Aussie 1981 BJ42 Build (1 Viewer)

[CandidHeartache]

Hi All,
I have been reading up on all the work you guys have been doing and, frankly, i am very impressed.
Anywho, after much talk about how "great the old Landcruisers used to be" and scraping the bottom of my my Subaru Liberty 1000 times just driving into my driveway, I went out and bought myself a BJ42.

(ignore the other 2 Toyotas in the photos. You really only got 1 choice in Australia)

pretty huh?

It was reasonably close to the sea (all of Australia is near the sea) and the PO did have a boat so that probably explains the rust...

That said, it was $2000 plus $800 for the full PTO winch setup to go with it.

I'm looking forward to the rebuild (there is already a new mig welder on the table) but i am secretly hoping that the availability of parts in Australia will balance out the fact that I have no idea what i am doing

First update photos will come later this week but i am looking for help already.

Anyone in Victoria (Australia) know a good contact for replacement steel panels for the body of the car? My father and I will try to repair anything i can, but there may not be anything left to save...

Any help would be amazing,

Cheers

 

[redrocket80]

You'll be surprised with what you can piece together out of rusted sections.

Go grab yourself a sheet of 1mm and start cutting and patching.

Good luck with it. I'll be watching closely.

 

[cult45]

My first frame-off was one of these. Welding panel steel is a low-heat proposition, so stitch weld with oxy or MIG. But don't go thinner than 1mm. Your BJ42 was 1.2mm from stock.

Good luck!

BTW, yours is a LOT better off than mine

 

[dancar]

Check out Ken Dixon at Eureka, he has a wealth of knowledge and experience on the 40 series.

 

[Lupdog]

Very nice!

Just keep an eye on eBay and gumtree.com.au - lots of panels and parts come up for offer there. And of coarse the wreckers.

Welcome to the sickness!

 

[lostmarbles]

Welcome to ih8mud.

There's fun to be had in restoring these vehicles as well as in driving them and you'll find yourself becoming skilled in sheetmetal work in no time.

Those Aussi bull bars never cease to amaze me!!!



BTW- For anyone else in Oz looking for a good 40-series (preferably not far from Melbourne), check out Jusmud's (Ian's) BJ40 that he's being forced to sell due to family circumstances.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/parting-out/698690-bj40-1978-australian-spec-sale-complete-vehicle.html

PS - I hope you don't mind me giving his BJ40 a plug in your thread ... but for an Aussi (or kiwi) to visit the classified section is usually rather pointless (because of the typical sellers' locations and associated shipping costs) and Ian wants to sell to a fellow enthusiast rather than to some random on eBay.

 

[CandidHeartache]

Stripping Down #1

Ok, fist real crack at the truck.
My father and I are working on this one together (He owned a 1967 FJ40 back in the day, so he is taking the opportunity to re-live his childhood).
We pulled off the front wheels last week just to get a better look under the engine. we could have put the wheels back on, but then, that would take the fun out of it

We went through and documented the different areas with severe rust. look here and see the problems ahead...

it was good to see that there are already aftermarket shocks on it. some of them need a bit of work, but that shouldn't cost as much as a new set of shocks.

we have been soaking as much of the car as possible in Diesel (an attempt to loosed all the bolts and attachments). Since we don't really care about the existing paintwork, we have been spraying it through the air compressor / spray gun. Those fumes will get to you bloody quickly, I'll tell you that.

All in all we have snapped about 4 bolts? pretty good frankly. we are all feeling reasonably optimistic about this project

I do have a couple of questions for the audience:

1) is there any way to change the handbrake from a rear axel to a transmission setup? i would much prefer a completely separate 5th brake, geared through the diff (and active on all 4 wheels when in 4wd)

2) what is the best way to go about repairing the gutter on the roof? as you can see, it is fairly F&$#ed.

Anyway, after all that, the remains of the vehicle are sitting in the shed, waiting for next weekend (gotta love Labor Day). we will aim to have the tum off and be inspecting the drive train. There are a few oil seals that are going to need replacing, but that is not all that bad.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Hi, Nice cruiser. Id drill the rivets out and replace the rain gutter. Then recalk with 3M fast and Firm. I personally don't like the e brake off the transm. Because I have had to tear to many large equipment pieces down and it's a major pain but I guess you could do it with an earlier cruisers,transm.-brake set up. Mike

 

[CandidHeartache]

Thanks Mike,
I was wondering more about where to get teh replacement parts for the gutter?
or is making them yourself the way to go?

 

[roma042987]

Interesting thread. Will be following this one.

 

[Chamba]

Put together a big order from the US and you'll find that even with shipping it will be significantly cheaper than the stuff in Australia.

You can get a split case handbrake from an '81-'84 troopy or Ute if you want to move your brake to the transfer.....but why on earth would you want to? The transfer case brake is rubbish. It is far smaller than the Rover one if that is what you have in mind and is hardly adequate even when not soaked in gear oil....which they nearly all are.

 

[CandidHeartache]

I was planning on using a disc to get past the oil issues, but the main reason is,like i said, the gearing through the diff and the 4wd brake.
just common sense that, when pointing downhill, the handbrake through the rear has bugger all weight on it and is much less effective.
I know you shouldn't have the handbrake on face up or own a hill, but the yanks don't call it an emergency brake for nothing...

 

[CandidHeartache]

Another Update

Hey All,
another update on the most recent works.
We pulled thing out of the shed and got to work removing the tub

It took some interesting rigging to stop from folding the tub in half, but we got there.

Just set that aside until we need it again, and focus on cleaning the frame and engine.
We hired a hot water pressure washer for the weekend as our little washer didn't even make a dent in the muck build up.

We pulled out all the wiring looms from the tub and removed all other little accessories. Then for the cleaning...

