Build TRDdrew's build: let me introduce Waffles

[TRDdrew]

Finished up replacing all the coolant hoses, cleaned the throttle body and got her all buttoned up and filled with coolant. Also modded the air filter cap to get rid of the air pump connection. Finished by removing the rear heater and making a sandwich style block off plate similar to the one wits end used to sell

Long live the mighty 3FE

 

[TRDdrew]

Started and sort of finished the install for the OME J lift I got from a club member. Got the fronts in, trimmed some rusty backplates, removed the front sway bar and extended the front diff breather. Pulled the truck out to flip it around to do the rear and now it's sitting perfectly level so I'm leaving it. I have almost no weight in the back so this set up makes sense.

It's now ome J's in the front with 860's out back. J shocks all around. Drives great, if I ever add a back bumper (cough cough @CrabCake ) I can swap in the rear J's.

Time to get the 35's mounted and then that will give me the motivation I need to get the new axle housings installed

BEFORE

AFTER

 

[CrabCake]

Started and sort of finished the install for the OME J lift I got from a club member. Got the fronts in, trimmed some rusty backplates, removed the front sway bar and extended the front diff breather. Pulled the truck out to flip it around to do the rear and now it's sitting perfectly level so I'm leaving it. I have almost no weight in the back so this set up makes sense.

It's now ome J's in the front with 860's out back. J shocks all around. Drives great, if I ever add a back bumper (cough cough @CrabCake ) I can swap in the rear J's.

Time to get the 35's mounted and then that will give me the motivation I need to get the new axle housings installed

View attachment 3976962
BEFORE

View attachment 3976964
AFTER

View attachment 3976965

LOL...looking good and rear bumper coming soon!

 

[TRDdrew]

got all the 35 stt pro's dismounted off my spare 100 series wheels and one swapped on to waffles spare. I'll take the other 4 into work on Tuesday and finishing up the mounting but that's enough for one day

Until then we have officially skipped leg day

 

[TRDdrew]

Only regret is not doing 35's sooner, looking like a proper 80 now. Gave it a bath and interior clean. Hope everyone had a great weekend

 

[CrabCake]

Looking great! I promise, that rear bumper is coming soon!

 

[TRDdrew]

Looking great! I promise, that rear bumper is coming soon!

You got a few project on your plate right now lol, I'm sure welding up a rear bumper isn't very high on the list lmao

 

[TRDdrew]

Fall Crawl 25' prep

With CLCC's Fall Crawl event closing in. I've been trying to knock out a few last projects.

First was getting the Slee caster correction plates on. After the front J springs this was a necessary modification. It was very "twitchy" at highway speeds. As I was installing I also swapped out the complete radius arms for a low mileage set off a friends LX450. Drives like a dream now

Next up I did a few flex test at work. Upon the first flex one of the rear sway bar end link left the chat so I decided just to remove the sway bar until after the event. Due to a very leaky passenger birf I'm just going to trailer the truck to the event but I was surprised on how well mannered the truck is with 0 sway bars but I fully understand the dangers of this. I will get some new bushings and links before reinstalling it. Also noticed that under flex the passenger rear tire was contacting the exhaust I made. I ended up redoing the axle back section making it run inboard of the frame rail. moved the factory exhaust hanger too, retaining the OEM style rubber hanger

Had some of Jason's (Trail Taylor) rated recovery points that I acquired from @NearJetties got them painted and installed

Truck hasn't had a battery hold down since I had acquired it so got that sorted and while I was there cleaned up and changed the positive terminal and cleaned up some wiring. Made my version of @LandCruiserPhil anti-stress fusible link mount. I think this is a great idea to not have to move the link while changing the battery and you should check out his kit. I also like his battery hold down kit but im limited on time and the stock on is better than not having one lol. I'm gonna pick up a new fusible link, mine looks tired lol but its still working, I'll toss it in the glove box as a spare.

Last I made some additional modifications to the accessory mount I made in the rear of the cruiser I wanted to incorporate a way to securely carry the PowerTank. ended up use the same style HD fire extinguisher mount that i have on my 100 series for the PowerTank. Also added a quick release fire extinguisher mount. Overall I'm happy with how this set up turned out.

T Minus 2 weeks till FC 25'

 

[TRDdrew]

CLCC Fall Crawl 25'

We had a great week at fall crawl and I think all attendees had a great time. Weather was perfect for fall camping mid 50s during the day and mid 30's at night, perfect for the buddy heather. Waffles performed flawlessly and wheeled great other than some pin striping there was no damage to report. Can't wait to get these axles done and see what she will do locked. Can't wait till next year

 

[TRDdrew]

Few more from the event

 

[TRDdrew]

Ended up scoring a new seat foam from @RubyCruiser for a great deal and we will just say, it was time lol.

Got the seat all torn down just waiting on new hog rings to arrive so I can get it all button up. Pretty straightforward to get the seat apart and cover off.

For anyone curious 94 cloth manual seats the correct part number for the lower driver seat foam 71512-60020

 

[TRDdrew]

With the seat cover off I did notice a small tear in the cover which would be noticeable once stretched over the new foam so I decide to drop that off at a local upholstery shop for repair.

While I wait for that I received my new fender flare seals from partsouq (53852-60040) so decided to start tackling that. Pretty straightforward but did run into a few issues. Mainly the 2 front flares had damage to the stud mounting points. I ended up replacing the stud with hardware I had around the shop and strengthening them with 3M panel bond adhesive, which also doubled to hold the new stud in place. To me the old dry rotted, crack and weathered seals were a huge eyesore to the exterior and I'm really happy with the end result. Take you time and clean the mounting surface for the seal really well before sticking down the new rubbers.

I'll post some more once she's back out of the shop

 

[TRDdrew]

D&G Kustoms in Leonardtown MD did a great job repairing the seat cover. The upholstery guy also redid some of the torn webbing around where the hog rings attach for a nice tight fit.

I ended up purchasing some half inch poly foam off Amazon to make up the difference for the stitched in foam I removed from the cover itself.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FFBG6ZZZ?tag=ihco-20

I cut out patch's and beveled the edges and used spray glue to adhere them to the new oem foam pad. Took my time working the cover on making sure everything was tight and fitting correctly before locking it down with new hog rings.

Should have done this sooner!!! Feels great

 

[TRDdrew]

Working on the last quarter flare. I saved the best for last lol I knew this was gonna be the worst one. The front bolt snapped off in the bracket so I drilled it out and installed a rivnut. The flare itself had some previous damage. The rear tab for the mud guard has been snapped off since I purchased the truck and the mud guard was held on with a zip tie. I had saved the quarter flares off the part out truck from earlier in this thread
Today I'm working on repairing some chips in those and we are gonna see what we can do about "color matching" the faded flares

I knew there was some rust on the lower quarters and was able to get a good look at it. Picture is of the passenger side, the driver is a bit worse but not hateful at all that will most likely be the next project I tackle.

 

[TRDdrew]

Paint work came out good, we had to play with the color quite a bit just due to the fade but I'm happy with it

 

[TRDdrew]

And so it begins

 

[TRDdrew]

Got all the rust removed an started making patches.

 

[TRDdrew]

back at it, took a break from the quarters the other night and pulled the passenger quarter window. I could see the faintest hint of rust between the window seal and molding so I decided to investigate and as I thought there was some corrosion but not bad at all

 

[TRDdrew]

Got the driver side rust all patched up, seam sealed and painted. Pretty happy with the results. I'm ok with the "cut out" look, ultimately once a bumper is back on you won't notice much of it anyway. Made sure to give all the inner quarter crevices a healthy dose of cavity wax before putting the interior back in.

Good for another 20 years, now to mimic the passenger side

 

[captainva]

Man I wish you lived closer...I could bring beer and watch you work to learn a thing or two. Very impressive!