I wasn’t initially planning on doing a build thread but I am inspired by Boxrocket and the threads of others. It’s neat to look back at the history of the vehicle to see where it was and what is has become. So here’s the beginning of my story…
My wife and I moved back to Colorado after a little over a decade in the military. We decided to settle down in Grand Junction, CO to be closer to family and friends as we start a family. We love the outdoors, camping, hiking, and adventuring and want our child(ren) to grow up with fond memories of such adventures. We initially chose a 2016 4Runner TRD Pro as our “overland” platform thanks to its popularity/marketing on youtube. We sold it after about 10 months of ownership after realizing that even though it was a Pro model we still desired to change it quite a bit and the monthly payments were in the way of those goals. So, with the help of a friend we discovered/decided on a FZJ80 based one their reputation for being “tanks”. This choice really opened up the budget to build it how we want it. We began our search in January.
We searched the market pretty briefly because we knew what we wanted and knew that spring/summer were fast approaching. The goal: mostly stock (didn’t want to inherit someone else’s project, though deals could be had), maintenance documentation (not necessary but good to know), factory lockers not required (gears will be upgraded anyway), relatively low mileage, no major rust.
We found this 40th Anniversary Collectors Edition in Salt Lake City, Utah with ~197,500 on the odo w/o factory lockers and no major rust. Paid $6800. The part history was well documented with receipts since ~120k miles. It had a couple of minor leaks but I was well informed of those and roughly knew what it would take to get them fixed (oil pump cover, distributor o-ring, power steering reservoir, upper pan arc seal/rear main weep).
Preventative maintenance - Early Feb - Ongoing
Overhauled cooling system (maybe unnecessary but I’m sensitive to cooling issues and know these vehicles are not without their own)
-New water bypass hoses
-New radiator hoses
-New Koyo radiator
-Thermostat
-Upgraded firewall hose and installed Samco Extreme PHH
-Blue hub fan clutch (may swap the oil later)
Replaced fuel filter
Hood struts
Idler pulley
Oil pump o-ring
Distributor o-ring
All new belts
Pulled and resealed upper oil pan (this was quite the project, and sadly I think there may be weeping from the rear main)
Sway bar bushings
Checked valve clearance
Temp gauge resistor mod
Still ongoing:
Front and rear axle repack/rebuild (upon diff rebuild)
Brake fluid flush (part of suspension work when extended lines are installed)
Short term modification goals:
-4.88 Gears with Harrop Lockers done by Zuk
-35” AT tires (probably BFG KO2 but still open to ideas)
-Slinky Long Travel Stage 4 75mm HD suspension
-Bowfin Cruiser roof rack
-ARB bull bar with Smittybilt X2O 12k# winch
-Rear bumper with tire/jack/aux fuel carrier (custom built)
-23zero Byron RTT
-Dual battery + solar charge capability
-Ham radio(s), maybe a cb radio too
-Sliders
-Maybe a rear 9” platform/drawer system
-Fridge + slide-out
-OBA/compressor solution of some sort - still undecided but likely leaning the ARB twin route because it could be neatly tucked away in the rear quarter panel and will not decrease airflow in the engine bay like a York OBA system will.
Long term modification goals:
-Redo the original paint or do some kind of bed liner option in colors similar to R129, G142, B148
-Redo front seats or seat swap (currently thinking WRX or 5th gen 4runner)
-Sound deadener
-Sound system upgrade
My wife and I moved back to Colorado after a little over a decade in the military. We decided to settle down in Grand Junction, CO to be closer to family and friends as we start a family. We love the outdoors, camping, hiking, and adventuring and want our child(ren) to grow up with fond memories of such adventures. We initially chose a 2016 4Runner TRD Pro as our “overland” platform thanks to its popularity/marketing on youtube. We sold it after about 10 months of ownership after realizing that even though it was a Pro model we still desired to change it quite a bit and the monthly payments were in the way of those goals. So, with the help of a friend we discovered/decided on a FZJ80 based one their reputation for being “tanks”. This choice really opened up the budget to build it how we want it. We began our search in January.
We searched the market pretty briefly because we knew what we wanted and knew that spring/summer were fast approaching. The goal: mostly stock (didn’t want to inherit someone else’s project, though deals could be had), maintenance documentation (not necessary but good to know), factory lockers not required (gears will be upgraded anyway), relatively low mileage, no major rust.
We found this 40th Anniversary Collectors Edition in Salt Lake City, Utah with ~197,500 on the odo w/o factory lockers and no major rust. Paid $6800. The part history was well documented with receipts since ~120k miles. It had a couple of minor leaks but I was well informed of those and roughly knew what it would take to get them fixed (oil pump cover, distributor o-ring, power steering reservoir, upper pan arc seal/rear main weep).
Preventative maintenance - Early Feb - Ongoing
Overhauled cooling system (maybe unnecessary but I’m sensitive to cooling issues and know these vehicles are not without their own)
-New water bypass hoses
-New radiator hoses
-New Koyo radiator
-Thermostat
-Upgraded firewall hose and installed Samco Extreme PHH
-Blue hub fan clutch (may swap the oil later)
Replaced fuel filter
Hood struts
Idler pulley
Oil pump o-ring
Distributor o-ring
All new belts
Pulled and resealed upper oil pan (this was quite the project, and sadly I think there may be weeping from the rear main)
Sway bar bushings
Checked valve clearance
Temp gauge resistor mod
Still ongoing:
Front and rear axle repack/rebuild (upon diff rebuild)
Brake fluid flush (part of suspension work when extended lines are installed)
Short term modification goals:
-4.88 Gears with Harrop Lockers done by Zuk
-35” AT tires (probably BFG KO2 but still open to ideas)
-Slinky Long Travel Stage 4 75mm HD suspension
-Bowfin Cruiser roof rack
-ARB bull bar with Smittybilt X2O 12k# winch
-Rear bumper with tire/jack/aux fuel carrier (custom built)
-23zero Byron RTT
-Dual battery + solar charge capability
-Ham radio(s), maybe a cb radio too
-Sliders
-Maybe a rear 9” platform/drawer system
-Fridge + slide-out
-OBA/compressor solution of some sort - still undecided but likely leaning the ARB twin route because it could be neatly tucked away in the rear quarter panel and will not decrease airflow in the engine bay like a York OBA system will.
Long term modification goals:
-Redo the original paint or do some kind of bed liner option in colors similar to R129, G142, B148
-Redo front seats or seat swap (currently thinking WRX or 5th gen 4runner)
-Sound deadener
-Sound system upgrade