Builds Cayman Islands FZJ80 DIY build-up (2 Viewers)

[mmajsw]

Well, there was a delay in updating due to waiting for some parts to come from Japan. With the bumper basically done, I installed the LED lights and the fairlead. Trolling eBay a few weeks ago, I came across a new grill from Japan for US$30. I bid and since I was the only bidder, I won. It arrived this past Wed and changed my plans for what to do with the front of the vehicle. I decided to pull the front trim around the lights, sand them down and paint everything a flat black to match the grill. One light bucket was a bit shaky (the driver's side high beam) and found that the retaining spring for the bucket was missing. Hmmm - what else is wrong. I eventually found all 4 of the light buckets are rusted and their mount points were weakened. On one light, only 1 screw could be removed for the square trim ring that holds the light in. All the rest has rusted to stubs! A future repair job - sooner rather than later! A simple trip to eBay and I now have 4 new buckets with all the screws and springs on their way from Thailand. They were listed for use with 90-98 4Runners and HiLux models but they also look exactly the same as the 60 series units. I am pretty sure they will fit but if minor trimming is needed, no problem.
Got everything installed this morning and took this pic just before the rains came down. And I like it!! Yep, I had to do a little bit of trimming to the grill to make it fit but it only took a few minutes once I identified the problem area! And there is about a 1/2 inch gap around the bottom portion of the grill and the fascia - it's for better air flow!

One little item was on the grill that was not expected. I left it on - who knows if time will make it true!

I also took some pictures of the work I had done on the aux electrical system.

In designing the aux system, I wanted two conditions. The first was that with the engine off, the aux panels get no power. I can add a manual switch to override that condition if that option is needed at a later date. The second was everything gets fused. Because of the small additional cost of using better materials as I don't pay myself for labor, I do my electrical wiring based on US Coastguard specs. They are higher than what is used for automotive electrical, but in my opinion will severely minimize the possibility of any electrical issues with my accessory wiring. Lithium grease is used at all connections for corrosion/oxidation protection.
A tap was obtained for triggering the relay from a unused plug in the fuse box that is hidden behind the aux fuse panel mount. The port was identified as the CDS fan. I eventually used the cigarette lighter as the relay controller because the CDS plug would cut out for unknown reasons.

For example, below is a picture of my aux electrical panel.

A piece of 6 gauge marine spec wire with crimped terminals goes from the battery to the silver relay mounted on the fender. I used nutserts and ample lithium grease on the screws that hold the relay in place to offset of 6 gauge wire goes from the relay to the fuse panel. From the relay, more 6 gauge wire goes to the 80A circuit breaker.... the new path is battery to circuit breaker to relay - safety first....mounted on a custom platform (due to no ABS, emissions and other pollution control items, I have a lot of room to play with. From the fuse panel, wires rated to carry the current to the electrical item being run is used along with the proper fuse.
E.g. The led lights are rated at 18 watts each for a total of 36 watts. 36 watts / 12 volts = 3 Amps. It has to run 2 feet to the relay , then 5 feet to the furthest bulb for a total of 7 feet. According to the Coast guard chart, I will need to use 16 gauge wire and I did. Protective shielding is used along the whole wire length to guard against abrasion causing shorts. The fuse rating is 5A.
The relays used to power the individual accessories come wired with 16 gauge wire for all pins. I have uncrimped a few of the wires terminals (specifically the ones used to bring power from the battery and send the power to electrical item) and upgraded to 12 and 14 gauge as needed. I was unable to buy locking terminals locally so had to resort to recycling. All the new terminals are soldered for reliability and a good connection. Then heat shrink used for safety. A bit time consuming but gives me piece of mind.

The end result is...

There is room for an auxiliary fan for the rad (future installation) and two unused for now. Maybe a York compressor? Gotta keep my options open.

