84 bj46 long term maintenance, repair and upgrade- making it mine.

[Weber Sarge]

Mine is a '77 - the seat back is fixed at around 15* , and that doesn't work at all for me . I did move it back and raised it up some and changed the angle a bit . I need to sit vertical with the back and 8-10* positive on the seat bottom to be halfway comfortable . I'm 6' w/30" waist and pretty light - it's tough to find cushion material that isn't rock hard due to my weight (155) . I have considered removing the side frames and re-locating the pins where the seat back locks in - but that might detract the value of a nicely recovered stock seat . Not sure what the PO paid to have them done , but someone really did a nice job . I'll have to get some pics if it ever stops raining here ....

Sarge

 

[peteinjp]

Finally a little progress- got one cable on for the cable lockers. I still have to figure out how to attach the levers but I took a deep breath and put in the holes for the cable themselves. The handles for the levers fit just to the left and above the brake handle making a decent looking set. Here is where the cables comw thru the floor:

And the other business end of the cable. They worked out just right and I am able to use the factory mounts. I had to modify the intermediate lever to fit the rod end but other than that it all just fit right up. I added a grease fitting to the pivot bolt because none of the rubber boots are available- so I'll just run grease thru it regularly to keep it working cleanand smooth.

Here they come out of the floor

And the rear runs tright along the E-brake cable.

The cables themselves seem more of less indestructible and should last forever.

 

[peteinjp]

So after trying it out I really felt that the rod and should be in double shear. The original rod and had a 6 mm post with the 10 mm eye. These are absolutely unavailable. Every rod and has the same diameter eye as the post. So unless I wanted to go with the really fat cable I had to use a 6 mm eye. After a hotel up and tried it out a few times I felt like I was asking a lot of that 6 mm bolt.

Running the front cable was a little bit more difficult than the rear. I tried running it in the frame rail but in the end it worked out better to tie a hose onto the frame rail and run it through that. This allows the cable to move back and forth a little bit as the axle moves up and down. Zip ties are just a great invention!

This is the final arrangement for the cables go through the floor. This is the only place on the entire car that I could find where I could actually get a drill to, actually made sense to have a lever and could run the cable without any harsh bends.

For me this was a major step. The two most important modifications for the addition of the PTO winch as well as the cable lockers. Next up – levers center console and rear heater……

Pete

 

[peteinjp]

So I thought I'd take a look at the local auction for a nice heater in 24v flavor. I've been keeping my eye out for a while but haven't looked recently. Then I found this new in box:

It's about $250 and I bought it right away! I'll mount it vertically behind the front seats to keep the keep the kids a bit warmer this year!

 

[peteinjp]

And on another note cable lock or related – the original cable lock or levers from a BJ 74. I got a message From a very nice man and Columbia asking for me to sell him delivers for his FJ 73 restoration. I happen to be in need ofA hat so I researched Colombia hats. We did a straight up trade.

These:

For this:

It's an authentic Colombian sombrero- a very nice one. I tried it out right away and slept great….

Until I was awoken by a thief!

What can you do? It all works out in the end.

Pete

 

[JohnnyC]

Hay hombre .... More details on those heaters

Are there more or was it just one... Looks very much like early cruiser heaters... 25 guys might be interested in that

Btw I really like the repurpose levers you used for the cable lockers !!!

Great job

 

[peteinjp]

Johnny- this was the only one. I like it so much Im actually considering using it in the front in place of the stock heater. It has defroster vent which are always open and the 2 front vents- which obviously close. Its a handsome unit and I actually wonder if the radiator itself isnt identical to the denso units. The fan is so 60'ss heater. It barely moves any air. I've been in mitsu jeeps with heaters that are severly underppowered and with our winters you need a good heater to keep visibility.

I didnt take a picture but the warranty etc are all in the box.

Pete

 

[peteinjp]

And thanks for the props on the old levers. I gave it alot of thought and at first I thought I'd try to make it with the cast PTO levers but this configuration made more sense with the other controls and also has the pin lock already in place. Same with the pto lever. Its a lever happy cabin. This is my test run setup just slapped in on my plywood.

So this being the fist time that I've actually had a fully functional set up I had to go out and find out what its all about. Lockers are great. You can get away with alot of stuff more easily with them. I think they also will reguire a better transmission/transfer guard because its easier to slide the truck over stuff where I used to get hung up so its going to get beat up. But its great just to be able to get the rear to pivot (over steer) around sharp corners on loose ground by locking up the rear. We had not had rain for a good while then we had a good sudden burst so I headed down to the river. The handles for the lockers have good access so I found it really easy to operate them.


But they are not magic. I tried several times to get up this hill and finally ended up ina situation where I could not go forward or back. I contemplated what I would do if I didn't have the winch- for about a millisecond. Then pulled on the gloves and dragged the rope up the hill to a tree. Having both the winch and the lockers set up has been a long time coming and I am thoroughly enjoying it.

