..And so it begins.... my BJ40 frame off restoration

[Volcano cruiser]

After I had already decided that I wanted a dual battery tray instead of splitting the batteries up and after I had decided on where in the bay I wanted to have the dual battery tray , I decided to place the solenoid in a place where it would minimize running cable and would be still readable as it has some read out info.

 

[Volcano cruiser]

With the solenoid placed and the main battery pulled I decided do the cabling for the main first as it was simpler. My method with the battery out of the way was to wire up all of the terminals involved and then when everything was done pop the bats into their places and tighten the terminals down onto the posts.
I inspected the existing cable from the alternator to the main it looked ok and since that will probably get replaced when the 1HZ arrives I decided to leave it. I then looked at the cable from the block to the negative side and decided to pull that and replace it as it was actually burned through due to being too close to the manifold. I then reattached the winch leads to their respective positive and negative main terminals. Lastly I stripped, crimped and taped the negative lead from the solenoid to the negative main terminal per instructions.

 

[Volcano cruiser]

I then followed the same procedure and wired up the terminals for the accessory bat, that is I placed anything other than the alternator and the winch on the accessory battery. Once that was done then I cabled together the negative sides of both batteries and then the positive sides of each battery to the solenoid. I then popped in both batteries popped on the terminals in order given in the instructions. cleaned up and tied everything down to make it more orderly and keep cable away from hot engine parts. Plugged in the controller, ran the cable into the cab and eventually bought some velcro to mount it so that it was by the passenger's right knee. Out of the way, off the dash and still easily viewed and reachable by the driver. Nice neat and clean right...

 

[Volcano cruiser]

These write ups are no good unless you make sure that you note problems with the kit, install or other rookie mistakes.

Mistakes:
I had read the instructions from front to back and of the thre configurations I went with configuration three, split charger with winch. I then flipped back to the installation instructions and followed them in the step by step way that they are laid out. Everything works great , alternator charging both batteries, plenty of bright twinklly lights in the cab now. Following the instructions I cabled ina 100A inline fuse, provided to the positive lead from the main battery to the solenoid and the inline 50A fuse to the positive cable from the accessory batt to the solenoid.
As I was going through the latter part of the instruction on how to interpret the pretty lights and how to set the audible alarm I noticed that the graphic showing config 3, dual batts with winch, didn't show the inline fuses like the wiring diagram in the step by step did. I thought no biggie I can just re cable the leads to the solenoid and eliminate the fuses, after all they give you plenty of battery cable. However I then noticed that in parantheses it said 35mm cable required. I decided to check the parts list on the kit again. Wanna take a guess as to what is NOT included in the kit, 35mm battery cable and the large eye connectors to connect it to the solenoid. It turns out that you can use the way I have it set up fine if you don't have a winch. It works fine with my driving lights, radios, etc. Now it looks like I will need to go to the auto parts store and order the thicker cable and connectores and re cable. The good news is that everything els is on correctly and works fine. I just need to replace battery cable throughout. My view is that National Luna needs to do one of two things, either throw the larger cable connectors into the kit or have a second kit that has the thicker battery cable for winching. Yeah I know I should have read this over more than the three times that I did and maybe I would have caught the difference between the parts listing of the guage of the cable supplied and the cabling requirements stated in the parenthetical in config three.

 

[Volcano cruiser]

Acid test of National Luna setup

Sorry for the hiatus guys, work has been ferocious here. We have gone through legislative and presidential elections and are about to go through the first change in power from the right to the left since signing the peace accords that ended the civil war 20 years ago.

I wanted to get back to it and get you guys up to speed by way of post script on the National Luna dual battery install. Over the weekend I glanced at the monitor several times. Each time I noticed that it didn't appear that either battery was getting charged. Going to work this morning the car started, but very slowly and it was clear that both batteries were low. Before entering the compound you have to stop and undergo a vehicle inspection. The car wouldn't turn over after the inspection was done and as such I was blocking the main entrance. I reached over and hit the button on the controller and was able to start it up off of the auxiliary battery. Long story short I was able to start the car an additional five times this morning off of the very low Optima Yellow top auxiliary battery using the dual battery controller. Trust me when I say that each stop was necessary between my job, the mechanic and eventually the alternator repair guy's shop. The ability to be able to hit a button and "jump start" yourself is invaluable in a country where there is no AAA and where a stranded motorist can present a very inviting target for car jacking, kidnapping or just plain old vanilla street robbery. I am now completely certain that I could have cranked her up and rolled out of some mountain trail just as easily as I cranked her over in the parking lot at work using the controller.

