Builds Poverty packin’: 1992 HZJ80 in Texas

[bottombracket]

Also, despite having no external antenna or visible speakers I found out that the radio works. I’m gonna pop a CD in and then I can bust out a bunch of my old discs.

A new stereo will be in the future. Waaaay down on the priority list now that I have FM.

 

[bottombracket]

Rear door latch:

I knew from Joe that the rear door latch was not closing well. The entire lamp assembly is available and cost $60- a quarter of what it does for a 60 series. However, I’m missing a little plastic cap over the linkage. I temporarily held it in place with a stack of washers and a piece of wire.

 

[bottombracket]

I love lamp:

The switch broke off the third time I used it. I found a new lamp and it really brightens the place up. 27 year old plastic sucks.

 

[bottombracket]

LED headlights in a 4 headlamp 80:

I had previously converted my FJ62 and HJ61 to LED headlights as documented in this thread:

Instructions for LED Headlight upgrade

Here are the instructions I used to get the JW Speaker LED lights to work in my 1990 62. I’m not a mechanic, elecrician or a very bright guy so if I can get it to work, anybody should be able to do so. It took me a while to do this but most of the time was compiling information which I have...

forum.ih8mud.com

Dollar for dollar, LED headlights have been the greatest safety modification I’ve done to my trucks. The helpful Canadians at highperformancelighting.ca originally documented the wiring harness and high beam relay switch for an 80 series, so I was pretty sure that it would work.

I took the harness off of my 62, and lo and behold it worked correctly. Everything works including low beam, high beam, and high beam flash function.

A quick trip to the local electronics store for a couple of resistors, and I built a new harness. Old harness above, new below; just cloned.

Low beam and high beams work as they should. Low only on LO, all 4 lights on HI. Flash function works as well.

Only difference is that I do not have a highbeam indicator light on the dashboard. Did poverty packs have them? Maybe my bulb is just burned out.

 

[bottombracket]

Obligatory low and high beam shots.

Low:

High:

I will say that this nighttime iPhone shot does not do the beam patterns justice. Low beams are clear without weird patterns or cuts. It is just one clean continuous field of view with a strong horizontal cut off.

High beams are really, really extraordinary. Just clean and unobstructed without cutoffs.

These JW Speakers cost a pretty penny, but I really cannot overstate how much they have improved night and inclement weather driving safety for me.

I see that price has not really come down in the past couple of years. I do see a lot more clones and different 4x6” headlights on the market these days. I wonder if a cheaper version will still give the same light output and excellent field of view.

My HJ61 is going to be off the road for another 4 to 6 months getting its 12HT rebuilt, so I will have some time to explore other options before sinking another $$$$ into another set of Speakers.

 

[jomelo]

@bottombracket let me preface this by saying I have absolutely no idea about electronics. I do know that when I installed LED’s in my 70 series the high beam indicator ceased working. I’m aware of others having this issue. Not sure of the solution.

 

[bottombracket]

@jmlockwood I confess that I don’t know anything about 70 series wiring. The wiring solution which works for the FJ62 and 80 series was specifically designed to keep the high beam indicator working as well as the flash function by using a relay. I didn’t really pay attention to find out if my high beam indicator light on the dash worked before I did the LED swap.

Maybe this week I can pop the lights out and put the old sealed beams back in on one side to see if it makes a difference.

 

[Mr Cimarron]

Nice truck. Glad to see you over in the 80 section.

 

[Mr Cimarron]

Are you bringing it to Roundup? I want to take a look at how the TC shifter is mounted with the 5 speed. I need to copy it over to my NV4500. Or at least get inspired.

 

[bottombracket]

Cim, probably bringing it. The shifters do not have a console- they come right out of the floor, like a 60 series.

 

[Mr Cimarron]

Sweet. I won’t have a console either in the 75. I dig the utilitarian look.

 

[bottombracket]

This truck is high on utility, that's for sure.

@cruiserjunktion is shipping me a set of rear seats. They are leather. My kids will be in luxurious splendor back there, and I'll be up front in my cracked vinyl. I see how it goes.

I have plans to recover all of the seats in some heavy duty Kevlar fabric, if I can source enough in brown...and if I can find a shop who can cut and sew it. So the kids won't have luxury for too awful long. Hope they don't get used to it.

 

[Mr Cimarron]

This truck is high on utility, that's for sure.

@cruiserjunktion is shipping me a set of rear seats. They are leather. My kids will be in luxurious splendor back there, and I'll be up front in my cracked vinyl. I see how it goes.

I have plans to recover all of the seats in some heavy duty Kevlar fabric, if I can source enough in brown...and if I can find a shop who can cut and sew it. So the kids won't have luxury for too awful long. Hope they don't get used to it.

I have third row seats if you need/want them.

 

[bj70_guy]

@bottombracket let me preface this by saying I have absolutely no idea about electronics. I do know that when I installed LED’s in my 70 series the high beam indicator ceased working. I’m aware of others having this issue. Not sure of the solution.

Same in my '90 hdj81 - LEDs in, no more high beam indicator. I have not gotten these yet but have been pointed in this direction for the fix. Once I get them I'll try to remember to report back.

Headlight Load Resistor Kit - H4 LED Headlight Bulbs - H4 CONNECTION Kit

Headlight LED load resistors prevent flickering and "bulb out" error messages. These 6 ohm 50-watt load resistors compensate for the low power draw of H4 LED bulbs so that they can communicate properly with your vehicle's computer system. They can also be used in conjunction with standard LED...

www.superbrightleds.com

 

[FJ73Texas]

I enjoyed seeing this truck the day you picked it up. Loved the utility look.

 

[Mr Cimarron]

Yeah I can’t wait to see it. I saw it at Joe’s before he did anything to it.

 

[rghouse]

This truck is high on utility, that's for sure.

@cruiserjunktion is shipping me a set of rear seats. They are leather. My kids will be in luxurious splendor back there, and I'll be up front in my cracked vinyl. I see how it goes.

I have plans to recover all of the seats in some heavy duty Kevlar fabric, if I can source enough in brown...and if I can find a shop who can cut and sew it. So the kids won't have luxury for too awful long. Hope they don't get used to it.

You might look into the firehose fabric too, super tough and soft; not sure where Deluth Trading gets it but...

Hey what’s the door code for those steelies?

 

[bottombracket]

@rghouse the steelies are 6.5x17 Hilux takeoffs. They fit without spacers and do not rub. Joe might have another full set left.

 

[bottombracket]

Small parts:

Correct 80 series shift knob. The shape is the same as the early 60/current 70 series knob, but this one weighs a TON. Seriously. Why is it so heavy?

Throttle pedal pad:

New driver’s side sun visor:

 

[Mr Cimarron]

Everything is beefier on an 80