Builds Evolution of a Land Cruiser: My 80's build thread (1 Viewer)

[OGBeno]

Wasn't hating. It's a beautifully done Land Cruiser.

Just wondering when this thing was going to come out and have fun!



(I'm just having a bit of fun. Don't get all hurt about it. I'll go back to "selling car parts").

 

[Mandito22]

just pm'd u parts guy xD

 

[jcardona1]

ATTIC RACK

In the never ending quest to organize cargo and eliminate junk sliding around and making noises I decided it was time to make an attic rack. Credit of course goes to all the guys that have done this before me. Nothing revolutionary here.

First off you need a grid panel. After doing some searching online this was the cheapest I could find. Lots of places wanted too much for shipping. 2x4 grid panel in black for $28 shipped. Perfect, don't even need to cut it down to size. http://www.fireflystoresolutions.com/p-7856-black-grid-panel-2x4.aspx

On to the brackets. Scrap pieces of 3/16" plate. Cut to size, welded and drilled to fit the existing grab handle bolt holes.

Ground the welds down cause I felt like being fancy

Bolted in

Mock fit

Panel is attached to the brackets using some u-bolt screw clamp thingamajiggers. I forget they're actual name at the moment

Welded in some more scrap 3/16" plates to serve as mounting points for all the tools. This would hold the Quick Fist clamps.

And there's the finished result! Yes Beno, we use all these every time we go camping. Don't be hatin'

Why 2 small shovels? One's for pooping and one's for not pooping

Let's see how it long it takes for the keyboard warriors to say these are all going to break loose and decapitate all passengers in the truck Final Destination style, disembowel my dog, flight out the window and cause a multi-car pileup that kills of a bus full of kids

And the final layout of the rear hatch. Maybe I have room for a small half drawer under the dog bed?

 

[Gav]

Jcardona1,

I have read through your thread and think you have done a great job outfitting your 80. Many of your additions I have thought are really practical and clever, i.e. the cooler sliding drawer, roof rack, roll on paint job etcetera. I have also noticed that you and your wife like to go camping and canoeing. I don't know about you but my camping trips always involve a little bit of fishing. Have you given much thought as to where you would attach a fishing pole or a mount for one? I have been looking at different mounts for my fzj80 and have yet to find one that foots the bill. Some mount on the luggage carrier outside the vehicle and others are mounted on the trailer hitch. Your post on the Attic Rack gives me a few ideas for a similarly mounted rack for my fishing rods.

Cheers,

~Gav

 

[TheForger]

Did you use the same Quick Fist clamps in all the mounting locations? There are 10 different kinds

 

[jcardona1]

Did you use the same Quick Fist clamps in all the mounting locations? There are 10 different kinds

No, the axe has the bigger standard size clamps. The rest are the mini Quick Fists.

 

[jcardona1]

Jcardona1,

I have read through your thread and think you have done a great job outfitting your 80. Many of your additions I have thought are really practical and clever, i.e. the cooler sliding drawer, roof rack, roll on paint job etcetera. I have also noticed that you and your wife like to go camping and canoeing. I don't know about you but my camping trips always involve a little bit of fishing. Have you given much thought as to where you would attach a fishing pole or a mount for one? I have been looking at different mounts for my fzj80 and have yet to find one that foots the bill. Some mount on the luggage carrier outside the vehicle and others are mounted on the trailer hitch. Your post on the Attic Rack gives me a few ideas for a similarly mounted rack for my fishing rods.

Cheers,

~Gav

Thanks! I used to fish all the time while growing up but kinda gave up on it. Been meaning to get back in the hobby when I can find a nice spot not too far away. But I think this attic rack would be perfect to hold a few fishing poles. Use a few Quick Fist clamps or bolt on an actual rod holder.

 

[TheForger]

What is the clearance between the grid and the roof? Also, is it obstructing the view out the back? If possible could you post a pic of the view from your rear mirror?


Official Jeep Recovery Vehicle

 

[robustbambi]

ATTIC RACK


Let's see how it long it takes for the keyboard warriors to say these are all going to break loose and decapitate all passengers in the truck Final Destination style, disembowel my dog, flight out the window and cause a multi-car pileup that kills of a bus full of kids

May just be me, but Id flip that stuff around. Id hate for you to get your rear driverside passenger's brains on your s*** shovel incase you were ever to go wheeling and hit a bump... knocking on wood.

