Builds 1985 BJ70 Story and Modifications

[buschmaster86]

realy nice truck !

where can i get that headlight roasters ?

 

[AlbertoSD]

realy nice truck !

where can i get that headlight roasters ?

The headlight grills you mean?...not sure as they came with the truck when I bought it

 

[AlbertoSD]

A few more photos of the radiator install.

Big thanks to my friend Andy (A ROGUE) for helping me with the radiator replacement

 

[AlbertoSD]

Another little project that got tackled was to tidy-up the electrical connections to the batteries. There were a bunch of add-on connections that were removed for a clean looking assembly.

I bought the battery terminals and wire terminals from Wrangler Power Products at Web

 

[AlbertoSD]

I bought a Blue Sea System Blade Fuse Box to run a feed cable to the fuse box and feed all the electronics from this auxiliary fuse box. This way, all the connections to the batteries will remain somewhat clean and fewer cables will need to run through the bulkhead. Bought the fuse box from a web-vendor (maybe Amazon) but below are the specs of the fuse box that I decided to purchase:

ST Blade Fuse Blocks - PN - Blue Sea Systems

I decided to mount the fuse box on the passenger side (Right Hand) kick panel. A few of the accesories that will be wired from this fuse box include:

1. Engel Fridge
2. 12V Power Take Outs for GPS, cell phone chargers, iPod chargers
3. Hella Map reading lamps
4. CB Radio
5. Switch signal for auxiliary lights
6. Other items I'm sure I can't remember now

I also bought a dash tray table from a company called TMT4x4 in Venezuela. The tray is fastened by using existing holes and bolts on the 70 dash. It is secured by the two bolts that hold the grab handle and one extra bolt that holds the dash assembly to the bulkhead. No holes need to be drilled to install this tray.

 

[AlbertoSD]

I am not sure if my Super-Glow system was working correctly, but the 70 stumbled a couple of times when the temperature got down to 10 F.

I found a thread by "Hltoppr" where the whole procedure to install the famous Wilson Switch on a BJ70 was outlined:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/diesel-tec...822-1985-bj70-wilson-switch-installation.html

So, following the text posted by "eleventhirtyfour" and using the images of the Factory Service Manual posted by "Hltoppr" I went out and started working on my 1985 BJ70 to install the switch.

First, I bought a temporary switch from Drew (amaurer) at Knoobs.com, Custom Switches and Knobs. If you haven't talked to Drew yet, he is a great guy and great person to deal with. I wanted to keep a factory appearance so I asked Drew to replicate the knob of the factory hand throtle. Drew did an amazing job an used the factory glow symbol on the knob.

Here is a photo of the knob:

 

[AlbertoSD]

Then, I dissasembled the glove box to get access to the Pre-Heat Timer located on top of the glove box.

 

[AlbertoSD]

I installed the switch I got from Drew next to the steering column on a blank hole that is already on the dash.

How to wire the switch is described in the procedure outlined by "eleventhirtyfour".

 

[AlbertoSD]

I like how the switch matched the Pre-Heat light symbol on the dash

 

[AlbertoSD]

Then tap into the light to feed power to the switch.

And finally, connect the switch to the black/orange (#1 from FSM diagram) cable from the Pre-Heat Timer wiring.

This will allow you to manually control the glow plugs.

 

[AlbertoSD]

Thanks to "eleventhirtyfour" and "Hltoppr" for providing the necessary information to complete the wiring of the Wilson switch. Thanks to "amaurer" for the top-notch knob...truly a work of art.

 

[amaurer]

Looking great man, happy to have helped... you're doing all the hard stuff, anyway. :-D

 

[AlbertoSD]

One thing that I've always liked about the 70 series, is the dash pod that carries the altimeter, inclinometer/temp gauges. I'm not sure what it is about them, but I just like them.

I emailed Sheldon (70sguy) and he sourced one dash pod for me. Sheldon is a great guy and he is a great resource to the Land Cruiser community. Always very responsive and super fash shipping on the items that I've purchase from him.

Sheldon sent me a RHD dash pad that had the marks for the dash pod so I could use it as a template to modify mine (LHD).

 

[AlbertoSD]

So started by taking the dash pad out of the truck to see how much I would need to cut. The dash pad is held by 3 or 4 (10 mm) bolts and a bunch of pressure clips that can be a pain to remove.

It is amazing how much dirt and grimme you find once you remove the dash pieces

 

[AlbertoSD]

The first photo below is a photo of the RHD dash pad and my yet unmodified LHD pad. I flipped the RHD pad to help me visualize where the cut would start and end. It is really a simple job, I just wanted to make sure I did it right the first time.

One nice thing about installing this dash pod, is that the metal dash on the 70 series already has the holes opened to guide and secure the altimeter pod in place. See second photo below.

 

[SurfPonto]

Great thread Alberto,

Makes me really miss the 70

Glad it went to a good home,
Bob

 

[AlbertoSD]

So I went ahead and taped the area to be cut and marked with a Sharpie and used the Dremel tool to cut the marked area.

 

[AlbertoSD]

Great thread Alberto,

Makes me really miss the 70

Glad it went to a good home,
Bob

Glad you are posting here, Bob!!!

I am super happy with the truck and I thank you for taking good care of it.

-Alberto

 

[lulo]

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Great Project "Alberto"!!!


Keep going chaval!!!

 

[AlbertoSD]

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Great Project "Alberto"!!!


Keep going chaval!!!

Gracias Lulo!!!!