Build Blender, My LX450/FZJ80 + FJ45esk + GM + Land Rover crazy concoction
- Thread starter Mieser
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- Thread starter
- #322
My weekend progress...
I was able to get most of the bed roughed in this weekend. Overall I am pretty happy with the proportions.
The uprights are 2x2 box that slips over some 1.75 square stock that was welded to the frame. Once everything is in its happy place I will drill and tap the square stock for some 10mm bolts. Basically, pull 4 bolts, a hose clamp, and a wiring plug....then the entire bed will come off.
The bed rail ended up being 2" channel with the legs down. This will let me have most of the features I wanted without having to make a complex shape. It was a compromise, but I would like to finish this thing sometime in this decade. I really wanted to be able to have a flat surface I could drill and tap for the bed panel mounting. I also wanted to be able to hook a strap over the edge of the rail.
Where it gets a little interesting is the bed floor 'drawer' rail. So one of the big design goals overall was to have a modular hard top of sorts where the panels could be stored 'in' the vehicle. While the rear 'window' panels are going be able to store in the tub behind the seats, the upper part of the doors need a home. I believe the best place for these will be in a false bed floor. I basically want to be able to drop the tailgate and slide out a foam lined drawer to stick the upper half of the doors into.
After going round and round with some possible ideas I decided to keep it simple. I am going to use a section of 3" channel, the lightest I could find ( which is still pretty heavy. The top flange will be used to bolt the bed floor down to, which will probably be some 3/16 or 1/4" aluminum. The lower flange will act like a drawer slide for a large aluminum/wood panel shelf which will slide out onto the tailgate when it is down.
The tailgate will be some aluminum sheet with a flange/hook bent on the top. I think I can use 1/8" aluminum for that. There will be 3 hinges on the bottom to help support the middle since it is about 45" wide total. I plan on using some 90 degree toggle clamps to hold it shut, kinda like the early toyota mini-trucks had.
There will a 5" tall panel under the tailgate that will cover up the tank up to the tailgate seam. The hinges, backup/tail lights, plate light, and a few other little things will attach to that. It is more a spacer, but will stabilize the rear uprights a lot also.
....fun stuff....
I was able to get most of the bed roughed in this weekend. Overall I am pretty happy with the proportions.
The uprights are 2x2 box that slips over some 1.75 square stock that was welded to the frame. Once everything is in its happy place I will drill and tap the square stock for some 10mm bolts. Basically, pull 4 bolts, a hose clamp, and a wiring plug....then the entire bed will come off.
The bed rail ended up being 2" channel with the legs down. This will let me have most of the features I wanted without having to make a complex shape. It was a compromise, but I would like to finish this thing sometime in this decade. I really wanted to be able to have a flat surface I could drill and tap for the bed panel mounting. I also wanted to be able to hook a strap over the edge of the rail.
Where it gets a little interesting is the bed floor 'drawer' rail. So one of the big design goals overall was to have a modular hard top of sorts where the panels could be stored 'in' the vehicle. While the rear 'window' panels are going be able to store in the tub behind the seats, the upper part of the doors need a home. I believe the best place for these will be in a false bed floor. I basically want to be able to drop the tailgate and slide out a foam lined drawer to stick the upper half of the doors into.
After going round and round with some possible ideas I decided to keep it simple. I am going to use a section of 3" channel, the lightest I could find ( which is still pretty heavy. The top flange will be used to bolt the bed floor down to, which will probably be some 3/16 or 1/4" aluminum. The lower flange will act like a drawer slide for a large aluminum/wood panel shelf which will slide out onto the tailgate when it is down.
The tailgate will be some aluminum sheet with a flange/hook bent on the top. I think I can use 1/8" aluminum for that. There will be 3 hinges on the bottom to help support the middle since it is about 45" wide total. I plan on using some 90 degree toggle clamps to hold it shut, kinda like the early toyota mini-trucks had.
There will a 5" tall panel under the tailgate that will cover up the tank up to the tailgate seam. The hinges, backup/tail lights, plate light, and a few other little things will attach to that. It is more a spacer, but will stabilize the rear uprights a lot also.
....fun stuff....
- Thread starter
- #323
My crazy idea for the night....
I am going to hide the stainless steel fuel filler tube mostly inside the drivers rear bed post. The only thing visible will be about 2-3" of the neck and cap which will point up and forward under the bed rail. Once the fender is on, and everything is color matched, it should be pretty subtle and almost hidden.
Still more to do, but I think it should work out pretty neat....