I'll get an estimate on the repair to the alt tomorrow.

 

[Volcano cruiser]

Engine in country

Ok, I got the word that the boat has finally arrived at the port of Acajutla, El Salvador and that the engine/tranny and transfer case that I ordered from Japan are now ready to be unloaded. The parts guy is working with his customs agent to get the crate unloaded, inspected, onto a truck and to my mechanics shop for a detailed inspection and prep prior to installation. It could be anywhere from 10 to 14 days. As soon as I can get my hands on the engine I'll get pics.
John

 

[Volcano cruiser]

I began reviwing the rebuild over the weekend. I can tell that I am coming up on the end of my patience and bank book here soon. As far as I can see it there are really only three more big items to be done:
1) install 1HZ/5spd tranny and transfer case.
2) get body pulled apart, sanded, primered and painted
3) get the upholstery and interior done, i.e. seats re-done, carpet installed.

My plan is to stop there and drive the rig for close to a year while I save money and decide if I want to shell out hard cash to turbo the 1HZ, upgrade the rear bumper/tire carrier, buy soft top, etc.

 

[Chamba]

G'day John,

Great to hear about the engine arriving. Sorry if you said it somewhere, but where did you order it from? Why not get it in Central America? Is it 24 volt?

I can't wait to see the engine install- that is going to be one helluva rig with a 1HZ/5 speed in it.

Cheers,

Josh

 

[Volcano cruiser]

G'day John,

Great to hear about the engine arriving. Sorry if you said it somewhere, but where did you order it from? Why not get it in Central America? Is it 24 volt?

I can't wait to see the engine install- that is going to be one helluva rig with a 1HZ/5 speed in it.

Cheers,

Josh

Josh,
Good to hear from you. I got the engine from Japan. The company here that I placed the order with has a purchasing agent there who just fills their pre-orders. He fills containers and ships them here to El Salvador from Japan. The engine/tranny.tcase is still in customs so I still don't have my hands on it yet. From what I can tell it is 12 volt and if not I'll convert it to 12 volt before the install.

Over the last few months I have developed a good parts guy at the local Toyota dealership. I asked him about ordering one of these engines new, just out of curiosity. He told me at that time, no one does that, in fact very few people here will order the large sections, i.e. long block/short block etc. too expensive. He said the reason that no one buys or sells the engine here is that it is so valued that even when there is car/bus crash (Coaster busses use it too here) that folks will salvage every bit of the engine from a wrecked vehicle and hoard the parts. Nothing from this engine goes to waste. He has access to the parts database throughout Central America and tried but couldn't even place an order for one locally. He could only order one new from Japan and at an exorbitant price, $22,000.00USD Needless to say we both agreed that going to my JDM used parts guy was the only way to go.
John

 

[beejay42]

Gday John,
great to see the build progressing.

Not much happening on my front, just moved house, settling in, and plain old driving my truck- and loving it. Only plans for my near future on the BJ is buying a nice roof cage (probably get one tomorrow depending on ebay).
Been doing a bit of ebay searching lately and came across this- (they may be common, I don't know)
'overhalled' CT26 turbo for 1HZ,
auction is ending in less than 24 hours, but he says he has another one (used off his engine, not 'overhalled') he is going to sell after.
Might be a bit late for that auction, and I know you said you are going to figure out the turbo thing later- but just thought I might as well post it up.
(and of course, if by any chance you grabbed it and the seller didn't want to international post, then I would be happy to forward it onto you).

Later mate, all the best, looking forward to seeing you get this beauty 'finished'
Hans.

 

[rloaderro]

The frame number on the VIN tag indicates a Sept-October 1980 build date.

Do you have a chart with this somewhere? I found a FJ40 chart but not a BJ40 one... would appreciate the info.

 

[Volcano cruiser]

Gday John,
great to see the build progressing.

Not much happening on my front, just moved house, settling in, and plain old driving my truck- and loving it. Only plans for my near future on the BJ is buying a nice roof cage (probably get one tomorrow depending on ebay).
Been doing a bit of ebay searching lately and came across this- (they may be common, I don't know)
'overhalled' CT26 turbo for 1HZ,
auction is ending in less than 24 hours, but he says he has another one (used off his engine, not 'overhalled') he is going to sell after.
Might be a bit late for that auction, and I know you said you are going to figure out the turbo thing later- but just thought I might as well post it up.
(and of course, if by any chance you grabbed it and the seller didn't want to international post, then I would be happy to forward it onto you).

