84 bj46 long term maintenance, repair and upgrade- making it mine. (1 Viewer)

[peteinjp]

The Gallery is a building that is more than 100 years old. It was the house of a well off family doctor. The current owner found it and moved it too its current site and rebuilt it verbatim. I'm sure it cost a bunch of money to do that but it would cost a fortune to make something like it from scratch as every aspect of the construction is hand made. Its a true treasure and it was an honor to show there.

Here are some shots of the things I make:

Jars that hare held shut with cam lock wire work known as "lightning closures." Exactly like a beer bottle with the ceramic top but with the wire running the length of the Jar. These are for rice, grains, beans- dry goods. This one is quite large but I also make them for Pasta, and also smaller sizes that would be good for say coffee beans etc:

Varieties of goblets and beer glasses. These are borne of the Venitian technical traditions but simplified and toned down in a light grey tint:

These are wooden boxes with glass sheet for the bottoms. They are designed for the traiditional Japanese New Years meal comprised of many small delicacies. Since the bottoms are glass the arrangement can be done in "3D" so to speak. The wood work is done my a well known craftsman here in Japan. The sheet glass is made with the traditional technique of hand blowing a cylinder then slicing it along its length. The cylinder is then reheated and "slumped" into a sheet. This shot was taken in front of the Gallery near the garden entrance in the back ground.

Pete

 

[peteinjp]

Back to some tech...


Having put on Dave's tail light protectors meant taking off the factory tail light guards- which if you have a late model- you know are serious mud traps. Also on the late model there is a "shelf" which consists of the upper portion of the rear sill- yet another serious mud trap that leads to the beginning of the end for most rear sills. I'll get to more about keeping that from happening in another post. But for now I needed to come up with a solution to keeping mud and ice from getting permenantly packed in there. The following file is a template that I wrote out the measurements for anyone that wants to make a set of these. I highly recommend doing so if you have a late model. I'm not sure if these would fit an earlier truck or not but you one could start with on a template and go from there. The cut out on the upper right is not needed for anyone but me as I have my airline track installed. All measurements are in cm.

The problem:

The solution:

I used a 10mm hole punch for the mounting holes and a 13mm for all the other radii. The rubber is 5mm thick.

3x25 mm aluminum bar with 25mm stainless countersunk bolts. Lock washers were also added.

The top 2 bars sandwich the fender sheet metal with a nut acting as a spacer so the rubber does not get pinched too much. This also allows me to seal the bars to the fender sheet metal (I'll use sikaflex) and still be able to remove the rubber independently.

More....

 

[peteinjp]

The result:

At first I thought I'd hand the rubber off a piece of angle perpendicular to the fender sheet metal. But I thought about it and anywhere that there is a corner mud, ice and snow will cling. So I went with a curve design. Even with the nuts in there as spacers the bar ends up bending a bit. I will try to find 25mm wide aluminum channel to go in place of the lower par and that should solve the issue.

I didn't want the rubber to hang down too far for fear that it would get caught under the rear crossmember and pulled off if I were to slide over stuff. I kept it to just below the rear.

Her youcan see the location from the top: just behing te 2nd rib. As I mentioned earlier the lower of bars that sandwich the fender will be sealed to prevent trapping water and rusting. First I need to get in thee with the wire brucs and remove all the paint and underspray gunk to a clen surface.

I'd say this is close to a must do for late model owners anyway.......


Pete

 

[peteinjp]

While I was doing rubber stuff I got around to finshing something that I had started many weeks ago. The 7.50 knobbies managed to tear off the rubber flap that covers the steering box and arm. It is essentailly a guard to keep spray off the box and out of the engine compartment. To keep it from getting ripped off again I first adjusted the steering stops then I decided to try keeping the rubber behind the arm as opposed to over it. Its a real pain to get to these bolts over and over again as I test fitted a template. The red color really made it easy to see what I was doing:

I used 3mm rubber from the old rea floor mat ofmy bj44:

Running behind the steering arm allowed me to bring the guard down much lower than the original- all the way to the frame rail. I added one hole to the rubber behind the steering arm thinking that I might tap into the steering box support and add another bolt to tht location- but in the end it seemed unneeded.

There we go- all protected for the winter. Now its time to get the truck cleaned up underneath and give my regular oil spray seam coating....

Pete

 

[handcannon]

First, I have to comment on your handiwork. The style of the glass work is nice, simple yet elegant. The wood work also is nice. Splined corners is not a common thing to see anymore. Real nice, specially the way the sides were cut from one piece and the wood grain wraps right around the corner. Please let the guy that did the wood work know that he is definitely a craftsman.

