loan me your wisdom

[Nick555]

So Ive got my 1994 80 series Pretty much bog standard Land cruiser.

I have managed to sell the rally car so before the misses notices you need to help me spend some money!

I wanna make my truck more capable off road while still keeping the on road goodness too as its my daily driver.

To start with Im gonna throw a snorkel at it but Im not sure after that.

Help me guys we dont have much time

[Jerry]

lockers !!!!!! and sidebars .... that should get rid of a good chunk ....

[Steve_t647]

1) Traction first (lockers) in the back or both ends
2) Side, rear and front protection next (retains sale value and looks staunch)
3) Fuel to go places
4) Lift to allow larger tyres and larger tyres (less onroad goodness)
5) Winch (Onroad Nah west coast see you monday financial controller) (note this attitude may create extreme shoe buying)

[Nick555]

Ahh yes the shoe buying we must spend it fast so that there is none to spend on shoes

Wheres best place to get lockers from?

[badnuz]

a good OME suspension kit will increase your ride height and also improve your on-road manners.. they do a std 50mm lift and also a "racing " kit that is in 75, 100, or 125mm lifts

and get ARB lockers

[vvega]

a good OME suspension kit will increase your ride height and also improve your on-road manners.. they do a std 50mm lift and also a "racing " kit that is in 75, 100, or 125mm lifts

and get ARB lockers

whats the cost on them ATM
have they been killed by the crappy dollar yet ?.. pm for prices please

[Jafa]

Get ARB's for both ends, ya wont need anything else!

[zookfest]

id start with diff breathers if you dont have them,then an air compressor(so you can let your treds down and back up) also some good bar work with well mounted hooks as your very heavy and if your going to go further you need to be able to be recovered safely if all goes bad,and probly a winch.

does your 80 have front manuel hub conversion if not that can really lighten your steering on road as most are full time 4wd

a good mate of mine has a well set up 80 and they are seriously good strong trucks

lockers tyres and suspension after the other bits,its up to you on what bits you get with them

[Nick555]

Ive got rated hooks on front and rear that was the first thing i put on. Na it dosnt have the manual hubs

[rangimotors]

Have you had a look through what others have done? Check out this one http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=8854&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

Everyone has there own thoughts but my list would be something like: (assuming you have hooks and recovery gear)

1. Snorkel first, most of our 4wheeling places locally require river crossings and you are simply playing with fire not having one, even deep water filled ruts can be dangerous

2. suspension lift, being coils all around they are pretty easy to get nice and high

3. bigger tyres, 33 muds would be a minimum, i would be really wanting 35's +

4. Some good bar work, mainly side bars because they are so wide and you will constanly be smashing it against the sides of ruts and treees etc and a rear bar, even the well set up high trucks always smash there rear bars when dropping into ruts/holes so your going to want some protection here. If building a front bar you are going to want to make it strong enough to put a winch in it, 80's are very heavy and the etter set up you are the stucker you will get, sometimes snatching will simply not get you out.

5. Here i would usually say lockers but for an 80 i really think you would want a winch first or you will end up very stuck..

6. lockers, now depending on how much on road driving will depend what you do here, there is not right or wrong answer because everyone has different uses for there trucks.
Ideally arb air lockers front and back would be great but they are very expensive, if you put one in the front i would be going for an auto locker but putting manual front hubs on it so it will not affect road manners.
For the rear I would be happy with an auto locker but if you do lots of road k's or towing car trailers etc it might e a bit interesting so saving up for an arb air locker or trying to find some of the factory electric lockers might be a etter option.


Now all of this is really just my opinon because i don't no what you want out of your truck. For example:
if you really care about keeping the truck shinny and tidy you may want to do bar work first.

if you go out alot alone or only have friends with small trucks that wont pull you out you may want a winch first

if you just want it as capable as possible ad not worried about dings, dents or getting ou when your stuck maybe just a big lift big tyres and lockers will do the job.

The best advice i can give is drive it lots, when you get stuck work out whats holding you back and up grade that because then you will have the truck you want that does the sort of wheeling you injoy, not the truck someone else thinks you should have that doesn't suit your needs..

[turoa]

first question is how much experience do you have at 4wding?

If you have little then i wouldnt advise any big lifts or lockers etc.

[Steve_t647]

first question is how much experience do you have at 4wding?

If you have little then i wouldnt advise any big lifts or lockers etc.

From where I have seen him (in mud and rivers) a locker will be a good option and by the time he starts getting on hills etc where the locker can bite him he will know how it works and where and how to use it and what to expect. The driving we do down here in CHCH we have a lot of mud and soft shingle to deal with. Sure he may dig a couple of holes to his axles but once he uses the shovel a couple of times he will be more gentle

I agree and lockers are are not the answer to everything but down here they help a lot more than bigger tyres or more weight.

