dmaddox's 1981 BJ42 restoration and information thread! (5 Viewers)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

dmaddox

SILVER Star
Joined
Nov 7, 2003
Threads
280
Messages
3,093
Location
Long Island, NY
Well,

I pulled another one home. Some of you may have seen this for sale, I found it in the mountains of northern Utah.

Let me first say that I am going to need a TON of help from you guys. I have only worked on and restored FJ cruisers, so this is an entirely new world to me.

With that being said, ANYTIME I am looking for cruisers (and for those have have followed my various restoration threads) I ALWAYS RUN from cruisers that have v8 swaps in them. . .that is...until I found Mack.

Here is Mack, a Canadian LHD 1981 BJ42:

bj421.jpg


Now, let me preface this thread by saying I am intending on doing a full (VERY close to OEM) restoration. Some may leave it like it is, etc...but I picked this cruiser up because some "things" fell into place for it to happen.

First off, I needed a 3B before I would buy this, so with the help of profff here on the forums I have a complete 3B on the way and it all worked out - so I jumped on the BJ42.

So, some things to note (obviously)

1. I will be putting the springs BACK under the axles.
2. 3B will be going back in.
3. Full body restoration.

Here is where you guys come in. I am not familiar with the 24V or 3B system, so I apologize IN ADVANCE for requiring so much help.

bj422.jpg


bj423.jpg


bj424.jpg


Those were the pictures I saw of it on the advertisement.

I have started picking through the details of it.....

My new home:

mack021.jpg


I am going to need to find a donor dash to fix the radio hole.....for new folks to the cruiser community PLEASE STOP CUTTING THESE HOLES to fit your gangster cd player!!!! GRRRRrrrrrr. he he he.

mack020.jpg


Check this out....I got up under the dash and found that the "GLOW" button is wired into that hokey wiper fluid motor.../sigh. The wiring on this....going to be a nightmare.

LUCKILY (Maybe you guys can help) It appears most 24V stuff is still in place?

mack013.jpg


mack014.jpg


mack012.jpg


mack011.jpg


mack008.jpg


As I stood there I told my new buddy Mack.....don't worry buddy - you are in good hands now.

mack007.jpg


Look at the glorious power steering setup I am going to have to gut out and fix? What a friggen disaster. Which means.....the steering shaft is hacked too.

mack009.jpg


mack006.jpg


mack005.jpg


mack004.jpg


Some things are missing, but all in all it's not TOO bad.

Worst of the rust:

mack019.jpg


Argh!

mack018.jpg


I am no stranger to this stuff! Me 17 Rust 1 - pretty good record.

mack017.jpg


mack003.jpg


hitting my picture limit.....to be continued....
 
Last edited:
safe at home....

mack001.jpg


So now I have a few questions for you fellas.....

What went here? What was cut out?

IMG_0194.jpg


Pretty sure this is the stock four speed, but I have never seen this side access cover....can you guys confirm Toyota 4 speed?

IMG_0193.jpg


Can you tell if these spring mounts have been tampered with? They look cut and relocated.

IMG_0195.jpg


IMG_0192.jpg


a random interior shot. Luckily the head rests are still there.

mack016.jpg


I am a bit overwhelmed right now - so much to do.

The 3B should be here in a week or so, so in the meantime I am planning things out and working on a plan of attack.

I just hope that I can salvage a really nice restoration out of this rig. I hope she's beautiful in the end.

For example, I am worried about mounting the 3B back in there because I want even the welds on the motor mounts to look OEM (unless they were riveted on, I'll do the best I can). As I plan this out, I am just worried about doing a really REALLY good job, and with the diesel and 24 volt system, I am in a whole new world.

I appreciate all the help in advance. I think I read in someone's signature a quote from Abraham Lincoln, "If you know what you are doing, you are not learning."

Well, I'll definately be learning.

here we go!

-dallas
 
Cool. This is a lucky cruiser. You do killer, very detailed restorations.

Looks like the cut-out is where the fuel water/sediment separator tank goes.

Subscribed...
 
