El Jefe’s 80 Series Build. (1 Viewer)

[eljefe83]

I’ve read a lot of builds over the years and have decided to make one of my own. I’ve owned a few land cruisers over the years and sold built 80 a couple years ago that was built out. I’ve regretted it every since. So for the next build I wanted to get a 40th anniversary to be a collector.

I purchased a new to me 40th Anniversary a couple of weeks ago and have been working on it on and off for the last couple weeks making some progress.

Vehicle Details. 1997 40th Anniversary 250K Miles. Non-Locked
Paid a premium for her but it had the HG repaired and engine upgraded by Toyota 5K miles ago. The Transmission was overhauled and synchros rebuilt 2 years ago as well. Interior and exterior are in great shape. I flew to PHX to pick it up and the AC was struggling unless under a load. A quick trip to Toyota to evacuate the system, pressure test and refill had the AC working great for he 6.5 hour drive from PHX to ABQ. I could not have bought from a more meticulous person. It the cruiser needed he took care of it. Thanks a lot J!

 

[eljefe83]

First order of business was removing the Damage multiplier on the front. Ordering a lift and after extensive research and attempting to keep this a tame build for the time being meaning no front or rear bumpers i settled on an Icon Stage 1 lift with the dual rate coils. I figured this would add some plushness to the ride over the OME lifts I’ve used in the past.

I did the lift over the last few days in my driveway. Would work on it in the AM and then work on it in the evening while I wasn’t cooking in the sun. I lifted the rear first and the stink bug was strong! The wheels it came with were in great shape with exception of the spare. Heavily pitted. However its on the rig since my wife ran over a roofing nail and the plan is for new tires anyhow.

 

[eljefe83]

I didn’t take any picture of the front end off but it was pretty straight forward. I got the lift on and knew the radius arms were going to be next. On my last cruiser i borrowed a Wits end press tool kit and swapped every bushing. It was time consuming and a PITA. I have a 20 ton press and did not want to go the route again. Since Delta arms are not readily available i pressed the Icons in for the short term. I don’t know how mild or wild I’ll end up as i go back and forth every day. It’s nice to not have to open swing outs every time i open the rear of the rig. I had the old school single swing from slee in the past and it was awesome. Harder for my wife to open though. So for the plan at this time its no bumpers, sliders with a step for the kids from White Knuckle will be ordered soon.

Lift Finished and after sitting for a couple weeks was due for a wash before pulling it in the garage to do the Radius arms.

Radius arms went on with out too much swearing. I called a local shop for a quote to press them as i was being lazy. However the cost was out of the “pay for the convenience range” for me so I pulled out the press and hammered it out. I measured many times to make sure they were perfect and the pinion angle is a lot happier than it was before the castor was corrected. I still may order Deltas in the near future.
I really don’t enjoy doing bushings so i took this opportunity to reach out to Delta Vehicle systems to order a rear panhard bracket.
I also reached out to Jason at Trail Tailor and ordered his heavy duty sway bar arms and new adjustable control arms. 6 less bushings to mess with. I have a Dobinson front Pan hard on order as well and should be here at the end of the week. Alignment is off right now but would like to have tires on and lift in a more complete state before the alignment.

I ordered some Tires from discount tire and had grand plans of using the stock wheels after seeing how clean and classic this rig looked.

Props to who’s ever build this is. Looks fantastic!

 

[eljefe83]

I’ve been a huge fan of the Falken AT3W tires. I have them on my superduty and had them on my 200. Naturally i was going to go this route until seeing the white lettering on the stock wheels with the K02’s. So the 315/75R16’s are in as of today. Discount had to have them shipped in and as while i was cruising marketplace i came across these.

They are not the 315’s i ordered but the MR701’s looked great to me and the fact that a little machining is required to get them to fit will ensure not every other 80 i pass will have the same wheels. These are at the Machine shop. I pick them up tomorrow. With the 3” lift i will likely have a big gap to deal with in the fenders. I’ll make the decision on going with the 35’s tomorrow.

In the mean time i had to upgrade some essentials that i loved on my last Land Cruiser. Rosen Visors

They are pricey at 300 bucks but in my mind they are worth every penny. Quality is top notch and got rid of the floppy visors that came with the cruiser.

Next order of business was the head unit. It was Bluetooth capable but did not have apple car play and I like having the options of maps not on my phone.
I bought a brand i had not heard much amount in hopes of having a brighter screen in the daytime. I found a brand called ATOTO and bought the S8 Premium on amazon prime day. It is an android based system that has wireless CarPlay. Not a bad little unit for 300 bucks on prime day.

While wiring it in I was cursing the the previous owner for being lazy and not buying a metra harness.

 

[eljefe83]

I’m pretty decent with wiring so I was able to cut off my metra harness and wire in the new Unit. It has an OLED Screen so its much brighter than the previous Sony i had in the old rig. I ordered front and rear cameras as well as an integrated OBDII reader that should replace the need for a scan gauge. The cameras and will get wired in a little down the road when i get motivated to run wires.

You can also see in the picture i added the 3d Printed cup holder. These are so essential. Was conflicted covering up the 40th Anniversary badge but ultimately the cup holder won out. Another member responded to a wanted ad in the classifieds for a useless cubby insert. I got lucky and did not have to wait for one to be shipped. Ordered some Ram balls and now I have the phone mounted there.

Its been a busy week, since the first week of owner ship my wife took it to a Kids camp for my daughter.

This is were we are at and beginning of week 3.
Parts on order:
DVS rear panhard bracket, (Debating on an adjustable rear to avoid the bushings being replaced there
Front Panhard from Dobinson
Adjustable control arms from Trail Tailor.

Things I’m considering:
Delta Vehicle system radius arms (this will be decided after the alignment.
Dobinson Gucci stabilizer.
Marlin Cralwer HD steering (I had this on my last cruiser and it was fantastic.)

The intention right now is to still keep the build mild but with the upgrades it will be a lot easier to switch to 37’s when i get a wild hair.
Gears are not in the short term plan so the max were going to be 35’s.

More to come tomorrow with the wheels and tires. Could be on the 33” RT’s or could be on the 35” K02’s

 

[OffRoadScott]

Great looking rig and great start...

 

[fj80rodngun]

Solid

 

[eljefe83]

I got the call at lunch time that my wheels were ready to pick up. The machinest did a great job clearancing the hubs. I worried that i didn’t take of enough but ended up being the perfect amount. So all in all the 500 for the machining was worth the cost over trying to eyeball it with my Dremel. The tires are a bit small in the wheel wells but I’m gonna give it a day or two driving it down to discount to get the 315’s put on.

 

[fj80rodngun]

Baller !

 

[eljefe83]

FedEx arrived with some new control Arms. Family coming into town tomorrow so time will be tight to work on the Cruiser. Got these assembled. Thanks to @TRAIL TAILOR for the quick shipping. Anti Seize on the bolts a threaded J-Joints a good idea? I live in the desert so no real concern with too much moisture.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

FedEx arrived with some new control Arms. Family coming into town tomorrow so time will be tight to work on the Cruiser. Got these assembled. Thanks to @TRAIL TAILOR for the quick shipping. Anti Seize on the bolts a threaded J-Joints a good idea? I live in the desert so no real concern with too much moisture.

View attachment 3377382

Highly recommend anti seize. We use koprkote on all suspension bolts and threads.

 

[1973Guppie]

Beautiful truck! Smart move to start with a clean vehicle when putting all that $ into it.

 

[Dumpolina]

Nice work!

 

[artwerks]

Looks good, Jeff!

 

[FloridaCruiser22]

View attachment 3376315
Props to who’s ever build this is. Looks fantastic!

This truck is @RKTINC

 

[eljefe83]

This truck is @RKTINC

Nice

 

[RKTINC]

Truck looks great! Love to see a nice 40th kept nice and tastefully upgraded.