The Restoration And Build Thread For My 1992 FJ80

[Summit Cruisers Jr]

I just arrived home after being on the road for two weeks and living out of the cruiser with a couple of friends. I drove roughly 3000 miles through Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, and New Mexico and never once had to open a tool bag to work on the cruiser. Time to change the oil, upgrade the front brakes, and set out for Wyoming. 400,000 miles is approaching quickly.

This trip was definitely one that none of us will be forgetting anytime soon. In our second week, we rode over 140 miles of single track alone.

We started in Colorado Springs and ended up ditching our campsite on Gold Camp Road after some chilling experiences. Apparently that road is where people drive for Halloween. From Colorado Springs we drove to the Woodland Park area and camped up near the reservoir.


The next morning we filled the cruiser up in Woodland Park and drove roughly 100 miles to Golden. Miraculously we had a 3000 ft descent and a strong tailwind pushing us the entire way. This was the highest fuel mileage the cruiser has ever achieved. A solid 24.5MPG!

We camped the next night in the Arapaho National Forest and found some great free riding lines that entertained us until it was too dark to ride.

From there we drove into Aravada and stayed a night at a friend's house. Around 10 am the next day, we loaded up and headed for Beau Jo's in Idaho Springs. I had previously ordered the Beaughetti on spring break and deemed it one of my top 3 favorite meals.

I had hyped up this pizza filled with linguini and meatballs to my friends and they were skeptical. Upon ordering and receiving their food, all doubts ceased. For $10.49 it was some of the most and best quality food we are on the trip.


After departing Idaho Springs, we set out for Keystone Mountain Resort. We were hoping to spectate some of the Big Mountain Enduro and see what the racing scene was like, but by the time we arrived everything was pretty much over. We did see one of the most amazing 5th gen 4Runners ever which was built by TAV.


With our legs itching to ride, we drove to Frisco and stopped at their bike park. There aren't too many big jumps in Oklahoma and getting familiar with being in the air was awesome here as they have multiple lines for different levels of expertise.

I can't imagine looking out over Lake Dillion about to drop into a Slopestyle course on a regular basis. The place was surreal.


When the time came to set out and look for a campsite, we left Frisco and headed towards Breckenridge but turned off onto Tiger Road. After following Tiger Road for a ways we turned off onto a promising looking trail with an optional river crossing that we had to take. I believe this was Rock Island Road. At this point it was getting late and the sun was pretty much absent. We found a couple campsites that would have worked, but we wanted to find someplace better so we trudged along. We encountered several trees over the trail we had to clear to get past. It was roughly 11pm when we approached a nasty mud bog followed by an off camber section climbing over some wet roots. We had been in the tight forest for quite some time now with no sign of going above treeline. We all agreed to turn around and head down to our back up campsite.




The next day we set out on one of our more demanding rides. We started by the Breckenridge Golf Course and rode the Colorado Trail. It was supposed to be a 20ish mile ride with several thousand feet of climbing right at the start. When we hit pavement again at the golf course we were only at 15 miles which kind of left us bummed as we were hoping for a longer ride. Upon looking at our map and how we would get to the cruiser, we realized we were at the Keystone Golf Course. We ended up making it back to the cruiser just before the sun went down. That ride will probably go down as one of my favorite rides ever.


When it came time to find a campsite that evening, we had decided to take the forestry road that we had ridden on our bikes to get to the Colorado Trail entrance. We passed a Jeep coming down the trail and he said he had taken it, but turned around due to it getting late in the day and not knowing how far it went. My friends and I were determined to get above treeline. We kept driving past campsites that were all amazing, and completely empty. This non labeled road turned out to be a real treat. We never saw anyone else and it led us through some fun rock gardens, up steep rutted out climbs and the occasional stream/mud crossing.

We got to the end of the road and made our camp at 11,500ft.

 

[tlin]

Living vicariously through this thread.....great update, thx for sharing!

 

[Summit Cruisers Jr]

The next morning we cooked a huge breakfast consisting of eggs, bacon, and toast and set out for a hike.


The ski runs seen far away in the distance make up most of the runs at Breckenridge. The cruiser is down on the left in the yellow dirt spot. Once we finished our hike, we packed up and set out down the mountain. After stopping for gas, we were informed that Mosquito Pass was still closed so we had to opt for the boring paved route with our sights set towards Crested Butte. From Buena Vista, we entered Tin Cup Pass late in the afternoon. Compared to last year, the pass seemed in a lot tougher shape this year which slowed our progress considerably.


