70 Series 2.4 - Deep end and about to jump

[Trevor]

I currently have a 120 LC4 and after some laning have turned my shiny into a slightly scratched and a bit bent motor. Mrs Trev is far from happy and I was looking for a dedicated alternative. A chap in my village has a 70 which he has owned for 8 years or so, to be fair it has been standing for a couple of years and it needs some work.

The chassis and running gear is still okay, front CV joints are weeping and 3 out of 4 brakes are binding, body work needs some major TLC and a new turbo but is being offered at sensible money.... sub £400.

I am tempted to buy as a 2 year project as I think this has great potential for laner and dedicated off road fun truck, I'm looking for a cheap or free barn/shed/workshop first to put it in but have some initial questions before I start spending.

1) The engine has had the head done, new glow plugs but needs a turbo, I'm thinking of replacing the turbo and selling the engine on as a fully working unit to subsidise a replacement Yota 3.0 diesel/Dihatsu/Lexus or Usuzi...any thoughts?

2) Is is possible to change the front and rear axles for an 80 to give me front and rear lockers instead of getting out and engaging the front freewheeling hubs?

3) Is it financially feasible to get a complete new body instead of patching the current one?

4) I'm looking to get disc braking all round instead of drums at the rear.

These are the initial questions but many to follow no doubt.

thanks

Trev

 

[Ben]

sounds good, and will be an interesting project if you do it.

will you be hoping to do most/all the work yourself?

1. putting a 3litre yota or lexus V8 in it would be nice.

2. i think you will need to get the 70 SVA tested with VOSA as im sure you will have to cut the old mounts off the chassis when fitting the new axles. this is hassle and extra expense, but is achievable.

might be worth giving Paul, at westcoast a call as i know he has fitted 80 axles to a few 70's.

surely you would still want manual free wheeling hubs on the front so as to have better fuel economy as the 70 is part time 4x4 where as the 80 is full time?

3. im not sure where youd get a complete body from. maybe that company in france makes fibre glass ones like they do for the 40 series?

4. if you use 80 axles you will have rear discs (i think?) if you stick with the 70 axles you can convert the rear to discs, or you could bolt on the discs, carriers, callipers etc. from a LJ78 as they have rear dicsc.

 

[Gav Peter]

Interesting thoughts Trev - were'nt you being offered an 80 last time though??

It is possible to fit 80 axles under a 70 - there was one in TOR magazine not so long ago; it then appeared on eBay. I spoke to Paul @ WC4x4 about it as he did the work & he said there's a lot of work involved...

(I see Ben is an early bird too... )

Basically not much to add to Ben's post

 

[Andrew Prince]

Sounds like a big project, Trev As a hobby, it's all possible but it will be a lot of work and a fair deal of £££. Certainly the cheapest part of the exercise is going to be buying the base vehicle. We don't know what your mechincal ability is - if you're a pro, then I imagine this kind of thing is a doddle, just needs some time. If you're relative novice, then this is a big job and you will almost certainly need specialist assistance on certain aspects.

My 2c on cost/effort required:
1) Is the turbo the only thing wrong with the engine? I wonder if you'll get your money back buying a working replacement turbo and selling the unit on You might be better off selling the engine for the block, head and IP. Regarding the replacement engine, I imagine a 3.0l KZ-T engine would be the simplest to fit. Conversions are notoriously difficult to get to a niggle-free condition - starting with a Toy engine would reduce this risk to some extent.

2) Yes, possible to swap in 80 axles - you'd be looking at £500-600 for the axles and ECUs. There'll be some mods required to get the axles fitted and then the lockers would need wiring in. Not a simple fit & bolt up job.

3) A new body will mean finding a solid donor vehicle. Very few 70s are rust-free these days (that are being broken). Doing the body swap is a big job too - the one positive is you can sort the replacement body while it's stripped and get it all A1 before fitting. Patching up the existing body will require pretty good welding skills to avoid the thing looking like Frankenstein's monster If appearances aren't important, then no big deal.

4) As mentioned, fitting 80 axles would solve the disc brake issue.

I can't help but think you'd be better off hanging onto your money and waiting for a 70 in better shape comes along and buying one that needs less work. Perhaps wait for a 3.0l KZ-T to come along.
I'm sure you'll still get ample opportunity to get your hands dirty working on whatever you buy I am not trying to discourage your ambitions here, just pointing out the challenges and raising some alternatives I guess what I'm saying is I know I could never manage a project like the one you're proposing Would be fun though, given the time, facilities/equipment and money to do it

 

[Graham]

It is possible to fit 80 axles under a 70 - there was one in TOR magazine not so long ago; it then appeared on eBay. I spoke to Paul @ WC4x4 about it as he did the work & he said there's a lot of work involved...

Basically not much to add to Ben's post

West Coast will do the 80 axles to the 70 series for you.
They done before,

Get a word to Chris before he puts his on 'bay

G.

 

[Chris]

Yep, got a complete 80 axle here with diff lock and wiring loom plus all the radius arms, LSV, brake pipes etc. Trying to get it on e-bay but they are telling they have a technical problem. So not on there yet!

Chris

 

[Birder]

My 2 cents worth:

The project has good and bad things about it

For: The fun you have doing all the modifications and being proud of a job well done
Against: Hours and Hours and Hours of graft, most in freezing cold weather or boiling hot.

