Build - ‘96 FZJ80 “Bullwinkle” (3 Viewers)

[FJhammer]

Last year I picked up a new 80 after having lots of regrets about getting rid of my last one. After looking for months all I was seeing were bros who wanted way to much for way to little. In the Pacific Northwest, the mere act of throwing up a rooftop tent can apparently double the value of your rig. Yet none of these Rooftop Randy’s seem to own a grease gun to match their man bun. Finally, one popped up that looked like someone gave a phlying phuck about the mechanical condition. I called him and it was already sold after being up a day. Well sh!t. Yet the same rooftop tents I’m seeing aren’t moving at all. As luck would have it, another higher quality one popped up 2 weeks later and better than the first. He was a Toyota engineer. I wet my pants a little. He had done a treasure trove of all the little jobs that Rooftop Randy didn’t even know existed. “Like what bruh” you might ask. Oil pump seal, main seal, valve covers, etc. I probably made some sh!t up I dunno. The point is it’s a 1FZ that doesn’t leak a drop. I know what you’re thinking. “Bruh, does it like, have like, oil in it?” Yes brossef, it does. He even pulled the dash and replaced all the lights that were burnt out.

I do what any self respecting man would do and offer my first born child. He takes my money instead. I rent a car and scoot across a couple states. I drop off the rental, pick up the 80, and hope to god it’s good for the 7 hour drive back. It was!!!

Thus begins the Adventures of Bullwinkle.

 

[Road Apple]

Looks clean and built for the trails. Welcome back to the 80 series.

What trails do you drive in Idaho. Would like to explore up there sometime!!

 

[FJhammer]

First thing I noticed on the drive home, the stock stereo was on its last leg and every single speaker seemed to be blown out.

I might not be very good at… well most things, but I can install a stereo.

 

[FJhammer]

I decide on a Sony double din. It’s got CarPlay, but mostly it has sufficient power for a head unit and tactile buttons. I like buttons. I make a harness that’ll plug into the factory connector.

I go with JBL Club 605CSQ components for the doors and hide the crossovers in the armrest. The speakers have a shallow magnet. It’s not shallow enough. I make a surround out of rubber that creates enough room to clear window channel in the back. I find out the tweeters will fit perfectly into that gap between the door and dash without blocking the sound and I don’t have to look at them. I am a hero, I drink a beer to celebrate.

I pull the 2” things that identify as speaker out of the dash and install some JBL Stadium 22s speakers. There’s no way to mount them unless I mount directly to the grill. I don’t like this idea. I am not a hero and I don’t deserve a beer. I realize the speaker is only slight larger than the inset of the factory mount. That thing is really glued in there. I get it out and dremel the hole larger. If it fits, it ships. I am a hero again and I’m thirsty.

For the rear doors I install JBL 422F speakers. This also requires modifying the basket but for once backspace isn’t an issue. The factory grills don’t fit over and they don’t supply grills with the 422. Phuck. What kind of heathens don’t supply grills. I will solve this later.

 

[robnicko]

nice 80 !

doesnt leak? original delivery mustn't have had the anti rust option ticked

 

[FJhammer]

So a little background about my relationship with the 80 in general. My childhood was a as 90’s kid and I was super into cars like most biologically identified boys were. I’m not entirely sure why but I latched onto Porsches and Toyotas with the greatest sports car being the 911 and the greatest everything else being the Land Cruiser. I pretty much idolized the 80 series as a kid. It was the quintessential “I’ve got money, but I’m flying under the radar” car. If you knew, you knew. If you didn’t, you were probably a turd anyway and good riddance. That said, we didn’t have money. My dad actually found a used one for sale at Turner Toyota in Montrose, CO and I fell in love with that thing. Anyway, we didn’t have money so instead I got to ride in a ‘92 Dodge caravan. Burgundy with fake wood siding. What a POS. To this day I hate burgundy and 99% of domestic cars. You know who you are MkIII 427 Cobra.

Which brings little half squat me full circle up till today. And by full circle I mean fatter.
So anyway, the purpose of this vehicle isn’t to build a rock crawling thing I’m going to beat the crap out of, but rather restore and preserve my favorite car of all time. Especially given the direction Toyota has gone, I’d much rather have old Toyotas than new ones. I’m not disrespecting anyone who likes that new Prius Prado abortion, it’s just that I’m not cut from the same portlandia man bun cloth. And that’s okay. I also love how capable it is and I’m glad people take it out to push it to its full purpose, but I’m also sad there are fewer and fewer each year.
That said, I’m going to fully build Bullwinkle out to his maximum potential but, he probably won’t be doing anything more than old logging roads around me.

And that’s the end of that. Now let’s spend some money because I’m not poor anymore and I’ve got childhood dreams to fulfill.

