At Long Last! I Have An 80 Series! Now I Gotta Build It.

[vwhammer]

I have started a couple of threads since I took delivery of my beat ol' 80 in an attempt to gather knowledge in anticipation of my very own build.

I decied, rather than to get into too many details in any of those threads, that I would finally just start a build thread so I can take my time and get into the nitty gritty.
Really explain my ideas a bit as well as show you exactly how those ideas pan out.

First a little backstory.
After my wife bought her 4Runner in 2017 I told her that I want some toyota adventure rig that I keep for half a million miles, hell maybe more.

I always wanted an 80 series but the nice ones were way more than I wanted to spend and it was real hard to justify the money that some people were asking for some of the more seasoned 80s on the market.

Of course the 4runner was my wifes and off limits for any of my shenanigans... or was it.
Anyway I started with a first gen tacoma that I bought real cheap from a friend because the rear frame rails were pretty rusted.
I put some 32inch grabbers and steelies on it that I had lying around for another project.
I also patched the frame up enought to drive it with intentions of doing a whole back half off road camper build.
Then it came time to move from Ohio to Colorado and I had too many cars to drive and or ship there so it was pretty evident that the Taco should probably go.

Basically sold it for what I had in the truck and the tires and wheels and haven't thought twice about it until now.

That truck was clearly not the one.

Once I moved to CO there were adventure rigs in abundance.
Just so happened that a friend of mine who had moved to CO a few years before me had an LX470 that was just sitting at their house.
He made me an offer I could not refuse and I bought it.
Did all the usual things, lift, tires skid plates, sliders, roof rack and it was great.

At that point I did not really know too many people in CO that did the whole off road campin' thing and I never really had visions of going all by myself.
All I was doing was driving it back and forth to work and it seemed like a waste.
I also knew what these things were going for at the time and all I saw was dollar signs.
I posted it up and within 24 hours it was gone.
I still regret selling that one.
All I could think about was getting another one or an 80 but once again the cost seemed silly.
I got mine for a deal and would never find another deal like that so I moved on.

Not long after I sold the LX my wife bought a new car and was talking about selling the 4runner.
I made her an offer and she was like "SOLD"
For the record my wife and I keep most of our finances separate so yes I did buy the car from her.
Got a lil' friends and family discount but I did pay actual money for it.

Once again I did all the usual things
got a deal on a lightly used TRD Pro fox suspension for it so I slapped that on there tossed on some 33s, some skid plates, an awning and some rifle cases on the roof for a little gear storage.
Put a sleeping platform in the back and gave it a whirl.

I knew pretty quickly that this just did not work for what I wanted and was maybe a little to nice for any of the mods I had in mind to make it work.
So I sold it to a friend at work and him and his wife love it.

So there I was no rig for off roading and camping.
Camp season was quickly approacing, all my friends were gearing up their rides, including the one I sold the 4Runner to and I had nothing.
I thought I could just latch my little roof tent camp trailer to the back of my firend nicks truck but we've been in some tight spots in the past and that did not seem like the solution.

Well this is getting a little long winded so I will stop here.
I know. I know. some of you are like "How the F is this MF'er gonna start a build thread for his new 80 series and not even post a pic of it"
Well I reached my attached pic limit for this post so it's gonna hafta wait until next time.
Been a minute since I've posted any real content on any forum and maybe I can still add more pics using the old pic hosting site thing but I have not tried that and honestly don't even know if that's still a thing
Honestly I was surprised when I learned I could just drag pics into a post and it would post them.

ok until next time.

 

[vwhammer]

Na I couldn't keep you hangin for long.
I did the mathin' and scoured the nets for the rigth mileage and right condition for the right money and found what seemed like the best deal at the time.
it was not the cheapest on the market.
At the time the cheapest runner I could find was one with 509,000 miles for $6700.
The one I eventually chose was a pretty basic 97 Land Cruiser with 280,000 miles on it.
I was in ok shape, no major damage or issues and owned by a middle class suburban family that had had it for the last 16 years and drove it pretty regularly.
So I bought it and the whole family even delivered it to me because they were sad to see it go.
The daughter, who was now 16 and was driven home from the hospital in the very same Land Cruiser, was sad becasue they were going to give it to her to learn to drive but ultimately decied to get her something more modern with more safety features.

Anyway here it is the day I got it.

As I mentioned camp season was reving up pretty fast and there was a trip coming up.
So I gave the rig a good once over, removed the seats, fender flares and hitch.
I slapped on a set of my signature steelies and skinnys tossed some recovery gear and a mattress in the back and headed to the mountains.

Oddly enough this was the only pic I took of the whole trip but we eventually got stopped by snow, back tracked for a bit until we found camp and did what ya do.

Hitting the trails in this decidedly old rig, you get a feel for how capable these things are pretty quickly.
It did not disappoint and I am super pumped to get into the upgrades.

I will get into other upgrades later but I was pretty excited to drive this thing 10 hours round trip to Taos to pick up what will eventually become a very welcome upgrade.
MO POWA BABY!

TWIN ENGINE LAND CRUISER!

No. I kid.
This will be the base for a fresh, purpose built turbo set up
This will include but be not limited to forged pistons, Forged H beam rods, custom turbo manifold and more.
Ok fur rill imma stop here for the night.
There is much more to come as parts come trickling in.
until then.

 

[vwhammer]

One might say I am "geared" up for a little three day weekend upgrade session.

I got some springs, (2" ish lift I think) some shocks, a pair of air lockers, some 4.88 gears with a 29 spline pinion upgrade, a 5th gen 4runner front brake upgrade, castor correction plates, a rear panhard bar correction bracket and a every bearing and seal available for the front and rear axles as well as a new pair of CV joints.

So i'm kind of not 100% sure if i'm going to tackle all of this this this weekend because I have some thought about panhard bar correction.

Basically "you hafta do a rear panhard bar correction or it'll ride like an ol' wooden rollercoaster" but no one ever talks about the front.
It should technically be just as messed up in the front as it is in the rear, maybe worse.
I mean there are obvious reasons why you can't just make a bracket and weld/bolt it on to raise the axle end of the panhard bar but the primary one is that you don't want to change the angle of the bar without changing the angle of the draglink or ya get all kinds of bump steer and what not.

However there is technically a fix to that.
Ok its like $1000 but it does exist.
FJ80 High Steer Knuckle Kit - https://frontrangeoffroadfab.com/fj80-high-steer-knuckle-kit/
I'm thinkin about getting a set of these knuckles so I can raise the drag link and build me some brackets to raise the axle end of the panhard and a bracket for the other end to add a bit of length to the panhard bar. (don't know if that last bit is worth the effort)
Then I can whip me up a custom panhard bar to to make it all work.

I've been putting in time on my front bumper design but I'm thinking I might switch gears and get to designing some brackets and get some parts coming for front end correction.

I am technically in no rush to get all the upgrades done but I don't want the thing down all spring waiting on parts so I am trying to get as much as I can gathered up so I can tackle it in one sitting.
OK it might be a long sitting but one none the less.

Could probably do the lift and rear bar stuff and see how it rides then tackle the rest once I sort the method and parts.
I don't know. I've got some thinking to do.

Well thats kind of all I have for now.
Just thought I would check in and let ya know things are starting to get moving.

 

[White Stripe]

Congratulations on your new 80! Hope the upgrades go well. Did you already do all your baselining repairs? Coolant hoses, leak repairs, etc?

 

[vwhammer]

Did you already do all your baselining repairs? Coolant hoses, leak repairs, etc?

No? I think.
I've been picking at some obvious things that have been neglected and do have the seals to fix things like the oil pump and distributor seal, just haven't done those yet.
There are plenty of oil leaks but with a new engine on the way I am not stressing most of that so I can do some adventuring this spring and summer.
I did tighten up some poorly installed front wheel bearings so I could go on a short camping trip.
I ordered and installed a battery hold down.
I uninstalled a 25 year old, nonfunctional alarm system.
I put a grommet in a big hole in the firewall that was behind the alarm horn
I repaired a chewed up washer fluid line that runs to the rear wiper squirter.
I slapped on some new hood struts along with some new wipers.
I am designing a steering column firewall seal grommet thing that will involve a little 3d printing and some off the shelf parts.
I've replaced the PCV valve and seal as well as a new hose for that.
I will be disconneting the under seat heater dealie from the vehicle but am kind of hoping to keep it in place and attaching it to my diesel water heater for heating the inside of the rig when for camping.
I ordered a window switch bezel from ebay that does not match the rest of the interior and installed that.
I then prceeded to wreck the roof of my truck trying to take the roof rack and rails off but that is no matter because I will be cutting a big ol' hole in the roof in the coming weeks for my new "pop top"

Bottom line is I have not tackled too many of the common problems because maybe I didn't do my research to see what the common problems are.
Coming from the Vanagon world I should know better. If you don't check all the common problems in a vanagon you end up with a van that has burned to the ground but that's a VW thing and you wouldn't understand.

