Builds Orange's Neverending Scrap 80 Build (the s is silent) (7 Viewers)

[AgentOrange]

So having avoided making a build thread for quite some time, I think I need to now. I have always had at least one 4X4 since I was 15, which was typically a Land Cruiser or 4Runner with the occasional extra cab pickup making an appearance. So in 2016, I had a car problem. I had a 97 4Runner, an 87 4Runner, a 69 FJ40 and my daily driver VW Jetta. In 2015, we had our second son and I wanted something a little bigger and more capable for longer camping trips in the desert with quads and dirtbikes. I came across a salvage titled 80 Series. It had been crashed in the front pretty good, and had been picked of some odds and ends to complete a much nicer LX450 that the previous owner had. Birfields clicked, it leaked oil, paint was shot, and a/c was non existent, but it drove well and 4WD worked. It was a running Land Cruiser listed for $2k. Owner was very honest about the whole rig and I said I wasn't going to haggle the price if it was as he said. He appreciated me being true to my word when I came to see it and didn't haggle as it was exactly as described. He handed me $200 back, shook my hand and wished me good luck and fun time. 1800 for a running and driving Land Cruiser in Ventura, and 200 in my pocket to get my back to Palmdale was a screaming deal. My wife just smiled said she was happy I found a good deal for what I wanted. Those of you that have wheeled with me know she's not afraid to speak up, but does an amazing job of supporting my habit lol.

I'll be slowly adding to this thread with the years of nothing with this 80 and the things I did along the way to bring it to it's current state and where it's headed next...

 

[AgentOrange]

This is how it looked the day after I got it home and cleaned it up a bit

My older son Ezra approves of the Land Cruiser

 

[Ditcherman]

Great story! Good things come to those who don’t haggle.
Looking forward to more.

 

[Mike Shull]

…waiting for more pictures. Cool 80 in your profile picture. Is that the same one?

 

[Firemedic831]

 

[AgentOrange]

…waiting for more pictures. Cool 80 in your profile picture. Is that the same one?

It is the same one. First vehicle I’ve ever kept for more than 3 years. Like I said, I had a car problem for a long time. Last count I was above 50 overall, 7 were Land Cruisers, 4 4Runners, 2 extended cab Toyotas. Lots of VWs and Hondas, a handful of motorcycles and some odd one offs. But this Cruiser is special for some reason

 

[AgentOrange]

So the weekend I got it home, I knew a couple things needed to come off: the Smittybilt side steps, but before that, the flares and cladding all over the front and rear bumpers. Made it look too round and fat for me. Not a big thing to be sure, but it looked more like and Land Cruiser to me without that nonsense that I knew I would probably just end up breaking off anyways

 

[AgentOrange]

So the first order of any real business was to get those front birfields to stop clicking. I wanted to be able to drive it offroad a little and see how I liked it compared to the others I already had at home. Some Longfields from Trail Gear was within my budget and got them in. I remember being very surpised how much simpler some of this seemed to be than in my FJ40s and solid axle trucks, but also just a bit beefier. And messier. I had birf soup in both sides...

 

[AgentOrange]

At least one of us knows what we’re doing and it isn’t me.

 

[AgentOrange]

For the first year and half or so of owning it, it had the factory sized street tires on it. Living in the desert and wanting to go out and wheel occasionally and find places to shoot, those tires weren’t going to cut it for long

 

[AgentOrange]

Not knowing better, but at least having an idea of the size I wanted, I stuffed 315/75r16 BFG AT KO2s without a lift

 

[Firemedic831]

Dear Lord i am going to be in a retirement home by the time you get to present day

 

[AgentOrange]

Next came an eBay snorkel, which for some of the wheeling I’ve done since, has really earned its keep. I don’t have any pictures from the install, but it was a mess. The construction paper template that came with it wasn’t even close, but with cardboard and some time, it want on just fine.

 

[AgentOrange]

Dear Lord i am going to be in a retirement home by the time you get to present day

No, I’m on it today. Got all the photos I have of everything lined up and got everything don’t for the weekend I needed to outside

 

[AgentOrange]

Next came one of the first things that actually required wrenching. Ordered the part time 4wd kit ordered from Mark’s 4WD with AVM hubs. It was the first time I’ve been inside anything but an FJ40 tcase or 4 Runner case. Not hard to do at all really. That let it earn the 4WD badge it wears now

 

[AgentOrange]

Next up was to finally do something to the suspension (this is a common theme for me with this build unfortunately) This first attempt was Dobinsons level lift kit. It worked if all I was going to do was light over landing, but things changed a lot later on. After this point, we sold the house we were in and moved around a couple times and parts I had been collecting sat in my parents garage

 

[AgentOrange]

Finally settled in a place where I could work on my Cruiser in peace, I got to work on getting a Trail Gear front bumper, Warn winch, dual battery set up that I kind of made myself all done

 

[AgentOrange]

I needed a good rear bumper, but my wallet was a bit limiting on what I could do and I didn’t like any of the off the shelf options that were in my price range. A trip to the steel yard and I got a hold of a solid piece of 6 X 2.157 X 0.437 c-channel that I notched and bent and then welded back solid made what I wanted. I cut the rear cross member out and trimmed the ears on the factory tow hitch and welded that on top of the frame and notched the c-channel for the hitch and welded that together as well

 

[AgentOrange]

Then Covid happened and I was suddenly at home a lot more than I’m used to. Unhappy with the paint on the Land Cruiser and wanting something that wouldn’t scratch through a lot of the desert brush, I opted to Raptor line the body. I wasn’t sure how it would look, not how it would hold up. Looking back, I’m actually very happy with it. Also while at it I added a Smittybilt roof rack and 100 watt solar panel and charge controller. Very overlander in style, and at the time, it’s what I wanted.

 

[AgentOrange]

Getting further and further from civilization without a spare tire wasn’t really the best of decisions, so an order to Coastal Off Road for their universal spare tire carrier was placed. Also my third suspension (second was just a plain 3” OME lift that I hated and don’t even have pictures of) went on. This time was Dobinsons 3” flexi coils and matching shocks with the DeltaVS panhard bracket