LJ70 Build Thread!

[Trevor]

Nice write up Ben, all I can say is.........drool. Looking forward to the trip report, especially after this latest lot of repairs and mods.

 

[Ben]

Thanks Trev.

I'm looking forward to seeing pics of Lil Blue back in action.

 

[TonyS]

Hi Ben, brilliant, looks like each month just gets better and better for you.

 

[Ben]

Thanks Tony.

Life is really really really good right now.

Feel ridiculously happy!

 

[Paddler Ed]

Whats pink slip Ed?

All shall be revealed...

Pink slip is what Brits call a logbook or V5 I believe .

I looked it up on google and it wasn't what I expected at all http://www.divineme.co.uk/pink-sati...rie-set.html?gclid=CIzxxf70u7gCFa7JtAodRFsAHg

MOT slip, Pink slip I know which one I would rather have, not to wear you understand, Oh no, none of that nancy boy stuff here.

NSW term for an MoT, IIRC.

Correct! Not always as strict though... but can be... also can be very dodgy... phone worthy's exist... "does it have windows?" "yes" OK it's passed...

Its only nancy boy to other people....

So what'd it fail the test on?

Amazingly, given what I thought it might fail on, a broken exhaust bracket... I was suspecting a CV boot and possibly the rack as well. Tyres are a bit ropey as well, but have legal tread. It went through at the local TJM dealer, who doesn't do much in terms of mechanical repairs, so that's good

NSW has:
Pink Slip - RWC (MOT) for a vehicle that is currently registered in NSW; annual inspection, has to be done within 6 weeks of when you're rego is due.
Blue Slip - RWC + Number (engine, chassis, body) check for vehicle that has been unregistered for 6 weeks or more, or interstate
Green Slip - CTP Compulsory Third Party insurance (only covers person, not property; Ben's IIRC is included in his registration stuff)
Canary - Defect notice... which could be for Ben's tyres as they're more than 2" over the stock diameter.

I've found the answers amusing... I forgot that this doesn't have a lot of Aussies in here...

 

[Ben]

All shall be revealed...









Correct! Not always as strict though... but can be... also can be very dodgy... phone worthy's exist... "does it have windows?" "yes" OK it's passed...



Amazingly, given what I thought it might fail on, a broken exhaust bracket... I was suspecting a CV boot and possibly the rack as well. Tyres are a bit ropey as well, but have legal tread. It went through at the local TJM dealer, who doesn't do much in terms of mechanical repairs, so that's good

NSW has:
Pink Slip - RWC (MOT) for a vehicle that is currently registered in NSW; annual inspection, has to be done within 6 weeks of when you're rego is due.
Blue Slip - RWC + Number (engine, chassis, body) check for vehicle that has been unregistered for 6 weeks or more, or interstate
Green Slip - CTP Compulsory Third Party insurance (only covers person, not property; Ben's IIRC is included in his registration stuff)
Canary - Defect notice... which could be for Ben's tyres as they're more than 2" over the stock diameter.

I've found the answers amusing... I forgot that this doesn't have a lot of Aussies in here...

My 37" tyres are only slightly bigger than standard!

You mention rego above. For people wondering what that is thats basically road tax and needs paying once a year the same as the UK.

Not cheap though in Victoria.

Had to pay the rego on the Astra last week $660 (£396)! But as Ed mentioned above that includes 3rd party injury insurance, and normal insurance isnt a legal requirement.

Oh and in Victoria (the state I'm in) so long as the rego keeps getting renewed then there is no yearly inspection/mot style test.

So in theory I can own a car and so long as I keep paying each year the car will never ever get inspected!

 

[sae70]

Hi-ya Ben Looks like your having enough fun for a dozen people there

Hope you get to use your new winch install

I'm sure that you've used a momentary switch for the winch mounted control, but you could find yourself in a situation where the front end is buried in the brush and something is pushing the switch over. I'm sure that toll find a way to overcome this, maybe a little flip over switch guard made out of a Yorkshire pudding tin or something

 

[Ben]

Thanks Steven.

Got to use the new winch today.

Update to follow.

Interesting thought about the switch on the front bumper, I hadn't considered that.

Might have to fit a missile switch cover. You know the red flip up ones.

I'm also going to fit a switch on the dash to isolate the winch when its not in use, so if for example I hit a branch etc. and it knocks the switch on the bumper then the winch wont winch in/winch out.

