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Cruzer! new fjc - Casper the TT!!!

125K views 425 replies 115 participants last post by  Fjamming 
#1 · (Edited)
Cruzer! new fjc - Casper the TT!!! UPDATED!!!

Introducing.... Casper the 03/08 TT!!


Named by my wife after this guy
for no other reason then the fact it is white!! Gotta love that logic!!

THE BACKGROUND

We arrived in the US from Australia in September 07, where growing up I had owned a lot of landcruisers of all models, from 40's to 80's, and competed in rally x and rock crawling events for a few different teams. I met my wife when i had a HJ45, she was from a family that lived in a small beachside community called Rainbow Beach where beach access for vehicles is permitted, and as a result we spent a lot of time on those beaches and for a lot of trips around our home state of Queensland, Australia. When we decided to pack up and move to the LA for her job, we regrettably had to sell my small collection of 'cruisers, i think i missed them more then my family lol!

Landing in LA we saw our first FJ cruiser - and knew we had to have one - we fell in love with the look of it and that big grille and round headlights staring at ya! We bought our first FJ, the Smurf, A used VB 07 in November, and unfortunatly in Mar 08 it was put to an untimely death by a repeat drunk driver who decided he wanted to see what it was like to drive in the other lane and hit us at around 50mph


Not all bad news though - we ended up getting enough to buy a brand new FJ, our first brand new car. Not being able to find a VB or SF, we were about to settle for brick when this rolled into the dealership on the truck in front of us.


We had to have it, so we did :)

THE MOD BUG

Our first trip out with our club Gold Coast Cruisers we did with a whole 120 something miles on the truck, and we went to what in the future would become a regular stomping ground of mine, BC109 situated on lockwood Valley Road off the 33. The FJ surprised the hell out of me with its capabilities, in stock form going almost everywhere we wanted it to (albeit lifting a wheel here and there
) and i knew instantly what a cabable truck this could be. That monday i started a job with a company called Man-A-Fre and before i knew it it was to late, the mods piled on and i seroiusly considered working for parts instead of money :)

Started with a 08 Trail Teams FJ Cruiser (Upgrade package 2 and Offroad package rolled into one handy little vehicle)

Under Hood
Painless/My own design Dual battery system
Seperate Relay Center
Third Fuse box
ARB Compact Air Compressor

Engine
K&N Original filter.
Safari Snorkle
Doug Thorley Y Pipe
TRD exhaust with Custom high clearance tailpipe
Mobil 1 Syn Oils.
Man-A-Fre Auxillary 19 Gallon gas Tank
JET V-Force Interceptor unit
URD Supercharger kit

Drivetrain
4.56 gearing front and rear
Front ARB Air Locker
Rear E-Locker

Suspension
N140s/886
1.25 in 4Crawler body Lift
Man-A-Fre Front Upper Control Arms
Custom Long Travel Coils
N74L Shocks
MAF Custom Hi-Angle Rear Links
MAF Hi-Angle Upper Links
Removed Rear Sway bar
Removed Front Sway Bar
Crow Enterprizes Limitng Straps front and rear
MAF Adjustable Panhard Rod

Brakes
Man-A-Fre Stainless Steel extended brake lines

Tires and Wheels
315/75R16 BFG Mud Terrains on ProComp Streetlock Rims
1.5" Billet Wheel spacers

Lights
2x Hella 4000's on the front bar.
4x Hella 500s, with 100w bulbs on Defender light Rack
2x Hella 550 Fogs on side of roof rack
Hella Worklight on Kaymar rear bar
Hella Headlight Upgrade bulbs
Vision X Tantrum LED Rock Lights
Aeroflow HLC Covers
underhood LED bar

