Builds My First Landcruiser: 78' Frame Off Resofication

90 Weight · Mar 12, 2007

sry guys I havent been on mud in a bit....

anyway

an update: cruiser is at the painters as of yesterday, and should be done in a monthish....cutting it close to CM07 once you factor in the time itll take to get everything done and in tip top shape for the drive out there.

ill post back up with that vid. and pics of it once its primered and such.

untill then- ive got alot of eye candy and reading material...since alot of your build threads are comin along...plus i got my first issue of toyota trails and toyota 4wd owner! yessss
:cheers:

mikedickbek · Mar 13, 2007

Right on bro, can't wait to see that beast shining!!

apeterson · Mar 13, 2007

make sure you stop in the the paint shop every now and then and take pics...

90 Weight · Mar 16, 2007

ordered all my rubber weatherstripping/window stuff from Cdan today :bounce:

cowboy695 · Mar 18, 2007

Hey Man Great Job I Just Tore Into Mine A Week Ago Gotta Cut Some Bolts Off The Body To Get It Off The Frame You Deffinentely Did An Outstanding Job. The Vids Were Great. I Love Working The Grave Shift There Is Nothing To Do But Check Out Cruiser Stuff. Its Deffinentely A Testament To Doing Things Right The First Time. Cant Wait To See The Final Result Keep It Up

79fj40moneypit · Mar 18, 2007

I just watched the video it's way cool, post more when you get them......It's a great feeling taking that first ride!! Nice job!!

90 Weight · Mar 19, 2007

ya thanks pat.

ALlright breif update:

I went out to the painters...and he actually took some time to go over the majority of the rig with me (he is also a mechanic and does full restos) we went through:

The wiriing..figured out the starter issue (bad solenoid)

The whole steering linkage....tightened any loose castle nuts

Then he showed me how to tighten the nuts that secure the wheel bearing. So now thats properly snug.

Also measured the eyelet to eyelet max compression and expansion while flexed out...so now I can buy shocks! (Bilstein 7100's)

I oredered a used booster and master cyl off a guy in the wanted section...says he kindof tested it and it should be working fine...for a combined price of $45!

I decided to go with the OEM fenders, which I purchased a few hours ago from Cdan.

Now all thats left in terms of actual wrenching is to get a ebrake set up, and tighten everything down....Cruise Moab HERE I COME! :bounce:

apeterson · Mar 19, 2007

how much did you pay for the fenders... how did you get them shipped to CO

90 Weight · Mar 19, 2007

Aaron,

Cdan carries the fenders for 83+ OEM.... which he says will fit and look the same...only they have a few small holes on the inside for mounting things in the engine bay that the pre 83 models dont need...which in my book doesnt matter.

There is a company that they can use to ship to CO. which only delivers to businesses, so my buddy at our local Toyota dealership is going to let me ship them there.

I believe it will be close to $400 maybe a little bit more once shipped. Little bit more than $100 more than aftermarket..but with the OEM fit.

apeterson · Mar 19, 2007

this is all great... but... pics man... I am going through withdraws... haha!!!

That is so cool of that guy to take the time to help you out... make sure he knows he is the man!!!

apeterson · Mar 19, 2007

MOUNTAINCRUISER said:
Aaron,

Cdan carries the fenders for 83+ OEM.... which he says will fit and look the same...only they have a few small holes on the inside for mounting things in the engine bay that the pre 83 models dont need...which in my book doesnt matter.

There is a company that they can use to ship to CO. which only delivers to businesses, so my buddy at our local Toyota dealership is going to let me ship them there.

I believe it will be close to $400 maybe a little bit more once shipped. Little bit more than $100 more than aftermarket..but with the OEM fit.

called cdan on friday and wanted new fenders.... he said he would not ship them... currently I have no Toyota dealership in town... (building a new one as we speak... but) can you give me more details on how you got them for $400 shipped.... feel free to PM... thanks man!!!

pb4957 · Mar 23, 2007

cdan

How did you get in touch with cdan and can i get his e mail from ya. I have a few questions about my 78 restore.

Thanks.
Paul

90 Weight · Mar 24, 2007

Paul,
Best way to get in touch with Cdan is to call...

toll-free is 1-800-432-6668

90 Weight · Mar 24, 2007

TIAMMAX · Mar 24, 2007

Hello,

very good resto to FJ

ciao.

apeterson · Mar 25, 2007

sweet pic... now I know ou did not only take that pic when you were in the paint booth..... post up the rest... some details and pics of the body work on that alum. body would be great!!! when is the paint schedualed to fly?

90 Weight · Mar 25, 2007

Aaron, Ill take some of those pics next time I head out there...

He is planning on starting hopefully mid next week.

90 Weight · Mar 25, 2007

Well today was a long day for me and the cruiser....I left work at about 2:00 and went out to the painters to check out how the center arm rebuild kit looked...

So I started digging into the rebuild....Painted the center arm...and greased it all up...3 hours later everything was solid. The kit fixed the slack in the center arm.

So I decided that I would drive it into town to change the oil... I had called Jegs erlier and they said that I would mess the motor up by breaking it in with a full synthetic oil....which is what I had put in it. Lucky I had only driven about 30 miles maximum on the full synthetic....

So I get into town...make a few passes down mainstreet, and the take it to Autozone to get a new oil filter and some plain jane valvoline conventional 10w30 oil.

So we go to change it, and the filter wont come out...meanwhile its getting dark and all the stores are closed...to make a long story short we drove a screwdriver through the old oil filter to get it off....then the new one didnt screw on straight...(looked straight but apparently wasnt) so when I filled it up and fired it up, oil started pouring out...luckly it was only on for like 5 seconds before I caught it...so I had to run across town to the only store open this late on a sunday.....wall mart

so we fill it back up with oil and take off...

WOW that was the longest oil change of my life...but atleast I got the center arm kit done

Im keeping the cruiser at my house for the next 3 days to get everything else tight before I take it back to be painted.

Ill take a bunch of pics while I have it.

90 Weight · Apr 1, 2007

I figured it would be nice to post up some before during and after paint photos.

Here are the before shots...and the during will be posted up by thursday.

Flexed....(still had plenty of room to go in the front...but the rear would have tucked...After taking measurments I believe I will need 8in bump stops to prevent it from bending the rear quarter panel...check out the photo that shows how close I came!