Builds Just another 79 build..... (1 Viewer)

[c2dfj45]

If you need any pointers Christo, you just let me know....lol.

Yeah man...we were able to put a massive push on the project for a good part of July and some of August...had to take advantage of a light work load in the shop. Not good for cashflow but getting this done and out needed to happen. We have a couple of other projects that need to come in.

Looks like we're about 3.5" lower in the front now that we've unloaded all the crap out of the bed and got the front end fully built.....probably going to go with an OME851 spring(for now....will swap when we do a bumper/winch)....2" of lift which should give me a more level stance. We could almost see the front end drop daily while we were adding things to it. I need to get a good side profile shot of the truck.....maybe I'll go to the shop today and drive her around.....

 

[c2dfj45]

I've been trying to calculate the time I have in this thing....I was fortunate to have 3 employees work on it when time/workload allowed. Everybody played a key role in the build. In the last 2 months alone we probably put 160-200 man hours in it. Wouldn't surprise me if we have 1000-1200....maybe even 1500 in it. Spread out over 2.5 years....so maybe 400-600 per year. There were months we didn't touch it though....

We've built some damn cool stuff in my shop over the last 12 years....this is probably the best though. I'm quite biased however.

 

[swamprunner]

Yeah thats why I don't want to know how many hours I have in mine...way to many...at a certain point the truck just becomes priceless b/c if you had to sell it you could never get enough.

Biased or not you guys did a helluva job on the build.

Was wondering what springs you were using. I had to use j springs in mine for oil pan clearance. I'm happy with the height of it. not to high not to low.

I guess its too early for you to tell how the truck handles. I've driven mine down the road and back but I have no idea what to expect. I was sitting on the floor, no shocks on it , was front wheel drive b/c I don't have a rear drive shaft yet... and barely any brakes. I couldn't resist though I had to see what the cummins would do.

 

[c2dfj45]

This was the first build I've done in the last 20 years that I didn't drive like the way you drove yours....sitting on a 5 gallon bucket, some fuel in a jug somewhere, no lights, wiring being held on with tape.....this one was a very different first drive. Even had seat belts! lol.

My initial impression of the truck was that it feels very much like an 80 series...does not feel like a pickup truck whatsoever. Steering is tight(all new parts), power is very good(trying to take it easy on the rebuilt motor), brakes are soft(need re-bleeding). Ride is very smooth, very soft almost(I drive my leaf sprung 45 daily) so soft compared to it. It's what I would expect out of a coil sprung chassis. Based on Slee's advice, we left the OEM FZJ80 springs in the truck to see where things ended up. I am running Old Man Emu shocks....can't recall the part numbers but it's the one that works up to a 3" lift I think. Now that we're fully assembled and loaded, I need the front to come up about 2". So we'll run that OME851 front spring. If I need to fine tune it, we can add some shims...10-15mm. That will dial it in.

This won't be a heavy hauler of any sorts...I'd rather have it as a good driver/wheeler. I'm sure we'll have to fine tune the rear should I get into towing or really hauling stuff. Probably air bags if we go that route. I do not want to affect the ride quality at all by adding stiff rear springs. I'm sure we can play around though...that's easy compared to what we've been thru.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

So in other words, we will not see this jewel setting at a Home Depot with a load of
2 x 12's in the back?

 

[c2dfj45]

2x4s aren't an issue....probably won't put a yard or 2 of gravel in it. I'll test it out though.....need to know what my threshold is. Unchartered territory...

 

[Gun Runner 5]

I would probably forgo the gravel also......

 

[c2dfj45]

Been a while since I updated my thread....my shop was busy this week so the truck took a back seat. Installed a really basic stereo....Hertz 4" speakers and a JVC deck. No fancy stuff on the head unit...just the basics. My primary requirement was a knob for volume control and the ability to have green background lighting to match my gauge lighting. I think most new stereos offer this.....I think this is the first stereo I've bought in about 20 years. I am as far from a stereo guy as it gets....although my shop sells quite a few.

Finished the wiring harness' final routing....wrapped and secured. Had to make a few small changes after we drove the truck. Installed the ECU up under the dash(above the glove box)....best spot for it.

Completed the gauge cluster....even installed the new clear cover. Painted the needles too. It's probably as close to new as you can get....notice those miles...up to 10 now. Been enjoying little trips around the 'hood.

