Help Needed: What would you use $3K to do to your 80? (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Oh it is slow, what kind of gains would I see from the turbo?
The 1fz is almost built for boost from the factory. My safari turbo 80 made about 240 rwhp, stock I think they make 140ish
 
Looking for input. I have a 1996 80 Series with 412,000 miles (original engine and original transmission). I have a budget of $3K. I am looking for input on what I should do to keep my 80 going strong so I can have confidence in it to take long trips. I am not talking about Overlanding mods. I am talking about making sure the vehicle is mechanically strong and upgrades that will increase performance/efficiency.

Here's what I have done so far:

Fixed all leaks.
Valve Cover Gasket
Replaced all hoses and vacuum lines.
Replaced all belts 40K miles ago
New EGR
New Alternator
New power steering system
Fixed minor rust and repainted entire vehicle
Dual Battery Setup (2nd Starting battery)
Rear (House) Battery Setup with Redarc BC/DC Charger
Old Man Emu Lift and shocks
Mud Tires
Rear Axle Seals
Front Axle job
Heavy Duty Front Bumper w/ Winch
Heavy Duty Rear Bumper with Tire Carrier
Roof rack
Awning
LED Lights
Rebuilt Transfer Case
Fitted Seat Covers



Other cosmetic items.


What should I do to the vehicle or at least have inspected? I live in Florida and I want to feel good about jumping it and driving 10 hours to the mountains or cross-country out to the desert. View attachment 2435979

View attachment 2435980
Head gasket, under hood emissions related bits and O2 sensors.
 
I have thought of that. I am about to redo the weather stripping.

How do you like your 12K Pound Badland Winch? I have one and I think it is great for the money. I am going to swap the cable for the rope they now carry.
I like my Badlands Winch. I would not go smaller. The downside of this brand is the duty cycle is VERY low. It can pull for 45 seconds, then it has to cool for 2 minutes. I have pretty much only used mine for pulling down trees or similar because I don't push my wheeling to the point of needing it, as I am too old-school, and, it's my DD.

The rope will be lighter, but you have to make sure it stays dry. The manufacturer states you must dry it out within 2 hours or it may mold and rot.
I'm also supposed to clean and lube my steel cable every month and do a controlled pull to rewrap it. I have yet to do that on any of it and it has been on there for 5 years. I spray PB Blaster on it every so often when I think about it.

This winch will drag my truck across the lawn and across pavement (I pulled the local tandem axle dump-truck snow plow out because he's an idiot)
 
I like my Badlands Winch. I would not go smaller. The downside of this brand is the duty cycle is VERY low. It can pull for 45 seconds, then it has to cool for 2 minutes. I have pretty much only used mine for pulling down trees or similar because I don't push my wheeling to the point of needing it, as I am too old-school, and, it's my DD.

The rope will be lighter, but you have to make sure it stays dry. The manufacturer states you must dry it out within 2 hours or it may mold and rot.
I'm also supposed to clean and lube my steel cable every month and do a controlled pull to rewrap it. I have yet to do that on any of it and it has been on there for 5 years. I spray PB Blaster on it every so often when I think about it.

This winch will drag my truck across the lawn and across pavement (I pulled the local tandem axle dump-truck snow plow out because he's an idiot)
Yeah, I almost bought the 12,000 lb Badlands until I saw that the duty cycle is 45 seconds then almost 15 mins of cooling.
 
Sound system is definitely on the list. What did you spend to get the leather redone, if I may ask?

3-3.5k. That included materials for the front seats, second row and all arm rests, (The door panels too, but I left those alone.) New OEM foam for the front seats and install labor.

 
How much for an LS swap? Really? There are lots of numbers out there. All said and done, what would it cost me for the whole deal?

it could be done really nicely for $3k, DIY. Dropping it off at a shop is a different story. My shop would probably end up at about $10-12k depending on motor/transmission choice
 
Everyone has chimed in with some good stuff so far.
How are your brakes?
Any in cab fun/navigation stuff needed?
fridge/freezer? (could be lumped in with the above I guess)
That's the bottom tier Maaco paint job? How long has it been done? This has me really curious about their other offerings.
 
