Sempertoy
Explorer
I thought that I would post up a little about my build and how I have done it on a budget. I know that it may not be of interest to some people on here, and if I had the funds to do things differently I would have.
I just want to show everyone out there that you can build an etremely capable rig on a tight budget. I know there are more people out there like me that are young, married and right now on a single income-putting someone through school. That shouldnt stop you from being able to get out and enjoy our beautiful country.
This is a work in progress, and I will come through and edit as I remember more of what I have done and can remember exact prices. For now I will just round up on what I spent.
I also realize that not every build will like this and that I got pretty lucky with my initial purchase and the amount of maintanance that has gone in to my rig.
I started my build with $6,400 dollars in pocket, after selling my Tacoma.
Here is my Tacoma that I sold.
I had found a vehicle that I wanted to buy before my truck sold and I had been in contact with the seller. We settled on a price of $4,500 for a 97 FZJ 80, it had 191,xxx miles on the ticker. The truck was already lifted with OME J springs front and rear and was on 315 70 17 BFG AT's so I wasnt going to have to shell out for a lift and tires.
Here is my cruiser the day I bought it.
After buying a one way ticket to Sacramento from San Diego for $90 I was down to $1,810
Let's say I spent $300 in gas and $150 in registration fees, that puts me at a total of $1,360 dollars to start my build with.
Let me point out that at this time I had a very capable vehicle and could have gone a year or two with no major mods, but what's the fun in that? I wanted to make this thing mine, and obviously add some overland/offroad swagger.
the first thing I did was drain all fluids (besides the oil). I replace T-case and diffs with top of the line Lucas products, and filled the tranny with recommended fluid. I would say that this set me back about $150( to include a tube of FPIG that I used to seal the tranny pan that I pulled)
Now I am down to $1,210
At this point I pulled my running boards and they were in great shape! I sold them to a guy down here in SD for $100, so that puts me back at $1,310
From here is was sort of a whirlwind of ordering parts from CDan and Beno, and I can't remember exact prices. I also ordered a HD tie rod from Slee for $100, a Slee hi-lift mount with yakima feet for ~$80, a HD drag link from Bud Built for $100, all new OEM rod ends, valve cover gasket, spark plugs, plug boots, throttle body gasket, various light bulbs for the shift selector, ash tray, PFran reverse lights...Let's say I spent $400 give or take so now I am at
$910
At this time I was also enjoying having some extra cash in my pocket and being able to spoil my wife, and take her out. Ill be conservative and say I spent $200. I know it has nothing to do with the build but that is where some of the funds went.
$710 to work with. Getting down to the wire.
Camping in Anza Borrego
At this point I was tired of being hassled by Expo members about my NON OEM Toyota wheels so I started the search for some 17" FJC steel wheels. I found a set of 5 that I picked up for $120 (with tires) and sold the tires for $80 on craigslist, so the 5 wheels cost me $40. $670 left:Wow1:
This was a freak accident. Still not sure how it happened.
Fast forward to a week long Death Valley trip. We purchased an ARB tire repair kit, ARB snatch strap, Coleman 5 day cooler, and a TJM compressor. All of this was purchased by my dad for the trip (about $300 worth of gear)
Death Valley
After Death Valley I installed a new OEM Blue hub fan clutch, $130 and some 1.5" spacers to get my FJC wheels back out to where they belong, $100
Plasti dip on the hood
$440 in the bank:sombrero:
I forgot to mention that when I bought my Cruiser the guy included two extra tires, both brand new. I sold 5 of the tires for $550 and then immediatly bought YodaTEQ sliders for $750. $240 left in the bank.
Big Bear
Sliders
This is going to be unbelievable but I bought replacement tires for $50. Total. They are 35x12.5x17 KM2's with about half tread left. This is a long story and Ill get into it later.
I traded my wheels to a buddy of mine for his FJC alloys and sold them for $300 after deciding I wanted to stay with my steel wheels.
After all of this it puts me at positive ~$550 and I only have $300 left in the cruser fund so I must have spent some money on other things, as well as gas money to go camping. The money I have left is for a T-case skid made by CreeperSleeper on Mud, so that brings me to a grand total of...
$0 dollars left
I have future plans of purchasing a dual swing out from Sean Houston here in San Diego. There are a few pricing options but I am going for the primo model, coming in at a whopping $1,850. I feel very lucky to be getting this bumper, it is going to be a graduation present from my family. I have been going to night school while in the Marines and I am currently in my last class for my associates degree. I am the first in my family to persue higher education and they are very proud and supportive.
I hope this is helpful to some people out there. If you are smart and patient, you will be able to find great deals that you can build your rig with. You don't have to own the latest and greatest in gear and accessories to have fun. Start with a capable platform and go from there.