 

[mmajsw]

I'm on a roll today! The next item on my list was a digital battery voltage monitoring system. While I do not have dual batteries installed at the moment, I am still collecting parts and my installation would have to measure both batteries independently. I like the idea of a continuous display. I have already obtained a rebuilt Sequoia 150A alt and the bracket from photoman. Wires and fuses standing by to be installed.
After reviewing the various options that others had used, and as previously mentioned that favoring the nautical route, I ended up purchasing a Blue Seas 7622 ML-ACR setup. I like the built-in redundancy of manual and remote switching plus it is sealed against the nice salt-laden tropical air that is so abundant in the Cayman Islands. The first thing I did was install the switch in a location I thought would be best to have it within reach. Since I do not have a power antenna switch, I placed it in the available slot.
The next thing was battery voltage monitors. There are many units out there, but most need a separate power supply to display the voltage being measured - like a digital VOM. I searched some electronics stores and chats and found a reference to a unit on Amazon. A quick search brought up the DROK 2 wire DC 3-30V 12/24V 0.56" display units. They were single decimal units - enough to let me know what is going on. Pretty cheap at $5.44 each and free shipping. It is self powered - meaning that it uses the incoming power to power itself and read the voltage. And the display is green. What did I have to lose? I ordered four - 2 for the dash, 1 for the rear of the truck in a future aux power panel and 1 as a spare.
Today, the decision was where to install them so that they are in easy view. I was contemplating using two switch slots but the housing of the meters is a bit bigger than the holes. Next choice was to get a Gamiviti 95-97 dashboard bezel setup to replace the dashboard cup holder. But they seem to been out of stock for a while.
The cup holder slot was in a nice location and I don't use the cup holder. A test fit of the DROK meter and it is too big. I took it apart and tested just the innards and it fits into the slot with about 1mm space on the top and bottom. Not really enough for a good support.
Thinking about it for a while, I decided to try filing down the housing until it fit into the cup holder slot. Not much needed to be removed so off I went. I first tried a bastard file but it was too slow. I had a wood rasp with a fine wood file on the opposite side that made things a lot easier. A couple of test fits and about 5 minutes later, the housing slide nicely into the slot. A second meter quickly joined the first one.
The thought is to secure the meters in the slot with hot glue applied on the inside of the bezel. It would hold them there but would allow me to remove them later on if I wanted.

Testing a meter on a 6V battery. It is mentioned in the Amazon review that they are adjustable so you can have the correctly displayed voltage. I haven't figured out how to do that as yet. All 4 that I have read 0.1 lower than my VOM. But that might not be a bad thing!

My first test fitting of 2 meters. They are a snug, slide in fit and would stay there by themselves. The power wire is very thin and flexible and also had quick disconnects where it plugs into the meter. The wires would cause no problems in the installation. They do slide left to right in the slot with a bit of resistance. The red switch in the pic is the remote switch for the ML-ACR. Some hot glue on the inside will definitely hold the meters in place.

The filing of the meter is to remove the locking bumps and reduce the thickness of the housing by a fraction of a millimeter. The center of the housing is narrower than the ends (at least on the two that I filed) so the amount removed was not even across the meter.

The meters pushed to the extreme ends. If I was to file a bit of the dashboard bezel, I am sure that they will hide the gap. The only problem is access to the screws that hold the bezel in. The space between them could hold some nifty little gadget that could be removed when needed, slide the meters over and remove the screws. Got to think about that one. Of course, one can file the bezel. With all the slots filled up, how many times would one remove the dashboard bezel anyways?

About a 1.5mm gap. Tempting to try and hide it with the meter bezel.

But I will place the units more central and leave access to the screw holes. I will need to find a bit of black plastic to fill the gap between the units.
About wiring the meters. I need to find a 3 pin plug (probably a Molex unit) - one to combined ground and the other two would go to each battery - so that they can be disconnected from the electrical system like the switches when removing the bezel. Pretty straightforward.
I tried to measure the current draw of the meters and it was under 0.001A, which is the smallest amount my meter could measure. This means that you can have them permanently on as it would take at least 4 days to draw 1A from the battery. Probably draws as much as a LED clock.

