Builds Aussie hdj79 build (1 Viewer)

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Indestructible 47

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Jun 23, 2014
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Straya
Hey fellow mudders,

I recently acquired a hdj79, build date 10/01. This will be more of a repair first than upgrage thread, and i plan on keeping this old girl a little longer than my last couple of cruisers. A little back story:

The cruiser came from a place about 4 1/2 hours from where i live. This is country Australia, and the truck has been a country turck all her life so no rust. However, it has its fair share of bulldust and red dirt as with all these things. It has:

Arb bulbar and scrub rails
Factory rv bucket seats and rims
Heavy duty rear springs 450kg constants
2" brand new emu lift in the front
Entirely new bushes throughout the front end
Factory "raised air intake"
Dual batteries

So, shes pretty stock but has some bad points:

Hit a roo on front drivers side pictures below

Spotlight hole in the roof (appears to be no rust)

Very slight vibe at mid throttle at 100km/h+

She has 395,000kms on her but she is tight as. I have already fitted my spotlights, and that will probably be the only upgrade for rye minute. The motor bieng the 1 HD-FTE, puts a smile on my face everytime. Heres why:

The original fte got a hole in it's sump by a star dropper. So, naturally it seized. Along comes the replacement fte, out of another hdj79. The previous owner decide that he will rebuild it anyway, which i have 16k worth of receipts. All that, just 9k ago. New turbo (stock), rebuilt injectors and pump, new radiator the list goes on. Including a nice new 3" straight through exhaust. Boy does it sound sweet as. Anyway, enough ramble and some pics:
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So, as i mentioned she made contact with skippy. At this stage i have a new bonnet (or hood for mericans) and drivers side inner and outer guard. I need a drivers door and a front clip and then I'm heading to the painters, either for a full respray or just paint match whats there. I am not having anything but a good job, but am on a budget at tye same time.
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After that, if i have any funds left, ill probably get onto upgrading the wheels and tires. I hate the rpms at highway speeds (2900rpm at 115km/h). I plan on 315x75r16s. What kind of backspacing am i going to need on the rims? I have 2" of lift at the moment, plan on extended shackles and spacers in the front for 3".

Next will be a nice pdi intercooler, and tuning module, in which I'll up the psi on rhe stock turbo, untill i can afford a gturbo and everything else with it, clutch airbox just to name a few.

Lockers, tool boxes, cos workish ute, and I'll be singing i reckon. Any comments welcome, but don't expect any fast progress on this one, because of funds. Cheers
 
Hello,

You found yourself a nice Cruiser.

Fast progress is not always the case with these beasts. Time is not of the essence here. As for budget, welcome to the club.

What are you going to do with your 75?





Juan
 
Hello,

You found yourself a nice Cruiser.

Fast progress is not always the case with these beasts. Time is not of the essence here. As for budget, welcome to the club.

What are you going to do with your 75?





Juan
Yes, what you say is true. Unfortunately i had to sell the 75 to fund the 79. I miss if for sure. Actually, i don't really..... the 79 is better in everyway apart from the fly by wire throttle.
 
Nice! The HDJ79 has to one of the most desirable 70's & a fresh motor is a real score.

Cheers
Clint
They sure are and for good reason, the 1HD-FTE is as smooth as butter.


Got a fair bit done tonight. I hope to have the panels swapped over by the end of the weekend. Pulling it appart was ok, some tough to get to bolts with that engine bay containing the FTE. Found out the factory snorkel was broken, will get a safari which is this country is a must for dusty roads.

I have decided to wait for the drivers door to be done, i have the passenger door ready but kind of want to do them at the same time. I plan on putting dynamatt soundproofing on the doors and roof, and later the floor as well. I will also be chasing down some new u-bolts because i need to take leaves out of the 450kg constants.

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Well, i managed to get it all done and buttoned up. It is sooo much better. However, i am going to need a new bar as mine is badly bent. That is also the reason my new panel below the light grill is not on. I will be installing an armax dorkel, as the factory one was broken.

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Well i got the armax installed, very impressive bit of kit. Loving the way it sounds and drives now, good power everwhere in the rev range once the turbo spools at 1600rpms. Loving hdj79 life at the moment, i will just continue to just mostly improve it at this stage, and i predict a new arb deluxe bullbar sometime in the distant future, the bar us slightlt bent form the roo impact. Good news is the chassis is straight as a die.

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Well, a freshly painted driver door would you believe it!!!! So now i can swap doors over, and i will be installing dynamat in the cruiser. I've been told that ot makes these tin cans soooo much more livable. Also, i started another thread on the motor on this truck, check it out if you need, i will be keeping track of the motor stuff mainly in there. Link:1HD-FTE maintenance and proformance in my hdj79

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What was now is.... still more to do but an improvement over what was on it

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So far i have managed to dynamat the drivers door, and the floorwells. I did both the skins on the door, and the difference it makes is seriously impressive. I then started on the floor, this rig was very dirty and took me ages and loads of elbow grease to scrub it up. Good news was not a spec of rust in the floors.i still have to do underneath the seats, but I'm needing to keep if driving as i do it so doing it in patches.

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not complete, but the most complete pic i have
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and the lid. Got a shooters light in the roof, not a spec of rust in it. Cleanest 70 roof I've ever seen

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The amount of red Australian dust in this thing is insane. The camera always shows it up badly. Here is the headliner that i am in the process of cleaning up:

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Does anyone have the part numbers for the fuel level sender for the main tank and the seat mounting bolts?
 
A few sort of current pics to keep any interest up.... replaced the door rubbers with new genuine, pulled the headliner out and water blasted it, came out good. New windscreen and genuine rubber, still waiting on a new deluxe winch bar and i have a winch, warn 1000lb for it. Also going to be making up a cage for it, sort of like the last pic, to house a fridge freezer and other things, most likley dual tires that can swing out. We shall see.

I also badly want to do a terrain tamer modified (higher 5th) gearbox rebuild, as this one has 400,000kms on it. Still works but is not anything like new.

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