Builds complete BJ45 rebuild start next week in Bolivia

[mailking]

did I mention this??? I am on somewhere in the middle...

 

[2fpower]

It may depend on the year, however, my stock 75 looks the same as above. Not square bolts.

 

[twoyotas]

yes,this is stock. I am not putting my stock rack back on, which is why you can't see through the holes. they were welded closed from the outside. this is a '74

if you need any parts for the carrier, I would gladly donate them to your project. It would give me a vicarious thrill to know my old parts were going so far away to travel even further on such a cool adventure. the tire gate itself is very heavy, and might be an issue for shipping to Bolivia, but any of the hinges, bolts, or latches would probably not be too outrageous on shipping charges.

 

[mailking]

yes,this is stock. I am not putting my stock rack back on, which is why you can't see through the holes. they were welded closed from the outside. this is a '74

if you need any parts for the carrier, I would gladly donate them to your project. It would give me a vicarious thrill to know my old parts were going so far away to travel even further on such a cool adventure. the tire gate itself is very heavy, and might be an issue for shipping to Bolivia, but any of the hinges, bolts, or latches would probably not be too outrageous on shipping charges.

So I found the rubber support thing that holds the lower tube into place on the back. Now I would be looking for the latch. I think we can fabricate something. I don't have any idea how long it would take to ship it from the States into Bolivia. But if I am doing you a very big favor. We could use your latch. I think we must be talking about the same thing. That would be the little part which is bolted just below the door in the middel and it looks like a small hook.. If it takes more than 4 weeks, don't bother sending it. Can you figure out how long it takes?

Okay, so were was I.. Today Sunday, so I did some shopping again, my score: the rubber part that holds the tube of the tire carrier. A nice leather drivers seat and some small stuff. Measures two tanks. I will need to make a decision on those this week. I'd have to get a 3 way electronic fuel selector in 24 volt.... Try that in Bolivia...

Images in a second...

 

[mailking]

Okay, I've been busy in my favorite drawing program. The result; a dark cover for the spare tire that will be on the new carrier on the left back door. I am still looking for a nice fuel tank that would fit under the Cruiser.

New Cruiser, new signing. Apart from some new friends on the top, I will revamp the lettering on the side and I've designed a clearer world map. Some text will be in Spanish also. What do you think?

Esteban is welding new support beam on the underside of the Land Cruiser. The floor is getting more straight by the day.

The beams under our feet were gone and so were the cushions that go between the floor and the frame.

Downtown San Pedro. Every street has at least six part shops. In my whole life I have never visited more shops that I have in the last few weeks.

My favorite Toyota parts shop. This is not the official dealer, but sells parts direct from the Toyota supplier. So I can buy a Master Clutch from Aisin for 30% of the retail price because the logo is filed off.

Here is something to show you my love for SS [Stainless Steel]. These bolts come from the front where the winch is mounted. They have been there for seven or more years [I don't know how long they have been there before I bought the car] and when I cleaned them this is how they look. I tell you, it looks a whole lot better than the normal bolt that sat just next to it. I had to trow that one away. The heart showing in the bolt symbolises my love for SS.

Outside I spot yet another old Land Cruiser. In this case an early model. It is sporting an first generation tire carrier on the back door. I don't know if this signing is original but if so, than Toyota hasn't changed it, because as of today the new Land Cruisers sitting in the dealers showroom show the same style striping. The Jesus on the back door shows that we are in Latin America.

Nice old school mirrors. All in all this Land Cruiser is looking very good for it's age. I keep on thinking about a bull bar, but I think this is a bit much.

The owner is very careful with his Toyota. He chained the steering wheel to the floor.

more to come tomorrow... I have been busy this week.

 

[turtleback]

What an incredible adventure. I feel like I'm there. Thanks for keeping up with the posts!

 

[twoyotas]

according to the US Postal Service website, it would take approximately 2 weeks.

the carrier is the earlier type, like on the blue cruiser you last posted, with Jesus in the back window, and the chain on the steering wheel, only mine mounts on the right hand side. not sure if the latch hook would work for you. Here are a couple of photos:

view of hook from above, the way you would see it mounted

holding the hook up to the rear end, you can see the mounting legs "drop" a bit. turning it over for the hook to face the right way is probably not a viable option.

slight angle:

the latch handle on the carrier slips over the hook when shut, and pulls the latch hoop against the hook as the lever is pulled closed. so flipping the hook would move it away from the carrier latch, if the carrier is mounted on the left side. I dont think the carrier could be mounted lower to compensate, due to the mount locations. If you think you can make it work, I could send it. If not, at least you have photos to show your local fabricator.

 

[mailking]

@twoyotas; Thanks for the offer again. But I think I will stick with what can be done here. If it were a very vital part that is very difficult to make I would think otherwise. Thanks again.

You are all waiting for more images of course;

Most beetles in South America come from Brasil and often sport the name Fusca or Fuska [Brazilian for beetle] this while nobody here knows that meaning. Funny. Here we see an exceptional model, somebody has been very creative with the grinder.

The guys at Toshimbol have been very helpful in getting me an original complete engine gasket set for 200 USD. It arrives the next day by airplane from somewhere. That same thing would take the dealer 30 days to get from Japan and would set met back a whopping 450 USD!

Looks real... I think how difficult would it be to fake a label like that, but the guys insure me, that it would be very difficult????

The 3B [our trusty diesel engine] is stamped on the head gasket. Pure metal quality I must say.

This is how they show off to let you see from how many layers of metal this is made.

This is how the whole kit looks like. Most things I can recognize at once, especially the bigger parts.

The smaller parts keep me guessing. But I will figure it out one way or another.

more tomorrow... Coen

 

[DanS HJ-45]

That is a smoking deal on the gasket set! Looks genuine Toyota to me too.

Heck, I bet that's a better price than I can get here with CDan in town.

Dan

 

[mailking]

Thanks Dan for the offer, and yes, the gasket set is a sweet deal...

Now I bought a tank from a damaged Susuki Grand Vitara. And am about to install it as an second tank. My truck has no fancy things, just a fuel line to the engine. So I guess I can hook both tanks up on a 3 way servo seperator?
I aslo see in the manual I downloaded from the mud that is about installing a aftermarket second tank from [I forgot the name] that the breather pipe of the second tank goes into the breather pipe of the main tank. Why is that. Why shouldn´t I make the breather pipe of the second tank come to the fuel intake of that same tank?
Coen

 

[mailking]

more images:

Karin-Marijke is busy sanding the wooden parts that we will use again on the inside of the truck. Besides that, she is occupied with writing her book that takes a good shape these days. I have been honored by proofreading the first few chapters.

During one of my many shopping tours I stand eye to eye with the BBC's Top Gear Land Cruiser. It is sitting somewhere in a shop. All the materials they used in the makeover in La Paz they had flown in from the US and England. The Toyota is still property of the BBC and I couldn't buy any part of it. A shame don't you think...

The cockpit of the BBC Cruiser.

I bought a big original Aisin clutch disc for 50 USD!

The pressure plate shows an impressive 220 after more than seven years on the road [I think even more than ten years, but I not sure how long that thing has been sitting in there?]

But when I spot a new Aisin clutch cover for 100 USD, I don't have to think very long. I won't take that risk. The engine is out and it is very simple to replace it now. When I reuse the old cover, it could sit there for a good time, but if it fails somewhere down the road, I would have to take the engine out yet another time.

Meanwhile Esteban is busy getting the tub in ship shape. Everything by hand and scissor. Real handiwork.

 

[Teebag]

Great thread, thanks for sharing...

...pity you can't get any parts off the BBC one, I wonder how long they took to make the mods, in the program they made out it was a matter of hours, but we all know that was not the case.

Reminds me of Dans build, although he had a hard time finding parts in Malawi

 

[mailking]

Okay on with the job... And thank you guys for buying our postcards... Sales have been up since I started posting here...

Because of the great heat produced by oxigene welding, everything gets warped. But chain and choke become very handy in restraining the movement of the tub.

I'm a bit confused. My papers say the Land Cruiser is from late 1984. Now I come across a sticker with a big fat 82 on it. Does this mean it is produced in Februari 1982?

So this is my new tire carrier I bought on the Junkyard for 30 USD.

For almost the same amount I have the machine worker replace the bushing in bronze and have him put in grease points

This is the bottom hinge. I am asking myself, why are the holes not round?

I sanded the master brake cylinder and taped it so it can be painted soon.

Esteban is welding the backplate of my seat. This has been broken for the last five years!

More to come..

 

[lostmarbles]

I'm a bit confused. My papers say the Land Cruiser is from late 1984. Now I come across a sticker with a big fat 82 on it. Does this mean it is produced in Februari 1982?
..

I don't know Coen!

But this is a sticker on my engine in my 1979 BJ40 and I doubt this engine was made in 1965:

 

[mailking]

Well Dan, a great help you are ... But I am a bit more relaxed now. Had a big fight with the mechanical overseer today about wich paint to put first on the bottom of the tub. But it is all sorted out now. There is not much choice here in La Paz, and anti corrosive stuff... They have never ever heard about that... Which me luck.

 

[Reiti]

Hi Coen,

Good luck to find all the parts and to get the Cruiser soon back on the road.

I would recommend for your old Diesel also [www.buschtaxi.de] - The european site for Toyota LandCruiser, HiLux, 4Runner, Megacruiser...: Herzlich willkommen to get answers to your questions.

Regards from Germany!

 

[mailking]

Now how about my newly aquired spare tank. It is from a Suzuki Grand Virara. I used to hold gasoline, and there is still a bit left in it, but I guess that won´t hurt my diesel engine. My question is that my setup uses no pump in the tank and no return lines.

1- can I just close the return line on the vitara tank?
2- can I just rip off the 12v fuelpump and replace it by a pipe?
3- if so, would it need a filter there? The vitara tank has a filter in the tank. Would it hurt to keep using this filter? I don´t know if filtering gasoline is much different to filtering diesel?
4- can I make the 12v level sending unit work in my 24v system? [I do have 12v onboard]
5- can I put the breather pipe at the intake or does it need to go to the intake of the main tank?
6- I can use a manual 3 way switch for this can I? Should it be brass, copper or anything else? Just a regular ball valve?

Coen

 

[Slowerthanu]

This is a great project. Something special about the "old school" craftsmanship that many of us in the USA have long forgotten about.

 

[DanS HJ-45]

Now how about my newly aquired spare tank. It is from a Suzuki Grand Virara. I used to hold gasoline, and there is still a bit left in it, but I guess that won´t hurt my diesel engine. My question is that my setup uses no pump in the tank and no return lines.

1- can I just close the return line on the vitara tank?

Absolutely. Just close it up so no fuel will leak out of the old return line.

2- can I just rip off the 12v fuelpump and replace it by a pipe?
3- if so, would it need a filter there? The vitara tank has a filter in the tank. Would it hurt to keep using this filter? I don´t know if filtering gasoline is much different to filtering diesel?

That's what I would do. If there is a very large screen filter in the tank I might try to reuse it, but you've got a final fuel filter on your engine itself, which should handle the real job of filtering your fuel prior to the IP. It won't hurt to keep using it if it's got a pretty big pattern to it, but diesel fuel is thicker than gasoline, and a small micron filter in the tank I could easily see gelling up at cold temperatures.

4- can I make the 12v level sending unit work in my 24v system? [I do have 12v onboard]

Not that I know of. Easiest way would be to either install a second 12V fuel gauge, or find another 24V sending unit and put that in. Because it's a diesel and bleeding the fuel system is a pain, you can't reliably just start on the aux tank and switch to the main tank once the engine starts to sputter, unfortunately.

The other option would be to install a small pump in the aux tank and simply pump the fuel into the main tank. An added bonus here is that you could also pump your fuel into another vehicle if you had to.

5- can I put the breather pipe at the intake or does it need to go to the intake of the main tank?

Yes. In fact, I would only run it this way. That way each tank breathes independently of one another.

6- I can use a manual 3 way switch for this can I? Should it be brass, copper or anything else? Just a regular ball valve?

You can definitely use a manual valve. I don't think the material makes a lot of difference. I wouldn't hesitate to use brass or copper, if it were my truck.

Dan

 

[mailking]

The other option would be to install a small pump in the aux tank and simply pump the fuel into the main tank. An added bonus here is that you could also pump your fuel into another vehicle if you had to.
Dan

Thanks again for your valuable advice..
Hmmm I was thinking of that at first, but then if there is bad fuel in one tank I have no option of using the other. And of course I could use the 12v pump that is in there now. I could no? And another thing. I would need to drain the main tank first which is neatly in the middle. The aux would still be full in the back. I think it would be nice to drain the aux first because of the weight? Or am I thinking strange things now?