Builds A Teenagers Attempt of a Build Thread

[Andrew Bluemel]

Part 2 Update: Detail

I had the cruiser repainted almost two years ago. The paint job itself is holding up very well and when cleaned up it looks pretty spiffy. But I made a mistake. I got the cruiser repainted and shorly after picking it up, I moved to where it sits outside everyday. And since the repaint, I never once applied any wax or protective product to the paint.

The result after two years of sitting outside and getting occasional washes, was dirt that was almost sticking to the paint. Keeping the cruiser looking even 1/2 clean was a lost battle.

Finally I connected with a local guy who does lots of high end cars in the valley waxing, PPFing and Ceramic Coating. After talking to him and establishing my budget, we decided a 3 year Ceramic Coating was the best option. He cut, buffed, and paint corrected the truck prior to ceramic coating, and it is amazing what he was able to achieve getting swirl marks and paint fade to disapear.

Since having this done about 3 months ago, I must say it makes quite the difference. Keeping the cruiser looking decent is not nearly the battle it use to be. Even a quick rinse off with no soap makes it look pretty clean.

 

[Andrew Bluemel]

Part 3 Update: Comfort

I put original cloth 80 series seats in my cruiser about 6 years ago. I bought the front and backseats for $100. The front seats from day one were pretty tired. After 90,000 miles in them, they were killing me. A few of the springs in the seat cushion were sticking through the seat, and a big hole on the side bolster.

I have always dreamed of Scheelmanns, and I finally was able to pull the trigger. I got the Vario F in there brown color.

The ordering process was quick and easy, and I recieved the seats in 6 days.

First off, well built. The packaging, labeling, and instructions are top notch. It is clear right off the bat, they build a quality product.

The driver seat was the first to be installed per the instructions and took me about two hours to install start to finish.The brackets took a few minutes for me to understand and cutting the seat to expose the bolt holes for the armrest was stressful. After installing the driver, the passenger went in within 45 minutes.

I have yet to hookup the seat warmers. I am waiting for OEM Toyota seat warmer swiches to come in.
First thoughts…..damn.
What a diffence. First off, an arm rest in the right location makes a WORLD of difference. My arm always wants to rest on it. And the seat support/comfort is phenomenal. It transforms how it feels to drive a cruiser.

These seats are incredible and such a huge upgrade. I would recommend anyone to get these seats. You will not be sorry.

But, I do want to share my 2 unexpected suprises that I think everyone should know of before buying.

1. The adjustments knobs. The adjustments are incredible and there is so much to learn and do to make the seat perfect for you. BUT, the 3 adjustments on the outside portion of the seat are basically unuseable when sitting in the truck. The knobs are so close to the body and needing to use a mechincal twisting motion with the hand, I cannot adjust anything while sitting in the truck. This is the reality of the size constraint of the cruiser and not a Scheelmann issue.
2. Side bolster: I was imagining these seats were going to hold me nice and tight. The seat bottoms have pretty aggresive bolster, but the tops do not have a huge adjustment window to tighten the bolsters up . No big deal, but I was expecting more of a hug when driving. Granted, I am pretty slim and have a narrow upper body (6’0, and 160lbs).

I do not want this to come off the wrong way. I LOVE these seats. Behind the supercharger, I think this is the best upgrade my truck has ever seen. I have now driven it on 5 hour drives, and unlike the old seats when I was so excited to get the hell out of the truck, it now just feels like a normal new car I could drive all day long. 10/10 recommend. Even if you can only afford one, do it. You will order the second one sooner then you think.

And with that, that concludes my 8 month update. It is still the daily driver and have no plans of stopping. 312,000 miles and it does not skip a beat. I put 18,000 miles on it last year, and this year I am on track to put 15,000 miles on it this year. She has continued to be a great, stupid reliable truck that I am excited to drive everyday.
Cruisers rule

 

[Nay]

@Andrew Bluemel the care and attention is awesome. Kills me you are making all these refinements and mine is just beat on and hung up wet .

 

[Andrew Bluemel]

@Andrew Bluemel the care and attention is awesome. Kills me you are making all these refinements and mine is just beat on and hung up wet .

It has been getting the treatment! I still remember the first time you took me home from Cross Country practice in yours when I was in middle school. That drive sold me on wanting an 80. It's all your fault

 

[Nay]

It has been getting the treatment! I still remember the first time you took me home from Cross Country practice in yours when I was in middle school. That drive sold me on wanting an 80. It's all your fault

Not to pollute your thread, but I’ve gone through all the main suspension bushings, full redo of the steering with a fresh 105 box ($1,178 through Impex with shipping due to historical exchange rates) with associated parts is on deck. Suspect that will make a huge difference.

I had a trim shop in the Springs add cushion to my seats (modern good stuff on top of the OG cushions to raise and shape the seat) years ago - the owner has a bad back and said he wouldn’t get across town in it, amazing the improvement, I can still drive all day in it. Noting this for people who read good build threads and want some options.

We should go wheeling and then you should do 38’s

 

[Andrew Bluemel]

Feels like about the time for a update on the cruiser.

She had quite an action packed summer. Lots of camping and some wheeling. Pretty places with some great people. I put 9,000 miles in a little over 4 months. Has a little over 318,000 on it now. Still a happy truck.

Going to break this update into 3 sections. Report on the upgrades the truck got in my last posting session, upgrades that happen since then, and future plans.

