FZJ80 Daily Driver Overland Rig. Build Thread.

Rexrome

Observer
IMG_9935.jpg

Here is my first project thread on my recent purchase of a 1997 FZJ80, locked. For the last several months I have been on the hunt for a vehicle that has been tried and proven and an all around adventure rig. My goal was to buy a rig that I could mainly use as a daily driver but with the ability to take vehicle off road at any moment with limited planning. Something cheap enough that I could build up and after looking around this 80 series LC caught my attention, considering miles and vehicle age these vehicles hold their value!

Here is the thought process for this rig...

My job takes me to many places throughout California and the idea is to be able to take a rig and be able to use it for work, as a daily drive, and go off road at any moment. There are many times through out the year when having to travel to multiple work locations is very common for me and they involve overnight stays. There are times that I could, instead of staying at hotels, enjoy the outdoors and camp out for the night at remote locations through out my travels. This vehicle would need to be built with the idea that would require minimal planning for quick trips and over night stays. My list of upgrade are going to be the basic overlanding capabilities for this type of use. Storage, bumpers, winch, lift, tires, etc..

Goal was to buy a LC, I have read a few threads about people deciding what type of LC to buy... and choices range from LC60, LC 80, LC 100, and LC200. I guess when budget is no problem then you go all the way and buy the most expensive rig money can afford. Well for this build I wanted a classic rig with comfort and capabilities, the FZJ80 and locked diffs kinda seemed to me like the right vehicle for what I wanted to do. Miles where high right around 200k, barely broken in guess. I am well aware of the power issues but I wont be hauling much. After I outfit it with overlanding gear then I am sure that it will be heavy and suck on mpg and power, at this moment it already sucks on mpg and power and will get worse. Another thing that I thought and considered was that at some point this rig would get a GM conversion, probably a 5.3. After having gone through a FJ60 GM conversion I am aware of what it would take to tackle a project of this kind.

Some would argue that the 100 series would have served much of my concerns and would have been a better starting point, comfort and more power, but I still wanted solid axles, coil overs, and locked diffs is that too much to ask for! I am happy with the purchase and I will posting much of the work through out the build process.

Here is a list of goodies:
Engine Performance:
I was considering a GM conversion but instead I am getting pricing for a supercharger set up and headers.

Suspension:
3" OME kit with heavy duty springs, adjustable pan hards etc...
Stage 3 Icon Shocks

Tires:
33" BF Goodrich All Terrains KO2.

Exterior Accessories, roof rack, bumpers, body armor, etc..:
Front Runner Roof Rack.
Costa Fabrication front bumper
Costa Fabrication Rear Expedition Bumper
Slee Slider Steps
Warn 10.5 winch, synthetic line
LED Lights: Head lights, tail lights, etc..

Interior mods, electrical power, and or upgrades:
CDL Switch and 7 pin mod
Power Inverter Magnum 1000 watts pure sine. Laptops, small stuff.
National Luna Dual battery and recessed battery monitor. With Slee second battery bracket.
SPod with HD switch panel.
Goose gear storage compartment in rear cargo area.
Ham radio
 
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AK.xplorer

Observer
Nice clean rig yah got there! I'm right there with yah brother. I just picked up what is my fourth 80 series. My advice to you.....run a car fax on it. It might save you some money. I did, and was pleased to discover that the head gasket job was already done, 10 minutes before I was about to drop the 3 grand to get new parts and machine shop work.

If you should need advice on a head gasket job, hit me up, I just finished one back in September. I got all my parts through cruiserdan from the mud forum. He's since retired, and I feel lost, it's been really hard to find his competence with massive parts lists.

Also, please consider keeping the ole 1fz-fe. It's a great engine, a supercharger will give you a touch more grunt, for a cheaper price. I believe magnusson offers an entire kit, but they may be out of stock.

Inspect the wiring harness near the EGR pipe. If the heat resistant tape is burnt, chances are, you may have to do some repairs to the wiring. Try to get the wiring harness off that EGR tube.
 

redthies

Renaissance Redneck
Excellent choice sir! Onur AKA @beno on mud should be your go to guy now that Dan is gone.

You beat me to it.

I would have done a 80 series front axle swap into a 100. Much more desireable outcome in my world, but I almost bought a '92 FJ80 with OME, double ARB lockers and 35s last week. Thank god it sold fast...
 

NCFJ

Adventurer
Good looking package to start with, congrats!
I agree that Beno on mud, his name is Onur, is the way to go. onur@landcruiserpartsandconsulting.com is how to reach him. He does not respond to PMs on MUD He knows 10 didget part numbers off the top of his head.

A word of planning advice. If you intend to do a GM swap do it as early in the build as you can afford. It is the perfect time to rebuild the electrical system from the ground up. You'll already have everything apart and stripped down anyway so you can incorporate dual batteries, fuse blocks etc as you go. The dash will also be all apart. If you do all the electrical work before the swap you will most likely end up taking a fair amount apart to accommodate locations of new parts. Use something like MetriPac or WeatherPac connectors on everything and keep a written log of what everything is. You think you will remember, you won't :)

Good luck with your build, I am an 80 fan myself. My wife's truck is a 95, that's our current trail rig.
 

Rexrome

Observer
Nice clean rig yah got there! I'm right there with yah brother. I just picked up what is my fourth 80 series. My advice to you.....run a car fax on it. It might save you some money. I did, and was pleased to discover that the head gasket job was already done, 10 minutes before I was about to drop the 3 grand to get new parts and machine shop work.

If you should need advice on a head gasket job, hit me up, I just finished one back in September. I got all my parts through cruiserdan from the mud forum. He's since retired, and I feel lost, it's been really hard to find his competence with massive parts lists.

Also, please consider keeping the ole 1fz-fe. It's a great engine, a supercharger will give you a touch more grunt, for a cheaper price. I believe magnusson offers an entire kit, but they may be out of stock.

Inspect the wiring harness near the EGR pipe. If the heat resistant tape is burnt, chances are, you may have to do some repairs to the wiring. Try to get the wiring harness off that EGR tube.

Thanks AK for the tips I will check those details. I do like the idea of a supercharger, this one seems to be the best option for HP and torque gains. I wish horsepower wasn't so expensive! http://extremelandcruiser.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=91&products_id=546
 

Rexrome

Observer
Excellent choice sir! Onur AKA @beno on mud should be your go to guy now that Dan is gone.

Thanks.

You beat me to it.

I would have done a 80 series front axle swap into a 100. Much more desireable outcome in my world, but I almost bought a '92 FJ80 with OME, double ARB lockers and 35s last week. Thank god it sold fast...

Red, I was looking at making life easier and just going with a 100 series, but it was like a ton a of bricks when I laid eyes on this beauty. Go figure.
 

Rexrome

Observer
Good looking package to start with, congrats!
I agree that Beno on mud, his name is Onur, is the way to go. onur@landcruiserpartsandconsulting.com is how to reach him. He does not respond to PMs on MUD He knows 10 didget part numbers off the top of his head.

A word of planning advice. If you intend to do a GM swap do it as early in the build as you can afford. It is the perfect time to rebuild the electrical system from the ground up. You'll already have everything apart and stripped down anyway so you can incorporate dual batteries, fuse blocks etc as you go. The dash will also be all apart. If you do all the electrical work before the swap you will most likely end up taking a fair amount apart to accommodate locations of new parts. Use something like MetriPac or WeatherPac connectors on everything and keep a written log of what everything is. You think you will remember, you won't :)

Good luck with your build, I am an 80 fan myself. My wife's truck is a 95, that's our current trail rig.

Great advice, not sure that I am going to take on a project of that size right away. My plan is to drive it around for awhile and work on a conversion next year or a supercharger build. I like the idea of keeping the whole thing as Toyota as possible. I would not mind the GM conversion, it does require a large amount of work but worth the power and reliability.

And you are totally right about loggin everything down when taking on a project like a conversion. I did my first conversion on my FJ60, Erod motor, and I wish that I would logged stuff better during the process. I had to log everything after the fact, yeah not good. I should post some pics on that build.
 

Rexrome

Observer
IMG_0523.jpg

Finally got my lift kit, OME 3". Also installing the Icon shocks.
 

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brentbba

Explorer
I like the list of goodies you listed. All good upgrades. Unless you have the $$ and really want to do it, drive the 1FZE engine until she dies. You've got lots of miles left!
 

Rexrome

Observer
I like the list of goodies you listed. All good upgrades. Unless you have the $$ and really want to do it, drive the 1FZE engine until she dies. You've got lots of miles left!

Now that I think about it, your right. It is a lot of money and time. At the moment I have been using it for my daily drive and it suckS! Gas, that is. I have decided to drive it around until the engine gives me grief and then I will decide what to do with it. I am still considering a gm swap but I really like the idea of doing a supercharger. I am still waiting and see how far this current motor gets me... I guess best case scenario would be something like doing a rebuild on the 4.5 motor with these internals: http://extremelandcruiser.com/found...-1fzfe-is-through-a-brian-crower-stroker-kit/ and a supercharger.
 

nuclearlemon

Adventurer
i like the idea of the power of the supercharger, but i don't like the premium gas (which you sometimes can't find at the remote gas stations). my 80 is a daily driver, wheeling rig with the tendency to expedition and it's always ready to go.

if you do a rtt, i suggest going hardshell. it won't affect your mileage like the brick shaped foldovers do (i run a scanguage in my 80s and i noticed no fuel difference with or without tent. on trips, i've noticed a huge fuel gain over my friends with other tents ;) ), also, all the gear is just kept in there 24/7. so if i go visit family and don't want to drive all the way home, i just pull off somewhere, raise the tent and i'm ready for bed.

have you figured out your invertor yet? i'd do one, but so many electronics (laptops, some battery chargers) require pure sine wave and they're expensive.

looks like you have a great platform, high miles or no. looking forward to your build
 

nmchavez

Hoss
Hey there. Any updates on this one? I am looking at getting a FZJ80, hopefully sooner rather than later. I’ve also thought of the 100 with an 80 front axle swap as mentioned earlier. But, that’s not something I can do in my garage. Decisions, decisions...
 

LandCruiserPhil

Expedition Leader
Nice start! It hard to beat the reliability of a 1FZ compared to any conversion unless you are the one doing the full conversion. Like other said drive it until the 1FZ fails may not be the fastest but will be your best bang for the buck.
 

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