Colorado Built FZJ80

[BerettaMato]

Matt also put some fuses in and I ordered a ton of part from Onur at Land Cruiser Parts like these battery box grommets. I also wired in the winch to match Matt's work. Ended up hiding the winch control box under the winch and can get the manual winch remote if wireless go out.

 

[BerettaMato]

I did upgrade the bump stop and sway bar extension to the Slee units. I don't know if they are better but I really liked the look and the use of less bolts.

 

[BerettaMato]

Many have asked how the rig looks from the rear. I finally got the Jerry can holder in from 4x4Labs and mounted my licence plate holder with some LED lights. I used Tech-wrap on the LED wiring as well. I need to fab some thing to lock the Jerry cans in. I will be mounting a rear view camera to the licence plate mount under the middle of the can rack.

 

[BerettaMato]

Here is a updated pic of the front with the winch mount and I added some frame recovery points. The licence plate mount worked out perfectly and does not move even when blasting through rivers or water crossings.

 

[BerettaMato]

I ended up buying a new Toyota drive shaft and still had problems because of the 3.5" lift. So I took my old one to Ron at Boulder drive line and had him fab up a CV for me with Toyota parts and U-joints. Came out great and no more vibs. Still need to set the angle but so much better.

 

[BerettaMato]

The biggest news is the 80 is getting a engine upgrade on October 22nd. I bought a brand new 4.6l HC 1FZ-FE from Robbie at Aventure Offroad. Robbie as many of you know is guru when it comes to Toyota engines. He built this one for a client a few years ago and the client decided to go with a diesel. This is a High Compression engine that makes about 70+ horse power than stock. It has all the bells and whistle done to it like porting and polishing and a CRIO treatment. It is the same motor Robbie runs in his 80. I will post some pics once Robbie replaces the old seals and I get it painted up.

 

[BerettaMato]

Installed my ACR-ML switch and battery monitor finally.

 

[BerettaMato]

Took the girls out on a adventure by Coney Flats. They had a great time chasing grouse and swimming.

 

[BerettaMato]

It's the small things that I really freak over. Tired of her sounding like Herbie the love bug.

 

[BerettaMato]

Added a second Fire extinguisher behind the rear driver. Now I need to order a wits end kit for under the driver seat.

 

[BerettaMato]

Finally upgraded my speakers. I tried the Pioneers and then the Polk DB but did not like the lower quality sound and lack of fullness. I end up installing Focal ISC series. I used a 5.25 in the front and a 6.5 in the rear. I disconnected the dash 2.5 and the trunk 2.5. I will replace the dash speakers and use them for my Ham radio later since I don't feel I will need them after listening to the Focal's. I did buy a 6.5 subwoofer but I am not sure I will use it now. I really love how they match the interior and look almost like a stock upgrade.

The install was pretty straightforward. in the front I made a 6"x 1/2" spacer to put under the door card to give the 5.25 a hard surface to mount to then I mounted it over the door card in the factory holes. In the rear I cut the sheet metal opening larger and made a 1/2 spacer the same size as the speaker cover and mounted the whole thing with sheet metal screws to the doors inner sheet metal..

Front

Rear

 

[ottbott89]

Thanks for the write-up! Any advice on clearances and what does or doesn't fit?

Sent from my SM-G955U using OB Talk mobile app

 

[BerettaMato]

The Focal ISC are 2" Top mount depth. It was hard to find any good speakers that were that shallow.

 

[French]

Well got some more stuff done this week. I decided not to go with the ARB bumper and sent it back two big for my use. I also returned the Warn winch. I went to Slee and picked up a Short Bus bumper and a ComeUp Seal Gen2 9.5RS winch from Ben. Really like how it fits so much better and more lightweight. I will have to make a custom mount and cables to fit the control box under the hood. I will get this done when we install the dual battery kit when Matt at Off-grid Engineering get back from Cruiser Moab and Overland Expo.

Looks freaking mean!

 

[BerettaMato]

Worked on some minor updates.

Taco mudflaps. Kept them high but should help with throwing rocks and mud a little. Covers the mud collector in the 4X4 LABS bumper.

 

[BerettaMato]

Deleted rear seat stuff to open up more room. Hated messing with the seatbelts during trips.

 

[BerettaMato]

Rising Sun member spotted this Speski Offroad's rear cargo barrier for a 100 on Craigslist. Picked it up for $175 bucks. Fit fine might just mod it a little to get it level. Thanks Tim

Now I need to fab up a storage shelf.

 

[BerettaMato]

Since I deleted the rear handrails I move one to the driver's seat where US models don't get one. I was going to order one so this was a savings at $45 buck for the missing one. Sweet!!

 

[w0ngster]

This is amazing!

Where do you start on knowing what to fix, upgrade, replace? I've been in the same boat and had been looking for a J80 for ages but gave up due to the information flood.

Keep the great posts coming.

 

[BerettaMato]

This is amazing!

Where do you start on knowing what to fix, upgrade, replace? I've been in the same boat and had been looking for a J80 for ages but gave up due to the information flood.

Keep the great posts coming.

Great question, this is a 25yr old truck with 233k miles on it so I started with the drivetrain and replaced everything and the engine will be the last piece. I did search for a very clean truck with no rust and a great interior so I could put my money into the fun gear for overlanding.