Builds Dave's 80

[davidp14]

Sorry for the lame driveway/yard shots.

Very happy with the tires and lift so far. I did have to retourqe the front ps shock, it was wobbling around and making noise. To be fair though there's a chance I forgot to do it at all.

Tire noise is not as bad as I expected and power loss is perfectly acceptable. I've only been able to hit some dirt roads so far but the truck feels great. Its raining pretty good today so I got to test the wet road traction and I never felt like it wanted to let go.

 

[davidp14]

Stink bug is exaggerated by the sloped driveway.

 

[Chrisw023]

Any way you can get a measurement of the actual height on the tires with the weight of the vehicle? They look good! hard to find any reviews of them online.

 

[davidp14]

Sure! I'll do it this evening, but I'm guessing right around 34" since they're 34.5ish uninflated

 

[davidp14]

Recovered my front seats with leather from lseats.com. I know this company has some mediocre reviews but I'm pleased.
I ordered a swatch way back in July and ordered a set of bisque covers August 23. The covers were at my door on September 12.

This job was harder than I expected it to be. It took me about 4 hours per seat. I wish I would have done a write up on this too because after searching quite a bit I was unable to find any step by step instructions. So hopefully If I say: lseat and recover seats or reupholster it will show up and you can just PM me if you have questions.

There's a couple of loose spots that I hope will smooth out with time.
Also I was able to reconstruct some of the foam using some leftover memory foam and some spray adhesive. The side was pretty bad once I got the old cover off

Anywho here's the pics

I haven't done the console cover or armrests yet but I think that will be easy.

 

[davidp14]

Finally got some work done today.
Didistributor o ring and fusible links.
Also fixed the ps seat motor with a end cap for the worm drive..easiest fix ever

Needs more patches..

 

[davidp14]

I already knew that the distributor was bad since there's oil inside the cap but the o ring was leaking pretty bad so I figured I'd fix that for now until I get a new one.

 

[davidp14]

Found a distraction from the fzj . My brother in law found an 89 1st gen 4runner in wv. So we left yesterday at 6am to go look at it.

$400 !
It runs shifts and doesn't smoke. The frame rails are rust free . Rear crossmember is done. There's no exhaust from the cat back. The engine leaks... worse than my land cruiser (if that's possible).

The interior was gross. We had to put those cheap seat covers on it just to be able to sit in it. There was moss growing on the floor boards. You can imagine the smell.

It took us about 2 hours to rip the entire interior. Were going to clean it up and bedline the whole inside. Tomorrow I'm going do the phh.

 

[davidp14]

 

[davidp14]

Phh done and it was way overdue!
Took 2 of us about 3hrs I did it oem style. The bottom bolt on the hard pipe bracket was the hardest part. ...by far. I took the hose off the upper valve, loosened the wiring harness, and the egr temp sensor bracket. I did not put the bottom bolt back.

After I got the bracket loose I just barely wiggled the phh and it ripped right off! I could tell it was leaking. She needed this. I'm lucky it made it this long.

 

[davidp14]

Took the fzj out for her first real trip this weekend. Did about 200 miles of dirt and trails. The LC served as support vehicle for the only two riders in our group not currently recovering from a broken bone. We mostly rode in the George Washington national forest and Monongahela in wv. Most of the ride was fire roads but we also did flagpole and Switzer. Switzer was in the worst shape I've ever seen in the 20 years I've been riding there. The LC trudged right through. She didn't even seem challenged.

I love this machine!

 

[davidp14]

Finally did something to the LC. Oil pump gasket with new oem screws
and front main seal. Also got a new blue hub fan clutch and new fan.

New belts too of course

This job isn't really special by now. I followed Texasknowhow's video. ( I know hes a member here but I don't know his mud name. It actually went really Well. All the oil pump screws came out without a fight. I did spend the extra time cleaning them out with a pick and used a jis bit.

Don't worry about the half in seal here. I just placed it there to keep the debris out.

Painted the cover too.

The whole job took about 6 hours. This includes a trip to lowes for a 2" coupler pvc (sst) to drive the seal in. I used an $8 seal puller from harbor freight to get it out. Strongly recommend that tool.

My only tip is...you can't use a 12pt socket on the flywheel when you tighten the harmonic balancer bolt. It'll pop right off. I didn't have an impact 6pt 14mm deep well but the 1/2 inch regular impact socket just barely grabbed enough to get it done.

She runs quieter now with the new oem belts.

New tools acquired
3/4 " breaker bar Aka: BFBB
3/4" 30mm impact socket
Seal puller
Bunch of 1/2" deep Well 12pt sockets I didn't need.
2" pvc "seal seater, pusher? Pounder? (You get the idea)
I rented a 400lb tourqe wrench for $12.

 

[White Stripe]

Is their a lot of good trails out in virginia/west virginia?

 

[davidp14]

Is their a lot of good trails out in virginia/west virginia?

Yes. Quite a lot. Most of my dirt riding experience is on 2 wheels but pretty much any of the stuff in va/wv is doable in a any 4x4.

Theres a couple hundred miles of dirt that is primarily on or near the borders up and down the entire state. Plenty in NC too.

Google blue ridge trail, mabdr, or just look at satellite images of the green stuff. you'll find tons of dirt roads, 2 track, and true 4wd trails.

 

[davidp14]

Haven't updated this in a while.
My radiator froze and cracked in the polar vortex last week, so today I replaced the radiator with a new tyc. I also replaced the thermostat, water pump, and air filter.

New oem radiator cap too.

 

[davidp14]

Finally got my ome cc bushings installed with the help of @OTRAMM (thanks again)
Also got to hang out with some great cruiser owners. And see some really nice toyotas...great time.

 

[davidp14]

Couple more

 

[Bama4door]

@davidp14 Great build thread, just finished reading through everything. You've really turned that 80 around and used quality parts where it counts.

Did you ever get a measurement of the Yokohoma's mounted on the truck?

 

[patrickk]

Great bump... Also, update on the 4runner please!
(Is that blaspheme in the 80 forum?)

 

[davidp14]

@davidp14 Great build thread, just finished reading through everything. You've really turned that 80 around and used quality parts where it counts.

Did you ever get a measurement of the Yokohoma's mounted on the truck?

Great bump... Also, update on the 4runner please!
(Is that blaspheme in the 80 forum?)

Thanks guys!

I need to update this thread. I've been mostly putting stuff on my ig lately (@dvdp14). I've done a few things and have some projects lined up starting with a magnaflow 23120 y pipe.

I promise I'll get a measurement on those tires.

We ended up doing a pretty comprehensive refresh on the 3vze in my brother in laws 4runner. We also took the upholstery off, cleaned it and replaced it. He even bought a junked 88 for interior parts. He's currently driving it near daily. The interior is mint and the engine runs great , frame is clean but body needs help. Thanks for asking.