2008 FJ Cruiser build thread

[prerunner221]

Jade Overland FJ Cruiser build

I had to sell my 2WD Mazda to get myself through the police academy, and I still miss that truck. I managed to go places and see things I wouldn't have without it, and it began my interest in off roading.

Once I graduated I and got hired on I decided it was time for another off road vehicle. I was always a fan of the old FJ's and the new body FJ spoke to me. People either seem to love them or think they're ugly as sin (my father) but I like it and saw potential. After looking for a couple of months I was able to find a 2008 4x4 with the upgrade package at a local Mercedes dealer. Truck was clean with a clean title and after checking for all of the normal issues I purchased it in September of 2013.

The vehicle was in great shape and had been well maintained. The dealer wasn't aware of the second glove box in the dash and I found all of the previous owners service records inside. I started with the truck by going over all of the fluids, filters and like and then began getting into the more fun stuff.

First up was a new set of shoes. Although the factory tires aren't bad, they weren't going to cut it off road and were swapped for a set of slightly larger, 285 Nitto Terra Grapplers.

Upon leaving the Discount tire after having them installed I was rear ended a block down the road. Not a good start for the Cruiser The upside was the other vehicle was insured and it turns out an aftermarket bumper costs about the same as a factory one, so the insurance company upgraded me. That's what I call turning a frown upside down.

A Warn rear bumper was installed in the place of the damaged factory bumper.

The factory lighting then had to be addressed. I enjoy road trips and wanted to have good night visibility so I ordered up a Rigid 10 light bar and installed it in the factory bumper.

 

[prerunner221]

With lighting taken care of for the time being I had the truck leveled using a Ready lift leveling kit. I liked the look but this would be a temporary fix.

After the lift i decided to black out the silver trim and did some more experimenting with Plastidip. Corners, grill surround and rims were all coated.

Along the way I had the truck tinted. Not limo, but close enough. After a trip to a rental cabin in the north Georgia woods it became very clear I needed improved rear lighting so another Rigid light was employed, this time a D2 mounted to a Bandi mount on the door hinge. This light isn't very expensive but puts out great light.

I got over the Plastidip thing pretty quick and had some Xd rims installed I think compliments the Cruiser.

Also after the trip I realized the need for extra storage since I travel with my dogs, and some basic recovery equipment. I encountered a downed tree across my path to the cabin during the trip and didn't have any way to cut it up and move it. After a little searching I found Springtail Solutions made something that fit the bill. Their pet barricade was ordered along with some quick fists and the dog and storage for recovery equipment issues were handled.

Also added to the truck was a Thule luggage carrier for the roof. I happened to find one for a great deal on Craigslist that even matched the rig.

With storage addressed for the time being a few upgrades in the electronics were needed. You really see what creature comforts you're missing in your vehicle during a long road trip. I decided stereo upgrade was on the top of that list and a new in-dash DVD player/stereo was installed along with upgraded speaker throughout the vehicle. This has been a great addition as the passenger of the vehicle can pop in a few movies while traveling which is a great time waster. I also noted during the trip that the single 12V plug in the vehicle was just not enough. With two cell phones, a GPS, a GoPro and camera that all need to be charged I needed a couple more plugs. I purchased a blue seas 12V plug and a dual USB plug and installed them in the dash near the factory plugs. Also installed were heated seats for the front 2 seats. Even living in Florida they are a nice addition. It gets "cold" here a couple months out of the year, but we do a lot of our travel during the winter months, and it's always through the mountains in northern Georgia and southern Tennessee. They are my fiance's favorite addition to the truck.

 

[prerunner221]

With the luxuries taken care of it was time to make the vehicle better off road. I ran into a couple situations while wheeling that I needed to fix pronto. Deep water crossings and some larger rocks that had to be climbed over being some of them. Off came the factory running boards and I picked up some All Pro sliders from a group buy on the blue room. Nice powder coating and they match the factory black trim. The trucks been dropped on the sliders a few times and they were well worth the money spent. They have actually payed for themselves a few times over. Also added was a Ironman snorkel. I do almost all of the installations on my vehicle but I have never have a cut a bunch of holes on the outside of any of my vehicles. The snorkel install popped that cherry, and I dig the "expedition ready" look it gives along with the functionality.

