my beloved lj70

[Craigmorley]

well im new to this place was looking through bens build thread and got a bit inspired to get my arse into gear and sort my truck out! lol ive owned it since 2010 and was in quite a state both rear arched rusted right through and as you do just drive it as it is for a while.




in 2011 i decided to repaint it with a few mods which i did my self like taking the rear windows out and turning it into a van.
then a 2inch body lift, 2 inch suspenion lift and a snorkel with 30mm wheel spacers with 33/1250/15 tyres on steel rims.


before supension lift but fresh out of work after i painted it.



few months down the line all lifted and being used also fitted isuzu bull bar on front with fogs for shooting in darkness lol

i then started to get fed up with the mud and crap that kept geting thrown all over the truck since i took wheel arch flares off and sold them, so started to look around at what i could make or what could work best for little money...

so i brought some 6mm rubber mat from ebay which i then drilled and screwed to the inner arch which is in pics.


i used it for 2 years and then saw bens thread and decided to put her in for a refurb: intercooler new wheel arches all body work refurbed, new tyres.


all carpets out and painted all inside in 2 pack epoxy so easy to clean and all fresh.

i done a bit more research in finding out about some more sturdy wheel arch flares but didnt really seem to get any where very fast.... then that week a grass track car came in to get painted with the best idea and arches ever! cut the top and bottom of a large steel oil drum off clean all thje inner arches up then weld it to the truck, beat it into shape, then in lunch breakes id fill the arches till they look top dollar the just brushed a coat of hi build primer in them so didtn rust if it rained.

 

[Ben]

Welcome to the club Craig.

Awesome first post.

I'm glad I inspired you, our trucks could have been twins, both blue K regs!

I like your arches! Have you got any pics of them finished?

Id' like to do something on mine as I've never been happy with the rubber flares I fitted.

Van conversion looks good too.

Anymore plans for it?

 

[Craigmorley]

so basically it took me some time to weld arches to the truck but finally i did it and u can literally beat them with a club hammer and the dont move as they get there strength from the rolled edge from the ends of the oil drums, and also being welded to the inner arch.

this is pics of the arches when filled and primed




next i decided to have a top mount intercooler so ordered pipework from ebay and brought an isuzu trooper 3ltr intercooler and bonnet hood

fitted intercooler
then fitted the bonnet scoop
View attachment 12870now the bonnet hood is fitted n arches are all done,just gotta sort a new fresh colour to repaint it in....

View attachment 12871View attachment 12872so i decided to paint over the easter holiday well fri and sat lol i painted it in a 2pack poly in saphire blue
View attachment 12873 so this is the finished item lol cant wait to use it again now, but before i do i wana fully reseal all under side of truck, and paint all the running gear in a ministry spec paint system we do for submarines that stuff is like spray araldite lol so stay clean and rust free.
so hope u enjoy what ive done at the mo and ill post more pics soon

 

[Craigmorley]

hi there thanks ben look through your thread and it looks brilliant mate.

i havent got that amount of time tho so im just goin to make do with what time ive got at the mo.

yea rubber one are ok, but i found they hold water and start to perish a bit after time.

plans are fit a land rover winch bumper to it with a winchmax winch, was thinking about 3litre engine but seem quite hard to find at the moment but not in no rush for that yet.

2.4 is ok just guttless. lol

 

[cruiser 3.0 70]

Nice truck nice paint job

 

[Ben]

Man that looks good!

You've inspired me to crack on and get all my body work and respray done! I'm also very tempted to take my rear windows out!

What did you use for the van conversion?

I was thinking of using maybe 3mm alluminium stickaflex'd in place.

 

[Craigmorley]

No I just used some card as a template then went to local metal fabricators they made me some panels out of 2mm sheet which I then welded to the inside of the truck ( from the inside) if that makes sense? Lol
also where did you get your rear locker from and how much if u don't mind me asking? Thanks

 

[Craigmorley]

Thanks

 

[Ben]

Cool.

Both my ARB lockers and compressor came from Devon 4x4.

