LJ70 Build Thread!

[Birder]

Drive it to Oz, hell of a road trip.

 

[Ben]

well what a complete f*****g nighmare today turned into!

the quote said the exhaust would take 2-3hours at most. so i didnt take any lunch with me, and was expecting to be out of there by 12am, as i was in there at 8.45am.

i was then going to grab some lunch, and then head to silverline to get my wheels.

got out of the the exhaust place finally at 5.15pm! really not f*****g happy!

the chap behind the reception said some of the mechanics had called in sick, and thats why they were struggling to get the jobs done on time.

they also wanted to charge me an extra £135 for 2 flanges and a flexy piece for the down pipe.

they said i had to have a flexy in the down pipe, or the system would crack. but there price of £140 for the down pipe didnt include a flexy apparently.

he then tried fobbing me off saying that they normally use the old flexy off the exhaust if its good, or charge the customer for a new one.

so he wanted to charge me £85 for the flexy, then another £50 for a couple of flanges each side of the silencer.

i argued with him and said i wasnt happy at being made to wait 8.5 hours when i was expecting to be out in 3 at the most, then you want another £135.

in the end i got him to drop some off the price but not as much as id have liked.

i remembered today why i bloody loath taking my car anywhere near garages and mechanics. they seem to just be a licence to print money and seem to constantly get away with ripping people off!

i certainly wont be recommending mij performance of walsall to any one, and would urge people not to use them the service is awful!

the stainless exhaust is the one thing i couldnt do on the truck myself. i look forward to the day when ive got a TIG welder and a decent bender, then i really wont need to use garages ever again, apart from tyres, and that never seems to be too stressful.

so obviously didnt get to pick up the new wheels today, and by the time i got out of the exhaust place i was starving, having not eaten since 7am.

anyway...............i feel better for getting that off my chest!

so back to the exhaust, the lads who built it havnt done a bad job by the looks of it, although the pipe isnt quite centred in the hole of the bumper, so this is some thing im going to have to sort out.

driving home there is a noticeable gain in performance and it feels a lot smoother and responsive, its also knocked 6 second off my 0-60mph time.

want to get my intercooler piped up next.

obviously my idea of driving to silverline and getting my tyres fitted has now gone out the window, so going to order them tomorrow and get them delivered, then get my mate to take all my wheels and tyres and get them swapped over for me.

that should be it then for big expensive stuff on my truck for a while. all the other stuff ive got planned wont be hugely expensive, and most of it i will be making myself.

 

[Beau]

driving home there is a noticeable gain in performance and it feels a lot smoother and responsive, its also knocked 6 second off my 0-60mph time.

6 seconds, thats quite a bit, What is the actual time then 0-60?

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Seeing how simple the layout is it's hard to see how they took so long! I always take other peoples time estimates with a pinch of salt but they really set a new standard there

 

[Ben]

there was 4 of them working on it aswel.

im really not happy with how today has gone.

oh well time for a beer. bscene-drinkingcheers:

 

[Ben]

driving home there is a noticeable gain in performance and it feels a lot smoother and responsive, its also knocked 6 second off my 0-60mph time.

6 seconds, thats quite a bit, What is the actual time then 0-60?

16 seconds.

im not sure how that compares to some of the big 4+ litre engines some of your cruisers have got in them, but compared to how my truck used to be with its 2.4litre engine and 35" tyres, its a huge improvement.

intercooler next, and possibly a K&N if i can find one for less than the £50 there currently selling for.

not sure i want to tune the engine much, as such, as it had done 180,000 miles when i got it, so i really dont want to put too much stress on it.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

I think we can conclude you were right about the old exhaust being a bit restrictive then

 

[Ben]

yes John, i think so. although i had made it with pieces of 2.5" pipe, as it was all pieces of pipe welded together, on some of the tight bends, it must have been down to an inch or so in places internally.

the new exhaust is all made with mandrel bends, which should be better.

i had another look when i got home, and im slightly concerned with clearance where it comes over the chassis rail right at the very back, before it goes through the bumper.

looks like theres a very slight possibility of the tyre hitting the exhaust on full articulation.

going to put a plank up my garden wall tomorrow (when my dads at work ) and reverse the car up so that the passenger side rear wheel is sat on the wall which is about a meter high. should be able to see then if the tyre is in any danger of hitting the exhaust.

 

[Beau]

driving home there is a noticeable gain in performance and it feels a lot smoother and responsive, its also knocked 6 second off my 0-60mph time.

6 seconds, thats quite a bit, What is the actual time then 0-60?

16 seconds.

im not sure how that compares to some of the big 4+ litre engines some of your cruisers have got in them, but compared to how my truck used to be with its 2.4litre engine and 35" tyres, its a huge improvement.

intercooler next, and possibly a K&N if i can find one for less than the £50 there currently selling for.

not sure i want to tune the engine much, as such, as it had done 180,000 miles when i got it, so i really dont want to put too much stress on it.

