Builds Bunny: 40th Anniversary FZJ80 / 6BT / NV4500 build

[thegogglesdonothing]

Wintertime spa session on my Cruiser complete. Getting excited to do some camping and off roading as the snow melts around here.

- fixed a leaky A/C o-ring, so the system holds a charge again
- replaced the Toyota oil pressure sensor, so I have a functional oil pressure gauge again, glory be
- had some longer front bumpstops fabricated and installed, correcting contact between the sway bar and oil pan
- installed Dobinsons HD rear lower control arms

 

[thegogglesdonothing]

Jeez, where does a year go? Been that long since I posted an update to my truck's build page. Since then, it was a full year of road trips and wheeling, including a great 4x4 camp trip with my Dad down to the Four Corners region. On that trip, I had a big moment while on Valley of the Gods Road, when I hit a rut I didn't see coming, bottomed out the whole front suspension, jolted the whole contents of the truck and shifted my rooftop tent forward off my roof rack by 6". It was scary to have such a big hit and I'm lucky I didn't wreck. It made me realize... time for a suspension upgrade.

So I got feedback from fellow Mudders here and had my local shop Overland Cruisers in Belgrade, MT do some diagnosing, recommending and installing. The whole thing turned out to be more of an undertaking than I was expecting due to the "custom truck, custom problems" phenomenon, but so long as I think of it as an investment in future adventures, it's easier to swallow. At this point my truck has 305k miles on the odometer, 98k miles on the motor swap, and it's a heavy combo which sees hard off-road usage, so 'hardening' the truck a bit has been inevitable as things break or wear out over time. In retrospect, I'm probably glad I didn't know how much s*** was out of whack, but it feels pretty minty fresh right now.

• Dobinsons MRR adjustable remote reservoir shock absorbers
• Dobinsons adjustable hydraulic bump stops (front only)
• Dobinsons adjustable steering damper
• Dobinsons caster corrector plate
• Dobinsons HD rear lower control arms
• Delta front swaybar drop kit
• Delta rear panhard lift bracket
• new front double cardan driveshaft
• new front u-joint
• new radius arm bushings, rear upper control arm bushings

Initial on-road impressions about the MRRs are pretty incredible. The shop did a baseline adjustment on them after installation and there's an immediate, night and day difference to the steering and the ride. Steering effort and feedback through the wheel are surprisingly good, and makes me realize just how much sawing at the wheel I had been doing before. It tracks dead straight and for the first time since I've owned it, I felt comfortable one-hand steering it over a curvy mountain pass. Initial (very brief, ~5 miles) offroad impressions are that the responsiveness of the shocks and the controlled squish factor are really, really good. Haven't exactly jumped it yet, but I tried to hit a few ruts and holes with some speed and it's nothing like as crashy as before. There's a much-improved feeling of connectedness to what the tires are doing, and the control is massively improved, too.

I'm really excited to fiddle with the settings and get geeky about the ride and compliance when everything's loaded up and weighed down in maximum camping mode. Not to mention just plain wheeling with it, and driving it straight over curbs.

 

[Will Van]

Jeez, where does a year go? Been that long since I posted an update to my truck's build page. Since then, it was a full year of road trips and wheeling, including a great 4x4 camp trip with my Dad down to the Four Corners region. On that trip, I had a big moment while on Valley of the Gods Road, when I hit a rut I didn't see coming, bottomed out the whole front suspension, jolted the whole contents of the truck and shifted my rooftop tent forward off my roof rack by 6". It was scary to have such a big hit and I'm lucky I didn't wreck. It made me realize... time for a suspension upgrade.

So I got feedback from fellow Mudders here and had my local shop Overland Cruisers in Belgrade, MT do some diagnosing, recommending and installing. The whole thing turned out to be more of an undertaking than I was expecting due to the "custom truck, custom problems" phenomenon, but so long as I think of it as an investment in future adventures, it's easier to swallow. At this point my truck has 305k miles on the odometer, 98k miles on the motor swap, and it's a heavy combo which sees hard off-road usage, so 'hardening' the truck a bit has been inevitable as things break or wear out over time. In retrospect, I'm probably glad I didn't know how much s*** was out of whack, but it feels pretty minty fresh right now.

• Dobinsons MRR adjustable remote reservoir shock absorbers
• Dobinsons adjustable hydraulic bump stops (front only)
• Dobinsons adjustable steering damper
• Dobinsons caster corrector plate
• Dobinsons HD rear lower control arms
• Delta front swaybar drop kit
• Delta rear panhard lift bracket
• new front double cardan driveshaft
• new front u-joint
• new radius arm bushings, rear upper control arm bushings

Initial on-road impressions about the MRRs are pretty incredible. The shop did a baseline adjustment on them after installation and there's an immediate, night and day difference to the steering and the ride. Steering effort and feedback through the wheel are surprisingly good, and makes me realize just how much sawing at the wheel I had been doing before. It tracks dead straight and for the first time since I've owned it, I felt comfortable one-hand steering it over a curvy mountain pass. Initial (very brief, ~5 miles) offroad impressions are that the responsiveness of the shocks and the controlled squish factor are really, really good. Haven't exactly jumped it yet, but I tried to hit a few ruts and holes with some speed and it's nothing like as crashy as before. There's a much-improved feeling of connectedness to what the tires are doing, and the control is massively improved, too.

I'm really excited to fiddle with the settings and get geeky about the ride and compliance when everything's loaded up and weighed down in maximum camping mode. Not to mention just plain wheeling with it, and driving it straight over curbs.

View attachment 3597395View attachment 3597394

That’s badass! I have been eyeing a Dobinson’s setup and debating if the MRR shocks are worth it. Sounds like they are!

Remind me your coil spring and tire specs?

 

[thegogglesdonothing]

Thanks! It was definitely a 'treat yo self' moment in time.

Front springs are OME 2850J, rear are Slee SOF4RHP Heavy 4". Tires are BFG KO2 @ 315/75R16.

 

[thegogglesdonothing]

Big update to the truck over winter. After reading enough threads here, I pulled together a big work list and let the folks at Overland Cruisers in Belgrade, MT do their thing. The evolving idea over time has been to make this truck into "touring" spec - the idea being comfort and relative fuel efficiency over long highway miles, then all the storage to camp or live comfortably for weeks / months at a time. The adage "custom truck, custom problems" definitely applies here.

I'd been having cold start and power delivery issues, so after installing a fuel pressure gauge, the issue was traced back to a failing lift pump - 11psi instead of the factory spec 24psi. Replaced the diesel injectors too, retimed the injection pump and suddenly my truck can pass up a grade, under tow. Crazy times.

I put in @Delta VS cargo barrier last fall and loved the extra dog / gear security, but it absolutely killed rearward visibility. Solution? Wolfbox G900 Rearview camera. Reading the thread that @Ballsie started, I found a cascade of other solutions - his 3D printed console hides all the wiring for the rearview mirror, but one thing leading to another (as always) meant that I suddenly had space for a fuel pressure gauge and a similar inclinometer / compass / altimeter that he originally had posted about. One long road trip down, and I love the camera - amazing how under-appreciated rearward visibility is with a load of camping crap!

I also replaced the (absolute crap) Corbeau seats I'd had previously with Scheel-Mann Vario F units. "Cry once" definitely applied to the pricing, but the difference is staggering. I'm 6'0" so ended up with an XL sized seat for the driver's side, and a regular size for the passenger - the XL is dimensionally identical to the regular size, except a few inches taller in the back. There's a lot to love about the seats, but for me it's all about the extending seat bottom and the adjustable bolsters. Only downside is that I'd wanted the rodeo plaid color for the seats, but they were on such a long backorder I just ended up doing grey. I also had the seatbelts re-webbed via Safety Restore so now they retract correctly, aren't frayed... but they're a different color to OEM. Doesn't much matter to me, I'm colorblind anyways!

