Builds The Baba Yaga Build (1 Viewer)

[spc7669]

Hello all and thank you for this forum.

I picked up my first Cruiser last night on trade for my pickup truck. My nephews picked out a name for it, the Baba Yaga. Any John Wick fans will get the reference. I always wanted a Land Cruiser, but never tripped over the right one. I'm literally in this one for no money out of pocket and I'm pretty happy about that. This will be a bit pic heavy out of the gate. I need advice as I'm new to this vehicle and have the wrench turning ability of a radish.

It's got a few miles on it. Just under 280,000.

Pics to follow. Please comment on what you see and make suggestions.

 

[spc7669]

It's a 99 in sage green which is my favorite color. It has a bull bar with a Rough Country light bar, BFG's with less than 10,000 miles on them, and about two inches of maintenance and service paperwork going back to a letter from the dealer in California thanking the original owner for the purchase.

 

[Mbchance]

Welcome to the obsession!

 

[Kabanstva]

Welcome. Are you Russian by any chance?

 

[spc7669]

I didn't have a lot of time to crawl around underneath, but it looks pretty clean and rust free.

 

[spc7669]

Welcome. Are you Russian by any chance?

I am not Russian. Scots Irish all the way. I didn't think The Raging Alcoholic was a good name for a truck.

 

[spc7669]

To my extreme surprise, while reviewing the paperwork, the timing belt service with water pump, both UCAs with ball joints, and both LCAs with ball joints were installed at 273000. That's a load of work that I don't have to worry about.

Here are some things which I do need to address in the near future:

1-Baseline the fluids.
I'm changing to Mobil 1 Synthetic Oil as the prior owner used conventional. I have Mobil in all my vehicles and am a big fan. I plan to drain and fill the front diff, rear diff, and transfer case and replace with Mobil synthetic as well.

2-Refresh the suspension. It rides like a rubber duck in a hurricane. My current plan after doing a ton of reading on Mud is to go with OEM shocks all the way around with OME 2865 coils and new sway bar links and bushings.
What I need to know from the experts is should I replace the torsion bars as well? I don't mind doing it if it's a good idea. If so, which bars should I choose with the above suspension parts?

3-As far as I can tell, the radiator and hoses are original. As a matter of preventative maintenance, I plan to replace the radiator, hoses, and alternator (if I can't find paperwork showing it's not original) all at one time. I understand the alternator will be much easier to access with the radiator out of the vehicle.

4-The driver side window shrieks like a banshee. I'll try to get it cleaned or replace the motor.

 

[spc7669]

The interior is just not up to my liking. Since I didn't have to shell out any cash, I have a decent budget to work with this year. I've found a local upholstery shop to redo the foam and leather on the front seats for about 400 bucks. I will see if he can rewrap the steering wheel and shifter as well.

 

[spc7669]

The driver seat is stuck in the up position. I found a fix on here with some new internal parts. That's on the list as well.
The sun roof is stuck closed. My buddy has a Tundra and he just replaced his sunroof motor and said it's an easy fix. Also on the list.
The paint is actually decent except for the hood and roof. I have another buddy who owns a body shop. I have no idea what it will set me back to refresh the paint and have all the dents and dings corrected.
I was thinking about pulling the carpet and pressure washing it until I found a few holes in it. Probably will be removed and replaced.
I carry a paddleboard and kayak around and had planned on getting a roof rack or Thule bars until I felt the factory roof rack. Holy smoke, it's actually a stout rack. I may just throw a rattle can paint job on it and let that ride until I find that it won't do what I need.

That's where I'm at after 24 hours of ownership. Suggestions from the experts on here are definitely appreciated.

 

[GTV]

As someone who used to do auto upholstery for a living, you can’t buy a hide of leather for $400. I bet you that’s the vinyl price. I would confirm before proceeding.

 

[spc7669]

As someone who used to do auto upholstery for a living, you can’t buy a hide of leather for $400. I bet you that’s the vinyl price. I would confirm before proceeding.

Thanks for the info. I wouldn’t have had a clue that was so far off. What would you consider a fair price to redo the front seats?

 

[gregnash]

Looks like she is in pretty good shape, welcome to the madness..
Definitely go through and baseline all fluids and easy maintenance items (brakes, oil change, wipers, etc.)
One thing that usually gets passed up and you can find tons of info on is the Heater Ts. This should be done soon if you cannot find them being replaced recently. Absolute Wits' End sells full kit with hoses, clamps, t's etc.

Grab yourself a Lincoln Needle for your grease gun and pump some grease into the drive shafts. Closest ones to the center diff will need the needle for sure, others I was able to get on with a normal fitting. Slip yokes get a little grease, not pouring out the joints, just enough that you see the slip yoke move and you are good there.

Plenty of other stuff to keep you busy for a while. I picked my 99 up just before Christmas and have been slowly amassing parts.

For the lift, go through and read some of the threads. While OME is the tried and true there are quite a few people, myself included, that feel the ride is a bit on the stiff side. Maybe go with OME Springs and then do something like Tough Dog shocks or Ironman Foam Cell shocks. When you do a lift, while it is not necessary you probably should think about doing a diff drop bracket as well to help save your axles some stress.

