BJ74 Restoration and LHD Conversion has begun!

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1978HJ45 said:
When your Cruiser was in this configuration ( sore lip bumper and factory p.t.o. winch ) did it not have a protective plate underneath the winch?
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It might of, but I can't remember :)

I don't know what I did with the shields and skid plate. I am missing all 3, back to the transmission skid plate! They might be under the 3 feet of snow in my back yard.

Or they were never there.........
 
I believe Charles fitted his original factory guard to his ARB, if memory serves.

I like the idea very much. Do save the template bits for future use. You may have a cottage industry there.

If Charles did not do what I think he did you could make one for him and we could chip in to get it painted to look like cardboard......:lol:
 
cruiserdan said:
I believe Charles fitted his original factory guard to his ARB, if memory serves.

I like the idea very much. Do save the template bits for future use. You may have a cottage industry there.

If Charles did not do what I think he did you could make one for him and we could chip in to get it painted to look like cardboard......:lol:
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I did indeed use the original factory guard and with minor modifications, it fits well with the ARB brush bar.
I will gladly take the cardboard version and use it as a spare. :)
 
I took the mockup of the skid plate for the winch to the welding shop to make it. He is going to make the pieces, so I can fit it together, make sure My mockup works as well in steel as it did in cardboard. Then I can make actual templates for reproduction should I decide to go that way. (I'll save the cardboard for Charles :))

I took the top back off of the cruiser to take it to get the headliner put in. It was a nice day by Minnesota standards, 45 degrees, so I took the cruiser out for a drive to see what I have to fix yet.

First thing, as it was running in the driveway, the nut, spring and ball on the return line on the pump fell off. Blew diesel fuel all over. Must have forgotten to tighten it:eek: By some miracle, I found the nut, ball and spring rolling down the driveway. Got that fixed.

Took it for a 2 mile drive, which was pretty windy, since there is no windshield in it!

Brakes are not the best--pretty low pedal.
4WD doesn't engage -yes, the lockouts were on- Must be electrical or vacuum issue.

I checked the oil when I got back, and it was a tad low, but extremely clean! Not a hint of darkness? Every Diesel I have owned turned the oil black right away! Hmmm. Topped it off

Oil Pressure was 75 running, dropped to 55 at idle when it warmed up.

MAX boost was 7.5. I need to figure out how to get more boost! I would like 10-15 peak. EGT only got to 900 at full boost.

Couple of outside pics



 
The boost you saw is typical for a factory set up. I have one of those adjustable gizmos in mine, it was on it when I bought the truck, and I currently have it set at ~15lbs.
 
cruiserdan said:
The boost you saw is typical for a factory set up. I have one of those adjustable gizmos in mine, it was on it when I bought the truck, and I currently have it set at ~15lbs.
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I need one of those adjustable gizmo's!
 
I will look through the paperwork I got with the truck to see if I can locate that info for you. I seem to recall an instruction sheet regarding it.
 
I got the metal for the PTO winch shield back from the metal shop today. Mocked it up on the cruiser. With a little adjustment, it fit pretty good. I extended the center piece back a ways to act as a splash guard. I have to do some final fitment, fit the "L" pieces in the gap, and drill the holes to mount the front to the ARB bar. Then I can fit the other pieces, weld, powdercoat, and put it on!



 
I finished mocking up the shield, and tack welding the pieces in place. I put a couple of braces in the center, which bolted up to where the front splash shield would go. Since I am missing the front splash shield, this will do that pieces job. I have the center splash shield.. I am missing the shield for the transmission/transfer case. Neither of the 70 series had this in place. Anybody have one they want to part with?

I did not have time to finish the shield, so it looks pretty rough. Kind of like body work. Looks terrible until you get the paint on it. I have a lot of welding, metal filling, grinding, welding to do before I powdercoat it. Next pics will look MUCH better.











 
Picked up a boost controller/adjuster per recommendation from cruiserdan.

Should be here next week

 
Well done on the plate. Very tidy.

Perhaps a water drain hole or two? Also an access hole to the winch head drain plug. That way you will not have to remove the cover to service the winch.
 
Have you made the final tyre/wheel combination decision yet?


The current offering is, well, dainty.:)
 
It is a metering device that goes in line on the hose between the compressor housing and the waste gate actuator. It bleeds off pressure at a user-adjustable pre-determined rate to slow waste gate opening. The net result is more boost. The more you bleed off the higher the boost.

The boost controller comes from a place called Lower Shores Performance and the guy's name is Brian Arnone

IMGP2839.webp


IMGP2840.webp
 
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cruiserdan said:
Well done on the plate. Very tidy.

Perhaps a water drain hole or two? Also an access hole to the winch head drain plug. That way you will not have to remove the cover to service the winch.
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Not sure if I will need drain holes, as it slopes to the rear. I thought about an access for the winch drain, and then I thought about how hard it would be to get the drain plug out, and back in, and how much mess it might make. I decided it would be less frustrating to just take the shield off to service the winch.

The dainty tires on the FJ40 rims are going away. I found a set of OEM rims coming my way the end of the month. They will get 33/10.50/15 tires, although I don't know what brand or style yet. The BFG's are not as good as they used to be. Maybe goodyears duratracs. Probably spend 90% of it's live on pavement.

Open to Discussion.............
 
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With your flares I would tend to lean toward a section width of at least 11 inches. Of course this will depend upon wheel width and backspace. If you go with an 8 inch wheel and 3.25 inches of backspace a 12 inch section should put you in the money.
 
cruiserdan said:
With your flares I would tend to lean toward a section width of at least 11 inches. Of course this will depend upon wheel width and backspace. If you go with an 8 inch wheel and 3.25 inches of backspace a 12 inch section should put you in the money.
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I believe the wheels coming are 15X7. Don't know the backspace, but I am prepared to get spacers if needed. If you look back, 174? I posted pics of 33 1050 15 with 4" backspace. The rears were 1 3/4" in from the flare in the rear, 1 1/2 in the front
 
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Shes Mad said:
I believe the wheels coming are 15X7. Don't know the backspace, but I am prepared to get spacers if needed. If you look back, 174? I posted pics of 33 1050 15 with 4" backspace. The rears were 1 3/4" in from the flare in the rear, 1 1/2 in the front
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You saw my setup. Tomorrow I will put a straight edge on it and measure in to the quarter panel from the widest point of the sidewall.
 
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