The Baja Bus 1994 FZJ80 Build

[krazytoy]

Looks like a sweet project you've got going here! I used to live in Jackson and went wheeling with the "Snake River Offroaders" or something like that back in the late 90's in my Tacoma which was only on 32's back then. It's now on 42's and 1 tons and I'm always looking for new places to check out. I live up in NW MT now but get down that way a few times a year and its only about 7hrs to Idaho Falls. Are there some good wheeling trails around there? Maybe I should give CBI a call I've always wanted to check the shop out, I love their products.
On with your build sir looks like it will be a great one. I am hoping to fly down to Cabo this Thanksgiving and hang with a friend in Todos Santos for a week or so, I'd love to drive down in a year or 2!

The Snake River Offroaders are very much still an active group. We have a local Idaho 4x4 forum (Planet4x4.net) if you get a chance to check it out or post up next time you are going to be in town and people are usually looking for an excuse to ditch work and go wheelin', I know I am. There are some great trails around and we also have St. Anthony Sand Dunes which are always a hoot. If you are in the area definitely stop by CBI, the shop has expanded tremendously in the last few years and there products just keep getting better. Let me know if you find anything cool In Todos Santos, 2014 is close to two years away if you want to join up with us.

you seem to know what you're talking about and what you're looking for. Regarding the gearing, some info from my 93 FZJ80- I'm running 315 75 16 BFG AT's (around 34.5") and 4.88 gears. My speedo is off by 10% (it says 70, but I'm going 63 by GPS). At 72mph (80 by speedo), I'm running over 3,000 rpm. I geared mine at 4.88 to go with 37" military tires down the road, and talking to someone with them, their speedometer is dead on at highway speeds. Maybe none of this matters based on your build. I look forward to seeing it come along.

It is not that it doesn't matter; it is just that I know what I like when it comes to gearing and like I said everyone seems to like different things. I don't mind going a little slower down the highway to have the extra power and crawl ratio. That's just my opinion and what I like.

Good looking start to the truck. My parents are in Idaho Falls so I'm up there quite a bit, and I've got a brother in Rigby. I'll keep my eyes open for you. Watch for my Gold Tacoma, or you might get a wave from weirdo in a Champagne GMC Yukon XL with Utah plates.

I always wave back, even to creepy stalker types in champagne Yukon’s... J/K, next time you are up this way give me a holler and maybe we can get together for a cold one. :beer:

Nice 80. Same color as mine!

The color is what sold me on this one. It's beautiful when all shinned up.

 

[krazytoy]

Awesome Jason!!

I think that is the most I have ever seen you type!

A big change for you in the last year when it comes to trucks. This year alone, 4-Runner to mini-truck (both pretty capable in the rocks) to now the big heavy TLC. I get it though and I am on the same path. I hope I can make that trip with you in 2014 and I hope I can go in my new truck!

What's Up Ian!
If you knew how long it took me to type that you would understand why I don't usually do this. I didn't want to get into ALL the rigs I have had, that would be a thread in itself! You better get to grinding on that new truck man, 2014 is right around the corner...

 

[krazytoy]

It was a fairly productive weekend. I got the front & rear bumpers removed and the factory running boards off. I also removed the factory roof rack to make room for the new CBI one. Here are the pictures and the run down.

Here she is before I started.

Bumpers and Running Boards Gone!

Next I removed the battery and battery box to get to the front body mount bolt. It is way down there.

Remove the bottom radiator mount.

Finally, there it is!

I had to put a few extension on to get it loose.

 

[krazytoy]

I pulled the seats out next. They are easy to get out and made the job much easier, I don't think you could do the job and not remove the seats.

Be sure to move the seats where you need to to get the back seat bolts out. I didn't and had to put the battery back in.

Getting the rest doone is fairly simple jack the body up and install the pucks. Replace the bolts and tighten everything back up.

So the 4-Crawler lift does not make any provisions for lowering the radiator. I have read where a lot of people just cut the shroud, but I didn't like that idea. The upper mounts on the radiator are a real pain in the *** to get to. You have to take apart the entire front grill and head lights to get to the dumb little bolt.

So with everything torn apart I had to scratch my head a little to figure out how to re-work the upper mount and drop it down the 1.25". I really don't like the idea of tearing apart the entire grill if I had to change the radiator again. A frosty adult beverage always help me think. You have to love those Toyota engineers, they really do think of everything when designing these truck. (Well other thatn routing the exhaust and the upper radiator bolts...)

I got it! Here is my idea. Quick and simple fix. I used the factory boly and drilled two new hole and welded the factory bolt on to the plate. It is 1.5" wide plate and I think I used a 5/16" drill bit.

 

[krazytoy]

Here they are installed.

For the lower mount I just drilled new hole 1.25" down from the factory holes and installed the factory mount.

So that is pretty much it. The radiator was definetly the biggest pain, all in all it took me right at 8 hours. That included a few cold ones and my neighbor stopping by to shoot the breeze. From here I put the battery back in and refilled the radiator, and put the seats back in, but before I did that I got out the shop vac a gave everything a good once over since the seats are out.