After playing on some of the bigger rocks, I put the truck in park to allow my friends hop back in. That's when the Rpms got a little low and the truck vapor locked for about 30 minutes. Further delaying our arrival to Crested Butte.


With our stomachs guiding us, we stopped at Mario's Pizza in Gunnison, CO. It also happens to be across the street from one of the only no ethanol gas stations in the area. With our's and the cruiser's bellies full we drove to CB where we stayed the night at a friend's family's condo.

Early the next morning we set out to get some laps in at the Evolution Bike Park. The weather was unbelievable at 70* and sunny with a cool breeze. It worked out well being there that day as a local orthopedic sponsors a free to enter DH or XC bike race that comes with free food and a drink. I have never raced DH before, but that entire atmosphere was really fun to be around even while being on a 6" bike trying to race people on much bigger DH sleds.

After 40+ miles of hand numbing and bike trashing riding, we packed up and set out for a campsite. We took Washington Gulch Road all the way up to the Paradise Divide and camped on the divide. There were campers everywhere and I don't believe any of us took any pics of this place as all we wanted to do was sleep after a brutal day on the bikes.

The next day, we washed and repaired what we had broken on our bikes and set out to ride the famous 401. We parked in Gothic and bikes to the top of Schofield Pass and then started the climb to the top of the 401. I had expected the trail to be tougher, but after riding that section of the CO Trail is wasn't that bad. The trail had amazing views but the downhills were filled with massive brake bumps from all the people who shuttle it.


After following a recommendation from one of my dad's friends we headed towards Kebler Pass looking for the Lost Lakes campground. Usually I avoid any campsites with the name campground, but we were tired and didn't really care at this point. Along the way another beige 80 series with a hardshell RTT passed us going the other way, and we soon found a really rutted out road that spurred off from the main road. We decided to take it as it looked more fun that being in a campground and it was well worth it. There was a nice stream at our site along with a lot of firewood that we split. It was great being at a campsite and setting everything up while the sun was still out. We were even able to do some laundry. The campsite even included one of the best CVT ladder extensions we have used in awhile.



We decided to leave Crested Butte early and head towards Telluride after one of my friends had his rear derailleur get sucked into his wheel and sheer the hanger along with some spokes. Once we arrived in Telluride, we stopped at a couple shops to get his bike fixed and then we set out on some awesome trails. We probably would have camped on Last Dollar Road or on the Dallas Creek trail, but we had to get into town and get his bike ready asap. Our days were filled with endless single track shredding and our evenings were filled with old mining roads to get to campsites. We camped at our favorite spot at Alta Lakes a couple nights in a row.




One of the mornings we met Tim (Sackwear). His bobbed Fj45/troops build was absolutely off the wall awesome and he was a great guy leaving us with some of his stickers and patches.


When the time to leave Telluride came, we set out on Imogene Pass towards Ouray. I've done Imogene multiple times, but not in recent years and not from Telluride to Ouray. It was good fun and we passed several TRDpro 4runners, new Tacos, and an old Land Rover Defender on the trail.

 

[dubbinchris]

Sounds like a great trip you had man. Nothing that epic for my 80 series here. I have been using it as a base camp with RTT and awning for a local series of 6 hr mountain bike races.

 

[Summit Cruisers Jr]

With Telluride literally in the dust (it never rained on us during our two week trip except for the morning of the very last day), we drove through Ouray and saw a couple of companies there early for the FJ Summit. Those who know, know of the Super Secret Road that overlooks Black Bear Pass and 550 down below. That's where we chose to set up camp.





It started raining on us early that morning and we decided to pack up the tent before it got any worse. It was probably about 7:30 am when we left that campsite and headed for Durango. We didn't have plans to ride Phil's World in Cortez as we would have been there later in the day, but due to our early departure we made the trip out to the desert anyways.

In Durango, we ate at Gazpachos and then met up with Tucker who has a sweet Fj60. Later in the day we decided against camping north of ABQ and changed our destination to Red River where my friend and I had camped last year. Whenever we got hungry on the road, we would stop at the nearest City Market and buy a half gallon of chocolate milk and the cheapest donuts they were selling. After ingesting all of that stuff we were able to make it quite awhile without needing food.


Driving towards the New Mexican mountain range that's home to Anglefire, Red River, and Taos.


