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LJ70 Build Thread!

The seat looks similar to the ones that came with my Uncles 70 series troopie ... so may very well be original.
 
Seat looks sort of right... but a Troopy seat was a 2 seat jobby in the ones we had at work over there... so not sure.

Check on Redbook.com.au to see what a 1991 LJ70RV came with as seating options; it's pretty good info on there.

It's one of those that if it's just a little bit over, it's not the end of the world, at least it has rego for a couple of months as well (better than our 'Cruiser had... 1 week of rego and needed a Pink Slip in NSW for renewal, but luckily nothing was needed... we sold it with about 1 week of rego as well...)
 
Silly question Ben but I gotta ask it, why didn't you winch the truck into the trailer off a sling and the high level rings in the container? I probably know the answer.....not as much fun and it was the last chance to drive it maybe?
 
Some one hasnt been paying attention! :eusa-naughty: :lol:

Few pages back I showed the pics of the state the winch was in when I stripped it down to clean it.

I decided it was too far gone so its gone for scrap!

I kept the winch rope and albright style solenoids, will buy another winch from Tigerz11 when I get out there. The 12,000LB ones arnt much money, especially if I get one without a rope. :icon-biggrin:

Winching had been thought about and discussed, and we were thinking of using the winch on the hilux, through a snatch block, anchored in the container on a strop like you suggested, and then back to the 70.

But decided it would be easier to just drive it in.

The whole ramp thing was a bit of a concern really, for the past few months I've been worried about whether the ramp will take the weight, and what happens if the truck slips off and ends up on its roof etc. :|

So it took quite a bit of self control to keep my cool when I started having problems getting the truck in. What with first the trailer wheels spinning and needing removing, and then the back wheels not being able to get up the ramp. Dont forget we were working against the clock, and we just managed to do everything before the 3 hours were up.

Looking at the youtube video I linked to on the last page, the trailer/ramp doesnt seem to flex much with 2.5 tonnes of cruiser on it. :clap:

Go the mighty caravan chassis! :lol:

The worst bit was when I was most of the way up and slammed the brakes on because my mate told me to stop, that could have been nasty.

Good job we ratchet strapped the ramp to the back of the lorry really. :icon-cool:

With my truck and posessions now in the container and gone it feels like one small weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

Next stressful experience is going to be flying and airports. Fingers crossed that all goes smoothly. :pray:

Then I need to buy a simcard, satnav, and car.

Then find work, and then find some where to live.

Then in March the container should arrive, so then I've got the hassle of unloading the container and going though everything with customs and quarantine inspectors. Fingers crossed their fellow cruiser fans!

Then its just the hassle of getting it registered and on the road. :think:

So a lot of stress still to come, and no doubt many more sleepless nights, but I'm confident everything will work out. Give it 6 months and all being well I will be updating this thread with more mods to my 70, and getting out there and enjoying Australia! :icon-cool:

Dreaming of getting back to the Victorian High Country, for 4x4ing and camping!

bloody love it! :dance:
 
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Don't forget your passport when buying your SIM card...and I'd recommend Telstra (and a Telstra Blue Tick phone) for rural coverage, and Lebara for international calls (find the Asian/Backpacker areas) and you'll find them!

The Blue Tick phones make a big difference; I used to use my UK phone with a Telstra SIM in it, but then got an el-cheapo Telstra phone which worked much better in the same area than my UK one did, including a chunk of the Grampians etc. OK not perfect coverage, but it got signal in the towns more reliably than I would have with on the UK phone. Have a looky here at the phones that are around.

Oh, and have a look at the Post Office as they often have Telstra phones on specials that are cheaper than the Telstra shops are. Normally need to buy some credit at the same time, so it may still cost $100 but at least you have $30 or so of credit as well.
 
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Thanks Ed, much appreciated. :thumbup:

Why do I need to take my passport? :think:
 
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They want 100 points of identity; that comes from either a Passport or an Aussie State driving licence. They then record that on a form that they have to fill out, listing how many SIM cards you have (in our case our other SIMs will be dead now, so we'll start a fresh, but when we got Telstra we had to put down that we already had one) so they don't have the problem of "throw away" phones to the same extent that we have here in the UK.

When we first got our SIM cards (Lebara) we didn't have our passports with us, but luckily bumped into one of the guys we knew whilst we were in the shopping centre so were able to use him (and his VIC driving licence) to get it sorted out.

I suddenly realised after I'd written all of that that you may have known some of it already; sorry if it was a patronising... I couldn't remember when you were over there last, and if it had all changed!

Have a look to see if you can someone who lives in a really rural area to get you a Govt. Sponsored Sat Phone... we had one at work as we sent groups off into the bush where there was no phone signal (Telstra was patchy at work, which was why we had a UHF frequency to ourselves there!) When we were travelling inland we found a couple of places that had sketchy mobile coverage, and their Post Offices advertised cheap sat phones via the Govt.

Alternatively look at getting a SPOT Messenger, and setting it up to talk to someone at home

And if you're really heading bush then join the MCMA and get a HF radio licence via them...
 
Thanks Ed. :thumbup:

Last time I was over there was 2009. I'm fairly sure I didnt have to show my passport, but maybe I did. :?

Think I will keep my UK phone and sim and just buy a cheap OZ phone with sim. Theyve got some cheap ones on that telstra website. (dont do expensive phones as usually end up breaking them) :icon-smile:

I've had second thought about that cruiser. From the searching I've done online I'd be lucky to get 12-14 mpg out of the old 4 litre petrol.

OK petrol is a lot cheaper than the UK but even so. :?

Last day in the UK today. Fly tomorrow! :dance:
 
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Great suggestion, thanks Grant. :thumbup:

I've been searching for cruisers and hiluxes but completely forgot about 4-runners/surfs. :doh:

When I bought the 4-runner for the engine I had a bit of a drive in it and it felt very nice, it was almost a shame to rip its 3 litre engine out and strip it for parts. :think:

Just having a search now! :dance:

I really need to buy a car by Tuesday! :icon-biggrin:
 
Ben said:
Thanks Ed. :thumbup:

Last time I was over there was 2009. I'm fairly sure I didnt have to show my passport, but maybe I did. :?

Think I will keep my UK phone and sim and just buy a cheap OZ phone with sim. Theyve got some cheap ones on that telstra website. (dont do expensive phones as usually end up breaking them) :icon-smile:

I've had second thought about that cruiser. From the searching I've done online I'd be lucky to get 12-14 mpg out of the old 4 litre petrol.

OK petrol is a lot cheaper than the UK but even so. :?

Last day in the UK today. Fly tomorrow! :dance:
Click to expand...

I had a cheapo Sony Ericsson that they used to do; it stood up well to being lobbed around vehicles/exposed to dust from Quad bikes etc.

Here's the Fuelly for our 'Cruiser we had in Australia; it'll give you some ideas as to how (good/bad) the fuel economy is. Ours was a stock 138,000km Fj73 when we got it; it did have a thermostat problem which I never got to the bottom of, and it ended up with a new exhaust at about 145,000km (2.5" and new extractors to suit).

I loved it, but the fuel economy was shocking (admittedly only a bit worse than our Mazda Van was with a 2.0 engine) so I think I'm looking at something of a similar vein... I'd love a BJ73 but they're hard to find! The 70 is too short for me; we only just fitted all of our touring gear into the 73!!!

We had a HiLux Surf, LN130, at work which they picked up for another basher... no 5th gear, and 600,000km on it, but with a bit of a lift and OK tyres, $1600 with rego! Passed it's last pink slip in NSW without any problems (well, apart from being a bit slow to get there!). I ended up taking it home after my 'Cruiser crapped it's water pump at the top of the drive one day! I tended to find it cramped (6'3" and 90kg) compared to a 'Cruiser.

Some were imports, some are Aus market ones around. Check for 2 manufacturer plates (the imports tended to come in through a "manufacturer") and if it's on ebay then the VIN number wouldn't be in a Toyota format if it's an import.
 
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I had a 4runner 3.0TD for 5years before i got the colorado
great truck - good on and off road
and loads and loads of boot space
 
Maverick said:
Ben,Yesterday i managed to successfully hack into your shipping account and have re-directed the delivery address of your container to my house ... as I've always wanted your truck. Have a good and safe flight.Brett :)
Click to expand...
:lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Is that because they already have the roll-over bars Steve? :think: :lol:
 
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