 

[mmajsw]

I was back on Amazon looking for a little outside temp gauge and I ran across more DROK meters. I was so happy to find the 0.56 inch ones that I never searched for other sizes. They have a 0.36" high series of a gauges that are very interesting. Everything from measuring various voltages, temp and a number of 0-100, 0-200 and 0-300A meters with shunts. Can I add 3 meters?
The size of the opening after removing the cup holder is 130mm. The width of the 0.36 inch high meters is 40.5mm x 24mm. The hole needed is 37.5mmx21mm per meter. In theory, the height would need some shimming but with some careful trimming of the side fascia of the meters, one can comfortably fit 3 meters in the opening (at a width of around 118.5mm and still have access to screws. Needless to say, I have ordered a few new ones with the green display. I was able to get 2 more volt meters with 0.02V resolution (more accurate than the 0.1V resolution of the ones I currently have but probably more meaningless as a difference of .01V means nothing) and a 0-200A meter with shunt (will put that on the output of the alternator). I was looking for a outside temp meter but all they carried were Celsius models and I am still a Fahrenheit guy. No info available on how to reprogram the output. I like the looks of this setup. Both batteries and alternator output monitoring in one place. I do not foresee any problems with the installation but will report when everything is installed and operational.
I also ordered some Anderson Powerpole connectors and mounting clamps. The plugs are made in such a way that any plug of a specific size plug will plug into any other one of the same capacity. They are able to take much higher amperage than a 12V cigarette lighter plug (I am using 30A capacity units but they have 15A and 45A models that are the same physical size - the wire and contact sizes are different), are polarized so there is no way you can cross-connect them and are self wiping when inserting. I have used them on ham equipment and they are great - no complaints from me.
I also bought the parts for my own "worlds most expensive jumper cable kit" found at HOW TO: World's Most Expensive Jumper Cables . Again, it used large Anderson connectors and allows you to jump start anyone without opening the hood, from front or rear (if you wire in another connector in the rear). A bit of a gimmicky idea but could be very useful if and when needed. Plus, it add a big one-up-on-you when comparing rigs with other guys. Buy the parts or a kit with everything from various internet sellers.

15/30/45 Amp Powerpole connectors. The red/black parts are the same size. The inside connectors are various sizes to accommodate the different current capabilities.

Powerpole connector in panel

A typical Powerpole jumper cable connector kit. The handle screws to one connector and the other bolts to the plate below.
The 4 silver colored pieces are the pieces that conduct the power. They are available in two sizes to fit either 2 gauge or 2/0 gauge wire.

A plate I found on eBay UK that allows one to mount the connector on a bumper or other part of the vehicle. Once I had received one, I saw that it would be easy to make copies or design your own.

While waiting on all these parts to arrive, I will start on a project that I have tried to buy online, but those who have them are hanging on to them - a York on-board air kit. The idea is simple enough if you have an engine that used to have the York compressors as an AC unit. A bit more difficult when it does not.
I have reviewed installations on ih8mud and other websites. Got a rebuilt 10cid York pump with dual pulley from eBay and downloaded its instruction manual. I have identified the mounting holes but still need to work on the belt drive which should be easier when I have the pump in. This is the only piece that will take a bit of doing to work out.
As before, I will be using foam board as a pattern and will be posting a PDF of the patterns when I am sure all is well.

That's it for now.

 

[mmajsw]

It's a long weekend in Cayman - Remembrance Day holiday on Monday so it gives me a chance to spend some time working on the cruiser.
Spent the last couple weeks collecting parts. The Drok meters (volt and ammeter) are in and tested. Powerpole panel connectors are here. Still waiting on the PS battery tray and 2kw starter from Cruiser Parts. They are coming in via boat so maybe another week or so.
Locally, I got some 2 gauge wire for the alternator to battery - 5 ' at US$10.60/ft! Ouch!!! But it is tinned marine spec and very flexible. Also got the connectors. On our Cayman Islands equivalent of Craiglist, I managed to buy 24' of 1 gauge red and 26' of 1 gauge black cable for US$95. A steal in my books.
Here is what happened. I got back from Canada on this past Sunday and came home. After getting sorted out, I started browsing the for sale ads and saw the listing for the wire. Punched the number in my phone when my co-worker's name came up. He is moving back to the UK had bought some lengths for his boat but only used 2' of the red. I was happy. He also threw in 25' of 4 wire 12 gauge trailer wiring wire for $30.
While in Canada, I got 3 Scepter MFC 20L cans from Princess Auto in a nice military green. These are very well made and I can see why most 4wheelers lust after them. I also got 2 pour spouts. So, I can now build the fuel can/cooler swing out for the rear bumper. I will get some pics up when I start that part of the project. There were some assorted other tools including the correct pliers for the snap ring that is just under the dust cap/ front hubs and assorted metal working bits and cutters.
I will update as the weekend goes by. The first thing will be the installation of the Sequoia 150A alternator.