If you're going full stock does that mean you're gonna cut out that pretty full roll cage? :p

Nice looking truck, exactly like mine. (Except I bought mine with a homebrew aluminum tub - lots of diamondplate)

Hopefully I'll learn some things about my 24V enough to offer some helpful advice, :D

Edit: I just realized there's a mountain dew bottle as a coolant reservoir. Being the expert and professional I am, I suggest that be remedied, haha
 
Dallas, if you need engine mounts,Kevin (AWLTEQ) ,makes killer reproduction 3b mounts that locate the engine with the correct offset! I know because I used them in my 45 and it looks factory!Great project, I love 3b's,great little engine.
 
So now I have a few questions for you fellas.....

What went here? What was cut out?

Vacuum tank.

Pretty sure this is the stock four speed, but I have never seen this side access cover....can you guys confirm Toyota 4 speed?

That looks like a 1pc transfer case to me, is it?? I don't think the later models like this one had that side PTO cover on the transmission either. I'm thinking that powertrain came from something much earlier.

Can you tell if these spring mounts have been tampered with? They look cut and relocated.

Toyota did not, and would not, use nuts and bolts to hold those on. Def. tampered with.
 
Some other notes...

Luckily the front axle was not cut and turned. Unfortunately that means there's likely some shot bearings and trashed u-joints.

11th nickel - um....the mountain dew bottle is staying, sorry. He he he - nice spot. I wondered that myself when I bought it! ha ha ha.

whitey - thanks for the tip on the motor mounts.

1ton, thanks for the comliment. I hope to do this BJ42 it's justice. I think it has potential - i HOPE it does - otherwise I wouldn't be going through all this trouble.

The BIG mystery now, and part of the planning phase is....what major things are incorrect that I am going to have to start collecting parts on.

I sure am excited to get started. This reminds me - the green one you see in the photo's - I didn't post too much in it's restoration thread because the 40's area is so active.

I hope you guys don't mind me posting this thread in the diesel section, even though it's a 40.

Thanks much!

-dallas
 
Vacuum tank.

That looks like a 1pc transfer case to me, is it?? I don't think the later models like this one had that side PTO cover on the transmission either. I'm thinking that powertrain came from something much earlier.

Toyota did not, and would not, use nuts and bolts to hold those on. Def. tampered with.

re Vacuum Tank: Ok, I hope I can find one of these and figure out what they are or how it all hooks up.

re Power Train: According to my Q and A post I started earlier ( https://forum.ih8mud.com/diesel-tech-24-volts-systems/410445-40-vs-42-differences.html ) .... the two piece xfr case didn't get delivered until later. As far as the side cover - I have no idea.

re Spring Perch: I didn't think so. That frustrates me that so much has been hacked and tampered with up front. This is going to make for an interesting restoration. That stupid (beg your pardon), CRAP tastic saginaw setup (I hate those things because of how folks butcher up the cruiser to get them in there) is going to be a huge project in and of itself, let alone the 3B mounting, springs, and everything else invovled.

I keep telling myself one bite at a time, just be patient.

thanks for the feedback :)
 
Dallas, I am so glad you bought that, if it had still had the diesel, I would have bought it.

You will do it justice, just keep it updated and let me know when its done so I can check it out.

Are you going to at least turbo that 3B,it will be a slug at this altitude.
 
I'll be following this closely Dallas!
 
My 82 FJ40 had stretched rivets on the front spring hangers and they were quite loose. I ended up having to weld them because it wasn't safe. Likely that is what happened with yours but he replaced the stretched rivets with bolts.

You're going to need an H55 or H41 I would think to go back to stock, check your vin plate to know for sure.
 
looks good ..... but WOW a Veeate in BJ... someone should be shot ... thanx for savin it.... I like the size wish you were closer I'd swap SUA for SOA .... but your a long drive from South Texas :cheers:keep us posted fooshoo :steer:
 
re Power Train: According to my Q and A post I started earlier ( https://forum.ih8mud.com/diesel-tech-24-volts-systems/410445-40-vs-42-differences.html ) .... the two piece xfr case didn't get delivered until later. As far as the side cover - I have no idea.