I'm thinking of having it so it switches the earth wire going from the winch motor to the solenoid, as without that earth wire connected the winch wont work.

 

[Ben]

OK guys update time.

First job was to get the 35"s off and fit the 37"s ready for next weekends extreme trip.



The 35"s are looking pretty worn now, but there ok for road use. I'm looking at replacing these and I was thinking of getting a set of Mickey T's but talking to Michael who runs a set on his 80 series. They dont actually measure 35" there smaller.

So I'm now thinking of maybe getting 35" BFG muddies.





Now you may remember my last trip out where I popped the beads on one of the 37"s and got crap between the rim and the tyre...............

Well I put the wheel on LJ and soon realized it was flat.

So I needed to pop the tyre beads so I could jet wash all the crap out. So I put the highlift with the adapter on into the front bumper and tried breaking the bead that way but it just lifted the whole front end of LJ up until I had a wheel off the floor.

So Michael suggested we go to his factory and do it there. We found with the jack under the back of his truck we were able to finally break the bead.



We cleaned the tyre and wheel and managed to put enough air into it re-seat the tyre beads. I put it back on LJ and by this morning it still hadnt gone down.



Fist job this morning was to seal around the windscreen as when it rains water was getting in and dripping on my foot. This has all been since the new screen went in. I did try telling the bloke who fitted the screen that the FSM says to seal around the screen but he said its not necessary.





Found it really hard to squeeze out of the tube, so soaked the tube in boiling water which helped a bit.



The next job was fitting a new fuel filter.



The old filter had had hundreds of litres of veg oil through it, but it still looked really clean inside.

I said to Michael we could do with taking the truck for a spin to make sure everything is OK. 10mins later we were off road.





Things soon got more challenging and front wheels were soon airborne.







As I havnt got the front locker re-fitted yet I struggled with this section so in the end reversed and took the easier line.

Michael took me to a more extreme bit and soon winching became inevitable.



I got my tree strop out of the back of the truck and ran on ahead to the nearest tree.



Only to discover my little pommy tree strop was no match for the huge Australian gum tree. So ended up having to run back down and get a longer one.

Thats better.











The winch worked faultlessly and pulled LJ up the slope effortlessly.

The switch on the dash worked perfectly.









We came home and on the way I told Michael how gutless LJ now feels with the bigger tyres and with the intercooler removed.

So he said I can fix that, lets wind the fuel pump up.

Michael worked at a diesel fuel pump and injector place for a few years so hes pretty clued up with how to mess with fuel pumps.



He removed the throttle cable.



And then this bolt.





The actual bit that needs adjusting on the 1KZ-T manual fuel pump.



The nut gets undone slightly and the screw gets wound in. On the pic below the bolt sticking out with the small hole through it is the bit that needs winding in.

We went 180 degrees.



We fired LJ up and with the throttle to the floor there is now a noticeable puff off black smoke.





We took it for a spin........................

Wow what a difference! The thing bloody flys now!

Wish I'd done it years ago.

Really need to get a pyro/EGT gauge fitted now so I can keep an eye on how much stress the engine is under.

I know sometimes Michael has his 80 up to 850 degrees when flat out in 3rd low fully locked trying to get up a certain section of track. Even on the road at 110/120kmh he some times has to back off as the exhaust gas temps are getting too high and he doesn't want to melt anything.

I realized as I had forgotten to clip my mudflaps up out of the way when we went off road, I destroyed one of them.





Obviously that needs fixing before the weekends trip to hopefully avoid getting any attention from the boys in blue. So I needed to get the area cleaned. Que Michael and his van.





LJ cleaned and put back in the garage ready for me to replace the mudflap.



So this Friday I'm off for a few days 4wding and camping in the High Country.

Fingers crossed the winter weather isnt too cold. If it looks like rain is likely I will be taking the pig and big tarp, UK laning/wild camping style!
Be interesting to see what the Aussies make of the setup we always use on the UK trips in bad weather.

 

[Leopard]

Great update, Ben! Looks like you've had a fun week! Thanks for taking the time to share!

 

[Ben]

Thanks mate.

Big River trip report will be the next big update.

 

[Paddler Ed]

So this Friday I'm off for a few days 4wding and camping in the High Country.