I am going to hide the stainless steel fuel filler tube mostly inside the drivers rear bed post. The only thing visible will be about 2-3" of the neck and cap which will point up and forward under the bed rail. Once the fender is on, and everything is color matched, it should be pretty subtle and almost hidden.
Still more to do, but I think it should work out pretty neat....
- Thread starter
- #324
A really good weekend for the Lexus project....
The project is now ready to move onto the next phase. I was able to get all the structure of the bed frame all fabricated and heavily tacked into place. This was all done while the chassis was leveled to the belly plane of the frame. That was the last assembly that had to be built like that however, so it was finally time to pull it off the blocks and get ready to spin it 90 so I can reorganize the garage for the next phase.
This is most of the structure for the bed frame. I still have to build the steel panel that will be under the tailgate. That will also hold the lights, hinges, gas tank straps, and a few other things. The C-channel is going to provide a flange for mounting the bed floor along with acting like a basic drawer slide for the window storage.
The hidden fuel filler tube in the rear bed post turned out pretty neat. It was a total pain, but worth it in the end. I think it will be one of those neat little details people don't see the 1st time.
Some misc shop tips and stuff....
Pretty simple way to mark a complex curve close enough to tig welding. Use a little/lot of Sharpie and then scribe the line using the offset from the 1st point of contact.
It isn't perfect, but close enough to weld up with the TIG.
Then you spend a lot of time TIG welding the fill panel back in place. I decided to do the entire thing in 309 Stainless filler only .040 thick. This stuff worked great for this. A stubby 8 cup with a gas lens and 1/16 Tungsten worked really well for reaching down into some of the tight corners when I had to hang things out pretty far.
Need to hold a really small fill panel for a little filing.....
If you need to drill LOTS (43!) 2" holes to add some lightness, a big mag drill is the way to go. I need to keep an eye out for one of these things. This was a loaner from my work for the weekend. The best part was that I only used ONE cheap Milwaukee hole saw from Home Depot for the all these holes. Using a nice low speed, some light autofeed pressure from the box tubing, and some secret sauce cutting fluid really makes the difference!
Something I didn't document that well. Opps. I added these small 3/16" blocks to the C-channel to offset it from the top rail a bit. This way the vertical wall of the bed will be able to bolt onto both surfaces without being tilted in or out. There should be just enough extra space for a little rubber gasket material in there. The C-channel was also drilled and tapped between each lighting hole for that same bed panel.
My goal for the next week is to spin it and roll it out into the light. If my new bumpstops show up I should also be able to get the springs in it for the 1st time!
The project is now ready to move onto the next phase. I was able to get all the structure of the bed frame all fabricated and heavily tacked into place. This was all done while the chassis was leveled to the belly plane of the frame. That was the last assembly that had to be built like that however, so it was finally time to pull it off the blocks and get ready to spin it 90 so I can reorganize the garage for the next phase.
This is most of the structure for the bed frame. I still have to build the steel panel that will be under the tailgate. That will also hold the lights, hinges, gas tank straps, and a few other things. The C-channel is going to provide a flange for mounting the bed floor along with acting like a basic drawer slide for the window storage.
The hidden fuel filler tube in the rear bed post turned out pretty neat. It was a total pain, but worth it in the end. I think it will be one of those neat little details people don't see the 1st time.
Some misc shop tips and stuff....
Pretty simple way to mark a complex curve close enough to tig welding. Use a little/lot of Sharpie and then scribe the line using the offset from the 1st point of contact.
It isn't perfect, but close enough to weld up with the TIG.
Then you spend a lot of time TIG welding the fill panel back in place. I decided to do the entire thing in 309 Stainless filler only .040 thick. This stuff worked great for this. A stubby 8 cup with a gas lens and 1/16 Tungsten worked really well for reaching down into some of the tight corners when I had to hang things out pretty far.
Need to hold a really small fill panel for a little filing.....
If you need to drill LOTS (43!) 2" holes to add some lightness, a big mag drill is the way to go. I need to keep an eye out for one of these things. This was a loaner from my work for the weekend. The best part was that I only used ONE cheap Milwaukee hole saw from Home Depot for the all these holes. Using a nice low speed, some light autofeed pressure from the box tubing, and some secret sauce cutting fluid really makes the difference!
Something I didn't document that well. Opps. I added these small 3/16" blocks to the C-channel to offset it from the top rail a bit. This way the vertical wall of the bed will be able to bolt onto both surfaces without being tilted in or out. There should be just enough extra space for a little rubber gasket material in there. The C-channel was also drilled and tapped between each lighting hole for that same bed panel.