 

[1973Guppie]

gamviti sells bezels to mount 2 of those battery monitors in that position......

 

[mmajsw]

True but they have been listed as out of stock for a while now. But with the new setup, I will go with 3 monitors in the same place - one for each battery and an ammeter for alternator output. Plus there is none of the satisfaction of a DIY unit.

 

[mmajsw]

Things progressed very slowly today. Got the new 150A alternator installed in about 3 hrs. It was my first time playing with the Cruiser's alternator so it took a while to figure out how to get it off. I ended up removing the battery tray and released the power steering reservoir to get the old unit out. To get the slightly larger replacement in, I had to remove the oil filter.
Photoman's bracket worked like a charm and I must pass my congratulations on to a nicely designed piece of equipment. I did install it before the alternator to see how it would fit and work, then removed it and did the installation. The various write-ups available on ih8mud cover all the steps so no need to waste space here. Still using the old belts for now. Might change to the new Gates or get the replacement pulley. Probably go with the new pulley as the belts will still be the factory units.

Then, I spent the afternoon working on the alternator output fuse and the shunt. The first problem was where to mount it. The shunt is fully exposed so I had to find a plastic box to place everything in. I have a variety of Radio Shack project boxes and eventually chose one that would hold everything. But there was a problem. The box was too narrow to make a direct connection between the shunt and the fuse. Larger boxes would cause space problems. So I came to a conclusion to run the wire in a half -loop outside the box.
In the image below, the alt output comes into the top wire, through a 175A fuse, loops around to the shunt then out to the battery. Not sure how long the box will last so I will be looking for a replacement in the marine store on Tuesday when everything reopens.
The shunt is being held in with automotive goop on the bottom, then I added 75lb Zip-ties that loop around the shunt and box to hold it on. Not very happy with that part of the setup but it will do for testing purposes. I will machine some proper hold down clamps from some polyethylene blocks I have.

Tomorrow, I will finish the installation and test.

 

[mmajsw]

The fuse/shunt combo was installed on the battery box and wiring completed. I also took the time to redo a ground wire connection that I was not initially happy with. Before fully wiring the shunt and installing the meters, I decided to test the meters outside in the engine compartment. Everything was wired up and the engine started. I also installed a clamp on ammeter on the alternator output wire to see how it would compare to the shunt meter. I started the truck and immediately went back to the engine compartment to check on the various meters. The volt meter went to 13.7V, the clamp on read 15A but the shunt meter read around 50A. I observed the shunt as it rose through 75, then 100, all the way to 175A while the clamp on had dropped to around 10A. I also noticed some smoke coming out of the shunt meter and it was warm. It was still working but I decided to remove power to it. I double checked the wiring to make sure that I had not made any mistakes, double checked all connectors for anything that could have been loose and all checked out according to the manufacturers diagram. Engine was still running and the volts had risen to 14.1. Alternator is working.
I am not sure why the shunt did not work as it was supposed to. I had used 18 gauge wire to connect it to the meter and it should have been drawing around 75mV for the meter to read.
Possible problems is that I am using a DC shunt on a semi regulated alternator output. The alternator is really giving out a pulsed DC which is then filtered by the battery. Perhaps the DROK meter is meant to work with only pure DC. I will have to do some research on this matter.
Other item could be a defective meter. I only bought one meter and a shunt where I usually buy two - one as a backup. I will be using a VOM to test the shunt and ensure it is working.
If I cannot get the shunt to work, I will drop back to only the fuse and rely on a voltmeter to keep me informed on the battery and alternator condition. In which case, I will resort to the two 0.1 resolution large size meters that I had test fitted earlier
If anyone has any ideas or thoughts, please chime in.

