Project Hundy Build Thread - 2000 UZJ100 Land Cruiser

[cruiseroutfit]

Death Star Build Part# 4: Go Time, the Build Day!

Why a single weekend? Well I'd like to think I'm a pretty busy guy and free weekends come at a premium. Quite honestly I'd much rather be bouncing around the desert on a Saturday than working on my vehicles. While lightly discussing the 100 Series build idea with my ARB sales rep (TR Burrus) & Jason Goates, one of my part-time helpers here in the shop, the idea came up, "Why not in a single day?". (Pretty sure we all have Jason to blame for the idea ). The more I thought about it, why not? As I developed my Gaant chart and laid out the tasks in the build planning phase, it quickly became apparent that this wasn't going to be feasible in 24 hours proper, well not in the manner in which I wanted it installed that is. So instead we planned around a weekend, starting after we closed the shop and sent off our shipping on a Friday evening and culminating sometime on Sunday when everything was wrapped up and finalized.

The Weekend Task List

The advantage of the Gantt chart was the ability to scale the project in any way we wanted. I knew we had approximately 150 man-hours of projects to complete, be it 15 guys working 10 hours each or 5 guys each working 30 hours. There is an obvious point of diminishing returns in terms of the number of people you can have practically working on one vehicle at one time, given that constraint we tried to plan not only the project timing but also the number of people on each project as well. Our 'staff' ranged from over a dozen people during the heat of things on Saturday to 3 people on Sunday afternoon. Practical for all? Perhaps not but plan some projects, buy some pizzas and you might be surprised not only how many show to help but how helpful they in fact are. Crucial for me was to not compromise the build quality in the name of getting it done in a weekend. By bringing in some 'ringers' that specialize in these projects I was able to ensure that the build quality was maintained throughout.

Capturing the first items of the build - stock rear suspension removal & removing the stock front bumper

Step one was to get the 100 in the shop and start tearing things off like mad men. Our first victim would be the front bumper and while one crew (Jake, Jason & Dan) was dismantling the factory front bumper a second crew (Johnny & Stephen) were pulling the suspension off the rear axle. With the stock coils and shocks removed, it was time to install the new Old Man Emu rear suspension components. Meanwhile, assembly on the front ARB bumper was underway and the front bumper crew installed the chassis mount, Warn winch, and buffers in preparation for mounting the bar to the chassis. With the front bumper installed and finalized, we could start the rear bumper/swing installation which needed to happen before the drawers could go on, seeing the trend here? Like pieces of a puzzle, we had to jump around to keep out of the way of the simultaneous projects all the while having projects completed before the next started. All part of the fun.

Build Pictures from Friday Evening:

OME rear suspension installation

Prepping the front end for the ARB winchbar

Assembling the ARB rear swings - fuel & tire carrier

Assembling the ARB rear bumper main bar

Installing the carriers on the rear bumper

Front bumper complete, the shop getting messy!

Rear end suspension complete, front bumper complete, snorkel holes drilled

Making progress!

By Friday night the winch was installed in the front bumper and the bumper was finish mounted. Now we could rock out the front suspension and start on the rear bumper as the rear suspension was finalized. Working through the night we finished up the bulk of the rear bumper and swings and the front suspension as well. Bouncing in between front and back tasks I started on the snorkel, we let the paint dry on the fender holes and grabbed some early morning brekky.

To Do List By End of Day 1 (Friday 6PM - Saturday 5AM):

Inventory Parts X
Break wheel lug nuts X
Rear End on Jack Stands X
Remove Rear Tires X
Rear Stock Shocks & Coils Removed X
Rear OME Suspension Installation X
Rear Tires Mounted X
Rear End Lowered & Rear Tires Torqued X
Remove Front Bumper X
LandTank Fan Clutch Installation
Front End on Jack Stands
Stock Skid Plate Removed X
Stock Shocks Removed
Stock Torsion Bars Removed
OME Shocks & Torsion Bars Installed
Slee Diff Drop Kit Installed
OME Torsion Bars Adjusted
Front Tires Mounted
Front End Lowered & Front Tires Torqued
Stock Trans Cross Member Removed
Slee Skid Plates Installed
Install ARB Front Bumper X
Warn Winch Installed in Bumper X
IPF Lights on Bumper X
Remove Stock Roof Rack X
Remove Stock Rear Bumper X
Install ARB Rear Bumper X
Assemble & Install ARB Wheel Carrier X
Assemble & Install ARB Jerry Can Holder X
Rough Electrical to Rear
Rear 3rd Row Seats & Seatbelts Removed
Outback Drawer System Installed
Finalize ARB Fridge Wiring & Aux power outlets
Install ARB Fridge
Remove Stock Battery
Install Slee Dual Battery Tray
Install Optima Battery's
National Luna Dual Battery System Installation
Remove Factory Running Boards
Install ARB Side Steps & Side Rails
Install Eezi-Awn K9 Roof Rack
Safari Snorkel Installation X
Helton Hot Shower System Installation

 

[FireGuy]

Awesome build. Is this your daily driver?

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Awesome build. Is this your daily driver?

I suppose, my commute is non existant and this rig may sit for a week or more without driving but it is my primary go to right now as my Tacoma is pukked apart for some freshening.

