Swiss Poverty Pack Barn Door HDJ80
- Thread starter gilmorneau
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Great Story.
gilmorneau
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- #63
Way overdue for an update here. I've been doing some maintenance+modifications here and there and I'll get to that, but we went for a little road trip over last weekend to view the eclipse and I thought I'd share some photos. We left Boulder Friday morning headed for Utah. It was the first time taking the 80 over the passes (Eisenhower Tunnel and Vail Pass)--no problem at all. Gotta love the 1HD-FT.
Stopped for peach pie in Palisade:
Next photo opportunity was the wonderful light along the river on highway 128 (the Cisco cutoff):
Made it to Moab on half a tank! 25.8mpg at 75mph (on the GPS). 2600rpm. Topped off the tank and continued south to Blanding to get into the area of eclipse totality. Here's our campsite the next morning:
And I made a simple pinhole projector to view the eclipse:
Stopped for peach pie in Palisade:
Next photo opportunity was the wonderful light along the river on highway 128 (the Cisco cutoff):
Made it to Moab on half a tank! 25.8mpg at 75mph (on the GPS). 2600rpm. Topped off the tank and continued south to Blanding to get into the area of eclipse totality. Here's our campsite the next morning:
And I made a simple pinhole projector to view the eclipse:
gilmorneau
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- Thread starter
- #64
After the big eclipse was over, we spent the rest of the day hiking around. Found some neat stuff:
I know, not really tech, but this kind of trip is what I bought the 80 for.
I know, not really tech, but this kind of trip is what I bought the 80 for.
Great acquisition story and cool trip to Moab! I'm jealous of that 26 mpg.
It looks like you also settled on a wheel and tire combo
235/85/16 Toyo Open Country A/Ts? What steelies are those? Rig looks great!
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gilmorneau
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- #66
I actually chose the wheels before I figured out what tires to get. They're 3rd Gen 4Runner spares, 42601-35750. 16x7 with about 4.5" backspacing. They fit a flareless 80 perfectly without spacers.
I had some OEM split rims here in original paint, so I had the paint shop color match the gray and I painted the whole set of wheels:
I was after that NATO-spec look, since the car's vibe is all "poverty pack". I think it turned out OK:
I had some OEM split rims here in original paint, so I had the paint shop color match the gray and I painted the whole set of wheels:
I was after that NATO-spec look, since the car's vibe is all "poverty pack". I think it turned out OK:
gilmorneau
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- #67
The original tires on this car were (honestly) 215/80R16. It still had the original spare underneath. Not even 30" diameter:
The tires that were on it when I got it were 225/75R16, which actually has a slightly smaller diameter than the originals. The original wheels were 16x6. I chose the 16x7 wheels so I would have my choice of a wider variety of tire sizes, and settled on 235/85R16, 265/75R16, or 255/85R16 as the most desirable candidates. I ruled out the 255's since all I could find were M/T's and I wanted A/T's for this car (I might revisit the 255's next time I need tires, though). Of course I could get wider wheels and much larger tires, but I'm not into the "sticking out past the fender" look (though I get that it has advantages in some off-road situations). I decided to go with the 235's on a lark--I could just as easily have gone with the 265's. The great thing about either is that their diameter makes the speedo read dead-on correct. And yes, I went with Toyo's. I've had them on some of my other Landcruisers and really like them. I almost tried the Falkens, but waffled at the last minute and got the known commodity.
The tires that were on it when I got it were 225/75R16, which actually has a slightly smaller diameter than the originals. The original wheels were 16x6. I chose the 16x7 wheels so I would have my choice of a wider variety of tire sizes, and settled on 235/85R16, 265/75R16, or 255/85R16 as the most desirable candidates. I ruled out the 255's since all I could find were M/T's and I wanted A/T's for this car (I might revisit the 255's next time I need tires, though). Of course I could get wider wheels and much larger tires, but I'm not into the "sticking out past the fender" look (though I get that it has advantages in some off-road situations). I decided to go with the 235's on a lark--I could just as easily have gone with the 265's. The great thing about either is that their diameter makes the speedo read dead-on correct. And yes, I went with Toyo's. I've had them on some of my other Landcruisers and really like them. I almost tried the Falkens, but waffled at the last minute and got the known commodity.
gilmorneau
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- #68
And, in an entirely unrelated update, I turned 160934km's a few months ago, which is 100000 miles.
Well, I think you nailed it with the wheel choice, color match, and tire choice. I think it actually looks more NATO-spec with the updated wheels and tires.
Plus, with a more common wheel size you have more tire options (like you mentioned). Love that you’re embracing the “Poverty Pack” vibe.
This is such a cool truck. Looking forward to more photos/adventures.
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Great thread, looking forward to whatever comes next.
Those tires seem like somewhat of a throwback to an earlier Land Cruiser era. My 1976 FJ55 came with 28" tires, don't recall the exact size or rim specs. Made it to the second stream crossing up the Holy Cross City trail on them, but that was in the days before really huge tires under the heavy foot of folks that seem to go for max wheel spin on 35"-plus rubber rutting everything out.
I'm partial to 255/85R16 myself. They catch minimal wind, give adequate clearance, and put less strain on components than their larger cousins, as well as airing down to a nice long footprint.
Never ran ion Falkens, but have hear good things about snow performance.
gilmorneau
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- #71
Well...again, not really tech, but another great trip to Utah last weekend. For as long as I've been bouncing around in the Utah desert, I'd never done the White Rim Road in Canyonlands NP. Now I have. Four days, three nights. Honestly could have been there longer as I felt there was a lot more to see. The Landcruiser performed flawlessly. Does great on the highway, does great on the trail. This car is SO good on this kind of terrain. Here's a few photos of the trip:
I love this truck and this story so much.
This is so badass. I love that you're using this truck for it's intended purpose. Keep it up!
gilmorneau
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- #77
Time for another long overdue update. I've owned this truck for almost three years now, and the one thing that I thought I'd fix right away was the terrible Swiss trailer coupling bolted/welded to the rear bumper/frame. Well...I finally got around to doing something about it.
When I first got the car, it had this horrible contraption on the back:
When I got it home, I unbolted most of it...
But that still left this:
And this:
And this (on the back side of the bumper--i.e. facing the front of the car, if that makes any sense):
I was thinking at this point that the Swiss guys need to have their welders taken away.
When I first got the car, it had this horrible contraption on the back:
When I got it home, I unbolted most of it...
But that still left this:
And this:
And this (on the back side of the bumper--i.e. facing the front of the car, if that makes any sense):
I was thinking at this point that the Swiss guys need to have their welders taken away.
gilmorneau
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- #78
I figured the easiest and best way to proceed was to cut out the entire rear frame member and replace it with new. Lucky for me, the original Toyota part is (or was) still available new:
gilmorneau
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- #79
Trying to find someone to do it has been more difficult. I can weld, but I'm not great at it and I don't really have a proper place to do that kind of work anyway. I found a guy who seemed to have the qualifications, but (of course) he's booked way out. It's been a year or more that I've been on his wait list. Tired of waiting, I found another guy who came highly recommended, so I took a gamble and booked the job.
We decided that the best place to start would be to make a jig, so that once everything was cut away, we'd have a method for getting the new part properly aligned. Here's what we came up with:
And here it is bolted in place:
Once we had that, the cutting could begin:
Glad to see this stuff on the ground instead of on the truck:
And we were left with this:
We decided that the best place to start would be to make a jig, so that once everything was cut away, we'd have a method for getting the new part properly aligned. Here's what we came up with:
And here it is bolted in place:
Once we had that, the cutting could begin:
Glad to see this stuff on the ground instead of on the truck:
And we were left with this:
gilmorneau
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- Thread starter
- #80
After cleaning everything up, we proceeded to place and weld the new frame piece using the jig:
Welded in:
After more cleanup and painting it looks pretty much like factory:
And with everything fitted it's good as new:
Welded in:
After more cleanup and painting it looks pretty much like factory:
And with everything fitted it's good as new: