FJ-UTE at SEMA Show

Oh boy.  It's looking good:

The pics may be copyright by TCT Magazine, doesn't say but here's a link for reference.

Cool interior shot:

Loving the hood and front end:

So stoked!

Preparing the Donor

One of the attractions to this project is that we get to reuse our trusty 80's running gear and frame and suspension for our FJ-UTE.  We've owned it almost 5 years at this time.  The only unplanned maintenance issues have been:

• 2011 - Dead Starter (we replaced a cheap aftermarket unit with an OEM unit and all has been good since)
• 2012 - Power Steering (the face/flange at the pump's high pressure hose outlet turned out to be hacked to hell by a previous owner and then JB-welded, when it blew, I replaced the pump and high pressure hose both with OEM parts and we added a front-mounted fluid cooler and have been running great since.)
• Friday 10/17/2014 I failed my VA safety inspection since there was oil on my Drivers-Side-Rear brakes, seems my axle seals had blown.

Seeing as I needed it fixed and inspection passed in the next few days so I could comfortably take a road trip to our Fall Crawl this weekend, I called Ryan at On the Road Again Mobile Mechanic to see how soon he could fit me in. Turns out, a Sunday work day was in the cards as long as I came to him - deal!

Wheel off, ready to begin:

In reverse order, at the end of the parts swap we found that my rear axle's breather tube's, er, breather valve was all clogged up.  This was possibly the cause of the blow out since the extra pressure of the heated gear oil and air didn't have anywhere to go but out the seals.  Ryan also dropped some wisdom on me: if you have a full floating rear (which I do) and factory lockers (which I do) you MUST engage the rear locker before pulling the axle shafts or you'll drop the locking coupler in the diff and have pain and sadness in your life (ie: torch cutting comes next).

The drivers side axle splines shown here were in good shape:

The wheel bearings were both roller bearing type set at angles to each other. They were in great shape especially considering the truck is right at 300,000 miles on the odometer (and many of those are hard off road  miles)

After cleaning the bearings fully, we (and by 'we' I mean 'Ryan') repacked the bearings with his favorite German grease and after cleaning the disc brakes and parking brakes and spindle put it all back together.  Here is the spindle, also looking good, no thread problems and all cleaned up nicely. The drum style brake is the parking brake, the new "inner seal" is pressed just inside the spindle opening below (the outer seal is pressed into the hub):

So, on my follow up visit to the inspection station yielded the desired results: safety inspection passed.  I'll be sure to keep an eye on my breather valve and we shouldn't have to do this fix for a long time.

Progress Pics

This is not mine, but still excited to see the progress.

Note the rear overhang is less dramatic than the rendering, as promised by Justin:

Our model is spec'd with 3 seats in the middle row (2 is the norm) and no 3rd row.  We plan on having Redline line-X the underbody and interior cabin footwell areas, but not in the rear section as we'll be building drawers to sit in the rear area.  I wished I had them on my 80 and will make sure I have them in the 'Ute, not only for the utility but also being a soft top, for secure storage.

So stoked...

Parting Out our FZJ-80

So, we have a great FZJ-80, from which we'll be reusing many of the parts on our FJ-UTE.  This page is the consolidated "what is for sale" page, on which we'll list pictures, items, prices, first-come-first-served listings and sold notices for each item we are going to sell off of our current truck.  We are posting the parting out threads on IH8MUD, and ExpoPortal,

Prices FOB the location listed.  Note the timeline for these items at the IH8MUD thread above.  Is this all that is for sale?  NO - I can't list every part, claim one in the threads above and I'll confirm it will be available (or not, some stuff isn't being sold) then I'll list it here with price and availability.

ODDS and ENDS that are spoken for:

• "sunvisors" + "rearbumper" "leather seats" 962cruiser @ Mud
• "console box (around the shifters) and the steering wheel clamshell" and "steering wheel" hyperion @ Mud

Items for Sale in VA:


1) icom IC7000 HF/VHF/UHF All Mode Transceiver, ham radio and antenna.  Here is a Review by AARL's Mag.  ham.net's review. Web Page. This one:

List: $1900, ebay $1200-1400. My price: $1200 including vertical mount, 25' of antenna lead, and an Diamond antenna with mount (it's on my ARB front bumper tab mounting location now)  UPDATE: also includes
Status: available, no first dibs yet.
Available: ready to pick up or ship.

2) tradesman 80 series full roof rack (gutter style mounts).  Full gutter rails, not just 3-4 'load bearing feet' per side, so the load is distributed along the whole gutter.  Steel sides and steel rails bottom, not mesh bottom.  Sanded to steel in 2012, painted with por-15 then top coated with 'kinkle' krylon top coat (por and UV rays don't mix).  All 8 gutter clamps in good shape, includes the front light bar housing (not pictured, it's not installed right now).  I won't even link to the tradesman site, the current one uses 'feet' not whole rail-load elements and is smaller (width/length) than the one I have, which has a curve to perfectly match the 80 gutter line.
List: $1100 if you can find them like this anymore.  My Price: $500
Status: claimed by IPTMAN, mud datestamp: 10/1/2014 @ 10:59pm
Available: SOLD

3) 5 stock 80 series 16" rims, you know the ones.  4 in used/ok shape, 1 flaking finish, all good candidates for stripping and anodizing!
List: no idea.  My Price: $300 for all 5
Status: available, no first dibs yet
Available: ASAP


4) 3rd row seats from a '97 (so the light gray leather, they do NOT match the new dark gray fronts/middle rows from Shane).  somewhat cracked leather, not recovered with Shane's primo stuff like the other 2 rows.
List: no idea, my price: $100
Status: available, no first dibs yet
Available: ASAP

5) lightforce 240mm blitz lights,, 100W, 12V, nearly 3/4 of a million candle power, with diffuser amber covers and slee wiring harness.  I have the box, too.  These guys, but with the mixed spot/spread diffuser in Amber color.

List:
* Lights: $400
* Covers: $30
* Security Nuts: $25
My Price:
* lights + covers + security nits: $250

Status:
* lights+covers: Evan has first dibs 
* Slee harness: claimed by 6894kevin on Mud @ 6:58am on 9/26
Available:
* lights: off my truck, back in original box now.


6) ARB winch compatible bull bar (could go in CO also)

List: ~$1000.  My Price: $500.  Fully functional winch model for 80 series.  Been on truck for > 4 years, normal usage wear, no accidents.   Comes with 2 synthetic line winch fairleads - 1 centered steel, and 1 aluminum offset so should work with your winch.  Warn M12000 mounted now (not for sale) but to give you an idea of fitment vs. your model in the pics above. I believe the model is "ARB 3411050 Deluxe Bull Bar" but I did not buy it so can't confirm, it came with my truck when I bought it.

Status: ,
Available: Off the truck, ready to be picked up.  Sold Pending Funds 1/19/2015


7) ARB like RTT (they all seem to come from the same factory) includes spare zipper.  Mounted one is 95% fine, one end the teeth are jacked, but works fine.

List: $1500.  My Price: $750.
Status: ,
* 1st dibs: FJ40Z from Mud, datestamp: 9/26 @ 5:36pm

8) Awning  Shadyboy

It's a sweet one, but my softtop plans means I have no where to put it, it's a shadyboy. It cantilevers out from the billet aluminium main housing, and 'opens' fore and aft, so it's closed housing length (50") is only a small portion of it's overall length (I don't care for the long ARB's that catch on trees). It's the larger size: of 10' x 6' yet < 15 pounds in weight. I ordered it with the additional black layer of fabric on the underside to keep bounce reflections down too. If you're not familiar with the shadyboy, you can check them out here: http://www.shadyboy.com/the-awning/

Paid: ~$440.  My Price: $300.
Status: available, no first dibs yet
Available: ASAP

9) ARB double jerry can holder

Made for roof rack install, has 4 double bolt cross-bar clamps in stainless. ARB part: 3500390
Paid: ~$170.  My Price: $100.
Status: available, no first dibs yet
Available: ASAP

