LuX450 Build: 97 LX450 (FZJ80 Cruiser)

[Spyduh]

Proud new owner of a 1997 LX450 (FZJ80 Land Cruiser) @ 170k with 3" OME and ARB Front bumper. Saw a FJ I couldn't pass up and went out and bought it today.

See last thread for most recent progress!

LuX450 Tank Build Thread

Completed:

1. Replaced the worn frail and cracked drive belts. It was literally going to fall apart any time. Yota OEM 2pc belt $10.
2. Install CDL button (from Rav4), move security switch, 7wire mod. $26
3. Install my gamiviti seat gears. $20
4. DEPO 6pc set, HID retrofit (theretrofitsource d2s hid projectors and morimoto ballasts) and aftermarket FZJ80 Grill. $600?
5. Double din Pioneer dvd head unit (removed from my tundy), backup cam and hdmi converter, Pioneer TS G1645R 6.5" and Pioneer TS G1045R 4" speakers. $150
6. DIY Oil change (Denso Large Filter 1560041010 + Valvoline MaxLife 10W-40 8 QT) $35, Denso air filter $10, Denso wiper blades $15, Denso spark plugs $10
7. Replace front 2 leather seats (lseat.com bisque), driver foam ($200) and install heated seat kit (amazon $50). Yeah its a lexus and I want my ass and back warm when I overland. $635
8. Replace hood and tail gate struts Cheap Ebay. Both front and rear $45
9. 35s - 315 75 16 Goodyear Duratrac AT set of 5 new tires. These things are awesome!
10. Gobi Stealth Rack w/ free sunroof insert and ladder (GB price $1400)
11. Metra 13" Rubber Antenna (AW-UT03R) $11 from autzone (Junk. Don't bother. Get OEM Mast)
12. Tuffy Console 013-04 (Spice), Rustoleum Textured 7226 Bronze, lseat.com bisque center console leather cover and 7.5"L x 1" square tube
13. Rock sliders (junk yard $300 special. No idea the brand but it's heavy and beefy)
14. ARB Safari Snorkel (junk yard special $200)
15. Repaired the front ARB bumper (decided to buy the 4x4labs front bumper. ARB will go for sale once I get the 4x4labs bumpers installed)
16. DIY Power steering flush. Supertech ATF fluid, ATF Flush. Supertech ATF approx 4-5 QT, Transfer case gear oil. Supertech 75w90 (syn blend) 2.5 QT, Front, Center and Rear Differential Supertech 80w90 3 gallons,
17. CSF ALL Metal Radiator $315
18. HPS Silicone Host Kit HPS-57-14441-BLK + 90 gates heater hose to firewall and a 3" straight heater hose to firewall. Pesky Heater Hose (PHH) replaced with the HPS Silicone hose. PHH was as bad as they say it is.
19. Aisin Water Pump WPT023, Aisin Fan Clutch FCT004, Toyota OEM V-Drive Belts 90913-02353-83, Gates Green Strip AC Belt
20. LED Light Bar 40" Front and 2 LED 4" rectangle light bar for rear. Mounted on Gobi.
21. Genesis Rock Lights w/ remote control $
22. FZJ80 Elocker F&R axle from a wrecked LC donor $$$
23. 4x4 Labs Rear Swing out Bumper $$$
24. Toyota OEM Front Axle Rebuild Kit (Koyo bearings) and OEM Rear Axle Rebuild Kit (Koyo bearings)
25. Replaced my rear OME 863 springs with heavy J's OME 863J springs $75. Sold old springs for $50. $25 upgrade cost.
26. Dual battery setup - TMAX + Costco Interstate Group 31 + Costco Interstate Marine Group 31 + 500A Metra Battery Isolator + 2x Scosche 300 amp + 2x fuse blocks + 12v dual socket + 12 triple socket + 2 gauge wire + 2000 amp inverter $325 for everything minus the original battery. This is the cheapest dual battery setup I could build without going to manual disconnects. I like the dual battery monitor and auto connect + manual connect.
27. Iron Pig Offroad Skid Armor & Cross Member
28. Back bay customs Tailgate Storage
29. Custom DIY drawers + ARB Elements Fridge + ARB elements slider
Material for drawers. 200 + 1000 Fridge + 300 Slider = $1500~ for everything
30. EBC Yellowstuff Brake Pads Front & Rear Set
31. Replaced Autozone garbage antenna back again with my OEM power antenna. New OEM toyota mast from ebay. Make sure it's OEM. The aftermarket masts are garbage. $50
32. Repaired ARB bumper with donor ARB tubes from a wrecked Taco. Welded it in and resleeved it so it's extra strong. $Free
33. Replaced factory ARB turn signal with LED turn and fog light combo. Had to cut into the plate and make it larger to fit. $20
34. New Oem Toyota (8724060170) Heater Bypass Valve after mine blew on the freeway speeds while going to a camping trip. Super overheated + CEL and had to tow home. Did a a straight hose bypass, filled with distilled and back to camping trip that same day! Got my parts weeks later and installed. Make sure to check your bypass valve. That was the only thing I forgot to change in my coolant system. $45
35. Added a 10" electric fan to keep the Cruiser cool on mountain and crawling climbs. $20
36. OEM Extended Brake Hose Upgrade. Waiting on my OEM hoses from Japan!
Part # info courtesy of ih8mud. https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/oem-extended-brake-lines-w-part-numbers.291018/page-3
37. DIY Attic Storage. Sewed my own net!
38. LRA 24 Aux Tank
39. AirLift (airbags) + AirLift wireless compress

