Builds A Humble Man's Attempt to Build His 1996 FJ80

[Yansa]

Well............. I guess I need to start out by telling you about myself. I have been a 1st Gen Trooper guy for 25+ years now. I bought one new in 1989 and still have it. And over the years I have built quite a few and sold them. I was a mainstay on the planetisuzoo forum and thought I would drive a Trooper till the end.
But years of fixing the same old problems, Lack of parts availability and stockpiling tons of Used parts has taken a toll on me. I have chose a different path to follow.

As luck would have it I ran across a good deal on a 1996 Land Cruiser. One owner with 150k miles on it. It was dirty as hell but I could see that under all the dirt there seemed to be a pretty solid truck. The tires were all very worn out, the Check engine light was glowing and the radio had nothing but static. A/C seemed to not be cooling very well but it was at least cool. I did also notice a little surface rust around the rear axle and brake area but it didnt seem to be very bad.
So Here we go..... I hope to document a great build thread and look forward to new friends here as well as the wealth of knowledge.

My old Isuzu Trooper. Rhino lined, crossing over the Continental Divide.

The first look at my FJ80.

The awesome Gold Pack!!!

I plan on knocking out The minor mechanical issues and Cleaning it up before I Transform this Mall Cruiser into a Great Trail truck.

 

[LS1FJ40]

Welcome! It only took you 27 years to make a good decision!

 

[84shortyota]

Having owned a first gen Trooper I will say they are tough as nails! Welcome to the dark side!

 

[Yansa]

Oh....
I know there are a lot of guy's here that are expert's on these 80's. If I screw up and refer to something wrong or ask a question that has been answered ten million times before go ahead and hammer me. I'm thick skinned and wont get my feelings hurt. All criticism and opinions are appreciated.

Just remember when you were new here.

Let's Get it On!!!

 

[Broski]

welcome to the 80 series, get your wallet ready and have fun!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Yansa]

The first thing I did was change the tires. The p/o had some very aggressive mud grips that were trashed! All were under inflated and were like riding on a set of stop sign's which was ok because it kept me from remembering how bad the static from the radio was.

The 20 inch wheels had 33 12.50 20's on them but I opted to replace them with 35 12.50 20's. I just wasn't sure which brand and what tread I wanted to run.

I have toured the Treadwright plant in Houston and bought 2 sets of Guard dogs. One set I had over 30k miles and they gave me no issues at all. But they were 16 inch tires and I wasn't to sure about going to 20's with such a large tread. I researched the Goodyear MTR and thought id go that route but really wanted a tire that would not be To noisy but still give me traction off road.

I finally decided on the Toyo Open Country R/T's, 35 12.50 20.

As you can see, When I aired them up, All but one separated. I don't know how the P/O didn't ever blow one of these out.

 

[Mountainpassing]

Crikey ! Dangerous tires

 

[Yansa]

I order the Toyo's and had to decide which side wall I wanted out. They produce them with a rugged look or a tame look. You can guess which one I went with.
I kept the one good tire off the rig to pedal on Craigslist. I figured I could recoup some of my money.

The one good tire off the truck. I guess the P/O had to buy one at one time.

The New Toyo's

One sidewall

The other.

 

[dogfishlake]

Cool Trooper, welcome to the other side! I looked on the Isuzu forum, it looks even tougher to find trucks there for sure! Looks like a great start.

 

[Mountainpassing]

Make sure you have 5 matching tires as having a mismatched one for a spare is bad for if you get a flat--All wheel drive you know?

 

[Yansa]

While it was on the lift I took time to give it the once over. Ill show you some of the minor rust I noticed.

Looks a Little Funny without tires on it.

It did have a set of Old Man Emu's on it.

Little bit of the rust.

Rear Brake Rotor

Front Brake rotor.

 

[Yansa]

There was one part on this thing that had me puzzled. It was located above the Radio to the right.
I figured out it was a radar detector. Kinda blew me away.

 

[Yansa]

Anyway, here is what it looked like after I had the tires installed.

Those 35's really filled in the fender wells!
I like the way it's beginning to shape up.

 

[Mountainpassing]

Radar detector? must been so he didnt get ticketed for going under the speed limit! haha

 

[Yansa]

I thought at first it was some kind of equalizer like I had back in the 70's. lol.

 

[Schmutz]

I like the way it's beginning to shape up.

"welcome to the addiction" mate! You're off to a fine start.

 

[Yansa]

Thanks! I'm enjoying the ride!

 

[Yansa]

Next is the Gold Pack, Check Engine Light and The rack.

 

[canman]

Welcome. Looks very clean. You'll enjoy the Toyo's and the 80.

 

[jccruzer]

Nice Truck (I like the COMB0) Welcome to Ih8mud..
cheers