Builds BJ74 - new owner, old truck

[LuckyDragon88]

Finally had some time to dig into why the factory rear locker wasn't working, when I bought the truck it had been sitting in a farmers field in Edmonton for a few years so it was pretty crusty, especially the undercarriage. Locker linkage was rusted SOLID, cleaned up easy enough and with some grease it was buttery smooth. But a few of the bushings are pretty toast and it looks like they suffer from being NLA...
90386-09009 - Bush(For Rear Differential Lock Cylinder Lever)
Any input welcome.

 

[LuckyDragon88]

 

[LuckyDragon88]

Couldn’t bring myself to throw away the retro Japanese style spare that came with the truck, but I was tired of tripping over it all the time… voila - cruiser inspired shop furniture and somewhere to put my phone, keys and wallet so I can stop looking for them all over hells half acre. Pretty stoked, just need a couple shop chairs.

Went to check out some new spots since I just moved here a few months ago, I’ve been exploring the area a bit now that most of the snow is melted out in the lower areas. Didn’t expect to find 40’ deep avalanche debris covering the road for about 300’. Covered the last 3k on foot, it was worth it

 

[LuckyDragon88]

Had a couple days off around my birthday so decided to do a camping trip around the East Kootenays and put some km's on the crusier. 1st night was in Garland Bay Rec Site just north of Crawford Bay. Great weather for early season, the lake is huge and felt like being back near the ocean. The "Dougs Tub" is a lifesaver for the 7- series gloveboxes.

 

[LuckyDragon88]

Put on about 750km's 90% windy highway miles. 2 people and a 130lb dog plus 350lbs of gear and food, ran a bit warm on some of the long hills in mid day heat, time to do some maintenance and look into the cooling system a bit deeper. Fun trip and nice to get away, picked up a small Dometic for pennies from a really nice old couple that had sold their trailer, might be time to upgrade the rear storage from the coleman cooler/dufflebag/milk crate setup

 

[LuckyDragon88]

Finally found some rear doors for my half door project, couple places I looked wanted around $900 for the pair and that felt like a lot considering I was going to butcher them.. Stumbled on a FB add parting out a 78 that had been rolled, the top of the window frames were no good, but the lower panel was fine minus one ding mid panel on the right door. Needs a bunch of bodywork considering the task at hand of removing the window frame and patching some metal so a ding wasn't a deal breaker. $350 including all the door guts and one intact piece of glass. Seemed like a good option, now I need to find some rust free front doors to chop!

 

[LuckyDragon88]

Oil change, coolant flush, new radiator hoses and thermostat as well as temp sender. Thanks to John @Radd Cruisers for most of the parts to keep this old girl going. Decided to go with the 82° thermostat instead of the 88° not that I want to swap thermostats every winter/summer but we’ll see how much difference it will make. Had to take it out for a cruise to make sure everything worked as it should. The cheapo funnel with the rad cap adapter made life very easy when filling/burping the system.

 

[LuckyDragon88]

Cruiser p*rn

Damn I hate the “overlander” look… tempted to paint those max trax black

 

[LuckyDragon88]

Finally found some time to get serious about my rear storage, a few changes along the way but overall I’m quite pleased with how it turned out. Still needs a few drawer faces to finish it off and some wiring to complete but much better than the milk crates that were sloshing around before

 

[LuckyDragon88]

Some goodies showed up today
After a bunch of research I was torn between Auber Instruments and RedArc gauges. Decided to pull the trigger on the RedArc due to the multi display gauges and adjustable colour guage faces and dimming features. Not quite as OEM as my OCD would like, but also not too fast and the furious looking either.. Pricey, but hope they’re worth it. @Gun Runner 5 must own shares of RedArc because every thread I could find where the question came up he always chimed in with a vote for the Aussie gauges

Saas pillar pod should keep the install clean and as stock as possible looking. Murder on the shipping..

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Some goodies showed up today
After a bunch of research I was torn between Auber Instruments and RedArc gauges. Decided to pull the trigger on the RedArc due to the multi display gauges and adjustable colour guage faces and dimming features. Not quite as OEM as my OCD would like, but also not too fast and the furious looking either.. Pricey, but hope they’re worth it. @Gun Runner 5 must own shares of RedArc because every thread I could find where the question came up he always chimed in with a vote for the Aussie gauges

Saas pillar pod should keep the install clean and as stock as possible looking. Murder on the shipping..View attachment 3921249

Thanks for buying RedArc. My commission check from down under should be in the mail shortly.

 

[Guyute]

Finally found some rear doors for my half door project, couple places I looked wanted around $900 for the pair and that felt like a lot considering I was going to butcher them.. Stumbled on a FB add parting out a 78 that had been rolled, the top of the window frames were no good, but the lower panel was fine minus one ding mid panel on the right door. Needs a bunch of bodywork considering the task at hand of removing the window frame and patching some metal so a ding wasn't a deal breaker. $350 including all the door guts and one intact piece of glass. Seemed like a good option, now I need to find some rust free front doors to chop!

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Just found a set of cargo doors to cut down as well. How'd you go about it?

Only tackled one side of the LHS door so far. Found that it (mid 90's LJ78) was just brazed to the actual outside sheet metal. Drilled out a few spot welds on the side, cut a small weld on the inside and dug out seam sealer. Then the upper support pulled out complete.

 

[LuckyDragon88]

Just found a set of cargo doors to cut down as well. How'd you go about it?

Only tackled one side of the LHS door so far. Found that it (mid 90's LJ78) was just brazed to the actual outside sheet metal. Drilled out a few spot welds on the side, cut a small weld on the inside and dug out seam sealer. Then the upper support pulled out complete.

I haven’t gotten any further than pulling the windows and chopping the uprights an inch or two away from where they meet the door. They were not salvageable or else I would have tried to remove them as you did. I’ve seen a thread on it somewhere, but couldn’t find it again, the forum search function is weak or its user error

 

[LuckyDragon88]

Found some sweet ROAM cargo boxes for the roof, lid organizers are sweet and the mounting hardware is the best I’ve seen. Bomber, lockable and and quiet for when the boxes aren’t on the roof which will be most of the time. Stoked that the traction boards and shovel fit, I’m trying to avoid the “overlandèur” look as @FJBen put it. Probably use the second box for sleeping gear and clothes. Trying to keep the weight on the roof low.

 

[mjw4]

That's a great idea for the glove box storage.

Also how do you like the Sherpa winch and compressor? I'm looking at getting the Big Air, and with the specs it boasts, it should fill tires up pretty quick to say the least.

 

[LuckyDragon88]

That's a great idea for the glove box storage.

Also how do you like the Sherpa winch and compressor? I'm looking at getting the Big Air, and with the specs it boasts, it should fill tires up pretty quick to say the least.

I love them both so far, I haven’t put the winch through anything crazy but have used the compressor loads. Fills 315/75/16 (34”) tires from 10 psi to 35 psi in 7-8 minutes for all 4.

I’ve got a brand new 12v Big Air compressor for sale if interested.

 

[mjw4]

I love them both so far, I haven’t put the winch through anything crazy but have used the compressor loads. Fills 315/75/16 (34”) tires from 10 psi to 35 psi in 7-8 minutes for all 4.

I’ve got a brand new 12v Big Air compressor for sale if interested.

View attachment 3926554

That's fast. Good to hear that it actually lives up to it's specs.

I'm also planning on getting the 24v version since it'll be run off of my AUX/house battery system which will be 24v.

 

[LuckyDragon88]

That's fast. Good to hear that it actually lives up to it's specs.

I'm also planning on getting the 24v version since it'll be run off of my AUX/house battery system which will be 24v.

Ya good call. It does get warm so I ended up wiring a 5” fan that I turn on while in use to get some good air flow around it.

 

[LuckyDragon88]

With a shallower snowpack than usual the alpine is becoming accessible a bit earlier than usual. Went up to Whiteboar lake the other day for the first time. Will have to bring the canoe next time, would be an awesome paddle. Gray Creek pass is next on the list.

 

[mjw4]

With a shallower snowpack than usual the alpine is becoming accessible a bit earlier than usual. Went up to Whiteboar lake the other day for the first time. Will have to bring the canoe next time, would be an awesome paddle. Gray Creek pass is next on the list.

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Plan to do the pass tomorrow, going Kimberly to Crawford Bay, so I’ll let you know the conditions.

Tried to make it up to Farnham Glacier today but still some snow and rock debris on the trail.