Aussie 1981 BJ42 Build

[CandidHeartache]

Further works

Hey all,
this weekend I started the rebuild of the steering knuckles. They had a serious notch that in the forward pointing position which needed to be fixed.

The freewheeling hubs came off nice and easy. That said, there was no gasket behind them. They were held in with silicone so I am not sure what previous work has been done.

I managed to get the nuts for the wheel bearings off without the required SST. this is good 'cos I have no idea where to get those things...

The whole lot came apart as quickly and eaqily as i could have asked for. luckily, the rust and roughness cleaned up with a bit of sandpaper so I am hoping that the knuckle seals last for a fair while.

The photo doesn't do justice to the roughness in the bearing seats. they were really, really lumpy!

now it is all sitting in pieces while I wait for someone to give the front diff the OK (i'm not sure that the backlash is correct, but I am also not sure that I care enough to fix it)

Speaking of pieces, the local spring guy had a gift for me.

The have been tightened up, raised a little (so that it will settle in to the right height) painted and had the bolts replaced. Now i am just waiting for ARB to get back to me with the new greasable shackles and steering dampener.

also, good to know that my engine is still safe, hanging on its "WorkSafe Approved" engine hoist....

Hope it stays there long enough for me to replace the leaky gaskets / seals...

Ah well, appart from a rebuild on the steering pivot and a tune up on the steering box, that is all I have done recently.

Next thing, the trailer full of panels and parts goes to my friends at Melbourne Sandblasting for a bit of a fix-up.

I'll keep you posted...

 

[herbs]

You can get the correct 54mm hub nut socket on ebay, or your local Toyota parts shop.

 

[CandidHeartache]

Hello all,
If anyone is still out there I finally have an update.
After 7 years of struggling with work and mental health issues (and a bit of good old fashioned laziness), I am back and working!
Years ago, after continuing to chip away without posting updates, I ran into a problem. Once removed, the rear Tub Sill turned out to be much more rusted than I realized. This came at about the same time as running out of spare money, so was almost an insurmountable barrier. However, I have a new job and am back with a vengeance!

Here is a quick summary of the work that has been done on and off over the past few years:

• The easily accessible Seals and Gaskets on the engine have been replaced.
• Panels have been shipped and received from the US and the cutting and welding has begun.
  • The door bottoms have been replaced
• The tub has been completely stripped and taken to Melbourne on a trailer.
  • it was sand blasted to expose the rust (that worked a bit too well...)
  • The tub was painted with Primer to keep it vaguely healthy
• A bunch of small fixes to the frame and other parts.
  • Fixed leaf springs
  • New spring hangers with grease nipples
  • split rim wheels blasted, repainted and checked with a set of tires
  • The Transfer Case has been completely rebuilt
  • The drive train is reassembled and back on the frame
• Fancy Tools
  • The Mig welder is here and running
  • A new compressor (with a bit more power) as well as a small sand blasting pot.
  • A dremel and extra grinder (I got so sick of switching disc types)

I got a fair bit done on the recent Labour Day long weekend, with the cutting and replacing of steel in the floor pans underway. (mostly cutting so far, but there is some new steel in there). I found an old drum of Phosphoric Acid knocking about the shed in my fathers stuff, so there have been healthy coatings of that whenever possible.
Below are some photos of the floor pan work.

I would like to know what paints people are using for small internal areas while patching? I discovered some surface rust inside the channel below the floor pan and, after blasting and treating it, gave it a coat of self galvanizing paint. For these little patches (where aerosol would be much preferred) what is the go to option?

I will be returning to the farm (from my new job in Melbourne) every second weekend to continue my work. Thanks for all the kind words way back when, this is a very supportive group and reading your posts is what helped me keep the faith over the years.
Good luck everyone in their projects and life!

 

[CandidHeartache]

Hi All,

Managed to get some more work done over the Easter weekend. Continued work on the floor pans and managed to get the passenger one in.

