RJ70 Build Thread.

[Paddler Ed]

Interesting observations on the body lift Ben, lots of the guys on the 4Runner and Surf pages insist on doing them as part of a suspension lift to fit 33"tyres... Mind you, half the guys there seem to want their 4x4 to be as high as possible and bugger the handling (the Jimny I followed today that was on perhaps 32s was very similar...)

What's the tyre plans for the LWB wagon? I think you did mention something, but I lose track! And RJ Wagon'd is going to have ___ tyres in what size?

I've got on really well with a set of Bridgestone Dueller D697s and have been hearing good things about the Kumho MT51s (avoid the AT51s though) with a couple of mates having them on their vehicles.

Well done, and good progress (as always)

 

[clivehorridge]

Brilliant progress Ben, as imagined it would be.

The body mount failures are rather unexpected though, you wouldn't think that a body left would put any more or less strain on the mountings.

Yes, sand gets everywhere

Strange you're complaining of the heat while we're experiencing an unusually cold winter spell of over 5 weeks sub-zero with temps as low as -15C. Brrrr...

 

[Ben]

I started looking more seriously at the wiring for the 2lt engine last night and I uncovered the ECU under the 78 dash.





I pulled it out along with the loom going from it to the engine.





I really hoped I might be able to unplug the EFI loom and plug it into my manual fuel pump loom, but sadly they are too different.

So I'm going to pull the loom out of the 78 and fit it into RJ to get the 2lt engine wired up and running.

But I will need to remove some of it to fit into my LJ70 loom as theres a few things like the electric mirrors, diff lock and seats that I will need for the 78, although I may end up just having to rewire all those myself if the loom looks too hard to modify.

Sadly vehicle electrics isnt my strong point, but I really need to learn!

Interesting observations on the body lift Ben, lots of the guys on the 4Runner and Surf pages insist on doing them as part of a suspension lift to fit 33"tyres... Mind you, half the guys there seem to want their 4x4 to be as high as possible and bugger the handling (the Jimny I followed today that was on perhaps 32s was very similar...)

What's the tyre plans for the LWB wagon? I think you did mention something, but I lose track! And RJ Wagon'd is going to have ___ tyres in what size?

I've got on really well with a set of Bridgestone Dueller D697s and have been hearing good things about the Kumho MT51s (avoid the AT51s though) with a couple of mates having them on their vehicles.

Well done, and good progress (as always)

Thanks mate.

The joys of independent front suspension 4wd's aye!

With IFS 4wds you're restricted on the suspension lift you can fit due to the front drive shafts and the geometry etc. so in order to clear big tyres a body lift becomes almost essential.

Tyres will be 33 x 10.5 x 16 in BFG flavour as thats the only brand I will run on my 4wd's.

RJ will be keeping the worn set of 33's that came on the car, or if the new buyer wants to pay a bit more they can have the set of almost new 33's that came fitted to the 78, which have heaps of tread left.

Brilliant progress Ben, as imagined it would be.

The body mount failures are rather unexpected though, you wouldn't think that a body left would put any more or less strain on the mountings.

Yes, sand gets everywhere

Strange you're complaining of the heat while we're experiencing an unusually cold winter spell of over 5 weeks sub-zero with temps as low as -15C. Brrrr...

Thanks mate.

I think part of the issue with the body lift is the fact the body is higher so the spacers have quite a bit of leverage on them at times with the full weight of the fully laden cab.

Theres also a few mounts underneath that help support the floor pan that arnt bolted in place, but the body sits on the chassis in those places and with a body lift its hard to get support back in those areas.

I wouldnt mind sand getting everywhere if it wasnt for the fact beach sand is full of rot inducing salt!



I sure dont miss European winters!

 

[alexy]

wow Ben,
this is a "LJ marathon"! you must need lots of coffee, guess theres no lack of enthusiasm....

can I ask why you decided to have the v8 on the rj and not on the lj 78?
Is it a space in engine compartment consideration or you want a simple diesel for remote places?

theres a 70 series cup holder thread on ih8mud , by the time you finish the trucks you will be able to treat yourself with cup holders too!
just in time for a great outdoor trip....

 

[Ben]

Thanks mate.

Coffee? Cant stand the stuff!

The V8 will be awesome, its going to be a lot of fun!

