Build LJ78 Build

[aidanshmaden]

Picked this 1991 LJ78 a few weeks back and have gotten right to work making it my own. This is my second LJ78, both being the same year and colour haha. I owned a few other Toyotas in between but always wanted to get back into a cruiser. I had my eyes peeled for another Prado as the coil sprung solid axle configuration seems like it will be pretty killer for wheeling. It has a bit of body rust but its a pretty solid truck otherwise. Pretty happy with the price I paid too. Picked it up for $6000 with around 300,000kms. I say around because the speedo cable has been snapped for who knows how long... The odometer is sitting at 250,000 though.

within the first week I had pulled the running boards off, deleted the EGR and throttle plates, installed an Auber dual EGT/boost pressure gauge, and some basic maintenance.

he's helping...

Next up was new wheels and tires. I went for a set of 33/12.5r15 Yokohama Geolandar MT and some wheels off marketplace. They fit pretty good with the truck at stock height. They rubbed the radius arms a bit at lock so I wound out the steering stops a little bit. I have ordered some 65mm lift Dobinsons springs and am going to try using some shocks from a 4th gen 4runner and a 2nd gen tundra I believe. They have roughly the same min and max length as the Dobinsons/OME shocks. I will probably end up getting a better set of shocks but stock levels were low and costs were high on those at the moment.

Still deciding which caster correction bushings and steering damper to go with though. I am aiming more towards maximizing articulation and offroad performance so it seems like the rubber sets are the move.

 

[aidanshmaden]

this last weekends project was a new head unit and speakers. This went from a 20 minute install to at least 10 hours of messing around. The harness I was using would power on the head unit, but wouldn't send any power to the speakers. I ended up running new wires to all 4 speakers much to my chagrin. Happy its all done now though as the old speakers were completely blown out and only the tape player worked on the old head unit. I now have a double din Atoto head unit and Pioneer speakers in the front and back.

 

[aidanshmaden]

Next projects are a rear locker and a rear bumper.

My 3rd gen 4Runner with the e-locker really showed me how indispensable a rear locker is for driving anything tougher than a logging road. I decided to go for a lunchbox or ratchet style locker for now. I have a few buddies with them and they have no complaints. Plus you cant beat the price.

I was about to buy the Coastal Offroad rear bumper but after looking at it a little longer I realized how simple it is, and decided to just make my own instead. These trucks have such a perfect rear frame crossmember to build off of too. So far I've only made it out of cardboard but once I get the time to run to the metal store I will get started on that.

I plan on cutting out the rust and patching it up once I get the bumper made. There are pretty big holes on each rear corner and the trunk gets filled with dust when you drive it offroad. Not ideal!

I have also been looking into a set of KZJ78 style fender flares to cover the wider tires, and so I don't have to make the rest of the rust repairs look too pretty. There are some pretty decent looking aftermarket sets available on ebay/aliexpress.

 

[AirheadNut]

Congrats on the purchase! We've got twins:

I'll be following with interest to see what you do with it. Have you removed your sway bars? I found that increased axle articulation significantly. Got a little wobbly on the highway, especially with the rooftop tent on, so I ended up reinstalling the rear and leaving the front off. Someday I'm hoping to make disconnects for both.

 

[aidanshmaden]

Congrats on the purchase! We've got twins:
View attachment 4206017

I'll be following with interest to see what you do with it. Have you removed your sway bars? I found that increased axle articulation significantly. Got a little wobbly on the highway, especially with the rooftop tent on, so I ended up reinstalling the rear and leaving the front off. Someday I'm hoping to make disconnects for both.

Thanks! Ive read through both your Prado threads. Excited to see the TDI swap come to life.

I actually just finished installing my 65mm Dobinson springs like an hour ago. I intended on just pulling the front sway bar off but one of the rear end links got wrecked when disconnecting it so I pulled the rear bar out too for now. It felt pretty fine on the quick rip around town but a highway drive will be the deciding factor. I will likely throw the rear back in with some longer links.

 

[aidanshmaden]

Also just got home from my first little trip in the cruiser. Nothing crazy but a couple hours of highway driving were a good test of the truck. Pretty surprised with how well it handled it. spent 2-3 hours between 90-110km/h with some decent hills and egts stayed below 1000 the whole time. biggest issue was the truck has a pretty good shake at speed. I think its a combo of the tires being balanced with beads and 35 year old steering components...

and heres the truck with the new springs installed. ride height looks perfect. Lots of clearance for the 33s now and the rear sits a little taller when unloaded.

Should I look into longer brake lines now that its sitting a little taller? probably not a bad idea to replace the rubber lines going to the tee on the axles anyways. Also should I be doing anything with the LSPV with the new ride height? I would be pretty keen to delete it since I've heard that it can cause some issues on steep descents when offroad too.

 

[AirheadNut]

Looking good! I would definitely recommend longer brake lines, I probably have some part numbers for the ones I used somewhere still, I believe they were from a 4Runner. It became very apparent they were too short when I put the Cruiser on a lift, the lines stretched very tight.

You should definitely adjust the LSPV, @Felde has an excellent writeup about it. I simply made a bracket to move the mount for the lever by the same distance as the lift. I've never had an issue with the LSPV when off road, even on very steep terrain.

 

[Felde]

X2. Make sure the brake lines are long enough with the frame suppoted and the suspension hanging free.

I strongly recommend to not delete the LSPV. It's there for a purpose. I had mine not adjusted when I put my suspension lift. As a result, I had no brakes in the back and overshoot a crossroad. It doesn’t give problems offroad, if setup correctly.
You will understand this once you understand how it works:
It balances the total brake force front and back: When braking from higher speeds, the rear 'comes up' (becomes lighter) and the front sinks in (becomes heavier). The light rear then causes the rear brakes to lock up earlier than the front. But the rear keeps you on track. You fly off, if the rear brakes locks first. This is what the LSPV mitigates. When the rear comes up, the lever detects the increasing distance between a axle and frame and redirects some brake pressure back to the front.
On a lifted suspension, this distance is increased by the lift, so the LSPV (unadjusted) sends all brake force to the front at all times, resulting in a very uneven braking .

The mentioned writeup is here:
LSPV confusion - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/lspv-confusion.1326448/post-15239223
Good Luck Ralf

 

[aidanshmaden]

Awesome, thanks for the info guys! I’ll look into some longer brake lines and LSPV adjustment this week.