Builds (another) FZJ80 Expedition Build Thread

[eizenjin91]

So after much deliberation and multiple failed attempts to buy an 80 (If I ask if a title is clear and you answer yes I would assume it is under your name and not the twice removed previous owner!!) I ended up with this 1995 with 140,xxx miles. Drove her home today from Tucson checked it all out and the single thing that is wrong/leaking/needs to be replaced is the speed sensor in the Tcase is leaking a tiny bit. Need to yank the leather (never been a big fan of leather) to replace with cloth otherwise the interior is pretty solid. This is my first foray in to expedition (and toyotas) been a crawler all my life with jeeps:whoops:. So all thoughts/recommendations/critiques are welcome.

Just finished ordering:
Warn VR10,000
Warn Front Winch Bumper
Warn Touring Rack
2 Gallons of Gillespie CARC substitute paint http://www.rapcoparts.com/336tancsucud.html
ARB Snorkel
Slee Offroad HD Tie Rod/Drag Link

Next up:
Slee Offroad Rear Bumper/Tire Carrier/Ladder/ 3x Jerry Can Holder
Rear Storage/Security Drawer Setup
2.5" OME lift with (?? 33's or 35's??)
ARB Lockers
ARB Fridge
2nd Fuel Tank (Unknown brand)
?????????

 

[bobthebuilder]

Welcome! Looks like a great starting point!

 

[scrowley]

Very nice looking 80. Sounds like you have some great mods going on in the near future too. IMO get rid of the chrome.

 

[ToyotaTrailTeam]

Nice find. How do you feel about all that "wood" trim?

 

[Funner]

Nice find. How do you feel about all that "wood" trim?

In a survival situation it may be a quick, readily available source of kindling.

 

[Funner]

You are adding a lot of weight to your rig. You didn't specify which 2.5" OME coils you are getting, but make sure you get the heavies (850/863) over the medium coils. Also, you may want the coil spacers for the front because this lift will leave you with a bit of rake toward the front.
Of course all the PM stuff needs to be addressed. You may want to add a second battery to operate the fridge and other accessories. Slee sells a simple washer bottle relocation bracket you will want to add to your order if you go this route.

Sounds like a great trip

 

[eizenjin91]

You are adding a lot of weight to your rig. You didn't specify which 2.5" OME coils you are getting, but make sure you get the heavies (850/863) over the medium coils. Also, you may want the coil spacers for the front because this lift will leave you with a bit of rake toward the front.
Of course all the PM stuff needs to be addressed. You may want to add a second battery to operate the fridge and other accessories. Slee sells a simple washer bottle relocation bracket you will want to add to your order if you go this route.

Sounds like a great trip

Thanks bud! Just looked in to that, thats a pretty slick setup. Doing the dual battery with the bottle relocater and the LED status indicators. Thanks for the suggestion! Yeah trying to decide between Heavy or Super Heavy. Also, with the OME lift I have seen that Man-A-Fre sells a "level stance" kit where the front is 3 and rear is 2 inches so it doesn't have a rake.



As far as the "wood" trim...it makes me want to pull out a hammer and start beating my dash to pieces

 

[eizenjin91]

Although like my buddy pointed out, with all the leather and wood we'll be rollin fly with the canuck hunnies

 

[SIZZLE]

I would stick with 33" tires unless you want to add gears to your already awesome list!

 

[jwilliams]

Nice find. How do you feel about all that "wood" trim?

I had the same light wood grain on mine. I didn't like it at all.

I ended up soaking any trim pieces I could in a very hot bath with Dawn dish soap. Most of the wood grained peeled off within 20-30 min. Any residue from the tape came off easily with the soap in there. The center console piece looks a thousand times better without the wood grain. Even did all the window switch covers.

The only things I used a heat gun on were around the A/C vents.

 

[Wheelingnoob]

If you are going Slee rear bumper with spare and 3 jerry cans + aux fuel tank plus gear for the trip in the back and on roof I think you need to pay a bit more attention to your rear spring choices. That is going to be a lot of weight in the back. Also as you are building this truck remember that the TCAT was mapped out on Dual sport bikes and a lot of it is doable by bike only so there will be very long stretches of pavement driving. The BC section and a few eastern Canada sections will remove your flairs so ditch them now.