In Progress:
1. Pull the head. Head Gasket and valve job
2. Wits End Turbo Kit

In Queue:
1. 4.88gears (Probably not needed. Will see after Wits End Turbo Kit is installed and I still need more power!)
2. Repair the dents (Yup, I like my cars clean)

 

[Spyduh]

@ administrator

Wait... does that mean I need to get a new member number now?

I'm still keeping my overland ready 86 4Runner and it's badged with #590. Or do I just get a remake of #590 and stick them on both my rigs!

 

[Overland-Indiana]

If it were me I'd try to get the same number for all my rigs :)

 

[Lifestyle Overland]

0102 and 0103 over here :) Sounds like you need another badge...

Can't wait to see the pics of your new rig!

 

[Spyduh]

She's got a long way to go before she's ready to hit the trails. But the 4runner is almost ready for a trip once she's got 4.88 and arb's installed.

 

[Spyduh]

Score! bought a set of 4 used Rav 4 switches on ebay. Came with the illusive CDL from the Rav 4. These supposedly fit the FZJ80 and plugs right in. First mod going in for $26!

Any one want to buy the hazard switch $10 shipped? These work as well for a CDL switch.
http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/cdl-switch-and-2-hazard-switches-to-use-as-cdl-switch.611339/

 

[Spyduh]

Have most of the parts for the HID Retrofit already from the past and new purchase:

Most of the parts are from www.theretrofitsource.com. With the exception of the DEPO FJ80 6pc headlight kit I just bought brand new from ebay for $299.

List of parts needed for a quad projector retrofit:
1. Pair of Mini D2S Projectors with E55 Shrouds (USED: installed then uninstalled from my original Taco 99TRD, then installed and recently uninstalled from my Tundra 05 DC) (Line 1 & 2 = $250?)
2. Pair of Morimoto D2S 3Five Ballasts and D2s 4300k Morimoto bulbs
3. Pair of Mini H1 Projecters w/ Gattling gun shrouds (bought these 2 years ago for another build that never took place. got them during the black friday deal! TRS $30?)
4. Pair of Morimoto 3Five AMP ballasts (Replaced with purchased DENSO Ballasts)
5. Pair of H1 4300k bulbs (Generic no name brand Ebay $10.)
6. THREE 9006 Male > 9006 Female + 9006 Female splitters (needed for quad projector) (Ebay $23)
7. TWO Morimoto 9006 Harnesses (TRS $20 clearance price)
8. DEPO FJ80 Headlight 6pc set (Ebay $299)
9. Aftermarket FZJ80 Grille. Needed for LX450 conversions as the headlight and grilles are slightly different shape. (Ebay $55)

New parts ordered
1. Pair of B stock Gatling gun shrouds to have that matching look (replacing E55 shrouds) (TRS $15)
2. Pair of used Denso D2s ballasts (ebay $96)
3. Pair of Denso Amp Power Pigtails (ebay $7.50)
4. Pair of adapters AMP bulb to D2S Wire (ebay $9)

Total $814.50

Would have been $112.50 CHEAPER if I reused my Morimoto AMP ballasts. But I wanted Denso and that was dirt cheap to upgrade to OEM Denso's! Could have also been cheaper if I did not buy the 6pc set DEPO set. You really only need the 2 glass headlights. The corners and turn signal clear housings just look nice and give it a nice modern look!

Instructions to wire it up the QUAD projectors. http://www.theretrofitsource.com/diy-installation-guides/quad-wiring-guide.html#vids

I'll do a semi detailed build guide for you guys to follow along with some pretty pictures in the next couple weeks. Who needs LED light bars when you have quad projectors on HIGH beam =).
j/k I'm still buying LED light bars to go all the way around the Gobi roof basket for the build. You can never have enough light!!!!


Here's a sneak peak of the parts. Missing a few pieces but almost ready for the oven!

 

[Spyduh]

decided I did not like the look of the unmatching shrouds. Also found a sweet deal on denso ballasts. There's nothing wrong with the morimoto ballasts but I figure denso will last almost forever!

 

[Spyduh]

Ran into some complications with the Morimoto mini h1s. I accidently destroyed the high beam solenoid. Also one thing to note is the H1 minis do not fit in the depo high beam location. They are just to long. Seeing that I was running low on time and I was going out of town. I opted to buy the new Morimoto Matchbox micro projectors. They are super tiny and fit right in with out any jb weld. I've installed all 4 projectors and aligned them for proper height. I tool bare minimum pics of the build to save time. I'll post the final product and pics of low and high beam. Low beam is impressive and has a ton of light output. High bea. Is just stupid bright. I don't even need to buy LED light bar. But I'm going to anyway because I want too.

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[Spyduh]

Sorry for the late update. It's been crazy at work for the past 3 months. I finished this awhile back but didnt have time to post up pics.

Had some complications with the morimoto mini H1 projects fitting in the high beam location. So I had to buy the micro morimoto projects (really small for fog light applications). Got it to fit and used a hole saw to get it in there perfect. Decided to buy some real Denso HID ballasts for the main beam and run the morimoto ballasts on the high beam. I used splitters and wiring harness all from morimoto as well. I could have some some money buying the ebay stuff, but I wanted to make sure I had quality components.

I used THREE 2 way spliters to run the headlights in QUAD projector mode. Yeah its ******* bright as hell now with low beam. The projectors are perfectly aligned so it doesnt bling on coming traffic and the guy in front of me. HIGH BEAMS are stupid bright. There's no words to describe how bright it lights up a dead highway road in the middle of no where.

I still want a LED light bar installed. Waiting for my GOBI stealth rack to show up in the next 2 weeks.

 

[Spyduh]

Another mod done this weekend! My Lexus Lx450 (FJ80 toyota land cruiser) need new seat covers really bad. I decided to DIY with the help of fourm articles and youtube for info. I added heated seat kit from amazon, brand new lexus bottom foam, 100% leather seat covers and bought some harbor freight hog rings pliers and hog rings. Total cost $635 for both front driver and passenger seats. Thats a really good price, considering I got a quote from my local upholstery place for $1800 installed.

Brand new LX450 seat covers from lseat.com in bisque color. I saw a post on MUD forums and glad I went with this leather. 100% leather and fits pretty snug. I bought a brand new driver seat bottom foam and repaired my passenger foam with free scraps I asked for from an upholstery shop.

I saved a ton of money doing the wrap myself but my HANDS hurt like crazy.

Now for the pics.

 

[Spyduh]

Forgot to mention... I ordered a TUFFY (lockable security console) Model 013-04 SPICE color. Tuffy discontinued making the TAN (TFY013-05 color). I even asked them if I could pay them extra to custom order one in that color. The pretty much said NO GO AWAY.

I googled and found that Rustoleum Textured 7226 Bronze is the spray can that matches the closet to the factory brown plastic. http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/which-rattle-can-paint-matches-the-interior-brown.792045/

I'm going to spray paint the Tuffy console to match the factory brown plastic and use the matching leather console that comes with my lseat.com order. Going to try to DIY wrap the center myself or pay the shop like $20 bucks? to wrap it for me.

I'm going to follow this guy's build instructions on MUD http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/how-to-install-a-tuffy-security-console-in-your-80-81.258917/

The best part about the tuffy console is not I quadrupled my storage capacity or it locks; 2 REAL CUP HOLDERS. Yeah cup holders, that's the best part!