 

[Finnyfam60]

ATTIC RACK


Let's see how it long it takes for the keyboard warriors to say these are all going to break loose and decapitate all passengers in the truck Final Destination style, disembowel my dog, flight out the window and cause a multi-car pileup that kills of a bus full of kids

8 hrs 11 min.

 

[jfz80]

Looks good Jose.

Curious how the attic rack will handle that weight. I cut my grid a little larger so that might contribute but after lots of washboard last weekend I noticed it flexed and bowed enough for the corners of the grid to poke the headliner and that was without weight. Let us know if the tools cause excessive flex in the grid. Definitely nice to have easy access to the tools like that.

 

[jcardona1]

What is the clearance between the grid and the roof? Also, is it obstructing the view out the back? If possible could you post a pic of the view from your rear mirror?

Official Jeep Recovery Vehicle

I don't have actual measurements but hopefully this picture gives you an idea. As you can see it really doesn't interfere with the view as the profile of the whole thing is very slim. You could really place it as close to the ceiling as you want by adjusting how you make the brackets and cutting down the 2x4 grid panel to fit within the curves of the headliner.

May just be me, but Id flip that stuff around. Id hate for you to get your rear driverside passenger's brains on your **** shovel incase you were ever to go wheeling and hit a bump... knocking on wood.

No you're right. This is actually a good point and I was thinking of trying to reverse the shovels. But they'd stick out towards the back because of how I put the mounts. Wish I had the hindsight to mount them the other way around when I was doing the welding. DOH! But they are a good few inches away from the headrest of the rear seats. I've never really had passengers in my truck but if I do I'll probably end up flipping the shovels around.

Looks good Jose.

Curious how the attic rack will handle that weight. I cut my grid a little larger so that might contribute but after lots of washboard last weekend I noticed it flexed and bowed enough for the corners of the grid to poke the headliner and that was without weight. Let us know if the tools cause excessive flex in the grid. Definitely nice to have easy access to the tools like that.

I'm sure it will flex and sag over time but that's why mine is mounted underneath the bracket. Is yours sitting on top of the bracket? Even if it sags a lot the panel will never touch the headliner as it's already sitting below it, almost flush with the rubber window seal. Perhaps this picture gives a better look at it:

 

[Taco crawler]

I was just wondering about ur led backup lights what's ur watts 5/10 and is it a big difference I'm wanting to do that mod myself to the wife's rig as well as my lc
Luv ur lc by the way and I like the inside rack good idea

 

[nukegoat]

Having an AXE and a shovel above your head is a bad idea, regardless of whether you predict people are going to call it out or not. What happens if you get in an accident? Why would you want to risk going from bad to worse?

 

[jcardona1]

I was just wondering about ur led backup lights what's ur watts 5/10 and is it a big difference I'm wanting to do that mod myself to the wife's rig as well as my lc
Luv ur lc by the way and I like the inside rack good idea

The new round ones are 27w each. The old pods were 12w IIRC.

Having an AXE and a shovel above your head is a bad idea, regardless of whether you predict people are going to call it out or not. What happens if you get in an accident? Why would you want to risk going from bad to worse?

Everything is a safety issue when you start modifying a vehicle. It's not as if this didn't cross my mind. Of course it did. I'd be more concerned with your hacking of the factory suspension and driving on public roads putting other people's live at risk. And it's funny how people react to this. A lightweight axe and shovel = DEATH upon all passengers but nobody says anything about the heavy compressor. What if that thing breaks loose in a rollover? Surely could cause more bodily harm than a 3lb axe with a plastic sheath (nothing more than a plastic stick at that point). Or the ice chest held down with a few straps. What about the dog? He's not strapped down. That's an instant 85lb projectile.

 

[AMMO]

Having an AXE and a shovel above your head is a bad idea, regardless of whether you predict people are going to call it out or not. What happens if you get in an accident? Why would you want to risk going from bad to worse?

