DannyBCruzin in an FZJ80

That I do know lol. Thanks dude, it took me a long time to get one too, but I'm definitely enjoying it! It's been so much more fun to work on than the Tacoma honestly. I don't know if it's because of having all the experience of trial and error or because there's so many more little widgets and doodad kinds of mods that the 80 series owners have come up with over the decades, but it's fun

 

What better time to tinker than when you need a distraction? After doing some light output testing in the driveway, I decided to tuck the bar close to the grille, as the output wasn't blocked nearly as much as I thought it would be. It was not perceivable at all from the driver's seat. With the harness already installed and connected to the battery and switch, all I had to do was drill two holes for the bolts, give a few ugga uggas to tighten it down, and all done! I'm really happy with how these lights turned out. The little bars will be nice when I'm not in front of the pack, as they shouldn't blind the person in front of me while still giving me some illumination, and then the big bar and little bars combined will turn night into day when I'm in front. I'll find a place to get better output shots soon, my I may try to relocate my CB antenna so I can mount a second dust light back there, though...or maybe find a new place for dust lights? I dunno, more quarantine projects I guess lol





I've had this little cig lighter expander gizmo that I got from Autozone during a trip sitting in front of the shifter for awhile. I randomly took the ash tray out to see what was there and I saw a nice, flat surface on the bottom. I decided to move the doodad there with some double sided tape, and although it isn't the prettiest I like how it's out of the way now

 

OCD was killing me, so I MacGyvered a little extendo bracket for my antenna so that I could add a second rear dust light to balance it out. I had two mounting brackets from my old FSR RTT that seem to be made out of stainless steel, so I trimmed one and drilled new holes for the pod light and antenna bolts. Came out pretty good and sturdy.

 

Melted the tire strap mounts onto the trunk assembly and tested the weight capacity. Can confirm it doesn't give a single heck about 245 pounds in the center lol





And the moment we've all been waiting for (read: we = me)...


It's complete and installed! Now time for some testing before paint

 

This reminds me of testing a cooking grate I "manufactured" for my wife's parents..

 

Lmao bold move!

 

Got the fridge slide installed too. The DFG slide is fuggin beef!!

 

did this thing sell?

 

Lol negative, Chief

 

This was the feature that started it all...being able to grab road sodas without opening both hatches

 

Found this rig on CL

I was like "this rig looks familiar..."

 

Lol just testing the waters. These things are going for a lot right now so I figured I’d see if anyone would bite

 

FIFY. Just kidding, I have couple that I have been tinkering on and enjoying. I really like them but am more of an enthusiast than collector. I can't stand to own a vehicle that I can't drive, much less afford it. Anyway, it is crazy what people want for these things. I gave up on anything lower than FJ80 a long time ago because of price. People hate now because I raptor lined one and diesel swapped another, but they are fun.

 

I had a couple near sales! It’s pretty feasible here in California where everything is expensive anyway hahaha. You’re not wrong tho...prices are insane for these. I decided that if it doesn’t sell this month, I’m not renewing the ad

 

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/d/martinez-1996-toyota-land-cruiser-4x4/7254042673.html

Will you trade for:
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/d/las-vegas-land-cruiser-fzj80-series/7261931291.html
or
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/d/san-francisco-toyota-tacoma-4x4-camper/7262124188.html
or
https://ventura.craigslist.org/cto/d/ventura-2002-toyota-tacoma-with-custom/7254629170.html

 

Nope. I’ll trade for cash money hahaha

 

Decided to switch up the rear dust lights because the hatch would graze the corner of the pods. Bought some cheap flush pods from Amazon that are actually pretty impressive for the money!
Link:

Flush Mount LED Pods, YCHOW-TECH 2PCS 5" 100W Amber LED Driving Lights LED Work Light Spot Beam Flush Mount LED Lights Super Bright Off Road Lights for Truck ATV UTV Boat 4x4 Grill Mount

http://www.amazon.com/YCHOW-TECH-Bumper-Lights-Driving-Waterproof/dp/B088NFLNT7/ref=pd_sbs_3?pd_rd_w=yQJdE&pf_rd_p=527ea27c-adf6-4b67-9c5f-265eb29e0622&pf_rd_r=VW1WG404JMNCF7JXVP0M&pd_rd_r=cd2be047-c90b-4065-8d35-67673f638433&pd_rd_wg=NUzEB&pd_rd_i=B088NFLNT7

 

Now that some of the little projects have been completed, I've been trying to prioritize my next round of projects. Here's what I have so far:

1. Rock sliders
2. Re-gear to 4.88s and add rear locker. I'm not sure if I want to dump the change into getting a selectable front cuz that's biggg money. I think a rear and center will get me pretty far...
3. Front bumper
4. Another pair of Front Runner roof bars & a wind fairing to complete the look and add more support under the tent
5. 37s

 

Found a local guy to me who does gears for all the hardcore rock crawlers. Including parts and labor, my re-gear is looking like it'll be under $2k - more like $1800. Does this seem pretty reasonable for 4.88s, a mechanical rear locker (spartan) and labor? I think so...JustDifferentials was more like $3k+ for comparably built 3rd members

 

Welp, I took a big leap towards keeping this thing for at least awhile lol. I ordered the parts for my re-gear that were recommended by my local guy for 4.88s and a rear Spartan mechanical locker. I also bought a set of kick-out rock sliders from Rocky Road and a Prinsu roof rack. My OCD was killing me with just the two roof bars and the long tent...need that Prinsu to clean up the roof aesthetics and also block a bunch of the wind that was growing to be super annoying!