Crash's 1988 Land Cruiser Build

[Zoomin]

Dang Mark, that's some killer work and design right here!

[68Timber]

Kool! Will you have to relocate the tag?

[Crash_OK]

Originally Posted by Zoomin

Dang Mark, that's some killer work and design right here!

Thanks.. Mike was a big part of it... I had him convinced to help me with the front, but I think this process has worn us both down. :-)

[Crash_OK]

Originally Posted by BRUISER

Kool! Will you have to relocate the tag?

Yes... I will work on that this weekend.

[mcbassin]

Great update Mark! Love the wheels, tires and especially that bada$$ bumper! Good times😎

[Crash_OK]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Great update Mark! Love the wheels, tires and especially that bada$$ bumper! Good times��

Thanks Mike... The wheels and tires are nice, but the bumper is incredible!!!

[Crash_OK]

Update time.. Been busy.. Over 8000 miles since the engine swap…. It is my daily driver.. I drove it almost 400 miles today.. The gas mileage has dropped a little.. I averaged ~16mpg on the trip today. I think some of the decrease is due to the additional weight of the rear bumper and the Wheels and Tires. Plus since I have worked out all the steering issues I drive it way too fast.. I had the cruise set on 80 most of the time on my trip today.

A month or so ago I installed 4 deg shims to increase the camber (My good friend Mike build these for me, he also build a set of 6 deg shims as well). That real seemed to help the steering. In addition I tightened up the relay rod ends and installed a new steering gear. The LC drives great now..











I have been having a little bit of a rough idle so I had a set of spare injectors sonic cleaned and tested. I installed those and did see a little improvement, but not what I had hoped for. When I get a chance I will clean the MAF and Throttle body, and may look for a vacuum leak. To be honest it isn’t that bad, I think the stiff motor mounts might make it feel worse than it is.



I also installed a Tuffy Box to replace the center console. Great box and fit the LC very well.






The master switch wouldn’t work when raising the passenger side front window and the door locks. So I order this….

http://www.ebay.com/itm/370820298233...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

It worked great…. I had to move three of the wires to get it to work correctly, but after that was done it is prefect…




A couple of weeks ago I went back out to Mike’s and we sand blasted, primed, and painted the rear bumper. It turn out great….



















This last weekend I started on the templates for the new front bumper. I hope to hide most of the winch inside the bumper.














I plan on mounting the relays under the hood…




Earlier this week Mike and I started cutting the metal based on the templates. As soon as the weather clears up we will start the welding…

[Crash_OK]

Front Bumper pics…














More work to come…

[flashed]

WOW ,that turned out great and very heavy duty ,better watch out ,others will be wanting you to build them bumpers .

[HemiChallenger71]

Excellent build and excellent thread. Very informative.

[SamsAutoParts73-87]

very nice, you guys did a nice job

-Sam

[EightiesOnly]

Looks completely professionally done. Very nice!

[Crash_OK]

Originally Posted by flashed

WOW ,that turned out great and very heavy duty ,better watch out ,others will be wanting you to build them bumpers .

Thanks..

[Crash_OK]

Originally Posted by EightiesOnly

Looks completely professionally done. Very nice!

Thanks...

This is what happens when you are working with a professional perfectionist...

[mcbassin]

Looking great Mark! Looking forward to our next session and more pictures. Killer design on both bumpers

[Crash_OK]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Looking great Mark! Looking forward to our next session and more pictures. Killer design on both bumpers

Thanks Mike... We need it to warm up.... :-)

[screaminchevypickup]

Looks great

[Crash_OK]

Originally Posted by screaminchevypickup

Looks great

Thanks Kyle...

[67c10rustbuket]

Wow Mark, great build. I am most impressed with the bumpers you and Mike built. This build gives me lots of ideas for a hunting truck.

[Crash_OK]

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

Wow Mark, great build. I am most impressed with the bumpers you and Mike built. This build gives me lots of ideas for a hunting truck.

Thanks... It has been fun working with Mike. Looking forward to it warming up and finishing the front...

[Crash_OK]

Update

It has been too cold to work on the front bumper for a while now. Hopefully it will warm up soon and we can get back on it.
I took another trip to Shreveport last week in the Land Cruiser. Great trip, my mileage has dropped a little since my last trip there. I averaged 16.3mpg on this trip as opposed to 18+mpg on the first trip. I blame the decrease on several items; added weight – front and rear bumpers, bigger wheels and tires, spare tire, etc.. and I drive the crap out of it now. I had one 200 mile stretch of road (turnpike and interstate) that I did in 2 hours and 20 minutes… 85mph average. All I know is that I am happy with the performance and the mileage.

Over 11,000 miles since the swap.. all is well..

I decided to add some modern touches to the Land Cruiser. I decided to add remote door locks. This really is an easy job on a FJ62 since it already has power door locks. I searched Craigslist and find a couple of new systems in the $40-$50 range, I also find a Viper 5901 system that offered what I wanted and much more at a really great price. Security, remote start, and remote door lock functions. It is not an easy install; it took me about 4 hours start to finish. I am very pleased with it. I installed the control box on the driver’s side kick panel. We use the remote start more than we thought we would.



I also started on refurbishing the entire brake system. Starting at the back, I installed new wheel cylinders, hardware, shoes, and drums.




New braided stainless brake hoses





I also installed a new brake booster – 94 4Runner non/ABS. It is a about an inch larger and has greater assist as compared to the original.





Today I ordered new master cylinder, rotors, pads, and calipers. That should finish out the brake system.

Besides the brakes I will be working hard this month to get the bumpers completely finished including the rear basket, license plate mounting, rear camera mounting, and front lights, winch, etc…

Sometime in April are May I plan on installing a rebuilt 4l60e to replace the $250 craigslist special I am running now. It works fine, but I think I have a little slippage in 3rd gear at high rpm’s.. Doesn’t happen often, but sometimes I feel the urge

This summer I will start to gather the body parts and new weather-stripping and seals to start on the body work this fall/winter.

[EightiesOnly]

Nice work, I figured you were working on some part of the LC

[Crash_OK]

Originally Posted by EightiesOnly

Nice work, I figured you were working on some part of the LC

You bet... I used a propane heater in the garage.. not to bad... Ready for it to warm up!

[mcbassin]

Very nice work on the brakes, booster and remote start! This thing is better than new. Keep up the good work.

[Crash_OK]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Very nice work on the brakes, booster and remote start! This thing is better than new. Keep up the good work.

Thanks Mike.. Getting the urge to get the body work and paint done.. but I don't want to park it for months... I got to figure out how to get it done quicker..

Have a great day!