Builds building a landcruiser for overland expedition (1 Viewer)

[rideglobally]

Day 13 of the build

Day 13 was spent assembling the camper shell. We have used many high tech tools at LCNW, but, today the story goes to a clamping device called a “cleeco”. We are told this tool was invented by a Boeing employee name Jim Cleeco. It was originally used in the aircraft industry to assemble airplanes. Needless to say it was the most useful tool we used today to assemble the “camper shell box”.

The box came in three pieces. The laser cuts and the press break bends were so precise that when we put together it formed a perfect square. Awesome! To make installation easier 400 holes for the rivets were precisely cut by the laser.

Here is how we installed the camper box on the bed of the cruiser. First, we attached the box. Second, we attached the frame inside the box. This is reverse from the standard way, the frame is build first then the skin is attached to the frame.

Enjoy the pictures!!!

 

[rideglobally]

Day 14 of the build

As with any well laid out plan we have accomplished a lot, but we are not finished. With the makeover of the chassis upward to the camper shell there is not enough time to complete the “pop top.” Just not enough hours in the day! We need to go back to our regular jobs but decided to take one extra day. Today we will make sure all the new design features on the cruiser are complete and reinstall the old “pop top” to make the cruiser road worthy.

There will be a Chapter 2 on this build! We plan to come back to LCNW in December to complete a new “pop top” and add more custom features. Between now and December the cruiser engine will be changed from the current engine 2h, to a12ht. We will start a thread on the changes when this work begins.

Today, we wanted to share some of the build being done inside the camper shell itself, using similar structures as the “bed” of the cruiser … see pictures. We hope later we will be able to show pictures of the details of the build … every corner has a story.

To all the folks with questions we apologize. “Can LCNW build my fuel tank? How much will a similar frame … pop top cost? We will talk with LCNW and respond after this chapter of the build is complete. Looking at the cruiser last night all we can say is … Awesome!

 

[jabxyz]

We are very happy to announce that Laser Cutting NorthWest will sponsor
the building of our overland expedition vehicle by providing state of
the art technology and LCNW creative input. Our part will be to
provide our own labor. This is a great arrangement for us because we
still get to build our cruiser. LCNW is located in Auburn, Washington,
here is their website LCNW - Laser Cutting NW



We arrived in Auburn, Washington on August 17th, the following day
August 18th, we got to work at the LCNW facility building our cruiser.
Our plan is to be here until September 1st (14 days). This is what we
plan to accomplished:

1. rebuild the camper shell so that it is completely made of aluminum.

2. build a fuel tank made of aluminum and relocate the fuel tank to
the center of the cruiser. this will reduce the weight of the
cruiser and improved the current design.



There are other things on our list that we want to accomplish if time
permits that is to redesign the bull bar and build a running board.



our ambitious plan is to post daily updates on our rebuild.



we want to thank ih8mud and the community for all your support. our
journey started at ih8mud so we thought it would be appropriate for
the first laser cut to be ih8mud mud flaps (see picture), we hope you join us over the next 14 days... enjoy.

Great build. I need to ask about the base truck, is that one of those dual cab/extended cab HJ45s? I haven't seen any of those in this part of the world or in real life for that matter? What is it's history, former mining truck from Oz perhaps? I ask because this is the truck that I'd get as a base for a true expedition rig if I ever hit the lotto. Thanks.

 

[edyperez69]

hey amado i allways said that you are the man . wath a beautfull proyect. continue on w/it look sooooo great , you know i'm desperate to see that truck here in california god bless you brother. EDY's Auto Repairs

 

[goneloco]

So what’s up... I am on the edge of my seat waiting on how this turned out. I am very impressed with the state of the art shop and their design team.

Give us some pic's!

If it is not quite done then please show us some of the drawings and/or give us your ideas to finish it up... the shell is cool but the usability, innovation inside is where it is at. I am sure that is what everyone wants to see.


Thanks for including us in this build!

 

[lostworldexpedition]

I am with goneloco! Keep 'em coming...


We need a reality TV show of people pimpin' Landcruisers. This is addictive viewing...

 

[rideglobally]

last day of the build

Here are the last pictures. The first picture is the cruiser when we arrived at LCNW, the second is when we left, and the third is the location of the spare tire under the deck to lower the center of gravity. The tire compartment will be completely enclosed … a cool addition.

The drive back to Los Angeles was great. We cruised the freeway between 65 to 70 mph @ 22000 rpm and on hills 45 to 50 mph on third gear. Driving on a flat freeway it felt like it needed a fifth gear. The “top side heaviness” is almost totally gone. We are excited about weighing in on the scales. I will not be surprise if it lost about 1000 lbs. The cruiser is also now one foot shorter and about 6" lower. It no longer sags in the rear. And the 40-gallon fuel tank behind the rear differential is gone. It was a very different cruiser on the drive back.

