How to build an 80 on a budget

[concretejungle]

Hey bud, just jumping in on your thread a little late. I just thought i would give my my 2cents having owned my 80 for about 12 years now and been down the same road as you. I still have not regeared yet. Why? Well, money was tight and i had to think about wheeling and expedition trips, what were my two biggest concerns.... well it was getting into places and back out. So, on a limited budget i found a used ARB bumper and loaded it with a t-max 12,000 lbs winch. I figured i wanted to be able to pull myself out of a sticky situation and have the protection up front from animal strikes while out in the middle of nowhere. I would hate to have a deer or something smashing up my radiator 100 miles from any help.

Secondly, i purchased an aussie locker for the rear. I was skeptical and wanted ARB's with gears, but i couldn't stomach the $$ tag. So, with absolutely no experience what so ever on diffs and being scared of them, I read mud and pulled the diff on my own. I also installed the locker on my own, stuck the "chunk" back in and bolted it up. She is pretty much a beast now getting me further into trouble and now with the locker and the winch i can get back out and get home.

So that's my 2cents. Either way you go, you have a great truck and hope you enjoy yours as long as i have mine.

 

[Sempertoy]

Hey bud, just jumping in on your thread a little late. I just thought i would give my my 2cents having owned my 80 for about 12 years now and been down the same road as you. I still have not regeared yet. Why? Well, money was tight and i had to think about wheeling and expedition trips, what were my two biggest concerns.... well it was getting into places and back out. So, on a limited budget i found a used ARB bumper and loaded it with a t-max 12,000 lbs winch. I figured i wanted to be able to pull myself out of a sticky situation and have the protection up front from animal strikes while out in the middle of nowhere. I would hate to have a deer or something smashing up my radiator 100 miles from any help.

Secondly, i purchased an aussie locker for the rear. I was skeptical and wanted ARB's with gears, but i couldn't stomach the $$ tag. So, with absolutely no experience what so ever on diffs and being scared of them, I read mud and pulled the diff on my own. I also installed the locker on my own, stuck the "chunk" back in and bolted it up. She is pretty much a beast now getting me further into trouble and now with the locker and the winch i can get back out and get home.

So that's my 2cents. Either way you go, you have a great truck and hope you enjoy yours as long as i have mine.

Thanks for your input, I really appreciate it!

What size tires are you running on stock gears?

A front bumper is definitely in the plans, in fact hopefully it will be on by this summer, after that I'll be "done" lol.....

Except for the 2UZ swap.. And the led light bars... And the roof rack... And front ARB... And aux fuel tank.... And storage system.... And and and and and

 

[nuclearlemon]

you can probably tell, i'm also a fan of the aussies. have e lockers in the 80, but ran aussies in the blue pig, the 60 and the 40. the 40 had potential to be scary being a short wheel base, but it really didn't see snow/ice driving except snow runs and i never had an issue. the 60 was a daily driver and, while i got the occassional pops and clicks that would sometimes be disconcerting, on a longer wheel base, it was an improvement in the bad weather and there was no worries of spinning out, plus it flat out rocked off pavement.

i ran 315s on my 80 with stock gearing until just now...never an issue. i just wanted a bit more slow off pavement, but i do a lot of harder core stuff besides my expedition wheeling. otherwise, i would've stuck with the stock gearing.

 

[concretejungle]

I was running 315 nitto terra grapplers and now i'm running 35 inch truxus. I liked them both. NOw, i will say on the highway running 70MPH with my RTT on the top and the truck loaded with gear, she is a bit of a whale on mountains, but just slow down and enjoy the ride. Around town, 4wheeling, forest roads and the majority of driving the gearing is just fine for me. I personally am waiting on gears to be one of my last upgrades.

Like Nuclearlemon said, i do get an occasional pop around a corner, but mostly pulling out on a wet road or into a steep driveway when the truck leans just slights, the aussie might give me a loud pop, but nothing that would change my mind in putting it in again. It was the cheapest addition i did that gave me the most offroad fun.

 

[ab1985]

Thanks, I'd like to see an update on your 40th. I know you had some great plans for it earlier this summer.

I ended up getting very busy at work and had to cancel the trip I was planning for the end of summer so I decided not to rush through the 80. I've been scratching my head and drawing in my notebook quite a bit. Will probably get started early next year and will post a proper build thread then.

 

[CreeperSleeper]

Stock gears and 35's or 315's are fine... stock gears and 37's suck and will overheat the trans when playing in the rocks...

 

[Sempertoy]

Stock gears and 35's or 315's are fine... stock gears and 37's suck and will overheat the trans when playing in the rocks...

