FZJ-8-my wallet
- Thread starter jtmosca
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The new chrome trim also doesn’t match the factory chrome grille as well as the original corner trim does too.
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- #163
Yeah good eye. I was thinking of doing that very thing. I installed them in my office parking lot the other day so didn't want to get into a "project" at the time but when I have a few minutes at the house I think I will try it. Thanks for confirming my suspicion!
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- #164
Milestones...
- Thread starter
- #165
Looks like I may need to start a new thread soon...
So I just picked up an '04 GX this week with 205k (from @NCLX450 ) to have as a 3rd vehicle. So far I'm really digging it. What a great vehicle this is! Today I spent the day cleaning it up and detailing the inside/outside. I couldn't help myself so I took some glamour shots of it.
Also funny story..., the previous owner, Eric, sold it to me in very good condition overall but there were a few nooks and crannies that still had some leftover misc items in them. For instance, the passenger side front door pocket had a pen that was stuck to the bottom of the pocket. Since I was in fanatical cleaning mode, I was absolutely determined to remove this pen at all costs despite the fact that a wiser man would have probably left it alone. Of course, it wasn't long before I had broke the pen, having extracted only the upper half, and ink began running out of the pen, into the door pocket, and onto the pavement (and the door sill if I closed the door). Now of course, I had to remove the pen at all costs to stop the slow and steady flow of ink. This of course led to the use of miscellaneous prying tools. Eventually I proved victorious against my foe, but not without it having the last laugh. When the pen finally let go, it shot out of the pocket, flinging ink all over the place and sending a liberal amount onto my face. I thought my wife and kids would enjoy seeing a picture of me with ink all over my face (and making fun of me) so I sent them a quick selfie of the situation. My wife did not disappoint. Below was her response...
So I just picked up an '04 GX this week with 205k (from @NCLX450 ) to have as a 3rd vehicle. So far I'm really digging it. What a great vehicle this is! Today I spent the day cleaning it up and detailing the inside/outside. I couldn't help myself so I took some glamour shots of it.
Also funny story..., the previous owner, Eric, sold it to me in very good condition overall but there were a few nooks and crannies that still had some leftover misc items in them. For instance, the passenger side front door pocket had a pen that was stuck to the bottom of the pocket. Since I was in fanatical cleaning mode, I was absolutely determined to remove this pen at all costs despite the fact that a wiser man would have probably left it alone. Of course, it wasn't long before I had broke the pen, having extracted only the upper half, and ink began running out of the pen, into the door pocket, and onto the pavement (and the door sill if I closed the door). Now of course, I had to remove the pen at all costs to stop the slow and steady flow of ink. This of course led to the use of miscellaneous prying tools. Eventually I proved victorious against my foe, but not without it having the last laugh. When the pen finally let go, it shot out of the pocket, flinging ink all over the place and sending a liberal amount onto my face. I thought my wife and kids would enjoy seeing a picture of me with ink all over my face (and making fun of me) so I sent them a quick selfie of the situation. My wife did not disappoint. Below was her response...
- Thread starter
- #169
I figured it was time to de-bling "Squid-Squirt", so I tried my hand at Plasti-Dipping the decals.
As usual my pit crew was onsite ready to help:
As usual my pit crew was onsite ready to help:
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- #170
Pretty happy with how it turned out:
OB-1
SILVER Star
Very nice. Congrats on the new ride!
You should start a new thread for this one.
You should start a new thread for this one.
- Thread starter
- #172
I've been playing around with the offroad trailer again lately. I decided I wanted to put a truck cap on it, do a simple truck bed build out for solo camping adventures, and put a hitch on the back of the trailer for bike-carriers, stabilization purposes, and other "genius" ideas that I have yet to come up with yet.
I want you to imagine how completely unobtanium those aftermarket parts are for an "82 toyota Japanese-style truck bed now. Nevertheless, after months of searching on FB marketplace I appear to have had some success. The truck cap I found in Knoxville, TN. It fits almost perfect with only a small overhang in the front. (apparently the PO shortened the bed some when he converted it into a trailer.) So there is a small overhang on the front but I'm fine with it.