Then, did a @yodaTEQ gullwing window. So slick. Should have done both sides at once, but eventually I'll do the other side. I was surprised how little it actually affected visibility when I looked over my left shoulder for cars in the blind spot. Not really at all, it turns out. In turn, I also had Overland Cruisers fabricate me a storage box covered in marine carpeting where the rear seats had been. Dogs will ride on top, and there's an absolutely massive amount of space gained. With the drawers, rear seat delete, Delta cargo attic and tailgate storage, I think I've about maxed out interior space.

Last and definitely not least, solved for a parasitic draw that managed to completely kill my 1-year old X2 Power AGM main battery. Turns out it was a frayed winch power cable, so a breaker was installed to isolate the winch. One battery was replaced under warranty, and for good measure I just bought a second matching one for my auxiliary power.

 

[Dubbinchris]

Big update to the truck over winter. After reading enough threads here, I pulled together a big work list and let the folks at Overland Cruisers in Belgrade, MT do their thing. The evolving idea over time has been to make this truck into "touring" spec - the idea being comfort and relative fuel efficiency over long highway miles, then all the storage to camp or live comfortably for weeks / months at a time. The adage "custom truck, custom problems" definitely applies here.

I'd been having cold start and power delivery issues, so after installing a fuel pressure gauge, the issue was traced back to a failing lift pump - 11psi instead of the factory spec 24psi. Replaced the diesel injectors too, retimed the injection pump and suddenly my truck can pass up a grade, under tow. Crazy times.

I put in @Delta VS cargo barrier last fall and loved the extra dog / gear security, but it absolutely killed rearward visibility. Solution? Wolfbox G900 Rearview camera. Reading the thread that @Ballsie started, I found a cascade of other solutions - his 3D printed console hides all the wiring for the rearview mirror, but one thing leading to another (as always) meant that I suddenly had space for a fuel pressure gauge and a similar inclinometer / compass / altimeter that he originally had posted about. One long road trip down, and I love the camera - amazing how under-appreciated rearward visibility is with a load of camping crap!

View attachment 3909544

I also replaced the (absolute crap) Corbeau seats I'd had previously with Scheel-Mann Vario F units. "Cry once" definitely applied to the pricing, but the difference is staggering. I'm 6'0" so ended up with an XL sized seat for the driver's side, and a regular size for the passenger - the XL is dimensionally identical to the regular size, except a few inches taller in the back. There's a lot to love about the seats, but for me it's all about the extending seat bottom and the adjustable bolsters. Only downside is that I'd wanted the rodeo plaid color for the seats, but they were on such a long backorder I just ended up doing grey. I also had the seatbelts re-webbed via Safety Restore so now they retract correctly, aren't frayed... but they're a different color to OEM. Doesn't much matter to me, I'm colorblind anyways!

View attachment 3909559

Then, did a @yodaTEQ gullwing window. So slick. Should have done both sides at once, but eventually I'll do the other side. I was surprised how little it actually affected visibility when I looked over my left shoulder for cars in the blind spot. Not really at all, it turns out. In turn, I also had Overland Cruisers fabricate me a storage box covered in marine carpeting where the rear seats had been. Dogs will ride on top, and there's an absolutely massive amount of space gained. With the drawers, rear seat delete, Delta cargo attic and tailgate storage, I think I've about maxed out interior space.
View attachment 3909651View attachment 3909668

Last and definitely not least, solved for a parasitic draw that managed to completely kill my 1-year old X2 Power AGM main battery. Turns out it was a frayed winch power cable, so a breaker was installed to isolate the winch. One battery was replaced under warranty, and for good measure I just bought a second matching one for my auxiliary power.
View attachment 3909666

Awesome update. I’ve been slowly gathering stuff for my 6BT swap. Hopefully it will happen this winter.