Builds The Magnificent Seven: Build thread. (1 Viewer)

[4xFletch]

Updates and Adventures:

The first update is a minor one but one that helps me sleep better at night. Replace the after market cheap radiator cap with an OEM from Witsend:

This was done during Labor day weekend. I had just talked my good friend into buying a locked 80 so to fully break it in we went up to the GA mountains in search of a camp site that sunday afternoon. Pretty silly idea on a holiday weekend and we knew it but towards the end of the road we finally found a spot that turned out to be the best we could have stayed at. Stream right behind us and plenty of room to play bocce ball until the sun went down.

The next morning we got up, had breakfast and headed out for a new off road park in North GA called Iron Mountain resort. We met my Land Rover buddy and hit the trails. A little pricey but the trails were a lot of fun and we definitely had not seen all of the trails. That place is huge and is still being built up with camp grounds, more trails and obstacles.

One trail ended at this mud pit. We stopped and got out and looked. I said, "yea, I'm not doing that". But after figuring out there was no place to turn around and we would have to reverse for 100 yards or so and some peer pressure I went for it. That was a mistake. I got stuck.. bad. That mud was thicker than cake batter and stopped me dead in my tracks and I sank. Should have gone with my gut.

No forward movement at all even with the Disco trying to pull me out. Which was probably a good thing. I would have never heard the end of it, that a Land Rover had to pull a Land Cruiser out. To pull out backward would require either getting in the mud to attach the strap or some very creative contortions to reach under the bumper. End up doing the Ladder. I don't mind being pulled out by another 80. My buddy got this picture which perfectly captured my mood.

 

[4xFletch]

Rack em' up:

The camping trip made me realize two things: 1. I need to do this a lot more and 2. I need to organize my gear a little better.
Since I leave a lot of my gear in the truck full time due to the nature of my work I decided to go with the Delta overhead rack brackets and a 18 x 48 shelf from the container store. Although I couldn't get out of that store fast enough, I picked the right weekend, It was on sale for $5 off. I was able to fit my home built foldable BBQ, therma rest pad, sleeping bag, camp pillow and blanket in the new cruiser attic. And hung some Molle bags underneath to hold some items that I want to be able to grab quickly. This is a great solution.

 

[4xFletch]

On 12/01/2020 This happened:

 

[SteelHunterFJ80]

What about the other six?

Since this is the Seventh Land Cruiser I've owned build thread, I thought I would pay homage to the other six in a Land Cruiser Collage:
I guess I need to own two more to complete the collage.

View attachment 2153571

Tell me you still own some of these!

 

[4xFletch]

Tell me you still own some of these!

Sadly no. I do wish I still had at least my first 40 and that 100.

 

[4xFletch]

Mild Adventures: Traversing the state

Back in October I had planned to go on an off roading trip with a Land Rover group at Uwharrie North Carolina. Although outdoors the event was cancelled due to COVID. We had already requested the time off from work and received approval from the wives so we still had to do something. The Georgia Traverse has been on my bucket list for some time. So I threw that out as a possibility. Dane had just completed the traverse earlier in the year and was not too interested in doing it again already. However when he did it, it was a mad dash to do it in 2 ½ days. So I suggested we take our time and explore every little off shoot along the way. He was in! Our buddy in Charleston was game as well as another in Atlanta, although he would join a day later.

We started on the east side and headed west. My 80 near the beginning of the trail on a smaller off shoot:

The drive was incredible. Not challenging at all in the beginning but offered beautiful scenery:

 

[4xFletch]

We had only gone about 40 miles of the designated trail before it started to get dark so we found a good camp site, made taco bowls and enjoyed being in the middle of nowhere:

The next morning we got up and made a plan to meet up with Dan and Jarvi near Helen GA around noon. This part of the trail was the most interesting part with a several small water crossings and the big crossing. Along with many off shoots that offered some technical climbs. Looking back now wish we could have spend a little more time in that area.

We made it near Helen around noon and planned to meet near the entrance of Tray Mountain trail. Sadly, it was closed much to our disappointment. There was a lot of exploring to be done in that area. So we got out, look at our maps and made a plan to reconnect to the traverse farther down the road.

