‘97 Locked Collectors Edition Build (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Aug 15, 2018
Threads
8
Messages
45
Location
Tulsa, OK
Hi all - I’ve had my Land Cruiser almost 4 years now. Since it’s almost to a place where I can finally drive it, I thought I’d document it here. Thanks to those that stop and take a look, as well as to all of the Mud posts that helped educate me.

Like most, I was looking for a locked example and something ‘95+. I’d been looking for a project Land Cruiser for a few months when I found this one in Boston with a small incident in the front driver-side fender/bumper. It had the K294 code on the door sticker, so I was happy. I then noticed it only had 120k miles on the odometer and I was even happier - plus it’s a Collectors Edition. I had very little knowledge of what made a CE different from the others, but in reading, I found a post stating that there were only 800 or so factory triple-locked Collectors Edition Land Cruisers delivered to the US. I felt very fortunate and eagerly waited for it to be delivered to me in OK.

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As soon as it arrived, I tried not to panic, because it was…rough. I was brand new to Land Cruisers, so I didn’t know what part was what and didn’t know what it needed. What I did know, was that there was rust. I kept optimistic and started trying to plan what I needed to do to it to get it on the road. I’m handy and work on cars, but this was intimidating. Of course, I started cleaning the interior because it was really the only thing I really could do that wasn’t overwhelming or foreign to me. That was when I noticed that the driver and passenger footwells were soaked with water. That’s when the easy cleaning stopped and fixing things started.

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I looked at all of the sunroof drains and they were fine. Not thinking it could come from anywhere else, I found a post about re-sealing the windshield and bought some 3m windshield adhesive. I then cleaned the dirt and sand out from the rubber surround and started sealing up the gaps I could find. This was over two years ago and no leaks since.

It was really hard knowing where to start because it needed so much. I would look over the cruiser, then over parts diagrams, plus looking at other build threads to see what things were supposed to look like. I figured anything I touched, I would replace as I went… so I started stockpiling parts. Also, Land Cruisers are not common in OK parts yards, so I had to get a used inner fender, outer fender, flare, radiator support, etc shipped to me. Not super easy to do cheaply.

Here are more pics underneath, so you can see what a 120k mile LC from the salt belt looks like:
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I’ll try not not go over every detail as a story, but will summarize what I can. Some may have slipped my mind to write here, but here’s what I’ve done up until Oct ‘21:

Interior/Exterior:
- BFG All-Terains
- OME 2” lift (1/2 installed because the rear upper bolts seized, so I could only do the front)
- 7-pin mod & center diff lock button
- stereo and speakers
- Lexus visors
- steering shaft seal
- cleaning…

Engine (all OEM):
- rear heater bypass & valve
- new power steering pump (old one was a rebuilt one and leaking)
- spark plugs, seals
- valve cover gasket
- air filter
- pcv valve, grommet, hose
- distributor o-ring, plug wires, ignition coil
- have replaced all hoses
- water pump
- front main seal
- oil pump seal
- cleaning…

It was around this time that I took my first test drive close to home, just to see how things were. I only went 4 miles and noticed a brake leak coming from the rear hard lines when I got back. It was around this time that I had to make decisions. This could be a cool project that I work on in my spare time (not really feasible since I live in a condo and the cruiser is 30 minutes away at my family’s “farm”), or I could just realize how much in over my head I am and sell it, or who knows. I just knew that if I were to keep going forward, I’d have to figure out what to do. The shocks were seized, the fuel filter bolt was seized, there was so much rust underneath, and I couldn’t do it alone working outside in the heat/cold, no lift, etc…

The lockers worked great:

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Stereo with CarPlay and sub:

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RUST…..rear shock, LSPV, brakes…again to show you what a low mileage salt-belt cruiser looks like:

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This brings me to the Fall of ‘21. I’d had the cruiser for 3 years by then and haven’t been able to use it. In trying to deal with rust, I had thought I’d just hose it all down with Fluid Film and send it..replace what I’d need to as time went on. But other than that, I just didn’t have the time (traveling to work on a car takes a toll, plus out in the elements), and there were things I needed help with.

In October, I decided to have it towed to a MEO, a Toyota/cruiser focused shop in Tulsa. It took them a bit to finally look at it, but when they had it on the lift, they called me to talk about what I wanted done and to get their opinion… It didn’t start off great when I got there, because the first question they had was “so…is this a family truck or sentimental?” Lol… We talked a lot and I stayed there a long time as they showed me things underneath and we talked options and a plan. They concluded that the best thing to do to, to do it right, was address the frame. They had just taken in a parts truck, and they could take it’s frame and get it blasted and powder coated. I had sourced pretty much every part they needed already, and what I didn’t have, they would order…

I really had never thought of a frame-off restoration before…but that became the plan. To me, it was worth doing right, and I felt that replacing the frame would knock out 90% of the to-do’s.

They called me late January to ask if I had certain parts already and that they were going to replace all of the control arms with adjustable Dobinsons - my bushings were bad. I stopped by a few days later to drop off parts and they said if I stuck around an hour or so, they were about to lift the body off the frame. So I stayed, and on Feb 1st, the body was off.

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WOW!!! So sad the rust kills cars like that. I have the exact same model. I bought it in Minnesota but it came from Colorado pretty much rust free and I have done everything to keep it that way. It's way too valuable to me to not treat it right. I fluid film it completely every fall and wash it on average every week and so far it's been great. Good job on the resto.
 
wow, salt is not kind to 80 series :(
I looked at all of the sunroof drains and the were fine. Not thinking it could come from anywhere else,I found a post about re-sealing the windshield and bought some 3m windshield adhesive. I then cleaned the dirt and sand out from the rubber surround and started sealing up the gaps I could find. This was over two years ago and no leaks since.

It was really hard knowing where to start because it needed so much. I would look over the cruiser, then over parts diagrams, plus looking at other build threads to see what things were supposed to look like. I figured anything I touched, I would replace as I went… so I started stockpiling parts. Also, Land Cruisers are not common in parts yards, so I had to get a used inner fender, outer fender, flare, radiator support, etc shipped to me. Not super easy to do cheaply.

Here are more pics underneath, so you can see what a 120k mile LC from the salt belt looks like:
View attachment 2933185
Looks like from some later pics that the shop put a new steering arm on :D
That one is reaaaaaaaaly bent :D
 
Ahh I see your 80 is from the Krusty clan as mine is as well. Mine really needs this. I need a place and time to do this. Good for you on the approach. Knocking this right away is a soild move. I might regret not finding a way to do mine like this. My body has rust in the floor too and the back the rear wheel wells. Yours have some krust and holes being fixed while the body is off?
 
wow, salt is not kind to 80 series :(

Looks like from some later pics that the shop put a new steering arm on :D
That one is reaaaaaaaaly bent :D

It really is. The only body panels that need small patches are right behind the rear tire and behind the rear bumper side molding. Only saw it after they removed the bumper ends. That body work (as well as the roof rack holes) will be done after the new radiator, fender, etc are put back on and they fire it up.

Rear fender rust:

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Ha, yeah it really was. Not sure how that would’ve happened… I’d bought a new tie rod/ends already.
 
That engine bay transformation is something else. What was your process to clean that out? Mine could definitely use some love after I get oil leaks sorted out.
 

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