Yeah. Unless I'm in snow right

 

[CreeperSleeper]

From what I noticed, snow was just as bad as playing in the rocks! Honestly, 5.29's and 37's made my 80 a beast...

 

[kletzenklueffer]

when I boguht my 80, it had stock gears and 315's. It was o.k. with the "PWR" button on, but a fat slug without it. After the 4.88 install, it actually has power and while still fat, is more of a fat pig than a slug. It can move now, and it almost nimble offroad, kind of like a tank.

I'd rather have gears than a winch or a few other extras.

 

[concretejungle]

but chad, i think we are trying to walk the tight rope of an expedition rig. Your rig was a great beater rig that would go anywhere, but load it up with a ton of gear and try driving it across the country and i'm sure you would think of changing some things.

 

[CreeperSleeper]

I agree with you, my rig was set up for a different purpose. However, I did drive it across the state loaded up. I also had the truck in every combo from stock to where it sat when it got parted. All I'm saying is with 37's, you need 5.29's. That goes for hardcore wheeling or loaded up and driving cross country. You can get by with 35's and stock gears unless you are really heavy or running hardcore trails.

I guess what I'm saying is even though the end goal for my 80 was different, some of the things that I learned (usually the hard way) can also apply to an expedition rig. Gearing is one of those things!

 

[Sempertoy]

Minor update now that the holidays are past and family time is dwindling down.

To add to my build, my totally awesome wife got me an Aussie locker for Christmas! I have been talking about getting a locker for my truck since the day I got it so when she asked what I wanted for Christmas it was no surprise to her. I posted up in the want to buy section of mud that I was looking and someone sent me a pm within 24 hours. $260 dollars later a brand-new-in-the-box Aussie locker was on its way to a new home. I opened it on the 23rd and that afternoon we drove to Utah to be with family for the holidays. I can't wait to get back to San Diego and get er put in!

Also, I figured since I was in Utah I would try and meet some cruiser heads. I emailed onur from proffitt's cruisers and asked if the land cruiser heritage museum was open, but its closed while the work on some of the vehicles.

No worries, I called Kurt from cruiseroutfitters and he said no problem, come on by!

To drive out there and meet Kurt was awesome for so many reasons. Mainly because he is doing with his life what I am dreaming about. He is a young guy, has a very cool collection of vic's and seems to be doing alright for himself. He was really nice and gave me some of his time to ******** chat. I decided today that ill be using cruiseroutfitters for future purchases that fit my budget oriented build.

I obviously could not leave empty handed so I picked up an ARB speed deflator that I have been eyeing for a while. It fits the budget because I saved on shipping Kurt sent me on my way with some Toyota trails mags from last year and some sweet stickers!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Great meeting you again, I really appreciate the kind words. Keep up the great build

 

[Sempertoy]

Well I guess its time for a wee update on the Budget Build.

I got my Aussie locker installed last weekend. One of the 40 guys from mud came down to the base and we had that thing installed in about 2.5 hours. Now that I have done one and saw how simple it is, I wouldnt hesitate to do it again. I havent been able to test it yet, but im planning on going out this weekend so ill be sure to write a review on it. That being said, my initial thoughts are that I am very impressed with the unit. I cant even tell its there in the 80 except for some ratcheting when making tight turns. Other than that, its invisible. If you are hesitant on installing an Aussie, Dont be. It will be some of the best money spent and a very affordable alternative to ARB's or any other air locker.

I also recently had the pleasure of having my brake booster go bad. After getting a quote for an OEM unit ($458) I turned to Josh over at Ajikoverland and he sourced me a used one for $50. That was a job I hope to not have to do again for a long long time.

In December I ordered some new front rotors from Marlincrawler and some OEM brake pads. I cant remember why Sam talked me out of 100 series pads but he did, so I have regular old 80 series pads. I have been waiting for their Axle Rebuild kit to be back in stock for a while but after dealing with Kurt, I just decided to order his kit instead. That project has been looming over my head, but I have a friend with some experience that will be helping out.

Last but not least, after some hesitation (due to funds) I contacted Deyon and told him I'd take the rack that he was selling in the Classifides. Its the full length baja flat rack. It should fit my needs perfectly and will enable me to put a tent up there in the future.
Ill post up some pictures of the rack one I drive up there and pick it up.

 

[NM-Frontier]

Sounds like you'v been busy! Interested to hear how the locker performs in the field. Doing the knuckles is kinda fun the first time in, once you get all the stuff and tools it's not bad at all. Now trying to do it with out some of the specialty tools or tricks that's another story. Keep it up!