Motown 80 build (1 Viewer)

[BGMachine]

Hey all,

I'm starting a build thread for the 80 series that I've been asked to outfit for overland use. I've had 2 80's in the past of my own and because of that, a friend of my dad's wanted me to build his up. His truck is amazingly clean and has low miles for its age. The biggest issues that is has are bodywork related. the rear hatch has been damaged in the past and "repaired" with a liberal application of bondo. And the roof rack got snagged on something and partially pulled out of the roof. The plan is to build it like my original green one but with a bigger budget.

I'm aiming to be done with it by early summer. This will be a sick truck when it's all over!

1995 FZJ80 - White - no lockers
134,000mi
not a lick of rust underneath!
some body damage

Planned upgrades:
4x4Labs rear bumper
ARB front bumper
Warn VR10,000 winch
Rocky Road rock sliders
ARB 2.5" lift w/ heavy duty springs
extended brake lines
extended sway bar mounts
ARB lockers front and rear w/ onboard air
rebuild front axle
rebuild rear axle
engine tune up (plugs, wires, coil, filters, coolant flush, valve cover gasket etc)
Roof rack
Aux lights
upgraded stereo
Method Wheels
33" BFG's
repair hatch
repair roof
misc (washer diverter valve, hood struts, etc)

the starting point:

 

[BGMachine]

Yesterday we were able to get the rear bumper from 4x4Labs on the truck! It was a very nice piece and is definitely worth the money. I'm really glad that they packaged it well for shipping and it arrive unmolested. Putting it on the truck was simple and only took a couple hours. The biggest frustration with the build so far is that this truck is SO STINKING CLEAN! My friend John and I are incredibly jealous of the condition of the Oregon truck. Since we live in Michigan, we get to deal with some of the worst rust in the country....

We also got the new wheels and tires on! I love the Method wheels and I've always wanted to use them. The BFG's were chosen because I've had good use of them in the past and I wanted an aggressive A/T with the severe snow rating. The owner uses this truck in the winter a lot. I went with 33's since the gentleman that owns it is in his 70's so I don't need to make it ridiculously tall. The lift will do enough as it is.

 

[jfz80]

Clean truck and low miles. Nice.

I’d look elsewhere for the sliders if they are not purchased already. Fitment and strength of rocky road are poor at best.

 

[Francis K]

You’re in Detroit and you work on 80’s?!?! Wtf where have you been hiding?!?!

 

[bski90]

Very cool, I used to live in Warren but moved to CA last year. I have a 93 3x locked I picked up over here a few months ago.

 

[lacresta]

Yesterday we were able to get the rear bumper from 4x4Labs on the truck! It was a very nice piece and is definitely worth the money. I'm really glad that they packaged it well for shipping and it arrive unmolested. Putting it on the truck was simple and only took a couple hours. The biggest frustration with the build so far is that this truck is SO STINKING CLEAN! My friend John and I are incredibly jealous of the condition of the Oregon truck. Since we live in Michigan, we get to deal with some of the worst rust in the country....

We also got the new wheels and tires on! I love the Method wheels and I've always wanted to use them. The BFG's were chosen because I've had good use of them in the past and I wanted an aggressive A/T with the severe snow rating. The owner uses this truck in the winter a lot. I went with 33's since the gentleman that owns it is in his 70's so I don't need to make it ridiculously tall. The lift will do enough as it is.

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bummper looks great asumming that was not a kit from 4x4 labs rather they built it. how long did it take you to get it after ordering?

 

[BGMachine]

So many replies! haha. here we go:

Clean truck and low miles. Nice.

I’d look elsewhere for the sliders if they are not purchased already. Fitment and strength of rocky road are poor at best.

I already have them. we'll see how they do. I couldn't get the Sliders that I ordered for my last truck. I couldn't find the company / remember them. We'll see how these go. we can fanagle them a bit if we need to.

You’re in Detroit and you work on 80’s?!?! Wtf where have you been hiding?!?!

yup! But the past couple years it's been my M715. I had a 97 FXJ80 that was green with lockers, and a silver 40th anniversary one. Now I'm working on this white one.

bummper looks great asumming that was not a kit from 4x4 labs rather they built it. how long did it take you to get it after ordering?

It actually was their kit. Since I'm not working on a personal bugdget, I opted to have them build it. It's a really nice piece. I think I ordered it in October and it arrived in February I belive.

 

[BGMachine]

Today We got a handful of things done but not a ton of pictures.

First, I started on the engine maintenance with the spark plugs & wires, distributor cap & rotor, Ignition coil, valve cover gasket, and spark plug seals. I also cleaned the valve cover while I had it off of the truck. Not glorious work but it will help the thing continue to run smoothly for the foreseeable future.

Next, we installed the ARB bumper and Warn VR10,000 winch.

That was fairly straightforward but we did struggle a little with the mount bolts for the bumper. We had to install them in a different order than specified to get all of the holes to line up.

When we got the old bumper off, we found a mummified bat in the front of the truck! ew..

