Project Mini Me (2 Viewers)

[audaciousduo]

Here we go! An entire day of disconnecting vacuum hoses, wiring looms, fuel lines and radiator hoses. The 13BT is ready to come out for the RHD to LHD and 24 volt to 12 volt conversion. In the end I hope to have a rust free, LHD 70. I've started with a rust bucket 1985 LHD Canadian BJ70 as the donor vehicle and a rust free 1989 JDM BJ71 as the core. The body and frame of the BJ71 are immaculate for the year. What a pile of work. I'll do my best to update the build thread.

I will end up with a turbo 3B, H55F with split case, 4.11:1's with a limited slip in the full floater rear and an E-Locker in the front. Both diff's are the heavy duty 9.5". I'm keeping the 3" KEEP SLANT Japanese Lift with grease able shackles and plan on running 33's for tires. I'll use the ARB bumper, 8274 Warn and air ride seats off the old 70. The fire wall swap will be the most involved part of the build.

I'll do my best to update the build thread.

 

[Notmyrealname]

Sounds like a plan but why replace the 13BT with a 3B turbo?
ive never seen a 3B-T even come close to a 13BT performance wise.
Good luck!

 

[audaciousduo]

Its wheeler / Toy and selling the 13Bt keeps me well within my budget. It sits in the driveway five days a week and I couldn't justify keeping it when my old 3B still runs very well. It all comes down to wants and not needs I guess.

 

[audaciousduo]

Some progress

The 13BT is out with the help of my old 70 and his friend Warn. I am low on storage so I mocked up the new 70 with the 33"s. BJ70 grill, Roof rack and ARB/8274 tree pusher.

 

[audaciousduo]

3B out!

I've managed to pull both power trains this weekend. Both the 3B and 13BT are out with the transmissions and transfer cases. What a ton of work! I've come to the conclusion that the drive shaft bolts on the JDM trucks are torqued down by sumo wrestlers. My impact gun wouldn't touch them! Now if someone would come get these VERY CHEAP doors I'd be happy.

 

[Clint79]

what happened to the tube bar between the two front body mounts

 

[audaciousduo]

It was rusted out so I cut it off to make pulling the motor easier.

 

[audaciousduo]

70

Well the Canadian 70 has almost been completely parted out and I just have to cut the firewall loose before dispensing of the rest. I cut it throughout the roofline rater than the A-pillars because someone from Calgary Ab wanted the window frame when I was done. Now if I could only find the email. I'd like to meet the nit wit with an IQ of room temperature who replaced the top upper fender bolt with a non captured nut and bolt on the passenger side. That took as long to remove as taking off both fenders. STOP-O! "Stupid Trick Of Previous Owner". I hate those.

 

[Clint79]

It was rusted out so I cut it off to make pulling the motor easier.

Wow never seen one that rusty b4 , 10/10 for rust

 

[audaciousduo]

Thats not the worst spot. Check out the A-Pillar. You haven't seen snow, ice and road salt like we have in Canada either. They rust like crazy here.

 

[T0Y0TA]

Holy Smokes !

 

[Clint79]

No mate I've never been on snow , so not sure how the roads and the get the salt and stuff , but that is the rustiest 7x I've ever seen this is awsome
also great build btw , I can see why you had to change this rig over

 

[Greg_B]

You happy you went this route now?

Remember where the worst rust spots are. Make a mental note the best way to access those locations when everything is together. Get small plugs and drill holes where you need too. Then spray the crap out of those areas with something light like Fluid Film, red Rust Check, Krown, etc. Let it creep a few days. Then topcoat with something like 3M waxed based rust proofing, Proform amber rust proofing, etc. Do the high surface wear areas every year, and the hidden spots every few years. It's a little work, but worth it in the long run. Even with all this you won't stop it all...but it will slow it down considerably.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/diesel-tech-24-volts-systems/61401-rust-proofing-tools.html
https://forum.ih8mud.com/diesel-tech-24-volts-systems/40901-best-rust-prevention.html

Back on topic: Looking forward to the documentation of your process.

gb

 

[audaciousduo]

Good Advise Greg.

So far the purchase of the 71 was a good decision. After selling the 13BT and parting out some of 70 and 71 I've paid $2,400 for a complete new body, excellent frame, new windshield (mine was cracked), 4.10 axles with a full floater, limited slip rear and that funky keep slant lift kit. I've also gained a nicer interior and spare tail and signal lenses incase mine meet a tree on the trail. I've got roughly another $1000 worth of stuff to sell which should bring it down to $1400 for all that. I also saved myself months of work as converting to LHD is way less work than trying to weld together that mess of a 70. With the original price of the 70 added to costs of the 71 after parting both out I will be into this well under $8,000. Not a bad price for a solid BJ70 with a 3" lift, 33" mud tires, ARB bumper and 8274 Winch. Not a bad price for a great wheeler to get me to those remote fishing spots. My time is free as it is my hobby, I'm having fun and learning a ton. If I had more time and storage space I'm sure I could have broke even with selling the parts as I let a lot of it go cheap but I wanted to get on with it. I want to be ready for those back country camping/fishing trips come spring.

 

[BobBJ74]

Great post. Best of luck with the rest of the build.

 

[audaciousduo]

I've almost got the 71 to the point where I can start the conversion. The more I look at both the left and right hand firewalls its obvious that toyota has punched the fire wall for both left and right hand drive. Land Rover did the same thing but just riveted plates over the holes whereas Toyota only cut the side out for what ever the vehicle was designated to be. I think I may be able to cut some holes, drill out the bolt holes and weld on a few nuts on the left hand side. I'll have to weld up the holes on the right hand side and move a few spot welded brackets around. I don't think replacing the entire fire wall with the left hand drive one is necessary at all. Has anyone done it this way or am I hallucinating from diesel fumes?

Oh! I have every 24 volt relay, bulb, sensor and motor except a starter and alternator if anyone wants pick up some cheap spares. Make me an offer on the whole works including an unmolested firewall wiring harness and help me clear up some space in my garage. Some of the parts like the vacuum transfer case actuator are expensive to replace when they go.

 

[lowenbrau]

You've seen this thread, right?
https://forum.ih8mud.com/70-series-tech/212526-bj74-lhd-conversion.html

I agree with you that the firewalls are stamped the same way. It's the 76 thousand tabs and nuts and brackets that are welded on that make the difference. I like what you have planned but you are going to be drilling spotwelds till you puke.

Go for it

 

[audaciousduo]

I saw that thread. Some of the pictures don't show up anymore. The difficult part will be the venting for the heater box and the wipers but I think I can pull it off. The worst case scenario is that it doesn't work and I swap fire walls. The 71 fire wall is garbage either way. There are a ton of spot welds for sure.

 

[audaciousduo]

I got a little done today. The hole for the steering column has been relocated to the left hand side. I but welded in the patch and obviously didn't spend any time dressing welds as I have a ton more to do. I sprayed it with a self etching primer to keep it from rusting in the mean time. I'm leaning towards a rhino liner on the fire wall. I'm spraying one on top of the roof as I will end up scratching it all up with my gear in the roof rack. Not much, but its a start.

 

[audaciousduo]

Drilled out a ton of spot welds to remove the peddle boss from the right hand side of the truck. It has a large R stamped on it and I'm assuming the one from the Canadian truck will have a L stamped on it. It didn't take that long as I ponied up for some quality spot weld bits. I'll document as much as I can incase someone else decides to try this. Yes, I know I punched one through. Must be the married man forearm, I'll have to mig that up.