1983 bj40 in uk

[rob4wd]

phew. that's christmas out the way and i've got some time off to move things forward.my intention over the next week or so is to get the thing fired up for the first time since it was stripped down. a real big step if all goes to plan

it will take a few days of posting for this thread to catch up to where i am by which time the thread will progress in real time.(i:e very slowly!). but to pick up where we left off here's the cruiser all ready to go to the shot blasters.

the guy who i got to do this uses sand-not ideal but he was cheap.unfortunately,but like pretty much everybody i guess, cost is a big issue in the build. the cruiser cost £2k,i reckon the same again on parts and the same again on outside services and contingencies.

if all goes to plan then it should stand me at around £6k by the time it is finished.What would it be worth over here? hard to say exactly 'cause they are rare but i would hope maybe £5k on a good day.

anyway back to the blasting-the guy also agreed to flash prime everything after blasting with red oxide.the reason i was keen to have this done is that i am struggling for dry space.nice to see a load of filthy gobbed up rubbish be taken away then return clean and primed (if a little more perforated than i anticipated)

 

[rob4wd]

frame was dropped at a metalworker friend of mine. main areas of rot were front crossmember/radiator support, rear shackle hangers,frame rails from top of wheel arch curve back and rear corner braces. there were also a few localised areas of rot and one of the forward rear spring hangers was twisted but had then been braced in that position and welded by the po.


first piccie shows the front x-member - rad supports cut out to be transplanted on new member.

2nd and 3rd show how bad thing were at the rear. its not clear on the piccie but the rearmost of the frame rails were toast. they had been poorly welded by limited access through the butchered wheel well.

the rear cross member/bumper was suprisingly ok

in my next post i'll go through what we did to repair the frame.

 

[spackrackman]

My two BJ40's

Blimey you are brave starting where you are with your Toyota. Rust scares me! The red one is one I imported from OZ two years ago and the aluminum one I got from Ireland last week. The build so far has been documented on here by the previous chap who I bought it from. Now I need to decide/work out how I am going to put it together and if I am going origional looking or with my own ideas.

Are you going to renovate all your body work? that seems to have survived better that your chassis.

Jonnie

 

[rob4wd]

hi there


i saw that alu one on ebay a while back. the po had certainly put some serious dough into it. seeing as you got one stockish one you might aswell go for it on the new project.

rust scares me too but you get used to it.bodywork is pretty poor but it's just time really-cutting out and replacing any holed bits etc. tub is nearly there and will start panels soon. if you keep an eye on this thread you will catch up to where i am in a few more posts/days.


regards

rob

 

[rob4wd]

pretty much at the end of the tear down now. the first piccie shows a new front crossmember being fabricated. it is close to the original but not exact. i think if i was refitting the idler arm assembly i would have problems, but my intention is to junk this and have 60 type p/s steering. all new metal has been welded as have new fabricated rear shackle hangers etc. i know riviting would have been preferable but it just wasn't cost effective. rear spring hanger that was mis aligned was straightened and braced.many other areas patched and strengthened so frame good to receive a couple of coats of satin rustoleum. now when you smack it with a lump hammer it just rings rather than bits falling off! also sprayed inside all the channels with waxoil.

bit of a jump now 'cause i got a bit carried away and forgot to take piccies. spent the autumn waiting for a local supplier to ship me an ironman suspension from oz. all that time i was told it was on a boat on it's way but it never was.ironman were out of stock but i (and my supplier) were not told. three months were 'wasted' but having said that it gave me time on the tub. many days spent cutting out rusty metal and replacing-you all know the areas. i decided to go rustoleum satin beige and hand painted the underside after sheetmetalwork and strengthening mounting points was complete. my first foray into spraying was with the bulkhead (both sides-to allow me to move build on). i am pleased with the results and they have gave me the confidence to complete spraying all items as and when the time comes

i ordered suspension (2 1/2") from sor along with some other stuff,painted the axles and got the truck sittting up. engine back from my mate dropped on and is waiting for enough ancillaries to start it (hopefully sat 3rd).

