Okay, not this weekend, but the last 4 plus years of weekends... I will put together a belated build thread on this with more details later.
This has taken more than 4 years for me to get to this stage. I tore the rig apart the week of Thanksgiving 2020 believing I was going to have a few months off as I had retired, however life had other plans for me. Between teaching, some side work, children’s needs, and then an offer to join an engineering firm as a partner, my time rapidly evaporated. I have had approximately 20 days that I did not work each year since then. Work hours hit a peak of 121 hours per week with 80 to 100 work weeks being the norm. The old lady had to take a back seat to life again.
I started by I almost completely stripping the interior, just leaving most of the dash. Exterior, removed the front bumper and winch for some mods.
She languished between infrequent opportunities to wrench on her, sometimes months before I could take a day off or two and work on her. Something I thought I could have wrapped up in 3 to 4 months, agonizingly drug on and on. Worst yet, as time passed, the direction I originally wanted to take changed, some parts I thought I would use are now collecting dust. Felt like the last two years when I did wrench on her, I was rushing it just to get it done.
If you look at the list below, many of the parts I added were purchased up to 5 years ago as at least one of the suppliers is no longer in existence or the parts are no longer available.
It has been a bit frustrating as I wanted to get her back on the road but really tried not to rush it. Finally, a break, we decided to close our offices the week between Christmas and New Years this year and I got a full 7 days to work on her again. We had slowed (until the last 6 weeks anyway) and I was able to put in about 10 – 2-day weekends on her.
I will never undertake such a large amount of work at once on her unless I take it to one of the fine people who rebuild rigs on this site. I really regret not being able to get out and enjoy her, although wrenching on her was therapeutic for me.
As always, a shout out to the IH8MUD braintrust out there, you guys helped immensely whether you knew it or not.
So, without further ado, here is the list of items I completed through the refit, items I had already completed: and the to do items that will have to wait a bit.
- Re-powder coat 4xLabs front bumper
- Modify front bumper with new welded in light support bar (my fist attempt at welding)
- Replace paper clip power steering cooler with Wit’s end power steering cooler
- Notch front bumper to accept the power steering oil cooler
- Fabricate new oil cooler skid plate
- New 3.5 inch Dobinsons C97-144VT front coils and C97-145VT rears
- New Dobinsons MRA shocks
- New Dobinsons front and rear pahnards
- New front hydro bump stops.
- New steering stabilizer
- New hood prop rod
- New hood and tailgate struts
- Baja Designs LP9s
- Relocate winch controller under the hood
- Add adaptive lighting brackets with KC pod lights
- Fabricate wire management bracket in battery compartment with 500A distribution block and fuse holders
- Install 2nd battery and tray
- Blue Sea battery control system
- Delta washer bottle relocate kit
- Delta battery control support bracket
- Remove most non-factory wiring and replace and reroute.
- Add Wit’s End QPM with Delta wire management
- Replace factory stereo with new head unit and amp.
- New speakers (not happy with how they perform)
- Fabricate mounting plate at rear console CD location for Blue Sea USB/12V outlets
- Blue see USB outlets in dash
- Install switch pros lighting controller
- Install Puma air compressor on LCP compressor mount
- Remove rear dust deflector and replace with LED light bar
- Add rock lights
- Add ditch lights on YodaTEQ ditch light brackets
- Add puddle lights at front doors
- Add Red and White LEDs on the interior of the rear hatch with touch dimmers
- Delta tailgate storage lid
- Delta attic storage rack
- Slee rear locker skid plate
- New window runs
- New window weather strips all around
- Replace all window motors and regulators
- Rebuild seatbelts with new webbing by Safety Restore
- Refurbish the steering wheel and added thumb supports
- New interior carpet (which I botched badly)
- Removed old hardened sound deadener from floor panels
- Dynamat, or Noico mat the entire interior (big difference!)
- Additional sound and thermal insulation throughout.
- Extended diff and transmission breather tubes
- Added oil catch can and bracket from Epic Cruisers
- Removed antilock braking system
- Fabricate new bracket for the winch controller and support for new brake lines
- Replace factory vacuum boosted brakes with a hydro boost system
- New PSC reservoir and mounting bracket to support the hydro boost.
- New Baer master cylinder
- LCP electric fan
- LCP HD Severe Duty Rear Sway Bar Links
- LCP rear window hatch
- Replace most dash trim and vents with new
- New instrument cluster cover
- New parking brake boot
- New ATS shift lever handle replacement
- Rear bump stop extension brackets
- Landtank rear extreme duty control arms
- Clean about 2-lbs of dust and dirt from as much of the interior as possible, especially the quarter panels.
- New Grill from Landcruiser Grills (I really like it, not only looks good but beefy!)
- New Icon Rebound Pro wheels with Delta VS hub spacers
- New 315/70/17 Mickey Thompson Baja Boss M/Ts
- New 2kw starter
- New TYC radiator (ToolsRus recommendation) & coolant hoses (all other hoses are less than 8 years old)
- New fan belts
- 90 degree oil filter adapter
- New spark plugs, wires, and cap
- New wits end windshield washer sprayer mod (to be completed)
- New passenger mirror (can’t find the DS)
- New side OEM passenger side marker (can’t find the DS)
- New turn signal lights
- New rear tail lights
- New Factor 55 winch fairlead and Flatlink shackle mount
- New AC condenser
- New water pump
- More small stuff that I can think of at this point.
Already done
- OME 2.5” lift (replaced with Dobinsons)
- 4xLabs front and rear bumpers
- White Knuckle sliders
- Smittybilt 12k winch
- Rebuilt engine and replaced almost everything under the hood 45k miles ago
- Photoman alternator bracket and Sequoia alternator
- Delta 4” radius arms
- Delta panhard bracket (replaced)
- Lseat front leather (would not buy again)
- New driver side foam cushion
- Fan Clutch mod
- Iron Pig trans/Xfr case skid
- Under drive and low range gear change for the xfr case.
- Hand throttle cable
Yet to do or thinking about it:
- New axle gearing (4:88s)
- Jump to 37” tires?
- New double cardan front shaft for the increase in lift height to 3” or 4” (TBD)
- Weld on the diff armor (sitting on the shelf now)
- Big brake kit? Will see after I play with the hydro boost a bit.
- Design a skid for the AC dryer.
As she sits today.