LX450 consoles suck as the subwoofer and 6-cd changer takes ALL the room. I've already put in my Pioneer double din DVD player, rear backup cam, Pioneer TS G1645R 6.5" and Pioneer TS G1045R 4" speakers in months ago. The sound blows away the 20 year old blown pioneer oem speakers, crappy yota head unit, sad factory pioneer amp and sub woofer. Perfect time to do this mod as the speakers and center console had to be removed to wire up the heated seats.


here's a sample pic from another fourm with it installed.

http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/nexus-7-tablet-tuffy-console-backup-camera-cb.842967/

 

[NorthStar96]

Looking mighty Bueno!

 

[RiverCityDave]

Hey man,

how was your experience with "lseat". I'm planning to eventually recover mine, however mine or non power which most leather companies dont have a pattern for. Honestly, Im kind of following your lead there across the board, with replacing my leather, and the seat foams on the drivers seat. The passenger seat is still in great shape, so I'll probably not mess with it.

 

[Spyduh]

Hey man,

how was your experience with "lseat". I'm planning to eventually recover mine, however mine or non power which most leather companies dont have a pattern for. Honestly, Im kind of following your lead there across the board, with replacing my leather, and the seat foams on the drivers seat. The passenger seat is still in great shape, so I'll probably not mess with it.

Lseat.com covers are great for the price. Nice tight fit. The only complaint was the power control cut out template they use sucks. Mine was off and I had to really stretch the matetial on the driver.

If I would do it again I would ask them to not cutout the seat controls and I'll diy myself.

However the passenger seat control cut out was perfect and had no issues. Maybe the guy who did the driver was out of his element that day.

I totally would spend the money on new foam for the driver. My ass never felt so great. My passenger I thought was in good shape, turned out to have a hole in the side bolster foam. So I just repaired it with seat foam scraps as u can see in the pic. That metal bar is very common area that wears foam.





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[Spyduh]

Bought some new meats for the cruiser today. 315 75 16 goodyear duratrac. Aka 35s. Will post some pics later.

My old 285 65 16 Cooper AT will go onto my 4runner now.

Anyone looking for wheel and tires? I have 2 extra sets I'm going to be selling.

Set of 5. 32 11.5 15 (black rock crawler extreme wheels by pro comp. Made in USA) on BFG TA KO AT. I have about 8000 miles on them. Currently on the 4runner. 5th tire is mounted on a regular toyota spare rim. Will be going off tomorrow. I'm thinking 700 on Craigslist. Will give you guys a 100 off if you come pick them up. Little dirt on them in the pics. Will clean them up and take better pics when they come off tomorrow.

I have another set that came off my old Taco. I've been keeping all these years in my shed. Set of 4 black Rock Crawlers xtreme pro comp made in usa 7 hole design) wrapped with Toyo Open Country AT 265 75 16. 4.5 back spacing. 3 has decent tread. One is worn in the middle and is near the end of its life. I have an extra spare tire I'll throw in if your interested. Will let let these go for 250.

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[Spyduh]

New shoes for fzj80. Old 33s went on to the 4runner.

The 35s barely fit under the spare location. The tire shop inflated it to 56 PSI. WTH? I had to seriously air it down to 10 PSI in order to get it to squeeze in. 20 and 15 PSI did not fit!

This is a temp solution at the time being till I can afford to buy the 4x4 Labs Double Rear Swing Out tire carrier with ladder and 3x jerry can holder. Cruiser still needs a little more work before she's fully trail ready. Spare's just for the long pavement trips. Otherwise it's just AAA road side if I'm local to bring me home in an emergency. I'll just throw a small compressor in and fill it up on the road side if I really had to use it.

I love these new Goodyear Duratrac AT. Like all the other reviews, this is a very good tire for both wet and dry pavement as well as an excellent compromise for a Mud Tire. It's got very aggressive tread and soft compound for excellent cornering ability.

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[Overland-Indiana]

I like the progress!! Great job on the seats!

 

[Spyduh]

Gobi rack came in today. Installed same day. :)

 

[Spyduh]

I'm t0o broke to buy 2 WARN M8000s and can only afford one right now. It went on the 4runner. The LUX450 will have to wait till next year for it's own winch.

If you have a M8000 and want a cheap wireless remote. Check out my thread on how to modify a Harbor Freight Wireless Winch Remote to work with a WARN M8000 new style D Plug. Total cost $20 bucks.

http://www.overlandbound.com/forums/index.php?threads/mod-harbor-freight-wireless-winch-remote-on-a-warn-m8000.1235/