 

[FJhammer]

Next thing I notice is the paint seems to be in fairly good condition. It’s 202 black which was done in single stage, which as I’ve come to find out is both good and bad. I double down on my YouTube paint correction classes and buy a Rupes 21 big foot, some cutting pads, and a giant bottle of Sonax perfekt finish. I start with prestigious body wash. It’s better soap because it’s from Germany. I’d explain it to you but you wouldn’t understand. I clay bar it from top to bottom. American clay of course. It’s the best, that’s just science. For once in my life I take a legitimate before and after shot. I’m usually quite terrible at this.

Then I bust out the ole Rupes for a test drive using some Sonax and my newly acquired knowledge of paint correction I just acquired from the degenerates of YouTube. I’m surprised by the results.

 

[FJhammer]

I proceeded to do the entire body this way. I soon discovered why single stage paint sucks. For those who don’t know, in a two stage paint job the base and clear are laid separately. In a single stage, the base and clear are mixed (Toyota has several colors that do this). When cutting a clear coat, you get a warning when you’ve gone through it because you get base color on your pad. With single stage, the color is mixed in so you always have color on your pad. So how do you know if you’ve gone through you might ask! Well let me fast forward to the drivers side door and tell you. You hit primer!!! Imagine my excitement when I hit primer, not once or twice, but three times on the same door. I also had a couple dents and a bubbled rust spot the size of a dime on the door.

So back to the Jedi Temple of YouTube for my vocational certification in body work. And back at it with my new Eastwood dent puller (actually a lot of fun), some bondo filler, and some custom ordered 202 in a rattle can. I take the door down to primer, pull the dents, grind out the rust, fill it, prime it, 202 base, with 2k clear over the top. I block it down wet and then cut it till most of the orange peel is gone. I am a hero again, and heroes drink beer.

 

[FJhammer]

With my new found powers of the rattle can and my sensei from the Paint Society YouTube channel, I decide I can repaint the most oxidized part of the paint on the fenders. I remove them, sand them down, 2k prime, 202 base, and 2k clear over the top.

I’m taking them off, I notice all the hardware is corroded, plastic clips broken, and the gasket liner is shot. I get on the interwebs and order a hardware kit. For some reason if I have to put parts back on with rusty hardware, a little piece of me dies inside.

Anyway fenders are repainted and installed, good as new-ish.

 

[FJhammer]

At this point, I feel like an unstoppable god of rattle can legend. My ego is about to get checked. The last worst bit on Bullwinkle was his rather unsightly hood. It was a combination of oxidized paint, about 500,000 stone chips, and what appears to be a scar that would make Tony Montana blush.

I get to work and I phuck it up. I decided to leave the hood on. This was a bad idea. Couldn’t get the angle I needed to keep the paint flowing wet and trying to reach across the hood made me feel like a teenage T-Rex going through puberty. No matter how hard you try, you can’t quite reach it.

Long story short, I had to block it all back down and start from scratch. This time though I removed the hood. I made a make shift paint rack and an even shiftier paint booth complete with filtered ventilation. This setup works way better and I’m happy with the results. I am a god again.

I also decide to completely refurb the hood hardware, cowling seal, hood to radiator seal, new struts, new insulator and clips, followed by new 3-hole windshield nozzles and new line.

I reinstall the hood. Doing the alignment sucks. I even marked the location on the hinges and it still sucked. I get it in place and sand the orange peel down. Cut and buff. I’m happy.

 

[FJhammer]

I should also say that during this time, I am acquiring every known component for my dream suspension. This is a list of what I settled on.

Dobinsons C59-185 rear springs
Dobinsons rear adjustable panhard
Delta panhard bracket
Dobinsons IMS rear shocks
Dobinsons rear upper control arms
Dobinsons rear lower control arms
Slee rear bump stop extensions
Dobinsons LSPV bracket
Slee rear sway bar link drop brackets
Toyota rear sway bar links w/bushings
Toyota rear sway bar bushings
Wits End rear sway bar caps
Slee extended brake lines front and rear
Slee axle to rotor brake lines
Slee front sway bar extensions
Toyota front sway bar caps
Toyota front sway bar links
Ironman radius arm drop boxes
Toyota radius arm bushings
Dobinsons IMS front shocks
555 tie rod ends
Marlin Crawler marlink tie rods
Dobinsons adjustable front panhard
Dobinsons steering damper
Dobinsons flexi coil C59-612V springs

 

[FJhammer]

I get back to work on the rear hatch and tailgate. I have 7 dents, 5 scratches, and a good amount of rust around the mounting points for the air dam. I pull the dents as much as possible, fill the scratches, and then check the paint thickness using a strong flashlight. I discover that in a number of places on the hatch, I can see through the paint down to the primer. I have flashbacks of hitting primer on the drivers door. Phuuuuck me, I’m going to have to repaint this entire hatch. I’m less than pleased.