I bought the rear locker and compressor first and they arranged for a courier to collect my diff, then they built the locker into the diff and couriered it all to me and the total cost was £1024. But that was back in 2011 so prices may have gone up since then.

1 piece of advice I'd give anyone buying a locker is to change all the bearings and seals in the diff at the same time. Its also worth fitting a solid spacer rather than a crush tube because if the rear pinion bearing wears or fails like mine did it allows the pinion to push further into the diff and then the pinion and ring gear dont mesh properly and it destroys the ring and pinion. A solid spacer prevents this!

I've lost a few ring and pinions now because of that so I will now only ever fit solid spacers and new bearings. I also get an expert to set it all up for me.

 

[Craigmorley]

Ok then do you benefit a lot from lockers?? Are they worth it??

I've just got a land rover winch bumper competition one but doesn't fit??
So I've done little thinking and decided to cut it right down the middle minus 25mm then reels it back together so I'll see how that works/fits in the week lol

 

[Ben]

Lockers are awesome!

Instant traction at the flick of a switch!

Definitely one of my favorite mods.

As for whether there worth it or not I guess it depends what sort of off roading you do. If you enjoy driving really tough stuff and testing yourself and your vehicle to the limit then yes! But if all you do is drive easy tracks/across fields then no there probably not worth getting at that cost.

But even if you don't use them very often they are nice to have for if/when you do drive something a bit harder. They take a lot of strain off everything when you can put your locker(s) in and then just crawl over stuff rather than having to hit it with momentum and plenty of right foot.

There also useful for keeping you going straight when coming down steep slippery hills.

 

[Craigmorley]

Hmm sounds interesting then may have to look in to that maybe in future then.
So what's the tracks like in oz then??
a lot more fun to drive down than uk ones?? Lol

 

[clivehorridge]

That repaint looks stunning Craig and I like the flares A very neat job indeed!

 

[Ben]

Hmm sounds interesting then may have to look in to that maybe in future then.
So what's the tracks like in oz then??
a lot more fun to drive down than uk ones?? Lol

Sorry Craig missed your post before.

The tracks are awesome and almost endless. I go 4wding and don't hit tarmac again for the entire 3-4 days I'm normally away!

I could spend the rest of my life over here not working and just driving everyday and I wouldn't be able to drive every track or see every place. This country is incomprehensibly huge!

I do miss the history of the green lanes in the UK, some of the little stone bridges you cross on some of the Welsh green lanes are a lot older than this country! Not to mention all the old Roman roads.

The only real negatives for 4wding over here is the dust in summer and the heat. I wouldn't really want to go camping in January or February down here as its just too hot and theres a very real threat from bush fires.

But apart from that its awesome! Its 4wd heaven!

 

[Ben]

Craig, a couple of questions about your oil drum flares...............

Did you use the ones with removable lids?

Like these:

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/ravenhall/miscellaneous-goods/drums-used-44gallon-205lt/1043725477

I'm thinking that would be easier than cutting the tops off actual oil drums, as opposed to paint/food drums with the removable lids.

Roughly how wide did you cut the strip off the top of the drum?

Thanks.

 

[Craigmorley]

Thanks glad you like them Clive
im not as fast as Ben at this sort of stuff I'm a spray painter by trade.
so saw Ben thread and fort maybe I'll have a go then lol

 

[Craigmorley]

Well I went over kill on the cutting but I'd say I the drum was cut into three equal peices then straighten it by foot on the floor.
bend them to a rough shape before puting them in the arch.
once I did that I jus tact one inplace about 2.5 inch left sticking out as the flare then once I tact it all in place just got a grinder and cut all extra on the inside with a grinder.
You might need to make some cuts for when u bash inside with club hammer tho.
Then all I did then was hammer and weld until done.
Hope that is usefull for you Ben

 

[Craigmorley]

Oh sorry as for the tops just use a grinder and cut at 45degree angle all way round, and the top just falls out ok good luck mate

 

[Craigmorley]

Them drums on gumtree link would probs be easier and less time consuming so yeah good idea

 

[Ben]

Awesome, thanks mate.