Also managed (with the help of a cheap little plate bender) to fab up some replacements pieces for the vertical struts and other bits that were rusted out.

Definitely not the cleanest welds (and was still getting waaaay too much heat into earlier bits) but it is in and ready to be beaten into a reasonable shape. A little body filler will make up for my lack of talent…

I am also planning on using bed liner underneath and on the internal floors of the truck. Basically, I want to try and seal the water out of the bottom as much as humanly possible (and also get a bit more weight on the tub to deaden sound and heat).
Hopefully that will help hide my welding shame.

The best part of the day was Dad helping hang a Block & Tackle from the roof. Made it much easier to get underneath the welds.

From this point, I’ll start patching the tray bed as I’ve ordered some replacement bits from Mr Landcruiser that should help with the driver’s side wells.
Also, a shipment from the US arrived. Finally have all the pieces required to put the tub back together! That’s gonna be like putting together a massive jigsaw, but hopefully not too much hassle.

Heading back to get more work done this weekend, so I’ll be adding to this thread. I’m gonna leave it as a record of everything I did wrong… Hopefully it helps people avoid my errors!

 

[CandidHeartache]

Another productive week. While I wait on some panels from Mr Landcruiser, I thought I'd tackle the tray bed.

 

[CandidHeartache]

Hi All,
First off, I hope all those in Melbourne (and Vic in general) are doing alright with the current lockdowns. I was lucky enough to be out in rural Vic when it hit, so I'm taking the opportunity to do some much needed work on the car.
While still waiting on a Driver Side Firewall patch from Mr Landcruiser, I had a few smaller bits and pieces that required patching.
The old radio antenna had rusted a nice hole in the side of the body. That needed fixing...

The rust along the the windscreen seat leads me to think the seal had been leaking. That needed patching too...

and a few more random little places:

Then, once I got work my panel delivery was a day away, it was finally time to start tackling the big bit...

When the firewall finally arrived, there was a problem. I'd been sent a second Passenger Side piece, instead of the Drivers. So rather than lose all this available time, I decided to improvise... Even with this mix up, I still rate Mr Landcruiser panels and parts very highly. They're definitely better than that PACOL Floor pans I bought many moons ago. They needed a fair bit of persuading to fit, but eventually they were in as well.

And that's the current state. I will be continuing to weld away for another day or two (maybe start on the windscreen). And on Friday, I plan to pull the frame out of the shed and start reassembling the tub! Hopfully will start to look like a car for the first time in nearly 10 years

 

[plink01]

Mate your doing some great work. The before and after pic looks incredible. Keep it up!

 

[littleafrica]

Any updates, you work looked good.

 

[Greek Cruiserhead]

Any updates, you work looked good.

...to say the list!

 

[CandidHeartache]

Hey all,
Thanks for the nice words. There has definitely been some progress made, but as usual I forget to publish the photos...

I got a bit excited during the reassembly and completely forgot to photograph my progress. Needless to say, it went well. I basically put the whole car together on the frame to make sure it was all fitting together. Then held all the panels in place with pop rivets and started welding. ONce it was securely tacked, the tub went on the new rotisserie i purchased and off the whole this went to the sandblaster.

A few months later, once I gathered up enough Annual Leave for a week or two of painting, the real work started.

Ran a high tension fencing wire between a couple of trees and the shed, and started working. The prep is incredibly tedious, but hopefully I never have to do it again!

 

[CandidHeartache]

*New post for more file uploads*
Next I started the body work. I've never done this sort of thing before and, inevitably, i stuffed it up... For anyone trying this in the future, the thing that got me was mixing the putty too vigorously. This formed air bubbles in the putty which show up as pinholes when you sand it back. Make sure to mix nice and smooth and you'll be done twice as fast as I was
Here's a shot of half way through the tub. The eventual thickness of the putty was max about 1-2 mm on the sides, which I'm pretty happy with. Definitely smooth and will give a good finish!

After that, back on the line for another coat of primer.

