“Stinky” the 1997 FZJ80 build

[TRED LYT]

The name comes from the sour milk spilled on the floor mats from the previous owner masked by the pine scented car wash rear view mirror hung air freshener. Smelled like an old poopie diaper under a pine tree! Replaced the mats with new Weather Tech laser fit floor mats....presto-change-o, smell go bye-bye.

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[TRED LYT]

Wanted to show a couple of fabrications we collaborated with Alex at American Overland Expeditions on that came out great. First was an interior mounted ARB dual air compressor. We removed the rear seats and he used the existing bolt holes in the wheel hump to fasten the custom fabbed mounting bracket. He hooked up the electrical, ran the air lines to my rear and front air lockers, installed the switches in the dash, and everything works awesome.

Then I had seen a RAM mounting bar in a Jeep that I wanted in the 80. Scoured the internet and couldn’t find one anywhere. Spoke with Alex, asked if he could build one, and so he did. This thing is da bomb! Rock solid mounting rack for everything RAM. I have my SPOD lighting and battery management tablet mounted, my Magellan TRX7CS, iPhone, iPad, and 2 RAM oscillating cup holders that do not spill! Oh, and also a mount for my GoPro. It’s ridiculously functional. While I was at it, we removed the clock and replaced it with a 2 port USB charger station. I am able to keep all devices on the bar charging when enroute.

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[TRED LYT]

Installed the SPOD electronics management system. I’m using it for my lights and seeing how my batteries are doing.

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[TRED LYT]

Lights are all up and running. I know the HIDs suck a lot of juice, but holy smokes, it’s like day light for 100 yards. Really bright! Just like I wanted for those Baja night excursions!

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[TRED LYT]

Rooftop tent and awning, both made by Tepui. Went with the 3 man Ruggedized series in bright orange. We like it......keeps the deer hunters from shooting us!

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[TRED LYT]

3” with spacers Old Man Emu lift with heavy duty springs. Custom built front bumper and bull bar and concealed 12,000 LB Warn winch. Custom built rear bumper with swing gate spare tire holder and opposite swing Jerry can holder. Custom built front side fender bars that connect to sliders. I will be changing out the rock sliders as I fear they will get torn off on the first boulder they come into contact with. For now, the make a great camp bench! 35” tires on original 16” rims. Both are being swapped out for a new set of 17” bead locks with 35” BFG KM3’s! ARB Safari snorkel.

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[TRED LYT]

For you mountain bikers who want to haul a bike and have rear mounted spare, do yourself a favor and get the Yakima Spare Ride bike rack. It works great! Bike swings out with spare tire swing gate to allow access to the back of the truck without having to take the bikes off!

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[TRED LYT]

Hi-Lift makes this bull bar mount farm jack mount. Super easy to install. Very clean looking. Doesn’t really impair your vision. And helps free up room for other exterior mounts for things like shovels, axes, Maxtrax, etc...

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[TRED LYT]

Just ordered new gearing better mated to the 35” tires. Should improve performance a ton. I’ll let y’all know what I end up with and how it works after I install.


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[TRED LYT]

Installing the new 4.88 gears that just arrived which are a better ratio for the taller tires. I’m hoping this helps with the longer grade hill climbs where my transmission seemed to labor like crazy with the stock 4.11’s. While we have it up on the hoist and apart, we decided to rebuild the front knuckles which should give new life to the front end.

 

[TRED LYT]

New 31 series AGM Northstar cranking battery installed today. A bit of a tight fit, but happy with newfound capacity!! Having to lengthen the cables to get around the new matching house battery which will go in tomorrow.

 

[NZ Aaron]

Looks a nicely set up truck. I see you like the Yakima rack. Do you have any picks with it with bikes on. I need something on a Landcruiser Prado and I'm losing the battle on finding a good rack with a swing out door?

 

[TRED LYT]

Looks a nicely set up truck. I see you like the Yakima rack. Do you have any picks with it with bikes on. I need something on a Landcruiser Prado and I'm losing the battle on finding a good rack with a swing out door?

Here are a couple of photos. The one shows how the bike swings out with the spare tire gate, and the other shows how high up the bike sits. I purchased the 2 bike carrier, but I think they have a 3 & 4 bike version as well. The one pick showing the bike on the back is somewhat of an optical illusion as it doesn't stick out that far on either side of the rig. You'll notice I had to monkey with the way the bike sits on the rack by shifting everything left so that the back wheel doesn't extend beyond the width of the rig. The bike is a 29er so I'm not sure if the overall length is contributing to that problem. I'll try hanging my buddy's Santa Cruz bike and take some picks to see how it handles that. REI carries the rack. I'm sure they'd let you hook it up in the parking lot to see if it works for you.

 

[Chadlyb]

Here are a couple of photos. The one shows how the bike swings out with the spare tire gate, and the other shows how high up the bike sits. I purchased the 2 bike carrier, but I think they have a 3 & 4 bike version as well. The one pick showing the bike on the back is somewhat of an optical illusion as it doesn't stick out that far on either side of the rig. You'll notice I had to monkey with the way the bike sits on the rack by shifting everything left so that the back wheel doesn't extend beyond the width of the rig. The bike is a 29er so I'm not sure if the overall length is contributing to that problem. I'll try hanging my buddy's Santa Cruz bike and take some picks to see how it handles that. REI carries the rack. I'm sure they'd let you hook it up in the parking lot to see if it works for you. View attachment 68050 View attachment 68051

Loving this Rig....wow. When your ready just put a bow on it and deliver it to my house at Christmas. Great build. Love the dash mounts.Thank you for sharing it.

 

[TRED LYT]

Loving this Rig....wow. When your ready just put a bow on it and deliver it to my house at Christmas. Great build. Love the dash mounts.Thank you for sharing it.

Thanks! It's been a blast doing it. I can't stop thinking about what I'll do next. I think skid plates are in order!!

 

[Chadlyb]

Thanks! It's been a blast doing it. I can't stop thinking about what I'll do next. I think skid plates are in order!!

I did full armor and rock sliders from RCI.

 

[TRED LYT]

On Friday last week, I ordered my Goose Gear floor plate system for the back of the rig (keeping middle seats), a stacked double drawer cabinet, and a camp kitchen unit with drawer slides for my electric fridge (not selected yet: to be an ARB, Dometic or National Luna...doing my research still....input welcomed), with a camp stove pull out. I recently met Jerry at Tembo Tusk who has a very cool cooking set up and I may end up switching the camp stove pull out to a shallow drawer for spices, utensils, etc..and use Jerry's cooking set up for just that. I'm thinking it may be better to keep the cooking away from the back of the open rig to prevent the smell factor. If any of you have ideas before the Goose Gear set up is installed, let me know. I'm all ears. Oh, Jerry from Tembo Tusk also showed me a really cool drawer divider set up that looked to be customizable in just about any configuration. I forget the name of the system...do any of you have ideas for dividers? Thanks! Oh, and I'll take real pics after installed which is scheduled for sometime around 9/20/2018.

 

[TRED LYT]

I did full armor and rock sliders from RCI.

Yeah, I'm thinking about swapping out my sliders as they're too wide. Nice for camp bench, but I'm afraid when I actually straddle a large rock, they'll peel off the truck and leave me with other problems. Skid plates were just ordered from Alex Carvallo at American Overland Expedition today. His fab shop makes really nice, heavy duty parts and has been helping me all along the way with this build.

 

[TRED LYT]

Installed a new Yaesu HAM radio with 2 different band antennas. Also matched it up with the latest greatest Yaesu handheld. Just started my classes so I can get my Technicians license, then immediately onto my General license. Looking forward to chatting with you fellow OBHAMs out there. I purchased it all mainly for safety reasons and emergencies. As I read through the self study guides, there is a bunch of math refresher oriented things to learn. It’s all so very foreign to me. I hope I’m able to grasp it so I can use the darn thing. If there are any classes worthwhile to take....I’m all ears. Self study seems to be the hard way....at least for me. No one to ask questions of.

 

[TRED LYT]