the pipe? Impressive stuff. Rig looks great!
Thanks TomOsborne!

Yes this was my first attempt at welding. I had someone help with tacking the rear bumper and then get me started but I just watched a bunch of youtube videos and dove right it. My first welds were pretty ugly and slow but I was surprised how quick I was able to get the hang of it and put a good weld down relatively fast. By the time I got to my front bumper I was able to tack and weld the entire thing in just a couple of evenings. The grinding on the other hand took a good couple of more evenings though.

A buddy of mine has a pipe bender so he helped me with the bending. We just left them long on both ends so when I got back to my shop I cut them to length and notched them.
 
Impressive! Its great to see someone pick up a cruiser and go "all in" right from the start. I've never welded but this inspires me to learn how.
 
Impressive! Its great to see someone pick up a cruiser and go "all in" right from the start. I've never welded but this inspires me to learn how.
Thanks! I am not going to lie, I had a hard time tearing into it like I did. My personality is usually more debate what I want or should do for so long I eventually lose interest in it and never do anything. But like I said before there are so many detailed posts on here that I had a vision of what I wanted before I even started and I just went for it regardless of the outcome. But it all seemed to work and I love how it turned out.

I would definitely encourage you to learn how to weld. Now that I know how I am always trying to come up with new ideas of things to build. It also helps that I have access to a fab shop with all the equipment...
 

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