 

[mmajsw]

Well, after a few days of playing, I could not get the ammeter/shunt combination to work. I tried using it on a battery/load combination and it worked fine. Back in the truck attached to the alternator was still a no go. Off it came and the 175A fuse for the alternator was hooked up. I will have to rig up a test setup to figure things out later.
I also just came back from a week in Honduras. Part of the time was spent seeing what FZJ80 parts were available. I was able to find diesel engines with manual or auto transmissions at the wrecking yards. I was not prepared to buy any this trip as the price for a gringo is probably double what a local will pay. I have a friend who is from there and have already put him on notice that we will be making a trip in the new year.
I did purchase LED bulbs for all exterior lights (except headlights) on the truck and the door courtesy step lights . I also got 4 8" LED daytime running lights that will be wired into the engine compartment. The total cost (with one extra of each) was about US$100.
To give you an example of the prices we pay, a LED stop/turn bulb goes for about US$36 in Cayman. I paid US$4 for the same unit in Honduras.

New replacement taillights housings are around $20/pair, 285 series tires are $125 each and on and on with prices that are a fraction of what I pay in Cayman. Got to learn Spanish!

When I got home from the trip, a package was waiting for me. A new 2kw starter (went into the parts storage) and passenger side battery tray from Cdan. I can now continue with the electrical side of the project. The battery tray was installed within 1 hour and ready for a new Odyssey 2150 - that has to be imported.

Update - The LED bulbs are now installed and the only difference is that where the flasher flashed at turbo mode to indicate that a bulb was blown, it now flashes in turbo mode all the time with the LEDs. On my second try to test the turn signals, the stock flasher was vibrating and not flashing. One job leads to another. Time to look at upgrading the signal flasher relay.


'nother update on the same day- The heavy duty flasher modification by landtank seemed fairly straight forward so off I went. I got two electronic flashers from my parts supply and switched the wires around. Sadly to say, I could not get it to work. Not sure if the problem lies with the flashers (they are about 25 years old) or if I missed a step. But it is a fairly easy change so I will go and buy some new units and try again later.
In the meantime, I reversed the modification, removed the front turn signals and replaced them with two incandescent bulbs to put a small load on the flasher. Lights are working again but in turbo flash mode.

Update 2 days later - I went to the local NAPA and got an EP35 flasher. Plugs right in the flasher panel and I consistently get the turbo mode flash. At least it works all the time now.

Update 1 week later - I ordered an EP-35L flasher from NAPA and it arrived today. I had left the kick panel off so that I could quickly install and test the new unit. 30 seconds later, it is in and my flash speed is normal. Tomorrow, I will remove the two front turn signal bulbs and replace them with LEDs again.
I was contemplating adding a turn signal to the front cornet park light but I do not have any other bulb colors than white. Plus, I have the side turn signals just in front of the driver's door. I'll see what I can get in Honduras in 2015.

 

[mmajsw]

With the flasher problem solved and the two front turn signal LEDs back in, I went back to mounting the windshield washer fluid container in its new position. Covered a few times throughout ih8mud, I will not give any details. Fairly straight forward DIY procedure using Simpson hurricane straps. After driving about 1 week without it, you realize how often one uses it to keep the windshield clean. Based on the pictures I see of the US rigs, it seems that you have a larger capacity reservoir.
I did try to trace the windshield washer pump wires hoping that I could just take them out of the loom and reroute them to the new location. Not possible. I had to cut and add about 1' of wire to the two leads. All joins are soldered and heat shrinked as well as placing them in a protective wire sheath. Everything tested OK.

And the aux battery tray. The two loose wires were wrapped in a wire protector shortly after this picture.

Until the new battery comes in, all I can do is wire in the Blue Seas 7622 relay. I will be using an Odyssey 2150 as an aux battery.

I also took some pictures of the first set of mods that I made to the truck - a new rear bumper with tire carrier and (to be added later) a fuel can/ cooler holder and rear cargo boxed.
The bumper is a length of 2x6x3/16 box steel that is welded to brackets that are bolted to the frame. The bumper was originally made to hold a good frame mounted trailer hitch that I made using parts of an old hitch that I had laying around. The tire/cooler carriers swivels are based on trailer hubs and were obtained from A to Z and were an afterthought. That is why they are welded on instead of incorporated into the bumper at the start.

