Builds Project Bush Cricket... (1 Viewer)

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jesus888

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Feb 4, 2013
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A little history... I’ve owned a couple FJ40s, an LX470, grew up riding in my folks’ FJ62, and now... I have an 80-series. I’m mechanically so-so, and lazier than most people, and don’t know how to weld. I have good friends, and I’m good at looking stuff up on the internet (especially here) and I think I have good vision about what I want.

That being said, I am looking to mainly bring this Bush Cricket back up to a well-maintained, mildly build, daily-driver, with the option of increasing her ability as I increase my willingness to put myself in uncomfortable offroad situations.

She came to me by circumstance, I wasn’t looking for an 80-series, and frankly I thought my next TLC would be a 60-series, but a close friend’s newly minted husband told me he had an 80-series that had been in his family since 1998, a southern vehicle with little to no rust, stowed away in his garage because it had overheating problems that he didn’t want to figure out, so he parked it and it has been sitting for the last 3 years, while he drove his far more modern luxury sedan. Like any good former (and future) TLC owner, I asked him a couple of more questions just before asking him if I could “take it off his hands” and after a very short negotiation, I setup a pickup time, and she rolled off of a trailer at my buddy’s place for our first look and initial review of what we’re working with.

I’ll have some better pictures, probably today... of the interior and exterior.

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In anticipation of receiving this non-running FJZ80, we knew that one of the first purchases was going to be a new battery. So on Wednesday, I picked up an Interstate 27A sized lead acid battery from Costco and had it ready on Day 1.

We did a walk around, checked the fluids, replaced the battery, and gave her a turn to see if she would run, and to our surprise (not really surprised, because it’s a TLC), she started right up. No smoke out of the exhaust, no ticking of the valves, just a little smoke burning off of the headers (I’m assuming it’s done some leaking over the last 3 years). We then added some water to the radiator and found our first (or presumably many deferred maintenance items) issue... water was leaking out of the plastic/metal seem on top of the radiator.

After noting a few other items a first parts list was born. Also a few pictures of some of the cosmetic stuff that’ll need attention.

Interstate (Costco)27ABattery
AISINWPT023 (WPT-023)Water Pump
BOSCH40716AWiper Blade
BOSCH18CAWiper Blade
BOSCH3389Distributor Cap
CHAMPION711 (71-1)Spark Plug
DENSO2219362(221-9362)Radiator
GATES22050Radiator Lower Hose
GATES22049Radiator Lower Hose
GATES22051Radiator Upper Hose
GATES18010Heater Hose / Pipe
HASTINGS / BALDWINAF504Air Filter
HELLA9107481Temperature Sender / Sensor
MOTORADT13R (T-13R)Radiator Cap
MOTORCRAFTFL1AOil Filter
STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTSJR124 (JR-124)Distributor Rotor
STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS25604Spark Plug Wire
STANT14127Thermostat
STRONGARM4551LLift Support Hood
STRONGARM4551RLift Support Hood
MaxpowLift Support Rear Liftgate
TOPAC2/4A 6/12 VoltBattery Tender

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Here’s some Day 1 Engine pics... What do you see? We’re starting with getting the cooling system back in working order by replacing the parts listed above (radiator, thermostat, radiator hoses, water pump, temp sensor, radiator cap...

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And some dirty interior pics... contemplating replacing the leather on the seats from a local upholster shop, and buying new carpet/jute and installing that ourselves. Obviously the driver’s seat has seen its better days. Also, I’ve read through the thread about removing the wood trim, and that is definitely on the list... lastly a very good cleaning of the headlines and every other nastiness is definitely in order...

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Nice when a sweet deal rolls right up!! Great looking truck. Welcome to the 80!!
What are your plans for it?
 
Nice when a sweet deal rolls right up!! Great looking truck. Welcome to the 80!!
What are your plans for it?

You got that right about sweet deals. In terms of what my plans are for it? Get it mechanically as close to 100% as I can, get her completely clean, so I can find more stuff that needs attention, get the interior up to par (it’s currently a 5/10 at best), and then maybe add a very mild lift or go back with stock height stuff, ditch the running boards, and ending up with some modern steely-looking wheels and 33s. I’d love to stuff 35s, but I also know the 1FZ is a dog that is not motivated by much...
 