The 14 days at LCNW was "cuiser boot camp" starting daily at 6:30am ending at about 9-10 pm. Hard work but all fun stuff. We cannot say enough about the great people we met at LCNW team. Our current plan is to go back to LCNW in December. Here is the list of things we hope to fabricate and install:

• 40 gal plus fuel tank in the mid section of the cruiser
• pop top
• doors on both sides of the camper shell, including pull out counter to allow access to a refrigerator, kitchen gear, clothes etc.
• bull bar, and,
• running boards

This is a long list and we will cross our fingers until each item is crossed off. The central goal of the build is to continue to lose weight and lower the center of gravity gaining as much agility as possible.

Our next step is to turn our attention to changing the engine, sand blasting and painting of the cruiser. Today we spent the afternoon at Edy's Auto shop in Los Angeles. This is the shop that will do the conversion and the painting. The engine is schedule to arrive from Australia mid to end of November. I will start a thread on the diesel section when that work begins.

We are having a great time doing the build and meeting people. Many thanks to everyone, folks that followed us to our campsite and grocery store to take pictures of the cruiser, the many folks that gave us a thumbs on the freeway and all the honking horns. The cruiser loves the attention. Enjoy your ride!

 

[roscoFJ73]

Why did you get rid of the 1st camper you built?
Did you get the engine from any of those links I gave you?

 

[rideglobally]

Why did you get rid of the 1st camper you built?
Did you get the engine from any of those links I gave you?

the initial plan was to keep the shell that i build and just replace the UTE bed, however as we looked at the project in more detail it became clear that it would be advantageous to replace the whole thing for the following reasons:
1. aluminum was much lighter,
2. it gave us more freedom to make some re designing like for example the side doors, the new side door will not open downward rather they will open vertically with a counter that will slide out from the bottom of the opening, the refrigirator and outside stove will also slide out for easier outside access,
3. we made the camper 1 foot shorter, the over hang behind the differential was very long.
4. the previous shell was top heavy and with a lighter bed it would have exagerated that further

what i did not mention in my previous posting is that i gain more MPG, 13.5 to 17 mpg on the freeway on this initial test.

regarding the engine i communicated with the link that you gave me but did not find a 12ht available.

thanks Roscoe you been very helpful on my build. looking forward to your input on the conversion.

 

[roscoFJ73]

.

thanks Roscoe you been very helpful on my build. looking forward to your input on the conversion.

Looking forward to it

 

[rideglobally]

Nullacruiser

Great build. I need to ask about the base truck, is that one of those dual cab/extended cab HJ45s? I haven't seen any of those in this part of the world or in real life for that matter? What is it's history, former mining truck from Oz perhaps? I ask because this is the truck that I'd get as a base for a true expedition rig if I ever hit the lotto. Thanks.

It was converted to a crew cab (when new) in 1981 by Arkana Engineering in Perth, Western Australia for Mt Newman Mining as a rail emergency rescue vehicle. The second owner bought it in January 1983 with 51,000km on it. According to the second owner’s research, which owned the Nullacruiser for over 20 years, Arkana Engineering converted six Land Cruiser all at the same time. The conversion was very expensive, custom coach build by top craftsmen in the industry. The conversion cost $45,000 in 1981.

The second owner (I am in contact with him by email) is a premier cave hunter in Australia. Among the speleo circle (caving, Speleology is the study of the cave) the cruiser is known as the “Nullcruiser”. The second owner was part of discovering the major deep caves in the Nullabor Plain since 1963 – thus the name “Nullacruiser”. Here is what the Widipedea encycopedia says about the Nullarbor Plains “'Crossing the Nullarbor', for many Australians, is a quintessential experience of the 'Australian Outback'. Stickers bought from roadhouses on the highway show 'I have crossed the Nullarbor', and can be seen on vehicles of dubious quality or capacity for long distance travel”. This was where the Nullacruiser lived for over 20 years, in the plains.

We are the third owner of the Nullacruiser. Because of it’s long history we tried out best to preserve much of “Nulla’s” originality. In our first attempt of conversion we tried keeping the “Ute” bed, however it was simply too heavy. It was a tough decision to make the current conversion but we feel we are left with little choice. When we drove from California to South Dakota crossing passes 9000 feet in the Rockies at 15 mph it became clear we had to make these changes.. We value Nulla’s history.

Thanks enjoy…. Below is one of the picture sent to us by the previous owner.

 

[joshoisasleep]

When we drove from California to South Dakota crossing passes 9000 feet in the Rockies at 15 mph it became clear we had to make these changes.. We value Nulla’s history.

I think it was a good call decreasing weight in general, but I still say you HAVE to add a turbo at some point. If you don't, you'll avoid crossing the Andes way too many times and miss a lot. Cutting back the weight a bit might help at 9000 feet, but at 15,000 you'll be dead in the water. Don't miss out on the mountains!