as you can see i have no proper facilities for this build so the pergola at the bottom of the garden gets covered over( much to the wife's "amusement") this is now my build areal.btw there is no vehicular access to this. everthing has been carried in (tub over neighbour's fence!) when the truck is ready there are 3 options for it's removal- neighbour A,neghbour B, crane!

more to follow-happy new year all

rob

 

[rob4wd]

weekend went very well.


tub shown finally bolted to frame (with some 1" lift blocks)

engine fired up with few problems (sump had got a slight dent in and crankshaft was rubbing. bit scary at first but soon sorted). it is amazing how little clearance there is between crank and oil pan.also no oil pressure showing on gauge but giving the sender a bit of a poke cured that.

sounds very healthy and no smoke being produced from crankcase vent now.

front axle rebuild completed (except hubs) so for the first time in 6 months the cruiser starts and is sitting on all four wheels with a working suspension. prior to the strip i dont think there was one bush that hadn't seized in it's rusty housing.

pictures show finished colour and cruiser as it is now .

next on the list is to sort the steering and start preparing the front panels

 

[lostmarbles]

Lookin good Rob

 

[Teebag]

Nice, I wondered what happened to that Irish 40

 

[antFJ]

x2 i recognized that irish rig immediately.. keep the pics coming.. looks like you've made some amazing progress

 

[71 redwood]

lookn good an nice job.

 

[rob4wd]

hi all,

you'll know by now i'm in real time with this project and my next job is the steering. i know i will be coming onto a few issues with this in the near future but the main problem for now is to connect the old steering shaft to the 'new' 70 series steering gear.

as you can see from the first pick i have mounted the unit just in front of the shock tower (which i moved back a little-more of that to come in future posts though).

i have installed a bearing to replace the bush at the base of the steering shaft and now need to connect. the distance between the 3/4'' plain shaft to the 3/4'' 36 spline shaft is 550mm.

i'm guessing i need two ujs and some sort if slip shaft???

can anyone help-i think downeys do something but it is pricey and the wrong side of the pond.

hiluxonian, do hiluxes have a similar arrangement and if so can you source parts??

any help much appreciated

 

[Hiluxonian]

I'll have a look tomorrow (sunday 11th) and get back to you. You may be able to make something up out of 2 shafts I've got a few laying about mk2 and 3 hilux models. Looks the same fitment

 

[tmarx]

Nice going ! Keep it up

 

[Hiluxonian]

I'll have a look tomorrow (sunday 11th) and get back to you. You may be able to make something up out of 2 shafts I've got a few laying about mk2 and 3 hilux models. Looks the same fitment

Mk2 and mk3 shafts the shorter one is 535mm end to end and the longer 665mm knock a bit off for coverage

Hope this helps

 

[rob4wd]

thanks hiluxonian- i'll pm you

 

[rob4wd]

hi all,

progress a little slow on this project for various reasons but i am committed to keep moving it forward even if slowly. will post latest pics and report in a week or so, but for now can somebody with a spare windshield frame lying around give me the distance between the top and bottom flanges. i have cut out the rot from mine but have lost all reference points. many thanks

 

[allana13]

Any more updates on this ?

Looks good man

 

[rob4wd]

yep all up and running now. the recession hit and things slowed but all good now. been very lazy in posting (still visit most nights) but will dig out a few piccies to bring it up to date. it is still an ongoing project with lots planned but here it is as is now and fully road legal

regards all and thanks for asking

 

[allana13]

Where are you getting the parts for it mate

I am after some original seats & original wheels

 

[rob4wd]

Where are you getting the parts for it mate

I am after some original seats & original wheels

spent a lot of $$ with sor and ccot. have used maf in the past also. i have a us shipping address which makes things much easier and costs peanuts. might be your best bet as you're unlikely to get what u need in the uk.

regards