And here is a shot of the worst rust damage.

that'll take some fixing...

anyway, this is what came out of the fuel/water separator thingy. Not really a good thing??

And after much removing of windows (and f*#$king around with the front door windows) the body is on a trailer, waiting for a trip to the blaster.

And one final shot of the nice clean transfer.

Well, that's it. The next work days will be focused on dismantling the drivetrain (there are some oil leaks that definitely need attention).

What is the general feeling on engine rebuilds?
This one has done 500,000kms and I'm wondering, while I have the whole thing apart, if it is worth doing a major rebuild.

Keep in mind that I am planning on Turbo-ing it asap.

Thanks for the feedback and look forward to posting more.

 

[lostmarbles]

Hey All,
another update on the most recent works.
We pulled thing out of the shed and got to work removing the tub
http://i.imgur.com/lyRzJSl.jpg

It took some interesting rigging to stop from folding the tub in half, but we got there.

Just set that aside until we need it again, and focus on cleaning the frame and engine.
We hired a hot water pressure washer for the weekend as our little washer didn't even make a dent in the muck build up.

http://i.imgur.com/Eu5AG12.jpg

We pulled out all the wiring looms from the tub and removed all other little accessories. Then for the cleaning...

http://i.imgur.com/gyzdCrj.jpg
And here is a shot of the worst rust damage.

http://i.imgur.com/b53OaDq.jpg
that'll take some fixing...

anyway, this is what came out of the fuel/water separator thingy. Not really a good thing??

http://i.imgur.com/pCSbVP5.jpg

And after much removing of windows (and f*#$king around with the front door windows) the body is on a trailer, waiting for a trip to the blaster.

http://i.imgur.com/A3wXJhJ.jpg
And one final shot of the nice clean transfer.

http://i.imgur.com/1W0ZexB.jpg
Well, that's it. The next work days will be focused on dismantling the drivetrain (there are some oil leaks that definitely need attention).

What is the general feeling on engine rebuilds?
This one has done 500,000kms and I'm wondering, while I have the whole thing apart, if it is worth doing a major rebuild.

Keep in mind that I am planning on Turbo-ing it asap.

Thanks for the feedback and look forward to posting more.

Wish I had your shed space and access to a forklift!

That body looks in great condition for its age too.

I reckon engine reconditioning would be a good plan at 500,000kms with a turbo planned.



Ps. I appreciate reading/seeing your updates here.

 

[Chamba]

I was planning on using a disc to get past the oil issues, but the main reason is,like i said, the gearing through the diff and the 4wd brake.
just common sense that, when pointing downhill, the handbrake through the rear has bugger all weight on it and is much less effective.
I know you shouldn't have the handbrake on face up or own a hill, but the yanks don't call it an emergency brake for nothing...

In my experience, using the transfer case hand brake on anything other than flat ground is asking too much of it. The disk was designed to make it slightly better, but it still is no where near as good as an axle brake.

If your concern is front wheels locking then you'll have to have either the axle or transfer case brake in use with the rig in 4wd and the hubs locked. Since you're going that far by that point you might as w well Chuck her in gear too. I would far rather trust an axle handbrake over the feable transfer case unit.

I agree with Tom-very clean body there. Should be a piece of piss getting her prefect. I can't see on my phone but what state are you in?

 

[ElHefe]

Subscribed. Can you check on the first three pics? Not showing up for me.

 

[CandidHeartache]

First 3 photos

Sorry about that.
I was using Photobucket at first but moved to imgur after those pics disappeared.
Here are the photos I took at the start of all this.

 

[CandidHeartache]

Another Another Update

Hi All,
Over Easter I had a friend of my fathers (who used to be a diesel mechanic) look at the car (or what is left of it). He seems positive about the engine and frame (although we have since put the radiator back on and run the engine for a bit to find all the oil leaks).

Tho body however, he says is too far gone. His full opinion was to look around and find one for sale that is in better condition. Not sure if i agree entirely but he is the pro.

If anyone know a good place for bodies or, more likely, a place that make replacement panels, please let me know.

Also, I took the winch to pieces to fix up the play in the drive shaft. the bearings on the screw gear were so badly work it wa unbelievable. The inner bearing races had large dints where the balls had been sitting and not spinning.
Also, the shear pin join was so rusted it took a drill and sledge hammer to get the damn thing off. will be needing a new pin i think...

Ah well, new bearings have arrived thanks to the guys at BJ's and will be going in next weekend.

more updates to come but i will be starting to paint the frame / engine soon and rebuilding the brakes as well.

Again, if anyone has a good source for panels, let me know. Otherwise, I might have to start looking for a second car with a good body

 

[CandidHeartache]

Progress Report

Hi All,
So after Watching the Dawn Service (and seeing Essendon thrash Collingwood) I knuckled down to get some work done.

After lifting off the engine / gearbox / transfer combo, I removed all the steering and suspension bits and lifted off the frame.

As the frame is in good nick, I decided to wire wheel as much as possible and them chemically treat and paint the frame.

Since POR15 can also be a bit of a b&$%h to store once it is open, I decided to treat and paint some other bits I had lying around.

I found some yellow paint lying around and touched up the shocks as well.

Finally, the engine is separate to the gearbox. There is a LOT of oil in the bell housing. Thinking i may have a bit of a leak in the main rear seal. Ah well, what can you do?

The engine is on its way into the shed to hang for a while. Need to replace a half dozen seals / gaskets and then it'll be good to go.

After removing the steering links, I found that there is a large notch in the kingpin bearings. They will definitely need replacing, so that is the next move.

I'll keep you all updated as I progress, Hope it goes well.

 

[Chamba]

Collingwood has never been the same since Leon Davies left. Having said that, I barrack for the Crows.

Good on ya for doing the Dawn Service and the rig is coming along nicely.