I initially bought the complete A to Z kit with the upgraded mega duty spindles but decided against using their T handle locking system. Instead, I used a DeStaco 341-R clamp backed up by a 1/2' dia. bolt and pin that locks both swing outs to the bumper. I welded a steel loop to the top of the bolt and drilled a 3/16 hole at the bottom for the pin. So far, I have used this setup for about 9 months and it is still solid. The pin is under the swing outs and is hidden from prying eyes and little hands.

 

[mmajsw]

Today was an example of the interesting situations I get into when importing items. About 2 weeks ago, I ordered a Derale 14" fan from Summit Racing - at a cost of US$104. No problem as it is supposed to fit the FZJ80 and do what I want it to. I sent it to my US forwarder who brought it to Cayman. I was called this morning and went to pick it up from the Cayman agent. The cost for shipping, duty, delivery and insurance from the US was CI$128 (US$153). Total cost = US$257! And I had free shipping to the forwarding company!
The reason for the high cost was that Summit had placed the fan in another cardboard box whose dimensions was 19"x18"x15". The fan was 19"x18"x4". The other 3/4 was filled with air filled plastic packing bags. In shipping, you pay for weight or dimensions, whichever is greater.
Ah well, you win some and you lose some!

 

[mmajsw]

Continuing with the buildup, today was aux cooling fan install day. I had already decided that corsair23 Pro Comp 14" Aux Fax Install - '97 LX450 has a great write up on how to install a 14" fan and while I would follow his basic installation, I would deviate on how the fan was mounted to the condenser / radiator. I would make the proper brackets from 3/4 or 1" wide 1/8" steel. My goal would be to have the fan be 1/4" to 3/8" away from the condenser so as not to place any additional stress on those units. I know that the airflow through the condenser/radiator would be less than if it was in full contact with the condenser but I can always add some foam between the units to seal the gap if needed. On the other hand, with the engine running, there would be a slight negative pressure at the front of the AC condenser where the electric fan is and any air that is being pushed to the condenser by the fan should be sucked in quite readily.

The end result is as follows. The fan installed but not wired in as yet. I had to slightly bend the center brace about 1/4" to line up with the top bolt due to the extra width of the fan. It is a spring effect and the brace returns to normal when removed. I could have permanently bent the brace but decided against that for now. The pressure does not affect the fan or the blades but I will continue to monitor it for damage.

Detailed images of the mounting brackets
Lower left in a spare threaded hole on the rad. I had to chase the threads with a 6mm tap before using.

Lower right - bolted to a space hole in the center brace that I also used for the transmission cooler.

Upper left - bolts to one of the horn mount bolts. I will have to relocate the horns based on initial fitment.

And finally upper right. The bolts to the left nut of the hood latch. I shimmed the whole hood latch assembly so that it was even in the end.

I am unsure if I will follow through with wiring the fan to be turned on when the AC is in use of just control it manually.

 

[mmajsw]

Fan... continued.
I did have to almost completely remove the old mount for the JDM fan as well as remove a bit of metal from the AC line support. The red line shows the area that was trimmed with a Dremel and abrasive blade.

Again, the red arrow shows the location of the formed JDM fan mount bracket.

 

[mmajsw]

I also have a few more photos of the hitch and swing-away to post.

The braces from the back of the hitch tube to existing holes with nuts in the frame.

At the rear of the frame, each side of the rear bumper is bolted to the frame in 6 places for security. Some of the holes already had nuts in them and with others, I had to snake the nuts through the frame to the bolts. Not a very nice exercise. Probably very extreme overkill but the hitch/bumper is not going anywhere soon!

Here we have the hitch portion at the rear of the truck. The top plate is where the swing-aways rest. I had initially planned for each arm to have its own safety bolt but in the end, that idea became redundant (hence the additional hole on the left side of the plate). The bottom plate with the holes is for the safety chain. The trailer connector is also found in this area.

An empty arm 2x3x3/16 on the passenger side that will be used for a removable carrier. It will either hold the three Scepter MFCs I got in Canada or by removing two bolts, a cooler. Still working out the details on the design of the holders.

Finally, the tire carrier on the driver's side.
Made from 2x2x3/16 tubing on the 2x3x3/16 arm, it carries the spare as well as a work light on a paint pole. It has been solid for the past 9 months and can carrier larger tires should when I do an upgrade.

 

[mmajsw]

A couple co-workers who were reading about my buildup suggested that I give more details on the two little items clamped to the tire carrier.
They are supports for when lifting the tire into position. No need to heft the tire weight while trying to get everything to match up. Lift the tire unto its perch and then simply rotate to line up the holes to the bolts. The red arrows show the supports.

And a side view.

They are fully adjustable should when I decide to change the tire size. The only change I would make is to have the support tube have a flat side towards the tire. I did not think of that until I had built them. The ends will be capped with some rubber chair leg inserts.

 

[mmajsw]

I finally collected all the parts needed to rebuild the headlight buckets. I got stainless steel screws to use wherever I could and sprayed anti-corrosion over all of the other surfaces. The interesting thing is that the support bracket that bolts to the body is all plastic.
I will not bore you with the grinding and removal of rusted screws but below are the pics.

The driver's side buckets... as originally found.

With details of the corrosion. Missing springs, rusted screws. Things were bad!!!

The completed passenger side assembly. With all new stainless steel screws , lithium grease and anti-corrosion spray.

Now I have to source new headlights as I noticed some flaking and corrosion of the chrome reflectors in the old bulbs. As a friend of mine at work said, "when you are done, you will have a new, old truck!".

 

[mmajsw]

I also spent some time making a housing for the Scepter MFC spout. This was pretty straightforward to do using 1" PVC, a 1" cap. one 1.5" - 4" adapter and a 1" - 1.5" adapter. Directions for making your own can be seen below.



It takes longer to get the parts than to build the spouts.
The big dilemma was what to use as a cover. I thought of using a 4" PVC cap but I was looking for something a bit lighter. I was going to making something out of plywood and use Velcro to hold it on when my eye caught an empty Coffee-mate container. A few seconds later, I had a secure, snap fit top for my spout housing.

And the source of the lid...

 

[mmajsw]

Other commitments have kept me away from updating everyone on the modifications to the Cruiser but I am back for now.
I have been working on a bracket for the York compressor in an attempt to complete the air pump using 1/4 foam board. The construction was more difficult that I initially thought (trying to keep the weight down yet work) and when a used bracket came up on ih8mud, I readily bought it. With a working model in hand, I can see where I fell short. It will probably be a small thing, but when working alone, one does not have backup ideas (at least not right away). Once I solve my problem, I will post a PDF of the metal pieces for others to use if they are interested in making one for themselves.

My attention then turned to the fuel can/cooler mount. It is to hold 3 Scepter 20 liter MFCs.
Material used is 2x2x1/8 and some 1x1/8 strapping and the approach is quite straightforward.
Measure the perimeter of the 3 cans allowing some room for expansion - I used 1/2" overall on the wide side of the can. Buy length of steel calculated plus a couple inches extra for a buffer.
While I was measuring out the steel, a thought came to me. Why not maximize the size of the box to fit the size of steel I had? Just make sure that the fuel cans could fit in. One never knows what else it can be used for? With that thought in mind, I used the whole 6' piece that I had to make the rack. The end result was that a Yeti Tundra 35 cooler could be carried in the same box.

I marked out the distances on the steel then cut out one side for the bend.

All was well until it became time to bend the corners. There I failed.
To get nice 90 degree bends, I was going to use a brake. However, I failed to think of how the angle iron would stay in the brake. I tried to complete the bends by hand but the corner radii were not done well - ellipsoidal rather than circular. As I was already going to use angle iron to extend the sides, I just used the side pieces to hide the bad corners.

The sides are 12" high but might have to reduce the height when I test fit the Yeti. Once the height is confirmed, I will be welding 1x1/8 straps around the top the grinding everything smooth.
Still unsure whether to bolt the box to the swing arm or weld it. It will sit directly on the swing arm to keep the weight of the fuel as low as possible.
If I bolt it, I can make another box specifically sized for the MFCs. And a lesson is learned. Cut each side out individually before welding. It gives one a bit more control over how everything fits together. The box above has about a 1/8" difference between two corners. It will sit on 3 with one 1/8" in the air. Not a big issue as two corners will be hanging in the air.
The bottom will be a piece of 1/2 or 5/8 plywood. Metal is an option but the cost and ease of a piece of wood wins out for now. I might seal it with resin then cover it in fiberglass as a learning project for another upcoming project.

 

[mmajsw]

I was supposed to be off island but after two attempts at landing in La Ceiba, Honduras on Friday and Saturday, the trip got cancelled until later when the weather is not so bad down there. So, I did some work on the truck.
After the electric fan installation, I had to find another place to mount the air horns. After a bit of searching, I concluded that the space between the grill and air conditioning condenser was too full of other items so I went looking elsewhere.
The solution was on the bumper between the winch and the side supports. A couple pieces of bent metal, 4 holes and couple nuts and bolts and they were installed without any issues. Previously, the horns were pointing down but they seem much louder pointing forwards.
I will continue to run the horns off the electric pump that came with the units even though I will have on board air. Right now I am leaning to have the York Air pump be controlled by a manual switch instead of a fully automatic setup. But that could change.
I was looking at how air horns work, wondering if I needed to place something in front of the horns to limit the entry of dust, dirt and water into the units. Of course, You tube has quite a number of very loud DIY horns using a variety of easily available items like PVC pipe, transmissions funnels and Lexan/plexiglass. For now, I will leave these horns open and see what happens.

Driver's side

Passenger side

View from the front. I balanced the positioning of the horns so that it looks a bit better than one pointing up and one down.

The whole electrical system for the horns was rewired. The factory horn wire is now used to trigger a relay , which then powers both the air horns and the replacement electrical horns. I was contemplating having the air horns on a switchable circuit - only having them on when needed but I realized that emergencies or warnings give you little or no time to react. So, they are on full time!
One other problem to solve is that all horns are dead when the ignition is off. Something to be remedied.

After that I remembered that the transfer case had not had an oil change when I was replacing all fluids. So I drained it and refilled. My only surprise was that it contained 85W90 gear oil instead of the ATF that the full time/US models use. My only conclusion is that part time cases use the gear oil. I will have to see what transfer case unit I have on the truck. Replacement went smoothly and that is off the list of maintenance items to do.

Next on the list was wiring the fan. Hooking it up to the existing switches, fuse panels and relays with some wire and another item knocked off the list.

 

[mmajsw]

After a long delay, I finally received the Odyssey 2150 battery - only to have to fly off island the next day for a week.
Last night, I decided to check the battery our before installing it when I found out that I did not order the 3/8NC adapters to fit the normal battery clamps. A few minutes of computations and 30 minutes on the lathe with a piece of brass and new posts are ready to screw over the threaded bolt and installed.

This morning, I did a test fitting and the battery would not go down. After diagnosing where the issue was (the plastic fins needed trimming) and a few minutes with the Dremel and bit, the problem was solved.

It was an easy installation - slipped in like a glove. I had to get new battery hold-down bolts as the stock ones provided with the new tray were too short - as was the battery clamp arm. A 14" piece of angle iron and two holes later, the battery is firmly installed.

I then turned to the on board air compressor in case there were any fitment issues between the compressor and the battery. I was initially trying to make my own bracket based on images I found on ih8mud and other sites. The bracket was not difficult to make using 1/4" foam board and I eventually had a working design in foam, but I could not get a water pump pulley from the dealer to try that part of the design. I have had one on order for the past 4 months.
I eventually found a unit on ih8mud for sale (bracket and pulley) and jumped at the opportunity. It was missing a couple bolts and the belt adjuster but all the main parts were there. Everything fit together perfectly and the pump was soon installed on the truck after I cleaned out the junk from the bolt holes.
I checked the clearance between the pulley and the battery case and all is well.