Here she is 1.25" taller.

 

[krazytoy]

I also moved the A/C dryer to make room for the new bumper. I very carefully bent the lines and used a couple self tappinmg screws to remount it.

 

[krazytoy]

So here is what I did with the factory roof rack. I didn't like the way it looked once I removed it and the paint had been rubbed off a little and the holes are what seals the roof up.

Removed the factory rack, two screws at each corner.

I hit Ace hardware to find some short screws to put back in. They are 5mmx.80 if anyone is wondering. I dabbed som FIPG on them. If you have never used FIPG I highly recommend it. It is by far the best sealent I have found. I always keep a few tubes on hand and I even carry one is my tool box in the Crusier. It's great stuff.

I put the screws back in and let it dry overnight.

Next I made a template to go over the screws so I could keep the areas I am going to coat some what uniform.

Now I traced the pattern so I knew where to scuff up the paint and tape it off.

Tape evrything off real good. I used a bunch of newspaper too.

I choose to use Duplicolor spray on bed liner. I think this should seal it up good and looks fairly decent as well. You really shouldn't see it once the new roof rack is up there.

Here it is all finished up, be sure to peel the tape off while this stuff is still wet. It makes the lines nice and clean.

So I dropped it off this morning to get the exhaust done. I will update when I get it back this afternoon.

 

[Sempertoy]

With the body lift, have you noticed any problems? I read somewhere that the shift selector gets out of whack and doesnt like going in gear? If that makes sense.

Also what exhaust did you go with? I am thinking that I want to get the EMS system, but am still open to ideas.

I like what you did with the roof rack removal and will probably do the same next weekend. Did you have a problem with the nutserts spinning? I can forsee myself having that problem and would like some tips on how to get them out.
Also are you leaving the load bars on or will you be removing those also?

Jon

 

[RMP&O]

Sweet Jason, looking good!

Nice fix on the rad. too.

 

[krazytoy]

With the body lift, have you noticed any problems? I read somewhere that the shift selector gets out of whack and doesnt like going in gear? If that makes sense.

Also what exhaust did you go with? I am thinking that I want to get the EMS system, but am still open to ideas.

I like what you did with the roof rack removal and will probably do the same next weekend. Did you have a problem with the nutserts spinning? I can forsee myself having that problem and would like some tips on how to get them out.
Also are you leaving the load bars on or will you be removing those also?

Jon

I have not noticed any major problems. I did have to adjust the transmission shifter, but it took all of 5 minutes and goes into park without any additional effort. The only difference is the little red indicator on the shifter only shows about half of the normal full rectangle. No big deal to me. I also had to tweak the t-case shifter, i just bent it a little to clear the back of the consoul.
We have a decent exahust shop here in town so I bought a Magna Flow muffler and spun cat. I explained to the shop how I wanted the exhaust and they did it. I have $550.00 into if that helps you. I can give you the part numbers if you need them.
I did not have any problems with the nutserts, this rig came from Sacremento and it has zero rust on it. It's nice to work on something that is so clean. I do plan to leave the load bars on, the sunroof opens to just above the load bars so taking them off really wouldn't gain me anything in keeping the new roof rack down lower. Thanks for the complements.

Sweet Jason, looking good!

Nice fix on the rad. too.

Thanks man, I knew you would like the radiator fix. The whole time I was thinking how crappy it would be to have to pull the entire grill apart to change the radiator on the side of the road in Mexico. Funny how my thought process has really changed when building a rig. It's all your fault... Guess we have learned a lot from each other. :sombrero:

 

[krazytoy]

So, got it back from the exhaust shop. I think they did a nice job and I am happy with it. It did throw a code last night after about 10 miles. I need to pull the code and see what it is. We may have to do some work to it. I bought a flex pipe to install, but the guys at the shop said it was not needed, after feeling how solid the system is I believe them. The cat is really close to the frame, I would say about 1/4" or so, hope it doesn't it the frame... We will do the tail pipe once the bumper is on a completed.

New Down Pipe & O2 sensors.

Cats

Muffler

 

[Sempertoy]

That sounds awesome. I may PM you for part numbers in the future. Right now I have a long list and exhaust isn't exactly at the top.

Good to know about the body lift, I have considered going this route when I go up to XML's for some additional clearance.

Funny that your rig came from sacramento, thats wherer I bought mine from. hopfully removal of the rack goes as smooth for me.

Jon

 

[mr.trd]

Looking good so far! I in the next two-three weeks I see some big changes coming! Looking forward to it!

 

[explouis]

I like the set up of your exhaust system. Did you find out what was the error code? How close the CAT to U-joint?

Louis

 

[krazytoy]

The code is code 26 which is too rich. I have few ideas as to what it is. I'll report what I find out. The cat is about 1/2" from the u-joint, should not create any problems but I will have to keep an eye on it for sure.