But IMO big petrol engines and overland trucks covering thousands of k's of remote outback dirt roads dont really go together!

For big overland trips, diesel is king!

Much safer to store and carry, more fuel range, endless amounts of low down torque, super reliable, very little to go wrong as virtually no electrics if its manual fuel pump (not like a petrol where if the alternator dies so does the engine once the battery drains) and will happily run under deep water with a properly fitted snorkel.

Cup holders sound interesting! Do you have a link?

 

[alexy]

hey,
here you go....final product for simple console is about to be released, they sorted one variant so far and making progress on the second one.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/cup-holders.967159/

 

[Ben]

Very interesting, just read the whole thread.

Hes doing an excellent job at designing and making those cup holders.

But I'm not sure its something I will ever need.

I only really drink water, tea and beer and I find all of those fit perfectly in the standard 2 cup holders in the center console trays.

I can understand if you're guzzling those huge cups of sugar from the fast food joints, then the standard cup holders wouldn't be big enough, but I always just have water on the rare occasion I grab anything from KFC/Burger King/Mc donalds.

 

[Beau]

Nice progress. Regarding the body lift, maybe a material similar to toyota's original body spacer would be better as it would allow for a bit of flex.

With the loom issue, I think it might be easier to just swap the loom and worry about what you have to wire in additional later on than start dicing around with things. Of course if you do source a manual pump then this will change things too.

 

[Ben]

Thanks mate.

Totally agree!

Its one of the few areas on a 4wd where I think polyurethane has its uses!

Something like this:

https://www.bits4vits.co.uk/store/vitara-/-x90/body-lift-1-poly-vit/gv-/prod_1069.html

Regarding the wiring and looms.....................

I have been a bit worried about it, especially the other day when I discovered that the plugs on the 2 looms where it plugs into the back of the speedo/instrument cluster are completely differnet.

I dont want to loose the speedo in the 78 as it has the indicator for the rear diff lock built into it.

It looks like there is maybe 8-10 wires going from the ECU into the main loom, all the others run to the engine. I'm hoping I can trace these wires back and hopefully they can be removed from the 78 loom and connected to the other loom.

I dont think pulling the 78 loom out completely is really an option.

I've got an auto electrician I can call if I get really stuck but hes likely to charge hundreds.

 

[Ben]

I did a bit more on this over the weekend.

I removed the power steering pump from the 2lt and the steering box bolted onto RJ's chassis.



And fitted a manual steering box in its place, which I got out of that red wreck a few weeks ago.





This means I now have a good steering box to replace the leaky one on the 78 with and once I've rebuilt the 78 one I will have a decent spare box that will fit either of my 70's.

I also pulled the damaged fan off the 2lt and I have a spare one to go on.



Next I made a start stripping LJ's interior out, ready to swap in all of the RJ parts.

Pulled the drop slide out and thats now for sale on Gumtree.



Drawers.







Followed by the aux fuel tank.





Followed by the under roof storage shelf.





I pulled the rear door off as I need it for the 78 to replace the dented one it came with.





Removed a few more interior parts like center console, seats and seat belts.



I pulled the side grills off the 78 so I could fit the ones off LJ's body onto the 78.

Painted these black and bolted them onto RJ's new body.



I had to fit the soft top transmission cover on as I needed to keep LJ's original one as it has the brackets on the front for the center console to bolt to.





Bolted it in place along with the sticks.



Gave the inside of the cab a good blow out with the compressor.

Then bolted the rear seat in.



Followed by the front seats.



I removed both of LJ's door cards next as I'm hoping to use them if I can convert the soft top doors to electric windows.



Fitted some KZJ70 ones in their place which I brought over with me when I emigrated.





Refitted my aluminium checker plate trims in the back.





On the 78 I pulled the dash out.



Followed by the entire loom.



My plan is to pull the entire ignition system/ECU/engine wiring etc. out of this loom and attach it to my other loom thats already fitted to LJ's old body and pull the much more basic ignition system out of that loom to fit in the 78.

 

[StarCruiser]

You're braver than I am Ben. I start looking at jobs like this and talk myself out of them. Almost always.

If I do something like this I have been known to get to a point where I think 'where the hell did that go?'

Think I'm keeping up.

 

[clivehorridge]

Well beyond my patience and stamina. Hats off to you Ben, and how do I know it's all going to come good?

