August 08'-09' Build Off. 1997 Toyota Land Cruiser (LandBruiser)

[bondo]

since this one actually belongs to me and there's a good bit of work to be done by august, i suppose it qualifies.

most of you have read the history of the truck but here goes for anyone who hasn't....
(oldtoy/newtoy) thread

what happens when you break a toy?
you buy a new(er) one.

the old toy is my wifes old 97 landcruiser that she drove into the dirt.(**** near literally)
this truck has hit a deer,been used as a work truck,been rear ended,flooded,owned by a woman and left to rot.
never the less, imma git this ***** on the road again.
6Cyl. 4.5
183k on the dial
all time AWD
leather
power
heated seats
independant lockable diffs.

so here's the thing.
my wife bought the truck about a year before we met(owned for about 8 years).
here's some pics from the glory days before it's spirit was broken.


*fade to memory lane*
at the cabin in gatlinburg.


J.Eastwood and EB freezing balls in Grand Rapids MI, before an ICP show.(hollowikked 2002(second night))


EB and a much younger,studlier and thinner bondo.(same show)

say what you will about ICP,......but those are some fun *** shows!
if it wasn't for ICP i probably would'nt have met my wife....bless them/**** them ....lol

bondo in a decent mood.(late 2000)(even thinner,less beard.....**** marraige.)


ever seen one of these????(2001)


Arnold Pose!!!
sevierville,TN 2002 (still somewhat thin).


DAT'S ONE COLD CRUISER!
sadly,this pic was taken in july!.......that's northern michy for ya.



this tunnel was a bit too small for the bruiser......

back to the history and where it's at now.

*fade back to the sad(expensive) reality*

i told her from the get-go that i wasnt fixing it!
i'll do maitnence but anything major had to be done by a certified tech since the truck was still in finance and any repairs done by me would void warrenties.
agreed.......
the pics below show the kind of damage that can be done from not fixing stuff when it breaks or wears.
starting off,i was impressed that a big'ol SUV could get 350 miles to a 22Gal. tank.......then the EGR took a crap(still hasn't been replaced).
the mileage dropped to about 300.
then the ball joints started smoking if you drove more then 25 miles at a time.
next came the pcv valve. it got stopped up enough to drop the mileage another 25 per tank.
then came the still unidentified ulcer.
it was a mojor oil leak that spewed through about 2 quarts every week wich,inturn,coverred the entire Pass. side of the motor and the entire undercarraige in oily grime about 1/2" thick.
the final straw was when the front driveshaft UV broke.
i parked it and by the time we had the cash to fix it, it was dead.
plenty of juice but no vroom. just a lot of smoke and puttering.
so,we had a toy tech and a tech from jeep/eagle look at it and both said scrap it,more money then it's worth.
when we took it to eagle they threw it up on the diags,put in new filters,changed the oil,fresh gas and slueth of other cheap "fix its" and they failed to get it started.
while it was with eagle,we paid it off. the truck was no longer under finance.
they said scrap it but i'm a bit hard headed and had it hauled to the island(where i do most of my dirt) where it sat for awhile and got flooded(**** lowcountry).
this resulted in a nice rainbow of mold on the interior.
GOTTA LOVE MOLD ON LEATHER!
these pics were taken after the first bath it's had in over a year.(4/21)









that's pretty much where it sat until 4/20.
me and my buddy mike had discussed future plans for the toy ranging from finding a scrapped toy for a donor to converting to a nice domestic V8 (LS9 anyone?).
anyways,i had just got done shooting the last of the etching primer on the 56' and got bored watching paint dry so i asked mike if he wanted to see if we could get it started.
we cranked the key,cloud of smoke and bit of puttering........****.
started looking around and found a huge tear in the airduct. GO DUCT TAPE!
also found a sensor had been unplugged.
fixed those and tried the key....nothing.
it wanted to start,it just did'nt have the will.....yet.
the obvious was checked and fixed so the next thing to check is spark.
sure as ****, pulled the first plug and it was so caked with soot that i could'nt tell where the electrode stopped and the terminal started.
scraped all of that away only to find out that the electrodes were so worn that they had a gap of .070(factory gap is .031)
we cleaned em up and gapped them just to see if we could get some spark.
hit the key.......nothing.
hit the key again.....VROOOM.......IT"S ALIVE!!!!
it was running again for the first time in a long time.
it wasn't running strong but it was running.

i dropped $100 today on plugs,PCV valve,U-joint,distributor cap and EGR and it's running great save for the still present ulcer wich is the next project.

so it wet from a rusting/molding non-running bucket to a moldy running daily driver with about 6 hrs of work and $100.

5/13/09

$200 bought a new tag/insurance.
$163 bought a new A/T tire for the F pass. side wich was showing belt due to toasted wheel bearings.
$266.96 bought 2F 2R rotors and pads.(in the mail now)


after taggin' it,changing the tire and driving it for a few days, i got a feel for the order of importance on what needs to be fixed.
the brakes are squishy but managable and the bearings are toasted on all four wheels.
the brakes are on their way but i have to fix the bearings before installing the brakes otherwise the slinging grease will ruin the new rotors and pads.
i bought the brake parts on impulse since it was a good deal but it's going to have to go to the dealership for the bearings since i don't have the tools for it.(**** imports)

then it's onto the ulcer wich is still ****ing a quart and a half of oil a week.
if i had to guess, i'd say it was the rear seal.

MY next order of buisness is to address the mildew since my 4yr old will be riding in it.
YAY, i get to detail the interior.....

here's some pix of it with a decent cleaning(exterior) as of 5/17.


dmg from the rear ending.

(**** tow hitches)



stripped wiper arm.


greasy mofo....





there's a few scratches.....


mold/mildew fascinates me with the various patterns,textures and colors..


















various misc pics.





updates soon.

cheers,
Bondo

[supraboi97]

Looks like its already got a decent start the outside still looks good considering what all its been through. Any chance we will see that cougar getting fixed up as well?

[bondo]

Originally Posted by supraboi97

Looks like its already got a decent start the outside still looks good considering what all its been through. Any chance we will see that cougar getting fixed up as well?

thanks.


probably not since it isnt mine and the owner has about 12 other project cars....
it will most likely get ALOT worse before it gets any better....

[TheB1GDude]

What interests me is this photo:



and its caption....

this tunnel was a bit too small for the bruiser......

Does that mean you tried to put it through and it didn't make it??

I see a few options for you...

1. Exterior wise it looks pretty good, so I almost wonder if your better looking for something newer and in better shape by looking for one of those "we will give you X # of $" for your trade in no matter what the shape deals.

or

2. Go balls to the wall with it, fix all the problems, lift it, throw some big tires on it and a bunch of fog lights and see how much destruction you can cause with it.

I'm favoring number 2 at the moment but if anyone in your family needs a new ride you may just want to see about trading it off......