You’ve done a good job of getting your truck setup. You’ve gotten good suggestions. Depending on your mission, I’d think about re-gearing the transfer case with high range 10% underdrive and low range 25% gear reduction. With 35’s that would give you 4.56 gearing in high range and better control offroad in low range. This is less expensive than re-gearing the diffs, which would leave money for other things.
 
Everyone has chimed in with some good stuff so far.
How are your brakes?
Any in cab fun/navigation stuff needed?
fridge/freezer? (could be lumped in with the above I guess)
That's the bottom tier Maaco paint job? How long has it been done? This has me really curious about their other offerings.

Brakes are good. I replaced the master cylinder about 1 year ago, heavy duty rotors and long life pads. Time to change the pads.
Yes. I need a new stereo and some speakers. I want a touch screen stereo with Apple Car Play.
I do need a fridge, but I don;t want to spend a Grand on one. Recommendations?
Yep. Bottom of the line Maaco---$1700. It has held up good and i am a pretty rough on it. I like narrow trails (see my Instagram account).
 
My concern with a high mileage rig are items that haven't been replaced specifically that tend to fail completely when they fail. For example if a high mileage seal starts to leak its unlikely to just dump all you oil all over, it will just start leaking a bit. But when a water pump fails, it can start dumping coolant or the bearing can die and it can lock up. Same with the fuel pump, when they go they usually just stop working leaving you stranded. Those are the kinds of things I worry about.
 
What about this brittle black rubber/plastic over the chrome right under the windows on the outside of the doors? I don't even know what to call it so that I can get replacements for it.
 
Depending on your mission, I’d think about re-gearing the transfer case with high range 10% underdrive and low range 25% gear reduction. With 35’s that would give you 4.56 gearing in high range and better control offroad in low range. This is less expensive than re-gearing the diffs, which would leave money for other things.

I did this about four months ago and have 4000 miles on it--I'm a big fan so far. I can hold 90mph on flat ground w/ 35s and have enough oomph to not feel like a target in the mountain passes. I think diff gears are still on my list but got bumped a few years down the line and that works for me (plus the low range crawler gear is *fantastic*...this is my first automatic offroad and the combo of slushbox and low TC gear is pretty cool.) With seals etc I think I was into it for about $1300, though I did also buy the HF press so that was another $200. Worth it if gears or rocks are on your pursuit list, but not sure it added any particular road-worthiness in terms of reliability, all my TC bearings and seals seemed to be in pretty good shape except for the tranny output seal which had a tiny drip I'd never noticed until I cracked it apart.
 
My concern with a high mileage rig are items that haven't been replaced specifically that tend to fail completely when they fail. For example if a high mileage seal starts to leak its unlikely to just dump all you oil all over, it will just start leaking a bit. But when a water pump fails, it can start dumping coolant or the bearing can die and it can lock up. Same with the fuel pump, when they go they usually just stop working leaving you stranded. Those are the kinds of things I worry about.
That is good thinking. I have replaced the fuel pump, but not the water pump.
 
What about this brittle black rubber/plastic over the chrome right under the windows on the outside of the doors? I don't even know what to call it so that I can get replacements for it.
Belt Moulding.

Inner and outer on each window.

There's a thread on here with all P/N.
 
I have a kenwood head unit that I hate. The reason I hate it is due to an older interface they had that they seem to have abandoned("weblink"). There are quite a few audio threads around here noting which units people are running. I think any major brand (and some minor) that have Android and/or carplay will suit your needs, you just have to decide how crazy you want to go.

There has been a lot of action regarding Iceco freezers lately; They have what is supposed to be the same compressors as the big names, but a much better price point and there have been a couple of group buys as well. No real long term testing yet, so time will tell.
 
I don't think at that mileage I would spend anything on it. Thats more mileage than i'd want to take on a distant road trip and know i'm making it back.

As others have said, set the money aside, do regular fluid changes and lube, and call it good. Save the cash for your next rig or potential major repair.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom