Mod Priority

[UWdave]

Hello everybody. I just purchased 1993 LC80 w/ Lockers & w/ ABS. 180k miles on the odometer. I'm really excited to have a 4x4 rig. I was into auto-cross racing while all of my friends 4x4'ed, but now I've made the conversion.

How I plan to use the LC80: This will not be a daily driver, it will be a weekend warrior. Trail running, a little mud play, and not too much rock crawling. My goal is to keep the rig capable of highway driving to the trails. I'd also like to remain capable of towing a tent-trailer or a small boat.

What I've done so far:
- General maintenance (belts & fluids)
- SLEE 4" suspension kit
- 315/75-R16 Toyo MT
- Center Diff switch & 7 pin mod
- Mark's speedometer correction (from Slee)

This is my first post and hopefully it won't be too noobish. I've read all the stickys and done some searching and here are my remaining questions:

These are the mods I was thinking on doing. Please help me by telling me what order you would upgrade. Keep in mind the whole list may take 3 years to complete.

1 - 4.88 Gearing (I think I'll need to tow w/ 35s)
2 - Slider
3 - Differential plate?
4 - Front Bumper
5 - Winch
6 - Rear Bumper w/ tire carrier

 

[Cruisin']

1 - 4.88 Gearing (I think I'll need to tow w/ 35s)
2 - Slider
3 - Differential plate?
4 - Front Bumper
5 - Winch
6 - Rear Bumper w/ tire carrier

My order would be:

1 - 4.88 Gearing (I think I'll need to tow w/ 35s)
1 - Slider do this right away as well
3 - Rear Bumper w/ tire carrier (to get the spare up from underneath)
4 - Differential plate
5 - Front Bumper
6 - Winch

Welcome to the forum
As it sounds like you've already discovered this is an amazing resource for our trucks.

Happy modding. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[alkaline747trio]

Sliders
Gears
Front Bumper
Rear Bumper
Diff-plate

In that order. Rear bumper is the least bang for your buck out of the whole list. Over a grand to make your departure angle worse and give you a swingout that will get in the way and is something else you will have to do every time you want access to the rear of your cruiser.

You'll soon realize how much the front end of the 80 tries to get in the way, a nice big ARB or some tube up there will make trail navigation so much easier.

Gears and sliders are a must. People without gears don't know what they are missing. You can't wheel an 80 without sliders. Those rocker panels are just way to pricey and difficult to repair once damaged....and sliding over obstacles is a must with the long low 80.

 

[CreeperSleeper]

Before you do anything... Even before you post a response, go buy sliders.

 

[PACNW96]

Welcome to Mud! Since it won't be a daily driver I would armor the rig first.

In my opinion:

1 - Front Bumper
2 - Winch
3 - Sliders (Depending on the rocks this may need to be moved up in priority)
4 - Rear Bumper w/ tire carrier
5 - Differential plate
6 - 4.88 Gearing (I think I'll need to tow w/ 35s)

 

[NLXTACY]

I DIDN'T get sliders first

Here's your chance to learn from the mistake of others.

For me I did the rear bumper first because I kept getting stuck in snow because the spare tire location was acting as a snow plow. The spare is out of the way but the HATES the new location even though I don't mind too much. You can't open the rear hatch anymore without needing to open the garage door.

Front bumper and winch?
Depends on your wheeling.

 

[sandcruiser]

you can put the spare inside for a weekend warrior. so the rear bumper may not be very high priority.

sliders are probably best bang for your buck.

front bumper is good... but you can just tear off the plastic ends to gain some clearance, then dent up the stock bumper till you buy a better one. Getting someone to build a super-simple front bumper as a temporary solution might be worth it if you know someone who can weld and has scrap steel laying around.

winch is low priority to me.

gears. should be pretty high, but you might save up till you can also afford locker(s) to do with the gears. Costs more, but saves you money vs. adding the locker(s) later.

 

[UWdave]

Getting a good vibe from this forum.

Thanks for the responses.

I think I'll buy the sliders right away. Easy to install and could save me some $$ in the long run. I've got it down to either the Slee or MetalTech.

On gearing:
The searches I did found some info on gear choice, but there wasn't a simple "buy this, do this" type thread. I know I'll need professionals to do the pressing, but some of the work I can do myself. Anybody have a good link?
Cruiser Outfitters
Do I need [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]TOYLC488, [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]80RC-488, [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]IKTOYLCBE, and [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]IKTOYLCF?

On spare tire:
I plan on strapping the spare tire in the back for now and removing the back seats. Maybe I'll splurge for the SLEE mount bar. From what I've read, there is no reason to keep the tire cross member installed so I'll just pull that off.

On rear bumper:
I need a rear hitch. The current OEM hitch hangs down low. I figure I can deal with it for awhile.
[/SIZE][/FONT]

 

[UWdave]

Update

Just got off the phone with Mark at Metal Tech. Sliders are on the way.

When I get home and tell the wife, I'm blaming you guys.

 

[NLXTACY]

I was torn between Slee and MetalTech myself. The bump-out kinda made my decision easier.

 

[CreeperSleeper]

Just got off the phone with Mark at Metal Tech. Sliders are on the way.

When I get home and tell the wife, I'm blaming you guys.

Great choice! I love my MT sliders...

 

[alkaline747trio]

For the gears, just call Kurt at cruiser outfitters. He knows what you'll need and can explain it all and knows these things inside and out. He'll set you up with a 'kit' that's right for you.

 

[retrofive]

Just got off the phone with Mark at Metal Tech. Sliders are on the way.

When I get home and tell the wife, I'm blaming you guys.

.... and jealous. I hope to be making that call soon

 

[CreeperSleeper]

For the gears, just call Kurt at cruiser outfitters. He knows what you'll need and can explain it all and knows these things inside and out. He'll set you up with a 'kit' that's right for you.

I got mine from Justdifferentals.com... They are also a Mud supporter.

 

[alkaline747trio]

This might not be the right place for it, but I've heard a few customers of justdifferentials.com less than happy with their service. Plus Kurt's price is right on and be more than helpful with any customer support or problems, and he's been in the Cruiser biz for quite some time.

 

[UWdave]

So the beast went out this weekend. Had a flippin' blast.

The slider were definitely a must. I used the heck out of them.

I'm pretty happy with how capable the rig is right now. As long as I have my buddy with me with his winch, I should be good for a while.

 

[retrofive]

Sweeet! Should have sliders by the end of the month.

 

[CreeperSleeper]

This might not be the right place for it, but I've heard a few customers of justdifferentials.com less than happy with their service. Plus Kurt's price is right on and be more than helpful with any customer support or problems, and he's been in the Cruiser biz for quite some time.

Really? They were great with me! I'm totally happy and it was the best price I could find... Must have talked to the guy that got laid that morning...

 

[alkaline747trio]

Really? They were great with me! I'm totally happy and it was the best price I could find... Must have talked to the guy that got laid that morning...

That probably explains every customer service problem, ever.