Box Rocket 1995 FZJ80 Build

If you find a set of factory ones, they have drip trays underneath to re-route rainwater.

 

near windshield is a typical high pressure zone.

could always rock hood spacers in the rear though

 

Thanks. I'm actually working on fabricating my own vents since I wasn't able to find any on the market that fit what I wanted and didn't require cutting any of the support beams on the bottom of the hood. I don't want them to look cheap so it may take me a bit of time to finish them up but they are underway.

The ones in the photo on the green hood are actually Pontiac Grand Prix GXP vents. They're a commonly used one with 80 owners but they are difficult to find now.

 

Ha! interesting. I knew the ones in the first picture weren't the Jeep ones, but had no idea where they really came from.

 

I guess I just meant like a close up up of the scoop to see the seam between it and the hood

 

Still not sure exactly what you're looking for....
IMG_4158 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

 

Exactly. Thanks!

 

Sold the Tacoma. On the hunt for a 100 series. Reading back over our dialogue helped convince me to just pull the trigger. There’s no nervous emoji but if there was one, I’d insert it here. Help me! Haha.

 

What's to be nervous about? That whatever time you can to find the *right* one or close to the right one. Personally, I wouldn't be determined to find one with the rear locker. If you find a good one and it has lockers, that's awesome but don't turn away from a good truck just because it doesn't have a locker or two. You can always add them. I'd also suggest being willing to travel to get it. Utah prices are higher on average and it can totally be worth a plane ticket to buy elsewhere and drive it back.

 

I just hope I'm going to be happy with it. I met up with a local and didn't fully realize the limitations of the front suspension on the 100 series. Don't want a monster truck but would like to get 35's under there without much issue. I have a loaner LX470 at the moment and it's a boat! Super comfortable but such a difference from the Tacoma. I'm not concerned about finding one with a locker...in fact I'm looking at newer years to get a decent interior. I should have about $10k after I buy the truck for building purposes which would include front and rear lockers. I'd also like to get lift, wheels, tires, bumpers, and rack all in there with that money. We'll see if it happens.

I've also been looking at the GX470 but my wife doesn't thing the rear will have enough storage for trips and hates the rear swing door. Lot of aftermarket options for those. There's also the newest generation 4Runner that I could pick up. If I got one of those I could only lift it and put tires on which isn't too exciting to me.

I just keep hearing about this die-hard Land Cruiser ownership and that once you're in you never leave and I want to experience that. What you think?

 

Oh man, they definitely feel way different than a Tacoma. What limitations did this "local" tell you that you weren't aware of? 35's are doable, seen it done many times. You'll want a Slee diff drop for the front and some aftermarket UCA's (check out the Blackhawk ones from Endless Horizon Outfitters), then you just adjust the torsion bars to get the height you want. Like with Tacomas you may have some minor trimming needed at the firewall. A stock LX470 (your loaner) will feel like a boat, they have softer suspension and the airbags. If you end up with a LX470, I would rip out the air bags if it were mine and get a real suspension setup, I think you know the one I like and it's sweet in the 100 series.

The GX is also a cool truck, and super popular right now. The pros of the GX is the same motor from the LX in a smaller, lighter chassis so it has a bit more pep. The cons are the smaller size and light duty chassis. The LX is a true Land Cruiser with the HD components and it will show over time. I don't like the rear swing door on the GX either. The lift/tail gate on the Cruisers are much more convenient and useful. The LX isn't a Suburban in terms of storage space but it will definitely have more than the GX.

Just me, but I wouldn't do a new 4Runner. They're neat and all, but besides the fact that every poser "overlander" has one of them, or a Tacoma, it's just not in the same league as a Land Cruiser.

 

I believe you're friends with the local, Max with the LX470 on Hutchinson's. The limitations were in terms of height. In order to achieve the optimal droop you have to keep height down which seemed like about 2.5 inches of lift. I would get the exact suspension Max has, Slinky/Icon combo (including ripping out AHC). Do that immediately...well would really do everything immediately. No need to wait.

 

You'll love it, you will be able to wheel it pretty hard with 35s. Adam wont steer you wrong. He's a main reason I built up my Tacoma that led to buying an 80 series, that led to an 80 then 85 pickup. He gives great advice and extremely knowledgeable. My cruiser is just a Friday or weekend driver like the other rigs but it is possibly my favorite.

Can't wait to see what you get

 

Max has a nice setup. He's right, sort of. Not sure what the "optimal" droop is since it can be a bit different for each rig and how it's used. However, the way the torsion bars work is that they have a finite range of motion. They are somewhat limited by the stock UCAs which is one reason it's a good idea to upgrade them. It will free up a little bit of motion without binding. But you still have a "window" of front suspension travel that doesn't really change. But by adjusting the torsion bars you move the neutral (ride height) point up or down within that window. If you move the neutral point down in the window by lifting the vehicle via torsion bar adjustment, then you reduce the amount of droop left available. If you move the neutral point up, you decrease compression but increase the amount of droop available.
So yeah, there is kind of a sweet spot you'll want to find depending on how you plan to use the rig.

Paul May at Equipt had 35's on his old 100 series and it was adjusted a bit higher than Max's rig. I rode with Paul several times in that rig. The only time I noticed it was when running fast and getting the tires off the ground. There was a bit of a "thump" as the front end would droop quickly and hit it's limit. But there was plenty of compression available so as the truck landed it absorbed it well and was mostly just the noise and a feeling of a small bump when it hit the limit of droop when going fast. I guess personally I'd rather have that than bottoming out and hitting the compression limit sooner. My brother in laws LX470 is that way right now. His can be fixed with some better shocks to soften and slow down the compression before hitting the bumpstops, but he could also adjust the torsion bars a bit.

The Slinky setup on Max's rig is good, but could be even better if he upgraded to the Stage4 shocks. I saw a huge jump in performance when I went from the Stage 1's like Max has to the Stage 4's. But there's also a big jump in cost.

 

Love my wife's 4runner but like Adam mentioned I would skip it for a land cruiser if I could go back. The bigger interior and getting away from a v6 and getting that v8 will be a welcomed addition.

 

Gotcha, good advice. I was originally going to stick with the Stage 1's due to cost. Totaling it up it looks like $3,100 for his setup. I'm no serious offroader, just casual weekend explorer, and probably don't need Stage 4...though I would like it. That $3100 would include UCA's and diff drop.

I suppose my big worry is rock crawling. I certainly don't do anything extreme but would like to be able to tackle everything in American Fork with ease, and maybe the full west rim trail at Sand Hollow. Is that asking a lot from the big cruiser or would that be cake walk? The Tacoma made it through without issue but I was certainly surprised on many features how well it did.

I also be daily-ing it.

 

A 100 series with the Slinky setup will tackle AF Canyon and Sand Hollow no problem, and then some! Forest Lake and Mineral Basin are the tougher tracks up AF canyon and we've run both of those with my brother in law in his LX470 on 275s and OME suspension (no 35's needed). He's also run all of West Rim and Triple 7's with us down in Sand Hollow. Cake walk, unless you play on optional lines on West Rim.

 

Good to know. That thing looks huge! But probably not much bigger than my Tacoma would have been. Now I just have to find one without 250k miles!

 

How far are you willing to drive, my buddy might be selling his

 

Within a weekend's drive for the right one...