The trailer hitch was another long drawn out scavenger hunt. In the end I decided to try my hand at modifying one off of an older Chevy S-10 Sonoma. Since it was adjustable, I figured I would be ok on the width and since the mounting brackets vaguely resembled the shape of the early toyota truck bumper brackets I hoped I could make it work with some gentle persuasion (and a grinder & cutting wheel). Also it was only $40 so the price was right to take a chance on it.
What I didn't notice until after I paid for it was that the original hitch installer had welded the inner seam of the hitch into it's most narrow setting. Below in red was where it had been welded together. Fortunately the cutting wheel and large hammer managed to undo that little modification. Surprisingly I needed it at near full extension to fit on the Toyota frame.
Much to my surprise the brackets actually fit the truck frame... well almost, ...well not really. But again the cutting and grinding wheel came to the rescue. I found that by cutting out a small unused section I could get the brackets to sit flush and level against the frame. Below is what I cut out:
and the finished product:
and here is how it looks on the frame:
I want you to imagine how completely unobtanium those aftermarket parts are for an "82 toyota Japanese-style truck bed now. Nevertheless, after months of searching on FB marketplace I appear to have had some success. The truck cap I found in Knoxville, TN. It fits almost perfect with only a small overhang in the front. (apparently the PO shortened the bed some when he converted it into a trailer.) So there is a small overhang on the front but I'm fine with it.
The trailer hitch was another long drawn out scavenger hunt. In the end I decided to try my hand at modifying one off of an older Chevy S-10 Sonoma. Since it was adjustable, I figured I would be ok on the width and since the mounting brackets vaguely resembled the shape of the early toyota truck bumper brackets I hoped I could make it work with some gentle persuasion (and a grinder & cutting wheel). Also it was only $40 so the price was right to take a chance on it.
What I didn't notice until after I paid for it was that the original hitch installer had welded the inner seam of the hitch into it's most narrow setting. Below in red was where it had been welded together. Fortunately the cutting wheel and large hammer managed to undo that little modification. Surprisingly I needed it at near full extension to fit on the Toyota frame.
Much to my surprise the brackets actually fit the truck frame... well almost, ...well not really. But again the cutting and grinding wheel came to the rescue. I found that by cutting out a small unused section I could get the brackets to sit flush and level against the frame. Below is what I cut out:
and the finished product:
and here is how it looks on the frame:
- Thread starter
- #173
Next was some mild clean up...
Onward to bolt hole alignment. The bolt holes in the bracket-to-frame were off by about 1/8". I remedied that situation by using slightly smaller diameter bolts. Just dropping down one size created enough wiggle room that I was able to thread both bolts through the frame into the brackets.
The next bolt alignment issue related to the width adjustment. I had to use a step-bit to drill two additional holes in the sleeve inserts. Below is the view from underneath the trailer after the holes were drilled and the bolts installed:
And finally here is a pic or two of the completed install:
Note: I recognize that each modification to the hitch could potentially impact the strength and integrity of the original design. I for one was comfortable with my slight modifications due to the fact that I will not be towing any significant weight with this hitch. Instead it will be used for light-duty applications (e.g bike carrier, etc.) Anyone using this as a template for their hitch install should carefully weigh these considerations before they modify their hitch and brackets...
Onward to bolt hole alignment. The bolt holes in the bracket-to-frame were off by about 1/8". I remedied that situation by using slightly smaller diameter bolts. Just dropping down one size created enough wiggle room that I was able to thread both bolts through the frame into the brackets.
The next bolt alignment issue related to the width adjustment. I had to use a step-bit to drill two additional holes in the sleeve inserts. Below is the view from underneath the trailer after the holes were drilled and the bolts installed:
And finally here is a pic or two of the completed install:
Note: I recognize that each modification to the hitch could potentially impact the strength and integrity of the original design. I for one was comfortable with my slight modifications due to the fact that I will not be towing any significant weight with this hitch. Instead it will be used for light-duty applications (e.g bike carrier, etc.) Anyone using this as a template for their hitch install should carefully weigh these considerations before they modify their hitch and brackets...
