Builds Red Line Landcruisers " The Tale of Two 80's" Build

[AutoCraft Aus]

After putting on the new lines we tore out the shocks and front springs! Found these sweet gems in the process!

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We see alot of these fat spacers crack like this, and then tip the coil over and make it rub on the chassis, especially in the rear.

 

[Jungle80farmer]

THE TALE OF TWO 80s

Introduction

Jay and I (Justin) had an epiphany last year. We used to make fun of guys just like us when we were younger. We'd say things like,"He drives an 80 series. Such a wuss." If we're being honest, we snubbed those guys big-time. They had the windows up and the A/C on during a trail ride. They were softies. I'm mean, seriously...driving a 40 series carries a bit of a man-badge. You'll need a good chiropractor after about 3 hours on the trails in a 40 series with stock suspension. 80 series are one plush ride compared to a 40!

We saw ourselves as Clint Eastwood on the trails, tackling massive boulders and taking the hardest route possibly. Everyone else was Hugh Grant, decked out in their skinny jeans and hip plaid shirts riding the trails in comfort and style!

But middle age hits you like Mike Tyson slugging Zack Galifianakis in The Hangover. So we've decided to build out two 80 series Land Cruisers suitable for maintaining our manliness while also allowing our wives the ability to enjoy daily use.

To be clear...everyone that knows us will understand we still "love" the 40 series...we'lll never shy away from them, but if we're being honest…we're diggin' on the 80 series these days.

The 80s

Jay bought an 80 with a TBI v8 conversion some years ago. Alright, its cool but it's still not a 40. I buy a 95' for my wife 3 years ago off from my father…turn that into the FJ-UTE…sell it and then buy a 96' this year.

The Mission

Our main goal for these trucks is to have something we can use for everyday driving but can also do moderate wheeling in. We will leave the crawling attributes to our other builds. So we want to craft these heavy beasts into the lightest most all-around capable rigs.

Here is what we're looking to do to both rigs:

• Slinky stage 4 75mm kits (both trucks)
• Roof racks
• Jay is getting a RTT…LOL
• Lean bumpers front and rear
• Sliders
• v8 conversion on my 96' this fall
• 37's (both trucks)
• Interior doodads

Whadyathink?

The purpose of this thread is to build out two killer 80s, with your help/comments/feedback. We would love to have you tell us what you think as we go.

We will have parts suppliers that we will tag in this thread, so please show support to our fellow cruiser heads!

Mixing things up a little is usually what we do, so we are going along the same premise with these beauties…Mine is a hell of a lot better looking than Justin's right now…LOL

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I feel you on the getting old & aching back. I've had my 71 FJ40 for 15 years. Its not as easy driving to & from the trail in my loud, soft top, V8 , rear Detroit doing its thing at 70mph. Coming down highway 80 when its 100 degrees or more out beat up from a trail. That's why I got a 97 FZJ80 myself. Still love the 40! But I'm gonna love rolling up the windows & rolling the a/c on the 80. And going from a 4 inch sprung under leaf spring to 2-3 inch coils is gonna be mighty nice as well. Can't wait to see your builds.

 

[RLMS]

I feel you on the getting old & aching back. I've had my 71 FJ40 for 15 years. Its not as easy driving to & from the trail in my loud, soft top, V8 , rear Detroit doing its thing at 70mph. Coming down highway 80 when its 100 degrees or more out beat up from a trail. That's why I got a 97 FZJ80 myself. Still love the 40! But I'm gonna love rolling up the windows & rolling the a/c on the 80. And going from a 4 inch sprung under leaf spring to 2-3 inch coils is gonna be mighty nice as well. Can't wait to see your builds.

I agree! I still love taking my 71-40 out on the trails/ putting around town on special trips! But having AC for my boys and wife is a must in the middle of the summer! My boys love the 40 and after a day of hitting easy trails they are wiped out! Does make for an early night for them. They usually hit the sack pretty hard LOL!

