My 80

[Gary820]

Thought i'd post a few pics of my 80.
It's a '97 4.5 vx auto, got the usual refinements of leather, a/c etc. It's now done 73k miles and bought it with full service history and was used as second car, came with a stack of reciepts. Spent about 6 months looking at various other 80's and this one ticked most boxes on the wish list.
It has a few little marks here and there but it's not brand new after all.
Started to degrease and clean the underside ready for painting the chassis etc.
It's a bit thirsty but didn't buy it for the mpg, no worse then a 3.1 diesel trooper I used to have and sounds so much better

came with the stickers on the back, just not got round to removing them

only has slight wear to the seat, cushion was starting to go a bit when I got it so had the cover off and re padded the outer part to try stop any damage.

First thing I did was bin the factory stereo and fitted a JVC DAB unit, changed all the speakers and put a proper amp in the back and a sub not made of newspaper.

It does have to earn it's keep now and again and do a few dirty jobs

Third row seats came in the boot not fitted as has a plastic load liner, they look like they've never been used and now live in the garage.

I've got a Pedders suspension kit in the garage ready to go on and some new boots, before they get fitted the chassis is getting a fresh coat of paint and the front swivel seals need sorting, will do all the seals while in there and if it needs anything else like bearings etc.

Thanks for looking.

 

[clivehorridge]

It's lovely Gary, keep it shiny!

 

[chadr]

That does look very nice !

 

[Gary820]

Thanks.
The only thing that really bugs me is where the 'A' bar has brackets going to the front panel, one side has rubbed on the bonnet and caused the leading edge to rust. Going to get the body shop at work to sort it, can't really see it for the bar but it bugs me lol, was a haggling point when bought it.

 

[Gary820]

Had the 80 on the ramp at work today, got the rear bumper and ally step off, took the spare wheel hanger off from the chassis and gave everything a good clean with a wire wheel, noticed the nsr bumpstop has lost its rubber part so removed both sides and will fit some new ones. Was quite pleased that every bolt came undone without any hassle.
going to be re painting the full chassis but doing in sections starting at the back rather then attempting it in one go! Axles and suspension will be next to do. base coat is grey so I can see where ive painted with the black top coat.
only took a few pics as my phone was in my tool box at the opposite end of workshop.



Got it all cleaned up upto the trailing arm mounts on both sides and underneath, any crusty bits cleaned up nicely to clean metal (not used to that with previous motors) around where the spare wheel hanger bolts to the chassis was the worst part but does look like a dirt trap so glad took it off.


After spraying the rust treatment stuff on (por-15) and washing off as per instructions I went for a drive to dry the underside off then back on the ramp and wheels off, applied a couple of coats of the rust preventitive paint which btw doesnt wash off your arm when you didn't notice it drip on


Looking better already underneath and worth the effort to keep it tidy.

Figured whilst at work and waiting for paint to dry i'd see how well the new boots fit
Fit in there quite well for stock ride height


Don't stick out too far either






will fit a lot better when this is fitted

 

[Gary820]

Got on with some more painting this afternoon, chassis is now done upto the front suspension arm mounts, need front wheels and bumper off to get in properly.

Rear end...




Got the spare wheel hanger, brackets that mount it to the chassis and the bar that bolts to the rear cross member painted and ready to refit.. (excuse the messy garage)

Even though i'm fitting the 35's i'll have the stock wheels so they can go on if we're doing a long trip that's road only, save wear to the mt's and fuel
I was going to paint the rear axle but i'll do it at work on the ramp rather then laying on the floor and getting covered in paint!
only had one bolt snap which had to be drilled out, all bolts removed for bumper etc are getting replaced with new, will be the same up front.

 

[yogi]

lovely truck!

 

[Gary820]

Got rear bumper and spare wheel hanger back on, fitted 2 new rear bumpstops (one was perished so it's getting all 4), all bolts have been replaced with nice shiny new ones, need to get some more as used 30 this eve!

