Buying a BJ74!!

[fireball]

Is all of the extra weight supported by the door itself or the new bumper?

All of the weight is still carried by the bumper, but the swing arm is tied into the rear door. See this great example done on another BJ74: http://expeditionportal.com/featured-vehicle-toyota-land-cruiser-bj74/

I think we'll be going with a standard setup for the DS spare tire side, that one carries a lot more weight, plus won't need to be accessed near as often if I have quick and easy access into the PS. Or at least that is the theory!

@elkaholic - I'm not sure exactly how it will mount. Jason at Cruisin Off Road is doing the armor, I am just trying pretty pictures and then he is making the real magic happen!

 

[fireball]

This rear bumper design is a bit of a combination of 2 previous ones that Jason has done. He's been super awesome to work with thus far and we're pretty excited about this new design incorporating the best of the ones he's built before, plus a few new features to get me exactly what I'm looking for.

 

[fireball]

WHEELS!!!

I am trying to decide what rims and tires I'd like to run and had a few questions:

Does anyone know the offset and BS on the OEM rims or that wouldn't require spacers?

I really like the look of these rims!

I have seen they come in 15" and 16". Does anyone know the different specs on them? Were there just 2 versions, the USA OEM 4runner rims and a 16" that came on (I Think) the HZJ77s?

 

[cruiserdan]

Correct backspace for the vehicle is 3.5 inches. Those wheels are greater than that although I do not recall the exact number.

 

[bj70_guy]

Mine had a set of those 15s on when I got it. They have too much BS and need spacers.

I ran it for a while with 3" BS steelies and 255/85R16s. No need to move the axle back, lots of room:

35x12.5s and factory 80 wheels needs 1.5" spacers and the axle moved forward. And the brakes suck.
But it wheels nice.

 

[Oldtoy74]

Hi fireball, those OEM's rims come in 2 offsets I'm aware of +8 and -20, I put the -20 on and require no spacers,

-20 offset has a deeper dish also

 

[bj70_guy]

Also, does anyone know the size of the radio opening? It would be super if a bank of switches would fit under a single DIN radio. Something like this from OTRATTW (6.5"W x 2.3"H) or this from Dirty Parts (5 1/8"W x 2 5/8"H).

This worked for me, piece of aluminum plate:

 

[wardharris]

Ben -
Wayne Smith @crushers makes/has made an adapter plate that puts three gauges in the surplus space above/below a single DIN radio.

Search MUD for details.

 

[fireball]

Hi fireball, those OEM's rims come in 2 offsets I'm aware of +8 and -20, I put the -20 on and require no spacers,
View attachment 1009867
-20 offset has a deeper dish also

Are those 15 or 16"??

 

[John Galt]

I ran it for a while with 3" BS steelies and 255/85R16s. No need to move the axle back, lots of room:

TE]

Excellent wheel/tire combination for the 74 unless you are into extreme off-road.
Toyota 16" steel wheels are reasonably priced and easy to get from most dealers.
I run 255/85 R16 all terrain and 285/75 R16 winter tires on Toyota steel wheels.
That combination has the same diameter so the +10% speed correction stays the same.

 

[fireball]

@bj70_guy Any more photos of your truck, especially the rear bumper? Like the looks of it!

I really want to run a 34" tire but they are so darn expensive, and really only available in 285/75/17. $320/tire for a Mud Terrain. The 255.85.16 and 33x10.5 are both right around $200.

Thanks to everyone else for the info. Still looking for details on the 16" OEM rims.... I've seen them on a few HZJ77s and nothing else. They might be unobtanium here in the states?

 

[Oldtoy74]

Are those 15 or 16"??

15" I was lucky to find these, 16" would be even harder in Oz to find

 

[bj70_guy]

@bj70_guy Any more photos of your truck, especially the rear bumper? Like the looks of it!

I believe it was Jason's first 74 bumper, IIRC he built it for me back in 2010, pre Cruisin Off Road.
It's been modded a couple of times since these pics. I half wish I could kill it so I could have him build me a newer one with all the refinements he's come up with since then, but it's taken a lickin' and kept tickin'. Jason does great work.

 

[John Galt]

@bj70_guy .....Still looking for details on the 16" OEM rims....

Standard Toyota 16" LC steel wheels p/n 42601-60262-03, silver 1 piece "D" hole (six hole)

I've got two sets for my truck and they work just fine.

 

[Malahki]

Just a couple comments:
1) I notice in all the pics above the bezel around the stereo is being broken. Its not necessary for adding switches but if you are doing gauges then putting the stereo in the top position as in wardharris's pic is the cleanest look to hide the broken bezel IMO

2) Again as seen in the previous bumper pics the spindle for the swingouts ends up right behind the tailights and severely blocks the view of the signal lights. To me thats unacceptable and needs to be addressed, even if its just adding the 1" round amber LED's for the signals. For my bumper build I ordered 24v LED combo tail similar to what are on the Kaymar bumpers (as seen on Cdans pic below). I originally wanted to go with 2" or 2.5" rounds but you can't find them in 24v and multi function (marker light / brake light). I think thats why the Cruiser Outfitter project ended up with signals and back up lights instead of a combo brake light???

The rear bumper does have lower lights in the shell itself (cutouts shown in picture). One can set them up however they want, I opted for turns and extra stop lights.

 

[fireball]

Good points Malaki, thanks!

You can see in the photos above that Jason is now including an addition TS indicator on the bumper. Also my design has that incorporated. We will have to see where the spindles and spare end up, but doing an aux turn/marker/brake light isn't a bad idea at all. I just had a quick search around and couldn't come up with anything. Do you have any suggestions?

I found a few like this, but can't see if they'll work across 24V: http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Lights/Optronics/STL22RB.html

@cdan - do you know if the OEM center brake light is available or will fit on our later model trucks? Probably not a bad idea for safety's sake:

 

[Malahki]

I found out the hard way when dealing with trailer lights that most LED's are not multi volt. It costs manufactures more to add the diodes or resistors needed and their is not enough demand for them in North America to make it worth while. I considered using my 12v converter for my tail lights as I did for trailer lights but I didnt want to make things more complicated then necessary. If you look on ebay Australia you will find lots of options but it will probably come down to size as it did for me:
http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xled brake lights 24v&_nkw=led brake lights 24v&_sacat=0

One other option is using in line 24v to 12v step down modules but it will require several or the use of relays for complete tail light set up (marker/brake/Left signal/right signal):
http://www.maxxima.com/products/product_detail/463/24V-to-12V-Step-Down-Module.html#.VKL2QF4AKA

 

[elkaholic]

Truck-Lite (and a few others) make 24V stop/turn/tail lights in LED models. That would likely be the easiest solution.

 

[wardharris]

I found a few like this, but can't see if they'll work across 24V: http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Lights/Optronics/STL22RB.html

Don't know about that unit or 12 vs 24 volts (one of the reasons I am rewiring to 12 volts), but etrailer is a great firm to do business with. Many happy transactions - excellent staff and service.

PS - Trucklite gear is not inexpensive but very high quality.

 

[fireball]

Just called Truck-lite. This is their only 24V option in Stop/turn/tail light: http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wc...10001&storeId=10001&productId=24032&langId=-1

$54 each