Notice the lime green grocery basket in the second pic. This is afterall my daily.

Pete

 

[peteinjp]

Am I totally crazy for even thinking about this:

7.50r17 10ply 34"

7.50r18 8ply 35"

I feel I might not be able to not try one of these options. Both are bais ply tube type tires for which would need a set of steel wheels for.. the 17's could run an fj cruiser steelie and the 18's I might be able to use a nissan titan/armade steelie with the center born out..... I shouldn't even be considering this but- the cool thing about these tires is that they only require 1.5" lift because there is no width added over the tires I have now 7'50r16 32.2" and fit perfectly even with full flex across the axles. These fit under the stock fenders so I only need to life the additional radius of the tire.

 

[JohnnyC]

8.25r16 is 34" x 9.5 or so

9.00r16 is 36" x 10.5 or so

can you get the 8.25's sizes in japan?

 

[peteinjp]

All the 8.25 tires here are 14ply road tires.

But I like that size. What I'm digging about these 7.50 17 and 18 tires is that I can fit them with a 2" lift because the fit within the fenders.

Pete

 

[peteinjp]

You know you're sick when you find yourself looking at the tire patterns on your dolly and tablesaw and wishing they came in a 7.50......

 

[Weber Sarge]

I have a similar issue with my old Wheel Horse tractors - the front tires are branded Wheel Horse and lasted about 30yrs in most cases , some are even older . They had very heavy sidewalls and a 60psi inflation pressure to hold the weight up properly . Issue was the size - 16X5.50X8 , no one in the US makes anything like that . 16x6.50 will work but hits steering parts and attachments most of the time unless the bump stops on the axle are built up . Same tread pattern as your first pic - saw tooth utility tire pattern that worked very well on grass , dirt , snow and ice . With up to 35+ available attachments , these things got worked hard and yet those tires lasted forever . Modern replacements , not even close .

Sarge

 

[peteinjp]

I have used a wheel horse tractor too. But I don't recall it having s a 16" wheel up front.....

Did you know there's a club?

Check the vendor section- Msybr one of those guys will know:

Wheel Horse Related Vendors - The Wheel Horse Collectors Club, Inc.

 

[diffloc]

And on another note cable lock or related – the original cable lock or levers from a BJ 74. I got a message From a very nice man and Columbia asking for me to sell him delivers for his FJ 73 restoration. I happen to be in need ofA hat so I researched Colombia hats. We did a straight up trade.

These:
View attachment 1148908 View attachment 1148909

For this:

View attachment 1148910
It's an authentic Colombian sombrero- a very nice one. I tried it out right away and slept great….

View attachment 1148911
Until I was awoken by a thief!
View attachment 1148912

What can you do? It all works out in the end.

Pete

 

[diffloc]

Hi pete,are 70 cable locker lever assemblies hard to come by?Reason I ask is that I'm installing a set of 60 series lockers under my fj45 but don't have room for the 60 series lever assembly.Cheers,Mike.

 

[Weber Sarge]

Almost all of the older WH's used 16x5.50x8 tires on the front axle worldwide . That semi-narrow 5.50 front is a problem in the US as no one makes replacement tires - some folks have found a place in Europe that offers the exact size but shipping sure hurts a lot . I'm running Carlisle Tru Power ags on the front of my 1277 worker unit - just used it a few weeks ago to level out 12 tons of gravel on a buddy's driveway - the thing is an animal . I do belong to several of the clubs and forums , the amount of info out there is amazing - about the same level as being here with Cruisers and it sure helps . They are much like Cruisers in another way - tough to just have one , lol . I did narrow down the herd I have to just 3 now...feels like being in rehab after having 6 a few months ago .

Sarge

 

[peteinjp]

Wow! i just checked out some WH vids. Serious devotion!

Hi pete,are 70 cable locker lever assemblies hard to come by?Reason I ask is that I'm installing a set of 60 series lockers under my fj45 but don't have room for the 60 series lever assembly.Cheers,Mike.

I have only seen the set that I just traded off. Do you have the cables? Cause in not it might be hard to use the levers. Some have used levers from OX lockers.

Pete

 

[peteinjp]

Went messing around down by the river. This color is really at home in the fall and winter.

Unbeknownst I sustained a little damage. I really need to get some sliders figured out of this truck. This is a pretty easy repair but it could've been worse.

Pete

 

[peteinjp]

I was thinking about how to attach a switch to indicate in the lockers were turned on. Unfortunately the switch that resides within the diff itself is in the wires cut. This is too bad because she did the diff lock is spring-loaded so even if the lever is in the on position the diff might not pop into the lock position right away. Conversely and more importantly it might not come out of the lock position right away either. But at least I want to have some kind of indicator. There wasn't much room to work with so I was looking for a contact solution. The very late models have a door light switch for the interior light......