Cruiser Trash Parts thread (3 Viewers)

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CruiserTrash

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Joined
Jul 15, 2020
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59
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Location
Denver
Website
cruisertrashparts.com
Hi! I make small niche solutions for the 60 Series. Some of y'all might know me from posting my parts on other threads. I figured it was time to consolidate everything into one master thread. You'll see individual posts below for different parts, and there will be more coming in the future.

My story: I picked up my first Land Cruiser about 3 years ago - a 1983 FJ60 - and immediately fell in love, despite it being pretty crusty. I had been driving a Tacoma for 14 years and it was time for a change. My family was getting bigger but the Tacoma was staying the same size. I was looking for a unicorn 2000-2002 4Runner with the rear locker and a 5 speed when I saw an ad for the 1983 60, and jumped on it despite the frame & body rust and the anemic engine. I daily drove it from day one. I've moved on to a 1982 60 with little rust and low miles, and owned a couple other 60s and a 55 since then - mainly for parts (or got in over my head on rust repair). Along the way I've had to solve a lot of problems - as we all do. Other people expressed interest in some of those solutions, so I started offering them for sale about a year ago ... and here we are. My first sales were done via PM on Mud and a Google Drive spreadsheet, with my kids helping to pack items on occasion. I have a web shop now but it's still just just me and the family (mostly me, ha!) working at home or out of the small shop space I have to work on my truck.

The web shop: Cruiser Trash Parts
(It's in my signature line too)

Here's my current daily, Matilda, on Medano Pass in Colorado. Gamiviti rack from @nakman , @Fourrunner rear bumper with 4Plus (@lcwizard ) jerry can carrier, and the shackle reversal & goofy homebrew bumper that came with the truck:
BF30ABEC-EFD0-4718-812A-77C4F056EDF9.JPG


I fell into all of this because I geek out on these trucks. I love daily driving them (no screen, no power windows, manual transmission, dead simple motor) and love talking to people about them. My partner and I love going to events like Solid Axle Summit. I talk to random Land Cruiser owners in parking lots. You get the picture. That means I'm always a PM away, either here on Mud or on Instagram because I enjoy talking shop. I do have a day job, two kids (middle & high school age), and play in a few bands as a hobby, so I'm always busy. I will always respond to your message though, even if it takes a day or two.
 
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The thing that got me started was the rear seat rattling around. I hated it, the post on the side of the rear seat flopping around in the latch mechanism as I drove down the road. I tried cut up fuel hose, tape, etc, and that stuff would always fall off. I stumbled on a picture of the rear seat latch here on Mud and it had a little rubber thing in it that I had never seen. I ended up getting in touch with Classic Cruisers and they were able to find two of the seat bumpers for me. In a previous job I had done extensive rubber molding/casting, so I made myself a cloned pair using that process. The originals were beat to hell, so it took a whole bunch of intermediary steps, making the clone bumpers out of hard acrylic, applying bondo, sanding, etc, to get a decent pair. Then I cast them in a urethane rubber that matched the Shore Hardness rating of the originals. They worked too - the rear seat noise was GONE.

I've gone through a couple more iterations perfecting the final product. Most recently I drew the bumpers in CAD and had @ChaserFJ60 (from Cruiser Head Parts) 3D print them for me. I made molds from those and the end result is the best yet.

These are a cheap, no-brainer part that almost every 60 needs. I look for original seat bumpers in every 60 I see and 90-95% are missing them, with the remainders usually pretty torn up. 12/22 price is currently $25. That's a cheap way to eliminate a rattle. FYI I think these are applicable to every 60 version with a rear bench seat, no matter the motor or trim level.

