Build Abandoned 84 FJ60 gets some love, and a 4bt!

[Thechief86]

I’ve never seen a red wasp. The wasps we have around here a mostly friendly. They often end up in the house due to a windy open or door open etc. i usually just coax them into my finger and carry them out.

Like this:

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That's pretty impressive! These red dudes are mean as hell, super aggressive, and their sting feels like someone put out a cigar on your skin, and it hurts like that for a couple of hours.
I always swell up pretty bad too.
I can't think of a single purpose they really serve in any ecosystem. I guess they're pollinators, but even then I'd pick just about any other type of bee or butterfly to do that job instead....

 

[Seth S]

That's pretty impressive! These red dudes are mean as hell, super aggressive, and their sting feels like someone put out a cigar on your skin, and it hurts like that for a couple of hours.
I always swell up pretty bad too.
I can't think of a single purpose they really serve in any ecosystem. I guess they're pollinators, but even then I'd pick just about any other type of bee or butterfly to do that job instead....

We have yellow jackets....they like to nest in the ground or in abandoned vehicles etc...they are natures little bastards....you stumble into their nest and get attacked by a swarm....stings hurt a lot, swell, feel like a hot needle being pushed into you....they can be a real treat to get away from.

 

[g-man]

I pulled a heater core out of a 70 Torino I used to own. There was coolant on the floor under the passenger side carpet so I assumed it was leaking. It wasn't too hard to get out but when I tested it the heater core was NOT leaking. I guess it was replaced but the PO didn't bother to clean up under the carpet.

Anyway, I found a cool way to test it. You take a bicycle tire inner tube and cut across it about 6 inches each side of the valve. So you have a 12 inch piece of inner tube with a valve stem in the middle. Then clamp the tube ends to the in/out tubing on the heater core. Then inflate about 10lbs of air with a bicycle pump and submerge the heater core in a 5 gallon bucket of water to check for bubbles. Worked pretty good.

 

[Thechief86]

I pulled a heater core out of a 70 Torino I used to own. There was coolant on the floor under the passenger side carpet so I assumed it was leaking. It wasn't too hard to get out but when I tested it the heater core was NOT leaking. I guess it was replaced but the PO didn't bother to clean up under the carpet.

Anyway, I found a cool way to test it. You take a bicycle tire inner tube and cut across it about 6 inches each side of the valve. So you have a 12 inch piece of inner tube with a valve stem in the middle. Then clamp the tube ends to the in/out tubing on the heater core. Then inflate about 10lbs of air with a bicycle pump and submerge the heater core in a 5 gallon bucket of water to check for bubbles. Worked pretty good.

That's a BRILLIANT idea!

 

[onemanarmy]

We have yellow jackets....they like to nest in the ground or in abandoned vehicles etc...they are natures little bastards....you stumble into their nest and get attacked by a swarm....stings hurt a lot, swell, feel like a hot needle being pushed into you....they can be a real treat to get away from.

we have both red wasps AND yellow jackets!

(No one should move to NC, its terrible here)

 

[cruiserpilot]

Instead of using POISON spray to go after wasps, I use Brake Clean. It kills on contact, and being brake clean it won't kill you with
residual overspray nor hopefully the other cancerous and frightening contents of poisonous sprays. I have cans all over our place,
and you sure as heck don't want to spray up under the dash of your Land Cruiser with RAID or any other poison spray - ever!

 

[Seth S]

Instead of using POISON spray to go after wasps, I use Brake Clean. It kills on contact, and being brake clean it won't kill you with
residual overspray nor hopefully the other cancerous and frightening contents of poisonous sprays. I have cans all over our place,
and you sure as heck don't want to spray up under the dash of your Land Cruiser with RAID or any other poison spray - ever!

Yes. We’ve used brake clean for this purpose before too.

 

[cps432]

99% isopropanol works really well if you can get enough of it on them. It’s good for taking out a nest. If you catch an individual when it’s walking around it’ll do the job. It’s a safe way to deal with them.

When I was growing up, my cousins and I would take 1” pvc and pound it into a yellow jacket nest in the ground and pour gasoline in it. Then you light bottle rockets out the end. I’m pretty sure that’s not standard practice these days.

 

[Thechief86]

99% isopropanol works really well if you can get enough of it on them. It’s good for taking out a nest. If you catch an individual when it’s walking around it’ll do the job. It’s a safe way to deal with them.

When I was growing up, my cousins and I would take 1” pvc and pound it into a yellow jacket nest in the ground and pour gasoline in it. Then you light bottle rockets out the end. I’m pretty sure that’s not standard practice these days.

I hosed the ones I could find down with some wasp killer. They flew out as soon as I opened the door and got hosed down. I couldn't find a nest, but this morning was the time to look for them, since it is chilly out and they're moving slow.
I just finished cleaning and painting my fan shroud, so that's gonna look nice.
I think I've decided that my front seats aren't really in too terrible of shape, I may just clean them thoroughly and keep my eyes peeled for some decent covers, as well as some nice replacement seats in the junkyard.
The back seat is trashed, but a member here has one I think we can make a deal on.
I trying to decide now if I want to do carpet, or rubber mat throughout. This truck will see some offroad use and long distance camping trips, assuming I can get it reliable and afford to feed it.
At the moment I'm thinking about doing an add-a-leaf and some 33x10.5 KM3's.
It won't be my daily driver, and I have the BFG KO2's on my Subaru.
The Yokohama 31's on the cruiser now are in decent shape, but I'm sure are pretty old. I don't trust them for a 1500 mile slog across the country....

