Build What did you do with your cruiser today?

[rusty_tlc]

As long as the SPOD and the lines feeding it are beefy enough, your radio will be fine. If you have other sensitive equipment on the SPOD, for example an audio amp, then you've introduced a way for the 80W HAM radio to interfere with the audio amp. You can ad filters and whatnot, but you reach a point where it's easier to just go back to powering off the battery.

One other thing to note, in general you don't want to create a big loop antenna with your HAM radio power leads. Keep the +12V and GND wires close together, all the way back through the SPOD, and ideally it should grab its ground from the battery not the chassis for the same reason.

Sometimes violating the above works just fine, but if you have trouble those are the first places to look.

At a minimum have a dedicated ground from the radio to the battery. For a couple of reasons. First, if you ground through the body there will be resistance between the radio and true ground this increases the chance of noise into other systems in the car. Second it will create a potential voltage in the radio ground which will result in noise from the cars systems into the radio.

 

[rusty_tlc]

I showed my wife pictures on 70 swb series diesels today.... she thought the looked cool. Not sayin just sayin......

 

[lelandEOD]

No pictures, but I got the old aftermarket knuckle dragging exhaust that she came with from Japan, off. I’ll upload a picture to give everyone an idea of how low it was to the ground.

Started to fab the new exhaust. I’m staying inside the frame rails. It’s a little tight having the factory fridge console. The lines run right where I need the pipe to go. Had to cut a couple welds and readjust my routing. I’ve got the downpipe and flex pipe in. I have also cut a bunch of 7* and 15* pie cuts. I wish I had a tig!! Going over the trans cross member, and around the tcase, with 3” is going to be fun. I’m only using mild steel for this exhaust. In the future, when I have settled on my routing, I will redo it with stainless. I’m staying straight piped for now too! I wish I could upload a quick video of what it sounded like when I dropped the muffler back. Really nice!

I figure that I have roughly 100 hours of work left, if the kids leave me alone, so maybe more like 125+ hours.

I sent my axle parts wishlist to Kurt @ Cruiser Outfitters, so I’m hoping to hear from him in the morning. Once I get that all ordered, I can plan out a timeline to get steps completed.

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You should check out the exhaust system I made for my diesel conversion for some ideas!

 

[lelandEOD]

Pretty much done with my valve stem seals swap; just waiting on some new gaskets and seals to show up tomorrow and I can button everything back up and reset the timing. I detailed the process in the 80-Series Tech Forum for those who are interested:

New Cruiser: Valve Guide Seal Quick Swap DIY

For those who might be interested I thought I would document the my process to swap the valve guide seals in situ. A little background: I just picked up this truck about a month ago and although it passed a combustion leak test and the compression and leakdown numbers looked pretty good, it was...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[JDMRedhead]

You should check out the exhaust system I made for my diesel conversion for some ideas!

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Nice work!!! I think that when I redo my exhaust in stainless, I’ll get some of the oval tubing. What engine did you swap in? HZ-T?

 

[lelandEOD]

Nice work!!! I think that when I redo my exhaust in stainless, I’ll get some of the oval tubing. What engine did you swap in? HZ-T?

Yup.

1HZ-T and H55 swap.

 

[Tony_Farson]

I had this made. I am going to find a different company to do it though. I am not excited about the quality. I think this a a great way to get our name out there more though.

 

[JDMRedhead]

Yup.

1HZ-T and H55 swap.
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I love how clean it is. If you ever go up on boost, over 10-11psi, the stock air box starts causing issues. I have seen guys use the FZJ lid to help them breathe better.

 

[JDMRedhead]

This little guy showed up today. Also, got my order in at Cruiser Outfitters for all my axle parts.

 

[Tony_Farson]

Plasti-dip removal round two... yep still hate the stuff.

 

[rusty_tlc]

Ordered new axel u bolts today, these guys do a good job.

Metal Fabricating & Auto Repairs in Sparks, NV

Washoe Metal Fabricating & Trailer Repair and McVay’s Muffler Service provide Sparks/Reno area drivers with mechanical repairs, welding, and accessories.

www.washoemetal.net

 

[Tony_Farson]

Not really "WITH" my Cruiser, but certainly for it. The guy who did our club logo did a personal one for my 80 on the cheap. I think I am going to have a large magnet made and slap one on either side on the fenders right about where the PO had his broverlander badges that damaged the paint.

The Kanji on the left is "Toyoda" (TEQ) of course, and the Kanji on the right is "Yagi" which is Japanese for goat.

 

[JDMRedhead]

Started working on building my new exhaust. I had forgotten how tedious it is. I left in a section with v-bands to add a resonator if needed later. I still need to finish a tailpipe, but I put another v-band back there so I can easily change my exit once I get a rear bumper.

 

[RAYJON]

Not really "WITH" my Cruiser, but certainly for it. The guy who did our club logo did a personal one for my 80 on the cheap. I think I am going to have a large magnet made and slap one on either side on the fenders right about where the PO had his broverlander badges that damaged the paint.


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The Kanji on the left is "Toyoda" (TEQ) of course, and the Kanji on the right is "Yagi" which is Japanese for goat.

Volvo guys do a Ferrari badge with a raindeer instead of a horse, How about a Ferrari badge with a goat...for the cruiser...

 

[lelandEOD]

Started working on building my new exhaust. I had forgotten how tedious it is. I left in a section with v-bands to add a resonator if needed later. I still need to finish a tailpipe, but I put another v-band back there so I can easily change my exit once I get a rear bumper.

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Looks great! You’ve got gobs of room compared to what I had to deal with. Enjoy zipping around all those pie cuts! I think I went through an entire bottle of argon to get mine done.

 

[JDMRedhead]

Looks great! You’ve got gobs of room compared to what I had to deal with. Enjoy zipping around all those pie cuts! I think I went through an entire bottle of argon to get mine done.

Thanks. I did use pre-bent pieces when possible. The flange adapter I used was for a MR2, and ended up being longer than I thought. For the down pipe, I had to cut down 2 90* bends as short as possible to clear the heater hoses and console refrigerant lines. I had planned on a different routing with a more gentle bends. Whenever I end up redoing it with stainless, I’ll change how the down pipe routes.

I’m actually unsure of how much 75/25 I have left, as I only have a small bottle. I’m not looking forward to burning in all those sections.

 

[Tony_Farson]

Open box deal I couldn't pass up...

Ordered the control pack relocation kit today so I won't have it in Yagi until after the trip.

Ordering a Factor55 ultrabook, and retention pulley too.

 

[lelandEOD]

Ray and I ordered 4x4Labs rear swingout kits for the 80s today. Gonna be a lot of welding in our future!

 

[Tony_Farson]

Ray and I ordered 4x4Labs rear swingout kits for the 80s today. Gonna be a lot of welding in our future!

Dammit... Missed the boat. What kind of deal sis you get?

 

[lelandEOD]

10%.

You didn't miss it. The coupon code is still active and Ray and I are planning to pick up the parts once they're ready to save $250 on shipping.