• New Winch: (8,000 Ramsey)
  • Get mounting plate bent 90° (metal man)
  • Get plate notched to allow power steering gear to pass through it (metal man)
  • Remove front bumper from frame (Codi)
  • Trim 2x2 box tube to cap frame rails
  • Cut hole in face for cable to pass
  • Drill mounting holes for winch
  • Tack weld frame caps to frame
  • Drill holes to mount the plate to the frame horns
  • Shape the front of the plate to make room for the tow hooks
  • Drill holes to mount tow hooks at end of frame caps
  • Weld the frame caps to the frame with nuts welded into them
  • Once mounted, tack all mounting bolts so no one can take it
  • Pics Here

• CB
  • Create mounting brackets for it
  • Weld bracket under dash
  • Wire 12VDC to it
  • Check the mike, it had an oil bath

• Tailgate chains
  • Cut the chains to length
  • halve two links to use as mounts on the gate
  • bolt pieces together so gate does hyper-extend and bend the hinges
  • Possibly put some of the rubber mat over it

• Axle chains (be able to prevent the axles from extending too far when using the hi-lift jack)
  • Weld the hooks onto the frame and the axle shaft
  • Cut the pieces of chain to length

• Adjust fuel gauge
  • Remove bolts that hold the seats in place (Codi)
  • Remove the fuel gauge and adjust float for full level
  • Fill gas can and run cruiser out of fuel to check empty level

• Replace seat belt (driver's belt does not latch)
  • Remove old seat belt
  • Replace with new seat belt

• Rock lights
  • Mount left front
  • Mount right front
  • Mount left rear
  • Mount right rear
  • Wire front with relay
  • Wire rear with relay

• Engine mounts
  • Remove t-case mount to see if rear can be raised a bit more
  • Bend flat stock for top of mount
  • Build bracket to support right motor mount
  • Mount both mounts

• Drive shaft extension
  • Cost is $120-140 locally +tax
  • Tom Woods was $60 but will require shipping (have to wait until after due to time until trip)

• Grease and Oil
  • Grease all fittings
  • Check oil in engine
  • Check oil in t-case
  • Check oil in transmission
  • Check oil in axles

• Front bumper (Re-mounted previous bumper)
  • Purchase 2" x 6" x 1/4" box tubing
  • Purchase stock for tow shackle mounts
  • Purchase flat stock for mounting brackets
  • Trim piece to length
  • Cut holes through bumper for shackle mounts
  • Cut hole in back of bumper for power steering box to enter
  • Cut flat stock to use as bumper mounting points
  • Cut flat stock for frame mounting points
  • Drill holes in mount plates

May 19, 2005 - I took my power steering hose off today and tried to flare it for the stronger fittings. It would not flare correctly. I have it off now, so I'll take it into the Zone tomorrow and swap it out with the warranty. Only reason it had the fitting in there, I could not find a hose that fit the way I wanted. So I cut it and spliced it so it would fit correctly. I'll have to bend the new one in the shape without cutting it for the strength. pics

I also did a diagram for my electrical system diagram01 & diagram02 so I can rebuild it. I have done this before here , but it doesn't look as nice as I want it too. I build one, but forgot some circuits so I had to add them after the fact. I will now get some rolls of wire with stripes in them so it will give me enough colors of wires to do a color for each circuit. This will make the troubleshooting process much easier. Also, building it over will make it very neat to begin with. Should look much better.

May 12, 2005 - I got my parts for my carb today. It is suppose to replace the seat valve with one designed for off road vehicles instead of a standard carb piece. I'll try and get them installed tonight. I also checked to see the largest size of the flare tool at AutoZone. I have a compression fitting on my power steering pressure hose and want to replace it with a flare fitting. This will make me feel better about pushing the pressure of my power steering pump up a bit more.

May 09, 2005 - I haven't been able to do much work on my truck in the last week or two. Along with the semester at school coming to an end, I've traveled up to Ottawa to my wife for a couple weekends. I have been running my cruiser around low on gas for a while hoping to run out of gas. I put in a new gauge and sending unit that I got from JC Whitney for $20. I put it in and when the tank is full the gauge only to 7/8 of a tank. I wanted to find out how low it went when I ran out of gas. I went out to Lowes the long way (an extra 8 miles) and I finally ran out of gas. The gauge was 1/8" below the E mark. Now I have the lovely gas smelling day ahead of changing that so it will hopefully be correct. Don't know when I'll have time, or the will, to do that.

April 29, 2005 - I put the rear spring in the original shackle position. This made the cruiser sit level again. I also routed all of the breathers (f/r axles, rockbox, tranny) to one location under the dash. Last summer it had a habit of puking gear lube on my son. I think it was the rockbox that did most of the puking. I now have all the lines going through a fuel filter. I hope this will stop any oil going through it and also the air going into the devices will be filtered.

April 27, 2005 - I removed the rear shackle mount for the front springs. When I did the SOA and the front shackle reversal I put tubes through the frame for the shackles to bolt too. The problem I ran into was that the I6 Header was in the way of bolting the drivers side shackle. I then put the shackle mount under the frame until after the V8 swap. I now removed the shackle mount from the bottom of the frame and put the shackle through the frame on the front. I shortened the rear shackle, but can't leave them short until I get the rear leaf springs arched more. Right now the shackle has no flex so the spring isn't able to flex and I have no bump absorption in the rear. Once I get them arched I'll return to the shorter length. Info

April 21, 2005 - I put a hand throttle on my gear shifter so I don't have to have three feet to operate it on a hill. It will also allow me to raise my idle without holding my foot on the gas for the extra amps to my winch.

April 9, 2005 - I got rid of my redneck windshield wiper arms today. I shortened the arms by about 1/2" which allowed me to run 13" wiper blades. It doesn't put the blades level at the top of the windshield like it use to, but does allow them to be sturdy and not flex as much. Pics

March 31, 2005 - I just picked up the cruiser from it's storage location. I turned it over a few times and it started right up. Again it points out that I need to put some type of wired throttle setup, when it is cold it doesn't like to idle. I will also need it to keep the idle up when running my winch. Just planning ahead.

Toyota Land Cruisers are an addiction. I saw my first modified one in 1996. It was a baby blue '76 or so. It had a 350 with a stock 4 speed transmission. It had ARB lockers front and rear with 38" inch tires. Once I saw this thing crawl through mud like no other vehicle I had ever seen, I was in love.

At the time I had a '91 Chevy 1/2 ton with a 350 TBI. It had a 4" front and 3" rear with 33" BFG All Terrains. That winter I was crawling through about 2' of snow with my cousin when I got stuck on a stump and blew out a front CV Joint. My cousins little Nissan wouldn't even budge my rig. The same guy with the Cruiser came up that night and pulled me to the main highway. I was unable to drive home with it so I took a ride with the Cruiser guy back to my house. I called the tow truck to go get it and waited. Because of the incoming snow storm he was unable to make it that night. The next day, when he got there, he found my truck had been vandalized. Some bunny hugging idiots, that were upset that I was on an authorized trail, had done $13000.00 worth of damage. I was devastated. I loved that truck.

Well, after I made the final payments on my baby that was being put to rest I focused on my new dream. A modified Toyota Land Cruiser. Went to the local Toyota dealership and they had a bone stock red '70 FJ-40. Just what I was looking for. I picked up my dream for $5000. Now you see the rig above and in this web site.