Next, I like your idea of an inner mud flap. The older Cruisers have different tail lights, but still have similar problems, and have the same sill framing to hold mud and crud.

Don

 

[Coolerman]

Awesome glass work! I had never heard of the "making plate glass from a cylinder method". Made logical sense once I thought about it. Really gives the glass that old Church window look.

I have seen the rubber flaps that cover the shock towers in the front and the steering box in the parts catalogs I have but have never actually seen them on a truck in person. I plan to duplicate them on my 71 when ever I get to that point.

 

[peteinjp]

Got a bit of time in to prepare for winter. FIrst on the list was to remove the cracking, water trapping, and just damn ugly looking paint from the front frame.

Its no show truck but I do take a little pride in my work. I tried to get the surface as nice as I could.

All back together with a few fresh coats of oil based chassis black. Best the truck has looked since I got it.

Pete

 

[peteinjp]

Then went on with this trucks first rust proffing regimen. Most of it is not worth taking shots of.... Steam cleaned the entire under body and managed to get my pressure washer into the frame tubes well enough to wash out all the rocks. brush etc that had collected in there over the years. This corner behind the front crossmember is particularly easy to over look when cleaning:

After removing all the undercovers I sprayed every seam on the body with fluid film. I also got into every body crossmember and channel with the stuff. I have a 5 gallon bucket of the stuff and also purchased a spray kit from kellsport products: http://www.kellsportproducts.com/attachFull965662.html The kit is great and works fantastically. Highly recommended.
Here are some shots of the setup. I rarely use the straight wand. The output can be adjusted easily by adjusting the end

nozzle

The straight spray tube abd the 360deg tube.

Pete

 

[peteinjp]

I didnt take any shots of working under the car but basically I just follow every single seam on the body. M hope is of course that it will seep into the overlapping panels and keep water from being able to get in there. There is no salting ofht e roads where I live aside from the highway. I only use the highway once or twice in the winter. I do go to a land cruoiser meeting every year called "snow Attack."

Once the bottom is done I get to the interior channels not accessable from below. The 2 rear crossmembers under the tub as well as the rockers.

I also drilled out the bottoms of the doors with 14mm holes and used some of the same plugs used in the floor of the tub. Marking the hole:

All sprayed and closed up tight:

I'm sure some cringe at all this hole drilling. Yes I am one of those- the "P.O." that requires so much undoing. Well first off I will never be a p.o. unless the truck outlasts me because I'll never sell. And if there is a next owner then the only reason they will have the truck is because of the attention that I give to it- including drilling holes to keep it from rusting.

Truth be told I too have reservations about doing some of the mods I have made. I mean this truck could have been easily returned to original state and basically museum quality. I try my best to carefully consider the modifications I'm making and to move forward with them only when I am satisfied that they are as well designed as I can make them. At any rate- some people are rich with money. Some people are rich within the quality of life. I consider myself to be very well off in terms of the latter.

I also painstakingly rebuilt a BMW 2002 afterwards using it as a daily driver for many years realizing that it was worth much more than I could affford to spend if I were to purchase a new car. Yet to me - well I'm just not interested in the experience of using a modern car. I still have it. I also still have my first motorcycle- a BMW r90 which I traveled about the U.S. on for quite some time. My first vehicle. Its in line for some attention and when the kids are out of the nest it will see a funcional rebuild and be pressed back into service.

IN fact now that I think about it the bj46 is the latest model car I have ever owned. I'm really only sweet on cars up until about '72. THe only reason the BJ interests me is because it basically remained unchanged.



Pete

 

[peteinjp]

A couple of small things. I ditched the latch system for attaching the child seats in favor of these threaded rings each with a SWL of 590kg. It just fit my setup better and though it is more time consuming to take them on and off I feel better about them.

Also used some old pinch welt to cover the end of the trenching shovel as it is getting sharp from use and sits just about at head height for my younger child. It's not the best but it lets me get the shovel on for the time being.

Pete

 

[peteinjp]

I also am getting started on my cargo strategy. I think I'm going to buy up a bunch of these used messenger bags on auctions and use the airline rail and straps up to the upper tub rail to hold them in. That way I can have bags set up for various types of travel and just throw them in and strap them down to the wheel wells when its time to go. This test bag has a recover strap and shackle, a rain coat, stock tools, stock jack and a few other things in it. I like the bag system better than just having some type of drawers or boxes with loose stuff in them for a number of reasons. One is that it keeps things from rattling. Another is that they can easily be removed and brought to where ever needed when in use. Also seeing as I'm planning on using the tops of the wheel wells the bags are softer than having some type of box and I am less concerned about the kids bangin against them in a worst case scenerio.

