CURRENT MODS
Tires/Wheels:
-315/75/16 BFG KO2 (5)
-SCS F5 in Jet Matte Black (5)
Steering/Suspension:
-Tough Dog Medium Weight 3" Kit with foam cell shocks
-Slee Castor Plates
-Slee Front Swaybar Drop Kit
Engine:
-Rear Heater Bypass
-Landtank modded blue hub fan clutch
Exterior:
-Custom Mounted BJ70 Grille Emblem
-LX450 Corner Lights
-Factory mirror tinted glass replaced with FJ80 clear glass
Armor/Fab work
-Slee Shortbus Front Bumper
-White Knuckle Offroad Sliders
-Summit Cruiser Rear Swingout Tire Carrier
Recovery Gear:
-Comeup Seal Gen2 9.5 Winch
-Slee Fairlead
-Factor 55 ProLink
Interior/Audio:
-Lseat Replacent Leather Seat Skins
-ACC carpet kit
-Pioneer FH-X720BT Head Unit
-Pioneer and Rockford Fosgate Door Speakers
-Rockford Fosgate P3S 10" shallow mount sub
-Custom Drawers with integrated subwoofer enclosure
Future Mods:
-Headlight Projector Retrofit
-Monstliner or Full respray
First of all, I'd like to say hello! My name is Will and I've been lurking on here far too much over the past few weeks. The wealth of information on here invaluable in my quest to turn this neglected beater into a reliable trail rig. So I thank you all!
Backstory: I've been obsessed with Toyota 4x4 trucks and SUVs for as long as I can remember. I've owned a PreRunner Tacoma and after that a 2001 Limited 4Runner.
DSC_0544 copy by Will Gentry, on Flickr
I loved that 4runner but had to part with it because of gas cost and my income as a student at the time. I'm excited to be back in Toyota after 5 years. For the past few years I've been dreaming of owning an 80 series Cruiser. The combination of the classic and timeless body style, solid front axle, and the ability to easily fit 35s has always appealed to me. I was planning on saving up and buying an 80 that was in mint condition in a year or two but things changed when I saw the ad for this thing. I found it on Facebook marketplace with an asking price of $2200. It had 273k miles on it and missing a front bumper. Curious, I went to look at it and I found a long list of issues, but the main issue was the fact that it was in a minor front end collision and was missing a front bumper and had a damaged drivers side fender. the hood doesn't line up perfectly but it still looked ok. They decided to buy it back from insurance but they didn't repair it completely. I talked them down as far as I could and we agreed to 1850. I'll break down the positives and negatives.
Positives:
-Engine runs great (no codes, no smoke, no knocking, no obvious issues aside from oil sweating on the exterior of motor.
-locks, windows, and sunroof work great.
-no electrical issues
-all lights work great.
-transmission shifts smoothly
-no major dents aside from the fender
Negatives:
-Paint is TERRIBLE
-huge power steering leak (I replaced pump and high pressure line which fixed this issue)
-slight engine oil sweating (pretty typical from what I've read, front/rear main seals, arch seal etc.)
-no front bumper
-damaged fender
-damaged lower grill fill panel (the panel with turn signals)
-both front seat leather and drivers seat bottom foam needs replaced
-carpet extremely filthy. will need to be removed and deep cleaned/replaced
IMG_1167 by Will Gentry, on Flickr
17C59C6D-AFFA-4530-86AB-506AC5897C3D by Will Gentry, on Flickr
A3F79648-5AFB-4CDD-A735-D74785FAAEBF by Will Gentry, on Flickr
IMG_1193 by Will Gentry, on Flickr
I know what you're thinking! this looks and sounds like bad idea haha but for the price, I couldn't pass it up. I like tinkering and learning more about cars so I'm excited to get wrenching. So far aside from the power steering issue, I've only done a few items of maintenance/repair/mods. I've done an oil change and removed the running boards and flares. Also replaced the intake hose. The PO broke it in half and had it duct taped together...
Tires/Wheels:
-315/75/16 BFG KO2 (5)
-SCS F5 in Jet Matte Black (5)
Steering/Suspension:
-Tough Dog Medium Weight 3" Kit with foam cell shocks
-Slee Castor Plates
-Slee Front Swaybar Drop Kit
Engine:
-Rear Heater Bypass
-Landtank modded blue hub fan clutch
Exterior:
-Custom Mounted BJ70 Grille Emblem
-LX450 Corner Lights
-Factory mirror tinted glass replaced with FJ80 clear glass
Armor/Fab work
-Slee Shortbus Front Bumper
-White Knuckle Offroad Sliders
-Summit Cruiser Rear Swingout Tire Carrier
Recovery Gear:
-Comeup Seal Gen2 9.5 Winch
-Slee Fairlead
-Factor 55 ProLink
Interior/Audio:
-Lseat Replacent Leather Seat Skins
-ACC carpet kit
-Pioneer FH-X720BT Head Unit
-Pioneer and Rockford Fosgate Door Speakers
-Rockford Fosgate P3S 10" shallow mount sub
-Custom Drawers with integrated subwoofer enclosure
Future Mods:
-Headlight Projector Retrofit
-Monstliner or Full respray
First of all, I'd like to say hello! My name is Will and I've been lurking on here far too much over the past few weeks. The wealth of information on here invaluable in my quest to turn this neglected beater into a reliable trail rig. So I thank you all!
Backstory: I've been obsessed with Toyota 4x4 trucks and SUVs for as long as I can remember. I've owned a PreRunner Tacoma and after that a 2001 Limited 4Runner.
DSC_0544 copy by Will Gentry, on Flickr
I loved that 4runner but had to part with it because of gas cost and my income as a student at the time. I'm excited to be back in Toyota after 5 years. For the past few years I've been dreaming of owning an 80 series Cruiser. The combination of the classic and timeless body style, solid front axle, and the ability to easily fit 35s has always appealed to me. I was planning on saving up and buying an 80 that was in mint condition in a year or two but things changed when I saw the ad for this thing. I found it on Facebook marketplace with an asking price of $2200. It had 273k miles on it and missing a front bumper. Curious, I went to look at it and I found a long list of issues, but the main issue was the fact that it was in a minor front end collision and was missing a front bumper and had a damaged drivers side fender. the hood doesn't line up perfectly but it still looked ok. They decided to buy it back from insurance but they didn't repair it completely. I talked them down as far as I could and we agreed to 1850. I'll break down the positives and negatives.
Positives:
-Engine runs great (no codes, no smoke, no knocking, no obvious issues aside from oil sweating on the exterior of motor.
-locks, windows, and sunroof work great.
-no electrical issues
-all lights work great.
-transmission shifts smoothly
-no major dents aside from the fender
Negatives:
-Paint is TERRIBLE
-huge power steering leak (I replaced pump and high pressure line which fixed this issue)
-slight engine oil sweating (pretty typical from what I've read, front/rear main seals, arch seal etc.)
-no front bumper
-damaged fender
-damaged lower grill fill panel (the panel with turn signals)
-both front seat leather and drivers seat bottom foam needs replaced
-carpet extremely filthy. will need to be removed and deep cleaned/replaced
IMG_1167 by Will Gentry, on Flickr
17C59C6D-AFFA-4530-86AB-506AC5897C3D by Will Gentry, on Flickr
A3F79648-5AFB-4CDD-A735-D74785FAAEBF by Will Gentry, on Flickr
IMG_1193 by Will Gentry, on Flickr
I know what you're thinking! this looks and sounds like bad idea haha but for the price, I couldn't pass it up. I like tinkering and learning more about cars so I'm excited to get wrenching. So far aside from the power steering issue, I've only done a few items of maintenance/repair/mods. I've done an oil change and removed the running boards and flares. Also replaced the intake hose. The PO broke it in half and had it duct taped together...
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