First I need to say what a fantastic site. The people on here are just fantastic as to the help and advice they give, this has given me the confidence to take the plunge. I started to look at Toyotas a decade ago and drop into the site from time to time to read but it was never the right time... until now. That said I have fallen victim to the beauty of the Series 80 as an explorer, going almost anywhere, camping overland (style) rig. For a little background when living in the high desert and out of a 1 car garage, I built a Jeep TJ, then Land Rover disco II which was fun then a Jeep JKU that was a money pit and never worked for what I wanted no matter how many thousands I spent on it. Moving back to the South (Central TN) gave me a chance to reset my accommodation and the number one thing on my list was a garage/shop big enough for me to house and work on vehicle projects without the pressure of having to have it all packed up and finished at the end of each day. We were very lucky and now I have a place where I can work and have some space.
I love the way Toyota does things and the styling and that started to look for Series 80s. Thanks to some great advice here I found what seems to be a pretty rust free, two owner, some service history 97 with lockers. It has a TJM winch and Slee front bumper, Slee sliders and Slee skid plate. It's on stock suspension and tires and has 300k on it. I should get it next week when the title is back from the guy selling it. Not having it to start the build with is hard so writing this up is almost therapy.
The plan, and no plan survives first contact, is to do a full fluid refresh and replace any hoses/belt that even look like they are original. The OTRAMN pre purchase video I thought was great as a stepping off point. There are a few things I need to work out like the ignition key does not open the doors there is no door key or it's so worn it does not work after 300k. The rear locker does not engage, or seems not to as the light keeps flashing, the passenger rear window goes down but stops 2 inches from the top when going up and sounds like a bucket of bolts. The passenger rear door lock actuator does not work and I'm sure there is more but fixing that kind of is half if not most the fun for me, and I'm sure why we still buy 25 year old vehicles.,
The next step is to do the build "just once", not the evolving builds I have done in the past where I end up costing myself 30-40% more over the life of the build replacing the parts I thought I wanted when I started. The plan this time is do it once, do it right. it will be my last build before I retire so this is a one shot deal. So here is the planned usage and build and questions
Planned usage.
4x4 backwoods weekend camping and medium/ medium-hard trail running exploring rig for 2 people and a dog. Second person optional, dog not optional; In my old age I am proud of what I build so it has to look cool, but not new. As I discovered when I dipped my toe into the land of Series 40s, many people want a showroom looking build with a few modern extras to drive around town at a sticker price that would buy a small house! I plan to use the 80 to the best of my driving and its capabilities and leave it with evidence on the bodywork, be that mud or scratches/dents. One thing you will never hear me say is "my truck needs good waxing" . With age I have lost the need to impress anyone other than myself and I do that by doing my best to do all my own work on vehicles and work outside my comfort zone.
The build
Dave
I love the way Toyota does things and the styling and that started to look for Series 80s. Thanks to some great advice here I found what seems to be a pretty rust free, two owner, some service history 97 with lockers. It has a TJM winch and Slee front bumper, Slee sliders and Slee skid plate. It's on stock suspension and tires and has 300k on it. I should get it next week when the title is back from the guy selling it. Not having it to start the build with is hard so writing this up is almost therapy.
The plan, and no plan survives first contact, is to do a full fluid refresh and replace any hoses/belt that even look like they are original. The OTRAMN pre purchase video I thought was great as a stepping off point. There are a few things I need to work out like the ignition key does not open the doors there is no door key or it's so worn it does not work after 300k. The rear locker does not engage, or seems not to as the light keeps flashing, the passenger rear window goes down but stops 2 inches from the top when going up and sounds like a bucket of bolts. The passenger rear door lock actuator does not work and I'm sure there is more but fixing that kind of is half if not most the fun for me, and I'm sure why we still buy 25 year old vehicles.,
The next step is to do the build "just once", not the evolving builds I have done in the past where I end up costing myself 30-40% more over the life of the build replacing the parts I thought I wanted when I started. The plan this time is do it once, do it right. it will be my last build before I retire so this is a one shot deal. So here is the planned usage and build and questions
Planned usage.
4x4 backwoods weekend camping and medium/ medium-hard trail running exploring rig for 2 people and a dog. Second person optional, dog not optional; In my old age I am proud of what I build so it has to look cool, but not new. As I discovered when I dipped my toe into the land of Series 40s, many people want a showroom looking build with a few modern extras to drive around town at a sticker price that would buy a small house! I plan to use the 80 to the best of my driving and its capabilities and leave it with evidence on the bodywork, be that mud or scratches/dents. One thing you will never hear me say is "my truck needs good waxing" . With age I have lost the need to impress anyone other than myself and I do that by doing my best to do all my own work on vehicles and work outside my comfort zone.
The build
- 35 inch mud tires on stock 16 inch wheels (315/75/16). Question. Will I need spacers or is the backspacing ok for them? Will I need heavy linkage and rod end ? After looking at the great wheel thread on here 35s look right to me for the wheelbase of the 80s.
- OME lift with caster correction bushing. 2850J front springs as it have the Slee bumper and winch and I may add a 2nd battery and 2843 rear springs to keep it level. I don't plan to add a massive rear bumper, perhaps a trail gear and fab a swing out spare wheel holder. That said I may add an extra fuel tank down the line and that would mean at that time I will have to re-assess. The caster correction brackets seem to be for 4-5 inch lifts, do they make them for 3-4 range? Something about brackets vs bushing just seems better to me, but i am new to all this. The thread on OME lifts this is mind boggling, I have read it 2x all the way and am still going over it again. That's going to take some more research and Dobson look good too! I'm open to suggestions
- Brackets for the pan hard bar and an adjustable front link, still researching this as options and totally open to suggestions. I can weld so that made me look at something other than Deltas bolt on. Again looking for lots of input
- Longer brake lines, only broke one once... that was enough.
- Snorkel, the ultimate cold air intake and as there is real water here in TN. Run all my breather lines higher.
- Question, will I need a larger power steering cooler to offset the work the 35s are going to put more stress on the pump, is hydro assist common? i love it on my TJ . Perhaps a larger trans cooler too. 2nd fan?
- upgraded lighting, headlights and extra lights inside and out (TBD) seen some good threads, feel free to chime in.
- Re-gear to something lower to offset the 35s after some time. Reassess the factory lockers. I have had good luck with ARBs
- Part time 4x4. Put it in the kit to let me drive it in rear wheel drive only (sorry cannot remember what that is called) so if I bust a front axle shaft I can still get home. perhaps get an extra MPG
- Compressor and air tank for the tires and to fix that that flat and a low profile roof rack.
- I have the trailer hooked up to the truck and the seller (who is a great guy) lets me know every day the title is not in yet, Let the build begin and I am ready for the collective brains of the hive to help me build my adventure machine.
Dave