Warn makes a front bumper for the 80?

 

[half k cruiser]

I have the Man a Fre level stance kit and it is not exactly level. You will still experience rake towards the front. However, once you have a heavy rear bumper, spare tire and all of your gear loaded it should even out for you. Regardless, it does not look bad at all.

P.S. go with the 315's .

 

[eizenjin91]

If you are going Slee rear bumper with spare and 3 jerry cans + aux fuel tank plus gear for the trip in the back and on roof I think you need to pay a bit more attention to your rear spring choices. That is going to be a lot of weight in the back. Also as you are building this truck remember that the TCAT was mapped out on Dual sport bikes and a lot of it is doable by bike only so there will be very long stretches of pavement driving. The BC section and a few eastern Canada sections will remove your flairs so ditch them now.

Warn makes a front bumper for the 80?

I was doing the weight to decide between the rear heavy or extra heavy springs and I ended up going with the Heavy springs. Cause your right plus the drawer system etc is a TON of weight in the back.

I have been doing a bunch of research on the route, google earth and other satellite mapping etc. While alot of it is very narrow, I believe about 92-95% of it will be passable in the FJ80 albeit very very tight with possibility of body damage from trees etc. Some sliders, a rear quarter panel slider tube, and the front one that hooks in to the ARB bumper should combat most of that. If anyone has first hand experience/pictuers etc that would be great but short of that I fully believe I can make myself fit through 92-95% of it lol. Yep warn makes a pretty nice front bumper for the 80.

 

[eizenjin91]

Tires

Ordered 315/75R16 in the new Baja ATZ. Seen the tires in person and look pretty awesome I'm excited to try them. Trans generally ships overnight so tires should be here tomorrow. Tonight is Safari Snorkel Install.

 

[Wheelingnoob]

I was doing the weight to decide between the rear heavy or extra heavy springs and I ended up going with the Heavy springs. Cause your right plus the drawer system etc is a TON of weight in the back.

I have been doing a bunch of research on the route, google earth and other satellite mapping etc. While alot of it is very narrow, I believe about 92-95% of it will be passable in the FJ80 albeit very very tight with possibility of body damage from trees etc. Some sliders, a rear quarter panel slider tube, and the front one that hooks in to the ARB bumper should combat most of that. If anyone has first hand experience/pictuers etc that would be great but short of that I fully believe I can make myself fit through 92-95% of it lol. Yep warn makes a pretty nice front bumper for the 80.

Interesting the decision to go with just the heavy's, I'll be interested to see how that goes if all the planned weight is installed.

Keep in mind a lot of that trail back east even though passable buy 4x4 is restricted and limited to ORV's. Out west here I know a few sections are to narrow or off camber. I look forward to hearing how you make out, its an epic trip how many months are you planing for? When/where do you start?

 

[Cruzer_89]

Totally digging the factory chrome wheels..

 

[eizenjin91]

Installed the snorkel tonight.

The chrome wheels are going very soon dont worry lol.

Very interesting point, while I had looked at the physical ability to make it through the trails, I hadn't looked yet at any legal restrictions etc. I am too used to Arizona where there are almost no restrictions at all. I plan to start June in Labrador and go west from there.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Installed the snorkel tonight.

The chrome wheels are going very soon dont worry lol.

Very interesting point, while I had looked at the physical ability to make it through the trails, I hadn't looked yet at any legal restrictions etc. I am too used to Arizona where there are almost no restrictions at all. I plan to start June in Labrador and go west from there.

Nice starting point Chicks dig snorkels

 

[eizenjin91]

Rollin on 35's now. 2.5" lift won't be here for a week or so. Tires were taking up room so I threw em on. No rubbing issues at all on road even full lock on a speed bump. Won't go anywhere near a dirt road or a curb till the lift comes in.

Next up wheels have to go black (and never go back?)

 

[DSRTRDR]

we sure needed another white 80 in Phoenix