We set up camp late that night and went straight. We woke early the next morning and hit the road for Oklahoma. Outside of Eagle's Nest, NM was also where I have gotten the first speeding ticket in my 75,000 miles of driving the cruiser. After just being passed by a smaller carc we came around a corner doing 42 when the recommended speed of the corner was 40 to a cop car with his lights already on. We slowed down as the next corner ahead showed a construction zone speed limit of 35mph. I pulled over to let the cop pass as I thought he was going after the small red car and he followed me off to the side of the road. After he got out of his car he is looking at me and starts touching our bikes, yeti cooler, and trasharoo. He then comes around to the passenger side and has me roll down all of my windows and seems pretty demanding. I get that there's a feeling that he would like to be safe, but it was all very strange. He then told me I was going 10 over in a 35 which I tried to politely argue on the spot that I hadn't entered the construction zone yet and he was adamant I was going way too fast (the cruiser feels like it could tip if I go faster than the recommended speeds for semi's on corners so I have no desire to speed through winding roads I don't know). He didn't seem to care and at this point he had me step out and follow him back to his car where he just started asking tons of questions. I was pretty sure he was going to search us and I was hoping he would ask just so I could say no and make him get a warrant to waste his time, but he didn't and ended up giving me a $72 ticket which was a relief. I figured I would be getting a several hundred dollar ticket for speeding in his so-called construction zone as fines are doubled. Does this mean a 10 over speeding ticket in NM is $36?

I have only ever been pulled over once before and let off with a warning and it seemed like a totally different experience. This officer didn't even ask for insurance or registration and just wanted my license. I am assuming he just profiled my truck and decided to stick me with it instead of the car that had passed us. Oh well. It doesn't cost much to ship a big box of coins to their department. Jk

Anyways, I'm now back home with bigger front brakes on the way with carbon ceramic pads as there were some times where the cruiser doesn't like to come to a complete stop on steep places. Then I'll change the oil, take the tent off, and head out to Wyoming.

 

[Pb&Nelly]

Just read through this entire thread. Amazing work on the cruiser! Very clean mods. I'm looking at getting an 80 with 220k miles next week for a daily driver and adventures. I hope it's half as nice as this one day!

 

[bumper crop]

great adventure, this last one. looked like a blast. i need to hit the road soon.

 

[nelsonmr]

Dude that cruiser is insane!! I'm working on a '90 62 and a '97 80. If I had half your fab skills I'd be posting pics. Great thread and build thanks for posting it up.

 

[Summit Cruisers Jr]

Just read through this entire thread. Amazing work on the cruiser! Very clean mods. I'm looking at getting an 80 with 220k miles next week for a daily driver and adventures. I hope it's half as nice as this one day!

I appreciate. You can't go wrong with an 80 series!

great adventure, this last one. looked like a blast. i need to hit the road soon.

It definitely was and now I'm prepping to head out to Wyoming.

Dude that cruiser is insane!! I'm working on a '90 62 and a '97 80. If I had half your fab skills I'd be posting pics. Great thread and build thanks for posting it up.

I appreciate it! Good luck with your 62 and 80!

Yesterday I went to mounting up my new Tredpros. I got in on the Kickstarter so they were hard to pass on when considering the price of the gray maxtraxx. They definitely would have already paid for theirselves in a couple instances so I figured why not.

All I did to mount them was drill holes in my roof rack and then tap them for bolts. Then I trimmed down some rubber semi truck mudflaps to allow them a slight amount of movement between the metal washer and the roof rack.

I also mounted up my rod holders for the upcoming trip to Wyoming.




I then turned my attention to my air conditioning. It doesn't cool as quickly as it should, but after being on the road for awhile it would get down below 40*. It also seemed to be weakly blowing air.



I was kind of disappointed when I pulled it out and saw that this side was clean.



And then I turned it around...



After cleaning it all out, the padded weather stripping had disintegrated so it all had to be replaced.



After putting it all back together, replacing the drier, and refilling the system with R12, it now blows a lot more air but still not as much as my brother's 94. I believe he has a more powerful blower. I may look into that in the future.

I also have a pair of new slotted rotors along with some carbon ceramic pads that I was hoping to install this weekend, but Napa has delayed the shipping on the calipers from last Thursday to this Tuesday.

 

[Pb&Nelly]

Awesome! I'm curious your opinion, with such high mileage are you saving for spare engine or rebuild kits? This truck I'm looking at has 220k mikes but a more mystery than yours on maintenance of course. I just keep wondering to myself if I'll be able to trust it and if worst comes how I could afford a rebuild. The rebuild and parts seem crazy for these. I'm looking at the fzj80 though. Do you ever get paranoid driving this thing across the country?