 

[CandidHeartache]

Finally, the big day.
Another several hours of prep work... Sanding, cleaning, degreasing, etc.

And the result? I'm pretty happy to say the least

Coming up over the Christmas break:

• Fix the final welding (rear door crossmember got overlooked, hood is still a bit warped and the roof gutter is completely f***ed)
• Pain the newly welded bits green (and another coat of on some areas that are a bit thin)
• Raptor Liner under the body (as a slightly tougher sound deadener. I'm hoping to drive this without going deaf...)
• heat shield on the firewall
• New body mounts have arrived and are ready to go
• New set of stainless hinge pins/bushes on the way (as shown here)
• Original seats are being re-upholstered and will hopefully look great

Then... reassemble on the body.

 

[Greek Cruiserhead]

Finally, the big day.
Another several hours of prep work... Sanding, cleaning, degreasing, etc.

And the result? I'm pretty happy to say the least
View attachment 3503813View attachment 3503814
View attachment 3503816View attachment 3503817

Coming up over the Christmas break:

• Fix the final welding (rear door crossmember got overlooked, hood is still a bit warped and the roof gutter is completely f***ed)
• Pain the newly welded bits green (and another coat of on some areas that are a bit thin)
• Raptor Liner under the body (as a slightly tougher sound deadener. I'm hoping to drive this without going deaf...)
• heat shield on the firewall
• New body mounts have arrived and are ready to go
• New set of stainless hinge pins/bushes on the way (as shown here)
• Original seats are being re-upholstered and will hopefully look great

Then... reassemble on the body.

Great paint job mate (and nice colour too)!
Did you opt for single stage or base/clear coat paint?

 

[CandidHeartache]

Great paint job mate (and nice colour too)!
Did you opt for single stage or base/clear coat paint?

Single stage 2-part epoxy for me. I'm certain it'll end up getting scratched pretty quickly, so I'm going for strength, ease of repair and rust proofing more than anything

 

[plink01]

Awesome job mate. It's starting to take some shape now. Once the welding and painting is done it's all down hill from there.

 

[Greek Cruiserhead]

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.

...Thanks for the feedback and look forward to posting more.

Hello, mate! Your steel rims got my attention: they look good ol' school and tough!
I would like to ask you if they are Toyota (which model)?
15 or 16 inch?

 

[Greek Cruiserhead]

Given that a 40-Series Toyota non-split 16 inch rim is unobtenium nowadays, it could be of interest...

 

[CandidHeartache]

Given that a 40-Series Toyota non-split 16 inch rim is unobtenium nowadays, it could be of interest...

They're 16 inch splits I believe. They came with the vehicle, so I don't know their pedigree.

 

[Greek Cruiserhead]

If I can see well, they don't look split rims.

As for the rim diameter your tyres only can tell...

PS. I even made a thread on your rims in the tyre section, nobody can tell as of yet...

OEM Toyota Rims?

Hi folks, do these rims are OEM Toyota? If positive, from which model, Series-80 or later, Hi-Lux? It seems that they fit perfect in the 40-Series... PS. Taken these pics from co-Mudder CandidHeartache (Melbourne, OZ) https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/aussie-1981-bj42-build.706200/

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[CandidHeartache]

If I can see well, they don't look split rims.

As for the rim diameter your tyres only can tell...

PS. I even made a thread on your rims in the tyre section, nobody can tell as of yet...

OEM Toyota Rims?

Hi folks, do these rims are OEM Toyota? If positive, from which model, Series-80 or later, Hi-Lux? It seems that they fit perfect in the 40-Series... PS. Taken these pics from co-Mudder CandidHeartache (Melbourne, OZ) https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/aussie-1981-bj42-build.706200/

forum.ih8mud.com

Oh, sorry. I was thinking of the wrong rims. Those ALSO came with the car, but I've no idea what they are.
The P/O said they were cheaper to get tyres for.
The splits are back on the chassis now