My HJ 75 series ute

[Ben Stratford]

Looking great Brett and such a versatile design. Thinking of doing something similar one day to a 60 with a tray back etc but need to pay off the mortgage first!
My hand brake wouldnt be too impressed if I told her about it either!!

 

[Brett Mcleod]

Got away for a few days again, starting to sort out all the bugs & looking forward to getting away again

 

[clivehorridge]

Great vid/photo record there Brett, the truck looks great and very well set up!

Thanks for posting

 

[Chris Boorer]

I wish i could find the time to get away for a few days looking good mate

 

[Brett Mcleod]

I wish i could find the time to get away for a few days looking good mate

I know the feeling mate, working for myself i thought i would be able to take time off whenever i wanted but it doesn't seem to work that way

 

[Brett Mcleod]

Decided to do an engine swap, removing the 2h & replacing it with a 12ht,
my old 2h was getting a bit tired with over 550,000k's & i have been struggling to not be embarrassed negotiating steep hills & slight inclines on the road, i am always pulling off to the side of the road to let semi trailers...tractor trailers pass me while i am only able to do 45 to 60kph up hills - 28 to 37 mph
So i decided to look around for a 12ht, found a second hand one for $5800 I am in the middle of replacing all gaskets & seals before i put it in, the motor has 250,000k's on it & came with a 90 day warranty, I will see how it goes & do a compression test once its in, then later down the track when i can save enough funds i will most likely do a rebuild starting with the pump & turbo then the engine, but for now i just want to get it in & running so i can get away camping over winter when work goes quiet

2h out

12ht waiting to go in

 

[Brett Mcleod]

Almost in there.

 

[Gr8Yota]

Just caught up with this thread. Wow what an amazing transformation of the old truck, it looks fantastic and well thought out. Love the colour too.

 

[Brett Mcleod]

Fired the 12ht up this afternoon. was surprised when it fired up first kick, I chucked all the vacuum lines over my shoulder except for one, then removed the heater from inside the intake & ported & polished the intake, then removed all the vacuum switching & wiring for the shutoff valve, i will use a simple choke cable hooked up to the shutoff butterfly to stop the engine, the motor sounded great with no knocks or rattles & the rockers sounded pretty quite as well,
Now its running i can start putting my cruiser back together after work each afternoon this week & hopefully get some k's on it next weekend,
this is the only video i have so far of it running, I only ran it twice for a short time & i need to get the radiator back in, oil pressure was also pretty good so happy days

video on instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxrP_Lfne2R/

 

[Iwan]

Awesome Brett! Sounds real great and you're lucky to get a 12ht man!

It's great when a plan comes into action! Enjoy!

 

[ajb64]

hi Brett
how difficult was the conversion ?
what particular items were difficult
any fabrication needed

 

[Brett Mcleod]

hi Brett
how difficult was the conversion ?
what particular items were difficult
any fabrication needed

Was s easy as pulling the old engine out and dropping the new one in, everything bolted straight up, have even used the factory 2h radiator with no problems, it runs just as cool as it did before fitting the 12ht. I am still using the stock exhaust until i get a chance to get a new one,
I removed all the vacuum switching as i didn't want it & have just replaced it with a choke cable to the butterfly in the intake to stop it

 

[Brett Mcleod]

Somewhere I'd rather be right now instead of sitting at home, guess everyone is in the same position atm