Builds Evolution of a Land Cruiser: My 80's build thread

[TheForger]

Have you thought about buying another grid, cutting it in half, and welding it to the first one to create a 'barrier' between the passengers and tools (picture below) in case of an accident?

 

[UnderDawg]

With all the gear and its weight in the back the grid would have to be a pretty heavy gauge steel to hold... but if properly installed it would work sweet.

 

[Finnyfam60]

then you could mount more to the vertical grid too

 

[jhamby]

Eh, keep your knees apart and it will just roll between your legs

Only if it has the consistency of meteorites. But if that's the case, one should be using Jose's toilet.

 

[jtwopark]

it might snowball on you...so drop them small and many!

 

[jcardona1]

Damn this build thread just went to sh!t? Lol

Maybe we can meet at slick rock sometime later this summer and I can borrow your shovel, oops, I mean you can check out the suspension on road. My front is almost the same as the 4wu numbers. Just a bit more antidive.

I don't mind roll on monstaline rad long as it doesn't have those little raised edges where the sponge travels if you paint to heavily?

Yeah that'd be sweet! I'd love to see how a linked 80 drives, never had the chance to drive in one. Give me a heads up when you planning on going up there, Silck Rock is always a fun trail. As for the ML, it's all in how you roll it. If you look at mine you won't see any ridges. The texture comes in the 2nd coat and that's when you can control how it looks.

How did you find the correct angle of the bracket? I noticed if I were to do it on my hundy it wouldn't be a 90* angle (more like 65* on the passenger side and 75* on the drivers side). Did you do a cardboard mockup or just trial and error?

Just kinda eyeballed it. The brackets aren't a 90º angle as you can tell. The main thing is you want it to be level for the grid to mount to. Once I found the right angle I used a welding magnet to hold the two pieces together. The 2nd bracket I just modeled off the first. Doesn't have to be exact for something like this.

Have you thought about buying another grid, cutting it in half, and welding it to the first one to create a 'barrier' between the passengers and tools (picture below) in case of an accident?

View attachment 916312

I have. Been thinking about this a lot lately. Thought about buying a Raingler net. But $200 for a net is absurd. Then thought about building a Speski-style barrier, then another grid like you mentioned. Still not sure which route I'll go, but I do want to add something. Would work good as a dog barrier too so I don't have to keep my a****** mutt leashed, he'll have his head over the seats the whole time and make a slobbery mess. For simplicity's sake I think I just may get another grid like you described. But I'll need to figure out how to mount it. I don't want to weld it so it can be removed. I'll also need to figure out how to mount the lower portion of it.

With all the gear and its weight in the back the grid would have to be a pretty heavy gauge steel to hold... but if properly installed it would work sweet.

Not necessarily. You'd be talking about the perfect storm where the whole grid broke loose and all tools went flying forward. That is highly, highly unlikely. Worst case scenario would be one tool breaking loose.

 

[TheForger]

I was planning on buying another one and mounting it to the first by 4 door hinges. This would allow it to fold up toward the rear if I needed to put something back there and I was in one of the seats, but the headrest would stop it from folding toward the front so it would protect you from everything that is back there in case of an accident. Of course now I have to think of a latch system so it doesn't just swing back and forth with every rock I roll over......but just an idea!


Official Jeep Recovery Vehicle

 

[jcardona1]

DEPO HEADLIGHTS

This is one bling upgrade I've been wanting to do for a long time but kept putting it off. While I actually like the way OEM headlights look, it was time to bring the truck's look into the current century. They were aged, rock chipped and lots of the mounting tabs were broken.

Started with a set of shiny new Depos from eBay. These things are nice! Only complaint is the mounting tabs feel even weaker than the stock plastic. Very bendy. I hope these don't crack as easily. These really should have some sort of metal backing at the very minimum.

And of course, I can't leave anything alone. While the Depos look great, they're way too shiny. Remember, chrome is for faucets. Not trucks. Got to work with the heat gun and tore these bad boys open.

Scuffed, prepped and painted. Color is Rustoleum metallic "Black Night".

Purtty

Before closing them up I ran a bead of black silicone to make sure I don't get moisture inside. After letting it dry I cleaned up the excess.

Before & After

I already had an HID kit in my OEM headlights so all I had to do was buy some H4 HID bulbs. I'm running without highbeams right now. Still need to pick up an HID kit for that. Ended up buying these on Amazon, 4300K. Really nice color. Crisp white with a slight hint of yellow. If you run HIDs you don't need to do anything with the stock harness http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YWPMSU/?tag=ihco-20

Installed! Huge difference. Makes it look like a whole new truck. Should look really sharp once I paint the bumpers dark gray.

Vs the 90s look

 

[AMMO]

Dang Dude!!! That looks mean! I like it

 

[jcardona1]

Dang Dude!!! That looks mean! I like it

Inspired by your truck!!

 

[Gav]

Love the new lights. I have a few questions though. Are the lens made of glass or plastic? The OME lights appear to be a very durable hard glass. do you think the new lights will hold up? Also what are you going to do about the corner lights? Clear with yellow bulbs?

~Gav

 

[Apounder]

I see my next mod.. Thanks, been sitting on the fence about it because of the chrome but now I know what to do!

 

[jcardona1]

Love the new lights. I have a few questions though. Are the lens made of glass or plastic? The OME lights appear to be a very durable hard glass. do you think the new lights will hold up? Also what are you going to do about the corner lights? Clear with yellow bulbs?

~Gav

Thanks! They're glass just like OEM. Really well built. I just don't like mounting tabs. But they suck on OEM too. Stick with the Depo brand. All the other eBay flea market headlights look like the crappy plastic type that leak and turn yellow after a few months. I've always stayed away from aftermarket headlights because they're such terrible quality but these Depos are a nice alternative.

Corner lights I'm going to leave amber. I like the amber look, matches with the side markers and turn signals.

 

[Gav]

Thanks! They're glass just like OEM. Really well built. I just don't like mounting tabs. But they suck on OEM too. Stick with the Depo brand. All the other eBay flea market headlights look like the crappy plastic type that leak and turn yellow after a few months. I've always stayed away from aftermarket headlights because they're such terrible quality but these Depos are a nice alternative.

Corner lights I'm going to leave amber. I like the amber look, matches with the side markers and turn signals.

Good to know! I will undoubtedly look at these headlights if and when I get to replacing this part on my LX.

 

[DetroitStyle]

Loving the progress as always... personally I wouldn't mount the axe and shovel inside just because, well, they're dirty. Just mount them up on the rood rack! Or is theft a concern in your area?

And, did I read that right...you're going away from the color matched bumper? I love it matched as is!

Headlights look great with the new paint. Definitely on my list now, more money!

 

[jhamby]

Everything on the front of that truck comes together incredible. Looks sick!

 

[Booger weldz]

I thought you bought a kit(4wu) when he offered the first 5 for $500?

Oh, and I liked the pic you posted of the front bumper in the dark grey vs color matched...

 

[jcardona1]

Loving the progress as always... personally I wouldn't mount the axe and shovel inside just because, well, they're dirty. Just mount them up on the rood rack! Or is theft a concern in your area?

And, did I read that right...you're going away from the color matched bumper? I love it matched as is!

Headlights look great with the new paint. Definitely on my list now, more money!

I'm in California...theft is always a concern. Criminals have more rights than honest civilians here That's why I have to keep it in the garage. And right now I barely have any clearance. So if I were to add anything on the rack it wouldn't fit. I'd have to take it on/off each trip which would be annoying.

And thanks! Yeah a few posts back I posted a photoshopped pic with the bumpers in gray. I think it looks really cool so I may be going that route.

Everything on the front of that truck comes together incredible. Looks sick!

Thanks!

I thought you bought a kit(4wu) when he offered the first 5 for $500?

Oh, and I liked the pic you posted of the front bumper in the dark grey vs color matched...

I put my name on the list but I never heard anything back. Not sure if these are even ready to be sold yet...? I agree about the bumpers. Right now it looks like a big green blob!

 

[jcardona1]

Loving the progress as always... personally I wouldn't mount the axe and shovel inside just because, well, they're dirty. Just mount them up on the rood rack! Or is theft a concern in your area?

And, did I read that right...you're going away from the color matched bumper? I love it matched as is!

Headlights look great with the new paint. Definitely on my list now, more money!

I'm in California...theft is always a concern. Criminals have more rights than honest civilians here That's why I have to keep it in the garage. And right now I barely have any clearance. So if I were to add anything on the rack it wouldn't fit. I'd have to take it on/off each trip which would be annoying.

And thanks! Yeah a few posts back I posted a photoshopped pic with the bumpers in gray. I think it looks really cool so I may be going that route.

Everything on the front of that truck comes together incredible. Looks sick!

Thanks!

I thought you bought a kit(4wu) when he offered the first 5 for $500?

Oh, and I liked the pic you posted of the front bumper in the dark grey vs color matched...

I put my name on the list but I never heard anything back. Not sure if these are even ready to be sold yet...? I agree about the bumpers. Right now it looks like a big green blob!

 

[ElPolloBlanco]

AC DRYER RELOCATION

Thanks to the tips provided by TYM4FUN and FJFOOL and I finally have this damn dryer out of the way. Prior to this I pushed it up a few inches and cut of the lower part of the bracket but it still hung too low, especially since I have very high-clearance AOE bumper. The dryer stuck out below the bumper.

Since everything is taken apart for paint it made it real easy. Slowly bent the lines to rotate the dryer counter clockwise until the bolt hole on the left side of the bracket lined up with the mounting hole on the right side. Easy as pie!

Pics make it easier to visualize what I did.

Jose,
Did you just use the one bolt to hold the bracket in place or did you use somehthing to hold it in up top too?