Builds Front Range CO Build - BerettaMato (1 Viewer)

[BerettaMato]

1993 FZJ80 White As It Sits Now.

Current MODS & Gear:

Engine Swap (Adventure Offroad 4.6L HO)
ARB AIR Lockers F/R
2x ARB HP Compressor Front & On Board Air Rear
Nitro 4.88 R&P Gears
AVM Hubs & Slee Part Time Kit
Factory Locker, Compressor & CLD Switches
Factory Hand Throttle
3.5" Autocraft Slinky Long Travel Coils
Autocraft Icon 2.0 12" Shocks
ARB Steering Stabilizer
Slee Adjustable Rear Upper Control Arms
Slee Front Panhard Bar
Slee Rear Panhard Bar
Slee Drag Link
Slee Tie Rod
Slee Caster plates
Slee Front Swaybar Drop
Slee Rear Bumpstop Extesion
60 Series rear Bumpstops
Redline Land Cruisers Rear Swaybar Drop
Redline Land Cruisers 8 Degree Front Lower Arm Bushings
Custom Front DC Drive Shaft OEM Parts
Custom Rear DC Drive Shaft OEM Parts
Slee Short Bus Front Bumper
ComeUp Winch Seal Gen2 9.5RS
Trail Tailor Tow Points
4x4Labs Rear Bumper
4x4Labs Rear Tire Carrier w/ Hi-Lift
4x4Labs Lader & 3 Jerry Carrier
Trail Talor Creeper Skidplate
5x 16x8.5 Level8 Tracker Pro Wheels
5x 315/75R16 BFG KO2 Tires
Slee 7pc Stainless Brake Lines
DBA T3 Front Rotors w/ OEM Pads
Powerstop Truck Extreme Rear Rotors & Pads
2x Oddessy 34 pc-1500 Battery
Off Grid Engineering Dual Battery System w/ Rear Power Station
2X Blue Sea 6 Panel Fuse Blocks
Slee Dual Battery Tray & Washer Relocation
ARB Safari Snorkel
ARB Diff Breather Kit
Hi-lift Extreme
CVT MT Shasta Extended w/ Annex RTT
Speski Offroad rear cargo barrier
Indel-B 51L Freezer / Fridge
Ipad Mini (Navigation) w/ Mount
Kenwood DDX774BH Head Unit
Focal ISC 5.25 F / 6.5 R
Icom 5100
Cobra CB
Front & Rear Fire Extinguishers
Hella Supertones Horns
Custom Drawer System
Prinsu Roofrack
OZ LED 20" light Bar
OZ LED 4" Light Pods
2X Maxtraxs Black
Outer Limits 6500 Outback Fist Aid Kit
Outer Limits Quick Release Mount
Outer Limits IFAK First Aid Kit

Coming MODS & Gear

Longerange Automotive Aux Fuel Tank 25gal
Camp Lights
Awning 270
Tent
Solar Power
Redo Exhaust
Redo Rear bumper layout
New Seats
New Console
Custom Mid Storage
Front Net Barrier
New Fridge
Fridge Slide
Rear LED 4" Lights


Little background on this Land Cruiser. I have been searching for a very clean 80 series Land Cruiser for about two years. They have been my dream car since they first came out after I was out of High School. Really never thought I would own one. I found this 1993 with 224,810 miles in Sacramento listed on Ebay 3/18/17. It was everything I was looking for Color and Spec. It was a one owner with full history and all the documents to back it. Seller babied it and it was garaged all its life. Pristine original paint with just a few front rock chips showed this to be true. Had seller send me 30 mins of video of every inch of the truck. He told me it was leaking oil but not burning it. He had it checked and was told it was the main seal but very slow leak and should be fine just check the oil every tank of gas. Only MOD I could see was a OME 2.5 Medium lift with Slee drag link and tie rod. He put in brand new 297/70R16 BFG KO2 a week before listing it. He also said he had the birfs rebuilt with a Slee full kit a year before when he had the lift installed. Could tell the guy cared because the battery died before I got there and he put in a Interstate not some cheap piece of crap he could have. Made a deal at $9500 and bought a ticket to fly out to California on 4/7/17. Longest two weeks ever!

