Builds BlacknBlue's Build Thread (1 Viewer)

[BlacknBlue2002]

Yeah, so I figured I'd start documenting my 80 Series build. I've been a member of Mud for a couple weeks - pretty much ever since I knew I was going to be grabbing up an FZJ-80. I'm not going into specifics but let's just say but I ended up with a fantastic deal on a '93 80 Series.

Specs:
1993 Land Cruiser - Maroon



The Good:
- Price - $4K
- 168K miles
- Front & Rear lockers
- Center Diff Locker also installed w/ switch
- Grey interior
- Leather/Sunroof
- Chrome stock wheels
- Head Gasket was replaced by an old friend of mine at about 150K miles (I know the owner from 1-2 years ago who had it for a long while)
- Drivetrain seems to run geat

The bad:
- Small dings/dents throughout
- Paint peeling on roof and one fender
- Small amount of rust bubbles on top of the upper portion of the tailgate
- Broken exterior door handle (front driver door) - I have the broken piece
- Extremely dirty/smelly interior - (apparently previous owner was a chain smoker w/ a ton of kids)
- Front seats in pretty bad shape but are covered up w/ a cheap cover
- Aftermarket radio - but it doesn't work (goes in and out)
- Something clunks in the rear when hitting bumps
- Missing a few bits and pieces
*Plug for the hand throttle ole
*Little hole at the top of the shifter (not sure what goes there)
*Step plate on rear passenger side missing
*Front center caps missing on the both wheels
- I assume there is a small leak somewhere up front on passenger side - carpet is very wet there
- Misc. trim pieces are ripped or torn away here and there - most noteably the rear window 'louvers' (spelling/nomenclature?)
- A couple belts look like they will need to be replaced soon


So what are my plans?
I intend to lift it - run 37"s - and make it into a decent trail/beach riding rig. I don't want to pour a lot of money into it - but I imagine I will have at least as much in the aftermarket as I bought it for. I have a lot of previous experience with lifted vehicles including 3 Jeeps and a 2011 Tundra - but this is new territory to me. I've been following a lot of build threads on this forum and have learned a lot - but I will try to put some personal touches here and there

 

[BlacknBlue2002]

Items Ordered:

5/2 - OME J-Sprint Lift kit (front rear springs, L shocks, steering damper)
5/2 - LED kit for all overhead, interior lights
5/2 - Extended Brake lines
5/3 - Man-a-fre 4" control arm drop brackets
5/3 - 30mm front coil spacers
5/3 - 2" sway bar drop brackets
5/4 - 1 1/4" wheel spacers

 

[UnderDawg]

Sounds like a great start.

 

[BlacknBlue2002]

Grabbed up two of the Land Rover cup holders on Ebay - pretty pleased w/ my purchase for $12 + shipping. I think I'll sell one and make my money back - and still have one to install:

 

[BlacknBlue2002]

cheap spacers also made it in today:



***found the clunking under the rig to be the spare tire - just went ahead and removed everything including the bracket - didn't have the tool bag necessary to twist the release, so I had to remove the rear bumper to gain access. My garage is filled with Land Cruiser bits and pieces now

 

[YoterGuy]

Congrats on the cruiser purchase. Looks nice. You'll like it much more than those heeps. I'm running the j's in the front and heavys in the rear with 315's.

...via IH8MUD app

 

[BlacknBlue2002]

The entire interior was nasty and smelled like smoke - so out it came:

 

[BlacknBlue2002]

I did a lot of surface sanding and found some small rust areas up front in the floorboard - coated that with 'chassis saver' - then put some Al's HNR on top of that to help with heat:

 

[BlacknBlue2002]

Then the entire interior got the 'Monstaliner' treatment - I went for 'medium grey' tinted liner - it matches the grey interior of my cruiser very well IMO:

 

[BlacknBlue2002]

Was originally going to go with the stock wheels but after much pain trying to find a cheap way to get the chrome off - I checked craigslist and found a cheap set of aluminum wheels off a Chevy - Raceline Renegade 6's in 17x9 (have all 4):

 

[BlacknBlue2002]

Let's see - this weekend I replaced all the brake pads - fronts needed it bad, and rears were 3/4 gone.

I fixed the stereo and re-hooked up the rear speakers - so now I have front and rear w/ a decent bluetooth compatable head unit

I also removed the front driveshaft in order to help eliminate a bad whine I was hearing between 45-55mph. The noise had a metallic sound to it so no bueno - I will spend more time investigating weather or not it is the actual shaft or the front differential which is making the noise eventually. For now I'll just run RWD w/out ABS until I lift it an determine if I need to regear

***Also ordered tires - 37x13.50r17 Toyo Open Country M/T's...think they'll look and perform great. I've run a couple different sizes of the Toyo's before and they're my favorite looking tire - love the wide

 

[BlacknBlue2002]

Installed the OME lift this weekend - J-springs w/ 1" spacers up front (probably should have gone with 1.5" to really level it out). I also painted the front grille black and did a fluid change in the differentials (nasty stuff in there). Still running 2wd at the moment but I'm moving into a bigger house in a couple weeks so all other mods will have to be put on hold until after the 4th holiday weekend (except for maybe the tire swap).

 

[landcruiserjunky]

So much potential....

 

[scrowley]

Looks cool. Love that color paint.

 

[BlacknBlue2002]

and got these bad boys on the rig two nights ago - there is a little bit of rubbing on the front bumper wings when turning sharply, but nothing a dremel can't correct - just a mall crawler for a bit until I can really sort out the front end noise and get the front DS back in

 

[UnderDawg]

Looks great!!!