Later mate, all the best, looking forward to seeing you get this beauty 'finished'
Hans.

Hans,
Your a good man and I appreciate your offer and the fact that you posted it up. I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying your rig and that things are falling into place otherwise in your life. Keep me posted on how things go with the roof rack.
For me I got a clarification on the whereabouts of my engine. The importer called me to say that when he responded to my initial email that he forgot that this was a special one off order, i.e., that normally his containers come into the port of Acajutla here in El Salvador but because this engine/tranny/tcase was the only item of his in the container he forgot that the shipping agent also packed the same container with stuff that was for several other clients over in Guatemala. The container actually came in to Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala and then has made its way overland to Guatemala City where the container is being opened and the stuff that belongs to the other folks gets of loaded. My stuff will then make the trip to San Salvador overland and should get here next week. I will be gone over the weekend back to the States for my son's graduation from college. Hopefuly the engine etc will be here when I get back.
The plan now is a friend is leaving town for business from June 11 - 21st. I'll make sure that the engine is ready to install betwen now and the 11th, e.g. inspect it after the trip over, replace any parts that need replacing, etc. and then leave it in the shop for the actual install from the 11th to the 21st. Anyway that's the plan
John

 

[Chamba]

G'day John,

When I was flying out of Tapachula, one of our pilots shipped his car down to himself from the US. The closest port was Guat City, so that is where he shipped it to. Since he didn't speak Spanish, he asked me to come along and help. What should have taken a few hours wound up taking almost two days. Let us know how the engine goes.

Cheers,

Josh

 

[tlc_4play]

John

just an observation
I have the same National Luna dual charger in my 40 - with the winch over-ride (it is made in South Africa)
If you press and hold (for more than 3 secs) the bottom button on the battery monitor LED unit, you will hear the solenoid activate
this connects both batteries in parallel for winch operation

 

[Volcano cruiser]

John

just an observation
I have the same National Luna dual charger in my 40 - with the winch over-ride (it is made in South Africa)
If you press and hold (for more than 3 secs) the bottom button on the battery monitor LED unit, you will hear the solenoid activate
this connects both batteries in parallel for winch operation

tlc,
Thanks for reminding me to finish the story on this point. Correct, by hitting the button that you describe I was able to roll the solenoid over to put the batteries in parallel and start the rig five times. The problem as it turns out was that the solenoid was clogged full of that fine red silt from my last trail ride. The brushes just weren't making good contact, therefore no charging of either battery. The alt repair guy pulled it apart and cleaned it thoroughly. Now both batteries are happy and fully charged, in fact I got an " over charge" alarm on the starter battery day before yesterday if you can believe it.
Got to say I never thought to add inspect and clean alternator to my post trail ride checklist.
BTW nice clean looking engine bay. That is my goal when I'm finished.

 

[beejay42]

Gday John,
just a quick shot of the new roof racks- not the best shot of the rack itself (I'll get more later if you are interested) but at least it is in use. Had to take home my tender (that I use to get to my big boat) today because it had broken from it's suspension under the jetty, hung from its nose and got bashed against the jetty damaging a few things.
The rack is great. Its a TJM, not quite the full length of the roof (which would have been nice) and is properly custom made for the 40 roof. A full rail along the whole gutter to support the weight.
Lovin it. Have used it twice already since buying it 3 days ago.

The beast, the tinny, the rack and the girl.

 

[Volcano cruiser]

Gday John,
just a quick shot of the new roof racks- not the best shot of the rack itself (I'll get more later if you are interested) but at least it is in use. Had to take home my tender (that I use to get to my big boat) today because it had broken from it's suspension under the jetty, hung from its nose and got bashed against the jetty damaging a few things.
The rack is great. Its a TJM, not quite the full length of the roof (which would have been nice) and is properly custom made for the 40 roof. A full rail along the whole gutter to support the weight.
Lovin it. Have used it twice already since buying it 3 days ago.

The beast, the tinny, the rack and the girl.