 

[cruiserpilot]

If you've got the carpet out, look at pressing in some sound deadener? 60's aren't beer can noisy like a 40 but it
made a markable improvement to my 60, since you'll want to hear the stereo at one point I presume.
Carpet, go with carpet.
Someone link up the local dealer here on MUD.

 

[cps432]

I hosed the ones I could find down with some wasp killer. They flew out as soon as I opened the door and got hosed down. I couldn't find a nest, but this morning was the time to look for them, since it is chilly out and they're moving slow.
I just finished cleaning and painting my fan shroud, so that's gonna look nice.
I think I've decided that my front seats aren't really in too terrible of shape, I may just clean them thoroughly and keep my eyes peeled for some decent covers, as well as some nice replacement seats in the junkyard.
The back seat is trashed, but a member here has one I think we can make a deal on.
I trying to decide now if I want to do carpet, or rubber mat throughout. This truck will see some offroad use and long distance camping trips, assuming I can get it reliable and afford to feed it.
At the moment I'm thinking about doing an add-a-leaf and some 33x10.5 KM3's.
It won't be my daily driver, and I have the BFG KO2's on my Subaru.
The Yokohama 31's on the cruiser now are in decent shape, but I'm sure are pretty old. I don't trust them for a 1500 mile slog across the country....

I've got the 33x10.5 KO2s on mine. I'm been pretty happy with them so far. I want to get some 16" rims so I can get a narrower 33. The 10.5 is just a bit too wide. Some shops won't install them. It does cause them to bulge in the middle of the tire a little bit. Which may cause a bit of wandering and definately causes some weird wear issues. A 33x9.5 would be perfect I think. I have plenty of years left on these KO2s I hope, so new rims are not on the top of the list.

As for the carpet/rubber debate, I think rubber would be the way to go. In fact I would actually like to do a bed liner spray on the interior of my truck. I don't care about it being too loud. I have a German Shepard Dog and keeping the hair out of the truck is impossible and the carpet doesn't help. Also, if you're going in the creek and you're tracking mud and sand everywhere all the time or you're dragging snow/salt into the truck it makes sense to go with rubber so you can spray the truck out when you need to. Carpet holds water and dirt and hides issues in the floor board that you would want to know about sooner rather than later. I found a new hole in my floor the other day where the carpet used to cover it. Never saw it before. It's small enough that I can fix it pretty easy. If the carpet was there I would have never known.

 

[Thechief86]

I installed my Ebay find used grille just now. It looks pretty good, but I still need to find the TOYOTA emblem to complete it. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to fold the rear bench seat forward to remove it and work on cleaning....

 

[cps432]

There’s a pull tab on the bench. Reach in the crease and you’ll find it. Pull on that and it will lift forward. The the back of the seat lays down once you’ve unhooked the latches on both sides.

 

[Thechief86]

There’s a pull tab on the bench. Reach in the crease and you’ll find it. Pull on that and it will lift forward. The the back of the seat lays down once you’ve unhooked the latches on both sides.

Thanks, I figured it out. Was kinda gross sticking my hand down into the abyss to find the pull strap. Sooo much dog/racoon fur and fecal matter. Friggin disgusting.
I wish my intake/exhaust gasket would come so I could go to the car wash and suck all that junk out. I don't want that nastiness in my shop vac lol.

I also found the plastic clamshell for the steering column and put that back on. Little by little, this car is looking less like it should have just been scrapped...

 

[cruiserpilot]

Carpet dealer I got carpet from. Actual real US made carpet, not cheap import.

81-85 Toyota Land Cruiser Carpet Complete Kit

1981-1985 Toyota Land Cruiser carpet Heat and Pressure Molded to the original floor pan, made with Top Quality auto carpet materials. Carpet fits Toyota Land Cruiser Complete Kit just like OEM when installed.

www.stockinteriors.com

 

[Thechief86]

Carpet dealer I got carpet from. Actual real US made carpet, not cheap import.

81-85 Toyota Land Cruiser Carpet Complete Kit

1981-1985 Toyota Land Cruiser carpet Heat and Pressure Molded to the original floor pan, made with Top Quality auto carpet materials. Carpet fits Toyota Land Cruiser Complete Kit just like OEM when installed.

www.stockinteriors.com

Wow that looks like a great kit at a great price!!!

 

[cps432]

Carpet dealer I got carpet from. Actual real US made carpet, not cheap import.

81-85 Toyota Land Cruiser Carpet Complete Kit

1981-1985 Toyota Land Cruiser carpet Heat and Pressure Molded to the original floor pan, made with Top Quality auto carpet materials. Carpet fits Toyota Land Cruiser Complete Kit just like OEM when installed.

www.stockinteriors.com

If I ever decide to replace my carpet...

 

[Thechief86]

If I ever decide to replace my carpet...

Mine is already to f'd to even consider trying to save. Like biohazard grade s*** lol.
I'll be ordering this carpet kit as soon as I know I've got the mechanical stuff sorted out.
Thanks @cruiserpilot for sharing that link!
This lucky FJ is going to get treated to some real love this year!

 

[cps432]

Mine is already to f'd to even consider trying to save. Like biohazard grade s*** lol.
I'll be ordering this carpet kit as soon as I know I've got the mechanical stuff sorted out.
Thanks @cruiserpilot for sharing that link!
This lucky FJ is going to get treated to some real love this year!

I've ripped and cut more than half of mine out already. I will finish pulling it out if I ever get a chance to remove the front seats. Carpet looks great for sure, but I think it's impractical If you do a lot of outdoor stuff. I wish someone made a proper molded rubber kit for these trucks. I bet they'd sell like hot cakes.

 

[Dekeman]

One of the nicest and easier upgrades you can do: