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Jbell's "Dark Crusader" Build

32K views 121 replies 33 participants last post by  umami 
#1 · (Edited)
Not so sure why I didn't start this a long time ago, guess I am lazy. I got my Fj christmas '07. What a surprise, I had no idea that I was getting it. The kids got done opening presents, my wife handed me an issue of the Fj Cruiser magazine that Toyota puts out at the dealer. I thought cool, thanks?
Then handed me the keys!! I thought it was a sick joke....wrong. A couple seconds later my Father-in-law pulls up in it, an awesome looking black diamond with factory rock rails and brush guard. I couldn't believe it!! Here I am completely in shock.

It took a couple of months to find this place then I got the bug. Never really been off roading before, just some mud holes with some buds, thats it. I was hooked! First mod was a Magnaflow muffler and stainless steel tip, my stuff has to sound good.:bigthumb:

After that I started on the black out. Had to get her looking good.:rocker:
IMG]http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f272/JBell98/fj%20cruiser/img_0669.jpg[/IMG]

I wheeled it a bit stock, taking on my deer hunting woods and some pastures. Then came Buchanon's mudfest in Robertsville, MO.Buchanan's Mudfest What an adventure that was.:lol:
Didn't have a clue! I think I still am cleaning that nasty mud out from under her!! I slipped and slid everwhere. After this I just had to have a lift and bigger mud tires!

Well it didn't take long after and I was shopping for a lift and tires. I first went with Bilstein 5100 adjustables in the front and OME mediums in the rear. Now what tire to buy? Did as much research on here as possible and I kept coming back to Dragon's threads about the Firestone Destination Mt's. I got em and I love em!! They have a nice little hum to them and highway speeds but who cares they are a mud tire. They also are wearing very well I have a little over 30,000 on them and barely look used. Well they do have a bit of rock rash on them but nothing major.

I was really getting the itch to go wheeling. But I needed a few things first. Got myself a Cobra Cb and fabbed up a Bandi mount.

Of course I need a Hi-lift, just don't know where to put it, hmmmm. So I made this.

I bought the usual recovery gear, a 30,000 pound snatch strap, couple d-rings, shovel, hi-lift jack mate, axe on inside of rear door, cheap air compressor, blah,blah,blah.
Lets go wheelin!! I had heard that Toyota Trail Teams was going to be at "The Badlands" In Attica, Indiana. I thought that would be a great time and a great place to gain some knowledge.
I learned a ton about A-trac , how to left foot brake, climb big dunes and a bunch of other tips on off roading in general. Thanks Trail Teams:bigthumb: wish that program was still together.
More to come later.
 
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#4 ·
Great looking rig...
 
#7 ·
Thank you kind sir!
I love how you color matched the wheels to the body. Those look great. I'm normally critical of the people that do black outs, I guess it's from owning a TRD :lol:, but yours is by far one of the cleanest done ones I've seen. Great rig man.
Thank you very much! I used Dupont's hot rod black for the black out. It has been very durable over the last couple of years. I have painted the wheels again though, lots of scratches from rocks and roots. That was a couple of months ago.....need paint again!!:lol:
Hmm. Depends on how daring I need to be.
How about hitting the rocks at Wash!ta next time? Is that daring enough? Be there or be square If you dare!:jester:

I forgot to mention that I put an All-Pro transfercase skid under her before the trip to the Badlands. I thought that was a very vulnerable area under the FJ and didn't want to take any chances. As you can see I have used and abused this skid and completely happy with it. No complaints whatsoever.


Since I was spending alot of my wheeling time in the mud and gunk, I was in need of a scuba mod and a snorkel. So I first did the scuba mod basically following Shadow Warriors thread this has all the info anyone needs to do this mod.http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/foru...es/39539-scuba-driver-mod-breather-tubes.html Next was a snorkel. Now I have nothing bad to say about a Safari snorkel, many hundreds of people on the forum have them and think It works great. Well me being a self proclaimed tight wad and my love for fabbing stuff, thought I would give this a shot. I really didn't want to cut a hole in the fender even though I am a bodyman and could easily reverse the operation, I also didn't care for the plastic tube running down the side of the fender, just seemed like it could get smashed real easily. Here in the midwest we wheel on timber trails so trees are inches away all the time. So I did some research to find If anyone else had made a custom snorkel. I found a thread on another forum where the guy used vacuum tube and routed it through the right hand side of the cowl panel. I thought cool, I can do that.:bigthumb: I wanted bigger tube though, that vacuum tube just wasn't big enough. So my first attempt was 3" PVC, It worked well and served it's purpose for awhile, I just wasn't happy with the way it looked. Here is a link to that thread.http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/foru...emade-snorkel.html?highlight=homemade+snorkel

I decided that 3" exhaust tube would be my next material. I bought two 90 degree elbows and started cutting, welding and shaping. I am very happy with this design, It has given me no problems for the last year and a half or so. It has had many tree branches hit it with no movement.

If my memory serves me correctly I added some angle iron skids to the rear Lca's around this time. They have worked great so far, I have slammed a few rocks on these with just some scratches, nothing bent. If any one is looking far a cheap way to protect there Lca's, this is the way to go.

:wave: By for now......
 
#8 ·
You know, I just have to compliment you for being creative with your snorkel. I think functionally it works better than the other options I see. Obviously you put lots of thought into it. The fab work you did on the pipe is great. I am just having trouble getting past the sweeping curve. I know there aren't lots of options for where you can make it exit.
I will give you props for your ingenuity though.
thanks
Don
 
#9 ·
Thank you very much!:bigthumb: You are right it's not the straightest exit, but it functions very well. This is kind of a funny story, after I posted that thread on here I had some aftermarket company contact me. They wanted me to send them my snorkel so they could reproduce it and in return they would give me a free version of my own dang snorkel.WTF!!:thinkerg: Boy they had balls!!
 
#13 ·
Actually if it would have been a company i had heard of, I may have talked it out with them but this was basically some Joe schmo who said he mostly made aftermarket parts for the import tuner world. I guess i should take it as a compliment though.
Hmm. I know what you mean by trees being next to you at all times. If you're going up to hannibal this weekend then you'll see what I mean. I was thinking about doing a snorkel to cover up the dents BUT that would require me replacing the fender panel and I just don't want to so I might have to copy your idea.

What would you think about making another one (because I don't have a welder and the skill to) and i'll pay ya? :cheers:
I must say it's not entirely my idea, that other fella come up with it first I just took it to a different level. Yeah, I may consider making another one. I must admit it was a pain in the butt!! I'll let ya know.:bigthumb:
I am thinking of going to Hannibal on Sun. the 13th. Are you going Sat. or Sun.?


I'll be there! I'll tear up my rig for the pleasure of others i guess.
I do really want to make it down there again in the near future. I would work on some skid plates before you go.....unless you like a cracked t-case, smashed front dif, couple broken control arms and a bent shock mount. Nah, just kidding the rocks there are the soft variety.:jester:
That snorkel is sexy! Very nice job. If I were to need a snorkel I would definitley try and "steal" your design :lol: That looks a ton better than the Safari plus you don't have to drill through you fender. Props on the design and fab work.
Thanks again!! Seriously, I would love to see someone else build this snorkel. Honestly I can't believe no one else has?
 
#16 ·
Looking great Justin. Although you should put your skid buildup, sway bar disco, rear storage solution, lust for a rack, videos of you showing us up in the mud, the fact that you are willing to work for beer, that your truck has pulled out more trucks than times I've been out, and anything else I can think of in here.

In all seriousness your rig has been to places that most of us only wish we could go to. You did all of the mods yourself, even mounted your own tires, so what you have invested is small and the rig itself is very capable. That and the ARB can smash through things if for some reason there is not way around.

We should talk about a sway bar disco for my rig as the added articulation would be welcomed and I really don't want to pay through the nose :)

Your snorkel is one of the most functional mods for the truck since we like to play in mud and often times the water is fairly high as well. As someone who has taken a drill to the front fender and installed the safari I can tell you that Justin had the right idea, while I had the lack of skill. It is rock solid, looks good, and ontop of that was hand made!

Did you notice any big scapes or anything on the gas tank skid? If you were scraping your driver LCA mount then I'd assume the tank probably was close to the rocks as well?
 
#25 · (Edited)
Thanks for the compliments brotha man! Don't you worry it's all going in here just need the time to get it done.
Sway bar disco huh? Hmmm, we will talk. Probably next weekend about it.
I have all kinds of scrapes on that plastic skid, nothing scary though. I think? Not sure where and when they all got there. I do remember the first scrape though, some of us guys from work were messing around climbing a rock(concrete) pile at work, she was less than six months old if I remember correctly.:bigthumb:
Nice build. I love your snorkel improv :)

We're going back to the Badlands this 4th of July if you are interested. No Trail Teams though. Just some friends.
Thnks! I do want to make it back there, that place is fun, I'll see what we are up to then. Probably camping with my parents? Thanks for the invite:bigthumb::bigthumb:
I too like your snorkel idea. :rocker:

Do you have any pics of the plumbing under the hood?
Thanks! I know the plumbing is a little ghetto...but it works.:bigthumb:
X2!! I like that look more than the Safari Snorkel, it would be nice if a company would produce them. But you should certainly get a significant percentage for all of the R&D.

:bigthumb:
Now that would be cool!!
JBell,

Can you tell me more about your axe mount to rear door, maybe post a picture?? I'm looking to do the same, not sure if i'm going to use Silverdusk's method, or just drill and simply mount to the plastic cover.

I'm thinking of just drilling and with the support of a couple washers, mounting it to the plastic...
I just drilled holes through the plastic then went ghetto wit it. I used two velcro straps that hold shop lights, they normally have a magnet that is used to hold the light to metal but took that off and just mounted them to the rear door. I was in a hurry to get it done before a trail run and didn't have time to wait for some quick fists. I do plan on using quick fists when I get around to buying a pair. I have had that axe on the back door for 2 years with no probs. It is very solid....but i still want quick fists.

Well done. Looks great and love the snorkel! :bigthumb:
Thanks!
Looks great and what an awesome job on that snorkel! Nicely done. Are you taking orders yet? :cheers:
He he, thanks, not taking orders yet. It takes many hours to do it this way, I have no Idea what to even charge. If I were to add the hours and price it that way It would be out of everyone's price range. I have thought about making one in my spare time( which is never) and selling it on ebay just to see what it would bring. Just out of curiosity since I never really thought about selling it I just wanted a cheap and functional snorkel that didn't come out of the fender, thats all.
More build stuff tomorrow, I have plenty more to post.....just to tired right now.
Later,:cheers:
 
#18 ·
I too like your snorkel idea. :rocker:

Do you have any pics of the plumbing under the hood?
 
#20 ·
Thanks, I didn't see the link to the other thread.:thinkerg:
 
#22 ·
JBell,

Can you tell me more about your axe mount to rear door, maybe post a picture?? I'm looking to do the same, not sure if i'm going to use Silverdusk's method, or just drill and simply mount to the plastic cover.

I'm thinking of just drilling and with the support of a couple washers, mounting it to the plastic...
 
#26 ·
My next mod had to be a bumper and winch. I knew the more wheeling I did the more I needed the protection up front as well as a way to self extract If there is no other way out. So I looked around, did some pricing and researched all I could. Let me just say there are a lot of good bumpers out there, this makes for a tough decision. I knew that I couldn't go wrong with an ARB. I had read so many awesome stories about that bumper here on this sight that I had to have one. It worked out perfect that Metal Tech had a group buy going on at the time so I ordered it. I also needed a winch. Hmmm ,which winch? Mile Marker, thats what winch, I know alot of people in my area with that brand and no complaints. So I ordered a 9,500 Mile Marker.
Next I knew that my stock coils on the 5100's wasn't going to cut it. So I ordered some 885 OME coils from toytec and also ordered there top spacer. I just didn't want to go with the heavies. I just remember another member here(outinthewoods) saying he was not happy with the flex of these. With the mediums I thought I would retain a bit of flex over the heavies. But that dang bumper is heavy! So i decided to use some Toytec spacers to level me out. I installed this a couple weeks before the ARB, needless to say I was a bit high in the front. Once I got the bumper on I couldn't have been any happier!! I leveled right outand got the flex I was after. Wow I love this setup, I was ready to hit the trails!!
This is what the front looked like with the new lift.

Here he is with the ARB.:rocker:


Oh yeah I also around this time I added a Toytec diff drop since I went through a couple of axle seals up front.:bigthumb: Also about this time I added some ALL-Pro 1.5 wheel spacers, he looks mean now.
 
#27 ·
Well my truck was ready to wheel but the past year I hadn't got to go as much as I would have liked. A few of life's curve ball's got in the way. I did manage to make it to a couple of local mudfests last summer and fall.

I vowed that 2010 was going to be a year that I hit some trails!! So back in February I was getting the itch to do something that I thought would help me on the trail and in the rocks, I went disco baby. I saw 2007fj's disco and said to myself...self, I can do that . So I did! The main difference is that I didn't build a different link, I am using the stock one. It takes just a few seconds to take the nut off, so in my mind it wasn't necessary. I also added some limit at this time.

 
#28 · (Edited)
Time to play! Here a few pics from a couple trail runs this year.
The little St. Louis group out for a good time in the snow. Hannibal Rocks off road park, Hannibal Mo.
At about the six minute mark on this video you will see me slam a rock on the oem skid plate, needless to say it didn't hold up very well.

 
#29 ·
Hey I like all your mods on your "Dark Crusader" The snorkel is really cool for sure and the sway bar disco is cool to. I notice you have a limiter straps...did you install them after the sway bar removal? I have ditched my sway bar for good and now I'm binding my CV joints and have even broken a few...I'm wondering if it was worth the gain I may have gotten as far as sway bar removal more articulation? would be lost adding a limiting strap? What's your situation? My sway bar rubs my 35"s and when I install the 37"s it will have a negetive affect on my steering radius... Thats the main reason I removed the sway bar.
 
#31 · (Edited)
Thank you for the compliments!:bigthumb: At full droop my uca's used to contact my spring, which I guess means that my internal limiters on my shocks are toast. I had a ton of droop and my cv's were in a bind for sure, I went through a couple of axle seals, thankfully no broken cv's. I set them by putting the fj up on jack stands then raising the tire until there was no more bind, then measured up and inch for stretch. That is were your droop should be, with no binding. The basic reason for the disco is more up travel since down travel should only come down til right before it binds.
If you are going through cv's then I would definitley get some straps. You should not droop that far anyway.:cheers:
 
#30 ·
After that incident with the rock at Hannibal I new it was time for a new skid. I figured that since I am in the money saving business I would build my own. Here is a link to a thread about it.
http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/4x4-off-road-tech/107191-custom-front-skid-plate.html


Next was a rear storage solution. I was so tired of all the dang duffel bags taking up all the space in the back, every thing gets so jumbled around it's hard to find everything. I had this organizer with drawers sitting in the garage just getting occupied with junk, I knew I would eventually put it to good use.

I decided to cut the top out and then hinged the top cover in the event I couldn't get the rear hatch open. I put all my main recovery stuff in there, winch controller, d-rings, snatch block,tree savers etc.

:wave:
 
#35 ·
That makes two of us!

Back to my build!! A few weeks back I decided to take my rear swaybar out and give it a try. I was a bit worried about losing a spring and the way it would handle at highway speeds. Haven't lost a spring yet and can't even tell it's off at highway speeds. I did a little test to see if I was getting more flex. I didn't take any before or after measurements but the pics say roughly 4" or so more. What do you guys think?
Before.

After.


Went wheeling at Wash!ta Off Road Park in Farmington, Mo on 5/29/10. This place was a great test for me and my rig, lots of rock. I was very happy with how well it did especially since the people I went with were driving Grand Cherokee's. I made it everywhere they did with no problems.:rocker: They couldn't believe that I would take such a "nice truck" there and beat the crap out of it.:lol: I learned a lot about having an armored belly on this trip. My sliders and new skid got quite the workout and so did my passenger rear shock mount. I was inspecting all the rock rash a couple of day after and found the washer on the bolt to be smashed and turned 180 degrees up. Well my bolt had come loose during the blow about a 1/4 way to be exact!
You guessed it, I bought some 3/16 plate and am fabbing some right now, as well as some rear LCA mount skids(they got smashed to!) I hope to get them done before this Sunday since the St. Louis group is going to be at it again in Hannibal....bring it on!!


:wave:
 
#36 ·
Dude, that snorkel is sick. You should fab up a few and sell'em, i'd buy one for sure. Nice build.
 
#38 ·
Thanks! I have been giving that a lot of thought lately. Time is my biggest problem, I just don't have as much as would like. I am trying to figure out an easier way of making it, give me a little time and I will figure it out.
On the rear sway-bar removal: Is your shock the limiting factor of down travel? Also I can't remember if you installed longer brake lines? I see that Overland Warehouse has a bracket to lower the line so you don't have the replace them, for you that should be a simple piece.

Truck is really looking great!
Yes, the shock would be the limiting factor.....until I get some limit straps. We can test it out this weekend to see.:bigthumb: I looked at the lines when I did the above pictures and the lines looked fine, maybe I am not flexing to its limits. I had heard that I would need longer lines but don't think I do, If I find that I do I will drop the lines myself, no biggie. Here is a pic from the rear, If you zoom in, the lines look fine.
 
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