Because it will, that's why, and why not?

 

[Ben]

Thanks guys.

Haven't braved anymore work on the loom yet.

Might bring it to work and play with it here during the 5-6 hours of down time I get each day waiting for jobs to come in.

Been on late shifts this week 8:30-5. Which means I get 2.5 hours to spend in the garage each day before work.

Fitted the new rear door, this is the door that I used to have fitted to LJ when I had my rear bumper with swing out for the spare, as the spare was no longer mounted to the door I cut all the ribs out of it and lined it with alluminium to store my gas cooker in.

RJ only has 4 wheels anyway so will be sold without a spare and the door I removed, which I only painted blue a few months ago, will now be stripped down, sanded, painted and fitted to the 78 in place of the dented rear door it came with.



And fitted the glass.



Fitted a spare fuel tank I had, as I want to keep LJ's original tank as a spare for the 78.





Wheel arches and front panel next.





Followed by the radiator.







Rad cowl and new fan next.





Steering column next.

I had wanted to fit the earlier RJ column and keep LJ's column for LJ when the new body goes on, but I needed to swap the ignition barrels, as LJ's old ignition barrel needed to go with this body as the key matches all the locks in the doors.

But after removing the 2 ignition barrels I found they were slightly different and not interchangeable.

So I ended up stripping the top off one column and fitting it to the other.







I could then fit the steering wheel.



Forgot to mention earlier but I also swapped all the brackets from the soft top body (which was originally red), with LJ's blue parts as the red ones have some surface rust and would have needed painting in the midnight blue to match the rest of LJ anyway.





I fitted RJ's old and worn handbrake lever next.



Followed by an old center console that I had.





Theres probably a few hours fitting a few little bits and pieces still.

Then I need to remove the exhaust system from the 78 and modify it to fit this car.

I need to finish the electrics and get the engine wired up, then the dash can go back in and the interior finished.

I need to paint the new front wings/guards, bonnet and bonnet catch panel and get them fitted, then the grill can be fitted.

Then I just need to fit a bullbar, the roof rack, some driving lights and shes finished and ready for sale.

I'm frustrated this project is taking so long to complete as I really want to get stuck into the 78.

But I'm hoping another couple of weeks and this will be done.

 

[fbnss]

I'm frustrated this project is taking so long to complete as I really want to get stuck into the 78.

I think everyone will agree that it's amazing how much you get done in so little time Ben! Keep up the hard work.
I was quite chuffed I put the baskets in my fridge freezer and updated the crap nav, thought that was ok for an evenings work

 

[Ben]

Thanks mate.

Maybe I'm just being impatient.

We're hoping to buy our first house within the next few months though, so I feel under pressure to get at least 2 of the Landcruisers back together and drivable, ideally this one sold too.

 

[StarCruiser]

I too am disappointed Ben. I seriously thought you'd have it all finished by now.
Dear dear dear…











Just kidding.
Work gets in the way sometimes I guess. Speaking of which, we don't get to see much if anything of what you're doing at work these days. I guess it's not allowed which I understand. It was just great seeing what you got up to at Piranha.

 

[clivehorridge]

I'm frustrated this project is taking so long to complete as I really want to get stuck into the 78.

Slouch...

 

[Ben]

Reason I don't post much about work anymore is because I don't really do any, apart from screwing the odd door handle back on or repairing a broken blind.

Working in maintenance at a big new hospital isnt quite as fun or exciting as Piranha.

But I'm earning the most I've ever earnt, which means between us were saving $4.5k a month towards a house, I'm working in aircon luxury 99% of the time, free wifi and lots of down time to surf the net and update build threads, lots of pretty girls to look at, when the Mrs isnt around as she works here too so we get to have our breaks together and its a full time permanent job which is something thats pretty hard to get on the Gold Coast.

But some days I dont get any jobs in and have to amuse myself for 8 hours which can get boring, although YouTube helps. Normally though its only 4-5 hours a day where I dont have any jobs.

 

[StarCruiser]

I have an idea…
Get your sleep during the non work time and work on the cruisers at night. Not so hot at night just need to do the quiet stuff.
No?

Sounds like a waste of your talents Ben. The money side is of course great. As long as you're creative outside work I suppose.

 

[Ben]

Love it!