If you notice, I taped a line across the hatch thinking I could feather in the light spots. This was a bad idea. Damn you Paint Society guy. I ended up with a line of clear coat I had to sand back down and then remove that tape and do the entire hatch.

I apply new badges and induct myself into the rattle can hall of fame.

 

[FJhammer]

The rusty mounts. I clean these up, paint the base with por15, prime and paint.

 

[FJhammer]

I also know the roof rack mounts aren’t going to look much different. I have a prinsu ready to go, but I’ve been waiting for months on the hardware kit from Wits End to come. Patiently waiting, twiddling thumbs.

 

[FJhammer]

The suspension was pretty straightforward. In addition to the suspension, I washed the entire underside of the rig and repainted the chassis and axles.

 

[FJhammer]

And yes, I painted the springs. I’m sorry Dobinsons, but teal isn’t exactly my thing.

 

[JS24]

I also know the roof rack mounts aren’t going to look much different. I have a prinsu ready to go, but I’ve been waiting for months on the hardware kit from Wits End to come. Patiently waiting, twiddling thumbs.

Very entertaining build thread so far! Very nice work, 80 looks great. Makes me want to remove the wrap from my hood and repaint it as well.

And I’m not sure if you’re aware of this depending on when this comment was in the grand scheme of the build, but you are likely SOL on the witts end hardware. Owner has gone MIA and isn’t fulfilling orders, including some folks who plopped down $6k for his turbo kit pre orders two years ago. May be too late but you’ll want to call your CC company and see if they can do a chargeback. More info here: Wits End Order Issues / Joey Romero - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/wits-end-order-issues-joey-romero.1316972/

 

[FJhammer]

Very entertaining build thread so far! Very nice work, 80 looks great. Makes me want to remove the wrap from my hood and repaint it as well.

And I’m not sure if you’re aware of this depending on when this comment was in the grand scheme of the build, but you are likely SOL on the witts end hardware. Owner has gone MIA and isn’t fulfilling orders, including some folks who plopped down $6k for his turbo kit pre orders two years ago. May be too late but you’ll want to call your CC company and see if they can do a chargeback. More info here: Wits End Order Issues / Joey Romero - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/wits-end-order-issues-joey-romero.1316972/

Yikes, that thread smells like anal sex and regret. I’ve been getting stuff from Joey for years. His customer service blows and it would frequently take a month or so to get your stuff but I like his products. It’s a shame he’s walked away and left customers dangling in the wind.

 

[FJhammer]

At this point I have worked my way up from the back to the radius arms. I should say one of my primary goals when doing this suspension system was to maintain stock geometry as much as possible. As everyone knows, one of the key changes that occurs while lifting is the castor. There are a couple different methods for correcting castor and everyone has an opinion. Previously I’ve done correction bushings. They work but I never thought it was a great way to solve the problem. Deltas arms look nice but I have a hard time justifying the price for a mere 3” of lift correction. Enter Ironmans Dbox and I think I’ve got a solution that meets my needs. I try to install them according to the directions… WTF. They won’t go in. After fiddling with the for 20 minutes trying to figure why I’m not smart enough to get this in there, I try one last thing and attempt again only this time I swap the dboxes to the opposite sides from what is stated in the directions. They slide right into place. Ooohhh you got me Ironman. I immediately want to find the rocket scientist who wrote these directions and thank them with thoughtful words of kindness.

Next I take the radius arms to a local diy shop that has a bushing press and proceeded to push out the old bushings and install new ones. It should be noted this is not only my first time doing this, but it’s also one of the most ass puckering things I’ve done in awhile and I used to jump out of helicopters in the dark. I almost shotgunned a turd right through my shorts the first time a bushing popped. The diy shop steward looked over at me to see if I knew what I was doing. The look of freshly sh!t pants on my face assured him that I did not. Content to not be involved in whatever accident that was about to take place, he snickered and walked off. I continued on until I had completed my task of putting in new bushings with a side benefit of having my colon cleansed. I then took them home to clean and repaint. Then it was time to install.

 

[FJhammer]

Slightly out of order (pre-radius arms) but done nonetheless, I strip down the front axle and then clean and paint. I paint the new marlink tie rods with an epoxy primer and the same subtle gray accent color I did the springs. Then measure the old rods for placement of the new Three Five tie rod ends. I put it all together and install it.

At this time I decide to do something I’ve been dreading and go to install the extended brake lines from Slee. I’ll just summarize this part by saying brake lines are the devil and I have developed a special hatred in my soul for them that was previously only occupied by my ex wife’s divorce attorney. If I never have to do them again, I’ll be content.

Next I install new OEM front sway bar links