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Questions for the Guru's! BJ70 and RJ70 merger

ChrisvW

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Nov 17, 2016
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zimbabwe
Hi All,

I have two SWB 70's; a BJ70 and an RJ70. The body of the RJ70 is in good nick, that of the BJ70 has a bit of rust and has been hacked a bit to add a rear bench seat. The RJ70 has coil suspension and light duty hilux axles while the BJ70 has leaves and HD axles. My initial idea was to swap the body from the RJ70 onto the BJ70 to get a rust free body and diesel engine. I'm now thinking of trying to get a diesel into the RJ70 but I want to keep the aggressive looks of the BJ70 front end. Now for the Questions:

1. Is the chassis rail length the same between the RJ70 and BJ70? If so, is the engine bay length the same?
2. Will the front quarters and grill from the BJ70 fit straight onto the RJ70 or will mods have to be done to do this?
3. If I keep the RJ70 body and add the front quarters as above, how hard is it to change the RJ70 from Petrol to Diesel? I'm thinking a 1kzt with manual fuel pump or 1HZ if it will fit in the engine bay?
4. What axles can I use to upgrade the RJ70 to FF and disc brakes at rear?

Any help appreciated!

Cheers Chris
 


1. Is the chassis rail length the same between the RJ70 and BJ70? If so, is the engine bay length the same?

I believe so, but to be sure measure from the firewall forwards to the end of the chassis rails.

As far as I know, the leaf sprung heavy duty 70's in Australia still run the 4 cylinder B and F series engines, so they shouldnt have had to make the engine bay longer. :think:


2. Will the front quarters and grill from the BJ70 fit straight onto the RJ70 or will mods have to be done to do this?

I'm pretty sure they bolt straight on, apart from maybe the very front body mount.


3. If I keep the RJ70 body and add the front quarters as above, how hard is it to change the RJ70 from Petrol to Diesel? I'm thinking a 1kzt with manual fuel pump or 1HZ if it will fit in the engine bay?

1KZ-T wouldnt be too hard. If I'm correct about question one and the length of the engine bay then I suspect you wont have enough room for a 6 cylinder H series engine.

4. What axles can I use to upgrade the RJ70 to FF and disc brakes at rear?

80 series would be your best bet if you wanted to stick to Toyota, but you will still have a Hi-lux front diff.

A much stronger option would be Patrol.



Sorry I cant be of more help in my answers above Chris. :oops:


Jump on the Australia Bundera facebook page and ask on there. Theres a few on there who have messed around with body swaps from FJ/BJ to RJ/LJ and theres a lot of knowledge and help on there.

Everyone is also really friendly and helpful. :thumbup:
 
Thanks Ben, most helpful.

I measured the engine bay of both and the BJ70 is 1100mm exactly and the RJ70 is 1000mm from firewall to bonnet lock.

I also measured the cabs as best I could and they are the same from inside front door to rear column so I'm pretty sure they are the same length.

Does anyone know whether the RJ70 body from the firewall back is identical to the BJ70?

What I'm now thinking is doing a body swap from RJ70 onto BJ70 to get a rust free shell and diesel engine...
 
Ben, any idea how long LJ is from firewall to bonnet lock?
 
Far as I know from firewall back is identical in both. I knew the bj and heavy duty were longer engine bay than the lj but tbh I thought it would have been more than 100mm.interesting to know.
If there's only 100mm in the difference would the 5 and 6 cylinder engines fit the lj?
 
Ben, any idea how long LJ is from firewall to bonnet lock?

930mm, so very close if not identical to my RJ70, although I couldn't accurately measure RJ as bits are currently removed ready for my engine swap. :think:

From what I've heard the bodies are all the same from the firewall back, so the body should bolt straight on and its just the very front body mounts that will need altering to fit the different front end. :icon-biggrin:

A 6 cylinder H series engine will fit, just, but there wont be enough room left for the radiator. :doh:
 
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So in theory a 1kzt engine would fit in the RJ70... hmm, decisions...
 
Hi All,

I have two SWB 70's; a BJ70 and an RJ70. The body of the RJ70 is in good nick, that of the BJ70 has a bit of rust and has been hacked a bit to add a rear bench seat. The RJ70 has coil suspension and light duty hilux axles while the BJ70 has leaves and HD axles. My initial idea was to swap the body from the RJ70 onto the BJ70 to get a rust free body and diesel engine. I'm now thinking of trying to get a diesel into the RJ70 but I want to keep the aggressive looks of the BJ70 front end. Now for the Questions:

1. Is the chassis rail length the same between the RJ70 and BJ70? If so, is the engine bay length the same?
2. Will the front quarters and grill from the BJ70 fit straight onto the RJ70 or will mods have to be done to do this?
3. If I keep the RJ70 body and add the front quarters as above, how hard is it to change the RJ70 from Petrol to Diesel? I'm thinking a 1kzt with manual fuel pump or 1HZ if it will fit in the engine bay?
4. What axles can I use to upgrade the RJ70 to FF and disc brakes at rear?

Any help appreciated!

Cheers Chris
I have done the 1HZ H55 swap into the LJ body.
You need the front frame fender mounts from the bj to fit the front clip. it is a bolt on.
The hz fits perfectly into the larger engine bay.
The 2 bodies mount exactly the same. swap away.
Although I like the coils much better.
Enjoy and post up pics
 
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