Fair enough, the split case started in 1981, Aug. 1980 build dates or later... so its possible you had a one-piece case. What is your frame number?

I can say with some certainty, however, that 1981 transmissions don't have the side cover. The EPC says that little creature lives only from late '73 through early '76 (its a little hard to read, so those dates aren't exact).

re Spring Perch: I didn't think so. That frustrates me that so much has been hacked and tampered with up front. This is going to make for an interesting restoration.

It looks to me that the perch is still in the proper location, just with the rivets replaced. Here is my best pic of where it should be.
fhanger.JPG
 
Nice find Dallas.

The transmission there might be original to your truck, but it might not. As noted above, the side cover might preclude that, and the input shaft splines are different between the H42s used behind B series engines and F/H series engines. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they used a different H42 from an F series truck just because I doubt there were many adapter options to mate the V8 work with the spline count on a B series H42...

I know you're going as original as possible, but seriously consider a turbo. The difference (especially at your elevations) is night and day in terms of power, driveability and efficiency. Just throwing it out there...

Subscribed.

Dan
 
that's some pretty serious rust .. not for you but do for me ..

nice overflow tank ..:)

be sure to get the EDIC motor and related with your 3B and look for the EDIC relay in your cruiser ..
 
I will probably not know for sure on the transmission until I get the chevy motor out and can inspect it. What can you tell me about the spline count and what I should be looking for to see if that's the correct transmission?

As far as turbo kits - yes I have entertained that thought, but it is a long way down the road before I worry about those specifics. I need to iron out so many issues and details before I can get into the turbo pros and cons. Toyota didn't put turbo's on 3B's from the factory in 1981 that I am aware of, if they did - I would be more prone to plop one on there. We'll see how things unfold.

I am no stranger to turbo's (on diesels I am), but I completely designed and built a GT2871R setup on my 1.8 liter VW jetta. 305hp at the wheels. A totally different animal, I know - but I am familiar with the ideology behind it and how they work.

Anyway - I also need to do some research on this vacuum tank or whatever it was that was bolted to the left frame rail. Anyone have a photo of that, or how it works, etc..?

Thanks!
 
that's some pretty serious rust .. not for you but do for me ..

nice overflow tank ..:)

be sure to get the EDIC motor and related with your 3B and look for the EDIC relay in your cruiser ..

If I can't cover the rust hole with my hand, I consider that serious. Otherwise, it's nothing I can patch to where you'd never know there was rust there.

Thanks for the comments on the overflow tank - it IS awesome! Ha ha ha...

What is the EDIC motor - and where is the relay, so I can check to see if it is still intact?

thanks so much!

-dallas
 
3B stuff

Alright, I have to get involved. :)

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but the EDIC is a mechanical device that stops the flow of fuel to the engine when the key is turned off. This is because on mechanically injected diesels, even if you take the power away they will continue to run until they are out of fuel. Kind of cool that you don't have to rely on electrical systems to keep your engine going. This is in contrast to the gas engine or modern diesel which relies on at least one or two high powered electrical fuel pumps. Take the power away from those and the engine quits.

With that said, on the fj62 that I pulled this out of the PO had rigged the hand throttle to kill the engine, meaning that the key didn't shut the engine down. Thought to myself that the EDIC didn't make it in the original transplant. While I was pulling the engine, however, I noticed that the EDIC WAS still there, but it wasn't connected. Don't know why as I was already pretty deep into disassembly and couldn't test it out, but it is there.

The EDIC is located just aft of the injection pump on the driver side.

Maddox, check your e-mail too. I will get the rest of the parts to you ASAP.

If I can't cover the rust hole with my hand, I consider that serious. Otherwise, it's nothing I can patch to where you'd never know there was rust there.

Thanks for the comments on the overflow tank - it IS awesome! Ha ha ha...

What is the EDIC motor - and where is the relay, so I can check to see if it is still intact?

thanks so much!

-dallas
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom