Builds A Troopy Finds Its Owner (1 Viewer)

[61Mk+]

Delancy, to me one of the big advantages of the 70s over the 40s is the greater amount of space inside the vehicle, so the larger exterior i am happy to put up with. The additional height inside makes a huge difference. Delancy and Damien, i'll get on the interior bins show'n'smell tomorrow, i finally have some time to play with this week.
Kroll, thanks for the kind words, that sort of comment is always appreciated. It'll take me quite some time, but i do have the ambition to get my car right.

 

[Kroll]

I'd really like to see your troopie in the flesh someday soon.
I am seriously considering getting one myself.

 

[1tontoy]

Having owned a couple 75 troopies, I'd love to own another. Great Cruiser you have there!

 

[SkiBum506]

Just read the whole thread and subscribed. Nice build, I look forward to seeing your ongoing improvements. I am trying to purchase a HJ75 or HZJ75 later this summer or fall. Definitely looking to have as few things to fix as possible and admiring your outlook and commitment to yours.

 

[61Mk+]

I'm quite wrapped at the comments and support, Mudders. Wow. I'll provide as much info as i can, in the hope it'll be of use to others, ask all you want.
Kroll, i'm based in Calgary, so a hop up to Edmonchuck is far from impossible. Not soon, however, as i'm in Ontario at the moment.
1TonToy, thank you; hope you manage to get another Troopie, and let us all know if you do, huh.
SkiBum, i highly recommend 70s. But i am heavily biased.

 

[61Mk+]

Hello Delancy, DamienPeru, and anyone else keen on the storage bins,
Interest has been expressed in these, and i'll describe them as best i can. They are made of 3/8" aluminium plate, which were cut by water jetting. That means the edges were radiused (i am assuming the water jetting made that easy to do), so the lack of sharp edges is rather nice. They were installed by removing the factory door cards, the cards' equivalents below the side windows and, in the rear doors at least, some cutting out of the interior portion of the body was required. The first picture shows that. I do not know if some cutting out of the areas below the side windows was required as i haven't so far removed the side bins. More on this later.
I've been asked what my opinions of them are. I think they're bloody marvelous, mainly because they permit one to use space that is otherwise unused; as well, with the bin doors shut, no space is lost inside the vehicle, although in order to do so one must choose one's latches with some care. The next four pictures show the latches; the parts of those that are mounted on the bin (as opposed to on the hinged doors) are adjustable, and they are made of stainless. Unfortunately i do not know who manufactures those, and if you've read this thread you know i am not in contact with Crushers any longer, so i am not about to find out the manufacturer's name. Sorry for that.
Back on the opinions, these bins are installed with nutserts (some call them rivnuts), and frankly i can't think of another way to install such items, possibly due to ignorance on my part. With the proper support, i do not think 3/8" thickness is necessary, i'd say 1/4" is plenty. These bins and their doors need only minor care when using them so as not to bend 1/4" thick aluminium, so the lesser weight is always a bonus, even as it may only make a minor difference.

 

[61Mk+]

The bin i removed for the modelling session is the one in the left side rear door; the first picture shows it with one bolt on the bottom portion of the bin. I will have to make a repair to that, as i put, until recently, heavy items in there such as shackles, wheel nuts, etc., that must have banged forward every time i slammed that rear door. I slammed it in attempts, repeated many times, to seal the door properly, since even with the new weatherseal on the door (perhaps because of it, considering the flexibility of the frame around the window), the door doesn't seal properly, letting some dust in. The effect of that slamming bent the bottom of the inside of the door itself, and that bottom nutsert/rivnut has now pulled out of the body. All this to say, if you're going to make yourself a set of these, install two nutserts in the bottom portion of the narrow rear door - it is the door that will likely be opened and closed most frequently after the driver's door. The second picture in this post shows the bottom of the bin and its effect on the body; i believe this is easily preventable. Perhaps an additional strip of steel inside the bottom of the rear door to catch the rivnuts would be of use too, spreading the impact of slamming on a much larger surface.
The depth of the storage area is about three inches, from the back of the large panel to the exterior back of the bin itself; let me know if you want measurements, the three inches is rough. In the last picture here, i tried to show the groove cut into the back of the main plate, there in order to allow movement of the door handle's rod. I do not know the depth of the bins below the side windows.
The bins installed below the side windows are a single unit, and the main plate goes far enough forward that the seat belt goes through it; i recommend that, if it can avoided, do not have that main plate go so far forward: i find seat belts important, and i did have new ones installed when i got the car. However, to have to remove the entire four-bin piece is awkward, on top of which i would have to remove the cargo barrier for that too, which presents another difficulty: the cargo barrier's frame has bolts that go through the floor, and the nuts for those bolts were not welded into place, such that the nuts for those bolts could fall, and putting them back on could be a serious headache, as they are above the forward fuel reservoir. I'd suggest a separate piece of aluminium plate for that area, just so that one can remove the side bins without having to touch anything else. If, for example, you want to add some wiring going to the rear of the car and go through the bottom of the body instead of on top (above the windows), the prep work involved would be reduced significantly. Of course, if you don't have a cargo barrier, that part becomes a non-issue.
If this is getting difficult to follow, pm me, i'm glad to call and yap.

 

[61Mk+]

The interior of the bins were lined with a thin foam, on top of which is vinyl; these form one item, not two separate layers. Anything else can be used, for example a thin layer of rubber. Stuff merely dancing around inside the bins as we happily bash our Cruisers through the rough will then not provide a racket of rattling and banging about.
As suggested to ForealBoreal, if i were to build or order such items again, i would not make the doors of each individual bin hinge at the bottom of the storage space. I'd make the front bottom of the bin higher by, say, two or three inches, meaning you could squeeze stuff inside while significantly reducing the possibilty of pinching items between the bottom of the door and its mating surface on the face plate. No space would be lost inside, and, frankly, we tend to jam as much gak inside our storage spaces as we can, and such a change would make that much easier.
There is one drawback: i will eventually build and install some sort of bed/storage unit inside the car, and i will have to do so in such a way that i can access those bins and allow the doors to open. Minor, yes, but it could be useful to be aware of that before starting to make your own.
My bins were finished with white powder coating. All in all, 3/8" aluminium and powder coating is not an inexpensive way to do things: i see no reason why one could not make such bins out of different materials, stainless steel for one (not cheap, but it could be thinner and wouldn't need powder coating), wood (there are some gorgeous plywoods out there, marine grade, birch...once again not inexpensive and yet, it never ceases to surprise me what scraps one can find), and there are plastics/polymers/i can't think of the proper name just now, that would do just as fine a job (those might come in different colours too). One Mudder, on i don't recall which thread, is making door cards out of such a material.
I cannot think of anything else to add just now. All questions are welcomed, and i hope this is useful.

 

[ca18sean]

That is awesome, thank you for the pics!

 

[61Mk+]

It's my pleasure.

 

[Kroll]

I pass through Calgary more often than I like to admit, so a pit stop to view this truck wouldn't be so bad!

Those latches look like the ones used on Rally Cars...usually to hold the front light pod onto the hood or bumper.
The proper term for them is "Slide Latches" or "DZUS Slide Latch."
One company that sells them from the US is Primitive Racing.

 

[DamoPeru]

Great info, thanks!

 

[61Mk+]

What little tech I can provide (which is minimal), i will beat to death, just to pretend to believe i can be useful on Mud. I read over all i put in regarding them storage bins, and i must add i can provide measurements if needed.

 

[61Mk+]

Soon to leave the big city (Toronto) in order to get serious again and head back west; it's time to get responsible and return to work and all that sort of thing. My car did look a little out of place.

 

[61Mk+]

Went to visit one pal who just left a Toyota dealership after 28 years wrenching there; he doesn't know LandCruisers or diesels, but he is fantastic.
The first picture has nothing to do with anything relevant; his neighbour has this car for smash-up derbies. It's a '92 Camry, and it still runs, i'm not kidding.
The other four pictures show how the parking brake cable was installed, in contact with the shock absorbers. The rubber cable bit on the one was getting worn through, and it's obvious what the other side had going on. I think i can only get five pictures on per post, so more coming.

 

[61Mk+]

The first shot is another view of the parking brake cable, before improvements. The other four are of the improved version, one side getting a pivot and extension, the other a simple extension. Still too close for my liking for the right shock, but much better than before.
We also found that the rear universal joint had been installed backwards, such that the angled grease nipple was facing the wrong way, in other words no hope of greasing it without a needle attachment (it had play in it, no surprise); a new one is on order and will be fitted later this week, and i'll get the part numbers on here of course. I'm told that universal joint is common to 40's, 60's, and 80's, from the 1980s to to 1990s.
I have had issues with my parking brake for ages: the handle had to be pulled up to the end of its travel for it to take effect, and the car lurched forward (or backwards, depending on which way the slope was) a bit every time before it held. Removing the left drum/disc rotor combo on the left side had two little items fall out, in other words that drum probably couldn't do much of anything; one spring had also been bent in two locations. My guy fixed all that, but those rear brakes are not Toyota parts and, if they do what i just described, i don't want them. I did just learn, while looking for replacements, that Toyota did not make rear disc brakes for 70's. I did request, during the build, to have disc brakes at the rear, but i do not know where mine came from.

 

[61Mk+]

We also found that the rear diff (didn't have the time to check the front diff, gearbox and transfer case so far) had a drain plug with no magnet. That was replaced. There was also a knocking sound (not a loud one) made in the rear diff when the axle was turned; without having had the chance yet to open it up, my guy's guess is that there is some sort of baffle in the diff to slow down the flow of oil to the axle ends, and that this baffle is loose, and some rotating part is in contact with it; the oil coming out of the diff was certainly a metallic shade.
Two questions: anyone on board know if Toyota's drain plugs are all the magnetic type? Secondly, is there such a baffle in a differential?
Thanks in advance.

 

[ForealBoreal]

Every one I have seen has had a magnet. As for the baffle I have never taken a third member out to see first hand.

 

[61Mk+]

Thanks, FB; seems like a stupid question now, huh. Harrumph...

 

[SamT]

Great 75!
I'm curious what brand of your 10 leaf rear springs and load rating?
Thanks.