 

[RLMS]

On a side note, I made 10 of these sweet transfercase knobs! I have 3 left! If anyone is interested let me know. I am going to throw one in my 80 today! Made these out of billet aluminum, anodized then laser etched them!

 

[newtomelx]

I would like one, shipped to 77511! How much do I need to send you?

 

[RLMS]

Here is a link to the short ad I just put up

80 Series Billet Knobs!

 

[RLMS]

Ok, so now we get to make way for 37's. In order to do that, we have to move the front rad arm mount forward! We are going to test and use 2 items. First we installed our offset frame/rad arm bushings. These are 8mm offset bushings. Second we used offset plates. These plates move the bolt hole location 1". We mocked the plates up, with the arms off and measured on center in a horizontal plane. Then we center punched the for the new hole location. Drilled that to 18mm. We then welded the plates on the inside and outside of the factory bracket for bolt shear. So now we have moved the axle forward. Here are some pics!

Factory position first

 

[RLMS]

Got the brackets welded on and painted

 

[RLMS]

installed the offset bushing. These are tricky. You have to line up the offset correctly. The center bolt rotates inside the bushing, so it is critical you have the centerline of the offset correct with the rad arm. During the install of the arm the center sleeve can rotate inside the bushing if the sleeve catches the inside of the frame brackets. So we installed the arms in a horizontal plane angle correct to ride height. We used a sharpie to create a mark on the axle mount side of the arm. We drew that line on the rad arm at ride height, so caster would not change. both sides have to the same!

 

[RLMS]

Better pic of the bushing

 

[RLMS]

Pic of the bushing. I failed to actually take a pic with my phone before install...

 

[RLMS]

Ok, so with that done, Jay and I have to install shocks, coils, brake lines, caster correction, axle breather, front bump stop puck spacers( for 37"s). We will start getting into detail of front bump stop parts for set ups as well as getting previous customers front bumps for each set up.

Here is a pic of the J spring- coil spacers removed from cruiser, next to Slinky front coils

 

[GW Nugget]

Here is a better pic for you.
Let us know if they flex as good as the stockers will you?

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

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And the good part about these plates is they come with the 4mm hole which you put the plate in position, mark and drill the 4mm holes, then swap the plate end to end and weld in place, drill to 18mm.

The plates are 17mm holes so when you run the 18mm drill through you get 1 nice tidy hole for the bolt right through a good size.

This puts the axle 1" forward so it centres it in the wheel arch with lift, and makes room for 37s on the lock against the rear of the fender/firewall.

 

[scrowley]

Are there going to be more sets of these springs available soon? How much are they running? My j's are getting beat with all the weight I have added.

 

[Pat80]

And the good part about these plates is they come with the 4mm hole which you put the plate in position, mark and drill the 4mm holes, then swap the plate end to end and weld in place, drill to 18mm.

The plates are 17mm holes so when you run the 18mm drill through you get 1 nice tidy hole for the bolt right through a good size.

This puts the axle 1" forward so it centres it in the wheel arch with lift, and makes room for 37s on the lock against the rear of the fender/firewall.

How much lift is in this thing, looks almost perfect height IMO

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

How much lift is in this thing, looks almost perfect height IMO

Its an intermediate stage 5 slinky long travel kit using our slinky coils front and rear.

Perfect height, and why I did the mod to move the axle to centre the front wheel in the fender, so it looks more "normal"

Fully loaded 37" version 3" lift.

 

[RLMS]

Huffing the springs in! To make this easier we loosen the panhard rod axle side bolt and rad arm to chassis bolt. This will allow full droop to get the springs and shocks in!

 

[RLMS]

Then the shocks! On the stage 4 shocks use the zip tie and worm clamp to hold the piggy against the shock tower. Hose clamp on one side and zip tie on the other!

 

[RLMS]

Zip tie is more of a chassis rubbing isolator than anything, but with the hose clamp pushing on the other side the shock can't rotate!