At this point I'm totally sold on the side access that the soft top offers. Having say 3 of these bags on the wheel well I would be able to access any one of them with ease. Also the Kids climb in and out via the sides. No need for a 4 door. THe full floating hubs make great steps...

Pete

 

[peteinjp]

Got down the river for a bit recently. I found a spot that I could cross over onto an isolated bank that needed exploring. Its hard to pick a line sometimes and though I was careful and slow I did get hung up once. Upon returning I revisited my plans for protecting the undercariage of the truck. I want something to cover the front dif ring for sure. Sliders to protect the steps and rockers as well as a better than factory skid plate. No one is producing the items that I want so I'll have to make them myself.

And unfortunately I will not have time for that in the near future. For now I'll just have to be careful.

I bought this m416 on auction recently and will be picking up this weekend. I've been wanting one for years but its very hard to find a a military trailer here that is registered for road use. This one seems to have been well used but relatively rust free- I hope.... Very excited to say the least. It is my hope that this will take the place of having to add a roof rack over the soft top for getting lumber, carrying my canoe etc. Not sure if this realistic or not but one thing for sure is that I will not have to load firewood into the cab anymore.

So I started getting the pintle ready for the trip. Pulled it apart cleaned and painted it along with a new set of safety chain bolts- thanks to the Mud knowledge-base!

Pete

 

[alberta mac]

Thats a real prestine Cruiser you have their ! Nice to see a guy keeping it well looked after !
I love the use of an oil spray to keep the corrosion away ! and speaking of corrosion . . .
''electrolysis '' a reaction between two dissimilar metals such as aluminum bolted to steel.
to solve the problem just make a gasket.
Awesome work and inspiration !

 

[lostmarbles]

Love the trailer Pete.

Our vehicle inspectors pay close attention to towballs/towbars and fail you if they detect excessive play.. So I'm now wondering if I should convert from towball to pintle hook/ring... (That would have them scratching their heads and rushing for their rule books I'm sure.)

Bet you it won't be quiet to tow though

 

[watrob]

Like the glassware?

 

[peteinjp]

Thanks Mac, the truck is on good shape with only very minor rust and about one small dent. I think my regimen will keep the rust at bay for a long time. At the moment the aluminum parts are separated from the steel with paint. I'm wondering what will happen between the stainless hardware and the aluminum though.

Tom-

I have yet to pull with a pintle but from what I've heard it can be loud. The key apparently to making it reasonable is to match the throat of the pintle close to the diameter of the lunette. I'll report back about it after my 6 hour drive home....

Pete

 

[peteinjp]

Oh I completely forgot to post that I replaced the radiator and all the front hoses. The radiator was from SOR and as advertised it with with minor trimming except for one issue. The drain is located in a different spot than the original and requires adding a hole in the bottom of the radiator support. The radiator support must also be trimmed a bit. Otherwise it's a perfect fit and those 2 issues are easy enough to deal with. As aide from the price i was totally satisfied.

The original unit had a crack running along the width of the top tank as well as needing to have the outlet replaced due to corrosion. I sent it in for repair and it has come back with a clean bill of health. It will stay on the shelf as a spare so between the 2 I should be good for life barring any accidents.

 

[peteinjp]

Got a good start on the trailer wiring. I located the connectors for the trailer wiring on the late model trucks. There is a 3 prong unused connector for the brake, running and reverse lights. Then there is a 2 prong for the right and left blinkers that needs to be spliced into.

I went with a 6 prong connector for the trailer and used 4 as I am not running reverse lights ( I added one on the spare tire.) This leaves 2 wires for... whatever I decide to use them for in the future. I also found this super cool Koito trailer plug and socket which I'm planning to install. I have a standard Pollak unit temporarily installed.

The harness:

Installed

The trailer wire and the factory loom tied down to the top of the rear crossmember brace- also the ground for the trailer wire is visible.

Pete

 

[peteinjp]

Here is the rear reverse light that I added:

and also the koito socket and plug. Its 105mm in diameter at the flange so it will need a little bit of trimming to fit into the rear cossmember. Very cool that it is still available.

Pete

 

[peteinjp]

And finally- the reason behind the madness- my new trailer...

A Korean war vet- m416:

Its seen better days but in decent enough condition. Mostly will be used to haul firewood as well as lug sets of tires, motors, sandblasters etc etc- the usual.

Pete