What have you done to your Land Cruiser this week? (33 Viewers)

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I have a question : wouldn't you want to properly weld the back half onto the front half first before painting anything?
Much easier to play with two halfs in my limited working areas. And the mounting/jointing is going to be a different than original. Like:
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...instead of original:
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And that was just a primer.
 
Paint the front half. Both coats are epoxy primer despite of the color. First time for me to use a spray gun, it was quite rewarding working.
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Do you have the period correct PTO shifter and linkage? If so, can you take measurements of the bracket that mounts to the transfer case and measurements of the PTO shifter cutout and mounting holes on the side of the transmission hump?
 
A productive week!

I put POR15 on the rear half of my frame. Washed with cleaner on Monday. Metal etch on Tuesday. Two coats of POR on Wednesday (it took 5 small cans). Two coats of top coat on Thursday (I followed someone else's suggestion to tap two holes in the top of the can and then resealed with screws).

I installed the rear OME 2.5" lift on Saturday. I found it was much easier to mount the new leaf springs on the fixed hanger first and then attach via the moveable shackle. I was finally able to install a set of "Biscuit" Appliance Epoxy painted wagon wheels with 33's, and sold my old mudders on Craigslist. I also replaced the slave clutch cylinder and used a Harbor Freight bleeder, so I could actually take it on a test drive.

I pulled the top off on Sunday and tried to install a used full roll cage I picked up locally. The cage won't allow me to close the front doors, so I've got some thinkin to do... LOL

But the best part of the week... Catching my son horsing around in the driver's seat!

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Do you have the period correct PTO shifter and linkage? If so, can you take measurements of the bracket that mounts to the transfer case and measurements of the PTO shifter cutout and mounting holes on the side of the transmission hump?
Yes it is, and yes I can. Wait day or two.
 
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I picked up my fresh wheels. Now I’m concerned that they’ll sit too far in for my liking. The aftermarket 8” wagon wheels are wider and nice and deep, which I think looks cool. OEM wagon are narrower may make the fender flares (PO add on) look silly.
Tires are 31x10.5
Maybe a dumb question... What is involved in removing the flares? I feel like my truck had them at some point. There were a bunch of holes drilled in the lip of the wheel well, but not noticeable from the side. The rusted through quarter panels WERE noticeable.

I am putting original wagon wheels on mine as well (Also, I took off the same wider spoked wheels -only in chrome) and I think the tucked-in-look is REAL tidy. The only difference is I went with 33's instead of 31's. Sorry I don't have a better pic yet. Tentatively planning to wrap it up over the long weekend. FINALLY.
 
Getting closer. Tackling some details. I haven't driven her since we installed the power steering, but I do remember the difficulty of turning the wheel combined with worn out springs for the horn buttons resulted in unintentional honking almost every time I had to take a slow corner. I just fixed the stiff steering with a saginaw box, thought I'd figure out the hair-touch horn buttons too.
I opened it up and all the springs were rusted, two had snapped and were just floating in there. The final one was a few presses away from total failure.

I could not for the life of me find original replacement parts without buying an entire steering wheel with unknown internals.

I got thinking... I need spring steel that would "spring" back to it's original shape each time it's bent. I looked into buying some flat stock spring steel and heat bending it, re-tempering it, etc... I'll be honest, the learning curve sounded crappy and I was talking myself into it. A cop-out would have been to reroute the horn button to an existing button on the shifter knob (more on the shifter another day). I considered that route for a moment, but it was never REALLY an option for me.

Somewhere along the way I thought of one of those rainbow shaped springs they use for window screens to press them into window frames... So off I went to the Home Depot. They didn't have what I had imagined but they did have these:

A little trial and error and I had a stew going.
1. Drill out single rivet that held the little plastic wheel bracket.
2. Toss bracket and wheel in the garbage. That sparks joy.
3. Drill hole all the way through at "hook" end.
4. Drill mounting hole at appropriate distance for button mounting. (I used rusted OEM piece to measure)
5. Bend new "springs" a bit, by bending them past where you want them to return. (see side view below for where I ended up)
6. Use OEM hardware to attach horn buttons to new "springs".
7. Bolt new assembly to steering wheel.
8. Reassemble steering wheel.


All 3 buttons installed.

Haven't tested horn functionality yet (battery is still disconnected, horns are not wired, etc...) but they are much stiffer (not too stiff) and they make a satisfying click as I tap them against the contact in the wheel (theoretically completing the circuit and sending a tasty "honk" out the bib). They don't have the same lateral stability but the holes the horn buttons sit in should keep them from going askew.



$7 bucks and an hour of futzing around.
 
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Maybe a dumb question... What is involved in removing the flares? I feel like my truck had them at some point. There were a bunch of holes drilled in the lip of the wheel well, but not noticeable from the side. The rusted through quarter panels WERE noticeable.

I am putting original wagon wheels on mine as well (Also, I took off the same wider spoked wheels -only in chrome) and I think the tucked-in-look is REAL tidy. The only difference is I went with 33's instead of 31's. Sorry I don't have a better pic yet. Tentatively planning to wrap it up over the long weekend. FINALLY.
Not a dumb question. A picture would help a lot , but I’m not home. The previous owner applied fender flares and then cut the sheet metal back, enlarging the fender opening behind the flares. If I remove mine there will be a row of holes, like yours had, and also the factory opening for the wheel is all chopped open and ugly looking.
I have no natural desire to do body work, but repairing the fender openings to factory shape is tempting me to try my hand at it.

I still like a wheel/tire that sticks out a bit. I’m unsatisfied with the OEM white spokes being so tucked in, so I’m searching for options. Currently I have them for sale for $900.
 
Do you have the period correct PTO shifter and linkage? If so, can you take measurements of the bracket that mounts to the transfer case and measurements of the PTO shifter cutout and mounting holes on the side of the transmission hump?
Yes it is, and yes I can. Wait day or two.
Hope these pictures help you.

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The measure is at the opening’s right edge, despite it looks it’s over it/too much right.
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Can you take measurements of this one? Or better yet, would you be willing to send it to me so I can have a duplicate made? I’ll compensate you. I have searched for quite some time, and have never been able to find one for sale.

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Can you take measurements of this one? Or better yet, would you be willing to send it to me so I can have a duplicate made?
Measurements, yes, but it’s feels a little too risky to send it over the Atlantic ocean to you. :)
 
Can you take measurements of this one? Or better yet, would you be willing to send it to me so I can have a duplicate made. I’ll compensate you.

Measurements, yes, but it’s feels a little too risky to send it over the Atlantic ocean to you. :)
I didn’t realize you weren’t in the States. Measurements would be nice. That is the last piece I need to complete the factory shifter setup on mine. The PO used a homemade setup.
 
Measurements, yes, but it’s feels a little too risky to send it over the Atlantic ocean to you. :)
You can trace it on card bord and sent him the templates.
 

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