Anyway I have checked over enough things up to this point that it is in running and driving shape and will only get better as I carry on.
I did just do a 10 hour drive to Taos and back in one sitting to pick up the "new" engine.

On another note I am curious what people are getting for MPG.
On my 10 hour drive, I calculated nearly 17.5MPG on my first fill up.
Of course this was on basically flat land with the wind at my back but I was doing 75-80mpg for a fair bit of that time.
The next gas stop netted me right at 15.5 mpg.
Most of my "fill ups" were only about a half tank but I did the math anyway.
On the drive home I did use a full tank and filled up and did the math again.
I ended up with 15.75mpg.
All of these numbers are much higher than I expected so I was curious what others were getting and how they calculated those numbers.

Ok I've rambled long enough.
UNtil next time.

 

[MissahPapaJ]

I will be disconneting the under seat heater dealie from the vehicle but am kind of hoping to keep it in place and attaching it to my diesel water heater for heating the inside of the rig when for camping.

You plan on adding a power wire and switch to the rear fan? in conjunction with the diesel heater so you can plug it into a less critical power source such as your main batt

 

[vwhammer]

You plan on adding a power wire and switch to the rear fan? in conjunction with the diesel heater so you can plug it into a less critical power source such as your main batt

This is correct. I will have a house battery and will have a thermostat that will kick the heater on.
There will probably be a temp switch for the fan so it will not kick on until the coolant and, susequently, the heater core is up to a specified temp.
I've heard that these under seat heaters leak sometimes but I don't know if it's the heater itself that leaks or the plumbing running to the heater.
It just seems like a really convienient way to have a heater core and blower that I would otheriwse have to install elsewhere.

Kind of at a werid place now becasue I am in the middle of building this whole modular camp set up with some mobile tool boxes that I intended to use for this build.
However, now I am going to run a pop top and will likley do some built in stuff.
So now do I yank all the components from my modular set up for use in the truck or finish up the modular thing, sell it and just buy new components to put in the truck.
I should probably sell the modular set up because otherwise I am going to be left with $1000 in tool boxes.
I guess those have some use but I don't know how useful they are to me.

 

[vwhammer]

Sorry I don't have a lot of real progress to report.
To make a long story short I did other stuff and now my garage is a wreck.
I can't really do anything in there until I move some stuff so thats what I have been working on this weekend.

Ok enough excuses.

What I really wanted to talk about today is my decision switch from my turbo 1FZ idea back to my original 1UZ swap.
I think I mentioned the 1UZ swap idea in one of my other threads but maybe have not brought it up here yet.
I was going to do a 1UZ/8HP swap from the very beginning.
I bought the engine and transmission before I even had the truck.
I even ordered the adapter from Domi Works.
They told me the adapter was about a month out so that gave me some time to think about things.
All I could think about was how tricky the 1UZ swap was going to be to register in Boulder county here in Colorado.
My concern got the better of me and I bailed on the 1UZ and switched to trying to build a sneaky 1FZ with more power that might be able to pass Boulder county emissions checks.
However the more I thought back to all the reasons I wanted the 1UZ in the first place the more I really wanted to do it.
There is also still the posibility that they might still find some reasons why the sneaky 1FZ and 8HP trans swap still would not pass emissions and I would have to resort to plan B to get it registered.
If I am doing that any way then I might as well just start out with what I want so here we are.

I wanted to do a little breakdown on building one VS the other so I'm gonna get to rambling about that.
Lets start with the 1UZ
Other than some gaskets and seals I was planning on running the 1UZ as is
So thats just the whatever the cost of those parts are and would likely be similar priced for the 1FZ so thats a wash.

Next on the list for the 1UZ would be the stand alone ECU.
I will be running the MaxxECU race ECU/TCU which will be around $2k all said and done
This does have the distinct advantage of running the engine AND transmission.

For the 1FZ/8HP combo I would need a piggy back ECU, becasue turbo, (likley from Unichip) which runs around $700 currently.
Then I also need a TCU for the 8HP. This would be from Turbolamik and, for what I want, would set me back $2500

If ya do that math thats one point 1UZ

The 1UZ makes 300HP and 310ftlbs bone stock at the crank.
The 1FZ makes 212hp and 275ftlbs bone stock at the crank.

1UZ - 2pts
1FZ - 0pts

The simplest way to get the 1FZ to 300+ hp is a turbo.
Available turbo kits cost way more money than I want to spend so naturally I would build my own.
I can't imagine all the components to do that the right way would cost me less than $4k, likely more all in.

So far its not panning out too well for the 1FZ in the cost/benifit ratio.

Ok I can hear some of you now. "but Bill other than HP and torque peaks, what are the other benefits fo the 1UZ? Isn't the torque peak 800RPM higher than the 1FZ? Thats not better for an off roader."

To that I say PTHLLLLLT! (or what ever that sound is when you stick your toungue out and blow)

The 8HP gearing will easily cover the whole lack of low end torque thing so I have not really thought about that.

The 1UZ weighs like 200lbs less than the 1FZ and that is weight I am more than happy to shed becasue we all know how much weight can be added to these things for off roading and camping purposes.
I should mention that I am kinda going for a light weight theme with this build.
Not like carbon fiber bits and all that but I am going to try my hardest to pinpoint exactly what it is I need/want and be very selective about the items for those purposes to keep weight to a minimum. (more on all that as the build progresses)

The next benefit to the 1UZ is MPG.
All things being equal, shedding 200 lbs from vehicle will typically net you better MPG.
Higher compression engines have more efficient combustion and therefore net better MPG
Smaller displacement engines typically net you better MPG.
I probaly should have mentioned that I am trying to get better MPG from the 80 series.
To be honest I was kind of surprised at the MPG I got on a recent 10hr drive.
It was way better than I expected.

Anyway if you toss out the low fuel quality criteria that went into the 80 series design, and tossed in some of the modern transmissions designs available today
It would have likely had the 1UZ from the very beginning.

Ok it's getting late and I am losing my train of thought.
Curious to here some people's thoughts and concerns and we will carry on with the discussion and maybe some actual work another time.

 

[Jstawgn]

8hptheworld in Quebec and seems legit garage in Michigan both have done 1UZ to 8HP conversions. LS400 guys been running this a lot earlier than land cruiser. It should be an easy conversion for them.

I am keeping my OEM ECU in my GX470. This is strictly because I am aiming to maintain ATRAC. You don't have this issues with your 80 so aftermarket ECU would make more sense to you.

 

[vwhammer]

8hptheworld in Quebec and seems legit garage in Michigan both have done 1UZ to 8HP conversions. LS400 guys been running this a lot earlier than land cruiser. It should be an easy conversion for them.

I am keeping my OEM ECU in my GX470. This is strictly because I am aiming to maintain ATRAC. You don't have this issues with your 80 so aftermarket ECU would make more sense to you.

I have been chatting up Seems Legit since I got the 1UZ/8HP idea and willl be buying my MaxxECU from them.

The MaxxECU opens up a whole pile of cool things that could be integrated into the build.
I am going to do a proper drive by wire for the 1UZ, not that cable throttle drive by wire thing the the VVTi 1UZ comes with from the factory.
This will also give the option to do some throttle matching on downshifts and slap a bigger throttle body on it.
Figure since I will be doing a full exhaust with headers and everything to free up the exhaust side of things then getting a little more air in couldn't hurt.

Almost got the garage straigntend up enough to do work and even managed to find my engine stand in the shed so I can get the engine mounted up for some teardown and clean up work.

Some friends want to do some camping this weekend so I probably won't get to busy tearing up the rig just yet but I am going to try to get my winch mounted and functional and go ahead and put my suspension lift on it

 

[vwhammer]

Well, as is tradition, I put off doing any real work so I could take this hooptie out for a couple of days of camping.

Not too bougie but it kept me alive.

