1987 BJ70 ragtop mods ...

[crushers]

https://forum.ih8mud.com/bj70-hzj73-hzj75/587125-1987-bj70-soft-top-31-000-km.html
The buyer of this survivor had requested some mods as part of the deal.
Of course, as usual, as the mods progressed more mods were planned.
RHD AC
RHD PS
Turbo
larger exhaust
24V to 12V inverter
new stereo
12V fuse box
Electric lockers front and rear
so lets begin.

remember this is a 1987, 26 years old.
off with the hood,
dig out the turbo parts
unwrap them.

 

[crushers]

i REALLY love the Safari kit, VERY complete.
turbo was already installed on the manifold.
return line spigot installed.
feed line installed
cross over pipe installed
turbo was already "clocked" for install
oil feed zipped to throttle linkage

talk about an easy install!!

 

[crushers]

pyro sender installed (had to drill and tap)
the cross over had the boost feed port already tapped.

factory oil sender
factory oil sender and after market oil sender assembled ready for install
installed into original sender location

 

[crushers]

making up the electric locker wiring.
tagged and shrink wrapped for easy identification later

interior still assembled ... but not for long
starting to strip down

every connection outside the cab was AntiOx applied and then shrink wrap over the joint. this should make for a long term reliable connection no matter what the conditions.

 

[crushers]

pyro and boost tied off nice and clean
factory and aftermarket oil gauge feed installed and tied off
front and rear e/locker wiring prep
the factory dash piece, a lot of blank plates were here.
the front locker, indicator lights, rear locker and "work" light switches installed.

 

[crushers]

24V to 12V converter
more of the dash coming apart
installing the converter inside the glove box, protected from the weather as well as prying eyes.
industrial grade velcro and a couple screws to make sure it doesn't come loose.

 

[crushers]

wired up
12V fuse box, getting the wires to the right length for a clean install
fuse box installed opposite side of the glove box
wiring outside of the glove box
test fitting the unit into the dash

 

[crushers]

ready to wire up the diff locks
the rear wired up and tucked in nicely ... sure is tight fit.
the deck, inexpensive but good quality
the speakers that fit into the factory openings
factory speaker location

 

[crushers]

factory vrs new
quite the difference
installed
blurry shot of the factory location beside glove box.

 

[crushers]

next up, installing the factory AC
first is to remove this piece of plastic between the blower and the core
once the plastic is removed you need to access the inlet and outlet hose holes
it is pretty cool that these were already cut into the floor sound deadner
the firewall is already prepped for the AC hose install from the factory

 

[crushers]

this was a used system so inspection was needed
the under dash cooler
once apart i saw the mess it was in ... cleaning will be needed
better
location of the after market switch
switch installed

 

[crushers]

unit installed
the unit was well protected during storage
time to strip the front down for the rad install
rad installed
hoses installed

 

[crushers]

hoses installed
connected to front rad
time to pull the rad for PS install
rad is out, tons of room to work.

 

[crushers]

rear FF swap and E/locker install
stripping the FF down, new seals, bearings, gaskets, housing notched and e/locker installed, long spline shaft ordered and arrived, brake cyl and shoes to be installed.

the old stuff
housing cleaned spotless so as not to hide the steel splinters
e/locker arrived from the States
new parts installed

 

[NGray]

I put that same radio in. Very happy with it. I've owned a few alpines and also been happy with price and results.

Great read so far. Thanks for posting.

Edit. Says on box. I'm blind.

 

[crushers]

i made a jig to be able to make a clean notch in the housing for the e/locker engage travel.
make sure all recesses are covered to catch the debris
using a drill and hole saw cut away unwanted metal
clean and the end product looks almost factory.

 

[crushers]

install long studs (the other 2 studs you need to replace were on back order)
install gasket
take one more look to make sure all particles are gone
set locker in be careful of the stud threads... it is a heavy bugger
slide in the long splined shaft, you MUST have a long splined shaft, not stock. there isn't enough travel
shaft installed.

 

[crushers]

housing assembled ready for brake lines and wiring
happened to look out the window and this guy was sitting there trying to get out of the nasty winds and blowing snow.
power steering pump installed
power steering box and shaft installed

 

[kbushnz]

Nice work.....Like seeing what others do. Like the shrink wrap over wires for identification.

 

[hotgemini]

Love the notching jig, came out looking a million bucks and a heck of a lot easier than trying to fixture it up in a mill.