Looking great! Very inspirational.
I expect perfection from a fellow Minnesotan.
I expect perfection from a fellow Minnesotan.
My Build Thread...Well, Try to Build Thread...97 FZJ80
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I want to pull my carpet so bad, haven’t had the motivation until now.. great job!
- Thread starter
- #23
@ExpoGeorgia I'll post some details about where I got my carpet and what I learned here shortly. I'll tag you when I do.
- Thread starter
- #24
The overhaul is finally complete. Life, as usual, got in the way for a while and caused some delays in completion, but she's all done now and I'm quite pleased with how everything turned out. I don't think SEM (brand of spray used to paint trim) ever intended someone to make such drastic color changes with their products (most online videos from them and DIYers typically show someone spraying similar colors - like sun-faded black to new-looking black).
Was this a lot of work? Yes. Too much? Almost. It was a ton to manage and keep track (so many pieces and screws and bolts and clips). It also didn't help I did it leisurely over many months as distractions took time away from the project. I'd prefer doing mechanical work (ironic owning such a reliable vehicle, but you all know what I mean), and don't think I'll tackle an interior overhaul again any time soon. Very tedious and detailed to get it all right.
The "Why did you do this in the first place?" is basically the result of the previous owner taking back care of the interior of the vehicle (and just the vehicle in general during the last few years he owned it). The carpets were filthy. The seat leather was dirty, stained, and hard as a rock. The headliner had 20+ years of marks on it. It needed an overhaul. Plus, I actually prefer the look of tan/brown interiors to blue/grey or (or even just all black/charcoal seen so often). So, I decided to see if it was possible to convert a factory blue/grey LC to tan. Thought about procuring factory tan trim from a junker somewhere, but that would have been very expensive and the condition of pieces would have been a crapshoot. The internet gave me just enough information thru my research to give me the courage to do this project. I had never done any interior work before, whether it be upholstery or electrical or trim.
With that said, here's some details...
Trim Color Conversion
I used SEM (Saddle Tan) Plastic/Vinyl Paint to spray paint all the interior trim. Steps:
First Test Piece. Proved it could be done.
Final interior. You'll see some blue/grey pieces still prevalent - notably the steering wheel. Pieces left were done intentionally as they were either very hard to attempt to remove from vehicle (door handles) or were a hassle for minor impact (seat belt buckles). I ended up liking the blue/grey accent pieces to break up the browns throughout - adds a sort of era-appropriate styling. The steering wheel is actually in very good shape - still smooth and conditioned leather. Re-leathering is doable (plenty of videos online), but I didn't want to mess with it as there was plenty else going on with this project and it doesn't need replacing.
Was this a lot of work? Yes. Too much? Almost. It was a ton to manage and keep track (so many pieces and screws and bolts and clips). It also didn't help I did it leisurely over many months as distractions took time away from the project. I'd prefer doing mechanical work (ironic owning such a reliable vehicle, but you all know what I mean), and don't think I'll tackle an interior overhaul again any time soon. Very tedious and detailed to get it all right.
The "Why did you do this in the first place?" is basically the result of the previous owner taking back care of the interior of the vehicle (and just the vehicle in general during the last few years he owned it). The carpets were filthy. The seat leather was dirty, stained, and hard as a rock. The headliner had 20+ years of marks on it. It needed an overhaul. Plus, I actually prefer the look of tan/brown interiors to blue/grey or (or even just all black/charcoal seen so often). So, I decided to see if it was possible to convert a factory blue/grey LC to tan. Thought about procuring factory tan trim from a junker somewhere, but that would have been very expensive and the condition of pieces would have been a crapshoot. The internet gave me just enough information thru my research to give me the courage to do this project. I had never done any interior work before, whether it be upholstery or electrical or trim.
With that said, here's some details...
Trim Color Conversion
I used SEM (Saddle Tan) Plastic/Vinyl Paint to spray paint all the interior trim. Steps:
- Clean trim pieces with any cleaner/degreaser.
- Then I used a SEM Vinyl/Plastic Prep cleaner that opens the pores of the trim to allow better adherence (also provides one final alcohol-type cleaning). One coat/cleaning.
- Primed all trim using two coats of Duplicolor Primer.
- Paint using SEM Plastic/Vinyl Paint (Saddle Tan). Took 4-5 light coats.
- Clearcoated all trim. Some pieces using SEM Clearcoat, others (dash, due to exposure to direct sunlight) with Krylon Fusion Clearcoat. Took 1-2 coats depending on trim size.