For/Against: Away from the wife for hours (you decide which that is)

It will certainly cost more to modify and fix up a bad one than buy a good one or even one ready to go. The big difference will be the expense would come over a 2 years rather than all at once.

Spending a bit more would give you a 70 without a lot of the problems, spending even more may get you a real jem of a 3.0ltr, a fair bit more a 75 like mine, and a lot more a 79 with an anti-aircraft gun on the back

If your better half is anything like mine she would rather have one done and go laning than become a 70 widow.

On one other point, locking hubs have to be run locked at least 10 miles every month and leaving them locked is not a problem, I have tried mine locked and not and can find no difference in fuel or noise. I now only unlock mine if i am doing a long trip on tarmac.

Best of luck, but remember to take pictures and post your build so we can all say "Well done" or "Bet you wish you bought a good one!"

 

[wobbly]

Rather than go to the trouble of fitting 80 axles, you could buy a rear locking diff from a 70 and swap over, much simpler. I know that keeps you on drums, but if its running a 2.4 then you dont really need powerful brakes, in fact, rope with a brick on the end to throw out the window will probably do the job.....

I bought a brand new pattern CT20 turbo from a company in Southampton, recall it was £220, runs fine (for a 2.4). I worry about 2nd hand kit like that.

Keep the front locking hubs and run with them locked, no real disadvantage, although I reckon on a small difference in mpg.

Cheers

Pete

 

[rikm777]

might as well add my bit as well
1- all the lj70,s seem to have rust in the sills,rear arches and rear quarter panels.this place in germany does the repair panels at a good price
http://www.autoblechteile.de/
a lot seem to rust round the sunroof as well.just ditch the steel original sunroof and get an off the shelve after market one.every other panel is fairly easy to source second hand
2- if you look at one of my earlier threads you,ll see that an lj78 axle which has the toyota e locker and rear discs on it is totally different from a lj70 axle though you can modify your existing axle to take the e locker.i,ve recently done this and it works perfectly.wiring them up is simple
3-with regards to an engine swap a lot of people mention ditching the 2.4 for the kzt non ecu 3 litre diesel.sounds simple but try finding one!only the 300 odd kzj 70,s and a few toyota 4runners ever came with them.i,ve never seen one for sale and all the motors with them being sold as spares or repair are normally being sold because they,ve destroyed the engine.you might be lucky and find one
the lexus v8 is probably an easier swap but only from the point of being able to find the donor engine to start with.Factor in gearbox adaptor plate,custom exhaust,modification to bulkhead,mounts,sump and the hellish complicated wiring i came to a ball park figure of about £3500 if you done all the work yourself.although i must admit i ,m seriously considering this route myself

 

[nivapilot]

Couple of places on fleabay will sell you a 3.0ltr lump...I got one to replace my wrecked motor.

 

[wobbly]

Is that the 3.0 from the later Prado (95 onwards?)?

Pete

 

[Simon_LJ70]

Got to be said the 70 is still a very capable truck, and the beauty is it's simple to fix most things yourself, even a relative novice like me with some common sense and great help from sites like this and on line resources can get you a long way.

Was going to do the 3.0 upgrade but couldn't find a donor so am going the v8 lexus route in may. Not decided about axels yet but good luck if you go the 70 route

 

[Birder]

Not sure if its still there but 3.0ltrs come up if you wait and keep looking

http://cardiff.gumtree.com/cardiff/83/74352883.html

It took me several months to get my 75

 

[Red Oktober]

Not sure if its still there but 3.0ltrs come up if you wait and keep looking

http://cardiff.gumtree.com/cardiff/83/74352883.html

It took me several months to get my 75

I've rang several times and emailed on "piston heads" and on Gumtree about that one ..... never did get a reply from the owner on any of the sites ...so i gave up and got my 78,

 

[Trevor]

@ Gav, Yes the friend of a friend told me it was an 80 but something was lost in translation along the way as it really is a 70.

I had a really good chat with Chris which helped me to consolidate some thoughts on what I should be thinking about, turns out I "need" an 80 but alas can't afford it, so I have upped the budget a little bit and looking for a 7x Series that doesn't need quite as much work as this one. LWB or SWB seems to be the question now and 70, 71, 73, 75 or 78.

Not much around at the moment that I can find but the hunt continues.

I did email West Coast to get a ball park cost for shoehorning a Lexus V8 diesel in and await the reply with excitement and fear all at the same time.

 

[Birder]

IMHO you will certainly get an 80 cheaper than a 75 so i think you can cross that one off your list

 

[Rob]

I did email West Coast to get a ball park cost for shoehorning a Lexus V8 diesel in and await the reply with excitement and fear all at the same time.

Diesel? I think you meant to say "shoehorning Lexus V8 petrol"

 

[jeepmadmike]

I do like my 3.0 and it was a case of waiting to find one.....

As for buying and rebuilding unless your very good at it and have plenty of time save up and buy a goodn

 

[nivapilot]

That was the problem I had when mine went clatter, clatter....
I was half way through rebuilding daughters house, winter was approaching, and I would have had to strip, and rebuild, the motor in the front drive, with no protection. Just didn't fancy it.

I waited from late October when it went bang, until I had 12 days off in March. Just before the time off, I ordered another second hand unit from fleabay, and just cracked on and swapped it out.