 

[rideglobally]

I think it was a good call decreasing weight in general, but I still say you HAVE to add a turbo at some point. If you don't, you'll avoid crossing the Andes way too many times and miss a lot. Cutting back the weight a bit might help at 9000 feet, but at 15,000 you'll be dead in the water. Don't miss out on the mountains!

the engine will be replace with a 12ht (turbo) with inter cooler and 5 speed transmission...thanks

 

[crockett]

Sponsors for this project?

Excellent work so far, I am glad to see your work is progressing .You are doing a terrific job! I hope I can help you out with any parts for a super clean restoration of this project. I know this will be a great opportunity for others to step up and help with parts to create this off road/world expedtion 4x4. Have you had any luck with corporate sponsors? Dave in Spokane.

 

[rideglobally]

12ht engine on the way!

Excellent work so far, I am glad to see your work is progressing .You are doing a terrific job! I hope I can help you out with any parts for a super clean restoration of this project. I know this will be a great opportunity for others to step up and help with parts to create this off road/world expedtion 4x4. Have you had any luck with corporate sponsors? Dave in Spokane.

Thanks Dave, I have not had the time to look into corporate sponsors, that would be helpful if i can get one, if you or anyone have suggestions let me know. below is the picture of my 12ht engine coming from Australia, it should be here end of Nov at the latest, the box you see in the crate is a heavy duty clutch. i still plan to go back to LCNW in December. That would mean that the engine conversion, sandblasting and painting will begin in January 2009. thanks and enjoy.

 

[roscoFJ73]

You should try the 12HT without an intercooler before you commit to one
. It would make repairs in the middle of no where a bit easier.

Do you know how many klms it has done? I assume its a 12 volt

 

[rideglobally]

inter cooling a 12ht

You should try the 12HT without an intercooler before you commit to one
. It would make repairs in the middle of no where a bit easier.

Do you know how many klms it has done? I assume its a 12 volt

the engine has about 320km on it, it is 12 volts.

can you say more about the inter cooler issue. my understanding is that the intercooler will cool the air going from the turbo into the engine and that cool air for the engine will be a good thing as long as the turbo is not boost too high. besides the space limitation that it create what are the other downsides? also since the intercooler has no moving parts it really does not add a complexity to the engine. i am sure this has been discussed on ih8mud can you send me to those links. i have time and plan to do more research on this....... thanks

 

[roscoFJ73]

the engine has about 320km on it, it is 12 volts.

can you say more about the inter cooler issue. my understanding is that the intercooler will cool the air going from the turbo into the engine and that cool air for the engine will be a good thing as long as the turbo is not boost too high. besides the space limitation that it create what are the other downsides? also since the intercooler has no moving parts it really does not add a complexity to the engine. i am sure this has been discussed on ih8mud can you send me to those links. i have time and plan to do more research on this....... thanks

Cool air is better but this engine has probably already spent its whole life without an IC
Also ,with a fully loaded 45 series landcruiser,60 mph will be your max safe speed under perfect conditions.
To reach 60mph you wont really need the intercooler and once you're out of North America ,the amount of times you can reach your safe maximum will be diminshed.
You are probably going to spend much of your trip at well under top speed.

Where will the IC sit in the engine bay?
If it inhibits any airfow through the radiator(and a cramped engine bay will do this),then any advantage of cool intake air will be offset by hotter than normal coolant temps.

That was why I suggested trying the engine out without the intercooler as they work fine without an IC.

Im not saying its a bad idea ,just playing the devils advocate to see if you have all your bases covered

Do you plan on having air con?

 

[fortysixandtwo]

This is by far one of my favorite builds on this site. Love the historic and rare Cruiser you have. Very cool. Can't wait to see this thing on an adventure. Very nice work so far

 

[rideglobally]

devil's advocates

Cool air is better but this engine has probably already spent its whole life without an IC
Also ,with a fully loaded 45 series landcruiser,60 mph will be your max safe speed under perfect conditions.
To reach 60mph you wont really need the intercooler and once you're out of North America ,the amount of times you can reach your safe maximum will be diminshed.
You are probably going to spend much of your trip at well under top speed.

Where will the IC sit in the engine bay?
If it inhibits any airfow through the radiator(and a cramped engine bay will do this),then any advantage of cool intake air will be offset by hotter than normal coolant temps.

That was why I suggested trying the engine out without the intercooler as they work fine without an IC.

Im not saying its a bad idea ,just playing the devils advocate to see if you have all your bases covered

Do you plan on having air con?

thanks for playing the devil's advocate, very much appriciated, i do want of cover all basis, as i mention i have time.

the intercooler i am looking at will fit in front of the radiator on the area between the head light, that opening on the front grill.

yes there will be an air condition and power steering as well. i am told that the power steering requires very little modification, it is a "bolt on".

thanks