Forum newbie saying hi!

[MikesVX80]

Afternoon all, thought I would introduce myself on here; my name is Mike, and I've recently purchased myself an 80-Series Landcruiser as a base for an expedition vehicle.

As a bit of background, I've always been a Land Rover man to be honest, or more specifically a Range Rover man; a couple of V8 Classics was where it all began. First up was a 1991 3.9 V8 Vogue SE:


This was followed by another 3.9 V9 Vogue SE, this time a late model softdash with EAS air suspension and running on LPG:


After doing plenty of greenlaning in the UK, I decided I needed to do something a little further afield, so picked up a rare G4 Challenge Range Rover Sport, which I then drove to Morocco for a 3,000 miles expedition across the Atlas Mountains and Sahara Desert - an epic adventure, and to be fair to the car it did everything asked of it very well indeed!


But now, it's time for a bigger adventure, and a more suitable vehicle to take us on it...

 

[MikesVX80]

So, after my Morocco adventure in the G4 RRS with my brother, the missus and I have decided we want to do an adventure together, but something even further afield. As an introduction to adventure travel for my better half, not to mention a shakedown for the new vehicle, we plan another Morocco later this year, and then the year after we hope to do a global circumnavigation, all being well!
Anyway, I digress; a suitable vehicle for such an adventure was required and it came down to two options for me; a Landcruiser (80 or 100), or a Defender 110. Being a LR man, the Defender was my initial choice, but at 6' tall (with long legs and broad shoulders) I find them so uncomfortable to drive, the idea of driving any significant distance in one put me right off.

Which brings me to my recent purchase, a 1993 Landcruiser 80-Series, a 12-valve 4.2TD manual VX. To be honest, I couldn't decided between an 80 or 100, but I was struggling to find a decent 100 Series manual anywhere, and the 80 seems to be THE expedition vehicle of choice for many. Finding this car in the right spec with one lady owner for the last 21 years was just too good an opportunity to pass up, so here she is:

Side:

Rear:


So far, the main change from standard is the addition of BFG A/T tyres, in a slightly larger than standard 285/75/16 fitment. I've also got a set of brand new Toyota roof bars (x3) to mount my Maggiolina Safari rooftent on.

I have also replaced the original (but knackered) headunit for a Pioneer Bluetooth one (no CD slot = no moving parts = less to go wrong across rough terrain ), fitted a towbar-mounted bikerack for my MTB and replaced the rear boot struts for ones that actually hold the lid up and stop it smacking me on the head!

Spec for the rest of the vehicle is still TBC, for now I intend on driving it through this winter and iron out all the minor issues like slow electric windows, etc. But feel free to pop back and add comments/advice as and when!

Thanks for looking

 

[Dave2000]

A rare find Mike and looks great, mine too was a 1 owner until someone bought it and had it for a week and then sold it too me, technically 3 on the book now. I too spent many hours and lost the cost of flights back and forth to the UK, until I found one that could stand up to the quite harsh treatment the car would get here in Spain. Funny how the word 'immaculate' loses it's meaning the moment it is written into a car advert The stock radio/cassette/CD is toast in mine, now looking for one of those nifty touch screen jobbies. The window rubbers go stiff with age (as opposed to most other things) and slow the windows right down, even stopping them on the coldest of days. Mine are slow in the morning and work normal once the car has sat in the sun for an hour, the rubbers are what cause most of the problems IME.

Welcome to the forum mate,

regards

Dave

 

[Chris]

Excellent Mike. First thing though being a 12v you MUST do the BEBs if they haven't been done already. There is no point debating this, FSH etc etc means bugger all. 12v BEB change is mandatory or pay the consequences really. No, I am sure the oil pressure is fine. No I am sure it runs smooth. There are no warning signs until the piston comes through the side of the block. You are likely to drive it a little harder than the previous lady owner.

