Schattenjager's '97 FZJ-80

[Schattenjager]

And it begins:

Land Cruisers are nice - but modified ones are really nice - so I began de-stocking this new unit.

First - off came the side steps and on went the Slee Step Sliders. The front fender trim that met the dealer installed steps was trimmed to finish the look. I went with the steps for a few reasons - practicality chief amongst them - and hopefully the extra space sticking out will help 'guide' the rig away from hazards... hopefully.
:Wow1:

Then came the Line-X! Much like the Tacoma before it - I am sticking with the Storm Trooper theme!

=

Right after that was done I put on my Tacoma wheels with the near new 235/85's As you can see, I am going to need some spacers - anyone know of a good source for spacers that wont wreck the balance of the rig???

The 2.5" lift is on it's way with the front ARB so hopefully that and the spacers will fix the odd look it has right now. We have snow falling and the stock, high mileage tires had less grip than a drop of mercury in a teflon skillet, so I put the poor Tacoma's gear to use! BFG AT's do pretty well in the white stuff!

More to come...

 

[Sgt Grunt]

Coming right along!!! You'll have to edit your sig line...

I have a brand new set of spacers if you're interested in them, shoot me a PM.

 

[Schattenjager]

Other mods to come:

Driving this for a few days now I find the front window lift switches are oddly located, so I am going to try to swap places with the rear switches, which are easier to find.

also - what do you think about painting the rear view mirrors black? Maybe less of a wart?

 

[TangoBlue]

Much like the Tacoma before it - I am sticking with the Storm Trooper theme!

Then I suppose that would make this an "Imperial Land Cruiser?"

 

[a.mus.ed]

also - what do you think about painting the rear view mirrors black? Maybe less of a wart?

that'd be interesting to see - i can't decide if it would make them more noticeable or less...

 

[Sloan]

Does the Line X make the hood a lot heavier or is it not that noticeable?

 

[Schattenjager]

Does the Line X make the hood a lot heavier or is it not that noticeable?

It is a thin layer - not too heavy at all - the hood shocks work fine.
:sombrero:

 

[panzer]

Slee steps were a good choice. I have the old school ARB sidebar steps on my 80 and I would much rather have the step than a traditional slider on an expo 80. Curious about the choice of line-x'ing the flares.

Did you consider linex'ing all of the lower body panels?
Maybe not all the way up to the beltline but equal to rear bumper line sort of like so.

 

[panzer]

Or alternatively up to the lower body line equal with the front bumper line.

 

[Schattenjager]

Both are great ideas. I ran up against the clock and as you know prep work is the hardest part. The entire truck had to be taped off for this project.

 

[JohnnyS]

I had OME J's on my 97 FZJ 80 and they gave me at least 4 inches of lift.
I installed caster correction bushings and longer SS brakelines and had no vib problems at all, it did sit like a stink bug though.
I had 285s on it but easily could've cleared 35s.
It was amazing how it would flex out, pretty unstoppable.

 

[corbinwelter]

looking forward to seeing the bumper and lift on, sounds just like my build.

I think i am going to go with OME 850J up front a 863 rear.

 

[panzer]

Just for reference. I am running the 850/863 combo and I clear 315s with no problems. I do get a little rubbing in the back when I am full loaded and go thru a whoop or something that fully compresses the rear springs. I could extend my bump stops to make it stop but it doesn't happen often enought that I worry about it. I was also stink bug with only the ARB on the front. It leveled out nicely when I put the slee rear on and moved the spare to the rear but that is also when the rear started to rub in the whoops.

 

[Schattenjager]

More fun stuff:

Well, as Sgt. Grunt said - there is nothing more fun than cutting into perfectly good fenders - Well, I didn't want him having all the fun, so:

leading to:

I can feel a difference in the engine - took a long day trip yesterday and got 327 miles out of a tank of gas. Guessing this helped...

More to come!

 

[Sgt Grunt]

Spacers!!! :elkgrin: Looking good. What's next?