The next section had a lot of paved roads, traffic and people. It is interesting how quickly I get settled and comfortable in the woods. Seeing all of the people and traffic gave me the “I got to get out of here” panic. We all breathed a sigh of relief when we finally did hit the dirt again. This area offered a lot of off shoots and unmapped roads but some ended at strange encampments that look like folks living off the grid for some time. We also came across some old cemeteries. One of which had a deep mud pit to get through. We all got through fairly easily.

 

[4xFletch]

The second night we had a harder time finding a camp site. But when we did it was almost dark and worth it. Good spot next to a stream that was clean. It was sad how many “camp sites” were covered in trash. We all agreed that we would bring trash bags and work to clean up each site like that we encounter. Unfortunately, we did not take better pictures of the site. We were eager to set up and cook dinner

The next day we only had until 2 pm before we would need to end the trip. We again took our time and explored some more forest service roads along the way and took in the scenery. We hit a major road around 2 pm and made that the stopping point. Looking at the map we realized we had only driven a little more than half of the traverse (Not including Tray Mtn). We all agreed to get together soon and finish the traverse in that same style: Taking our time exploring and enjoying being out of the city. Maybe next time we’ll take more pictures too.
In a world gone crazy with COVID and silly petty politics, It was refreshing to unplug from it all and go to places and experience things around you operating the way they are meant to: in peace, serenity and with true purpose.

 

[4xFletch]

Adventures and oops:

This past weekend (2/27 - 2/28), my Friend Dan and I got recruited to be chase trucks for a group of guys doing a relay type trail running of the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail (AT). The idea was that we would meet them at each runner change area and provide whatever assistance they may need. With a little time in between to check out some forest service roads. After finding a couple of trails with fun hill climbs we went down one that started to get narrower and then went down a hill and dead-ended. No way to turn around. Had to back up a long distance. While backing up the narrow road trying to stay as close to the up hill side as possible, my cruiser started to slide towards the drop on an off camber section. I tried to correct but there was no stopping this outcome:

Any attempt to move resulted in sliding farther down the hill. I was able to radio my friend to come back. We devise a plan to connect my winch to a tree up the hill and a another rope from the rear to a snatch block on another tree up the hill that connects to his cruiser. That way we could slowly crab walk the cruiser back onto the road. Well, while pulling me his cruiser slides off the road. Now we were in a real pickle. So we start stacking up rocks and to try and get his out. No use, it is sliding down farther. OK, lets go back to mine since it has the winch and see what we can do. While stacking up rocks and discussing different plans, a new jeep rolls down the trail. One of those with the fancy "angry face" front grills and lots of bling. The dude asks if we need help and tells us he has a brand new winch and has never used it. Then he pulls out brand new straps still in the plastic wrapper. He is able to winch Dan out very easily. So next step is to start the crab walk technique again on my cruiser. It works! And with the traction mats we are able to back out of the trail that at this point is a very muddy mess. In total we were there about 3.5 hours. But thanks to our new friend Allen, we got out. Had to get a photo with him and his Jeep shirt and me with my toyota shirt. Good dude and very appreciative for him and his patient teenage daughters.

 

[4xFletch]

So after all that it is 6:30 pm. So we decide to find the closest camp site and relax after all that. Make some food and have some well deserved brews. We find a great spot and cheers to Allen otherwise I think we would have been camping on that trail. It ended up being a great trip.

Our foggy camp site:

 

[4xFletch]

Boosted!!

After about two years of dreaming, saving and collecting parts I finally had everything I needed (including time) to install a turbo.

I started with a CX racing turbo kit. I opted to skip their cheap turbo and waste gate. The manifold is very nice and the down pipe is decent. I bought a Borg Warner S300SX3 and a Tial MVR 44 mm wastegate to have a reliable set up. Here is manifold installed and testing the turbo, wastegate and exhaust down pipes:

The CX kit has the wastegate dump tube exit to atmosphere. I did not like that idea so I bought some fittings to have the dump tube connect back into the down pipe. As a side note, welding stainless steel is really hard. I spent many hours welding and grinding. I have read that people had concerns about the welds and steel quality of the CX manifolds. With the amount of weight of the turbo sitting on the manifold and violence of off roading, I decided to fab a bracket to go from the engine mount bolt up to the bottom of the turbo mount to assist with holding up the weight. I made it very snug. Not sure how much it well help but I liked the peace of mind:

Once the turbo was in place I was able to order all of the intake elbows and connectors. While I waited on those to be delivered I began working on the rest of the exhaust. The next section that connected to the down pipe did not line up at all. I’m sure that was because I did not use the turbo and wastegate that the kit was built to match. I had to cut the collect off the pipe and reweld in the correct location. After that piece, I stepped down to 2 ½ exhaust and installed a turbo muffler and ran the exhaust along the frame rail to terminate before the rear tire. I will need to adjust my slider slightly to get it back in. I also had to add the bung for the AFR sensor on the second downpipe section.

 

[4xFletch]

Impressions and final thoughts. For now I have the 5.8 psi spring in. I wanted to see how the vehicle responds given that the exhaust is pretty free-flowing. I have an AFR gauge that I am finalizing the installation so changing the springs to the 7.25 spring will be pending. After a couple of short drives, Wow, it is awesome! It gets moving and the sound of the turbo whistling is one of the most beautiful things I have heard. I will continue to slowly break it in and check for leaks. Downside; my York compressor will no longer fit. Although I think it would block air flow to assist with cooling the manifold and turbo so I am ok with it. I used a long turbo muffler so it is not too loud. Good deep rumble. Used a O2 simulator for the down stream sensor to get past the lack of cats.

I highly recommend throwing a turbo in your FZJ80.

 

[White Sheep]

Good s***!!

 

[man0fsteel]

Wow...Great build report and trip blog. I'm supposed to be working (while my wife and daughter are away this fine Saturday) and I thought I'll just do a little reading. Down the rabbit hole! Curious if you ever got new 315 tires? My '95 just got new springs and 3" lift and it really needs bigger tires. Any idea if the spare tire spot under the rear of the car will fit a 33" spare?

 

[4xFletch]

@man0fsteel Thank you for your kind words. I finally did get 315’s. I’ve posted a picture to show how well they fit since I hadn’t updated this thread. Word has it the 33 will fit under but definitely not a 35.

 

[cybrstar]

Any Updates in your CX turbo kit? Manifold’s okay? Beautiful turbo by the way! On the list to picking one up.

 

[4xFletch]

Any Updates in your CX turbo kit? Manifold’s okay? Beautiful turbo by the way! On the list to picking one up.

So far the manifold is fine. Installation had no issues for the manifold. All of the bolt holes lined up. The down pipe had to be adjusted. I did not use the oil supply or drain parts that came with the kit. And of course as I had mentioned I did not use their turbo or waste gate. So I used very little parts from their “kit”.

 

[man0fsteel]

So far the manifold is fine. Installation had no issues for the manifold. All of the bolt holes lined up. The down pipe had to be adjusted. I did not use the oil supply or drain parts that came with the kit. And of course as I had mentioned I did not use their turbo or waste gate. So I used very little parts from their “kit

@man0fsteel Thank you for your kind words. I finally did get 315’s. I’ve posted a picture to show how well they fit since I hadn’t updated this thread. Word has it the 33 will fit under but definitely not a 35.
View attachment 2708837

Man, I was going to wait to get the 315's on mine (the rims I got came with pretty new 275s on them), but it just looks plain goofy with all the room in the wheel wells.

 

[man0fsteel]

So far the manifold is fine. Installation had no issues for the manifold. All of the bolt holes lined up. The down pipe had to be adjusted. I did not use the oil supply or drain parts that came with the kit. And of course as I had mentioned I did not use their turbo or waste gate. So I used very little parts from their “kit”.

You think your Rig with the turbo would pass CA smog? I know the CX Site claims they aren't road legal.

 

[4xFletch]

You think your Rig with the turbo would pass CA smog? I know the CX Site claims they aren't road legal.

No it wouldn’t. If they put the sniffer in the exhaust pipe it would fail but that is also because I no longer have cats. If you keep the cats NOX should still pass but any visual probably wouldn’t.