This is why I built a drawer system and wagon gear tailgate lid . Everything is self contained and locked away, axe and folding shovels fit nicely in a tailgate and a cargo barrier would be nice but you then loose a sleeping area. Been wanting to build a fold up one for awhile. In the down position you could mount axe, shovel, AR and then fold it up into the roof for sleeping.

On the flip side, nice job on the attic. I've always wanted to do something similar but would only place soft items in the attic, sleeping pad, blanket ect. It also helps to keep your COG low and insulate the roof.

You will notice now with your rack just how tippy you will start to become as you continue to add weight up high. It's hard to resist the urge to keep adding items with the new real estate... Been there.

Nice job, the process is always a learning experience. I'm sure you will change it all around 30 times before snake!

-Matt

 

[JC Connell]

I arrived at this build thread after your DIY roof rack post on Reddit. I have since read your entire build thread and imagined how to modify your ideas to my 2004 WJ Jeep. I'll never admit it on a Jeep forum, but I even considered selling the WJ in favor of picking up an 80. That idea came to a quick halt when I saw the rated MPG. I now notice 80s on the road regularly where I had never noticed one before.

Great build. Thanks for your great ideas, hard work and detailed explanations. Who knows, maybe I'll be in the 80s market when I finish my master's. Until then, I'll be adapting some things for the WJ.

 

[TheForger]

Great response thank you very much! Now I'm thinking about doing this on my 100 but I have the rear air controls/vents and a couple extra curves in the headliner I will have to cut around. Everyone's saying the tools are going to come flying off but I guess they don't realize what kind of straps you're working with. The grid would likely break off the custom brackets before the fasteners come undone! I might go with lighter weight objects (or at least less lethal) up there such as my tow strap.

 

[jcardona1]

This is why I built a drawer system and wagon gear tailgate lid . Everything is self contained and locked away, axe and folding shovels fit nicely in a tailgate and a cargo barrier would be nice but you then loose a sleeping area. Been wanting to build a fold up one for awhile. In the down position you could mount axe, shovel, AR and then fold it up into the roof for sleeping.

On the flip side, nice job on the attic. I've always wanted to do something similar but would only place soft items in the attic, sleeping pad, blanket ect. It also helps to keep your COG low and insulate the roof.

You will notice now with your rack just how tippy you will start to become as you continue to add weight up high. It's hard to resist the urge to keep adding items with the new real estate... Been there.

Nice job, the process is always a learning experience. I'm sure you will change it all around 30 times before snake!

-Matt

Thanks! And definitely, I agree. Ideal solution would be to put everything in the tailgate or a drawer which is what I'd like to do eventually. Tailgate lids are too expensive for what they are, thinking about going the DIY route. I'd put all the shovels and axe in the tailgate then smaller things in the half drawer. Even though I like how the attic rack came out, I'm not thrilled about having all those heavy things up there either. And it's a lot more effort to get them out. Need to pull out the ice chest, climb in and unlatch, kind of a pain. Having them in a drawer would be much simpler. And a cargo barrier would solve the decapitation issue, but then it's even more weight to add. It never ends.

I arrived at this build thread after your DIY roof rack post on Reddit. I have since read your entire build thread and imagined how to modify your ideas to my 2004 WJ Jeep. I'll never admit it on a Jeep forum, but I even considered selling the WJ in favor of picking up an 80. That idea came to a quick halt when I saw the rated MPG. I now notice 80s on the road regularly where I had never noticed one before.

Great build. Thanks for your great ideas, hard work and detailed explanations. Who knows, maybe I'll be in the 80s market when I finish my master's. Until then, I'll be adapting some things for the WJ.

Thanks for the feedback! And welcome to the dark side. You can stay here, we won't tell your buddies

 

[jcardona1]

Everyone's saying the tools are going to come flying off but I guess they don't realize what kind of straps you're working with. The grid would likely break off the custom brackets before the fasteners come undone! I might go with lighter weight objects (or at least less lethal) up there such as my tow strap.

It would be interesting to see just how much force/weight the Quick Fists could withstand without breaking loose. Hope I'm not the one to find out I've seen Quick Fists used to hold all kinds of heavy objects inside and out a vehicle including shovels and axes. Recreational and emergency applications. So I'm not the first.

And I'm not the first to do it on an 80. @warezdog are you still alive after mounting an axe & shovel like this?