One thing I missed was a snorkle, but Rangimotors picked up on that

[Andrew1706]

The biggest difference I noticed on my 80 was putting 35s on. You notice the power suck a little bit but offroad they're just so much better, being wider I felt as though the truck was a lot more stable.

The 1HD-T is a fine motor and will push them along fine. My only problem is a bit of guard rub so I might look at a lift next.

I've got an intercooler sitting here from an old racecar project so I'm looking at fitting that as a bit of a safegaurd but aside from that you don't really have to to much to them. Exhausts are an obvious modification and I'd love a 3" straight through system

I've already got a bullbar but its a bit mangled from using it of course but I would love a set of sidebars and sill protectors

[MNC]

Tires are best mod in my books - whats your budget?

Have also found that if you wanting to do alot of mods the cheapest way is to sell your truck and buy someone else's that has already been modified - will work out cheaper and faster in the long run (just look at some of our build threads)

[Nick555]

prob gonna have about 2-3 grand to play with. Got a set of 50mm lift springs ready to go in. Just gotta get a snorkel put on her.

[Sadam_Husain]

Best thing you can do is just start driving the thing and you'll work out what you want to do along the way

[haynzy]

Best thing you can do is just start driving the thing and you'll work out what you want to do along the way

your a hillbilli dancin genius sadam now officially changing your name to Jed Clampet, the only person that can determin the mods needed is the driver as we all have a different style and do different trips.

[MNC]

prob gonna have about 2-3 grand to play with. Got a set of 50mm lift springs ready to go in. Just gotta get a snorkel put on her.

OK, so you've already got the springs and snorkel...

Tires next dude, if you do a bit of road driving then something like BFG mud or Goodyear wranglers.

With those bigger springs you might also want to be thinking about longer travel shocks to...

From your avatar looks like you've already got a big front bar - is there room on it for a winch? Saw a second hand 80 series winch on Trademe which would do the job if your not planing to go hard out grade 5 trips. See what you can find on Trademe and plan your spend:
$1200 Tires,
$500 Winch,
$300 Shocks,
$700 Front Auto locker,
$300 Tightened Rear LSD

This is assuming you can fit yourself but for $3k your truck would go along way....

PS. I also agree with the drive it first and see what you want to do with it suggestions. After a while of playing you might decide you want a dedicated hard yaka bush truck (could pick something up for $3k) and keep your 80 for a tow wagon

[MNC]

Ive got rated hooks on front and rear that was the first thing i put on. Na it dosnt have the manual hubs

Just noticed this, you would want Manual front hubs before putting a locker in the front...

And yeah go the 35" tyres for clearance under the diffs.

[mattscruiser]

come over and have a drive of my 80
its lifted with lockers an bars just got it a cert with a straight pipe not a muffler in sight

[rangimotors]

come over and have a drive of my 80
its lifted with lockers an bars just got it a cert with a straight pipe not a muffler in sight

A CERT!!! thats not like you, are you going all legit on us..

[Nick555]

No fair why to the home appliance gods hate my truck. Bloody Fridge blew up last nite so all my truck money is going towards a new one.

So thanks to everyone for all the advice its been awsum but for now the trucks gonna be staying the same. (i did get my snorkel and lift before it went thou)

On the upside at least its not getting blown on shoes.

[Mud Hog]

Sorry too hear that Nick least you got the lift and snorkel thats a bonus.

[PR]

come over and have a drive of my 80
its lifted with lockers an bars just got it a cert with a straight pipe not a muffler in sight

A CERT!!! thats not like you, are you going all legit on us..

In his old age he got sick of returning it to standard for a WOF

[Steve_t647]

No fair why to the home appliance gods hate my truck. Bloody Fridge blew up last nite so all my truck money is going towards a new one.

On the upside at least its not getting blown on shoes.

Beer can fit into a chilly bin and you can buy ice and then you could say now if only you didn't buy those shoes for the truck.....

You may not see the truck for a day or two but the swelling will go down and a fridge with cold beer is better than shoes.

[Taz]

No fair why to the home appliance gods hate my truck. Bloody Fridge blew up last nite so all my truck money is going towards a new one.

On the upside at least its not getting blown on shoes.

Beer can fit into a chilly bin and you can buy ice and then you could say now if only you didn't buy those shoes for the truck.....

You may not see the truck for a day or two but the swelling will go down and a fridge with cold beer is better than shoes.

Cold beer even helps with the swelling I've found. Is there anything it can't do?