I fear this was probably the last time I could bail on doing some repairs.
My driver CV it getting pretty clacky and I my front and rear brake pads are starting to make some noise.
Only took a couple trips up to 11,000 feet and back to finsh off the last 3-5mm of pad material.

I think I've had my fun with it as it is and now that the garage is a bit more roomy I got it pulled in and ready to tear into it.

The company I used to work for is doing a big employee camp trip the second week of August that I am gonna crash so I would like to get the axle and suspension repairs/upgrades knocked out and focus on getting the pop top mounted to work on more permanent camping arrangements.

Wish me luck

 

[vwhammer]

Still Haven't tackled the axle and diff rebuild yet on this thing but its coming soon. Just have some other things to sort out first.
It's not that I am not doing any work on the big green pig.
I have been working on my front bumper design and got a few more parts cut and bent and bolted on.

Gotta design the upper part that will cover the winch and the wings, as I have been calling them and it will be time to move on to the rear.
Some of you may notice that I have moved my AC dryer up a bunch to gain as much clearance there as I could.
Now my wings can be much higher on the bottom that was possible with the dryer in the stock location.

You may also notice that the marker light is not mounted in the pic because it no longer fits.
The dryer is occupying much of the space needed for the light so I've come up with a plan B.
Like some others have done I started by hacking up the light to make room for the dryer.
The you seal up the big hole you made and send it.
Yes this does work and maybe the brightness is slightly off on that light and it would probably be fine.
However, I figured I would use this as an excuse to design my own housing and maybe run a little daytime running light along with a blinker in that space.
I managed to find a free 3D scan of the front end that I should be able to use to design the new part once the lights I ordered for it arrive.

Then it should just be a matter of 3D printing it and bolting it in place.

Since we are on the topic of lighting, I was looking into some ways to get a bit more output from the headlights.
I will likely have some driving lights and some off road lights on the bumper somewhere but I would like for the factory headlight to be useful as well.
As I always do when it comes to lighting, I hit up my man Daniel Stern @ Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply - https://www.danielsternlighting.com/products/products.html and picked his brain a bit.
He's a bit old fashion and really tries to steer you in the direction of legality but the guy arguably knows more about automotive lighting than anyone else on the planet and has access to some pretty trick bulbs.
Whatever you do don't go there looking for LED stuff or tell him that you are gonna just get some new $200 housings from ebay
He will basically tell you you're stupid and to get some factory housings new or used or he might actually have a suggestion from an aftermarket brand that he approves of (not the case with the Land Cruiser)
Anyway I have used his lights in so many of my builds now and they do not disappoint.
Don't tell him this but I have run some of his bulb suggestions in aftermarket housings.
The pattern might not have been up to his standards but in my eyes they were still definitely an upgrade
Anyway he got me sorted with some high output high and low beams that I simply need to modify the mounting tabs a bit a fit right into the stock housing after they get a little refurb.
I'll talk more about the lights once I recieve them.

Ok moving on.
I did get the coolest piece of bling I have probably ever ordered for a vehicle compliments of DomiWorks. (ok not like on the house style compliments but thanks to their design and execution style compliments)

Too bad it'll be buried under the truck where no one will see it.

Guess I am pretty locked in on the 1UZ conversion now.
Now I can finally start the clean up and prep to bolt my 8HP and 1UZ together and get to work designing all the parts to make all that work.

I have this crazy idea that I am going to draw up a set of exhaust manifolds and have them 3D printed from stainless steel.
This will allow me to get all the diameters and lengths and configuration just right and have them actually fit where I need them to.
Of course this will also likely limit how long the tubes can be unless I really get crazy with the design to squeeze it all into the print space available in the printer.
We'll cross that bridge when we get there.

I really need to start digging into the oil pan options available for the UZ platform so I can find one that works to locate the new engine in the ideal spot for all my other stuff to work.

I also ordered a couple upgrade parts for the axle rebuild that I had not previously known about.
I got some trail safe pinion seals. Well technically the front is a trail safe seal and the rear is Marlin Crawlers version.
I also got a rear solid pinion spacer and am still on the lookout for a front solid pinion spacer for the 29 spline upgraded pinion.
Also found a pretty good deal on an ultra sonic cleaner to aid in clean up of all the hardware when I tear these axles apart.

Ok thats enough yammerin for now
until next time...