Box Rocket 1995 FZJ80 Build

e34croak

New member
I'm excited to see the build. I recognize you from Tacoma World! Lost my DC and finally got a uzj100 a few months back.
 

Box Rocket

Well-known member
Are you repainting the whole rig or just touching up the trouble spots? Either way, looks like a nice rig. Maybe you'll have it for rock therapy 15' :)


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Not sure yet. I need to get the truck in my possession first than get some better estimates. I'm picking it up on Saturday then I can get some eyes on it and see how deep I want to go with the body work. If I can find a good place that I can afford, I'd love to get the whole thing repainted. But at the very least I think I'll have the hood resprayed.
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It will be ready to go long before Rock Therapy. It shouldn't take long for the swapping of parts, and a few maintenance things. Unfortunately I may not be attending Rock Therapy. I will be at Cruise Moab a couple weeks later and I need to figure out if I can afford to be away from work for both events.

I'm excited to see the build. I recognize you from Tacoma World! Lost my DC and finally got a uzj100 a few months back.
Thanks
 

Box Rocket

Well-known member
Starting out big with the mods. :) Everyone knows that 80s are in dire need of cup holders. So I picked up one of the popular Land Rover Discovery cup holders to add to the truck after I pick it up on Saturday.
discocupp-jpg.401270

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Now onto something a bit bigger.......how bout some 345/75R16 BFG KM2s? Ordered a set of 5. Can't wait.
 

redthies

Renaissance Redneck
Yes we did consider a 100 series. The main reason we decided to stay with an 80 series was because of budget. A decent 80 series is pretty affordable and I already have all the mods to put onto one. So it's a cheap way to be into a complete built and capable truck. With a 100 series it would have been a more expensive purchase to begin with for something with similar miles. Then there would be the additional cost of all the mods. Or I could have looked for a 100 series that was already built but again that would have made for a more expensive purchase. I won't argue which model cruiser is better but personally I don't feel that the 100 series is that superior to an 80 series. And in most cases I prefer the 80 but again that's just a preference and that can be different for everyone.

Great answers. All makes sense. I feel like I paid more than I should have for my 100, but then I drive it and love it, and I can forgive it for costing more. Should I have gone 80 again? Possibly, but since my wife was going from a '11 Rubicon, I thought it would be best to get her the newest rig possible.
 

lndhark

Adventurer
If the 80 turns out anything close to the way your Tacoma stands (which I'm sure it will), this will be an awesome expo truck!
 

Box Rocket

Well-known member
If the 80 turns out anything close to the way your Tacoma stands (which I'm sure it will), this will be an awesome expo truck!
thanks. My plans should make it every bit as "equipped" as the Tacoma. But I won't be doing things like drawers or a sleeping platform. One of the main reasons we are getting back into an 80 is so we can comfortably fit the whole family. That just wasn't working very well with the Tacoma. So the third row seats are staying in. We're also exploring our options right now to have second row "captains" chairs instead of the second row bench. But we've got some things we need to work around, like our fridge. I don't think I can fit our fridge behind the third row so I might need to keep the second row intact and just use one of the third row seats.
 

screwball48

Explorer
That truck would look good with the Tepui topo wrap that you have thought of for your taco.


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Mauka2Makai

Explorer
Thanks! You've got a little longer wait than I do but that won't make it any less fun. I've been meaning to ask you about the pocket flares. I've considered some. Any regrets on them?

Yeah my boys are already calling dibs on whose vehicle it's going to be. It's pretty funny.

Ideally I would have liked to have gone with no flares for a clean look, but after getting quotes for body work/welds and paint, I opted to postpone for what I thought would be my next best option. Someday in the future, I'll do it right and have a complete repaint with no flares. As far as the Pocket Flares... With the use of rivet nuts, I like the fact that the flares are easily removable to clean or repair/replace. The supplied hardware has you screwing directly into the panels... I didn't like that. Down fall of the Pocket Flares would be the additional holes that you have to drill. If I go with my original plan someday, whats a couple of extra holes to fill. If your flares are fine... You be the judge on whether it's money well spent, Looking back I'm kinda wondering if I should have just stuck it out. I do like the look and function, just kind of stuck in the middle of if it was really worth it. Hope this helped.
 

Box Rocket

Well-known member
Got the 80 home yesterday.

There are a few dings etc consistent with what you'd expect from a 20 year old car. Like a lot of 80s the front seats were trashed, split leather and bad foam. Before going to get the truck I got a lead on a pair of front seats in decent condition that were at a shop there in GJ. I arranged to go take a look at them after I bought the truck. It worked out great. It was a shop I'd never heard of called Metric Offroad that specializes in Cruisers. They had 20-30 trucks in the yard at the shop and the owner said he had another lot with another 40 trucks. A whole range of trucks from 40's to 80s and some 4runners and minitrucks too. Really cool guy and the seats he had were pretty dry but the leather was fully intact. We worked out a good deal on them with my new bad seats as partial trade. So the worst thing on the truck was fixed before I even got it home.

The rest of the issues with the truck are mostly cosmetic. The clearcoat is peeling on the hood, roof and flares. The front axle needs to be serviced and a couple other minor things looked at but it runs great and everything works. Even has lockers. The drive home was nice and it felt soooooo good to be back in an 80. The plan is to swap everything from my '93 over to it in the next few weeks. I'll use my OME J spring suspension, bumpers and sliders. I've ordered a set of 345/75R16's to go on the OEM wheels. So it should be ready to rock within the next month. My old 80 will get the suspension from this truck and keep the 315's that are on it and get the stock bumpers and then get sold cheap.

I already started cleaning up a few things. I painted the handles and the flares black and it is looking much better. I didn't get pics with the flares done yet so all you get is the handles.

Details:
1995 FZJ80
Moonglow Pearl
Tan interior
Factory lockers
Rancho 2.5" springs
285/75R16 General Grabbers
Naked roof (no roof rack from the factory)

Plans:
OME J springs, L shocks (from old 80)
Adjustable panhards (from old 80)
Slee Caster Plates (from old 80)
ARB front bumper (from old 80)
Wildyoats rear bumper (from old 80)
custom sliders
PrInSu roof rack
Tepui RTT
345/75R16 BFG KM2s
4.88's sometime down the road.
maybe a snorkel
address the peeling paint.

Here's some pics from tonight.






blacked out handles


peeling flares


peeling hood










 

Dr. Freud

New member
Nice touch on the handles. I'm glad you were able to swap those seats in, I'm sure that looks and feels much better! Do all the power functions work on them? Again, It was really great meeting you and your family, I don't think the cruiser could've gone to a better home!
 

Box Rocket

Well-known member
Nice touch on the handles. I'm glad you were able to swap those seats in, I'm sure that looks and feels much better! Do all the power functions work on them? Again, It was really great meeting you and your family, I don't think the cruiser could've gone to a better home!

Thanks Kyle! The new seats are good, but not perfect. The leather is pretty dry but I'm going to try to bring them back with some leather conditioner. But they're still intact. All the power functions work perfect. The swap took all of 15 min. Four bolts per seat and unplug the electricals and the old ones were out and the new ones were back in lickity split.
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The cruiser will definitely be well looked after. My whole family is pretty pumped about it and we've got big plans not only for the truck, but the places we want to go with it. Thanks again for reaching out to me with the sale.
 

Dwill817

Toyota Fanatic!
Just throwing out an idea..

I would do something like this on the hood.
FJ_Hood_Blackout_1_.JPG

Of course, I would paint it & not put a sticker over the peeling paint. I just hate when people paint entire hoods black, but I really do like the partially black hoods like pictured and I think it would really clean the look up..

Just food for thought..
 

LexusAllTerrain

Expedition Leader
Wow! big tires on stock gears, looking forward to your build and I as you need to take care of my paint staring to peel, I am going to have the bottom silver all around done and have the hood repainted, front fenders only clear coat and I am not sure if I should do the top or just use some black sticker on top!

Looking forward on how your build turns out!
 

Box Rocket

Well-known member
Was able to get a few pics this morning of the painted flares and a few other small things I've been able to address since getting it home on Saturday. The flares cleaned up nicely I think and look good with the black handles. There are a few interior shots too to show the seats. First off the flares.
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Before:

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After:

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Before:

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After:

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Now the seats. This is the only photo I have of the original seats. Both front seats were similar condition. The leather was torn and the foam was deteriorating badly.

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These are the seats I was able to replace them with. They came out of a '97. Like I said they are pretty dry right now, but I'll try to soften them up with some conditioner over the next few weeks. Power features work perfectly and they clean up the interior feel quite a bit.

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So a bunch of small things for now. Like the cupholder, cover for the steering wheel and some new floormats. I've got a crazy week this week so I'm not sure exactly how much time I'll have to start tearing stuff off of my '93 and getting it onto the '95 but I hope to find some time. One other little hiccup is that the 345 KM2s are on backorder so I may need to wait a bit for those.
 

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