LJ70 Build Thread!

[Red Oktober]

shame you have to work on a lesser vehicle to get yours done

sounds/looks like you're doing a similar job to what i did on the truck we had before our 78
check out the safety lifting the body off the chassis ....

 

[Annamarie]

he striped that thing all by himself, and put it back together again

so hes not afraid to try things on our 78 although i don't like all his ideas

 

[Ben]

thanks, what car was that Carl?

 

[Ben]

friday night i removed the fuel tank.

it came out quite easily. couldnt believe how big it is, i knew it was a 90litre tank, but it really is huge!

so yesterday work could finally start on the bodywork.

my 2 mates are helping me do this, as they know what there doing....................i hope.

so to start with they cut all the brackets off that held the fibre glass arches on. they then welded steel over all the holes on the off side front arch.

i then removed all the timber panelling from the back of my truck, followed by the rear lights and all the wiring.

they removed some of the paint and underseal to get down to bear metal.

blowtorch and old wood chisel worked best for this.

they marked where the new panel would come to, and then cut a section of rusty panel out.

no turning back now.

bit more for the scrap pile.

they then punched a load of holes in the new panel ready for spot welding.

before clamping and welding it in place.

the back of the panel needed a slight bit of fettling to make it fit perfectly.

one panel on.

just the gap between the new panel and body, inside the arch to fill now.

so they bent some steel to suite.

between making the lads cups of coffee, and getting in the way taking bloody photos.
i removed the rear trailing arms and panhard rod from the rear axle.

pics showing how badly elongated and enlarged the rear shock mount holes now are.

i then made some lunch. sausage and egg sandwiches.

rot all cut out and new metal going in.

i then put the arms, panhard rod and axle on a pallet and took them down to the pressure washer and gave them a good blast of hot water, to try and remove as much oil, rust and shit as possible, ready for painting.

bushes look knackered, so will need replacing.

im actually thinking of making new arms front and back and using rose joints on the end that attaches to the chassis, as that should give me better articulation, as im sure the bushes must currently bind up when its articulating.

back to the bodywork and the lads were busy welding away.

looking good.

i then gave it a quick coat of spray to stop it rusting, until it gets painted which will probably be a few weeks.

axle on stands, ready for my angle grinder with wire brush fitted to remove all the rust.

so that was yesterday.

the lads will be back next saturday hopefully to weld the other side.
then theres a shed load of work to do with filler and paint to get it looking perfect.

 

[AndyCook]

a good days work - a lot done! good on the mates helping

 

[John_McCartney]

Also a useful guide to what I'm going to have to do before long - thanks!

 

[Simon_LJ70]

Great update Ben, looks like new at the back now, are you going replace the arches or leave off?

I filled the new panels I put on at the back with as thick a coating of waxoyl as possible so hopefully the rust bug wont come back!

 

[ModelMakerMan]

Looks like a good days work there. Where did you get the replacement panels from?

Its looking like mine will need some of the same treatment soon though I already addressed the rear sections which only had a couple of holes by cutting them off and welding them shut higher up. Yesterday I dug a load of rusty metal flakes and mud out of the sills below the B-pillar on both sides, I now have decent sized holes and the return on the arches lost a load of metal too yesterday.

I think the main problem with the rear arches is the return. Why Toyota decided it would be a good idea to make it a U-section is beyond me because all it does is fill up with crap and fester until it rots away. Luckily I for me I dont think rot in the arches has gone any further than the return so Im thinking I might just cut the return right back so there is only a 5-10mm flange instead of a U-section then cover the whole lot in under seal.

Speaking of underseal does anyone know what it is that was originally used on the arches? It doesnt look like normal stonechip.

 

[Chas]

Great write-up Ben, very handy mates you got there, it's going to look the dogs when it's all done and dusted

 

[Annamarie]

thanks, what car was that Carl?

that was our old frontera, Carl stripped it, ... did some mods to it .. then put it back together

 

[Ben]

thanks guys.

fibre glass arches are staying off!

with the wheels and spacers ive currently got, the tyres were miles inside the body, so when in deep ruts, the arches were hitting the banks, rather than the tyre, resulting in damage.

with the arches off the tyres fit nicely slightly outside of the bodywork, which is where i want them.

i think i will be loosing the spacers soon and buying some new 16"wheels with the correct amount of negative off set.

panels were from Germany. the only place i have managed to find doing replacement panels for cruisers.
although i did recently read on another forum, i think it was i hatemud, that theres some one selling them on German ebay, and they worked out cheaper than mine, so that might be an
option.

heres where there from:-

http://www.autoblechteile.de/index.php? ... a8f18aa932

 

[jeepmadmike]

Looking good, why are getting someone else to do it Ben u usually appear to be quite handy with metal even though your a wood butcher usually

Reminds me of my CJ I rebuilt years ago

Some of the holes I found under pud and patches

 

[wobbly]

Spyware Doctor pi$$ed itself when I clicked the link, anyone else had a problem or is it just my settings?

Pete

 

[jeepmadmike]

Works on my iPad Pete

 

[Ben]

did a bit more today, but work has been slow due to drinking copious amounts of beer last night.

so first i dragged the axle outside and put it on axle stands.

then using my a wire brush in the grinder i got as much rust off as i could.

i then some how managed to lift the axle up, carry it into the workshop and lift it on to the bench on my own. anyones whos felt the weight of these 70 axles will know how difficult it was!

next i set about repairing the damaged shock mount holes.

first i welded a big thick washer, which had got a 14mm centre hole, which is a nice tight fit on the shock pin, over the existing elongated holes.

i then cut and bent some 3mm steel and plated over the side which had got a couple of small rust holes.

before linishing it all down with a flap disc in the grinder.

i then gave the axle a good coat of paint.

cant even tell now that ive done any welding.

the other work i did was underneath the truck. i used an old chisel to scrape off any spots of rust, before then giving them a good coat of crust, rust killer.

tomorrow after work im hoping to get the underneath all painted up with underseal. i then want to give all the hollow sections of chassis and body a good coat of waxoil.

i wont be using waxoil on anything but inside hollow sections as the damm stuff never sets, and its a bastard to get off your hands, after youve got covered in it working on the truck.

i wont be making that mistake again.

helped Mitch do a bit of work on his truck today as well, ready for a laning trip were going on to the lakes next weekend.

managed to straighten his bent bash plate, with the use of the bobcat, followed by blow torch and sledge hammer.

 

[Ben]

Looking good, why are getting someone else to do it Ben u usually appear to be quite handy with metal even though your a wood butcher usually

Reminds me of my CJ I rebuilt years ago

Some of the holes I found under pud and patches

wow that cj is in a bad way.

you going to post an after pic, to show us all what you did with it?

because ive not done a huge amount of bodywork before, and certainly not done anything like welding in new panels. ive also never spray painted properly in a spray booth with a big compressor.
where as my mate used to have his own bodyshop and has worked on a lot of luxury cars. ive seen his work before and he is very good at this sort of thing, and he very kindly offered to help me.

ive invested £200 in panels, and £150 in paint and materials, and i really wouldnt want to try it all myself and mess it up.

i also want a good finish for the magazine photo shoot which will be happening in the near future.

 

[wobbly]

That is the after pic

Some top work going into that cruiser!

Pete

 

[Red Oktober]

Looking good Ben .. yep i know axles are a tad on the weighty side

 

[jeepmadmike]

More of my CJ

I butt welded all of the repair sections so there is no nasty overlap joints to breed tin worm

Had to make panels (no internet and only useless UK suppliers in 1996)

The reassembly

 

[karl webster]

The progress is looking good ben. Your doing well mate