First Test Piece. Proved it could be done.
Final interior. You'll see some blue/grey pieces still prevalent - notably the steering wheel. Pieces left were done intentionally as they were either very hard to attempt to remove from vehicle (door handles) or were a hassle for minor impact (seat belt buckles). I ended up liking the blue/grey accent pieces to break up the browns throughout - adds a sort of era-appropriate styling. The steering wheel is actually in very good shape - still smooth and conditioned leather. Re-leathering is doable (plenty of videos online), but I didn't want to mess with it as there was plenty else going on with this project and it doesn't need replacing.
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- Thread starter
- #25
Carpets
I bought a molded carpet kit from Stock Interiors. It was perfect and all pieces fit like the original. I went with the regular material (plush cut pile) and chose color 8655-Sandstone after reviewing several samples from them.
I also added a layer of Ultratouch Radiant Barrier from Home Depot to add a layer of insulation/soundproof/padding under the carpet. Stuff is great. Makes the carpet that much softer and helps absorb noise and, I guess, manages temp a bit better than without. It did make the carpet thick, so around bolt holes and trim I had to trim some of the barrier back. But otherwise, I think it was a good call.
Tearing out the carpet of a 20+ year old vehicle that you just bought is disgusting. The crumbs and stains and weird moisture areas is enough to make you want to vomit. But, if you get thru it, you now have a perfectly clean vehicle with no odors - and you can feel fine eating that Altoid you dropped on the floor.
I followed this guy's forum thread on how he did his 4Runner. The thread now has weird photo blurring from the Photobucket hosting site, but if you click on each pic and go to Photobucket they come up clear. Maybe it's just my browser today. Good luck @ExpoGeorgia .
Before:
After:
And yes, the kit came with a piece designed just for the tailgate (bottom of pic).
I bought a molded carpet kit from Stock Interiors. It was perfect and all pieces fit like the original. I went with the regular material (plush cut pile) and chose color 8655-Sandstone after reviewing several samples from them.
I also added a layer of Ultratouch Radiant Barrier from Home Depot to add a layer of insulation/soundproof/padding under the carpet. Stuff is great. Makes the carpet that much softer and helps absorb noise and, I guess, manages temp a bit better than without. It did make the carpet thick, so around bolt holes and trim I had to trim some of the barrier back. But otherwise, I think it was a good call.
Tearing out the carpet of a 20+ year old vehicle that you just bought is disgusting. The crumbs and stains and weird moisture areas is enough to make you want to vomit. But, if you get thru it, you now have a perfectly clean vehicle with no odors - and you can feel fine eating that Altoid you dropped on the floor.
I followed this guy's forum thread on how he did his 4Runner. The thread now has weird photo blurring from the Photobucket hosting site, but if you click on each pic and go to Photobucket they come up clear. Maybe it's just my browser today. Good luck @ExpoGeorgia .
Before:
After:
And yes, the kit came with a piece designed just for the tailgate (bottom of pic).
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- Thread starter
- #26
Seats
I bought the seat kit for the front and back seats (not third row, no putting them back in) from Lseats. To break up the lighter trim and sort of grey/brown capret, I went with their Tan color, which is more like a basketball in color I'd say. Redoing seats is a job. Boy. First time I ever used a hog ring pliers (first time I knew one existed). Not fun. While I had the front seats out I worked on their motors/gearing.
Bought some new weird white screw things (you know), and then cleaned/de-haired (yeah, 20 years of crap gets in those worm gears) them before re-greasing them. Before, both seats had a stuck gear so moving back and forth was futile. Now they both work (though I'm careful to gingerly and infrequently move them as they will always be finicky).
Also had the seat belts rewebbed so they matched the new interior, plus they retracted like crap (front ones - most used) after years of absorbing dirt and grime. Rewebbed belts look great, pull and retract smooth. If yours are original and retracting slow, it's likely the webbing and not the actual mechanism. Send them to Safety Restore like I did. Worth the $75 (each, I did all four).
Before:
After:
I bought the seat kit for the front and back seats (not third row, no putting them back in) from Lseats. To break up the lighter trim and sort of grey/brown capret, I went with their Tan color, which is more like a basketball in color I'd say. Redoing seats is a job. Boy. First time I ever used a hog ring pliers (first time I knew one existed). Not fun. While I had the front seats out I worked on their motors/gearing.
Bought some new weird white screw things (you know), and then cleaned/de-haired (yeah, 20 years of crap gets in those worm gears) them before re-greasing them. Before, both seats had a stuck gear so moving back and forth was futile. Now they both work (though I'm careful to gingerly and infrequently move them as they will always be finicky).
Also had the seat belts rewebbed so they matched the new interior, plus they retracted like crap (front ones - most used) after years of absorbing dirt and grime. Rewebbed belts look great, pull and retract smooth. If yours are original and retracting slow, it's likely the webbing and not the actual mechanism. Send them to Safety Restore like I did. Worth the $75 (each, I did all four).
Before:
After:
- Thread starter
- #27
Headliner and Upper Column Trim
I bought a sample card off ebay from a company in Los Angeles called Fabric Empire. They are a real store (google reviews were solid), so I liked it wasn't just some random internet-only place that maybe just sold the stuff but didn't actually use it. From that, I found the grey that best matched the OEM fabric color. Lots of pieces (dome lights, grab handles, etc...) have to change color if I didn't stick with OEM grey (don't know why I'm not spelling it gray either). Plus I had no qualms with the grey color. Also, to do the sunroof panel, you have to drop the whole sunroof. Mine was surprisingly clean - plus I almost always have it slid back to let light in - so that sealed the deal on sticking with gray.
Weirdly, buying from Fabric Empire's Etsy store was cheaper than their eBay store (maybe they tweak pricing to reflect platform costs or something). Anyway, I bought the 3/16" foam backed headliner in 60" wide in color WEH2075-Lt Graphite. I bought five (5) yards knowing it was overkill, but I wanted to be safe in case I screwed up, plus I was going to use the same material to re-cover the upper column trim pieces. In hindsight, I would have gone with the 1/8" foam backed to reduce thickness a touch more (factory OEM material is not foam backed). But my headliner is all soft and plush to touch now (so is upper trim). I used 3M's Headliner Adhesive Spray Glue - this stuff is no joke. Don't let it get anywhere on anything you don't want forever covered in it.
When removing the original headliner, a few things to note:
After:
One thing I noticed is that the grab handles throughout cleaned up very nicely using some simple household cleaner and a rough sponge when I had them off. They are easy to remove and put back (easier to clean than trying to do with them on as they have little bumps on them that requires some coarse rubbing), and they are likely quite dirtier than they look after years of use. I also ordered a new one from Toyota (yes, still sold for like $25) as I had a space for one in the rear on one side that wasn't there (and I figured it would help keep the headliner firm in that area). They don't come from Toyota with the clips that hide the bolt access points on each side (I learned). A few vendors sell them for like $9 (ridiculous), so I left them empty.
I bought a sample card off ebay from a company in Los Angeles called Fabric Empire. They are a real store (google reviews were solid), so I liked it wasn't just some random internet-only place that maybe just sold the stuff but didn't actually use it. From that, I found the grey that best matched the OEM fabric color. Lots of pieces (dome lights, grab handles, etc...) have to change color if I didn't stick with OEM grey (don't know why I'm not spelling it gray either). Plus I had no qualms with the grey color. Also, to do the sunroof panel, you have to drop the whole sunroof. Mine was surprisingly clean - plus I almost always have it slid back to let light in - so that sealed the deal on sticking with gray.
Weirdly, buying from Fabric Empire's Etsy store was cheaper than their eBay store (maybe they tweak pricing to reflect platform costs or something). Anyway, I bought the 3/16" foam backed headliner in 60" wide in color WEH2075-Lt Graphite. I bought five (5) yards knowing it was overkill, but I wanted to be safe in case I screwed up, plus I was going to use the same material to re-cover the upper column trim pieces. In hindsight, I would have gone with the 1/8" foam backed to reduce thickness a touch more (factory OEM material is not foam backed). But my headliner is all soft and plush to touch now (so is upper trim). I used 3M's Headliner Adhesive Spray Glue - this stuff is no joke. Don't let it get anywhere on anything you don't want forever covered in it.
When removing the original headliner, a few things to note:
- Peel up the edges first and get them just back the top
- Then, plan to work it off in 3-4 pieces by lightly scoring it with a utility knife (just don't cut thru to headliner)
- The headliner is on there good. Pulling it off in one or two big pieces will likely result in you damaging the board as you are pulling with some decent force to remove the fabric.
- When removing, if you're pulling it up and the material is fraying (it'll be all cotton web looking between board and the piece you're pulling), that means you're not under the glue. When you get under the glue, the headliner board can be seen then and it's like some plywood looking thing. I used a utility knife to slide under in various spots to get under the glue.