Installed:
IMG-2557.jpg


From the first run, made on my kitchen counter:
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The most recent ones. The best original I've found (L), Chase's 3D print of my design (C), finished urethane rubber product (R). An astute eye will notice that the "wings" vary in thickness, with the originals being the thickest. I found that thinner wings make install easier and don't decrease stability.
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HBIM

Next up was the high beam indicator module, the HBIM. I'm on my second 60 with the Koito headlight upgrade kit, and of course the problem with those is that the high beam light on the dash doesn't come on. Great kit - pretty cheap, OEM part, 30 minute install, but the lack of indicator light on the dash bugged me. There are a bunch of threads on Mud that pertain to the issue and lots of different solutions. For some people simply swapping to an LED bulb in the dash does the trick. Other people have success with a module made by a lighting company (I think it's a load resistor). Neither of those worked for me. The LED bulb did light up, but so ridiculously dim that it was barely perceptible even at night. I needed a solution and figured other folks would want one too.

I have a background in electronics repair, primarily old tube audio equipment (although knowing how to read schematics and how circuits operate is universal in electronics), so I set out to solve the problem. I found out how Toyota designed the stock headlight system to work and created the module to mimic that - and it worked immediately. Then I started digging in on the safety aspects, like the operating temperature and current draw of the module. There was no measurable difference from ambient temperature and the current draw was under half an amp - both when I did the math and when I measured it. Success.

I build the modules with an integrated 5A fuse - a very low value so it protects the truck's wiring, and so that the module would blow before the headlight fuses if the module itself were causing the issue. I also included voltage spike protection since the initial voltage spike and related current draw when activating the high beams can be much higher than when it settles into normal operation. The final touch was the potting compound to protect the circuit from engine bay fluids and vibration. This thing works in temps from -40C to 105C, so it's fine living in the engine bay forever, in any climate. Currently, this is only for 12V FJ60s from 1981-1987. I suspect it will work in late model US-spec 40s & 55s, and other non-F-motor 12V 60s as well but haven't been able to test that - buy at your own risk if that's your application. I have a 24V version in the works for older 70 Series trucks with round headlights - the parts are on my bench for whenever I find the time to assemble it.

The best thing about the HBIM is that the install is dead simple - it takes more time to open and close the hood than it does to install. Really, the solution isn't difficult, but not everybody is a DIYer or has the desire/time to make one of these. I provide the pretty package that lets you do a fast install.

This plugs into the unused H4 connector of the stock wiring harness. The Koito harness only uses one of them, this just goes in the other:
HBIM complete w size ref.jpg


Daytime; stock OEM incandescent blub (choke indicator is being lit up by the sun):
IMG-4313.jpg


Night time; green backlights are LED, indicator is the same OEM incandescent bulb - the brightness levels are a good match IMHO:
IMG-4324.jpg
 
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It dawned on me that with the HBIM only being applicable to the Koito kit, that maybe I should stock the Koito kit. So I did that recently. There's a $10 discount when buying the Koito kit + HBIM together - you get a package deal that has no flaws, right out of the box.

I know there are a lot of other lighting solutions (and the HBIM may work for those too! again, haven't tested them myself), but the Koito kit always seemed like such a good deal to me: cheap, OEM quality, 30 minute install. If nothing else, it's huge upgrade over sealed beam headlights based on the fact that you can replace the bulb alone. I live in Denver where it's cold in the winter so I like halogen headlights for melting snow. I also think they look more appropriate on an old truck that bright white LEDs. To each their own, but the Koitos really do it for me. I'll be honest - selling this headlight kit and not a different one is a completely biased move on my part!

When looking around at other places that sell the kits, I noticed some were priced very high with cheap shipping, and others priced really low with exorbitant shipping. The total price from almost every outlet ended up being the same +/-10%. I also noticed the total price had gone up significantly over the past year or two. I'm offering what I think is a fair deal on both the kit and the shipping. Might be the best deal on the web. Plus you get $10 off when you buy the HBIM too.

In addition to the Koito kit giving much brighter and more well-focused light right out of the box, here are a couple things you can do to improve that further: upgrade your battery-to-body ground cable & upgrade your alternator charging cable. Without changing the pulley on your stock alternator, the voltage of the entire truck will sag when you're at a stop and idling, which means the headlights will dim. Doing those two upgrades will alleviate that for the most part. Yeah, you can get a higher amperage alternator, but read up on alternator curves - is that big one providing any more juice when you're stopped versus the OEM one? Probably not by much. After upgrading my cabling I've never had a problem running headlights, 250 watts of aftermarket halogen lighting, a fridge, and other doodads. At idle I might dip to 12.4 volts with every toy running, and that's worst case scenario. As soon as I drive and spin the alternator up, voltage goes up. Alternator choice is a whole can of worms though, best left to another thread.

