Builds building a landcruiser for overland expedition (2 Viewers)

Should we paint Nulla’s camper cab blue?

  • Yes

    Votes: 5 38.5%
  • No

    Votes: 8 61.5%

  • Total voters
    13
  • Poll closed .

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your ideas about the tire are very useful, i currently have a 35" diameter tire on 15" wheels. however they are about 1.5" too wide, this limits my turn ratios. i want to stay with 35" but narrower about 10" wide. the 315x75R16 is available in the US, the 255/100R16 may not be available in the US. the other possibility is a 285/75R16 they are 33" in diameter.
my last option (not preffered) will be 1.25' spacers on the front wheels,

what about different rims, getting the track wider and the wheels futher out? It´s the same for the bearings but one part less to fail and cause breakdowns.
what Diffs are inside FJ or BJ ?
(With the shorter BJ ratio the 255/100 would be perfect...and you should be able to get them in the US too. They are quite expensive, though longlasting)
Everthing has advantages :hmm:...I think I would go with 35" R16 or the Michelins with different rims or if you dont get any with steal spacers
 
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i am curious about the test drive..
well?
power will be great, torque will be wicked... but the sensitve throttle is what i am curious about...and how you are going to cure it...
 
I can only speak from a EU/African perspective, but I have found that for tyres the most available is a good choice. 265/75R16 is pretty darn common here, 7.50 sure is available but mostly LT rag tyres for small trucks. IMHO wide rims and tyres can be expensive down the line. I was sorely tempted by Soenke's 255/100s but reality bit! For this reason my touring 78 is running 265 on 6.5 rims. I would like to go larger but availability and drive train considerations take priority.
BTW the aluminuim fabrication stuff is great and this road test and more pictures would be great! Super build up,
Gil
 
Hey Gil,
Rideglobaly is lucky because the 255/100 will fit without to much hassel and the drivetrain (especially with the shorter BJ Diffs) should be able to cope with it (not like the modern stuff :mad:)

it realy depends where they are going. Southern africa 35" shouldn´t be a problem to buy.
cheapest, safest and fastest to replace will be 7.5 -no doubt ... but would you like to drive them on such a big and heavy rig?

PS
How was youre first night in your new "sleeping romm":D
 
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Fully agree Soenke! 7.50 are not for me... tough though - we run MRF M77 (Indian cross ply) on some of our working vehicles but the side walls are about 1cm thick, and they ride like :censor:. Still dream about these 255/100s though, so if I was rideglobaly I would be very tempted.
Don't want to hijack this thread, but our sleeping room is not even tested yet due to rain and work! soon though........ soon.
Gil
 
Up date on the build

Hey Gil,
Rideglobaly is lucky because the 255/100 will fit without to much hassel and the drivetrain (especially with the shorter BJ Diffs) should be able to cope with it (not like the modern stuff :mad:)

i am curious about the test drive..
well?
power will be great, torque will be wicked... but the sensitve throttle is what i am curious about...and how you are going to cure it...

I was sorely tempted by Soenke's 255/100s but reality bit! For this reason my touring 78 is running 265 on 6.5 rims. I would like to go larger but availability and drive train considerations take priority. BTW the aluminuim fabrication stuff is great and this road test and more pictures would be great! Super build up said:
thanks all! our hope for the first test drive is mid December about 3,000 miles to Auburn, Washington. we will be going back to Laser Cutting Northwest LCNW.COM to install the 60 gallon diesel tank and other fabrication. we are looking forward to the trip. we live in sunny los angeles... so the snow should be a lot of fun.

on the tires i will continue to look for the 255/100. my initial research is that they are not available.

thanks all this is all very helpful, pls keep it coming.......

HERE IS AN UP DATE ON THE BUILD
we did two things since we got back;
1. we decided to change all the wiring of the Nulla. thanks to Specter Off Road SOR.COM they had the wiring harness. the irony is this, one of the reasons we bought the Nulla is because it came with about 4 radios, wired for lights and many low voltage plugs. in short many wires. well it turns out that making all the wires work is much too complicated, so we decided to take it all out and start over again. tomorrow we install the factory harness we got from SOR.

2. we decided to install the air cleaner outside to create more room in the engine bay. see picture below.:bounce::bounce2:
wire.jpg
big pic.jpg
snorkle.jpg
 
more tire thoughts: what about 8.25r16 ?

Larger trucks use them around here. Firestone makes one. I haven't measured, but they look like they are about a 35" tire that is around 10" wide
 
Sandcruiser, the 8.25 R16 are quite difficult to get in Afrika and EU (here Michelin XZL), they are tall but very narrow.
Advantage ist that they cost a little less and might work without changing the Diffs.
I have been looking for them for the HZJ 71 of my wife, but did´t get any at that time. I have heard Michelin is more or less selling them to military only ?


Rideglobally,
again, what rims you use, with ET 0 ? I wouldn´t mind the wider track (ok you have to change the bearings more often but driving performence benefits too), but why use spacers that might cause a problem if you can solve all the problem with the rims?

35" (= 315/75) I would use 8" rims, with the 255/100 (= 9.00R16) 6,5" and with the 8.25 6" rims.

But when I look at your car and how wide it is I would try to increase the track width and go wit 315/75 R16 on 8" rims, ET -25 might fit to clear the front tires :hillbilly:
 
tire and roo bar

Sandcruiser, the 8.25 R16 are quite difficult to get in Afrika and EU (here Michelin XZL), they are tall but very narrow.
Advantage ist that they cost a little less and might work without changing the Diffs.
I have been looking for them for the HZJ 71 of my wife, but did´t get any at that time. I have heard Michelin is more or less selling them to military only ?


Rideglobally,
again, what rims you use, with ET 0 ? I wouldn´t mind the wider track (ok you have to change the bearings more often but driving performence benefits too), but why use spacers that might cause a problem if you can solve all the problem with the rims?

35" (= 315/75) I would use 8" rims, with the 255/100 (= 9.00R16) 6,5" and with the 8.25 6" rims.

But when I look at your car and how wide it is I would try to increase the track width and go wit 315/75 R16 on 8" rims, ET -25 might fit to clear the front tires :hillbilly:

thanks sancruiser and soenke, been busy trying to get it together for the 3000 mile (round trip) trip to Auburn, Washington. made progress today connecting the "new harness" radiator had to be taken to the shop for modification, etc. i am sure you all can relate. tomorrow our goal is to fire up the 12ht. we will see when the key turns. so many loose ends still. the other thing i did was to cut down the roo bar. see the picture and know this is first draft. i am trying to lose some weight and my plan is to cut the bumper about 6" from the frame.

input on the tires and wheels has been very helpful. i am considering the 315/75 R16 with a negative off set of 1.25 to 1.50 inches. i like the idea of widening the track with all it's positives and negatives. i made a call to a tire company and their initial response is yes on the negative off set and stay away from spacers. when i get the cruiser up and running again i will take it to a wheel and tire shop.

this will mean that my wheels and tires will be up for sale, pictured below, i will place them on the classified when i am ready to sell .... thanks:bounce::bounce2:
roo bar.jpg
tire size.jpg
tire whole.jpg
 
fired up the 12HT today - Dec 2008

you can watch it on u tube here is the link YouTube - 12ht engine on Nullacruiser .mov

none of the electrical where connected, except the starter to turn the engine. we where also surprise at the noise level, because the tail pipe was not connected. for us it became clear why we made this choice, the engine did not need electrical to continue running. fuel pump is also mechanical. simplicity is one of our goal, we think we accomplish that with this engine. it was exciting to see the engine come to life...... enjoy :bounce::bounce2:
 
I hardly ever venture into this forum. Glad i did this time.

Looks like a very nice and capable Cruiser. One thing is that you're going to love that engine as soon as you learn how to use the touchy throttle. It does take a few days to get the feel. But it's not as bad as some people say.

When you're at it, i would fab up a 3.5 inch turbo dumppipe followed with a 3 inch exhaust. I did this 3.5 years after i did the swap and regred that i didn't take the time to do it right away. It lowers the EGT's and you get some extra power to boot.


Here is a picture of the dumppipe i fabbed up. It's mounted in this picture.
verkleind.jpg

Another angle. Don't look at how dirty the engine is. Mud will do that. I did paint it after the rebuild...:crybaby:

verkleind2.jpg


Can't wait to see the finished project.

Later,
Mark
verkleind.jpg
verkleind2.jpg
 
I hardly ever venture into this forum. Glad i did this time.

Looks like a very nice and capable Cruiser. One thing is that you're going to love that engine as soon as you learn how to use the touchy throttle. It does take a few days to get the feel. But it's not as bad as some people say.

When you're at it, i would fab up a 3.5 inch turbo dumppipe followed with a 3 inch exhaust. I did this 3.5 years after i did the swap and regred that i didn't take the time to do it right away. It lowers the EGT's and you get some extra power to boot.