Now I appreciate that you might be saying, Oh cheers, thanks very much. I'm scared to drive it now. Well, better that then ruin the engine on a beauty like that. Easy job, not that expensive and you are buying reassurance. If you DO get a knocking noise until that time when you change them, please pull over, switch off immediately and get it recovered.

Some may say this is a bit reactionary. But many others know different.

 

[clivehorridge]

Before you reply to Chris, Mike, just do it!

Those that have are generally genuinely shocked at what they found, those that haven't....

Now, how does that thread search thingy work?

 

[Dave2000]

I would reiterate what Chris EDIT: and Clive has said, check out the BEB thread I started over on MUD a few years back, it is related only to the BEB.


http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/beb-just-observations.378409/#post5467567

regards

Dave

 

[Ben]

Welcome to the club Mike, great intro.

As Chris, Clive and Dave have said, 1st job should definitely be the big end bearings!

From what I've read its not a huge job as you do it from underneath by dropping the sump.

 

[Gary820]

That's a nice 80 you've got there welcome

 

[Dave2000]

From what I've read its not a huge job as you do it from underneath by dropping the sump.

You forgot to tell him about breaking the seal on the sump and the cup of black oil that runs up your overall sleeve as you loosen the oil pick up pipe!

regards

Dave

 

[Chris]

Shhh, that's half the fun..

 

[MikesVX80]

Sooo...something about BEB's, yeah? Yes, that's on the list too, something else for Julian to take a look at I guess!!

 

[Chris]

JV has done hundreds of those so he'll certainly take care of that for you. But you did say you were going to Morocco THIS year?

He is usually booked up a long way in advance

 

[MikesVX80]

I'm off to see him next week for a preliminary visit

 

[iceman]

Welcome Mike great write-up

Morocco by year end is do-able with a good machine, which is what you have got by the looks of it. You'll need to be flexible as I needed to be, when I had a tight deadline (also for a Morocco trip) and I couldn't get a slot in JV schedule. Just have a small detailed list of must-have's and get them ticked off, the nice to have can always follow later. Hope I've not got you sucking eggs.

 

[MikesVX80]

That's the plan! My starting point is to baseline the vehicle; get the fuel pump tweaked to maximise power and efficiency (it's definitely a bit down on both at the moment), replace any worn bushes and ideally fit a steering damper to remove any 'wobble' caused/exaserbated by the larger A/T tyres. As I plan to keep the vehicle as standard as possible, the only other technical items will be a 2" suspension lift (kit TBC!) and replacement of BEB's before we go (when we will do an oil change at the same time). Jobs already ticked off the list are:

- Replace upper tailgate struts
- Replace headunit (got some pics if anyone wants a guide)
- Replace front window seals
- Strip down, grease and rebuild both front and rear window mechanisms
- Remove third row seats
- Fabricate front recovery points to replace towing eyes (will fit these this weekend once painted - can supply pics if anyone is interested)
- Fit MTB bike rack mount to towbar
- Buy 3x Toyota OE roof bars to mount my Maggiolina roof tent (pictured above on RR Classic in UK and RRS G4 in Morocco)

Near-future jobs include:
- Build rear drawer/storage system (two parts - permanent boot area system + semi-permanent middle-row storage system to include fridge mount, etc.)
- Tint windows
- Buy and fit 2" suspension lift
- Replace BEB's + service (oil change, etc.)
- Purchase 1x second spare wheel + A/T tyre

Longer term, I also need to think about:
- Leisure battery + split-charge system hidden in the storage area
- Water tank + heat exchanger for warm showers (request of the missus!)

That's about it! It will continue to look as standard as possible from the outside (and thus attracting as little attention as possible), whilst incorporating everything we need for 12 months of overland travel

 

[iceman]

Dont forget to check when the cam-belt was last done and if needed you may as well do the water pump

 

[karl webster]

Nice looking truck mike.

Id put bebs at the top of that list. Far too many people have lost there engines due to not doing them.