First Land Cruiser, First Build Thread (1 Viewer)

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Well, last night i finished the lift. It took me a little longer than expected especially since all the shock bolts were extremely rusted on, but i ended up getting it all done last night. I still need to get the ride height finished in the front right now the rear is lifted 2.5 and the front is only up 1/4 inch so torsion bars need adjusted will probably do that tomorrow. I attempted to press out the LBJ with a ball joint press kit, but failed so ended up taking them to a local shop and for 32 dollars they did, definitely worth the 32 dollars. Also, installed new SPC UCA. Here are some pics of the install and a couple action shots.

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Nicholas Hanke said:
yes it is, i haven't set my front ride heigh yet through the torsion bars it will level out once i finished the front
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Remember you need to keep a rake on the vehicle. Completely leveling it is bad news and will give you all kinds of steering issues etc.
 
@devildogcruiser25 I appreciate the reminder. I was expecting some rake, right now i'm at about 2 inches of rake. I measured the front before the lift right now I'm sitting at 1 3/4 inch total lift in the front, not sure what I should do because I got the medium springs for the rear but currently have no additional weight, so I am thinking the springs will settle and once additional weight is added it that will lesson the rake, not sure yet. I think I am going to leave it alone for now, installing the diff drop next weekend.
 
Well, After doing some mechanical work with the lift and putting all new fluids in it i decided to upgrade the radio concidering the tape deck just wasn't working for me. I used a double den radio from my 4runner. fairly east install if you take the time to do it right here is a picture of the finished product. Best part about it is bluetooth,
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Finally got to go out and take it wheeling and it performed great. it was a huge adjustment coming from a 3rd gen 4runner to this, the size difference is incredible, but it was nice to get it out off road for the first time. I also decided to purchase new tires decided to go with MasterCraft Courser MXT 285/75R16, I really wanted a mud terrain that was high quality, but needed to save some money. After all the reviews I read I thought I would try these out, will upload pics of those after they are installed. Here are a couple pics from this weekend.

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Well, back at it again tonite but simple spark plug installation. It was an extremely easy job about 45 minutes from start to finish, recommended tools if you haven't done it. 1/4 " ratchet 3" extension for that 1/4 10mm socket, 3/8 ratchet with 2 3" extensions and 1 12" extension and 1 5/8 Spark plug socket, that is all i needed and i only say 2 3" extensions because of the plug closest to the driver seat.
 
Finally got around to getting new tires. I went with Mastercraft Courser MXT 285/75/16 as I mentioned before the cost is amazing and with less than 1k miles on them they are great. I am taking them for a long trip and some pretty good wheeling this weekend and will let you know how they do. here is a pic with them on. It looks so much better compared to worn 265/75/16 Also got my anthracite paint in for the rims that will probably be a project for next weekend thanks @devildogcruiser25 for the idea
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How much different is the ride now with the lift? I'm debating on lifting or not to run 285s. I'll need shocks soon so I'm going back and forth I hate to give up the great ride, but like the lifted look..
 
norville said:
How much different is the ride now with the lift? I'm debating on lifting or not to run 285s. I'll need shocks soon so I'm going back and forth I hate to give up the great ride, but like the lifted look..
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While I'd much prefer a full suspension lift (had one on my 80), I put a set of Slee 30mm spacers on the rear springs and cranked the stock torsion bars up front. Stock shocks, front-end alignment...drive great and gave me an inch of lift. Works great with my 285s
 
Alright it has been awhile since i have been on here. I have been super busy, but the build is coming along much faster than anticipated.

@norville the ride height is 2.5 inches higher in the rear and currently sitting at 2 inches higher in the front than stock. The OME shocks are not to shabby on the highway, but most of the comfort is lost as soon as you get off road, but if you look into ICON or RADFLO you should be able to get the lift and the comfort, but that comes at a much steeper price than the OME.

Since my last post I have completed a lot. I purchased a snorkel off e-bay that many people on here have purchased. I picked it up on sale for 69.95 shipped to the door. Packaging is good, and the product seems to be great so far. Issue 1 though is I would recommend a paint job on it, the plastic is faded and not a clean look. Issue 2, no instructions on the install, and Issue 3 is there is no template. These are not that big of a deal especially given the especially low price of the Snorkel, The fit and finish is perfect, and I am loving it so far. It has been installed for about 3 weeks now.

I also manage to pick up a used Slee Front bumper for only 700. I had no plans on purchasing, but it was only a few hours away from me and couldn't pass up the deal. It had been in an accident, no structural damage just scratches in the powder coat, so I sanded it down a little and put a fresh coat of paint on it, but I plan on repainting soon. I didn't do a very good job on the paint.

I also picked up a CVT Awning used for 150. I searched and searched for mounts for the stock roof rack, but with no luck. So I purchased a piece of 1/4 inch flat stock like 2.5 ft long. Took some heat to it and a hammer and bent it to fit the odd shape of the top rack and a flat mounting piece to bolt it to and boom fabricated up some fantastic mounts. Stock plus nuts and bolts 10 dollars and it works perfectly.

I had purchased a high lift jack for my old 4runner, but since i got the 100 series now i haven't had a place to mount it. So i just decided to take the crossover slats out and drill holes big enough through them and bolt the high lift to that. It is a cheap effective way to get the jack out of the interior. There are some downsides. It is difficulty to get off and on, but given that i don't use very often it is not a huge deal. It may have ruined some of the structural integrity of the stock slats, but I don't plan on leaving the stock rack on forever. So for 4 dollars i got my high lift out of the inside and mounted on top.

Cosmetically, I took an idea from @devildogcruiser25 and painted my rims anthracite gray and I do like the look, but i got decals on my car now for Boundless Overland and I am not sure if it flows together, but I am going to keep it for now, but might change it to black at a later date. Here are some pictures of everything.
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Did you ever do the skid plates?
 
Nicholas Hanke said:
Got the skid plates, but they didn't fit I believe they didn't fit because I had a dif drop, not entirely sure but I wouldn't waste the time or money, they came warped,
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Thanks for the reply. I figured they were suspect. Nice looking rig btw.
 
It has been awhile since I have posted and lots has changed to my rig. I got rid of the OME 2 inch lift and went with a Slinky lift kit from redline cruisers which is ICON stage 1. I went out a few weeks ago and blew my front diff so my rig is currently out of commision, but i have a regear and a front locker waiting for install this week. I have also went to 315/75r16 falken wildpeak MT I will be getting some pictures that aren't to big and upload them soon
 
Finally getting back on here. I now am running Falken WildPeak 315/75/16 and i just got my re-gear complete and a front locker install. Also decided to add 1 inch body lift. Here is a few pcitures of her now. Also dissent roof rack and dissent rear bumper should be coming with in the next month or so. I am going to the junk yard today to pull an 80 series front/rear locker switch so im going to be working on hooking that up and just running one switch for both lockers.
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