Armour
MAF Stingray Front Winch Bumper Mk2 (3 Hoop)
Bushwacker Flares
Man-A-Fre Skid Plates
Man-A-Fre Shock Protectors
Man-A-Fre "Frenched" Lower link skids
Man-A-Fre Wide Rock Sliders
Kaymar Rear Bar/ Wheel Carrier / Gas Can Carrier
Total Chaos Front Lower Control Arm Skids
Trail Gear Diff Plate
MAF interior 6 point Sport Cage

Electronics
Secondary Fuse Box
Secondary under seat 400w Inverter
Midland CB with 4ft Firestik
Handheld CB
Pair of FRS
Scanguage 2
Sirius Radio
Lowrance XOG CrossOver NAV system
12v Power outlets 1 in the centre console and 2 above the rear 115v power supply
ARB 60l Fridge/Freezer
Trac/ABS/VSC Off Switch mod
Locker Anytime Mod
Laptop with GPS and overland navigator Topo and Sat.

Up Top
Stock Roof Rack
Defender Racks Roof Light Bar
4 x Clamps (2 for Hi Lift and 2x for Shovel/Axe)
Canvas Cargo Carrier for big camp trips

Recovery/Safety Gear
20lb Co2 tank
Fire Extinguisher
Maglight
Emergency Hammers on sides of front center console
60" Hi-Lift
Hi-Lift base
Hi-Lift isolator
ARB snatch block
ARB tire deflator
ARB tire repair kit
D Shackles
12' tree saver
20' snatch strap
Drag Chain
Shovel
Axe
Rear LCA x 2
Rear UCA x 2
Front UCA x 2
1 ea front and rear shocks
CV
Tie Rod End

WHATS NEXT?

My next plans for Casper are

SAS


SOLID AXLE CONVERSION SPEC'S

Summary:
2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser Trail Teams edition, one of 3200. URD Supercharged, 3-link front Dana 60, 3-link rear Dana 70, Atlas 5.0 transfer case, 40in MTRs locked, armored and ready to rock. The FJ was bought new by me in March 08 after our previous one was written off and I built it as a fairly capable IFS daily driver/ wheeler. In Dec 09 I did a little panel damage (which was repaired by body shop) and decided I wanted to go big. Feb 10 I started the solid axle conversion, which I finally had finished in Jan 11. It has very little wheeling done on it as a SA rig. The FJC has a total of 35,6xx miles on it and has had all services performed by professional mechanic owner. Most of the accessoires on the truck were installed as demonstration/research parts while i was shop manager of Man-A-Fre. The sheet metal is straight, the paint is nice and shiny.The rig is clean inside with the exception of some scratches in the plastic interior. I have taken photos of the build from when I picked it up from the dealer to the current day so have full records of how t was built. I spilt a lot of blood on this truck, had a hell of a lot of fun and met some great people becasue of this vehicle. I built it with the intention of keeping it for a long time, however, my wife and I are now expecting our first child and have since decided to move back to Australia.

All 08 FJ Trail Teams options, black-out exterior items (mirrors/handles) Trail teams badges, Warm white exterior, white/black trim interior, power everything, remote central locking, alarm, in dash 6 stack CD player, COLD air conditioning, guage package, 5 seats, Inverter, Leather steering wheel, bilet shift knob etc. But the stuff you really want to know...

Engine
Engine : Toyota V6 1GR-FE
Transmission : Toyota A750F 5speed Automatic with huge oil cooler
Forced Induction : URD Supercharger Kit with 80mm pulley, Underhood Water 2 Air intercooler, Supercharger front mount radiator and oil cooler.
Fuelling: URD 7th Injector Kit, URD 255LPH Walbro Fuel pump kit (remote filter)
Exhaust : Doug Thorley Headers, Stock Precats, Rear Cat delete, Custom routed hi-clearance exhaust 2.5in, Magnaflow muffler, hi-clearance tail pipe

Underhood
Batteries: Painless performance dual battery setup, Optima RED main and Optima YELLOW secondary battery.
OBA - ARB mini Air Compressor

Steering
Links : Borgeson
Gear: Howe IFS steering box valved, tapped
Ram: Howe 2" x 8" hydro-assist ram
Pump: Howe Performance TC pump 1450 PSI
Reservoir: Howe high capacity reservoir with filter

Front Axle
Axle: Dana 60 from a 94 Dodge Ram 3500
Locker: ARB Air Locker
Gears: Dana Spicer 5.86
Shafts: 2002 Dodge Ram 3500 Shafts (CAD delete)
Steering: Toyota IFS steering box tapped for hydro assist, Howe Hydro Assist, Ballistic Fabrication 7/8 QA1 Heim Steering Kit 1.5x.250DOM, ThurenFab 1.5x.250DOM 7/8 QA1 Heim tie-rod.
Brakes: Stock 3500, All new rotors, pads, remanufactured calipers, new stainless steel hoses.
Other: New balljoints, B&M super synthetic oil. Rockcrusher differential cover, lubelocker gasket, WFO 1350 Yoke

Rear Axle
Axle: Full floater Dana 70 from Dodge Ram 3500 SRW
Locker: ARB Air Locker
Gears: Dana Spicer 5.86
Shafts: 35spl
Brakes: Stock 3500, All new shoes, hardware kits, F350 Wheel cylinders (larger bore cylinders), new brake tubes and stainless steel hoses.
Other: Heavy duty diff cover, B&M super synthetic oil. Truss, WFO 1350 Yoke.

Front Suspension
Type: 3-link with panhard
Coilovers: Walker Evans 2.0" x 14" travel externally adjustable remote reservoir coilovers
Springs: Eibach 12" 300# over 14" 450#
Joints: Currie Johnny Joints on lower links / Heim joints on panhard / Heims on upper link
Bump stops: Fox 4" travel 2.0 air bumps (Set to 2.5in travel)
Shock mounts - Ballistic Fabrication coilover towers
Brackets: Ballictic Fabrication
Frame plates: 3/16 Frame Plating (front frame rails inner and outer, scab plates at upper link mounts)
Limit Straps : Beard 23in

Rear Suspension
Type: 3-link with panhard
Coils: OME420 Landcruiser Competition Coils
Shocks: Fox 2.0 x 10" travel remote reservoir shocks
Bump stops: Fox 4" travel 2.0 air bumps (Set to 2.5in travel)
Shock mounts - Ballistic Fabrication coilover towers
Brackets: Ballictic Fabrication
Frame plates: 3/16 Frame Plating (front frame rails inner and outer, scab plates at upper link mounts)
Swaybar: Rock Equipment 'Rock Crawler' Swaybar (aluminium arms)
Limit Straps: Bears 13in

Body Lift : 4Crawler 1.25in

Transfer case
Tcase: Atlas 5.0
Adapter: Advance Adaptors FJ Cruiser Adaptor
Fr Output shaft: 32spl 1350 with Driveline Specialties Deep throat yoke
Rr Output shaft: 32spl 1350 CV Style
Shifters : Twin cable shifters w/Billet knobs
Crawl ratio: 205:1
Speed sensor: GM VSS wired to Digital Dakota Speedo Calibration Unit.
Other: Advance Adaptors rear output disc brake parking brake setup

Armor
Front Bumper: Man-A-Fre "OzBogan" Front winch bumper
Rear Bumper: Man-A-Fre Kaymar Swingout with tire carrier modified to fit 40in tire, and swingout with ladder/quart crate.
Internal cage: Man-A-Fre 6pt Sport cage - 1.75" x .120 (The vehicle has 5 seats/belts, but with the cage installed i wouldnt recommend having anyone in the rear seats. I never have had anybody in the back, the harness bar is to close to the chest IMO. The cage is easily removed due to Poly Performance Tube connectors)
Sliders: Man-A-Fre Wide
Skid plates: Budbuilt gas tank skid
Belly pan: Flat belly cross member
Flares: Bushwacker Pocket Style Fender Flares

Tires / Wheels
Tires: 5x 40x13.5R17 Goodyear 'old style' MTR
Wheels: 17x9.5 Allied Steel wheel D Window
Rim Stiffeners: CrawlFab Wagon Wheel
Beadlocks: Staun Internal beadlocks
Balancing: Dynabeads

Electrical
Horns : Hella
Auxillary fuse boxes : primary battery - under hood
: secondary battery - under hood and under dash
Inverter : Stock rear 400w.
: Secondary under seat 400w
GPS : Lowrance XOG Gps with topo and trail map capability
: Microsoft GPS antanna for Streets/Trips 09 for laptop
CB : Uniden 40ch CB radio/ Firestick cable/antanna
Cameras : Front and rear cameras hooked up to toggle switch and screen mounted above center console on cage.
Interior Lighting : 30LED pods in both roof lights.
: Hella Adjustable Red roof light
Instruments : Scanguage 2 xguage
: Stealth boost guage install
12v power outlets : one extra in center console, two in rear. Also has 12v direct power for ARB (etc) refrigerator in rear.

Lighting
2x Hella 4000's on the front bar.
4x Hella 500s on roof Defender light Rack
2x Hella 550 Fogs on side of roof rack
Hella Worklight on Kaymar rear bar (hooked to reverse and a seperate switch for camping)
Hella Headlight Upgrade bulbs
Vision X Tantrum LED Remote Rock Lights (8)
Aeroflow HLC Covers
underhood LED bar

Other
ARB Safari Snorkle
Man-A-Fre Long Range Auxillary 19gal extra fuel tank (increased fuel capacity to 38gallons), hooked up for car-to-car transfer to help your buddies out!
Stock roof rack, defender roof light bar, hi-lift mounts, extra crossbars, roof storage bag.

Wheelbase: 107"
Frame Height: 24.5"
Width : 85in
Height (roof) : 85in (not inc rack)
Driveshafts: Coast Driveline rear CV 1350
Coast Driveline front 1350
 
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4
#3 ·
Congrats!
 
#7 ·
Congrats of the TT :)
 
#8 ·
I'm jealous :)

Let me know how the Trail Team roof rack holds up...

Thanks,
B
 
#10 · (Edited)
THE PLACES

So when the worlds to much to bear we fill Casper up and head off into the Wilderness. Unfortunatly our travels and work plans havent really allowed us to get too far out of SoCal yet, but hopefully for the next year we will start exploring some more of this amazing country, Moab, AZ, etc.

BUT thats not to say we dont enjoy our SoCal trips, Its some beautiful places here...

So Far

BC109 - My regular stomping ground, some fun hilclimbs and rock washes. First place i went when Casper looked like this







Pine Mountain - Seeing Snow for the second time in my life



LockWood Creek / Miller Jeep Trail - an awesome trail i done a few times, i love the hillclimbs




2N17X - Did this one after the meet and greet fairly unmodified so didnt do all the hillclimbs- i will go back!

Big Bear Trails - John Bull, Dishpan Springs, Gold Mountain, Holcomb, i love this area!




Owens Valley, Eastern Sierras - the furtherest i've been north, beautiful country, ill go back soon for some more exploring! I forgot my camera, so not many photos lol



Friends We've Met
The most important part- friends new and old we've met through our FJ. Just goes to show there is still good people out there! Heres there chance of immortality on my build up thread!

The Gold COast Cruisers Posse



FjCruiserForums Guys, from M&G 2n17x Trip


The Toyota120.com Posse


To Be Continued

 
#12 ·
Congrats! I saw my first TT this weekend in person, they are awesome!!
 
#13 ·
Great looking FJ! I love the white, wasn't sure I would at first. Still haven't seen any of these in real life, but it sure is good lookin'!!
 
#14 ·
Congrats on the TT!:)
 
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