I also had to add a high lift jack. With no room inside, I ordered a set of HiLift brackets for the roof rack. It sits up top nicely giving me easy access if needed but staying out of my way.

With that taken care of all I that was left to change was the front bumper. I purchased an ARB front bumper and a Smittybilt 8.5K winch. With them installed I had to find a way to upgrade my lighting again. I tried installing the Rigid light bar onto the top bar but ran into some issues. One, I hate the Rigid tube clamps. They scratch the hell out of whatever you try to install them on. Two, I just wasn't happy with the esthetics of a light bar mounted on the bumper. The reason I like the bumper, other then it being the most functional bumper offered in my humble opinion, is it's classic styling which goes with the updated classic cues from the FJ itself. A light bar slapped onto it just didn't suit the look I was going for even though the light output of that bar is fantastic. Off it came and a pair of Lightforce 180s were ordered in the bars place. They have great throw and good color, and keep with the "what's old is new" theme I'm trying to keep with the build.

Shortly after that, I added the ARB fog lights and updated the mirror lights on the truck to an amber LED. The fogs really fill in right in front of the vehicle and provide some side fill which the Lightforces don't.

With all of this done I started doing some wheeling trips with the local FJ and Tacoma guys. It became immediately apparent that with the additional weight of the bumper and winch up front new suspension was in order. Out with the spacer lift and in with the Old Man Emu heavy kit. The truck doesn't sit as high in the front as it did with the spacer kit and actually went back to having a bit of a rake, but drives immensely better. ARB, and the companies they own, really know how to make some great products. The truck handles better than stock and I don't notice the weight of the bumpers or winch anymore. Even with the vehicle fully loaded it handles great.

Now I'm starting to get to the smaller stuff. After a couple wheeling trips I decided a CB was needed. A Cobra CB was installed in a way it could be quickly removed and stored as it was only going to be needed on trips and wheeling events. The antenna was installed off the same Bandi mount the rear LED was installed with a quick disconnect.

I also started upgrading my protection underneath after going out with a Tacoma group. I slammed the factory skid into the clay ground while going through some fun stuff and bent it all up. I again found a group buy on the blue room and ordered a skid from RCI. I will eventually purchase the entire skid kit, but for now only have the main skid.

 

[el_topu]

Nice to hear a good end to your rear bumper


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[prerunner221]

For now this is where the truck sits. It's taken my fiance and I all over the east coast of the US and has never left us stranded. We look forward to adding an aftermarket roof rack and roof top tent along with an awning some time soon. I'm trying to get her into the idea of traveling and camping and she has agreed as long as she's not sleeping on the ground...forced upgrade.

Because everyone likes pictures, here are a couple of pics from our travels.

After attending some meets and shows locally, and posting the hell out of it on Instagram I was even able to get it sponsored by Meguiars.

Well that's it. Thanks for taking a look. If you have any suggestions on things I can improve I'd love to hear them. I've had the truck for about two years and plan to keep it until it's totaled so there's plenty of time to add to and modify it. I can't wait to see where it takes us.

 

[BigSwede]

Good stuff, thanks.

 

[hilux30]

see that's a good classy build, functional all the way with minimum flush.. I refuse to sell/install spacers here, glad you went OME I've had my springs/shocks for 5 rears and still ride great (they don't look as good but that's salt for ya...)


What spring did you use upfront? 885s? ... cheers

 

[JonB]

Glad you are getting out and enjoying it!

 

[FurthurOnTheFly]

Looking good...I definitely miss the FJ. Sometimes I think about picking up another one, they are such a perfect adventure vehicle, if only a little larger inside.

 

[batmn77]

good stuff! keep the stories coming.

 

[prerunner221]

Well it's been a year and a half since I've updated this. In that time I've updated some things and added more. The biggest upgrade has been to the roof to make the truck more travel-friendly. My best bud got me my first RTT as my wedding gift (waaaay over the top gift, such a great guy). The wife was instantly happy to go camping as she wasn't a real big fan of sleeping on the ground.

