Build Bruce the 97 FZJ80 Beater Build Thread

[WillGentry]

Its been awhile since I've posted on here. Over the past 7 months, a few things have changed on the Cruiser. I've driven it to Colorado twice, and had a blast stretching it's legs on some trials and camping inside it. I've also been knocking out some needed PM and minor repairs along with some fun cosmetic changes.

What I've done lately:
-New Koyo Radiator
-Front axle rebuild with Terrain Tamer birfields (first time doing a serious repair myself)
-Switched to 15w40 Rotella to slow oil consumption (it really helped)
-OEM U-joints for front Driveshaft (doing rear soon)
-replaced dead lock actuator with one from a salvage yard Cruiser
-LX450 corner lights (also from Salvage yard, not installed in pics below)
-Custom mounted 70 series grille emblem on stock grille with the help of @SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr
-Black grille and surrounding trim
-Painted wheels black.

FK3A4799 by Will Gentry, on Flickr

Untitled by Will Gentry, on Flickr

Untitled by Will Gentry, on Flickr

Untitled by Will Gentry, on Flickr

Photo taken by Colten Sikes by Will Gentry, on Flickr

This June I have a large trip planned (4K+ miles) from Oklahoma to Nelson Canada stopping at the Grand Tetons, Glacier NP, and Banff on the way. If you know of any moderate trails we could do in those general areas, please let me know!
Prep for this trip will include a thorough cooling system overhaul (all new hoses, modded fan clutch, therm., water pump, etc)

Also in April I have some very nice goodies planned to add that I think will take the Cruiser to the next level:
-Monstaliner
-Sliders
-Headlight retrofit with depos
-Baja Designs LED fog lights (mounted in Short bus bumper)
-Harrop Rear E Locker
-Drawer system/sleeping platform in rear
-Passenger side Swingout (cooler or gas)
-Comeup SEAL GEN 2 12.5rs Winch

 

[baldilocks]

Your rig is progressing quickly and in a very logical sort of way.

We did big road trip last September that saw over 4K miles as well. Went from CA to Yellowstone and then began the journey south to Grand Canyon. Grand Teton’s are beautiful. You mentioned glacier np but not Yellowstone. I wouldn’t skip by it unless you have already been there. Glacier is still on our list. Good luck and post some pics.

 

[WillGentry]

Your rig is progressing quickly and in a very logical sort of way.

We did big road trip last September that saw over 4K miles as well. Went from CA to Yellowstone and then began the journey south to Grand Canyon. Grand Teton’s are beautiful. You mentioned glacier np but not Yellowstone. I wouldn’t skip by it unless you have already been there. Glacier is still on our list. Good luck and post some pics.

Thanks man! I for sure want to stop by Yellowstone. I'm hoping there will be some trails we can take in each area where we'll be able to camp somewhere remote.

 

[80 Cruiser Rod]

Welcome and best of luck to you with your new rig. When I saw your truck right away I thought I was looking at mine. They might be distant cousins. LOL[/QUOTE]

haha hell ya! I'm the de-flared cousin of your rig! [/QUOTE]

I cracked one of my flares during hunting season backing up next to a tree. I might be flare-less soon also!

 

[WillGentry]

I cracked one of my flares during hunting season backing up next to a tree. I might be flare-less soon also![/QUOTE]

Do it!! Get some plastic plugs things if you're worried about water getting in. You won't regret it.

 

[WillGentry]

So, one of my only gripes with the 93-97 years is the terrible mirror tint. If you were like me and did lots of research on a possible solution, there's a few threads that talk about removing the mirror tint on the hatch glass with Eagle 1 chrome wheel cleaner. I found out today that this is true and extremely easy to do! Just spray it onto a paper towel and it wipes off with a little elbow grease. The only downside is the fact that it only works on the hatch, and has no effect at all on the sliding rear windows, or the rear door windows. A fellow mud member agreed to sell me those pieces from a 91, and it's great that I didn't have to replace the hatch glass, as that's quite a big money item even used. Well here's the outcome on the rear hatch, be sure to wear gloves because the key ingredient in this stuff is hydrofluoric acid. My plan is to tint all around with 15 or 20% tint after I install the 91 glass and I think the outcome will look great.

Untitled by Will Gentry, on Flickr

Project Mirror tint by Will Gentry, on Flickr

Project Mirror tint by Will Gentry, on Flickr

 

[WillGentry]

Recently I was able to complete my FJ80 non-mirror finish glass conversion with 15% Llumar tint all around. Very pumped on the outcome! Also got my COMEUP Winch in! It sure is a beauty.

Untitled by Will Gentry, on Flickr

Untitled by Will Gentry, on Flickr

I was able to hang out @SUMMIT CRUISERS and @SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr throughout the install of the new glass and they also helped me put some fresh satin black paint on the all the window trim and gutters. While we were letting the paint dry, we hopped on the highway and I took some rolling shots with my camera of their pristine 80s.

Untitled by Will Gentry, on Flickr

Untitled by Will Gentry, on Flickr

As soon I get done with the whole Monstaliner ordeal (weld flare holes, install donor panels, and paint) I will take some REAL photos of mine! for now, I apologize for the iPhone photos.