Do you notice a "clunk/thunk" noise when shifting from Reverse to Drive? If so, there is a whole thread on that as well (more maintenance items).

 

[spc7669]

Looks like she is in pretty good shape, welcome to the madness..
Definitely go through and baseline all fluids and easy maintenance items (brakes, oil change, wipers, etc.)
One thing that usually gets passed up and you can find tons of info on is the Heater Ts. This should be done soon if you cannot find them being replaced recently. Absolute Wits' End sells full kit with hoses, clamps, t's etc.

Grab yourself a Lincoln Needle for your grease gun and pump some grease into the drive shafts. Closest ones to the center diff will need the needle for sure, others I was able to get on with a normal fitting. Slip yokes get a little grease, not pouring out the joints, just enough that you see the slip yoke move and you are good there.

Plenty of other stuff to keep you busy for a while. I picked my 99 up just before Christmas and have been slowly amassing parts.

For the lift, go through and read some of the threads. While OME is the tried and true there are quite a few people, myself included, that feel the ride is a bit on the stiff side. Maybe go with OME Springs and then do something like Tough Dog shocks or Ironman Foam Cell shocks. When you do a lift, while it is not necessary you probably should think about doing a diff drop bracket as well to help save your axles some stress.

Do you notice a "clunk/thunk" noise when shifting from Reverse to Drive? If so, there is a whole thread on that as well (more maintenance items).

Heater T’s and hoses are on the list when I do the radiator replacement. I will definitely get the Wit’s End kit for simplicity sake.
Thanks for the info on the grease. I can hopefully knock that out this weekend.
I haven’t noticed a clunk on the shift. When I get home today I’ll take it down the road and give it a listen.
I really don’t want to lift the truck at all. I figure the original suspension is so tired any new components will bring it up an inch or two. I found a kit on Cruiser Outfitters this morning with the factory OEM shocks and OME factory height springs and OME torsions bars. That’s the direction I’m going as of now. If my mechanic thinks I need the diff drop, I’ll certainly do it, but the factory height is just fine for my purposes.

 

[gregnash]

Heater T’s and hoses are on the list when I do the radiator replacement. I will definitely get the Wit’s End kit for simplicity sake.
Thanks for the info on the grease. I can hopefully knock that out this weekend.
I haven’t noticed a clunk on the shift. When I get home today I’ll take it down the road and give it a listen.
I really don’t want to lift the truck at all. I figure the original suspension is so tired any new components will bring it up an inch or two. I found a kit on Cruiser Outfitters this morning with the factory OEM shocks and OME factory height springs and OME torsions bars. That’s the direction I’m going as of now. If my mechanic thinks I need the diff drop, I’ll certainly do it, but the factory height is just fine for my purposes.

Yeah Kurt is good people, they won't steer you wrong when ordering parts.
Clunk would be pretty apparent, look for some of the threads on Diff bushing clunk and whatnot, you will see what I am talking about. Also have some videos on my build thread with examples. Mine is partly due to worn hub flanges causing excessive backlash, cheap axles, and the diff bushings being shot.

 

[GTV]

Thanks for the info. I wouldn’t have had a clue that was so far off. What would you consider a fair price to redo the front seats?

That’s going to vary a lot. At my last job we would charge $350 to replace the outer 2-3 panels (with leather), repair the foam as needed on the drivers cushion (the area that wears the most on all cars) and give it a good cleaning. An incorrect assumption most people make is to think that the seats need to be recovered in their entirety. Usually it’s only a few panels that are in bad shape and need to be replaced. The remainder can often be just cleaned, conditioned and reinstalled. Looking at your drivers cushion it does look rough enough to warrant an entire replacement, the backrest just looks really dirty. I would start with a thorough cleaning and look for pre made replacement leather for the cushion. A little more foam to build up the bolster and you’re good to go. You’re obviously a handy guy and I bet you could manage installing a new cover yourself.

 

[spc7669]

Ha. I’m about as handy as the lady in this photo.

 

[spc7669]

In spite of my lack of mechanical ability, I can produce elbow grease with the best of them. Since you were in the upholstery business, are there any leather cleaning products you would recommend?

 

[spc7669]

I ordered an entire suspension kit today from Cruiser Outfitters. I can’t recommend those guys enough. I’ll post a detailed list of all the parts when the invoice comes in. The price was awesome and the shipping was more than reasonable.

 

[87warrior]

I ordered an entire suspension kit today from Cruiser Outfitters. I can’t recommend those guys enough. I’ll post a detailed list of all the parts when the invoice comes in. The price was awesome and the shipping was more than reasonable.

That escalated quickly

Nice looking cruiser you picked up. Seems like you are on the right track with the preventative maintenance.

 

[GTV]

In spite of my lack of mechanical ability, I can produce elbow grease with the best of them. Since you were in the upholstery business, are there any leather cleaning products you would recommend?

I really liked Bio Green Clean. Cleans leather very well and it’s not too harsh. Works well on cloth and a lot of different stuff.