1997 40th Anniversary 80-Series

[Corbet]

Not a traditional build thread seeing as at this point I’ve owned the truck for 16 years. I just wanted to consolidate things in one place then add to it moving forward.

List of Mods:

Wits End Turbo, full engine rebuild .5mm over
EMS Powered stainless exhaust

Slee 4” heavy with Slee/ADS remote shocks
Slee caster correction plates
Slee front sway bar extensions
Land Tank rear lower control arms
Land Tank rear sway bar links
Iron Man adjustable panhards
Dobinsons adjustable monotube steering damper
Wits End DC front driveshaft
Redline front axle relocation kit
Timbren bumps at all 4 corners.

ARB front bumper
Slee AC dryer skid plate
Warn M12000 with Amsteel Blue 3/8”
URB recovery points
Baja Designs LP9
4x4 Labs rear bumper, dual swings
IPOR skid plate
Metal Tech sliders

Kenwood HAM/NAV/Sirius/Bluetooth
JL Audio powered Sub
Speski Offroad cargo barrier
National Luna dual 60
Alucab tilting slide
Drifta Drawers - custom depth
Deka group 31 AGM battery
lots of 12v outlets
JDM cup holder

Home build roof rack
Eezi-Awn 1800 series 3 RTT
Kinsmen Hardware 270° Awning
Maxtrax

KMC Machete 17”x9” -12mm wheels
37” Yokohama G003
Custom powder coated OEM wheels
315/75r16 Cooper S/T Maxx, with studs
DBA T3 rotors
EBC yellow stuff pads
Wits End stainless lines
Nitro 4.88 gears
Nitro chromoly birfields and inner axles
ARP drive flange studs

Different tires I’ve run to date
275/70r16 Michelin LTX
295/75r16 Nitto Terragrapplers
315/75r16 General Grabber red label
315/75r16 Goodyear Duratrac (studded)
315/75r16 Toyo Open Country MT
315/75r16 Cooper S/T Maxx (studded)
37x12.5r17 Yokohama G003 - now on my 2nd set.

Engine build https://risingsun4x4club.org/xf/threads/1fz-fte-build.28047/

Rear Bumper Build https://risingsun4x4club.org/xf/threads/fjz80-gets-a-new-bumper.17667/

Front axle relocation https://risingsun4x4club.org/xf/threads/80-series-moving-axle-forward.27596/

12v outlet wiring https://risingsun4x4club.org/xf/threads/adding-12v-accessory-cigarette-outlets.6219/

Roof rack build https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/speski-offroad-expo-roof-rack-build.804560/#post-9184808

 

[Corbet]

This has been on my “to do list” for a long time. Now with the turbo I need all the airflow I can get into the radiator. Today I relocated the solenoid box down by the frame rail.

Solenoid box above the winch

Solenoid box relocated for more airflow

Built a bracket using the upper bumper bolts to locate the solenoid box below the cooling system parallel to the frame rail.

Studs and cables color coded to make field service easier if ever required

Replaced the solenoids as well and color coded again.

 

[Corbet]

Finished up the winch refresh today. I painted the drum last week and then spooled up 115’ of new Amsteel 3/8” rope today. Used a deep bury on the eyelet with a lock stitch. So with my remaining 85” of rope I’ll make an extension.

I know a lot of people like less rope on the drum @Inukshuk but I seem to only get stuck solo and a long way away from any good anchors. So I wanted my drum rope longer than my extension. If I need to use my extension once I’ve pulled that length I can reach the anchor with my drum rope and minimize my rigging. I’m the event my M12,000 can’t pull due to too many layers on the drum I’ll use a snatch block.

Lock stitches

Loaded by hand. I need to set up a pull to spool this up tight.

Reused my hook. Call me old fashioned but I still like it.

Used “The Grabber” by BubbaRope to secure the rope to the drum.

 

[subzali]

Purty.

 

[Corbet]

Brake pad swap at 281,843 miles



EBC pads
Front DP5992NDX
Rear DP4993R

In the past I’ve run the DP4992R yellow stuff on the front. Trying out the new higher friction blue stuff up front. They don’t offer them in the rear at this time.



Tool tray photo included to see tools required.

 

[Corbet]

Rears.

 

[JohnnyP]

@Corbet I followed your sig link from mud and I have to say this is the most concise build thread of all time! Love the license pates!

 

[LARGEONE]

Great idea on the winch solenoid relocation spot. I need to do this as well. I removed my York and that helped a lot with my cooling, but still not perfect. The York basically sits where the turbo does, so similar issue sitting on top of exhaust manifold. But the solenoid is still blocking some airflow, so I will try your mod next. Thanks!

 

[Corbet]

Replaced nearly all the exterior marker light bulbs and installed a set of LED low beam bulbs. Kind of an experiment as LED’s have a poor reputation with beam pattern in the OEM housings. Everything came from Boslla

White Yellow LED Headlight Bulb 3 Color Changing - NEW Boslla Chameleon

Boslla white yellow led headlight bulb with 100 watts 12000 lumens brightness and 6500k 4300k 3000k color changing for clear night, rainy, foggy, snowy all weather conditions.

www.boslla.com

The low beam bulbs are their 50w each Chameleon bulbs that have 4 different settings. White, yellow, combined, and flashing yellow. The flashers could be cool for dusty desert runs. They boast “perfect beam pattern”. The bulbs can be clocked inside the housing to tune the cut off. But at 6000 lumens each I may have some disgruntle drivers regardless.

Packaging was nice and clean, instructions sucked


Separate the aluminum notched ring from the bulbs. Took me while to figure this out.


Use the little black installation tool to install the ring into your headlight housing. Installed the bulbs with wires at the 6pm location. Finally the plugs can interface with the OEM housing either way. So reverse polarity if they don’t work at first.


After an initial drive in the dark. Cut off seemed as good as it could be for an old glass housing. No body flashed me. The brights don’t add much to these with HIR bulbs. They are definitely project higher but no longer “over power” the low beams. Might need to upgrade those next. They also offer a lower wattage version. That might be a more friendly option for other drivers. Based on how bright new vehicles headlights have become I’m guessing public tolerance has adjusted accordingly.

Standard white light


Rain setting, combined


Snow setting, yellow


Along with the low beams all the other exterior lights got new LED’s from Boslla. All my signal, brakes lights had old HIR bulbs installed from when I originally got the truck in 2007. Some of the smaller markers had some 10 year old LEDs. After replacing everything they are all brighter. But what has greatly improved is how the new LED bulbs “fill” the OEM housings with light. I also used amber/red/white bulbs accordingly. Very happy now with how the corner marker lights look verse the old white bulbs. All lights look “full” without hotspots.



Adding a shot against a hillside showing beam pattern. That’s approx 30-40’ feet out.

 

[Corbet]

Featured in Kuat social media marketing.

 

[Corbet]

More of my FZJ80 in print. They just booked me again for a photoshoot after the new year. The pdf is too big to upload so here’s a link.

https://sasquatch-campers.com/assets/pdfs/SXC-2025-Brochure.pdf

Screenshots

 

[Corbet]

Küat Racks posted again a while back from that shoot.

 

[Corbet]

She’s becoming a poster child.

 

[Corbet]

Some photos added to Sasquatch website after the last photo shoot.

 

[KC Masterpiece]

I thought the tire size was impressive. Then I saw the 5' high lift!

 

[Corbet]

Nothing too exciting here but posting for as much my records as your entertainment. New battery at 288,107 miles. For the record my 6th battery since taking ownership at 81,184.

The O’Reilly house brand batteries are made by Deka. So for $254 I picked up a group 27 to save some weight over the 31’s I have run historically. Now with a solar panel I’m less concerned about max capacity.

 

[CardinalFJ60]

Not gonna lie, I’m a little intimidated by your battery choice.