70 series Landcruiser Troopy expedition build - Frame off. (8 Viewers)

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Got some LEGO parts for the body. OEM body parts from Japan4x4. Dave provides amazing service. Quick, reliable and with a smile. I think except the frame rails, it’s all ‘new’ parts on this build.

Parts are headed to the body shop. Next month it will be 12 months since it left us on this journey to be repaired.

I also ordered aluminum panels to support and protect the heater module. It will have the Espar heater, fuel pump, coolant pump, heat exchange and the coolant tank. I ended up ordering a 1 gallon tank. Figured the 3 gallons was too big. Photos to follow.

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I picked up the axles from Valley Hybrids this week. Always great to see my friend Georg. Front axle is supporting the frame, all the brackets fit and I can roll the frame out of the shop and do some cleaning.
I ordered the wrong (48740-60100) Panhard cross member and the one from the 79 that fits had 2 welds in the middle. Right part number is 48740-60110.
The wheels are the dusty from the 79 mine truck.

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Finally finished cutting the intercooler piping. I’ll have them TIG welded and then bead blasted. Also mounted the fenders so I can start working on the engine bay.
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Ha e you considered to ha a a lateral and shorte exsaust ?
You will save some weight , but mostly gain in power response , a little bit in general power , and a lot more free space between the frame .
 
Ha e you considered to ha a a lateral and shorte exsaust ?
You will save some weight , but mostly gain in power response , a little bit in general power , and a lot more free space between the frame .
I did. On my 40 and 60 exhaust comes out in front of the rear right wheel. Chrome rim is always black. It’s noisy when opening the window. Some fumes come into the cab when you stop. The good thing is when a Tesla stop next to you at the stop light, they have to roll up the windows.

I’m not worried about space in the frame. I have all designed and will have a custom 30 gal stainless water tank behind the rear axle.

Between the fuel tank and rear axle on the driver side a tray with the hydronic heater system that is modular. It has a 1 gallon hot rod aluminum tank for the ‘coolant’ and a heat exchanger, the heater and two pumps (diesel and coolant).

There is still plenty of space for air tank, vacuum tank, 2 fuel filters on the left of the drivetrain between the two axles and behind the fuel tank.

This is soooo much more real estate than my 80….
 
This weekend we installed the rear axle. Finally have a full rolling frame. Don't mind the wheels and tires. They are from the 79 frame. I'm looking for a set and trying to figure out which one. If any has a suggestion, I would love the advise.

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I settled on 255/85/16 for the tire size so I could have something a little skinnier than the 285/75/16s I had been running.

I also wanted all terrains since I drive a lot in sand and gravel. That led me to Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx tires. For rims I ended up going with Toyota stock steel wheels. There are not a lot of options for aftermarket wheels that fit without spacers.

We had a pretty good discussion going on the options starting here:

 
I settled on 255/85/16 for the tire size so I could have something a little skinnier than the 285/75/16s I had been running.

I also wanted all terrains since I drive a lot in sand and gravel. That led me to Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx tires. For rims I ended up going with Toyota stock steel wheels. There are not a lot of options for aftermarket wheels that fit without spacers.

We had a pretty good discussion going on the options starting here:

Thanks. My rig is a bit different. I have 79 axles with 5x150 lugs. It much harder to find rims. The rims that came with the 2003 79 chassis has different offset on the front and back. There is not much difference in the width of the axles. Front is 1.5” wider than the back unlike the wider nose troopy with a bigger difference. As long that the frame is rolling, I can work on it. Wheels will be last. Maybe Method 701. I’ll need 17” rims to clear the brakes. As for now, I have bigger fish to fry…😀
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Thanks. My rig is a bit different. I have 79 axles with 5x150 lugs. It much harder to find rims. The rims that came with the 2003 79 chassis has different offset on the front and back. There is not much difference in the width of the axles. Front is 1.5” wider than the back unlike the wider nose troopy with a bigger difference. As long that the frame is rolling, I can work on it. Wheels will be last. Maybe Method 701. I’ll need 17” rims to clear the brakes. As for now, I have bigger fish to fry…😀
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Ofer,

I’ve got the 701s on my 80 and they are fantastic. Pretty challenging to get the tires to seat, and they are basically beadlocks without being over the top show-y. Really like them. Great build! Totally jealous.

Cool,

Seth
 
Thanks. My rig is a bit different. I have 79 axles with 5x150 lugs. It much harder to find rims. The rims that came with the 2003 79 chassis has different offset on the front and back. There is not much difference in the width of the axles. Front is 1.5” wider than the back unlike the wider nose troopy with a bigger difference. As long that the frame is rolling, I can work on it. Wheels will be last. Maybe Method 701. I’ll need 17” rims to clear the brakes. As for now, I have bigger fish to fry…😀
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Just an FYI Ofer, the 105 steelies work pretty good. Also Raceline (and others) have a very large variety of wheels for backspacing and so on.

Cheers
 
Just an FYI Ofer, the 105 steelies work pretty good. Also Raceline (and others) have a very large variety of wheels for backspacing and so on.

Cheers
Do you know if 16” rims will fit? I have the 5 lugs 79,100 and tundra type axles. I was thinking of the F5. They have them in 5x150 and 16”x8”. Zero offset.
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Do you know if 16” rims will fit? I have the 5 lugs 79,100 and tundra type axles. I was thinking of the F5. They have them in 5x150 and 16”x8”. Zero offset.
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We have the 16” 105 steelies on Johns 79. There is no change between 105/79 as far as five lug. Backspacing is different on a 100.

Cheers
 
We have the 16” 105 steelies on Johns 79. There is no change between 105/79 as far as five lug. Backspacing is different on a 100.

Cheers
Thanks Ian. Do you know the offset on the steelies?
 
Ran the brake lines and working on the sway bar in the front. Since I moved the radius arm brackets out .8", I have to build new brackets on the axle for the sway bar. Just more metal work. I also ordered battery trays and now noticed that the 80 series cruise control servo will not fit. I have to measure and see if I can move the right battery tray closer to the firewall and fit the CC servo between the air box and battery.

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Today I got the driveshafts. One had a bad splines so a donated 80 series was used. All new OEM bearings and balanced. Hope I measured it correctly.
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Started laying out the hydronic diesel heater module. It will be attached to the frame behind the fuel tank driver side. I’ll build an aluminum cover for it with a few holes. One connector for the heater control and 4 pipe fittings. 2 pipes with the heated coolant going to a water to air radiator to heat the cabin and 2 for instant hot water.

Also the intercooler system is ready for the final TIG welding. I’ll post photos when it’s done. Also I installed the body mounts.

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I was planning on driving my troopy around as-is for a while when it shows up but this is making me want to strip it when I get it home from the port haha
 
Got the parts from the TIG welder. Aluminum was to modify the intercooler radiator and add ports to the diesel coolant tank. Stainless was to weld the intercooler piping. The piping will be fine bead blasted to look like the aluminum intake manifold. $250 total cost for welding. The whole intercooler cost including parts less than $650. I'm happy.

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