I have some fun plans for the 80 that I'm trying to finish before my labor day trip:

-Monstaliner
-White Knuckle Off-Road Sliders
-Custom Drawers w/integrated subwoofer
-Stealth Custom Series F5s in Gunmetal
-Hi-lift attachment mod for my Summit Cruisers Swingout
-Cooling system refresh (Landtank modded fan clutch, heater valve, and all hoses)
-ARB diff breather kit w/extras for t-case and trans
-TMS Amazon special Snorkel
-New Windshield

 

[WillGentry]

FALL 2018 Update!

Added a few things this summer and thought I'd share!

- White Knuckle Offroad Sliders
- 5 SCS Matte Jet Black F5 wheels
- Amazon TMS Snorkel
- ARB Diff Breather Kit
- Comeup Winch control box relocation to under the hood.
- Land Tank modded fan clutch
- Rear heater bypass, new heater valve and all green stripe lines with constant torque clamps
- ACC carpet replacement from Rockauto.com
- Weather tech floor mats in black
- Custom drawer build with integrated subwoofer

Here's a few current photos and then a brief run down on the drawer build. Please ask away if you're thinking about building drawers yourself, as I cant include everything in this post.

FK3A1149 by Will Gentry, on Flickr

FK3A1099 by Will Gentry, on Flickr

DRAWER BUILD

Materials:
- 3/4" plywood (box, side wings, drawer fronts)
- 1/2" plywood (drawers)
- 8 M10-1.25 thread bolts and washers to mount to factory 3rd row bolt holes
- 1 pair of Hettich KA3320 30" drawer slides (500 pound, non-locking)
- 1 pair of Hettich KA3330 30" drawer slides (500 pound, lock-out only)
- 4 TCH Heavy duty spring loaded recessed d-rings
- 2 black Southco locking flush mount slam latches (item# 64-10-302-90)
- Rockford Fosgate P3S10 shallow mount 10" subwoofer and protective grille
- Kicker 250.1 amp
- Boss 8 gauge amp wiring kit
- PIXNOR 2-way speaker box terminal
- black Monstaliner
- a bottle opener from home depot

For the drawers build I wanted the drawers to sit a similar height to the middle row folded down so I can still sleep inside on a pad. I also wanted a high quality subwoofer that would be completely hidden along with the wring and amp. A fellow Cruiser friend with lots of wood working experience agreed to help me since he wanted to build some for his 80 as well. We kept the build pretty simple only using pocket screws and wood glue to assemble the main box, and then nails and wood glue to assemble the drawer boxes. Nothing too intricate, and it should be more than stable enough to sleep on.

Drawer build by Will Gentry, on Flickr

As you can see the drivers side drawer is around 4 inches shorter than the other side, as the subwoofer needed a 4" mount depth.

Drawer build by Will Gentry, on Flickr

Here you can see the hole cut to mount the speaker wire terminal to the box later.

Drawer build by Will Gentry, on Flickr

I have a few more photos on my flickr account of the process, but here is the final product.

FK3A9455 by Will Gentry, on Flickr

FK3A9458 by Will Gentry, on Flickr

FK3A9462 by Will Gentry, on Flickr

All in all, I'm extremely happy with my first set of drawers! If I could do one thing differently I would have sprayed on the Monstaliner instead of rolling it on, as that was a nightmare with all the angles of the drawers. I also wish I had done the coating much thicker.

If you've read this far, thank you! I'd love to hear what you think, or answer any questions

 

[1911garand]

Thanks for the update and motivation!

 

[NateMob]

Solid build Mr. Gentry! Cool to see you over here after following your 3rd Gen 4Runner build back in the day. Your rig has a great look to it with a ton of FUNCTIONAL mods already.

I'd like to know more about the carpet kit you got from rockauto, and did you paint all the front chrome on the truck by pulling the lights or what? Something i'm interested in doing also.

Nathan

 

[WillGentry]

Solid build Mr. Gentry! Cool to see you over here after following your 3rd Gen 4Runner build back in the day. Your rig has a great look to it with a ton of FUNCTIONAL mods already.

I'd like to know more about the carpet kit you got from rockauto, and did you paint all the front chrome on the truck by pulling the lights or what? Something i'm interested in doing also.

Nathan

Thanks so much, Mr. Mob!! The rockauto carpet kit is just drop shipped ACC brand carpet which is also sold my the more popular stockinteriors.com, rockauto had a way better price when I bought it. I bought the version with the added mass backing and I’m glad I did, the cabin is more quiet on the highway. All in all it was a pretty straight forward install, just time consuming and requires a lot of patience. You align the old carpet onto the new sheet and trace it out with a piece of chalk or marker. Then you just trim it out, while leaving some room for error. Then put it into the car and make the final trimming and adjustments with it on the floor board. Do your self a favor and mark all of the seat holes using the old carpet as a guide. The only area I am struggling to get to fit right is around the front of the transmission tunnel. So be warned on that haha. The OEM carpet would have been such an easier route but so expensive.

And yes! Pull the headlights, and the trim is easily removed with a few screws. I used plasti dip (haters gonna hate), so I just removed and sprayed the entire corner lights with multiple coats and peeled the coating off the lens.