My goal for the next week is to spin it and roll it out into the light. If my new bumpstops show up I should also be able to get the springs in it for the 1st time!
Cool! I like the filler neck detail.
I was gonna say you could have used the bed post as the filler tube, just add an inlet and outlet. But I see you have holes for fasteners drilled into it
I was gonna say you could have used the bed post as the filler tube, just add an inlet and outlet. But I see you have holes for fasteners drilled into it
- Thread starter
- #326
A big milestone!
I was able to pull the chassis off the blocks and stick it on some dollies to spin it to point out the door! Everything in the shop got moved around too so I was finally able to get a picture from more than 5 feet away.
The next part of the puzzle....
I need to get the springs back in it to see where things are roughly going to sit. I am probably at about 80-90% of the final sprung weight now and that last bit will come pretty quick, with most of it on the rear suspension.
The bumpstops from Toyota are pretty dang stiff/tall rubber units. I don't want to spend the money on fancy air bumps (yet). A few people have recommended the more modern OEM Foam style bumpstops, specifically the ones from the rear of a 2000ish or newer GM full size truck. GM still sells them new....and they are bright yellow. I recently noticed that Dorman is making a replacement now for about 1/2 the price of the OEM unit and are a much more stealthy OE black.
I decided to test these things a little bit to see how soft they are. In general, they feel much softer than OE stuff for sure. I can put my weight on these onto a bench, and get them to deflect a noticeable amount. The stock ones didn't seem to move at all.
I made a little jig to hold them and stuck them in the press to see what they do. The bathroom scale goes to 400lbs. This made the bump stop compress about 1". I don't know if these things have a linear spring rate, maybe I can find a scale with more capacity to check.....
I also mashed them in the press. This is about 50% compression, which didn't seem to take THAT much force, but the bump doesn't always compress perfectly since there is a little slop in all the press parts and things start to get wonky. I am pretty sure they will compress generally all the way into the steel cup....or at least that seems like the logical reason why they have it.
This cup is a different height than the Toyota cup however. The GM bump is a male stud vs a female bolt also...and different sizes. I believe the front suspension is designed to use the metal cup as the 'hard' stop. I decided to add a little standoff to the bottom of the factory 'cone' on the front suspension to adjust the height of things.
A little paint and it will be ready to go back in the chassis with the new bumpstop and a spring!
I was able to pull the chassis off the blocks and stick it on some dollies to spin it to point out the door! Everything in the shop got moved around too so I was finally able to get a picture from more than 5 feet away.
The next part of the puzzle....
I need to get the springs back in it to see where things are roughly going to sit. I am probably at about 80-90% of the final sprung weight now and that last bit will come pretty quick, with most of it on the rear suspension.
The bumpstops from Toyota are pretty dang stiff/tall rubber units. I don't want to spend the money on fancy air bumps (yet). A few people have recommended the more modern OEM Foam style bumpstops, specifically the ones from the rear of a 2000ish or newer GM full size truck. GM still sells them new....and they are bright yellow. I recently noticed that Dorman is making a replacement now for about 1/2 the price of the OEM unit and are a much more stealthy OE black.
I decided to test these things a little bit to see how soft they are. In general, they feel much softer than OE stuff for sure. I can put my weight on these onto a bench, and get them to deflect a noticeable amount. The stock ones didn't seem to move at all.
I made a little jig to hold them and stuck them in the press to see what they do. The bathroom scale goes to 400lbs. This made the bump stop compress about 1". I don't know if these things have a linear spring rate, maybe I can find a scale with more capacity to check.....
I also mashed them in the press. This is about 50% compression, which didn't seem to take THAT much force, but the bump doesn't always compress perfectly since there is a little slop in all the press parts and things start to get wonky. I am pretty sure they will compress generally all the way into the steel cup....or at least that seems like the logical reason why they have it.
This cup is a different height than the Toyota cup however. The GM bump is a male stud vs a female bolt also...and different sizes. I believe the front suspension is designed to use the metal cup as the 'hard' stop. I decided to add a little standoff to the bottom of the factory 'cone' on the front suspension to adjust the height of things.
A little paint and it will be ready to go back in the chassis with the new bumpstop and a spring!
- Thread starter
- #329
I am going to make them from 1/8" thick aluminum. The top is going to be at the hood line similar to a jeep fender. They are going to be pretty small and tapered to match the hood. I don't really have to have fender coverage in my state and I don't want them to get bashed on the trail. I am going to try and fold a little 15-30 degree 1" flange at the edge to give it a little tie to the oe fender design. I also need to come up with something to do on the front corner/edge.
This was my original plan, but I don't think I will end up needing the extra fender height. It will be nice not to have a custom hood though.
I will still be taking some design cues from this still.
This could save you a little time if you were willing to go with a fiberglass hood fender combo called a Holeshot hood. A guy is selling one here locally in NM if your interested. I don't have any affiliation just thought I would mention it. I pulled this picture from the internet, it is not the actuall hood that is for sale. I am sure you could trim the fenders on this to get that look.
Holeshot Toyota Landcruiser FJ40/45 Fiberglass hood
Holeshot Toyota Landcruiser FJ40/45 Fiberglass hood
- Thread starter
- #332
That is a neat hood. Similar to the one from Campbell Enterprises. I changed the shape of my grill to fit the 40s at full lock. It doesn't have the vertical section on the side of the headlight anymore....
I don't mind making stuff. I don't think the fenders will be too bad. Trying to make them look FJ40-ish will be the hard part.....
I never get tired of looking at the pictures in this thread... awesome work.
- Thread starter
- #334
I got a bug and wanted to stick the stock LX450 springs in it to see how things where going sit....
Stock spring ride height on the LX45. It's still a bit light on the body. I stuck 220 lbs of steel scrap in buckets on the fuel tank to get the butt end closer to final weight. The front is is pretty close. Still need top, interior, bellypan, etc. That stuff is in the middle. Also needs a battery, air compressor, and exhaust. Right now it has 6.5 uptravel in front and about 6.25 on the rear. 21 inches under the belly. It needs to drop about 1 inch in the rear suspension to be level enough. I think at final weight it might be pretty close...
Front uptravel from ride height.
Rear uptravel from ride height.
I knew those buckets of scrap steel would come in handy some day! That is about 220lbs which should be close to the added weight for fuel and the body panels.
Stock spring ride height on the LX45. It's still a bit light on the body. I stuck 220 lbs of steel scrap in buckets on the fuel tank to get the butt end closer to final weight. The front is is pretty close. Still need top, interior, bellypan, etc. That stuff is in the middle. Also needs a battery, air compressor, and exhaust. Right now it has 6.5 uptravel in front and about 6.25 on the rear. 21 inches under the belly. It needs to drop about 1 inch in the rear suspension to be level enough. I think at final weight it might be pretty close...
Front uptravel from ride height.
Rear uptravel from ride height.
I knew those buckets of scrap steel would come in handy some day! That is about 220lbs which should be close to the added weight for fuel and the body panels.
- Thread starter
- #335
Does anyone in 'cruiser land know if the LX470/100-series rear non-AHC springs are typically a bit shorter than a LX450/80-series spring?
Also. The AHC rear coil spring is REALLY light right? Like 90lbs/in?
Also. The AHC rear coil spring is REALLY light right? Like 90lbs/in?
I don't know offhand if the LX470 springs are shorter than the LX450 spring, but I would assume that the AHC rear coil is really light since the air system is doing most of the work.
Love how this build is shaping up.
Love how this build is shaping up.
- Thread starter
- #337
Thank you.
I believe the AHC rear coils are down in the 90lb/in range according to my research. I think the springs I have now are about 150lbs/in. The AHC springs are also still long enough to cycle a 10 inch shock while maintaining some preload. I have a feeling that the AHC spring wI'll be a bit light when loaded for big trips and the LX450 springs are too heavy/tall for day to day stuff. A used set of AHC springs should be cheap enough to play with.....
- Thread starter
- #338
It's taking me a few days to get the shop cleaned and reorgainized for the next phase of the project....
I also made an air power upgrade for my little garage fab setup. My little old $50 used Craftsman oil-less finally rotted out the tank. This seems to be a significant upgrade without being crazy expensive. It was on sale at Tractor Supply for Fathers Day weekend. It is a 3.7hp, 60 gallon, 11.5cfm@90psi, 155-125psi unit. It feels like light years ahead of what I had before.....
I also made an air power upgrade for my little garage fab setup. My little old $50 used Craftsman oil-less finally rotted out the tank. This seems to be a significant upgrade without being crazy expensive. It was on sale at Tractor Supply for Fathers Day weekend. It is a 3.7hp, 60 gallon, 11.5cfm@90psi, 155-125psi unit. It feels like light years ahead of what I had before.....
- Thread starter
- #340
I need the opposite. A lighter rate, but the same length to keep preload, but that will let the vehicle sit lower.
I think the AHC coils from a 100-series, or maybe lx450, look like a good option. They are suppose to be like 90lbs/in vs the 150lbs/in I have now.