Hans,
I'd love to see detailed pics of each rack and especially the full rail system that you used to reinforce the fiberglass gutters. I have to tell you that I am more than a little concerned about the ability of thos gutters to support much weight, even with the weight well distributed. I'd love to do somethiong similar but I have dreams of a RTT + roof rack storage and all good sense keep telling me to anchor the roof rack to the lower body. However I like the looks of your setup so if you got pics send them my way.
P.S. what size tires are you running there?
John

 

[Volcano cruiser]

I just got word that my motor is finally not just in country but has arrived in the city/ It still needs to get unloaded etc so I told them that I will be over next week to pick it up. That will give my and the guys at the garage a couple of days to inspect it and see what all needs to be added to it before it can go in. Since this is my DD a friend of mine is heading out on a business trip from June 11--21 and so the guys at the garge know that they have that period to get the old engine etc out and the new one et al in.
After that the plan is to drive the rig hard all over this country to really break that engine in and to test it thoroughly. As soon as I get my hands on it next week I'll take detailed pics with my new camera ( the old one truly went belly up at a bad moment)

 

[Volcano cruiser]

Just fawking great...

Well the day started out great, made plans to pick up the engine etc next week, me and the GF were out running errands in the rig and had a great lunch in a quaint newly renovated colonial section of a little town nearby. On the way back to the house, as I was climbing up up the same hill I climb everyday to and from work BOOM, CLUNK, and all manner of other FAWKING bad noises. The rig grinds to a halt in the middle of heavy traffic on a busy city street near the house. I climb underneath uttering silent prayers to find that my rear drive shaft has sheared the bolts off at the flange where it connects to the transfer case. The transfer case end of the shaft is now jammed up into the floor of the truck and the flange is rolling down the street into a busy traffic circle.

Clearly now there is no way to play this off as a "minor inconvenience" so I suggest that she walk up the street to a close by mini mall while I run out into fawking traffic chasing down my 30 year old flange like I was trying to save a newborn that had just run out into traffic. I grab the flange and get back and pull out the tools. Meanwhile some helpful cops had already shown up and after chatting with me called my insurance company for a tow. I think about this for a sec, call my friend who reminds me to just pull the rear drive shaft, turn the hubs, shift into 4H and drive it home. My problem is that the drive shaft is now jammed in tight into the floor of the rig. After 45 minutes the tow truck guys arrive. I am able to convince them not to just roll the rig onto the flatbed but to help me pull the shaft. Their supervisor would have none of it. He couldn't figure out why anyone would want to try such a thing. The guys got it and we pulled the shaft. They agreed to follow me home and if anything else blew up I'd just roll it onto the flat bed and get towed the rest of the way home. I grabbed up the GF, who was being a real sport about all of this, and rolled home in 4H no further incidents.

When I got home a buddy called me and after I told him what happened he said "you know who crawls under their car everyday to check for "drive shaft problems" on a DD". After venting a bit about lost confidence in the rig he said " in a perverse way this was good, how many other cars riding on the road could have the owner have a catastrophic failure of a drive shaft and have the owner crawl under it pull it and still be driven home under its own power." While I heard the logic of his argument, I was not moved. I haven't put the new engine in it yet and right now if I thought for one second that I could get the body work and interior done and sell it as is for a profit I would seriously consider it. I would probably hold and mothball the engine/tranny/tcase until this loss of confidence wore off and get a new cruiser or sell the engine etc for a profit and just buy a BMW Z3 and call this all a bad dream. As it is I KNOW that as I sit here today I will not feel comfortable taking this rig out on long treks which is precisely what it was being designed and tested for. Again I KNOW that next week after limping into the shop to get a new drive shaft that the owner ( and the GF) are going to quietly suggest that I get a second car so that I'm not stranded when stuff like this happens. The reason why I bought a cruiser and chose it as a base for an expedition/remote touring kind of rig was because it was supposed to be bulletproof, crap like this is just not supposed to happen. Yeah I know metal fatigue on 30 year old bolts...sure that's likely to happen. Guess what logic still not helping now. That's the funny thing about losing confidence, it's a gut thing not a head thing.
John

 

[lostmarbles]

Sorry to hear about this John. But you can't let broken driveshaft bolts make you lose confidence in your cruiser. Someone must have done something wrong there. (Perhaps the old bolts were over-torqued or run "loose".)

The only way I can maintain confidence in my vehicle is to do ALL work on it MYSELF (and take a lot of care in the process). But if you don't want to do the work yourself and have access to someone you trust, then you can achieve the same level of confidence as I have.

Like you, I also require a more-reliable vehicle than most people. It not uncommon for me to travel alone down remote off-road tracks, stay the night there, and then expect my vehicle to restart in sub-zero temperatures where no help is available (without pretty severe hardship involved).

If you know your old vehicle "inside-out" and know there's nothing "dodgy" on it - You'll end up trusting it more than a brand-new vehicle.

Forty-series cruisers are designed to last forever!

Chin-up