- If you pull it off and you're not under the glue, it will pull very hard and you could risk damaging the board. Once under the glue, pulling it off is easy. Just remember to pull sideways/low in the direction you're pulling - not up/outward. Think of it like peeling the backing off a temporary tattoo from your childhood, or silly putty from a newspaper.
- I watched this guy's video to figure it out.
After:
One thing I noticed is that the grab handles throughout cleaned up very nicely using some simple household cleaner and a rough sponge when I had them off. They are easy to remove and put back (easier to clean than trying to do with them on as they have little bumps on them that requires some coarse rubbing), and they are likely quite dirtier than they look after years of use. I also ordered a new one from Toyota (yes, still sold for like $25) as I had a space for one in the rear on one side that wasn't there (and I figured it would help keep the headliner firm in that area). They don't come from Toyota with the clips that hide the bolt access points on each side (I learned). A few vendors sell them for like $9 (ridiculous), so I left them empty.
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Very impressive work. Thanks for all the great details.
- Thread starter
- #29
Door Panels
Finally. Something creative and not just "redoing" it. I had no plan for the door panels going into this project. Once there, I assumed I would simply redo like the factory look. Then I realized it would be ridiculous to try and do what they did. So I simplified it and made it my own. Along the way, I had to account for the new door speakers I was installing, but I'll cover that in the Sound System section next.
So, as you can see, a bit different than original. No bottom pocket that only collects crumbs and dust. To make it simple, I just went with a single piece of brown automotive vinyl I found at Joann Fabric over the main body. The top, by the window, has a factory piece that gives it that extra width. It detaches from the panel and was wrapped separately. I sprayed the arm rest like the rest of the trim, and the leather armrest cover came with the seat kit.
When putting it together, I used the same radiant barrier material I put under the carpets between the door panel (just a thin plyboard type thing) and vinyl to give it some cushion, just like the original door panels. It also does all that sound/temp barrier stuff too. Personall, I think they came out great, and all the colors seem to go well together. Let's call getting these tackled dumb luck. I sprayed a little 3M glue to help ensure the vinyl stayed attached to the radiant barrier and wouldn't sag or wrinkle over time.
Cutting out radiant barrier templates:
Finally. Something creative and not just "redoing" it. I had no plan for the door panels going into this project. Once there, I assumed I would simply redo like the factory look. Then I realized it would be ridiculous to try and do what they did. So I simplified it and made it my own. Along the way, I had to account for the new door speakers I was installing, but I'll cover that in the Sound System section next.
So, as you can see, a bit different than original. No bottom pocket that only collects crumbs and dust. To make it simple, I just went with a single piece of brown automotive vinyl I found at Joann Fabric over the main body. The top, by the window, has a factory piece that gives it that extra width. It detaches from the panel and was wrapped separately. I sprayed the arm rest like the rest of the trim, and the leather armrest cover came with the seat kit.
When putting it together, I used the same radiant barrier material I put under the carpets between the door panel (just a thin plyboard type thing) and vinyl to give it some cushion, just like the original door panels. It also does all that sound/temp barrier stuff too. Personall, I think they came out great, and all the colors seem to go well together. Let's call getting these tackled dumb luck. I sprayed a little 3M glue to help ensure the vinyl stayed attached to the radiant barrier and wouldn't sag or wrinkle over time.
Cutting out radiant barrier templates:
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- Thread starter
- #30
Sound System 
For me, a nice sound system is nice. With that said, I should clarify what that means to me. Subwoofers aren't in my vehicles. Ever. They take up space and I'm not looking to annoy neighbors or vibrate my fillings. I assumed I'd be able to buy an adequate system to produce nice ranged sound without one. And I did. I found a system that works for well cranking AC/DC or The Killers or Otis Redding - yeah, crank some Otis and enjoy yourself. So, if you are similar in some ways to me, my system may be a starting point to consider. If you aren't, there are posts elsewhere to talk about RMS Watts and how important it is to use all eight speaker points.
Either way, it is a dramatic improvement over the factory system that was on its last legs 10 years ago...
Head Unit
Hells Yeah I got the cupholder
Front Driver Door
Rear Passenger Door
Amp under front passenger seat
For me, a nice sound system is nice. With that said, I should clarify what that means to me. Subwoofers aren't in my vehicles. Ever. They take up space and I'm not looking to annoy neighbors or vibrate my fillings. I assumed I'd be able to buy an adequate system to produce nice ranged sound without one. And I did. I found a system that works for well cranking AC/DC or The Killers or Otis Redding - yeah, crank some Otis and enjoy yourself. So, if you are similar in some ways to me, my system may be a starting point to consider. If you aren't, there are posts elsewhere to talk about RMS Watts and how important it is to use all eight speaker points.
Either way, it is a dramatic improvement over the factory system that was on its last legs 10 years ago...
Head Unit
- Sony XAV-AX100- wanted a clean look that didn't have tons of buttons or shiny bezels. This fit the bill. Runs Apple and Android car programs, plus bluetooth. Has a single USB (rear) option.
- Ran microphone thru dash to driver A column, went behind there and up to roof and out hole wear sun visor bolts in.
- Has enough power to adequately supply the speakers I bought, but I went with an amp anyway
- Plugged into factory harness with a Metra kit from Crutchfield that bypasses the factory amp
- Polk Audio DB 652 6.5"- wanted as big of speakers as I could fit in the doors as I only wanted to run four speakers in the whole rig and didn't want a sub to get adequate bass
- These fit the front door speaker opening, but would be too deep to sit inside door panel like factory setup, so that's why mine are mounted atop the door panels
- In the second row doors, I had to dremel a slightly larger opening as the factory speakers are like 4" or 4.5" only
- I ran the speakers off the amp using 14 gauge speaker wire from AmazonBasics (good quality)
- Running speaker wires into the doors like the factory stuff is tricky/tough as the factory grommet setup is super snug...fortunately, this wire from amazon was wrapped in a decently heavy insulating jacket so it could handle some rough pushing/pulling thru tight spots
- They provide great sound range, and respond well to both head unit EQ adjustments and amp settings for high and low range
- Plus they are marine rated, so I guess I can get them wet and be fine
- I also used a Noico Sound Dampening kit (i.e. Dynamat) to dampen the door cavities (all four doors, plus the rear hatch area compartments on both sides since I had them open during the overhaul)
- This is gives the doors a nice solid "thud" when closing. No more echo chamber in the door cavities.
- I also used the Noico around the speaker opening to sort of wrap them and keep them sealed. Stuff worked great. Zero fumes/smells.
- Pioneer GM-DB604- simple amp with the perfect power output to handle my head unit and speakers.
- Placed it under the passenger seat as I had already done the rear heater hose bypass in the engine bay, so I simply removed the heater unit during seat/carpet removal...fits perfect, plenty of clearance all around, and lots of breathing room
- Ran some nice (I guess) RCA wires off head unit to it, and ran another RCA off of the amp's preamp output under carpet to rear right side trunk compartment area (I figured the preamp was there, might as well wire it up in case)
- Used Crutchfield's 4-gauge amp kit to power it
Hells Yeah I got the cupholder
Front Driver Door
Rear Passenger Door
Amp under front passenger seat
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- Thread starter
- #31
I also sprayed the wheel caps back to silver using Duplicolor Wheel Paint (color: HWP-101 Silver). Prepped the same way I did the trim, including clearcoat. I think they came out nice. Much better than the faded yellowing grey mess we all know.
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- Thread starter
- #32
Thanks man. Hope this helps someone else out someday.
Now that's how you detail a build thread!
Mines a wheeling and camping rig that I beat on so I'd likely never go to this detail/cost but I'm certain it'll help someone out. Awesome stuff and I dig the colors you chose! Thanks for taking the time to share.
Mines a wheeling and camping rig that I beat on so I'd likely never go to this detail/cost but I'm certain it'll help someone out. Awesome stuff and I dig the colors you chose! Thanks for taking the time to share.
- Thread starter
- #34
Thanks. I always hate threads with limited info shared or that end randomly. I think my next rig will be more wheeling and camping as well.
- Thread starter
- #35
Replacing the boot grommet rubber thing is a huge hassle it turns out. You either have to disconnect the gear shift from the tranny, or remove the gear shift from its mount in the cab (at least I couldn't find a way to do it otherwise when I tried). So I did a bush fix:
I cut a chunk of the radiant barrier I used under the seats during my interior overhaul, wrapped it in aluminum tape, and then aluminum taped it down around the opening in the boot. Worked like a charm - zero heat getting in now and I didn't have to unbolt things I felt should remain bolted.
Wow great work, details, description, part number. Photos.. I'm starting to work on mine, bought from auction so it was not taken good care.. I have parts coming in.. would look forward to open a thread or and Instagram to show progress.. great thread..