Next week we do some new front springs, final mounting of the dash now that the wiring is done and the stereo stuff is finalized. Insurance is in place, tag goes on it Tuesday....should be driving it home this upcoming weekend.

 

[c2dfj45]

Finished up some really cool dash pieces today....we were able to take the 2nd/pwr/od off from the clusters original PRNDL display and put them in the gauge pod next to the dimmer. Really slick.

Finished up the dash....springs go in tomorrow, tag goes on...it's possible I'll be driving it home for it's maiden voyage on major roads.....

 

[AlbertoSD]

Beautiful work!!!

Amazing for real.

Great looking truck you have.

Alberto

 

[OGBeno]

This is the type of work LC shops should aspire to.

You get a work of art.... Done correctly, with correct parts, with correct drivetrain, with correct reality.

But as the saying goes, the market for a correct truck is small.

People are way too excited about a junkyard V8 or a Cummins and everything is good to go.

Fawk that.

This is what every person building a 7x in the US should aspire to...

:bravo:

 

[tucker74]

Does it smell like new? Super sweet man!

Tucker

 

[c2dfj45]

Thanks guys as usual for the kind words.

We cater to that very small group of people Beno....it's certainly not for everybody but that's OK....it's not meant to be. We have a very cool niche that allows us to do this kind of stuff....whether it's on a Nissan GTR, a Porsche Twin Turbo or a Land Cruiser. THIS truck is special because it's mine....now I get to enjoy what I see my guys build for everyone else BUT me!

Doesn't smell new unfortunately....I'd better go get some of that new car smell spray I suppose. It certainly does look new though.

 

[OGBeno]

Thanks guys as usual for the kind words.

We cater to that very small group of people Beno....it's certainly not for everybody but that's OK....it's not meant to be. We have a very cool niche that allows us to do this kind of stuff....whether it's on a Nissan GTR, a Porsche Twin Turbo or a Land Cruiser. THIS truck is special because it's mine....now I get to enjoy what I see my guys build for everyone else BUT me!

Doesn't smell new unfortunately....I'd better go get some of that new car smell spray I suppose. It certainly does look new though.

The notion that it is yours and you did it correctly is very important. A lot of people are happy to have a nice body but have junk underneath.

I'd rather a junk body with nice underneath.

I think Jonathan ward is making a boatload of cash putting V8s under "patina" vehicles.



Anyway, you know where I stand with your build.

It is awesome, it is correct and it is done the way I would want something done if I had spent $80-100k ona truck that is perfect in all aspects.

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

Beautiful build! I've enjoyed every update you've made, and it's nice to see the basically finished product! An incredible amount of work and detail there.

 

[c2dfj45]

Yeah Beno.....I think a big part of the reason it needed to be correct is because nobody wants to hear me whine about it all day not being correct. lol. I've got a smart crew in my shop.

It had an amusing conversation with my insurance guy today. After viewing the required pics he needed, he said it was a really nice truck but it wasn't that exotic. lol. He wanted a detailed description of what was done to the truck....lol. He got about a 100000 word detailed description.

Thanks GTSSportCoupe....glad I could give back to the Mud community that facilitated this build. What a wealth of knowledge on here.....I'm going to keep up the thread for a while I think as I drive it. There will probably still be mods going on.....got to come up with a proper solution to my center console....

 

[MonCruiser]

Beautiful!!! Amazing!!!

 

[75Ute]

This has been an epic build, delivered to a standard most of us can only dream about due to the cost of achieving this level of quality.
Thanks for sharing I know I've learned a lot and stolen some ideas

It had an amusing conversation with my insurance guy today. After viewing the required pics he needed, he said it was a really nice truck but it wasn't that exotic. lol. He wanted a detailed description of what was done to the truck....lol. He got about a 100000 word detailed description...

Did the insurance company give you enough coverage for you to get someone else to build the truck again to this spec?

 

[c2dfj45]

75Ute....It certainly helps financially to spread this kind of build out over 2.5 years. We deal with a lot of very high end customers who can do that sort of thin but that's a very, very limited group of people. It also helps when you can absorb the labor costs and you're buying things at wholesale.

Insurance coverage would cover about 60% of what it would cost to have somebody else build it for me. I basically wanted to cover my parts cost with a little labor.....I'm good with that. Obviously if this was a client's build, they would insure for the full amount.....

 

[75Ute]

I'm sure you've worked hard to get in a position to deliver this build mate so you deserve all the joy it brings you, can't wait to see it rolling