Fingers crossed the winter weather isnt too cold. If it looks like rain is likely I will be taking the pig and big tarp, UK laning/wild camping style!
Be interesting to see what the Aussies make of the setup we always use on the UK trips in bad weather.

We tarp and swag most of the time (unless we've forgotten to put the tarp up before drinking...) as that's quite warm.

When we went so see our friends at the weekend we ended up with a box of stuff that we'd left there in 2012, including 2 gas stoves and 3m x 3.5m tarp. That now means we have 2x tarps that size again, plus a load of rope... all we need now are some poles (KMart here we come) so that we can set it up with an apex. It's likely that we'll use 2 poles most of the time, but if we get the other poles that we had as well we'll run 4 or 6 in total and have a more of a roof.

Running a tarp over the top does make a difference, as does a thick mat to sleep on, when it's cold. I use an Exped XLW10 mat which is 100mm or so thick, and has an r-rating of 9.5 (out of 10) www.exped.com/exped/web/exped_homepage_int.nsf

Thicker the mat, the better; airbeds aren't good because the air gets cold... and therefore so do you!

Looks like the snow is pretty good up there as well at the moment; I've got friends in Thredbo and Perisher who have been enjoying the snow this last weekend (50cm dump in one night)

 

[Ben]

The tarp I use is a really thick one and is 6meters x 6meters.

We string that over/between 4 LandCruisers and then I've got a telescopic pole in the middle that extends to 3.6meters.

We then set the Brit Pig up in the middle and can all sit around drinking beer till the early hours warm and dry.

After the High Country trip this weekend we've got 2 snow trips planned for August. One with Dandenong Ranges 4wd club and one with the Suzuki club.

I'm currently trying to organize a trip back to Bindaree (the private property where they used to hold comp/challenges). I'm planning on spending an entire day winching and waffling my way from the bottom of the dry creek all the way to the top.

Its like Tony's new rock section at Lincomb but with bigger boulders, loads of trees, a steep incline and about 2k's long.

 

[Chas]

Its like Tony's new rock section at Lincomb but with bigger boulders, loads of trees, a steep incline and about 2k's long.

 

[Ben]

Its going to be awesome!

I just need to pray the winch keeps working and nothing fails on LJ because no one would be able to get a truck to me easily to recover me.

Going to be the most extreme 2k I've ever driven!

 

[Chas]

I will not go anywhere now on my own after an accident I had at Lincomb, I was trundling around the farm area on a hunt for punches, I thought if I get stuck someone will be by very soon. when I did get stuck in a mud hole, no problem I thought I'll winch to that big tree away in front of me, got out a tree strop from the back and in doing so slipped on the muddy bank and fell full length backwards hitting my bum on the receiver hitch and then into the muddy water with my head under the water, laid there in agony holding my head clear of the water until the pain in my bum subsided and then climbed out and pulled out the winch line to it's maximum, bu**er, too short. Nobody answering the CB so got my mobile out bu**er again, no signal, walked painfully along the track until I got a signal and called Ian Rubie who came to my rescue. Cursed myself later when I realised I could have gone back to the truck to get a longer strop to extend the winchline and reach that tree. Now if when I fell I had hit my head and was unconscious in that water I wouldn't be writing this now.
So it could be an incident out of the truck, not just getting stuck.

So now never on my own.

 

[clivehorridge]

Great write up Ben, waiting for the next installment already!

So now never on my own.

Wise words Chas. I do a lot of offroad on my own and you have to take great care doing the simplest of things, just in case. I go in an area that I know is covered by at least one or the other of the mobile phones I carry, but they're not a lot of use if you're unconscious.

 

[Ben]

Thanks guys.

Chas, you were lucky. Your story Shows how quickly things can go wrong.

I was a bit worried about going off road the other day, as me and Michael were both in LJ in with no other 4wd. I hate to think what would have happened if I had been on my own that fateful day in Wales when I went off the side of that mountain and LJ ended up on her roof.

I was really thankful and lucky to have such a great bunch of mates with me!

Anyway back to the extreme creek drive...................

There will be other people there when I do this challenging drive, its just they wont be able to get another vehicle anywhere near me to winch LJ up/out if I have mechanical issues.

The creek cuts up and through the hill twisting and turning as it goes.

 

[Chas]

Good luck with the trip ben, I'll have everything crossed for you.

 

[Ben]

Thanks dude.