Hey everyone!
Excited share my latest project—a 1982 Land Cruiser HJ60 with 231k km on the clock. From the outside it looked pretty nice and clean. As you might expect, this is what you get in Austria when looking for an old Land Cruiser… and it wasn’t even cheap. I have been owning LC's for almost 20 years now but this frame is definitely a sight to be seen.
The worst of it? First I saw that the rear spring hangars were welded solid to the frame (ready to snap under tension), and the rear C-channels were mounted backwards—with the old ones still left in for good measure.
Oh, and the shock tube? Filled with rust and bondo. But the real kicker? The frame itself was packed with bondo and so heavily welded that it actually warped! On top of that the rear cross member was properly from garden fence and was secured with four M8 bolts haha. I definitely forgot a few things but that are the main things.
Long story short: I’ve completely torn the HJ apart, built a jig to prevent further warping, and I’m now cutting out all the garbage to start welding in fresh, solid metal. This one's a real rescue mission, but I’m all in!
The last thing I did was to tackle the rear section of the frame where the rear spring hangar and body mounts attach. That whole piece—about 1 meter long—was completely rusted away, so we had no choice but to cut it out entirely. Mounted the template beforehand just to see how everything aligns. Thankfully, we had welded a jig beforehand to prevent further frame warping, but to be extra sure, we reinforced it on the backside with additional metal supports.
After carefully tack welding the new section in place, I took my time welding it fully—keeping heat to a minimum to avoid distortion.
Measured everything before, during, and after welding to make sure it was perfectly aligned. Happy to say, the first side was a success, and the second side went even smoother!
Now, only the inner side of the frame remains, but before tackling that, I’ll bring it to the sandblaster to remove every last bit of rust.
Looking forward to sharing the progress and learning from you all!
BR Wrenching
Excited share my latest project—a 1982 Land Cruiser HJ60 with 231k km on the clock. From the outside it looked pretty nice and clean. As you might expect, this is what you get in Austria when looking for an old Land Cruiser… and it wasn’t even cheap. I have been owning LC's for almost 20 years now but this frame is definitely a sight to be seen.
The worst of it? First I saw that the rear spring hangars were welded solid to the frame (ready to snap under tension), and the rear C-channels were mounted backwards—with the old ones still left in for good measure.
Oh, and the shock tube? Filled with rust and bondo. But the real kicker? The frame itself was packed with bondo and so heavily welded that it actually warped! On top of that the rear cross member was properly from garden fence and was secured with four M8 bolts haha. I definitely forgot a few things but that are the main things.Long story short: I’ve completely torn the HJ apart, built a jig to prevent further warping, and I’m now cutting out all the garbage to start welding in fresh, solid metal. This one's a real rescue mission, but I’m all in!
The last thing I did was to tackle the rear section of the frame where the rear spring hangar and body mounts attach. That whole piece—about 1 meter long—was completely rusted away, so we had no choice but to cut it out entirely. Mounted the template beforehand just to see how everything aligns. Thankfully, we had welded a jig beforehand to prevent further frame warping, but to be extra sure, we reinforced it on the backside with additional metal supports.
After carefully tack welding the new section in place, I took my time welding it fully—keeping heat to a minimum to avoid distortion.
Measured everything before, during, and after welding to make sure it was perfectly aligned. Happy to say, the first side was a success, and the second side went even smoother!
Now, only the inner side of the frame remains, but before tackling that, I’ll bring it to the sandblaster to remove every last bit of rust.
Looking forward to sharing the progress and learning from you all!
BR Wrenching
who doesn't love putting ridiculous hours into a frame
I'll post an update soon
Inner C-Channel in the Middle:
).
