Builds 79 Aussie BJ55 build

[brisveganbj42]

You’re like the Tasmanian Devil of paint and body work

We're down to only 2 vehicles now so with the wife working I'm stuck with the pig off the road.. so friday night was clean up and prep, saturday was etch and high build primer and sunday was color.. not much to it really.. and a lot less surface area than the whole roof

 

[brisveganbj42]

A bit of a minor update on the pig....

Finally got my hands on a 3.727:1 front R&P for an 80 series, and just waiting on a 3.7:1 rear diff R&P from a Japanese spec 12HT 60 series to arrive in the mail. When it arrives i'll drop the spare diff centers I have to get rebuilt again with new bearings for the rear. I did order over $1k worth of 3.727:1 gears at the start of Nov 2021 but they still haven't arrived, even after flagging it with the postal service. I've started the chargeback process with our credit card company after the seller refuses to provide any contact details (phone number auto disconnects) or updates to the dispute.

In other gear related news I've noticed that my transfer is pushing fluid out the breather, and the fluid has metal specs in it. I'm not entirely sure with the noises it's making so I'm going to tear the transfer down and inspect the gears and bearings to see what I've messed up. Our whole family (all 5 of us) has the rona so we're in isolation for the next 7 days at least. Before our +ve results I got a seal kit for the transfer so if all the bearings are good I should be able to tear down and put it back together when we're stuck at home.

I'm also trying to get my pig sorted for camping.. by adding another 220mm width to the roof rack I bought for the 80 series. Even with the gutter mounts extended all the way it wasn't enough to make it fit on the pig. I found similar OD sized pipe, and along with compatible heavier wall inner pipe, sleeved and welded them up..

I've got a 270 Foxwing Awning bought online cheap yeaars ago to mount as well as a shower tent for the other side.. Plan is to mount them to hinges so when they are not in use they lay flat, and when camped we flip them vertical when in use.. Gotta wait for a mate to come round and help me get it mounted on the pig..

I've got to fit my 40L water tank to the chassis and then buy this to work with it, this plumbing and pump i want to permanently fit in the pig:

Of course the front and rear barwork and sliders are still to be designed and built.. and I need to purchase a 150AH slimline battery and charger so we can run the 40L Engle fridge for a few days:

Lastly I have some adjustable rear upper arms to fix up the driveline angles and hopefully address the vibrations I get at speed:

Oh and lastly I need to order myself a Winch... cos every farm truck needs a winch!

All this is to get prepared for our next adventure...







which is a 10ha (25acre) block at 600m elevation about 40mins drive from our current residence..

The sale is now unconditional so we're just going through the final stages of the settlement..

To say we're excited is a bit of an understatement.. The prospects for the wife and kids and their growing love of all thing horses are awesome.. For me theres lots to explore with a heap of different terrain on the property..

From about 4 acres of fenced paddocks..

To pastures

With some massive trees/bush around the perimeter ..

I'm excited by the rock formations and rock garden..

The current owners shared photos and video of when it saw snow recently and it looks pretty special...

Our immediate plans are to use the block for camping and horse/trail riding.. With the current zoning it may take a bit to work with council if/when we want to build.. It's only 15mins out of the closest town with all facilities, grocery stores and several schools.. I've got a week off so its a perfect opportunity to get busy with all these jobs in time for settlement.. and once i'm feeling better..

 

[sneaky]

Congratulations! The block looks awesome, just make sure the shed is bush fire proof!

 

[brisveganbj42]

Congratulations! The block looks awesome, just make sure the shed is bush fire proof!

oh for sure, youll notice the trees are blackened already from the last fire in 2018/2019

 

[RUSH55]

Oh my God, man! That is awesome!!
Congratulations!!

 

[PabloCruise]

I think these bodies must flex a bit when on uneven terrain.

This matches up with the tear I saw in the gas tank that come with my Pig.

 

[PabloCruise]

which is a 10ha (25acre) block at 600m elevation about 40mins drive from our current residence..

The sale is now unconditional so we're just going through the final stages of the settlement..

To say we're excited is a bit of an understatement.. The prospects for the wife and kids and their growing love of all thing horses are awesome.. For me theres lots to explore with a heap of different terrain on the property..

From about 4 acres of fenced paddocks..

To pastures

With some massive trees/bush around the perimeter ..

I'm excited by the rock formations and rock garden..

The current owners shared photos and video of when it saw snow recently and it looks pretty special...

Our immediate plans are to use the block for camping and horse/trail riding.. With the current zoning it may take a bit to work with council if/when we want to build.. It's only 15mins out of the closest town with all facilities, grocery stores and several schools.. I've got a week off so its a perfect opportunity to get busy with all these jobs in time for settlement.. and once i'm feeling better..

Wow! Looks like an amazing spread for you and your family!

Congratulations!!!

 

[brisveganbj42]

with the help of a visitor we got the roof rack on yesterday..

still need to fab up mounts for the awnings though..

 

[RUSH55]

Beast mode

 

[Blastservices]

Very nice opportunity to own that property! Congrats on the purchase!

 

[55guy]

You are a Lucky man , Wish we had barn doors in USA , You do use your God given Talents !
You got me thinking about the best dog I have ever had , RIP Sage 10 years ago Queensland Heeler

 

[PabloCruise]

with the help of a visitor we got the roof rack on yesterday..

still need to fab up mounts for the awnings though..

Nice! Do you think you got the business with the roof squared away?

 

[brisveganbj42]

Nice! Do you think you got the business with the roof squared away?

i'd like to hope so but Im not that confident.. the metal bog was used over all the seams on the roof so there is potential it'll lift elsewhere.. oh well live and learn eh

 

[brisveganbj42]

Adjustable rear upper links are in and they needed to be longer than the stock arms to point the pinion up about 4 degrees.. now both pinion and transfer flanges are parallel and the drive is soooo much better.. even at slower speeds things seem quieter and nicer... there is still a tiny vibe over 100kph but that could be due to tyres still..

I also bought an air compressor for lockers too.. ( this thing is tiny)!

 

[brisveganbj42]

got the awning on today.. still some minor tweaks needed but ran out of time...

 

[myusername]

got the awning on today.. still some minor tweaks needed but ran out of time...

Bat wing? Too soon

Got a close up of how your sorted the hinge?

 

[brisveganbj42]

Bat wing? Too soon

Got a close up of how your sorted the hinge?

haha! nothing too fancy

and the bit that needs more tweaking..

 

[brisveganbj42]

the stars were aligned today and both @Tassie tom and myself were at Bunnings at the same time..

We got to catch up and drool over each others pigs briefly.. its amazing to see this perfect example of a fj55 in the flesh

 

[brisveganbj42]

Last weekend was a long weekend for us so we camped at the block for the first time which was pretty nice. We had neighbours doing spotlighting and shooting the first two nights but the last night was quiet..

A friend took some video of the pig going up a loose climb on the property.. it was hard to find gapes in trees wide enough to drive through:

Just after that vid ended i went over a big rock with the back drivers tyre which unsettled and gave the rear quarter panel a tap.. oh well.

During the week I got my 3.7 diff centers with airlockers back and installed.. the difference is amazing! I can now cruise at 110KPH at 2300RPM vs the 2600RPM i did before.. things are a lot more relaxed... Even got the air compressor in and wired up.

 

[brisveganbj42]

Then the weekend just gone I went out to Adamsfield via the Saw back track with the No Limits 4wd club. It was pretty dry and not much of a challenge but the old girls big bum copped a few decent hits... lucky no panel damage this time. I had the boy with me and we had a good time.

Tomorrow the 55 goes onto the dyno so we can up the fuel a bit .. i'm not looking for massive numbers.. it's just running a bit lean at the moment..