Expedition BJ74 Buildup

[Ratpuke]

Todd, FYI there are a few similar pictures here: http://www.rmlca.ab.ca/charla/Germany/index.html

[Radd Cruisers]

Main leafs, pretty crappy.

Originally Posted by Tapage

but the hole pack . .. ?

I recently broke my master leaf .. after 8 years of hard wheeling ( 3 years SO ) but the hole pack .. wou !

[lowenbrau]

Starting with the hight tech stuff.

Actually one of my pet peeves is new RHD owners who don't swap out their left facing headlights for DOT approved ones so I decided I'd fix this rig up before I head out for a 2000km round trip this weekend.

H4 housings by Trucklight, available nearly round the clock at your friendly neighborhood Freightliner dealer for less than $30 each cdn.

The original ones look to be factory, made by Koito. They were fused pretty good to the ss rings from all the headlight washer juice.

[lowenbrau]

It is tech, and people were concerned about pictures so I even took one of where the screwdriver goes when swapping the housings.

I also, fixed up the guage lights, cig lighter, and some stereo wiring. Should be a good road trip.

[Tapage]

Originally Posted by PacToy

You mean something like this?

Rock Crawl event in Kyoto, Japan.
PZJ-7?

A Rock Crawler not an expedition rig, sorry.

Hijack .. did you have more pics of this event . ?

[Tapage]

Originally Posted by Radd Cruisers

Main leafs, pretty crappy.

Old ones supposee ..

anycase ..



Beyotifull and plenty of fun !

[Jan-78FJ40]

Originally Posted by lowenbrau

It is tech, and people were concerned about pictures so I even took one of where the screwdriver goes when swapping the housings.

could you please post which direction the screwdriver turns, and torque settings ?

[lowenbrau]

Originally Posted by Jan-78FJ40

could you please post which direction the screwdriver turns, and torque settings ?

<grin> I can tell you which way one didn't turn at about as many inch/pounds as you can get out of a screw driver.

[bj70_guy]

Originally Posted by lowenbrau

Fawk the sushi, I have a hankerin' for that Curry joint again.

Palki waits for you...

Curious though - as Shaker and Peter's 74 are both trailer-only rigs, and you're planning on a similar build and 38s for the street, what's going to be different enough that yours should be nice for a 3000 mile road trip and theirs are not? Obviously moreso the 74 - is Peter's truck just a street tread away from being a comfy long haul highway machine? Or is it simply the convenience factor of trailering that works for them?

[lowenbrau]

Originally Posted by bj70_guy

Palki waits for you...

Curious though - as Shaker and Peter's 74 are both trailer-only rigs, and you're planning on a similar build and 38s for the street, what's going to be different enough that yours should be nice for a 3000 mile road trip and theirs are not? Obviously moreso the 74 - is Peter's truck just a street tread away from being a comfy long haul highway machine? Or is it simply the convenience factor of trailering that works for them?

Really, its tires and roofs that limit those two. Shaker drove to Rubithon in 05 on rev1 of the suspension and did fine. Tires really are the difficult part. Those XMLs are freaking heavy and there are better on and off road tires. The Iroks are quite simply off road only due to the soft compound.


The only reason I'm going as large as 38s is because Toyo MTs come in that size and I think they will be a good tradeoff tire. If they made a 36-16 I'd be all over that.

[Josie'sLandCruiser]

Hi All:

Bruce, does Peter's SOA BJ74 *have to be* trailered to the trailhead, or does he just prefer not to drive it on the highway?

Good luck with your project!

Regards,

Alan

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Originally Posted by lowenbrau

>On the contary, Alan, Peter's rig works really well and is inspiration for this project. It just gets to the trail on a trailer and I'm hoping mine won't have to.

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Josie'sLandCruiser View Post
Hi All:

Wow Bruce! Big project!

I'd have to agree with Randy's comments, but that is not much of a surprise considering my lack of awe for fancy suspensions.

I take it that Peter's SOA BJ74 does not impress you with its performance?

Regards,

Alan

[lowenbrau]

No Alan, Peter's rig works OK on the highway. A set of more road friendly tires and a roof would do it.

BTW it was good to see some Seattle Cruiserheads at River Shiver


Not much new to report on the BJ74. I tossed in a set of coilover shocks to help carry the load I'm hauling to Ft ST John today. For $120 it was worth not riding on the bumpstops for 20 hours even if they get tossed next month.It actually gave me about an inch of lift..

I ordered a custom set of wheels, 16 x10 with 3" BS for the Tractor tires, Should be here in a couple of weeks. I'm wondering about 37-13.5-17 Toyo MTs on FJ Cruiser Rims. They are for sale all over the place and have 5" of BS. Will keep the tires closer to the fenders for highway travel. I'm not sure if they will clear everything with all that backspacing. The extra couple inches of diameter will help.

Sorry, no pics. I'll see if I can find a place to pose in the Rockies this weekend.

