Builds 79 Aussie BJ55 build (1 Viewer)

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hi again. sorry its been a while.. been busy lifeing. coming up to 3yrs on the road now and i'll be embarking on a 6000km, 4week roadtrip in Oct..

Frank's been getting some love including power upgrades which ill post about soon.
 
So... with a big trip on the cards and some MSFT shares vesting I thought it would be time to sort out a few things.

First on the list, after some other folks running 15BFT's did some research was to sort my lean AFR's.. enter some upgraded injectors (5 hole) that run about 22% more fuel than stock:
20240909214657-8bc6f057-me.jpg


I've got another dyno power run (no tuning, just strap down and do some pulls) lined up for the 20th of Sept so that will be good to check the difference.

I've also got my hands on some 1.2mm stainless to get welded up and replace the silicon intercooler piping I've been running since rego.. I had trouble finding someone to weld it but one of the guys at a business I approached said theyd do it .. still waiting though..
20240909214753-0846e44b-me.jpg



Next on my list to moving my power steering res so I can run a different throttle linkage.. this was a pain with limited space but I did find somewhere but now have to find a new home for my windscreen washer bottle:
20240910000129-5e59b2df-me.jpg


With the PS res getting a new home this meant I could try and track down a Megacruiser throttle linkage.. but they have since been delisted. I bought a 1hz throttle linkage which is very similar .. and went ahead and made a bracket to suit:

Megacruiser throttle linkage:
20240910000301-9d45449b-me.jpg

1HZ linkage:
20240909214548-448c94d0-me.jpg

My Bracket:
20240909214527-e602c436-me.jpg


The point to moving the throttle linkage was to remove the boost leaks I was getting in the stock position.. so I got my intake tapped and plugged:
20240909214353-4d2723e1-me.jpg


20240909214330-b1c49d57-me.jpg
 
Last edited:
With a long trip on the cards I got the foam in the drivers seat (which came from the 80 so its 30yrs old) replaced.. and committed to carbuilders interior sounddeadening and mass noise liner, and marine carpet... the stuff that I had for rego was sad and didnt really do a good job, the wife would keep messing up the patchwork bits on the floor so it was time to upgrade:
20240909214722-4ebfa02f-me.jpg

20240909214610-dad3172c-me.jpg


I had a spare shaft shortened after discovering I'd twisted another slip join on my rear shaft (the 3rd).. but have now figured out the correct working lenght so hopefully thats it for a while:
20240909214634-fffff95b-me.jpg

I'd like to get the dirty one re-done as the shaft is dented and carry that as a spare... I'll have to see how funds and time go.

I got two drives in with the new injectors before trying to fix my poor performing brakes.. to find my booster was suss..I'd get one good brake application then it'd loose vacuum so I had to take it off the road to get a new unit from terrain tamer.
20240909214413-7efc3d4b-me.jpg
20240909214440-704a4a10-me.jpg

I got my vac tank dropped off to be tested too..

And here are peak values seen on one of those two drives I got in. I was still being very cautious having done quite a bit of work in the engine bay so need more seat. time before pushing it harder

20240909214457-17b02225-me.jpg



I've done oil changes, tyre rotations, checked brakes, adjusted handbrakes and had my sliders off for minor bracket modifications.


Next on the list after I get my brake booster in and sorted is:

- rear diff locker air seal replacement/fix (this will require new studs as the bottom lot have severe case of rock rash)
- adjust front panhard to address tyre poke (very sensitive with the police in AUS)
- replace locking pins on the rear swingouts which are all bent and not working
- add a BBQ shelf to the rear bar
- wire rear lights for camping (inside the rear barn door glass)
- interior rear shelf to mount my pie warmer to
KS0155.jpg

- add brackets for a sh!tter cubical awning
- add rear trim to the cargo area and back doors
- add my water tank, pump and tap, along with a swing down cutout for a sink..
- locking mounts for axe and shovel on the roof (to get them out of the car)

Thats about it for now.. hopefully I'll get all the things done.. a few weeks of working in the shed at night but it'll be worth it.
 
This is why I goy rid of my rear ARB, pain in the azz.

Solid work!
Thanks Ron!

Yeh I think i might have moved the copper line when I installed the rear diff, and since then maybe the ring gear has rubbed through it.. It was working for a while but not any more... I'm glad its the rear and not the front being a full floater its a lot less work to pull out... its a major pain in the bum!
 
So... with a big trip on the cards and some MSFT shares vesting I thought it would be time to sort out a few things.

First on the list, after some other folks running 15BFT's did some research was to sort my lean AFR's.. enter some upgraded injectors (5 hole) that run about 22% more fuel than stock:
20240909214657-8bc6f057-me.jpg


I've got another dyno power run (no tuning, just strap down and do some pulls) lined up for the 20th of Sept so that will be good to check the difference.

I've also got my hands on some 1.2mm stainless to get welded up and replace the silicon intercooler piping I've been running since rego.. I had trouble finding someone to weld it but one of the guys at a business I approached said theyd do it .. still waiting though..
20240909214753-0846e44b-me.jpg



Next on my list to moving my power steering res so I can run a different throttle linkage.. this was a pain with limited space but I did find somewhere but now have to find a new home for my windscreen washer bottle:
20240910000129-5e59b2df-me.jpg


With the PS res getting a new home this meant I could try and track down a Megacruiser throttle linkage.. but they have since been delisted. I bought a 1hz throttle linkage which is very similar .. and went ahead and made a bracket to suit:

Megacruiser throttle linkage:
20240910000301-9d45449b-me.jpg

1HZ linkage:
20240909214548-448c94d0-me.jpg

My Bracket:
20240909214527-e602c436-me.jpg


The point to moving the throttle linkage was to remove the boost leaks I was getting in the stock position.. so I got my intake tapped and plugged:
20240909214353-4d2723e1-me.jpg


20240909214330-b1c49d57-me.jpg
Some great work!
I can't wait to hear about your pulls on the dyno!
 
With a long trip on the cards I got the foam in the drivers seat (which came from the 80 so its 30yrs old) replaced.. and committed to carbuilders interior sounddeadening and mass noise liner, and marine carpet... the stuff that I had for rego was sad and didnt really do a good job, the wife would keep messing up the patchwork bits on the floor so it was time to upgrade:
20240909214722-4ebfa02f-me.jpg

20240909214610-dad3172c-me.jpg


I had a spare shaft shortened after discovering I'd twisted another slip join on my rear shaft (the 3rd).. but have now figured out the correct working lenght so hopefully thats it for a while:
20240909214634-fffff95b-me.jpg

I'd like to get the dirty one re-done as the shaft is dented and carry that as a spare... I'll have to see how funds and time go.

I got two drives in with the new injectors before trying to fix my poor performing brakes.. to find my booster was suss..I'd get one good brake application then it'd loose vacuum so I had to take it off the road to get a new unit from terrain tamer.
20240909214413-7efc3d4b-me.jpg
20240909214440-704a4a10-me.jpg

I got my vac tank dropped off to be tested too..

And here are peak values seen on one of those two drives I got in. I was still being very cautious having done quite a bit of work in the engine bay so need more seat. time before pushing it harder

20240909214457-17b02225-me.jpg



I've done oil changes, tyre rotations, checked brakes, adjusted handbrakes and had my sliders off for minor bracket modifications.


Next on the list after I get my brake booster in and sorted is:

- rear diff locker air seal replacement/fix (this will require new studs as the bottom lot have severe case of rock rash)
- adjust front panhard to address tyre poke (very sensitive with the police in AUS)
- replace locking pins on the rear swingouts which are all bent and not working
- add a BBQ shelf to the rear bar
- wire rear lights for camping (inside the rear barn door glass)
- interior rear shelf to mount my pie warmer to
KS0155.jpg

- add brackets for a sh!tter cubical awning
- add rear trim to the cargo area and back doors
- add my water tank, pump and tap, along with a swing down cutout for a sink..
- locking mounts for axe and shovel on the roof (to get them out of the car)

Thats about it for now.. hopefully I'll get all the things done.. a few weeks of working in the shed at night but it'll be worth it.
Okay, my take-aways from this post are; BBQ rack, pie warmer, and this pic:

Is that a 70 series 3rd brake light?
If so, what application?
I was looking at the one I put on my 40-series, and it did not look like it would work on my Pig roof line. I wonder if you have different angles on the rear of your roof cap w/ ambi-doors?

Paging @gonzopancho

1726413659428.png
 
Okay, my take-aways from this post are; BBQ rack, pie warmer, and this pic:

Is that a 70 series 3rd brake light?
If so, what application?
I was looking at the one I put on my 40-series, and it did not look like it would work on my Pig roof line. I wonder if you have different angles on the rear of your roof cap w/ ambi-doors?

Paging @gonzopancho

View attachment 3726978
sorry to disappoint but this is just a photo from Koas website showing how the pie warmer hangs from an internal roof shelf. ill be travelling with Miss 11 so any tasty treats I can heat while we drive means food when we arrive at our destination.
 
Thanks Ron!

Yeh I think i might have moved the copper line when I installed the rear diff, and since then maybe the ring gear has rubbed through it.. It was working for a while but not any more... I'm glad its the rear and not the front being a full floater its a lot less work to pull out... its a major pain in the bum!
I got the rear centre out on the weekend. it looks like the copper line was snagged by the ring gear and pulled it out of the bulkhead. i threw a spare in and now shes all good again
 
went for a long drive with the kids yesterday.. not happy with the first attempt at my throttle linkage as it puts it about 1/4 turn into its stroke so moved the linkage about 1inch away from the pump. this means the linkage is at rest at idle and the acc pedal doesnt need as much force.
1st attempt
20240916033433-98190789-me.jpg

2nd attempt
20240916033409-c7ba23d7-me.jpg


i also confirmed i wrecked a rear axel seal doing the rear diff, at least i have spares.
 
sorry to disappoint but this is just a photo from Koas website showing how the pie warmer hangs from an internal roof shelf. ill be travelling with Miss 11 so any tasty treats I can heat while we drive means food when we arrive at our destination.
Okay, well at least we covered the pie warmer…
 
Rear cargo shelf installed..
20240919192535-985ce0f8-me.jpg
20240919192551-40aaf928-me.jpg

It doesnt obstruct vision at all.. its an 80 series generic shelf with 65x35x2.5mm RHS on each side to make it fit the 55 roof..

With that in place I can now add the pie warmer!
20240919192520-2961f930-me.jpg

Accessible with the rear door open and allows the fridge to open all the way too
20240919192357-bb8224e7-me.jpg


Got some 3mm haircell ABS plastic to do door trims.. here is a work in progress shot..
20240919192633-a4cf0777-me.jpg


Also forgot to latch the rear before fixing the spring stopper on the spare tyres swingout.. :(
20240919192607-859fd084-me.jpg

Going to try and get a football in there to pop it out..

Lastly.. I got on the dyno today to see what the new injectors are doing re AFR's..
20240919192343-b1699cb7-me.jpg
20240919192336-74229615-me.jpg

Definitely a lot richer (too rich after 2800rpm) than it was before..
20240919192327-c312054a-me.jpg

20psi boost at 1500 :P
 
Bit more work on the interior this weekend..

I've still got to wire up switches/sockets yet but cables are run.
20240922174833-666cde5e-me.jpg

20240922174856-94b72a78-me.jpg

And hiding behind the interior panel..
20240922174909-22241c28-me.jpg
 
Instead of “Where’s Waldo?”, it’s, “Where’s Headless Barbie?”
Headless barbie didnt make it on tour.. she went AWOL before we left.
 

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