The is a Smittybilt tent, and has been nothing but fantastic. Originally, I had my doubts after reading some of the talk on here but the first night in it was much better than expected. I quickly realized I didn't feel comfortable with the tent on the factory rack, so an upgrade was in store. I ordered a Baja Utility rack, and some new clamps for my Hi-Lift and newly acquired ARB awning my wife got me for my birthday. I also added my old Rigid 10" bar to my ARB bumper to add some more light up front. I'm not crazy about the aesthetics of it on the bumper, butt it works well.

I also picked up a 50L Canyon cooler to the truck for an upcoming trip. Another item for the trip was a first aid kit, so I bought the bright orange med bag from Springtail Solutions and filled her up.

 

[prerunner221]

With an upcoming trip from Florida to Colorado for some camping and wheeling I felt it important to get some recovery gear. I already had tow straps, snatch straps, and everything to compliment my winch, so it was time for some Maxtrax. I had to get a little creative mounting them to the Baja Rack because they didn't make anything, so using some tent mount plates along with Maxtrax pins I came up with this.

With all of that safety gear, I needed somewhere to keep it. I started looking for a drawer systems and found out they are extremely expensive to order, and even more expensive to have built. I found an SUV drawer made by Betterbuilt and having sold there toolboxes in the past I knew they make a pretty decent product, so I ordered one. The only thing missing from it was a top tray, so I bought some birch and outdoor carpet and got to it. The final product worked out great.

With nothing left to add, I packed up the rig with enough camping gear and clothes for a couple weeks for my wife and I and headed out. I drove solo to Colorado where I picked up my wife from the airport. We took a week and traveled as much as possible, seeing as much as possible, and then dropped her back at the airport and drove home. I DO NOT recommend solo driving from Florida to Colorado. That drive is pretty terrible. Here's the trip report: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/161411-Florida-to-Colorado-a-5-000-mile-tour-of-the-country.



(I have no idea why pictures aren't showing up in my trip report. All pictures were from Facebook, and they are still up on that site. I could use some help figuring out what happened, so I can get that page looking right without having to figure out which pictures to copy and paste back in there.)

 

[prerunner221]

I had an ARB foglight go out during my Colorado trip so I decided to order some Rigid D2 cubes in Amber. They were at the house when I got home and were swapped out the next day. I like the amber for rain and fog, plus I think they look cool.

I also upgraded the switches for all of my lights. I had previously been running red Rigid toggle switches, but I prefer I cleaner, almost factory look, so I went to Cruiserheads and purchased new switches for everything. The only one I can't get to work correctly has been the Lightforce light switch. For some reason it just won't do what the other switches do, and I can't get it figured out. They are backlit and look, feel and function like factory. Love them.

Another upgrade after the trip was my seats. My old chairs were probably 15 years old, so I got a couple ARB's. Drastic upgrade. They are a little bigger, but man are they heavy duty and comfortable.

I forgot to mention the Trasharoo, so, ya, I have one. Simple little piece that was very handy during the trip. Great to throw garbage in at the camp site, and great to throw dirty recovery gear in on the trail.

 

[prerunner221]

My tires have been on the truck now four-ish years and it's time to replace them. I have a set of 295/70/17 Toyo Open Country R/T's coming in this upcoming week to replace the old Nittos. In anticipation of the tires rubbing on the upper control arms when aired down, and the body mount while turning, I ordered a set of Spidertrax 1 1/2 inch wheel spacers. I'll probably still need to do a body mount chop in the very near future, but we'll see when they mount the tires.

Plans for this year include an ARB fridge and hinged fridge slider, a 50 inch Rigid SR50 for the roof rack, and possibly a swing out rear bumper to replace my current bumper, if I can work enough off duty / over time without the wife killing me. I have a rim sponsor through a car club I've been very fortunate to be involved with for the last decade, and when Volk Racing releases a new rim this spring I'll have one of the first sets. Now I just have to figure out what the next adventure will be.

Like before, that's for taking a look. This has been a very fun build for me. I'll try to keep this page a little better updated as the build progresses. Until then, cheers.

 

[prerunner221]

New shoes for the Cruiser. I have a trip to the mountains coming up next week and the 4 year old Nitto's are showing their age. Decided to get a set of Toyo R/T's in 295/70/17, a little bigger than the tires I have been running. So far they drive nice and are only a little noisier than the Terra Grapplers. I'm going to have to do the body mount chop since they rub pretty good pulling into parking spaces and backing up, but that was expected.