Ebay PIC's

I little info about me. I was raised here in Colorado. I have always been into anything outdoors hunting, fishing and camping since I was little. I started working at a local hunting & fishing mom and pop when I was 8 years old and I am now employed by JAX Outdoor Gear in Broomfield as their Hunt, Fish & Military Manager. I really got the overlanding bug fifteen years ago and it has become my Wife and I's favorite pass time. We started with a 04 Taco and have grown since then. We know have two built Tacos and use them as our daily drivers. The Land Cruiser will now be our main rig and stay packed and ready to go. It will live in our garage and be used only for overlanding. This should cut down on some of the were and tear.

Some PICs of our current rigs

 

[Rifleman]

Very, very nice truck, but i did notice one problem in your engine photo. Your heater hoses are the factory original hoses from 1993, so since they are the original hoses, I'm willing to bet that your PHH has never replaced. So you'll need to put replacing all those hoses on your to do list, and soon. While your at it, I'd replace your heater control valve too, it's mounted on the fire wall. That valve can look great on the outside, but when they get that old, they have a habit of failing without any warning. Just look at replacing those hoses, and heater control valve as part of a complete base line on your new truck.

 

[Lumpskie]

Wow, you don't play around when you buy a new rig. Great progress for just a couple of months of ownership!

 

[BerettaMato]

Very, very nice truck, but i did notice one problem in your engine photo. Your heater hoses are the factory original hoses from 1993, so since they are the original hoses, I'm willing to bet that your PHH has never replaced. So you'll need to put replacing all those hoses on your to do list, and soon. While your at it, I'd replace your heater control valve too, it's mounted on the fire wall. That valve can look great on the outside, but when they get that old, they have a habit of failing without any warning. Just look at replacing those hoses, and heater control valve as part of a complete base line on your new truck.

The heater hoses were replaced three years ago and a blue fan clutch was added. I am sure the PHH was not done. The engine is getting pulled next month and fully serviced, all new kit will be done at that time.

 

[BerettaMato]

Wow, you don't play around when you buy a new rig. Great progress for just a couple of months of ownership!

Yea it been a crazy 19 days. Hope to have it ready for a test outing on the 7th.

 

[Broski]

I was thinking the same thing, If the dates are correct it's weeks not months & He must have started ordering parts while he was waiting to fly out to get it. NICE REG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Broski]

Just curious I don't see the magic Dial in the Ebay picks. In your mods list you have Factory locker, compressor & CLD switch. Did you add Factory lockers ?

 

[BerettaMato]

Just curious I don't see the magic Dial in the Ebay picks. In your mods list you have Factory locker, compressor & CLD switch. Did you add Factory lockers ?

It does not have factory Lockers. I will go into that in my next post but good eye.

 

[450LX]

Nice group of rigs! I would have to say that the white 80 series is the, 'pièce de résistance!' I hope to see your rig running around here in Colorado!

 

[White Stripe]

Nice rigs!

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

Nice rig. Lots of great stuff. I love currant, very tasty.

 

[lastresort576]

All the trucks look great as well as the progress.
I was tempted to pose my 80 next to your taco on the various snow mounds you parked on all winter(stalker'ish enough for ya?).
Figured you had to work at Jax. Ive been taking my 9month old to the CO swim school (in the corner by liquor store/Benjamin Moore) for the last 5months now on Sat mornings and visit Jax from time to time..There's always something new I come across that I want in there haha.

 

[BerettaMato]

All the trucks look great as well as the progress.
I was tempted to pose my 80 next to your taco on the various snow mounds you parked on all winter(stalker'ish enough for ya?).
Figured you had to work at Jax. Ive been taking my 9month old to the CO swim school (in the corner by liquor store/Benjamin Moore) for the last 5months now on Sat mornings and visit Jax from time to time..There's always something new I come across that I want in there haha.

I my little Taco loves snow mounds.

 

[BerettaMato]

So I landed is Sacramento on the 7th and was picked up at the airport by my new 80. Took about 30mins to do a walk around and paperwork. Seller was very cool OCD guy. Even brought me a tool bag with basic tools and two quarts of Amsoil oil for the trip home. The weather sucked it was raining and cold. Put my route home in the iPad and took off for the 18hr drive home. Oh with one detour about a hour west. Pulled into 4x4Labs at lunch time to pick up my new rear bumper. Luke and the boys were very cool and help me load the bumper on a custom hitch adapter to carry it home. Once they seen the Cruiser all of the guys came outside in the pouring rain to look at her. Made me feel like I bought a good one with question like. Were did you find it, Is that the original paint and you must have paid 20k for that. Luke asked me how much I paid for it and just walked away shaking his head when I told him. Really love the shop and crew, great guys. Luke gave me a great price and 20 issues of Toyota Trails. LOL

Thought California was sunny.

4x4Labs

4Runner R&D

Warns super secret SEMA stuff.

 

[BerettaMato]

Nice rig. Lots of great stuff. I love currant, very tasty.

You were the hall monitor in school weren't you?

 

[BerettaMato]

The drive trough the Sierra Nevada's was amazing but deadly. There was a blizzard and rain. I must and seen a dozen car slide out right in front of me. Cruiser did great and I was impressed by the KO2. I will be going back to do a Cruiser event with 4x4Labs next year for sure.

 

[BerettaMato]

Got home Saturday and enjoyed driving the rig around town to get a feel for what I needed to do with it first. Wife and I cleaned the four states of crap off of her.

 

[BerettaMato]

I had made an appointment with Slee for that Monday the 10th. They were going to go over the Cruiser and do gears and air lockers. Turned out to be a little more. Amory at Slee was a great help as we talked about were I want the build to go and what to do first. So it turned out the the Slee front axle kit the prior owner had installed was put in wrong and needed to be redone. The front grease and diff oil had mixed and turned to sludge. I decided since they were going to have the diffs out anyway to just fully rebuild the front and rear axles from seals to gears. The Powerstop brakes were cooked in the front so we upgrade those as well. I also had them pull all of the none stock wiring like alarm, air horns and kill switch. they fill a big box with crappy wiring. Since they we going to have the dash apart anyway, we put in the Locker, CLD switch and I had them put in a stock fog light switch next to the locker for the ARB compressor. They replace a few burnt out lights in the dash. I also picked up some of the parts I was going to need for the lift. Truck would be ready Friday the 15th.

SleeBuilt 79/80 Lovechild

After dropping off the 80 and talking to Slee. I drove down to Colorado Springs to talk with Justin at Redline Land Cruiser and pick up a Slinky/Icon lift. Justin was great gave me tons of info and answered all my questions. Got home and started ordering parts like a shopaholic.

 

[BerettaMato]

Brought the Cruiser home. Slee did a great job every thing looks stock and the 4.88 gears pull so much better. Still have drive line vibes but I think that is from the driveshafts. Brakes feel better but still no feedback. Thanks Slee. Now my weekend starts.

I decided to chop her ass off first.

No going back now hope it fits. I did find some crappy work from Japan.

Then came the the Icon/Slinky lift. I did this all by myself and it was a PITA to do the springs. Get help if you do it. The kit was complete but one brake line was wrong and the sway bar spacers suck. I will be replacing them with the Slee ones. Only broke one bolt it was a rear bump stop. Took about 8 hours. Sorry forgot to take front lift pics. I was beat by the time I got to the front.

Only one Pic of rig after lift will post. Tried resizing still would not work so sorry.

 

[cuaround]

Nice truck and I searched for around a year as well for the right truck and ended up getting my 94 in Sacramento in January as well. Even now when Im searching CL, I see many of them around SF / Sacramento area. Keep us posted with the mods.