 

[robustbambi]

fantastic build! im jealous as hell of all those goodies.
You may have already said, but is there any reason you went with the "old" front ARB design?

 

[cruiseroutfit]

...You may have already said, but is there any reason you went with the "old" front ARB design?

Versus the Sahara or are you referring to using the 02-07 Combo bar with the fog lamps? I prefer the look and function of the Combo versus the Sahara and I didn't want to deal with the trim fitment and mods of the 02-07 combo on my 2000. As it stands this is the current and direct application for my setup.

 

[robustbambi]

Versus the Sahara or are you referring to using the 02-07 Combo bar with the fog lamps? I prefer the look and function of the Combo versus the Sahara and I didn't want to deal with the trim fitment and mods of the 02-07 combo on my 2000. As it stands this is the current and direct application for my setup.

My wheeling bud, 2000UZJ, has the 02-07 combo with fogs on his. I probably shouldve guessed that fitment would be different. Yours looks more like the 60 series ARB

 

[cruiseroutfit]

My wheeling bud, 2000UZJ, has the 02-07 combo with fogs on his. I probably shouldve guessed that fitment would be different. Yours looks more like the 60 series ARB

Quite a few have opted for the later bumper on the earlier 100's, I've actually done them for a few customers here in the shop. You have to cut the frame horn extensions a bit and shim it differently but all in all its nothing too drastic and the added bonus you get the fog lamp option if desired. The fog lamps are nice but I was always planning on the IPF's and have future plans for a LED bar in the gap, the additional cost of the newer bar/fogs wouldn't do me much good so I opted for the traditional bumper. If/when I decide I want the fogs, I have the inserts, fogs and park/turn lights here for the swap. I've got the template that can be used to cut the holes and the bumpers would then be near identical. Tacoma guys have been doing it for quite a few years, here is a recent one to give you an idea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SsU8c8QSTD8

 

[robustbambi]

Quite a few have opted for the later bumper on the earlier 100's, I've actually done them for a few customers here in the shop. You have to cut the frame horn extensions a bit and shim it differently but all in all its nothing too drastic and the added bonus you get the fog lamp option if desired. The fog lamps are nice but I was always planning on the IPF's and have future plans for a LED bar in the gap, the additional cost of the newer bar/fogs wouldn't do me much good so I opted for the traditional bumper. If/when I decide I want the fogs, I have the inserts, fogs and park/turn lights here for the swap. I've got the template that can be used to cut the holes and the bumpers would then be near identical. Tacoma guys have been doing it for quite a few years, here is a recent one to give you an idea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SsU8c8QSTD8

Thanks for the video. yeah Nick, 2000UZJ, is a little obsessed with light so it doesnt surprise me that he wanted the space for fogs. He's put some of his square LED pods in their place though i think because he broke the plastic inserts haha. I have a question so ill try to PM you real quick!

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Thanks for the video. yeah Nick, 2000UZJ, is a little obsessed with light so it doesnt surprise me that he wanted the space for fogs. He's put some of his square LED pods in their place though i think because he broke the plastic inserts haha. I have a question so ill try to PM you real quick!

Doh! That video wasn't what I meant to link I was linking to a Tacoma customer that just swapped the the fog housings into his bumper:
http://forum.ih8mud.com/showpost.php?p=8293592&postcount=13

Another local friend (Johnny/Wild Yoats) is building LED kits that go in place of the standard amber turn signal inserts (such as my bar but not the newer setup) that ditch the amber trun signal and replace it with a really neat LED setup:

He is producing a batch of them and I'll likely give them a go soon.

 

[robustbambi]

hahaha yeah well, I enjoyed the videos none the less lol. And i really like those "amber" replacement LEDs, i think i saw his 80 over on mud.
Now, my hijack is complete and im really enjoying your build so far. Keep it up!!!!

 

[cruiseroutfit]

hahaha yeah well, I enjoyed the videos none the less lol. And i really like those "amber" replacement LEDs, i think i saw his 80 over on mud.
Now, my hijack is complete and im really enjoying your build so far. Keep it up!!!!

Thanks!

PS, saw your pm on Mud. Shoot me an email and I can send the fog lamp cutout template to you.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

A few more Friday build shots:

The hardest install of all

Organizing the rear bumper hardware

Blacking out the body underneath the rear bumper

Snorkel template in place, ready for holes!

 

[r3run33]

any mods to snorkle because of the antenna?? I know the list is big for your vehicle but what drawers are you gonna use

 

[cruiseroutfit]

any mods to snorkle because of the antenna?? I know the list is big for your vehicle but what drawers are you gonna use

Yes, you have to make a slight notch in the snorkel to retain the power antenna. The mod was straightforward and turned out really clean. I'll try and find some pictures of it.

I opted for the Outback Solutions drawers, I've got the roller drawer on the passenger side and the roller-drawer/roller-floor on the driver side with an ARB 37/50 Qt fridge on top. I've got some pictures of the drawer setup that I'll post in the next build installment which covers everything we accomplished on our build weekend Saturday.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

100 was on bike hauler duty this weekend in Moab, couldn't be happier. The seat heater did wonders on a sore body after a couple days of absolutely brutal trail riding (Sovereign, Salt Wash and Cliffhanger)