avw4x4's FZJ80 - Round II

Hey guys, I'm sure most of you know I totalled my tacoma about a month ago. After my insurance check finally cleared I was immediately off to get a new project... after learning a lot from all of you and from trial and error building my last tacoma I knew I was going to get an older vehicle so I'd have more money for parts

A week ago I found this 1993 FZJ80 locally and had to have it.



Not bad for a 1993 with 156k on it! It just has some rust on the bottoms of the doors but nothing serious. Frame is solid and the rest of the body is great (we'll see how long that lasts ).

So after 1 week of owning this monster it was time to start modifying it. I decided on the 2.5" OME lift, I was considering the 3" lift with the J-springs but i figured if I want more height I can just throw 1" spacers on top instead.

I knew Saturday was going to be a good day when I woke up to the FedEx guy backing up my driveway




Here's a couple of before shots from that morning:









Sadly this is basically the only "during" picture I have, it went amazingly smoothly. Took my buddy and I 5 hours from start to finish with a considerable amount of dicking off involved.




And finally the only "after" shot I have at the moment.



It's not a huge amount of lift by any stretch of the imagination. I originally wanted to try and stuff 37's under it but I think it's going to kill my up travel if I do. At the moment I'm thinking about just going with 35's and playing it safe.

After tires the list is as follows (not necessarily in this order):

Sliders
Front bumper w/ winch
Rear bumper with tire carrier
Storage System
Lockers
Power tank


Stay posted, I'm hoping to progress quickly with this truck

 

Sorry bout your truck man, Nice looking fzj80. Don't know what it is but looks like a nice trail rig.

 

Sub'd.. Always wanted an FZJ80 on 37s!

 

What tires did you get Andrew? I'm looking forward to checking out this rig this wknd.. Hope you get the rubber mounted in time!

 

I got 315/75/16 Fierce Attitudes... Price was right and I won't have to worry about rubbing. I'm hoping to get them mounted at noon today, will definitely take pics if it happens!

 

looks good, get some more pictures up! how's the interior? also, how's the gas mileage? my friend gets about 13 hwy with his haha maybe 9 city.

 

good tires! Moar pics!!

Auto/manual? What's the gearing, engine specs?

 

It's an auto, 4.11's stock, 4.5l straight six... gets 10-12 mpg being full time 4wd. Be interesting to see what the 35's do to it

 

Sounds like a good platform.. Full time 4wd eh..Is it a bear to drive ?

 

The steering box has some play in it so it's a little more active to drive on the highway than my tacoma was

 

Hello 35s goodbye running boards

 

Nice! Those new tires totally change the look of it. Good luck with the new rig.

 

You've already dented the rocker panels lol..

 

Yeah, she got a couple bumps and bruises last weekend...





I'll pull/pound out the dents as best as possible before putting sliders on. In the meanwhile I'll stay off the black trails

 

Not bad for just the 2.5" OME lift

 

looks good. that's alotta meat there buddy! No trimming needed?

Haha I like the broken nerf bar on the PS. Lol.

What brand sliders you going with?

 

We'll see if it needs trimming when it gets flexed out... I have a feeling the rear flares may go for a ride.

As far as sliders, I'm not too sure yet. Maybe SLEE?

 

looking good buddy. can't wait to hit rausch again!!

 

Thanks man! Need sliders so bad, already dented the fuck out of my rocker panels

Having a hard time prioritizing money right now; kinda thinking about buying a house.

 

If I can give you any advice about that, it's to try to get the basics on the truck first. With a house, the truck becomes less of a priority and it becomes harder to spend money on it. Unless your house expenses are low enough that you can still afford to do whatever you want.

I know a truck build is never "done" but a house will really never be done. Atleast if the truck is pretty well modded you can still have fun with it instead of trying to pay for truck mods and house mods at the same time.