We also ran into an issue with the winch interfering with the bumper. I think since the ARB design is so old, it didn't account for the updated Warn dimensions. The edges of the winch hit the bumper. we solved this with some 1/2 steel bushings to space it back a bit. After that, it was wiring in the signal lamps and clean up. I really like how these trucks look with the bumpers on them. just makes them look tough.

 

[jfz80]

What size or type of bushings did you use to space the winch back? I did the same long time back and someone here recommended a solid flat stock to support the entire foot of the winch or else the force could push the bushings (I had stacked fender washers) and dimple or deform the bumper face. I know you don’t want to pull that thing back off but now would be the time.

Keep up the good work. Rig looks great.

 

[BGMachine]

What size or type of bushings did you use to space the winch back? I did the same long time back and someone here recommended a solid flat stock to support the entire foot of the winch or else the force could push the bushings (I had stacked fender washers) and dimple or deform the bumper face. I know you don’t want to pull that thing back off but now would be the time.

Keep up the good work. Rig looks great.

huh, I hadn't thought of that but I could see that maybe happening. they were 3/4 OD with ~1/4" wall steel. I'll look into it more

 

[lacresta]

truck is looking good.. was looking at your planed options and saw you want a 2.5" lift.. whats your plan for caster correction? I am going thru it now with a dobison 2.5" lift and my caster ended up at -2.8deg and is not fun to drive over 50mph.. caster plates seem like an easy quick way to go but if your thinking caster correcting radius arms like I am, get them on order now if you have not already.. big lead times

 

[BGMachine]

truck is looking good.. was looking at your planed options and saw you want a 2.5" lift.. whats your plan for caster correction? I am going thru it now with a dobison 2.5" lift and my caster ended up at -2.8deg and is not fun to drive over 50mph.. caster plates seem like an easy quick way to go but if your thinking caster correcting radius arms like I am, get them on order now if you have not already.. big lead times

the OME kit that I purchased comes with caster correction bushings to push into the existing control arms. I've used them before and they're pretty easy to install and are unobtrusive. definitely the more cost effective option as opposed to entire control arms.

This past weekend we got a little more done on the Cruiser. I finished what I could on the engine with fresh serpentine belts and an Aisin blue clutch for the cooling fan. I'll be doing the coolant flush and thermostat once it's a bit warmer out and I can spill coolant all over the driveway as opposed to the garage.

We also installed the rock sliders from Rocky Road. I don't have a great picture at the moment but this is what I have now.

They honestly leave a lot to be desired and I'm a bit disappointed. We had to modify them a bit to make them fit nice but if I do sliders again, I'm making my own or going with the Trail-Gear kit that I used on my 715.

Here are my complaints on the Rocky Road kit:
- the powder coat is not my favorite. it's that rough, flat black and doesn't really match the bumpers. (which is different from what is pictured on their site)
- they are not quite long enough for adequate protection. I think they should extend farther forward to protect the front flare and back farther for the rear.
- the gussets on the mounts have inexplicable circles cut out of the hypotenuse and I can't fathom why
- the supports are all cantilever and are kind of flimsy. definitely made out of cost effectiveness as opposed to strength.
- the front driver's side requires you to drill holes and bolt through the pinch seam on the body in 3 places. we opted to not do that and weld a bracket to the slider that used the existing running board mounts. this kept the front in line with the body and is a bit cleaner.
- the catalytic converter shield is nice, but the bolt holes that mount it utilizing the factory crossmember bolts needed extra clearencing.

I'd rate them 2/5. they are there, there were able to be installed with some work, but they can be greatly improved.

 

[BGMachine]

OK, I apologize everyone. I realized that I never closed out this thread. Long story short: after the sliders, we repaired and repainted a few areas, installed ARB lockers front and rear, new stereo, and then sent the truck back to its owner. I think the truck turned out great! I wish that I could've kept it.

 

[lacresta]

OK, I apologize everyone. I realized that I never closed out this thread. Long story short: after the sliders, we repaired and repainted a few areas, installed ARB lockers front and rear, new stereo, and then sent the truck back to its owner. I think the truck turned out great! I wish that I could've kept it.
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I see the TRD off road badge on the rear side.. my LC had a similar sticker on the side. was that a factory sticker for an avalible option package or just a sticker?

 

[BGMachine]

I see the TRD off road badge on the rear side.. my LC had a similar sticker on the side. was that a factory sticker for an avalible option package or just a sticker?

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I ordered a custom sticker. I don't think Toyota offered a TRD version of the land cruisers in the US. At least not for the 80 series

 

[BGMachine]

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[lacresta]

I ordered a custom sticker. I don't think Toyota offered a TRD version of the land cruisers in the US. At least not for the 80 series

Thanks, was hoping I had some supper rare TRD model 80..
great looking 80 you put together..
I tried removing my sticker and the adhesive was not kind to the paint.. might be ordering custom stickers too..

 

[Francis K]

OK, I apologize everyone. I realized that I never closed out this thread. Long story short: after the sliders, we repaired and repainted a few areas, installed ARB lockers front and rear, new stereo, and then sent the truck back to its owner. I think the truck turned out great! I wish that I could've kept it.
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Damn it looks great, makes me wish I wasn't selling mine so I could maybe catch this guy on the road one day...