I'm allowed a day over the upcoming bank hol so will get The front end all painted and hopefully the axles done.
Soon as thats done its lift time

 

[Gary820]

Been busy recently on the 80, renting a small unit now so I can do majority of jobs in there (ramp at work is great but can't leave it in bits if need to)

Finished painting the chassis and axles etc then gave it a coat of shuntz, has taken me ages to do but worth the effort.....
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Been on with sorting the boot out, originally made a box for the Isuzu, steel frame and ally panels,
which looked like this


I'm mounting the spare in the boot so I thought about making a drawer system, the box had a hinged lid so not much fun lifting the spare out when need to be in there!
instead I decided to keep the top hinged but also hinge the front panel, keep certain items where they're easy to get to, I've made the frame a bit stronger so it'll take the weight of the spare, used ply board for the 2 lids and need to re fit the ally panels so looks nice again.




Got the guard between the boot and passenger compartment fitted too, got it from work from an X5, just had to fab some brackets.

Today I fitted the Pedders kit





It drives nice still and doesn't feel like a boat, still on stock wheels/tyres as got the front axle seals to do tomorrow and they're lighter lol.
Took various measurements before and after, kit has given me 90mm lift over what came off ( did have a snapped front spring) and sits bang on the quoted height given by Pedders

 

[Gav Peter]

Coming along nicely Gary

 

[karl webster]

Looking good.

What size lift is it?

 

[Gary820]

Looking good.

What size lift is it?

Pedders quote a lifted height, 800mm rear and 790 front, supposed to be about 2 inches over stock but mine measures a 90mm lift over what I had.
They're bang on with the height too ;-)

 

[Red Oktober]

Looks great Gary ..

can't wait to get mine lifted ..

 

[Neil Stone]

Looking good fella !!!
Gary, what paints have you used on the chassis mate?

Anyone used any two pack epoxy primers???

 

[Pedders01]

Pedders quote a lifted height, 800mm rear and 790 front, supposed to be about 2 inches over stock but mine measures a 90mm lift over what I had.
They're bang on with the height too ;-)

Looking great!

Good to see the kit finally going on.

The above figures and the 90mm lift is the reason that we quote fitted ride heights and not lift amounts.

Just need some bigger tyres now

Regards

Michael @ Pedders

 

[Gary820]

Looking good fella !!!
Gary, what paints have you used on the chassis mate?

Anyone used any two pack epoxy primers???

I used por-15 products, spent quite a few hours making sure everything was clean and dry, did it in sections rather then trying to paint it all in one go!

 

[Gary820]

Looking great!

Good to see the kit finally going on.

The above figures and the 90mm lift is the reason that we quote fitted ride heights and not lift amounts.

Just need some bigger tyres now

Regards

Michael @ Pedders

The figures are bang on and it rides well too. A big plus all the shiny red bits look good against the shiny black lol.
I think I'm going to extend the roll bar from the chassis a bit, or remove them completely.

Got 35's already ;-)

Was a pleasure to deal with you guys, thanks again.

 

[clivehorridge]

I love 80's when they've been lifted. They drive well and perform in the most difficult situations with no bad side effects.

You make me feel guilty now with all that shiny paint and under-seal underneath!!

Well done Gary!

 

[AndyCook]

wow - you could eat your dinner off that chassis now!
looking smart

 

[Gary820]

Thanks for the comments


I've been on with a little bit more with the 80, I've got the storage box finished in the boot, will see how I get on with it and if it's not working i'll make a drawer unit, it's cost me about £10 to convert it to how it is now so worth a go, spare gets ratchet strapped down on top and can hardly been seen in the rear view mirror. ( the spare is actually an A/T of matching size not a M/T but it's off the rim at the mo)




It leaves some boot space and I used the plastic tray it came with but cut the sides off, the box has always had plenty space for my needs and hopefully i'll need less spares then before!

I've made a start on the winch mount, will be behind the stock bumper.
Started off with a mount from Winch-it and got it bolted up to the chassis, i'll be cutting the front of the mount off to extend it so the fairlead lines up with the bumper, mount needs a bit of trimming still.
I think i'll cut a bit out on top of the bumper so the winch rope can be seen and the freespool lever might end up back up top (it's at the front from previous fitment) the 'A' bar should distract the eye from the hole in the top of the bumper.




I've had to repair the front bumper as it's picked up a dent in a car park (big hammer employed to knock it out) and had a scrape on the corner when I bought it so will be doing that while the paint is out.

Given the rims a fresh coat of paint, left them matt black but not sure yet so will get them on and see if the wife approves