Here is a picture of the dumppipe i fabbed up. It's mounted in this picture.
View attachment 281152

Another angle. Don't look at how dirty the engine is. Mud will do that. I did paint it after the rebuild...:crybaby:

View attachment 281153


Can't wait to see the finished project.

Later,
Mark

Hi Mark,
Very timely this week we are working on the exhaust system, I send you a PM.
thanks you much....:bounce::bounce2:
 
Hi,

I'll answer here instead of in a PM.

The dumppipe is the cast elbow on the back of the turbo on which the exhaust bolts. It only has a 2.25 inch outlet, so it restricts the outgoing flow, which results in less power and higher than necessery EGT's.
I ordered the needed flange from suprasport. And worked from there.
LIPP Turbo outlet flange
Don't be tempted to buy the complete dumppipe for the supra. It will bolt up, but puts the exhaust thru the hood.

It takes a little more time to fab up than just bolting an exhaust to the OE dumppipe, but it's worth it.

The blue silicon hose is for the intercooler. I'm not sure if it's possible to fit one on your Cruiser since you have A/C installed. You probably don't have enough space to fit one.

I think i have some more pictures of the downpipe when i was building it. I'll look for them tomorrow, the pics are not on this computer.

HTH

Mark
 
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okay, the 3" will lower the EGTs and will allow the turbo to spin up quicker but you will not gain power by a larger exhaust. that is a falicy... your HP and Torque figures stay the same...
 
okay, the 3" will lower the EGTs and will allow the turbo to spin up quicker but you will not gain power by a larger exhaust. that is a falicy... your HP and Torque figures stay the same...

just little more loud ..
 
Hi,

I'll answer here instead of in a PM.

The dumppipe is the cast elbow on the back of the turbo on which the exhaust bolts. It only has a 2.25 inch outlet, so it restricts the outgoing flow, which results in less power and higher than necessery EGT's.
I ordered the needed flange from suprasport. And worked from there.
LIPP Turbo outlet flange
Don't be tempted to buy the complete dumppipe for the supra. It will bolt up, but puts the exhaust thru the hood.

It takes a little more time to fab up than just bolting an exhaust to the OE dumppipe, but it's worth it.

The blue silicon hose is for the intercooler. I'm not sure if it's possible to fit one on your Cruiser since you have A/C installed. You probably don't have enough space to fit one.

I think i have some more pictures of the downpipe when i was building it. I'll look for them tomorrow, the pics are not on this computer.

HTH

Mark

i ordered the flange, thanks .... a fabrication picture would be helpful if you find one .....:bounce::bounce2:
 
okay, the 3" will lower the EGTs and will allow the turbo to spin up quicker but you will not gain power by a larger exhaust. that is a falicy... your HP and Torque figures stay the same...

In theory you're completely right. But somehow the boost increased after mounting the dumppipe, without touching the boostcontroller and there is no smoke on a WOT acceleration. It doesn't only feel quicker, it is. I guestimate around 5 to 10 HP gain. In febuari or march the troopie will be dynoed so i finally know real numbers.
Also i'm in a constant battle with my dad, racing our Cruisers against eachother. For fun tho.I could never win until the dumppipe was fitted. The difference is to big to only be the little quicker turbo spool.

If you're ever over on this side of the pond. Let me know, i'll take you out for a spin.:flipoff2:

Later,
Mark
 
LOL!!
if the turbo spins up quicker it will produce more boost quicker which will give the feel of more power...
i did a bit of research when deciding what exhaust size i wanted on my HZT, the research concluded that actual HP and Torque does not change with larger exhaust.
but i am up for a boot in your baby, no problem...
In theory you're completely right. But somehow the boost increased after mounting the dumppipe, without touching the boostcontroller and there is no smoke on a WOT acceleration. It doesn't only feel quicker, it is. I guestimate around 5 to 10 HP gain. In febuari or march the troopie will be dynoed so i finally know real numbers.
Also i'm in a constant battle with my dad, racing our Cruisers against eachother. For fun tho.I could never win until the dumppipe was fitted. The difference is to big to only be the little quicker turbo spool.

If you're ever over on this side of the pond. Let me know, i'll take you out for a spin.:flipoff2:

Later,
Mark
 
Found two pictures, i hope these make sence.

View attachment 281419

View attachment 281420


Mark

thanks very helpful, my other question is this, why reduce to 3" why not make the tail pipe 3.5" all the way down or go to 4" if the 3.5" is not available, in other words the complete system from this point on? also, what did you use for a gasket, just realize i did not order one, i am sure i can figure out how to fabricate one of those.

thank again, very helpful and timely:bounce::bounce2:
 

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