You got that right about sweet deals. In terms of what my plans are for it? Get it mechanically as close to 100% as I can, get her completely clean, so I can find more stuff that needs attention, get the interior up to par (it’s currently a 5/10 at best), and then maybe add a very mild lift or go back with stock height stuff, ditch the running boards, and ending up with some modern steely-looking wheels and 33s. I’d love to stuff 35s, but I also know the 1FZ is a dog that is not motivated by much...
The truck looks pretty good. A couple battle scars add character and it hurts a lot less when you add another. What’s your intended use for your truck?

If you go to 35’s you’ll appreciate 4.88’s in the diffs or the 10% underdrive transfer case gears, which brings your high range gearing to about 4.56. I read at least one member that drove on 35’s with stock gears for year without problem.
 
The truck looks pretty good. A couple battle scars add character and it hurts a lot less when you add another. What’s your intended use for your truck?

If you go to 35’s you’ll appreciate 4.88’s in the diffs or the 10% underdrive transfer case gears, which brings your high range gearing to about 4.56. I read at least one member that drove on 35’s with stock gears for year without problem.

Intended use... NOT rock crawling... and probably not overlanding... we have a cabin in Western NC, and I’d like to have something a bit more capable than our Subaru Outback when we’re up there, and something mainly to move bikes/kayaks/people for our outdoor activities...

Eventually, I’m sure we could set it up for a little more off-roading/car camping around the Southeast... but for now, it’s going to see 90% paved roads and 10% dirt/gravel.
 
Late start today. Blame it on Fedex... we were supposed to get 2 packages from Rock Auto and only got one (both were originally scheduled to be delivered yesterday). We’ll plan better next time. Also we got a lot of fluids for baselining, and I know for the purists, maybe we should be using something besides wal-marts brands, but I’m OK with it. In the end what got done this afternoon? Vacuuming the interior completely, replaced the hood struts, and drank a delicious beer. More to come.

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Where in NC are ya?

If your tooling on the engine and need a hand, I'd love to get some "hands on". I'm working towards another 80 I can tool on my own.

PM me if you'd rather not post.

Good luck!
 
Where in NC are ya?

If your tooling on the engine and need a hand, I'd love to get some "hands on". I'm working towards another 80 I can tool on my own.

PM me if you'd rather not post.

Good luck!
Hey bud, thanks for reaching out... we're actually in Atlanta, GA... just haven't removed the license plate from the previous owner yet :)
 
Late start today. Blame it on Fedex... we were supposed to get 2 packages from Rock Auto and only got one (both were originally scheduled to be delivered yesterday). We’ll plan better next time. Also we got a lot of fluids for baselining, and I know for the purists, maybe we should be using something besides wal-marts brands, but I’m OK with it. In the end what got done this afternoon? Vacuuming the interior completely, replaced the hood struts, and drank a delicious beer. More to come.

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I see your alrdy discovering Step #6, that will come in handy for all work on the machine. I don't think the purists will have an issue with the Wally World fluids, it's all the none OEM parts that will have folks averting their eyes. Which has lasted this long, so why not spend the few extra bucks for the piece of mind for another 20 some years. Trust me, this forum has ruined me with all the OEMness and made me question my own sanity of how I take care of my other vehicles.
 
Rad, valve cover gasket, belts, any rubber hose: normal stuff.
 
You got that right about sweet deals. In terms of what my plans are for it? Get it mechanically as close to 100% as I can, get her completely clean, so I can find more stuff that needs attention, get the interior up to par (it’s currently a 5/10 at best), and then maybe add a very mild lift or go back with stock height stuff, ditch the running boards, and ending up with some modern steely-looking wheels and 33s. I’d love to stuff 35s, but I also know the 1FZ is a dog that is not motivated by much...
Yeah good call on not going to 35's without some extra motivation. I love my 35's but I need gears bad.
 
I’d go factory parts on filter thermostat cap rotor plugs n wires. She’ll run better and honestly a lot of factory stuff is priced about the same
 
And now the deconstruction part... so far, just trying to hold back on fixing/replacing everything that we see. Have to keep in mind that the first goal is to get her running/cooling properly so we can figure out what needs attention next. So with that, most of the cooling system is OUT.

Still looking for THAT GUY in/around Atlanta that has 5-6 FJ80s in his backyard with all the little parts we need. Still haven't found him. So we'll keep looking everywhere else and hopefully find something local! (front and rear bumpers, rear window louver, and other misc parts)...

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