If you want to get a bit more power out of it, tweak the injection Pump. I did the same on my colorado. There is a cap over the adjustment which is above the spill control valve which is on the top back of the pump. You will need to undo the top nut, and then screw IN (CLOCKWISE) the hexagonal bit (about half - 3/4 TURN a turn should do) and then screw back on the top nut. This will send a bit more fuel in and really does make a big difference, thats if your not worried about fuel economy, and emissions. An inter cooler on these also make a big difference, as these 1kzte engines run at quite a high temp, and by fitting a intercooler you will lower the risk of possible head/gasket faulure when the engine is under load.

 

[wobbly]

You are overlooking one other option....

Why not drive it there (ok, not the watery bits...).

Think what an adventure it would be, and justifies the insurance cost.

Pete

 

[Ben]

If you want to get a bit more power out of it, tweak the injection Pump. I did the same on my colorado. There is a cap over the adjustment which is above the spill control valve which is on the top back of the pump. You will need to undo the top nut, and then screw IN (CLOCKWISE) the hexagonal bit (about half - 3/4 TURN a turn should do) and then screw back on the top nut. This will send a bit more fuel in and really does make a big difference, thats if your not worried about fuel economy, and emissions. An inter cooler on these also make a big difference, as these 1kzte engines run at quite a high temp, and by fitting a intercooler you will lower the risk of possible head/gasket faulure when the engine is under load.



thanks Beau, i will have a look tomorrow.

You are overlooking one other option....

Why not drive it there (ok, not the watery bits...).

Think what an adventure it would be, and justifies the insurance cost.

Pete

would be an adventure, thats for sure Pete.

but i wouldnt want to do a trip like that on my own, and have no one i could take with me, i also hate camping in cold countries. and i need a container anyway to get all my other stuff over there, ive got a huge amount of tools i want to take with me, which i will need when i get there to work. so i think a container is the most sensible option.

would be cool to drive there though.

 

[Ben]

planning on joining some 4x4 clubs when i get over there, then hitting the trails.

Victorian high country wont be more than a few hours drive away from where i will be living, so will be ideal for weekends away camping and driving.

http://www.4wdaction.com.au/articles/20 ... playground

 

[Ben]

back to the exhaust.

this is the clearance issue that i was slightly concerned about.

wanted to use the garden wall at the front of the house, but couldnt get the angle right, to drive the back wheel up and on to it, so had to use the one round the back, which is a bit lower.

on the first attempt, the scaffold plank i was using snapped clean in half.

so then i dragged an oak plank out of the shed which is 3" thick, no chance of that one breaking.

got half way up and got out to check.

still got a bit of clearance.

so drove even further up the plank, to the point where the front passenger side wheel was almost off the ground.

in this position id got about 15-20mm of clearance. so it isnt actually touching, but its a bit too close for my liking. might have to lift the truck a bit more.

oh and this is the slight issue with the back bumper. the pipe is not perfectly centred in the hole, which is something im going to have to fix.

need to call a few insurance companies now, in a last ditch attempt at getting insurance at a reasonable price.

 

[Ben]

flux wont come down on price, even if i change the policy to pleasure use only, meaning i wouldnt be able to use it to go to work in. they still wont budge from £1.70 per mile.

thats after lowering the milage to the minimum allowed, which is 1000 per year, and increasing the excess to the maximum amount.

really not looking good.

Ben did you try Graham Sykes insurance? Ive just got my insurance with them for half my renewal price from my last insurer!

Seems a shame to do all that work and not be able to drive it.

just given them a call. and there system apparently wouldn't quote me, so theyve got to work it out manually, and get back to me.

I wonder if you can get a cheaper quote for 6 months insurance over the winter then get it off the road for the summer and start preping it for the trip to Oz

no one seems to be offering 6 month policies. otherwise that idea would have worked great.

 

[Birder]

Ben: I have a cone K&N Filter (Part no AP1135) spare. It was a spare from my Focus 4x4 World Rally Car. Engine power on WRC's is restricted to about 300bhp so plenty big enough for your truck. Its brand new and unused, I just forgot to put it in the spares box when i sold the car to Roger Clarks son Oliver who sold it to a guy in Barbados.

It has a 160mm inlet hole, (Yes 6 1/4")

Its yours if you want it, you just arrange carriage.

 

[Ben]

thats very kind of you Colin.

i will go and have a measure to see if it will fit.

might go for 1 last final drive first, as only got 30mins of car insurance left.

oh and just ordered my new wheels. gone for 16" x 8J with a -32 off set, black D modular x 5. should be here tomorrow.

 

[Ben]

Graham Sykes have come back with a much better price than i was expecting.

£1235 fully comp.

i didnt want to pay over a grand, and ive just spent 2 hours cleaning my truck as i didnt think it would be on the road for a while.

im going to have to give this some thought.

 

[Roger Fairclough]

Are you being quoted for fully comp. or third party Ben?

Roger

 

[Ben]

Graham Sykes have come back with a much better price than i was expecting.

£1235 fully comp.

i didnt want to pay over a grand, and ive just spent 2 hours cleaning my truck as i didnt think it would be on the road for a while.

im going to have to give this some thought.

Are you being quoted for fully comp. or third party Ben?

Roger

going to call them back and see if they will do it cheaper if i go third party fire and theft.

 

[Ben]

just called them back, and by adjusting the policy to third party fire and theft, from fully comp, it dropped it down to......................




































































































































































































£783!!!! :character-beavisbutthead: