Toyota Land Cruiser Axle Upgrade - Purebred

The frame was modified to accept hardware for an FJ80 steering box. These boxes use a forward-facing pitman arm (like a Scout) and mount outside of the frame for additional clearance between suspension components.

Making a vehicle that goes down the road straight is often more difficult than making a pure rockcrawler. The delicate balance between ride height, oil-pan clearance, pinion angle, and caster must be found. For this reason, all brackets were tack-welded to the housing to make measurements before final welding.

80 Series Land Cruisers use a high-pinion third member and place the tie rod behind the axle. Slee's use of the larger, low-pinion third member necessitated placing the tie rod in front of the axle using Slee high-steer arms.

The knuckles on the Diamond housing were pressed into the housing but not welded. This allows the caster angle to be set by the customer - in this case, by using the world's largest pipe wrench.

The interior was completely removed for the addition of a full rollcage that ties in to the factory dash bar. The luxury interior was then reinstalled once the 'cage was completed.

Just how big is this Land Cruiser? It is easily a foot taller than the Land Cruiser on the right, which has a 2-inch Old Man Emu lift and sits on 33-inch-tall tires for comparison.

Once completed, Christo Slee drove the Land Cruiser from Denver to Moab for the TLCA's annual Cruise Moab event. The solid-axle Land Cruiser performed flawlessly on the road and the trail.

Hell's Gate is the kind of obstacle that can definitely get your attention. All the driver can usually see is blue sky and hood, but that did not deter Slee Off-Road's Ben Swain from piloting the 100 Series up the obstacle.

The 106-inch wheelbase of the UZJ100 makes it stable on the steep climbs found throughout Moab, while the 39-inch BFGoodrich Krawlers stick to the rocks like glue.