One I'm considering is 96' with 220k miles, rebuilt axles, rebuilt birfs, no leaks, arb bumper and warn winch, factory lockers, new bfg 35s, custom rear bumper, and roof rack, and I believe a emu lift. Will have it compression tested and if all looks good he wants $7500. Would you go for it as daily driver?

Sorry to bring up a repeated question, you obviously have a lot of knowledge on these so had to ask.

 

[Summit Cruisers Jr]

Awesome! I'm curious your opinion, with such high mileage are you saving for spare engine or rebuild kits? This truck I'm looking at has 220k mikes but a more mystery than yours on maintenance of course. I just keep wondering to myself if I'll be able to trust it and if worst comes how I could afford a rebuild. The rebuild and parts seem crazy for these. I'm looking at the fzj80 though. Do you ever get paranoid driving this thing across the country?

One I'm considering is 96' with 220k miles, rebuilt axles, rebuilt birfs, no leaks, arb bumper and warn winch, factory lockers, new bfg 35s, custom rear bumper, and roof rack, and I believe a emu lift. Will have it compression tested and if all looks good he wants $7500. Would you go for it as daily driver?

Sorry to bring up a repeated question, you obviously have a lot of knowledge on these so had to ask.

I've never worried about the high mileage even when leaving for large trips. I also daily drive it which definitely helps it's overall condition. Parts aren't drying out and everything sees enough use to keep it working and if an issue shows up, it's dealt with so things don't snowball.. Honestly I would take mine with its mileage over an 80 with half the mileage that hasn't been driven much in recent years. Granted I also have the 3FE instead of the 1FZFE, I have never worried about the headgasket even though I can think of a place or two where I would have almost certainly blown a headgasket in a 1FZFE. The only time where I might be worried about the longevity of the 3FE is if I added a turbo charger to it. Eventually I would like to get a running FJ62 to use as a candidate for a turbo build and if it all works out swap it over to my 3FE.

The 80 you're talking about sounds like a decent deal if it has a solid maintenance history. If it isn't regeared to 4.88s already, that may be something you want to do if you live in a hilly section of Arkansas.

 

[Summit Cruisers Jr]

Yesterday I have the brakes a much needed upgrade to help combat the loaded weight of my 80.

Stoptech FZJ sized slotted rotors.




Powerstop 100 series pads


I trimmed down the back plates so they would fit with the larger rotors.


I took a small hand held grinder to the pads to make sure it didn't build up pad where it was going to be rubbing on the rotor hat? And not on the rotor itself. I also had to remove the backing plates on the pads.





All done. I also replaced the bearings and one bearing race on the driver's side and repacked all of them along with replacing the inner seal.

Braking performance is better, but I still don't get any of the bite I thought I would get out of this set up. I'm going to keep bleeding them today, and if there aren't any signs of improvement, I will look at replacing the brake booster and possibly the master cylinder when I get back from Wyoming.

 

[Summit Cruisers Jr]

Just got back late last night after another week on the road. 3500 problem free miles through Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Nebraska. We started out by driving 14 hours to Laramie, Wyoming. The next morning we set out for Jackson Hole and spent 4 days there. We went up through Yellowstone (too touristy for my liking) and explored what we could in the Grand Teton National Park. Then we left for Custer, SD and spend a couple nights there. I went to both Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial carving. The Crazy Horse carving was really fascinating because it's been all privately funded and it's the largest stone carving actively being carved. Then we ended up driving around through the Black Hills National Forest and ended up in Sturgis for the bike rally. Anyways, the cruiser now has nearly 388k miles on it. It just keeps going.

First view of the Tetons!


Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park


This was one of the few off road trails in the national parks. A fun 20 miles that followed the Snake River.




Black Hills National Forest. This national forest kind of reminded me of Arkansas, but trails were everywhere and not very tight.


I guess I brought the wrong bike...



Today has so far involved cleaning the interior, replacing the fuel pump gasket, changing the fuel pump filter sock because the cruiser has a slight hesitation and it hasn't been changed in 4 or so years, and replacing the heater hoses after one started seeping on the trip.



I also put in some new step clips as we have had screws holding them down for at least 7 years.

 

[mongoose2231]

Your truck is mint! Love it. Have U ever put it through the scales to see how much that beast weighs fully loaded? I bet it's near 6500lbs. I once had my 60 at 6700 and while it didn't feel like it was struggling to get going it did sway a little more than I felt comfortable with in some of the turns. Then again my suspension is stock.

 

[eurosonic]

solid build