DRTYTOY'S 80 series crusier

[DRTYTOY]

Guess I should start with a little back ground. My first vehicle was a '93 Toyota pickup single cab 4wd I bought my senior year of high school (2004). Made a lot of good memories in that little truck and learned a lot about four wheeling and working on vehicles(by making a lot of mistakes). Timing chain guides broke and the chain ate into a coolent jacket and long story short I had to cut my losses.

Bought a 2002 Taco in 2005 with 60,000 miles and have done quite a bit to it and four wheeled the piss out of it. (Still have it). Now with 204,000 miles, she still runs good and retired her to camping/four wheeling and truck duties.
20160821_190337 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

Bought a 2003 4runner in 2015 with 160,000 miles, 4wd V8 and Did a mild build on it. It's my daily driver.
20160717_121153 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

I've always wanted a 80 series land cruiser. Found one on Craigslist, 1995 front and rear e-lockers, 190,000 miles a bit of body damage on the driver side. Met the dude and drove it around and made sure the low 4wd and both lockers worked ok. It drove pretty nice for the age and how it looked and motor and tranny seemed fine so I took her home for $3850.

The good side
20170502_142649 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

The not so good side.
20170502_142659 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

 

[DRTYTOY]

The dude I bought if from totaled it out and bought it back from the insurance company so it had a salvage title. In order to get it a salvage-rebuilt title I had to pass a AZ level 3 inspection and from what I could gather all I needed to do was pop out the quater panel so that the tail light assembly would fit in there and secure it so it won't fall out. I decided to get the body looking half way acceptable before having it inspected.
I started by taking stuff off that was either damaged or that I didn't like. Brush guard, side steps and fender flares were all going in the scrap pile.
Plan is to replace the front fender and both driver side doors with ones in good condition and to get the rear quater panel decent looking.

I took the fender off to pound it some what back into to shape. I got it good enough untill I can find a replacement.
20170505_134801 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

Found 2 doors and a fuel door on craigslist in Prescott valley(about a 1.5 hour drive) for a good price. Picked them up on Monday before work and put them on during the week.
20170510_143429 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr


That was more of a pain that it should have been. had to swap the wiring harnesses in both doors b/c the plugs didn't match up 100%. On the driver side door where the top hinge attaches the mount was pushed in on one side making the door bind and not line up correct. Found out that all the window switches work except the driver side in the up position :/ Got both doors closing ok, not factory but it will work. I'm just going to rattle can the doors white for now.

 

[AZ4X4DUDE]

Awesome start, i actually was looking at this 80 series for a while on CL.
I just got a 100 series myself, keep up the great work!

 

[DRTYTOY]

Awesome start, i actually was looking at this 80 series for a while on CL.
I just got a 100 series myself, keep up the great work!

Thanks. Ya she was on CL for a while. I wanted F/R lockers one way or another and I figured the body work was cheaper tha going ARB air lockers F/R. Congrats on the Hundy.

 

[Sharky1528]

Keep up the good work... Wish I had the Factory Lockers...

 

[DRTYTOY]

Keep up the good work... Wish I had the Factory Lockers...

Thanks It's a awesome option.

 

[DRTYTOY]

Pulled out the DS rear fender as best as I could. Worked ok.
20170513_161529 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

Found out I suck at bondo and just decided to plasi-dip the rear quarter panel to make it look ok for the inspection. I will finish the body work at a later date. Plus I taped and plasi-dipped over the marker light that was missing hoping that the inspector wouldn't notice ( its totally obvious if you pay attention).
20170517_132744 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr
20170530_115304 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

Obviously it was good enough, after 4 hours of waiting(first come first serve) I passed the inspection, and then shot my self in the foot b/c I took it to emissions thinking it needed it and it failed. Then when I got to work I looked at the old tag and it still had 6 months till it needed emissions but now that I failed I think it will stop me from getting it registered until I fix it. Not too surprising it failed. The OBDii said I needed new 02 sensors. Ordered some Denso's that will be in Friday.

 

[DRTYTOY]

Got appendicitis and was in the hospital for a week and had my appendix removed. Wasn't fun and the hospital bill took a big chuck of my budget so mods wont come as soon as i'd like.
Putting on the new 02 sensors was "Fun". Not much left of the nuts, but with a little heat from a torch and a hammer and chisel I was able to replace them. Also had a CDL code for the EGR valve but decided to go to emmisions to see if it would pass with just both 02 sensors replaced and it did.
What was left of the nuts.
20170603_174315 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

Decided to take out the gas tank pump/float assembly to see if that was the reason for the gas gage not working. Yep tank is rusty and sending unit had chunks of rust. Great so I need a non rusty gas tank, Found one from the same dude I got the doors from and picked it up, just waiting to install it when it's not 110 + degrees out.
20170604_172532 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

Put in a cheap blue tooth receiver so I wasn't forced to listen to the radio any more.
20170610_205645 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

Also got a non damaged front fender from the same dude, lol he is my new cruiser parts dealer.
20170612_131129 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

Front axle is leaking birfield soup out of it pretty constantly so I ordered the Marlin front axle rebuild kit including new wheel bearings. Now just to find time when its not hot as balls. Picked up a spare 80 series aluminum wheel from a dude in chandler so I now have 5 matching wheels. Planning on painting them gun metal.

