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Our daily driver/camping/exploration rig; 1992 Toyota FJ80

Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
Ever since we traded in our '99 Toyota 4Runner we've missed having a SUV to haul family & friends, use for camping and take out exploring. I actually purchased another older 4Runner with the intention of swapping out the blown motor, but decided to pass on that one for something else.

We ended up buying this 1992 Toyota FJ80 LandCruiser with 200k miles on it. I've been a long-time Toyota fan, but I have never owned a LandCruiser before. I have heard all about their offroad prowess, combined with Toyota's known reliability and the interior room, I think it's going to make a great camping/exploration vehicle. Unfortunately due to my budget I had to find a cheaper, unlocked model. The newer FZJ80's (1993+) had the locker option, so lockers weren't even available for our '92. I'm alright with that though, this rig will be for light wheelin, not rocks so much.

The build plan-

First and foremost, this FJ80 will be a daily-driver for my wife Catherine. It needs to be reliable, drive well and run good. With that in mind I'm planning on a drivetrain swap. I'll be dropping in a Cummins 4BTA with a Dodge NV4500 mated to a Toyota FJ60 t-case. I'm quite a diesel fan and this will be our 3rd diesel vehicle, we also have a TDI VW Jetta and a Dodge CTD. I'm planning on making our own bio-diesel to supply our fleet of vehicles. Hopefully the fuel savings will help offset the cost of the engine swap. It'll be nice to leave the big fuel companies behind!

The FJ80 needs a 4" lift to accommodate the Cummins 4BT, which I'm quite alright with, ;) . This will also provide enough room for 35" tires, which will be perfect with the stock 4.10 gears and 4BT. I'll probably end up with an Old Man Emu lift, they seem to be a good mix of quality components, offroad capability and a good road ride.

As of now, the FJ80 is stock... running boards and all! In the near future it will be getting 33" BFG A/T's and a pair of IPF offroad lights. I'll be updating this thread as the build progresses. :)

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BroncoMama

BroncoMama

Rock Diva
Location
Just south of craziness
I wouldn't be so sure there boys. Catherine is pretty attached to it. She's already started buying stickers for it! ;)

It really is a great rig. I like it a lot and it only confirmed my desire to be a cool chick like Catherine and run around in a Cruiser!! :)
 
Kiel

Kiel

Formerly WJ ZUK
So have you bought a bread truck yet? The neighbors will love you;) Question though, if reliability is a main concern why custom stuff throughout? I'd ship in a diesel from overseas. You gotta keep toyota's all yota right?
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
chadschoon said:
I give it 1 year and 4 months ;)
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Meat_ said:
nah, 1 year 8 months.... it will take longer with the 4bt swap
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Doesn't matter when it gets done, long as it does. The TJ took almost exactly a year, and that was a huge project... new axles, suspension, engine/trans/t-case and a 3 month stay at BHR. Plus, this is a 1 wire motor... very simple! I will be building it out of pocket for the most part, so that will slow it down a bit.


BroncoMama said:
I wouldn't be so sure there boys. Catherine is pretty attached to it. She's already started buying stickers for it! ;)

It really is a great rig. I like it a lot and it only confirmed my desire to be a cool chick like Catherine and run around in a Cruiser!! :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, she likes it so much she's in South America checking out the non-US spec LandCruisers! :D


WJ ZUK said:
So have you bought a bread truck yet? The neighbors will love you;) Question though, if reliability is a main concern why custom stuff throughout? I'd ship in a diesel from overseas. You gotta keep toyota's all yota right?
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Nope, got a line on a motor that's in good shape, already pulled and it comes with some extra goodies; Intercooler, HY35 turbo, etc. I think a mechanical Cummins is about as simple and reliable as motors get. It may be a 'custom' build but at least I'll be using common items and able to get parts for anything easy enough. I don't even want to know what a Toyota diesel would cost and finding parts for an engine never imported to the US could be an expensive PITA. Plus, I don't know that you can get 400 reliable ft/lbs and 20 MPG from a Toyota diesel like you can from a 4BT. :greg:
 
Coco

Coco

Well-Known Member
Location
Lehi, UT
WJ ZUK said:
So have you bought a bread truck yet? The neighbors will love you;) Question though, if reliability is a main concern why custom stuff throughout? I'd ship in a diesel from overseas. You gotta keep toyota's all yota right?
Click to expand...

Ya but then you have to deal with the right hand drive issue right? And RHD vehicles are illegal in the US
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
Going Up! said:
Ya but then you have to deal with the right hand drive issue right? And RHD vehicles are illegal in the US
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I think he's talking about a half-cut... basically the front clip of a vehicle with the import engine/trans/t-case still in tact. You drop that drivetrain into your US vehicle and are technically legal. From what I've seen, most half-cuts run about $5-6k. Cummins 4BT's are 1/2 that price and easier to get, so that's the direction I'm going.
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
I just ordered a set of black steel 15x8 Cragar Soft 8's from Summit Racing. Those will have 33x12.5x15 BFG A/T's mounted on them and bolted to the FJ80. I already had the 33's, so why not get them on the 80! From what I have read, 33's should fit on the LandCruiser without any lift, so that will be an easy way to gain ground clearance and better offroad traction.

Once the OME lift is installed, I'm going to run another set of BFG A/T's... 315/75/15's this time. I'd like to find a set of factory Toyota 17" wheels, perhaps Tundra wheels? I think that would be a great looking setup.

Shortly after the lift gets installed, I'll be pulling the FJ80 apart for the engine swap. I am going to try have all parts gathered before tearing it apart, so we have minimal downtime.
 
sixb

sixb

Will work for beer!
Location
West Jordan, UT
Sounds like a great build, but are you sure your wife is going to like driving a 4bt? I have heard that they are pretty loud and rattle even more than a 6bt. Also does advanced adaptors make an adaptors for the nv4500/yota t-case?
 
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