Previous Upgrades:

Delta Arms, Red Head Steering Box, Rear Panhard: I have put a little over 11,000 miles on the truck since these parts went on. All I can say is the steering is still tight. It really is such an easy truck to drive now.

Scheelmann Seats: It is so dumb to spent over $5,000 seats for a 20 year old truck. But oh man do I love them. One of the best upgrades my truck has ever gotten. It really is cool to drive 5+ hours and get out of the truck and not feel like I need to go to a chiropractor. I genuienly have noticed a difference in my roadtrips and how much more willing I am to keep driving. Also, everyone who has gone on a trip in my truck says something nice about the seats. The armrest rocks too. It is still sorta a pain to adjust the seat when sitting in the truck with how close the knobs are to the door sills. I have figured it out, but passengers I have had a 50/50 sucess rate with.

Cermaic Coat: Stupidly, I went through a mud pit off Pearl Pass and damn did I get stuck and mud everywhere. See pics below. Upon cleaning it, it rinsed off quite easily and nicely, but in the right light I could still see some mud marks. I took it back to my detail guy and he did a more thorough wash and he was able to get it all cleaned up after. I am still glad I got it coated. Typically just a quick rinse makes it look sharp.

The pit that got me:

All cleaned up

 

[Andrew Bluemel]

Part 2

Upgrades since my last post

Rosen Visors: I was tired of my droopy visors. So I put on some Rosen Visors. They are super cool. Very well built.

Kingbrown/Pacemaker Exhaust: My old exhaust fell off bajaing up a dirt road in Telluride. It fell totally off from the cats back. Happy accident I’d say, I have been meaning to do this for years. I had been researching this system for quite some time for a few reasons.

* 2.5inch all the way back
* No Cats (I know this is super controversal but in my experience my truck runs smoother and gets better mileage without)
* Exchange rate (benifits the USD)
* Saw some Mud posts that claim more power

I ordered from Best Mufflers out of Austrilla. What a pleasure to work with these guys. I talked with the owner (his name I am blanking on right now). We talked for about 30 minutes about exhaust, life, Austrilla, and America. Super cool dude and gave me confidence. He said it would be a bolt on deal and he was right. Shipping was stupid expensive (like $600 to Colorado), but DHL got it here in FOUR days. Mind blowing.

We ended up not having to take the supercharger off to replace the headers. We removed the throttle body, but we were able to get old headers out and new ones in without too much yelling. Again without @ExpoMax this would have taken me 4 times as long. Also side note, he is back in a Toyota! Check out his sweet 2nd gen build here: Back in a Toyota - *2017 Tundra Build* - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/back-in-a-toyota-2017-tundra-build.1349337/#post-15693869

Exhaust all bolted together well. We had to drill out the front 02 sensors new home (the bung was there but it was welded for whatever reason). And it does not have a Secondary 02 Sensor bung. Still debating on what I am going to do here. Either get a 02 Fouler, or weld a bung on the exhaust for it. I get a check engine light for it very rarely so it has sorta been out of mind lately.

All put back together and I could not be happier! Exhaust is routed up and over the frame which is a nice upgrade, it is finally quite and doesn’t drone (hasn’t had a quite exhaust in probably the last 5 years), and honestly I can say the butt dyno does feel a little more power. Two thumbs up.

I do have to work on notching my slee slider so it doesn’t rattle there, and the rear cross member it also rests on.

Of course, first day wheeling day in Moab and I smashed the rear resonator. That is going to get cut off. I will report back with how much that changes noise.

Listen to it hear:

New Tires!

New tire day! The K02s served me well and almost got 50,000 miles out of them. They still had another 10,000 miles in them if I had to guess. They were always a challenge to balance, and of course they run small, but that is one great tire. I almost jumped to the 39 inch K02 but the crazy pricing made me not do the jump.

I ended up going with the Toyo Open Country R/T. They look much beefier then the K02. Deep tread blocks. I went to Casper Wyoming to get these installed (have a good friend who works at a Discount Tire). They were quite on the way back. I was hoping to get a little rubber overdrive with the tire being a little taller than the K02, but it was not a big enough size difference to notice anything.

Overall I am happy! A part of me is still a little dissapointed I did not do the 39 imch K02s. If BFG ever comes off there crazy pricing I think I would go for it.

 

[Andrew Bluemel]

Reserved

 

[Andrew Bluemel]

Future Upgrades

Cruiser is getting pretty close to where I want it. Still runs good and I am going to keep driving her until it starts to tell me otherwise. I got a garage spot for it this winter and I have a new daily, so it will see less miles and cold starts this winter. Still have some trips in the planning though, it will get used!

Winter to do list:
Fix Exhaust Rattles
Gas Struts on Swingout
Replace Body Mounts
Insulate Roof
Fix Shakey Mirrors
Throw roof rack on with awning.

Less mature to do list that will likely not happen:
New Wheels: I think it might be time for a change
Replace front locker: Swap for eaton (ARB I have never had full trust or success with and I am tired of pulling it apart to deal with it). Also replace orignal CVs (still don’t click though)
Supercharger pulley: Slap a 2.8inch pulley on there and see how she does

Felt foolish to post with no photos so here are a few of my favorites from this summer:

Till the next update...

 

[Heckraiser]

Haha, nice stuck Mud is the one major weak spot of K02