[Tapage]

Originally Posted by lowenbrau

I ordered a custom set of wheels, 16 x10 with 3" BS for the Tractor tires, Should be here in a couple of weeks. I'm wondering about 37-13.5-17 Toyo MTs on FJ Cruiser Rims.

Did you would re-gear for those tires . ?

[Josie'sLandCruiser]

Hi All:

Not to get off-topic, but who from Seattle was at the River Shiver?

Back on topic, how about a set of 37X12.5 Goodyear MTRs on this rig?

Thanks!

Alan

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Originally Posted by lowenbrau

No Alan, Peter's rig works OK on the highway. A set of more road friendly tires and a roof would do it.

BTW it was good to see some Seattle Cruiserheads at River Shiver


Not much new to report on the BJ74. I tossed in a set of coilover shocks to help carry the load I'm hauling to Ft ST John today. For $120 it was worth not riding on the bumpstops for 20 hours even if they get tossed next month.It actually gave me about an inch of lift..

I ordered a custom set of wheels, 16 x10 with 3" BS for the Tractor tires, Should be here in a couple of weeks. I'm wondering about 37-13.5-17 Toyo MTs on FJ Cruiser Rims. They are for sale all over the place and have 5" of BS. Will keep the tires closer to the fenders for highway travel. I'm not sure if they will clear everything with all that backspacing. The extra couple inches of diameter will help.

Sorry, no pics. I'll see if I can find a place to pose in the Rockies this weekend.

[lowenbrau]

Originally Posted by Josie'sLandCruiser

Hi All:

Not to get off-topic, but who from Seattle was at the River Shiver?

Back on topic, how about a set of 37X12.5 Goodyear MTRs on this rig?

Thanks!

Alan

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Doug and Ben Graham were up in Doug's nice FJ60.

That's exactly the tire I'm looking at used for the road. MTRs do really poorly in Alberta (and Alaska) muck but sould survive the AK highway well.

[Josie'sLandCruiser]

Hi All;

Oh, really?!? I have not heard from Doug in awhile (maybe he is still at the border trying to cross?)

Yes, the Goodyear MTRs seem like an aggressive AT more than a MT type of tire; they do well on the rocks, but suffer in the muck.

Well, it was just an idea; finding a set of meats that are tough and aggressive off-road while being smooth and long-wearing on-road is hard!

Best of luck on the build of your new rig! I'm really sad to hear that "Arthur Dent" is no longer on the trail or road! :-(

Regards,

Alan





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Originally Posted by lowenbrau

Doug and Ben Graham were up in Doug's nice FJ60.

That's exactly the tire I'm looking at used for the road. MTRs do really poorly in Alberta (and Alaska) muck but sould survive the AK highway well.

[lowenbrau]

It's harder to keep a thread on page one than I thought.

No pictures from last weekend but we had a major blast sledding near Pine Pass BC. I drove Ratpuke's machine up an avalanche to a super cool alpine lake at the top of the range. Never done anything like that before! It's taken me most of the week to heal up though. I had sore muscles where I didn't know I had muscles.

Ok back to topic. I've been working on drawings for the drawer system and I'm pretty much ready to build them. I'm hoping Lumpy will want a set as well and will help me build two sets this week. Having scale drawings should make the build pretty fast I hope.

Today I installed the factory snorkel I got from tlcruiserman
It is basically a bolt up affair with the exception of a half dozen bolt holes in the fender and the one big square one. Its really nice that the kit comes with a new airbox. Took a couple of hours but the majority if that was cutting the hole using a air cutoff wheel and a tiny compressor.

[lowenbrau]

I'm not sure if Toyota planned it that way or not but the forward hole for the emblem seems to be in the right location for the rear hole of the EPDM through fender fitting.

[lowenbrau]

I didn't like the odds of getting a nut on the back of the bolts that hold the snorkel to the back of the fender. I'll go shopping for some nutserts for them but for now I found some big sheet metal screws. Essensially just lag bolts. They seem to be holding quite well and this temporary fix may become permanent.

[lowenbrau]

It looks a bit ghey on such a tiny truck but that's one project that I can check off my do list. I do love that Toyota molded the Land Cruiser emblem into the snorkel.

[CaliCruiser]

Looks awesome man, I really like your plans for the build. Good luck

Dylan

[Greg_B]

Originally Posted by lowenbrau

It looks a bit ghey on such a tiny truck but that's one project that I can check off my do list. I do love that Toyota molded the Land Cruiser emblem into the snorkel.

I'm trying to remember where I nutserted and where I did not...but it seems so long ago, and the pinapple express is in town tonight. Wayyy to wet to go out and look. I think it was mostly nutserts though, even on the windshield frame.

Do not affix the hat too tight. Instead, simply make it snug so I will not come off easy, but will come off. Get some picture wire and wire crimps, drill a hole through the metal of the clamp on the main body, and one though the flat section at the rear on the cap, then wire them together. Your cap can then come off when you go through thick brush. You will not break the neck of the cap, nor lose the cap. Ask me how I know...

gb

[lowenbrau]

Originally Posted by Greg_B