Box Rocket 1995 FZJ80 Build

Talent. Not really that hard. Just have patience, prep well and take your time.

Hoping to get pics tonight.

 

Headlights installed tonight. Conveniently I had one of the stock headlights that was burnt out so the following pics are of the one working headlight.

Before:


After:


Also blacked out the grill

 

I was gonna ask if you were gonna paint the grill. I know my brother done it. seems to be the popular thing to do in FJ80 world.

 

freaking sweet so far!

 

When does the suspension go on? Also how well is your reception with the antenna on the bumper? I am looking to install a CB soon and am either going to put it on the front bumper, on a ditch light bracket, or last case scenario on the rear with a tailgate mount.

 

The antenna isn't hooked up yet. I still need to move the CB from the old truck. But that's where I had the antenna before and the reception was good.

I will probably start on the suspension this Saturday sometime.

 

I got to work on the suspension swap yesterday. Turns out the suspension that is on the new cruiser is Skyjacker coils/shocks NOT Rancho like I thought it was. I was only able to get the rear suspension swapped last night, but hope to get the front done in the next couple days. The details of the rear suspension I'm putting on the new cruiser is some *well used* OME J springs, some 1.5" spring spacers, OME L shocks, Slee 2" bumpstop extensions, Slee swaybar brackets, Slee adjustable panhard. I took some measurements of the rear of the truck prior to starting and from the ground to the bottom edge of the fender flare was 38 5/8". After the rear J springs etc were swapped in the measurement was 42 1/2" so I got almost 4" of extra lift. It may settle a bit, but that's probably what it will be.
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Here's the BEFORE photo with both 80s in the garage ready for the swap, along with the Tacoma patiently waiting.

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In case anyone is curious my Goodyear MTRs are about an inch larger diameter than the used BFG ATs that have been on my old cruiser. Both are 315s.

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Skyjacker 2.5" lift coil

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Old Skyjacker shocks

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Here's the comparison of the OME J spring and 1.5" spacer next to the 2.5" Skyjacker coil.

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I didn't get any other photos during the process but here's a dark photo after the rear ends were all buttoned back up. Skyjacker stuff is now on the white cruiser and the OME stuff is on the new Grey cruiser. Pretty big change if you ask me (check out the height of the taillights compared to the BEFORE photo). It's stink bugged really bad right now until I can get the front swapped out, but I'm looking forward to seeing how it rides.

 

Stinkbug stance improves fuel mileage as you are always going downhill. I always thought it was interesting that tire height often has nothing to do with what is written on the sidewall, even within the same brand.

 

I actually like a little "stinkbug". The trucks ends up level when I get it all loaded with gear. Of course going downhill all the time like you say is nice too.

 

So much awesome in that photo, love the 80, love the color and the fact that a lot of what you do with those trucks involves family!

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Thank you. The family aspect is the best part of all of it. Wrenching is fun (usually) and the occasional trip with the guys is a blast but none of it compares to the trips with my wife and kids. Helps to have a wife that is cooler than any of my friends and likes doing the stuff, and boys that are as into trucks as I am and a daughter who's favorite thing is camping.

Yeah I'm lucky, I won't deny that.

 

Suspension swap is complete!
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Damage report:
Only 3 broken bolts
Two broken 3/8 Drive Ratchets
one broken strap wrench
one broken shock
One smashed finger
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So besides a few unexpected hiccups (what can you expect when dealing with 20 year old components?) it came together alright. So other than the springs and shocks, the new cruiser has longer brake lines, adjustable panhards, caster correction plates and some 2" spacers.
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Before:

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After:

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Looks amazing Adam! Sometimes I think it would be cool to have interior storage space that a SUV offers...

Matt

 

sweet rig.

 

thanks guys. Next up is sliders. Then I need to rebuild the front axle. It has bad inner axle seals that need to be replaced and I'll check all the bearings etc while I'm in there. A couple cosmetic things too. I'll be repainting the wheels soon if I can get warm enough weather. Getting closer to having it ready to rock for the spring though.

 

Coming along nicely. ...

 

If you don't mind me asking, How much would you be looking to get for the old one? I have been looking for a well kept LC for some time now. If you would rather not say, no problem, just wondering. I have always wanted to make a trip out to Utah you know

 

well you should know that there is probably quite a bit of work that will be needed on my old cruiser, mainly just because it's been parked for so long. And since it currently doesn't run, whoever buys it will probably want to tow it away. But because of that stuff it will be pretty freakin cheap. It's still a solid truck in a lot of ways. Still is lifted on 35's and has a rear locker, just will need some maintenance to check all the fluids etc and replace any worn parts. Then address the reason it's not running. I'm hoping it's just a fried computer, and I have a spare computer to go with it for whoever buys it.

Anyway, I haven't settled on a price yet, but if anyone is really interested, PM an offer and I'm happy to discuss it.

 

Did a couple other things last night. I have a set of Spidertrax wheel spacers that I installed last night. I've like the spacers on my Tacoma so I thought I'd try them out on the cruiser. I think it is the perfect amount and puts the tires out flush with the flares. Feels a bit more stable and adds a little weight to the steering feels which I like.

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Also got the wheels repainted. They had been painted before but were a little faded and chipped. So, cleaned them up and shot them with a few coats of VHT Satin Black wheel paint and few coats of clear.

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Here's a couple shots of the wider stance with the spacers.

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the repaint of the wheels makes it pop. what size spacers are the spidertrax?