Builds Another 80 Series Pop Top - My 40th Build (from memory...) (1 Viewer)

[ab1985]

I’ve had my 80 series Land Cruiser since 2012 but have never created a build thread here on IH8MUD. It’s been in the shop most of the summer getting work done, so I’ve been thinking I might start a thread to document all the odds and ends. I dug up as many old pictures and memories as I could to get started. I’ll probably misremember some of the timeline which is ok, then I’ll get updated pictures once the truck is back in my possession.

Vitals when I purchased in 2012: 1997 40th Anniversary Edition with 110,000 miles. I lived in Louisville at the time and flew to Atlanta to pick up the truck. Photobucket stole most of my photos from the early years so the only stock photos I have are from a trip out to Colorado in 2013. By this time I'd had the truck for a year, had gone on a handful of camping trips and decided I wanted a really simple camping setup to make things easier with my young kids. More on the trip, but this is what it looked like stock with some white knuckle sliders.

 

[ab1985]

So this was in May of 2013. I ordered a roof top tent to simplify my camping setup. After two units being damaged in transit and returned I stumbled across Campteq and starting chatting with Eric about the possibility of doing a pop top. I think there were two others + Eric's out there at the time. My other truck was an 85 4Runner which I had always dreamed of adding a Wildernest top to or some other type of pop top tent, so a Campteq top for the 80 was an easy sell. We discussed roof cut and install options and scheduled a date, and I made the drive out to Colorful Colorado for the first time.

Here are a few install pics.

 

[FJRanger]

I remember those pictures from the original thread, awesome!

 

[ab1985]

After a smooth install we headed further west to spend a few days driving the White Rim. I remember being completely blown away by the desert scenery, and it's still on my list of to-do's to make it back to Utah.

Here a fiew piuctures from the that trip.

 

[ab1985]

We had a few great camping trips with the simple Campteq setup and then moved Nashville in 2013 or 2014. The next few years as work picked up the truck became less of a priority, but slow progress is better than no progress.

I think the next thing I did was the AOE bumper. I don't love the logo cut outs, but outside of that it's an outstanding bumper that strikes a good balance between rock crawling functionality and the classic look of the iconic RB. I chose paint over powdercoating for ease of maintenance.

 

[ab1985]

I replaced the 31" KM2's with 35" Destination MT's.

 

[ab1985]

Next was a 2.5" heavy OME lift.

 

[ab1985]

I went on a few trips with the spare strapped to my roof. I think this was near Chattanooga.

 

[ab1985]

This was Windrock

 

[ab1985]

This was at one of TN STLCA New Year's rides. Somewhere there is video of these crossings. It was crazy with water coming up over the windshield. I bought a snorkle after this weekend but it's sitting in a box on the garage...

 

[ab1985]

I just found this pic with the Hannibal awning deployed. I really loved that awning, but it shrunk over time and would no longer fully deploy. At one point before Alu-Cab was available in the states I had a 270 imported but I never installed it due to the weight and length. I recently had a Shady Boy awning installed in the rear and will share thoughts once I've used it a few times.

 

[ab1985]

I wanted storage inside the truck but still wanted to be able to stand up and to haul a family of four, so I turned the driver side into a two seat setup then used the passenger side for storage and a fridge. At this point I had an IBS dual battery setup with a Die Hard starter and Bluetop accessory battery. This was a near perfect setup for me.

 

[ab1985]

I also added a Wagon Gear lid to the tailgate for more storage. Photobucket stole the install pics, but you can see that in some of these pics.

 

[ab1985]

I stained/sealed the drawer after a few trips to avoid water damage. I built a single swing out bumper for my 4Runner and ended up going the same route with the 80 but purchased from 4X4 Labs. We all know how solid Luke's stuff is. This one did not dissapoint.

 

[ab1985]

I see my flares are ripped off in the above pics. At some point I addressed that situation with color matched truck bed liner, but there were some major repairs and big trips in between that I need to hit on first. More to come...

 

[ab1985]

The water crossing picture above was circa New Year's 2015 as confirmed in a local club chat today. A group of us were rained in at Coppinger's Cove and had a hell of time finding our way out. This isn't my video, but it shows each of us crossing one of the sketchiest spots. Water was over the hood and the truck was floating away at times... My spot in the line was around the 7:45 minute mark.

 

[ab1985]

It was spring of 2015 then that everything was sorted in terms of storage, bumper, spare tire, gas/water, fridge, and dual batteries. I wanted to make another trip out west, so I planned a 10 day excursion with my daughter (age 6 at the the time) that ended up being another great memory. In late July we drove from Nashville to Southwest Colorado and fell in love with the San Juan mountains.

 

[ab1985]

More pictures from that trip...

 

[ab1985]

I purchased a snorkel later that year, but it's still sitting in a box in my garage. What's the concensus these days on functionality? Not really looking to add broverlander bling...

 

[ab1985]

The following New Year my daughter wanted to go camping and I wasn't comfortable bringing her back to water world, so we headed up to Land Between the Lakes for the weekend. It was freezing cold, but we had a good time and stayed warm in the truck.