Builds 79 Aussie BJ55 build

[stumpofj40]

Thanks! Also did you widen the spring perches on the housing for the 60 series diff or widen the spring hangers??

 

[brisveganbj42]

Thanks! Also did you widen the spring perches on the housing for the 60 series diff or widen the spring hangers??

I just moved the spring perches on the diff.. Plans are to use some big spring eye hangers from the donor. I suspect I'll get better longevity out of the bushes as their a bit bigger with thicker shoulders.

 

[donniefj55]

Hi mate was just wondering how your wrenching is going?

 

[brisveganbj42]

Hi mate was just wondering how your wrenching is going?

Just about finished the 40, the middy is wrecked, and the wife is back from holidays... things have stalled a bit cos she's got the s***s due to all the work on the vehicles and not spending time with the family. Things have also stalled due to the lack of funds.. hopefully the sale of the 40 will help move things again..

 

[brisveganbj42]

Not much progress to report on this except I've received approval in principle for all the modifications i've proposed by local government. I'll be upgrading the GVM to just under 3t as well which will involve a brake test and all good with the widened track due to the 60 series diffs. I've rigged up some lighting in the shed too so I should be able to spend some time in there once the family are asleep (the shed doesnt have fixed power).. I've come down with something the kids brought home so once i'm over that it'll be full steam ahead.

 

[brisveganbj42]

Finally got a spanner to the pig and tried out the lighting in the shed...
Removed the seats so i can check the floor boards and see what kind of repairs are required. Also noticed a few rust stains on the drivers A pillar and rear most pillar on the interior... wondering if this suggests suspect roof/guttering/sealing. Patches in both footwells are sheet screwed into the existing floor.. I would like to remove these and weld in sections to repair this.

 

[brisveganbj42]

I'm not sure on my access to equipment enabling me to strengthen flat sheet by adding ribs to the material so what would be the recommended thickness of material in this case? Understand I'll have to weld to factory spec material so may also be a consideration. I wont have access to a bead roller but maybe able to accomplish a similar effect using a hammer and punch.. thoughts?

 

[bobm]

.040 or 1mm. I believe. Not a metric fan. You can make the ribs by hand, just takes strength and patience.

 

[brisveganbj42]

Righto... over the easter long weekend I got to spend a few hours on the pig. First up was removing the front fenders and panels because I needed access in order to remove the factory shock tower. I've got F250 towers ready to fit. Next was remove the 2f and the 4spd so I can clean up the chassis mounts and get things cleaned up ready to position the 15B-F and H55F.

Surface rust on the insides of the fenders

prior repairs

This left me here..

 

[brisveganbj42]

This all went well and I didnt find too many surprises.. a fair bit of surface rust which should clean up ok on the front fenders. After I'd done all this I thought I'd have a peek at the footwells and floorpan and see what was hiding under there... needless to say it wasn't great with the drivers side body mount rusted from the inside and its fair share of rusting through the floorboards in part...

 

[brisveganbj42]

This got me thinking.. I have plans to retrofit a lot of components from a donor BJ73... These being, brake booster/master, clutch, handbrake, h55f, dash, heaterbox, pedals, steering colum and suspension seats...

Seeing as I still have this in one peice and rust free...

my mind is ticking over as to whether its a viable option to replace the entire floorpan an firewall with the BJ73 tub. This would should achieve several goals..
- all the firewall holes for brake/clutch masters, steering colum, heaterbox and the like will be in the right spots
- all the mounts for the seats and handbrake will be in the right spot.
- trans tunnel/gearstick holes should be in the right place.
- its one BIG peice to replace instead of lots of patches

But to do that I would need to replace my rockers first... as bobm doesnt ship to AU I'll probably RHS my sills with some 6mm section and built up on that..

 

[scrapdaddy]

Holy Moly, this is going to be one heck of a project. Wish I had some advise, but can only watch. Keep at it!

 

[brisveganbj42]

Wow long time no update. Finally got all the fj55 dash out. Im templating the bj73 lower a pillar to size up the firewall and floor grafting. Ill try and get all the bj73 dash together this weekend so i know how it bolts together and where itll need clearance

 

[brisveganbj42]

Long time no post. I get my hands on a mig to get on with replacing the firewall and floor pan in the next month or so... keen to get this moving a bit faster no that the mrs has popped out kid #3.

 

[scrapdaddy]

Congrats on the new one! Three is a good number.

 

[brisveganbj42]

Back into it now in ernest... about to chop up the sills over the next few days..

 

[brisveganbj42]

Got my gallery working again so can more easily upload photos and the like of progress... everything will be ending up in here somewhere.. FJ55
So heres what's been keeping me motivated during this build..

Since I've cut up the dash whats a little more creative cutting?

Now today I took a deep breath and took a grinder to the passenger sill. I pried away the ABC Pillar feet as much as I could then cut the external bit of the sill out.. I want to preserve the inner floor/sill mounts so will cut out around them so they are not damaged. I'm not sure how they will go wtih the new floor.

I have some box section to go in to replace the sill and preped that too

And lastly I saw the inner A Pillar and remembered to look up what bobm's sills look like in this area. While not a good spot I would like to cut that out and weld in some better material..

 

[tatat]

Hi, How did you separate the front part of the doghouse from the side parts?, were they bolted ot welded?

 

[brisveganbj42]

The wife has come to the conclusion that if she doesnt let.me work on the pig, its not going to get done. So with a sick kid couch bound all day i got a few hours in...

 

[bobm]

Creative