The kit comes with: two glass headlight housings with H4 bulbs already installed, a wiring harness with zip ties, dielectric grease, and instructions:
IMG-5188.jpg
 
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I've tried a few other things as well:

Lower EGR ferrule: I live in a smog area and could not find the ferrule (really it's a compression fitting) for the EGR j-tube where it enters the EGR cooler. Those are NLA from Toyota, although they still make the upper one. Both ferrules get compressed on install - or when the EGR system has been dissasembled and put back together a few times - and then don't compress the same again. Over tightening can cause the j-pipe to deform, too. It's really best to start with a new one. This thing solves a pesky exhaust leak that I've seen on almost every smogged FJ60. I'm perpetually out of stock on these, but hopefully I can have a big batch ready early in 2023. You can see both new and original ferrules in the photo below. New ones are designed with the same angle to the bevel, but slightly taller for more sealing surface.
EGR Ferrule.jpg


Engine bay bracket: In my previous 60 I wanted to bypass the stock alternator wiring, so I got heavy gauge wire, a fuse block, and an appropriate sized fuse. I needed somewhere to mount the fuse block so I designed a bracket. It had a few flaws and I'm currently making Revision 2. The stainless steel was nice, but needs to be a thicker gauge. I think if I adjust the dimensions the bracket would work for an air compressor too, and I'd rather have a bracket with more flexibility and not something limited to one use. I also may relocate it so people with the 3F/E style air cleaner can use it too. Obviously in its current location it would interfere with that. More to come.
Fuse Bracket 3.jpg


Waxed canvas goods:
I made a winch cover and spare tire cover for my own truck because I thought it would look cool, they're weather proof, they're user serviceable for a long life, the material lasts a long time, and they patina nicely. I put them on the web shop in case it appealed to anybody else. Turns out not very many people are into these, I've only sold a handful. I suspect the price turns people off. I cannot go any lower since the material is really expensive and because they're incredibly labor intensive to make. I've looked into contract manufacturing to get the cost down, but the minimum run would cost me ~$10,000, and that's not an amount of money I'm going to sink into a tire or winch cover. If you want one, let me know - I'll still custom make them.
Tire Cover 3.jpg

Tire Cover 1.jpg
 
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It should be said that I’ve received a ton of support from this community, whether it was finessing products, getting shout outs, help with web shop back end tweaks, truck repairs, or whatever. I’ve been given a hand up by a lot of folks, despite the stuff I sell being a collection of small oddball products. In no particular order (and probably forgetting a few), the following people are awesome:



@HemiAlex @red66toy & @NookShneer @nakman @POTATO LAUNCHER @CenTXFJ60 @ChaserFJ60 @RDub @RodrigzCrzr @joesfj40 @ToyotaMatt @js0k @Spike Strip Brandon at Classic Cruisers and a bunch of other goons.

What a great community!
 
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All I know is my seat don’t rattle no mo’

Keep up the good work @CruiserTrash
 
Cargo Panels - laser cut ABS plastic

Y'all should have seen my previous 60, the tomato truck. It was so rusty that there was a huge hole in the rear quarter and the tire would kick rain and snow right into the body cavity. Well, on the inside the cargo panel was also pretty trashed, so the rain and snow would actually just get flung onto the inside of the rear hatch window. I figured some new panels would be a good quick fix until I could fix the rust hole. I made the first panels out of ABS from a template I built and a table router. It was messy work, but they came out great and beat the crap out of them for almost two years before selling that truck. I really like ABS because it's so durable - it doesn't dent or deform - and because the color is integral, not a coating. If you chip it, it's still black underneath so you won't see it. They're basic, relatively cheap, and easy to install. I think I have theme going...

I finally got the panels drawn up in CAD and had them laser cut so they fit perfectly. I only provide a cutout for the windshield washer bag cap - no cuts for speaker holes, auxiliary power, or anything else - because trying to predict everyone's customization would be impossible. I might offer some basic cutouts for speakers or aux power down the road, like a cutout for one type of speaker from one manufacturer so if you bought the panels you're speaker choice would be made for you. I will do custom work, but have to charge a fee for my time spent drawing your project in CAD. If you're not into that, just know that a dremel or jigsaw works great for making your own cutouts.

Anyway, there's a bunch of other cool options for cargo panels out there, but I think each one of them fall nicely into their own niche. What a cool community that we can all dream up these different solutions.

FJ62 panels, as well as tailgate and seatback panels coming 2023!

Cargo Panels 2.jpg

Cargo Panels 1.jpg

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I redesigned the PC boards for the HBIM last week and sent them off to Osh Park for manufacturing. Got them earlier this morning. This redesign was to make the footprint smaller so it could better fit in the potting compound. Old dimension was 16mm x 21mm, and these are 16mm x 16mm. The mold for the potting compound is 25mm x 25mm, so that 21mm dimension on the V1 boards was pretty tight. These are gonna work great.

D25990E3-1907-4BA5-81EC-935423817E8A.jpeg
 
I redesigned the PC boards for the HBIM last week and sent them off to Osh Park for manufacturing. Got them earlier this morning. This redesign was to make the footprint smaller so it could better fit in the potting compound. Old dimension was 16mm x 21mm, and these are 16mm x 16mm. The mold for the potting compound is 25mm x 25mm, so that 21mm dimension on the V1 boards was pretty tight. These are gonna work great.

View attachment 3195533
What is your potting compound of choice? I’ve used DP270 pretty commonly in the past
 
What is your potting compound of choice? I’ve used DP270 pretty commonly in the past
Well … I tried several different potting compounds for this, including the one you mentioned. I couldn’t get anything to flow into this shape properly so I abandoned that. I’m using a urethane product not advertised as a potting compound strangely enough. I consulted the manufacturer to verify the specs - the dielectric constant is actually just about the same as a potting compound, and everything else about it worked including functional temperature range. It’s worked perfectly.
 
WOW when you have those FJ62 rear panels ready, i'll buy! :D
You and like 10 other people haha! The only local 62 I know is a late 87 build date and has some leftover 60 DNA: crank windows and 60 style cargo panels. I need to find a local person with a more standard 62 to measure and test fit. If y’all know anybody in or near Denver send them my way, I’ll cut them a discount.
 
You and like 10 other people haha! The only local 62 I know is a late 87 build date and has some leftover 60 DNA: crank windows and 60 style cargo panels. I need to find a local person with a more standard 62 to measure and test fit. If y’all know anybody in or near Denver send them my way, I’ll cut them a discount.
I need some of your panels!
 
i feel the TEq Cosmic Energy in this Thread .............. :D
 
i feel the TEq Cosmic Energy in this Thread .............. :D
Matt, I don’t know how I missed your message above! Thanks my friend!

Happy 2023 y’all! A new shipment of Koito Headlight Upgrade Kits arrived to Casa de Trash and is ready to be shipped out to YOU. Yeah you, the 60 owner with those weak old sealed beams who’s afraid to drive at night because the headlights barely illuminate your path. This is TOYOTA part number 81110-60P70, straight OEM goodness. The classic super-affordable, 30-minute install upgrade that gets you modern lighting, quality Koito glass, and the ability to replace H4 bulbs to your heart’s content.

Get ‘em HERE and don’t forget the HBIM that will enable your high beam indicator to function too.

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In other news, Ms. Trash (Karen, my better half) gifted me for Xmas this chain-stitched patch that she’s making by hand. When it’s done I’ll slap it on the back of a jacket and wear it to events so y’all can spot me. It’s going to feel like a cross between wearing an old handmade league bowling shirt and a fancy country & western suit. She’s super talented.

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