10) Husky Liners floor liners

Pictured is front set, but I'm selling both front and 2nd row floor mats, part numbers: Part #35402 + Part #65403 custom fit for 1993 LC, in gray.  (their store is out of stock in gray for the 2nd row, so come get these)
Paid: ~$210.  My Price: $100.
Status: available, no first dibs yet
Available: ASAP

Still to price and post:

* maybe my m101 trailer, maybe not. it's the white one with matching wheels (yes, 37" on a trailer so i can share a spare)
*  water bladder system that goes in the rear quarter panels, never installed (update- available


in CO:

1) IPOR skid plate (belly plate doubles as trans mount so can't be removed until Redline is doing their driveline work)

What's What with FJ's

Some of our Jeep friends are like: why is an 80 made in the 90's and a 60 made in the 80's?

Well, I can't say, but I can shed some light on how we got here. There are some non north American models with different model numbers.

• 40 series were made from 1960 until 1984.  Think 2 door, inward facing rear seats.  

• 50 series made from 1967 to 1980, known as the "iron pig" a different tailgate and wagon style.  I've only seen a handful in person.  Iconic.

• 60 series made from 1980 through 1989.  A sturdy truck which can be found around the country, good for wheeling and cruising.  Could have the 2F engine of the 40 series  (they overlapped 1980-1984) or the turbo-diesel options which emerged later in 1985.

• 70 series were made from 1984 to present. Think 2 door truck (troop carrier, or troopie) or 4 door SUV.  I've seen one troopie and two 4 door 70 series ever in the mid-atlantic US.

• 80 series were made from 1990 to 1997.  The 1990-1992 version had a different rear suspension setup with 1993 getting lockers (K294 option, not in VIN but on vin plate on driver side door) and the 1FZ-FE engine.  The 1997 had the 40th anniversary model available.  In many eyes, 1993-1997 are the years to get with 1997 as the primo one.  the 1993 and on 80 series has solid axles, coil springs, triple locker (front/center/rear) yet power seats/windows with antilock breaks and no airbags so no problems with bull bars and airbag sensors.  Some 80's were made in south america through 2008.  This is comparable to the Lexus LX450

• 100 series were made from 1998 to 2007.  The 1998 year had a factory locker option for the rear diff, after that no. The V8 in this is a desired swap-out for 80 series. This is comparable to the Lexus LX470

• 200 series were made from 2008 to Current.   I've test driven one, very nice.  

So, take the body/look of the 40 series and put it on an 80 frame and suspension (and if budget were to allow) swap out an engine from a 100 and you have the FJ-UTE!

FJ-UTE Bound

So, FJ-wha?

FJ-UTE, in the words of Justin of Redline Cruisers

The FJ-UTE (“UTE” as in Utility or “Ute Pass” in Colorado, is pronounced “yoot”) features an aluminum body modeled precisely after a vintage Toyota Land Cruiser body, which sits on a FJ80 frame. The standard FJ-UTE from Red Line will feature half doors and a full soft top. It utilizes the FJ80 suspension, engine, transfer case and transmission but takes on the look of a vintage LC with plenty of space for passengers in the first, second, and optional third row.

Here is a rendering: 

Per Justin, it exagerates the rear-end overhang some vs. reality, so we look forward to his progress pics.  His first one is due to debut at Sema 2014

We have an FZJ-80 which we love, we got it in 2011 to fit our family of 5 and enjoy the outdoors camping, beach cruising, off-roading (aka; wheeling), but do wish at times it had a removable top.  But the FJ-40 is just too small.  Defender 110's are too expensive and have the Land Rover reputation for maintenance issues.    The Icon FJ44 although attractive and functional:

...costs more than our first house so that's out.

Redline's concept of the FJ-UTE struck a cord with us, keep the best of the 80 (drive line, suspension, triple lockers) and add a utilitarian interior and soft-top (future removable hard top by Q1 2015 supposedly).

So, we put our deposit down on one - to be one of the first 10 chassis taking advantage of the early adopter pricing package, and the honor of having a low production number.  We're excited and look forward to driving on the beaches of OBX in our newly constructed UTE in 2015.