Jon
I just want to show everyone out there that you can build an etremely capable rig on a tight budget. I know there are more people out there like me that are young, married and right now on a single income-putting someone through school. That shouldnt stop you from being able to get out and enjoy our beautiful country.
This is a work in progress, and I will come through and edit as I remember more of what I have done and can remember exact prices. For now I will just round up on what I spent.
I also realize that not every build will like this and that I got pretty lucky with my initial purchase and the amount of maintanance that has gone in to my rig.
I started my build with $6,400 dollars in pocket, after selling my Tacoma.
Here is my Tacoma that I sold.
I had found a vehicle that I wanted to buy before my truck sold and I had been in contact with the seller. We settled on a price of $4,500 for a 97 FZJ 80, it had 191,xxx miles on the ticker. The truck was already lifted with OME J springs front and rear and was on 315 70 17 BFG AT's so I wasnt going to have to shell out for a lift and tires.
Here is my cruiser the day I bought it.
After buying a one way ticket to Sacramento from San Diego for $90 I was down to $1,810
Let's say I spent $300 in gas and $150 in registration fees, that puts me at a total of $1,360 dollars to start my build with.
Let me point out that at this time I had a very capable vehicle and could have gone a year or two with no major mods, but what's the fun in that? I wanted to make this thing mine, and obviously add some overland/offroad swagger.
the first thing I did was drain all fluids (besides the oil). I replace T-case and diffs with top of the line Lucas products, and filled the tranny with recommended fluid. I would say that this set me back about $150( to include a tube of FPIG that I used to seal the tranny pan that I pulled)
Now I am down to $1,210
At this point I pulled my running boards and they were in great shape! I sold them to a guy down here in SD for $100, so that puts me back at $1,310
From here is was sort of a whirlwind of ordering parts from CDan and Beno, and I can't remember exact prices. I also ordered a HD tie rod from Slee for $100, a Slee hi-lift mount with yakima feet for ~$80, a HD drag link from Bud Built for $100, all new OEM rod ends, valve cover gasket, spark plugs, plug boots, throttle body gasket, various light bulbs for the shift selector, ash tray, PFran reverse lights...Let's say I spent $400 give or take so now I am at
$910
At this time I was also enjoying having some extra cash in my pocket and being able to spoil my wife, and take her out. Ill be conservative and say I spent $200. I know it has nothing to do with the build but that is where some of the funds went.
$710 to work with. Getting down to the wire.
Camping in Anza Borrego
At this point I was tired of being hassled by Expo members about my NON OEM Toyota wheels so I started the search for some 17" FJC steel wheels. I found a set of 5 that I picked up for $120 (with tires) and sold the tires for $80 on craigslist, so the 5 wheels cost me $40. $670 left:Wow1:
This was a freak accident. Still not sure how it happened.
Fast forward to a week long Death Valley trip. We purchased an ARB tire repair kit, ARB snatch strap, Coleman 5 day cooler, and a TJM compressor. All of this was purchased by my dad for the trip (about $300 worth of gear)
Death Valley
After Death Valley I installed a new OEM Blue hub fan clutch, $130 and some 1.5" spacers to get my FJC wheels back out to where they belong, $100
Plasti dip on the hood
$440 in the bank:sombrero:
I forgot to mention that when I bought my Cruiser the guy included two extra tires, both brand new. I sold 5 of the tires for $550 and then immediatly bought YodaTEQ sliders for $750. $240 left in the bank.
Big Bear
Sliders
This is going to be unbelievable but I bought replacement tires for $50. Total. They are 35x12.5x17 KM2's with about half tread left. This is a long story and Ill get into it later.
I traded my wheels to a buddy of mine for his FJC alloys and sold them for $300 after deciding I wanted to stay with my steel wheels.
After all of this it puts me at positive ~$550 and I only have $300 left in the cruser fund so I must have spent some money on other things, as well as gas money to go camping. The money I have left is for a T-case skid made by CreeperSleeper on Mud, so that brings me to a grand total of...
$0 dollars left
I have future plans of purchasing a dual swing out from Sean Houston here in San Diego. There are a few pricing options but I am going for the primo model, coming in at a whopping $1,850. I feel very lucky to be getting this bumper, it is going to be a graduation present from my family. I have been going to night school while in the Marines and I am currently in my last class for my associates degree. I am the first in my family to persue higher education and they are very proud and supportive.
I hope this is helpful to some people out there. If you are smart and patient, you will be able to find great deals that you can build your rig with. You don't have to own the latest and greatest in gear and accessories to have fun. Start with a capable platform and go from there.
Jon
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