I've never really done the "build up thread" thing because I never really felt I had anything to contribute, as I rarely document anything that I do, nor do I consider anything I do to be worthy of documentation.  Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong, but I figured it might be fun to give it a try.

First, I'll start with some background:

I've owned two Land Cruisers, a 1978 FJ40 and a 1992 FJ80 that I've used both for different purposes.  The 40 was a tank, great for running places like Evans Creek and the surrounding wooded trails.  The 80 was (more) comfortable, used in the NWOS style outings I've gone on and slept in.  She was still a bruiser, and had the body damage to prove it.

I've been wanting a 95-97 Land Cruiser for quite some time but have never brought myself to spend the money on one.  My DD is a 2006 F-150, and I've always kept my "toys and hobbies" budget completely separate from "real life" expenses.

With that in mind, I decided after a few runs that the '92 seemed to be on the way out, and instead of pouring myself into her I'd look at liquidating all of my toys for a single crown jewel... the elusive '95-'97 FZJ80.

During this time period I traded, swapped, bought, and sold.  I craigslisted, texted, phoned, met, got stood up, and all sorts of stuff.  At one point along the way the engine in my '92 blew up.  That's another story altogether... one that's not overly important.

The important part is that I turned my 2008 Yamaha R6 into a 1997 Toyota Land Cruiser with factory E-Lockers!

On top of baselining and "boring maintenance stuff", the first "fun stuff" was to switch all of the goodies off of my '92 onto my '97.  The financing for this "build" is completely stand alone from regular activities, which means I'm determined not to touch a cent out of my bank account for the Cruiser.  This has stemmed from my newly acquired "unemployed college student" status that I'm enjoying immensely.

With this in mind, the following came off the '92 and is on the '97:

• ARB Bullbar Winch Bumper w/8k Winch
• Slee Transfer Case Skidplate
• Full Length Safari Rack
• OME 2.5" Lift Springs
• OME Shocks

Already owned it all, so all this cost was some bloody knuckles and a bit of my precious time.

Few pics attached of us up at my buddy's place doing the bumpers.  I also removed the running boards, another free mod :)

Next came the sale of the '92 and the '78.  It was pretty rough watching the '78 go, as she was my first Cruiser and probably had the most character out of any vehicle I'll ever own.

Memories...

With the other two cruisers sold, the "Cruiser Fund" was topped back off and ready to pay for the PM stuff as well as some more goodies.

Our buddy Josh does custom 4x4 Work and Fabrication up in Seabeck, WA. After a few discussions over some beers with him, he agreed to fab me up some custom sliders.

I'm pretty excited about the whole deal because Josh's background is in baja-style racing trucks and he's built some killer exos, bumpers, etc. for a myriad of different vehicles. My cruiser is his first, and he's definitely putting a bit of his background into the specs I gave him for my "not quite so hardcore" rock sliders.

Overall they'll be capable of supporting the entire weight of the vehicle (hi-lift test) and will be welded to the frame. The sliders themselves will be "boated" so they'll come up at an angle as opposed to acting as steps.

He added some "glide plates" between the tubes with some holes punched in em for looks. I like that they're different and couldn't be happier with his work.

In addition to the sliders we're already discussing a hybrid tube/plate rear bumper that he's got some great ideas for. It will feature two swingouts as well as integrated fender protection hoops.

When it's all said and done the sale of the Cruisers will pay for the sliders and the rear bumper.  This makes it a much easier pill to swallow!

Yesterday was my 26th Birthday, and the surprised me with a new hi-lift jack!  

On top of that I scored an inclinometer from an old Montero, set of Disco cup holders, and a Hazard Light switch from a 95 Cruiser from the junk yard between my classes. 

The Disco cup holders are a common "upgrade" (Score 1 for LR!) in the 80 series Land Cruisers.  It seems that while Mr. Toyota was designing an amazingly capable and dependable vehicle he completely forgot to grace us with cup holders. 

Luckily the Disco's cup holders screw right onto the center console :)

The Hazard Light switch is pinned the same way the CDL switch is on FJ80's.  For some reason, Mr. Toyota decided that he wouldn't install a CDL switch on 93-97's, but would leave the harness and plug ran up to the dash with a terminator on it just in case.  Lucky for me someone with a 100lb. brain somewhere figured out that the Hazard switch can be popped in that extra slot on the dash and connected to this plug, giving you an instant CDL switch.

The inclinometer will be chopped and modded into my dash.  Someday.

All in all I'm pretty stoked.  This trip cost me $20 and got me over $100 worth of goodies, had I used the internet.

Well, the fun continues!  After selling a bunch of my old Army stuff and a few other things I've had on ebay the Cruiser fund has been looking decent. 

(It's great what people pay for old uniforms and other cool guy stuff!)

With the paypal account nice and topped off from ebay, I went ahead and ordered 5 x Treadwright Backbone M/T's in 285/75R16 with the kedge grip.

(Linky: http://www.treadwright.com/p-54-285-75-r16-backbone-m-t-d.aspx)

I came home from class this morning to find these babies waiting outside my door for me!

 Great build thread!  Front and rear lockers eh?  Nice.

I know that feeling of watching 'old paint' ride off with someone else.  As I sold my stable of vehicles I had to deal with some unexpected emotions too. 

Got a few more things done on the cruiser.

• My buddy finished/welded the sliders on
• Had the tires mounted
• Removed the flares
• Installed a CDL switch
• Wired up ARB blinkers
• Installed clear corner markers (my amber ones were full of water)
• Swapped my leather seats for gray cloth seats w/another Cruiser guy in Graham, WA as part of a trade.
• Ordered a phh kit from 1fzephh.com

 When you get to shopping around for a rear bumper stay away from the Kaymar Deluxe model with the factory looking sidepieces.  I had it on my '94 LC and the casting was crap... that's right, they were cast pieces.  It was really nice having a swing-away tire carrier though instead of having to winch the spare up and down with that rediculous linkage.

You LC is looking great.  If you need some random spare parts and fasteners from the ARB front and Kaymar rear let me know; I still have them in my garage.

Pulled the trigger on a used Oasis 2 RTT this afternoon.  I found it on Craigslist, listed it on here for a few minutes then thought... why not?

After reading many reviews from all over the internet and examining my options, I decided on the Oasis 2 over the Mombasa Expedition.  Based on my price range, I knew my options were limited.  I figured finding a used Oasis II would be a bit tricky, but I lucked out!

A huge selling point was the weight and footprint.  With the small legs and dimensions while not deployed, the tent will sit inside my roof rack nicely and have plenty of protection around it from wayward branches.  It's not necessarily as secksy as some set ups, but I really feel like I've locked in the best in functionality for what I need. 

(note: I understand there are a few distributors that might have one or two of these things tucked somewhere around here, but I didn't look into it due to the price tag on these babies.  I knew if I was going to get an Oasis, it had to be used)

Set it up in the living room.  Tried to convince the girlfriend we should sleep in it tonight, but she fell asleep on the couch under the camo poncho liner before I finished.

At least she let me set it up :)

Well, made a little progress on mounting my Oasis II RTT, and a few other little things.

At first I had the tent mounted inside my safari rack but the sides were a little tall, and you could feel them under you while it was deployed. Luckily, my rack is modular, and was never welded together.

First pic is the original mounting idea with complete rack, second picture is my "modified" rack - no cutting, just reassembled in a different fashion sans the side bars.

I didn't deploy the tent cause it was raining, but it will be parallel to my truck, no longer perpendicular like the first shot. Should be a little more stable and also has the additional perk of allowing me to run the ladder off the side instead of the back.

For those of you that are in the know, (and I think I mentioned it earlier) the 80 series Land Cruiser lacks in very few departments... it'll go 300k miles before an engine rebuild, but there's really nothing worthy of being called a cup holder in the interior.  Aside from two shallow, plastic dish areas that seem to be designed for cans or mini milk cartons, the only OEM alternative is a JDM part that runs about $75 that pops out of the dash above the radio... not an option for me.

As per an earlier post, I grabbed up some cup holders from a Land Rover Discovery at the junk yard.  One went to my buddy for his LX, and the other stayed with me.

Originally tan, I went ahead and spray painted mine black... it was the only color I had, and I'm not gonna add cost to this mod for gray spray paint.

Installed w/3 small washers on the bottom (sideways) screw, leveled it out perfectly.

Now the boss has somewhere to put her latte....

Thanks for all the kind words, fellas!

Haven't done much lately, other than some new LED reverse lights.  I saw a thread over on 'MUD where a guy was touting some super bright LED taillights for about $35 a pair, and while they were awesome, I ended up cheaping out and buying a $9 pair.  They're nowhere near as bright as the expensive ones, but they're much better than stock and look pretty cool