Builds 1985 BJ70 Story and Modifications (2 Viewers)

[AlbertoSD]

I was never a big fan of the early steering wheel design that Toyota choose for the 70 series. The two-spoke wheel was never that attractive to me.

Browsing the forum, I found a BJ74 LHD 1HZ+T build thread where Brian (gifu) used an early 80 series steering wheel in his truck. I PM'd Brian and he helped me with a source to find the steering wheel and what was needed to use it on the 70 series. Brian also mentioned that he painted the steering column black to match the steering wheel which I think it looks good, too.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/70-series-tech/539289-bj74-lhd-1hz-t-build.html

Thanks, Brian (gifu) for being a good resource!

The 80 series steering wheel is smaller in diameter than the stock 1985-1989 70 series steering wheel and it has a much better feel to it (IMHO). The only down side, is that the horn does not work anymore as the contact ring behind the steering wheel is smaller on the 80 series when compared to the one in the 70 series wheel. I will get to modify the horn later to make it work once again.

 

[AlbertoSD]

At this time, I've noticed that we have lost Obi's attention completely...we had to do something to get him back on track.

Hoping to get Obi's attention back, I went ahead and sold the BFG AT's to my friend Andy (A ROGUE) and bought a new set of 33 x 10.5 BFG KM2's.

 

[AlbertoSD]

As any Land Cruiser of this age (1985), this one had it shares of problems, too. I know that at some point in its life, it has been repainted and some of the rust was taken care of. However, some of the rust re-surfaced and probably new one came up.

When I bought the truck, it had a hole in the roof on the passenger side (RH), both rear quarter panels had rust on the lips and they had signs of some Bondo use, the A-pillars had some rust holes, and the drivers (LH) door was badly damaged on the bottom lip.

 

[AlbertoSD]

So I started my quest to find the needed body parts to complete the repairs.

I found that David (David*BJ70) had a line on some aftermarket quarter panels for the 70 series body. I sent David a PM and bought a set of rear quarter panels. David was very responsive and very prompt in responding emails and PM's...cool guy to deal with, too. Below is the link where I found the replacement quarter panels:

BJ70 replacement rear quarters

Below are some photos of the rear quarter panels and the replacement doors.

 

[AlbertoSD]

Since shipping on the doors from Canada to Cincinnati would have been rather expensive, Wayne (crushers) mentioned that he had a customer (Brian) bringing a BJ42 for refurbrish in the next few weeks and provided me with a contact phone number.

I called Brian (singletrackjunkie) and he agreed to bring the doors back from Canada. I drove to Flint, Michigan (I believe) to meet with Brian and get the doors from him. Brian dropped his BJ42 at Wayne's and brought the doors back for me inside of his FZJ80. Brian didn't charge me anything to bring the doors to Michigan...super cool guy!!!!

Brian and I had dinner that day and I started the 300 mile roadtrip back to Cincinnati with my NTO doors

I appreciate Brian's (singletrackjunkie) and Wayne's (crushers) efforts for making this happen for me.

Below is the link of Wayne's work on Brian's truck:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/diesel-tech-24-volts-systems/601818-bj42-refurbisment.html

Thanks again guys!

-Alberto

 

[crushers]

no need to thank me, i am glad to help ...
i beleive we still have a supper to attend once i get Stateside again.
cheers

 

[AlbertoSD]

I found a guy here in Cincinnati that does good body work and he was recommended by a co-worker who is into Subaru's and old Japanese vehicles.

I started stripping the truck down (only left driver's seat and all windows) so the paint shop could paint the truck inside and out. I also wanted to check the condition of the floor boards as the hole in the roof was letting some water in the truck. Luckily everything look like new on the floor boards.

I didn't care about removing the doors and doors panels as they will be replaced with the NTO doors I got from Wayne.

Below are some photos of the truck partially stripped.

 

[AlbertoSD]

no need to thank me, i am glad to help ...
i beleive we still have a supper to attend once i get Stateside again.
cheers

You got it!!!

 

[AlbertoSD]

Some more photos of the stripped truck and the paint guy (Jeff) picking it up.

You can see Andy's (A ROGUE) FJ60 in the background.

 

[AlbertoSD]

Jeff sent me some photos of how much rust was in the quarter panels prior to replacing them....there was a solid one (1) inch that he had to remove to reach a clean section.

Sadly, the windshield broke when he tried to remove it. I wanted to get it out so he could inspect, repair, and paint the windshield lip as these trucks tend to rust there.

Part number for the windshield is Part # 56111-60220.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/70-series-tech/606641-70-windshield.html

I went to my local Toyota dealer and I had it within a week. Like many other have said, it is quite expensive...

I got the windshield gasket from 4WheelAuto in Canada.

 

[AlbertoSD]

I went to drop the new windshield at Jeff's shop and saw the progress on my BJ70. He had replaced both quarter panels and he was working on preparing the two new doors.

A while back, I had purchased the Genuine Toyota Snorkel for the 70 series. Personally, I like it better than the Safari, but I think that both of them are completely functional. I had Jeff close the holes for the Safari snorkel and open the new holes to install the Toyota snorkel. I wanted all the holes to be painted so they have a better chance at wining a battle against the rust.

As a side note, I ended up with a perfectly fine Safari Snorkel that I have no use for. I want to pay it forward to the Land Cruiser community and give it to somebody that will use it on a cool project. Let me know if you have any use or any interest in the Safari Snorkel.

I am, however, in need of the correct Air Cleaner Assembly to match the side opening for the Toyota snorkel. I have 2 BJ70 air cleaner assy and a new HZJ70 air cleaner assy. I know I can probably modify one of these three, too, but wanted to see if anybody had one sitting around with the correct opening for the snorkel install. I know Michael at West Coast Cruisers had them a while back, but they are getting hard to find.

 

[singletrackjunkie]

Looks good Alberto. Thanks for the props. looking forward to following along

 

[lulo]

Looks good Alberto. Thanks for the props. looking forward to following along

... x2

 

[stayalert]

Keep up the Great work!!!

 

[buschmaster86]

Looks good !

 

[lugueto]

Excelente trabajo mi pana!

subscribed

 

[AlbertoSD]

I decided to change the color of my 70 to Tan 4E9. My friend Omar (omarluis) painted one of his 70's with the same shade of Tan and I think it looks great. Plus, it was a factory Toyota color for the later 70 series in some parts of the world.

I learned that a couple of good friends from my childhood, Fernando (ferportu), and Omar (omarluis) were coming to the U.S and spend a few weeks here. Andy (A ROGUE), Mike, and I planned to take Omar and Fernando to Moab, UT to show them some cool off-road places here in the States.

Fernando (ferportu) and I used to be next door neighbors for over 15 years. We have been friends for over 25 years or so.

The plan was to take my BJ70, Andy's FJ60, and Mike's Land Rover D90. We quickly started gathering parts and accesories to prepare the BJ70 for the Moab trip.

Below are some Land Cruiser builds that Fernando and Omar have put together here in the board:

Fernando (ferportu):

https://forum.ih8mud.com/70-series-tech/31716-post-pics-your-modded-7x-series-40.html#post5679005 (79 series)

https://forum.ih8mud.com/70-series-tech/31716-post-pics-your-modded-7x-series-24.html#post3868102 (70 series)

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/542348-my-1980-fj40-build-ferportu.html (40 series)

Omar (omarluis):

https://forum.ih8mud.com/70-series-tech/503370-my-fzj70.html (70 series)

Luckily, Omar and Fernando are handy with a wrench so chances of the BJ70 making it on the trip were increased

 

[AlbertoSD]

Jeff brought the truck back from painting and I must say that I really like the way it turned out...totally different truck

Jeff did a really good job, the doors line up perfectly, they open and close smoothly, the rear quarter panels look even, and all the rust repair seems appropriate. Overall, I am really pleased with the results of the paint work.

 

[NGray]

looking great.

 

[AlbertoSD]

Some more photos with better daylight