 

[DRTYTOY]

Finally got around to rebuilding the front axle. Went ok, replaced seals and bearings. Some bad news I think the front axle is bent, couldn't get the driver side bir field in with the spindle on. Had to hammer it in. We will see how long the inner axle seal lasts.
20170726_040112 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

Messy as hell but pretty straight forward.
20170723_212202 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

Purchased and installed the OME 2.5 medium lift. Went pretty smoothly. (the brown speckles on the side is my blood, Mashed my thumb on a stud while hammering out bearing races, OUCH)
20170807_141032 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

Found some Used 35's and wheels on Craigslist just to make sure 35's fit with out too much rubbing. Didn't want to drop a grand on new tires only to find out they don't fit. Looks so much better with the lift and tires.
20170819_184935 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

It does rub a little on the rear frame and inner wheel well but the 4runner wheels do have a large offset. I think the stock wheels I'm planning on using will lessen the rubbing but I'll probably get spacers for the rear bumps for the time being.
20170910_174640 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

Replaced the rusty gas tank with a used unit in good condition, no pics cause I forgot and it was a messy job due to the underside being caked in dirt/oil mix from leaky engine and tranny. Now my gas gage works and I don't have fuel starvation issues Plugged up the fender flare holes with some plastic rivets and some clear silicone to hopefully keep the water out.
20170814_134542 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

Looking at getting some White Knuckle or Slee sliders next along with doing some preventative maintenance. The engine and tranny pans need new gaskets.

 

[Upland80]

Looking good man! The WK sliders are beefy! Just put a set on a couple weeks ago...serious PITA if doing it solo.

 

[DRTYTOY]

Looking good man! The WK sliders are beefy! Just put a set on a couple weeks ago...serious PITA if doing it solo.

Thanks ! I like the design of the WK better and was leaning that way. I heard they are built when you order them. If I can ask, about how long did it take from ordering to receiving them? I know shipping times will be different depending on where in the country they are coming and going. Thanks.

 

[Upland80]

Thanks ! I like the design of the WK better and was leaning that way. I heard they are built when you order them. If I can ask, about how long did it take from ordering to receiving them? I know shipping times will be different depending on where in the country they are coming and going. Thanks.

I ordered 3 sets..one with custom 15* pitch. I think it was about 8 weeks, but I drove and picked them up as the shop is about a hour away. Great people and the best sliders that I've seen...highly recommend.

Edit: I would caution against the diamond top plate they offer. A friend ordered that option and it doesn't look good IMO.

 

[DRTYTOY]

Took the Cruiser out on a pretty easy over night trip and it did great.
20171007_173428 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

20171007_154005 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

I Bought a Pintle hitch D-ring mount so I could take off the towing reciever. Got one from Man-a-fre and it's stout, Welded inside and out. Got it within a week and had great communication. I first order one from Duiser offroad and the communication was horrible. No conformation e-mail, I emailed them 2 weeks after I ordered it and nothing. I did a google search on Duiser and they have a less than steller record. Right as I was going to call my credit card company I got a shipping email and received it soon after, about a month after I order it. Take it with a grain of salt but I won't be ordering anything else from them.
20171018_131340 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

Ordered some White Knuckle sliders and they are BEEFEY. Upland80 was right they are worth the wait (about 6 weeks).
20171116_142028 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

Also got new tires mounted to the stock wheels that I painted. Wanted to try the Tread Wright tires and got them in Guard Dog(original GY MT copy) 315/75/16. I did some research on them and watched a video on the process they use and I was sold for the price and free shipping. I have not been running them for long and have yet to really take them off road but on road they seem fine. Not any noisier than the GY duratracs that I had and the seem to grab the road less. They do have a little shake between 35 and 45 but I can live with that.
20171126_141407 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr
20171126_141425 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr
20171126_141440 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

Put in a decent CB radio and whip antenna also.
Still gotta do some maintenance to her, wire in my fridge, buy a sealed battery and get some decent seat covers, but I think next big purchase will be a Slee front bumper and a decent winch.

 

[DRTYTOY]

6 month comparison pics
May 2017
20170502_142659 by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

November 2017
20171129_114028 (2) by Andy Baxter, on Flickr

Finally starting to look like a proper Offroader

 

[Upland80]

Lookin good man...