Builds DarkHorse's 91 HDJ80R - The Tank (2 Viewers)

[DarkHorse1HDT]

Only had a little bit of time this week, but got the pillar mount for the snorkel off, replaced the s***ty plastic clips with much beefier ones, and screwed the mount back on with a heap of silicone sealant to make sure no water is getting in that way:

Will throw some paint at those gal screws, and replace the rusted out bolts for the snorkel itself with some stainless ones.

 

[DarkHorse1HDT]

A couple more fiddly little update...

I've been running the used parts gauntlet recently, just in an effort to save a bit of money. Found a very used but reasonably good nick SAAS three-spoke, deep-dish steering wheel with boss... but no horn button. So I also found a very cool old-school SAAS horn button with a kangaroo on it, perfectly period feel for the 80... except that that arrived with no wiring contacts in it, so useless for anything other than decoration. Then a drive-test showed up that not only were the indicator/wiper stalk almost impossible to reach, but the boss wasn't engaging the cancellation nubs on the hub... so a fairly unsuccessful mod at first go:

With a bit more eBay browsing I found a stubby hub, which gets the stalks back in a nice comfortable position. It also came with a horn button, which was a bit annoying since I'd also ordered another one in the meantime, but now I have options with a Toyota badge, and faux-CF surround. Horn still not working, so some work to do yet, but on track now:

(New fire extinguisher install visible in the background. I've only had one car fire in my life, which didn't do much damage, but was enough to scare the bejeezus out of me and ensure I always have an extinguisher in the car now.)

At some point some f*cker did this, so I had to replace the glass. PITA since it was siliconed in place and the new glass was too big to sit nicely inside the frame:

Work continues on the centre console. Countless versions of cardboard, MDF, trimmed, trial fitted, messed up, recut... and then the real battle started - fibreglassing. My new least favourite fabrication process:

 

[DarkHorse1HDT]

One of my bullbar indicators died at some point. Investigation revealed the entire housing was corroded and full of rust. The water had been running down the cabling from the hideous scoth-lock connectors and straight to the bulb-holder. So a replacement pair was ordered, figuring I'd go LED while I was at it. Pretty happy with the outcome:

I had noticed that the lower front panel lamps would fill with water too, so I took them out to seal them with silicone while I was in the mood. Big mistake. PO in his infinite wisdom had beaten me to it, and done an excellent job at sealing the bottom edge... just not so much the top. It took me the entire afternoon to pry the lenses off. The inside of the lamps got a fresh coat of chrome paint, and the lenses were resealed with a more rational amount of silicone.

I also finally managed to get the crappy spare out from under the car. Not having the original jack handle I had been a bit stymied when it came to operating the chain winch, but I peservered in true Aussie fashion, and used a BFH to knock the plate around, flatten the tabs, then get one end through the centre bore so the tyre could come down. I have yet to decide whether to mount my second spare under there, and modify the winch so I can get at it through the rear bumper or some other way... or just get rid of the whole shamozzle and save the weight, add clearance etc. Until I get a long-range tank in there of course.

 

[DarkHorse1HDT]

A new acquisition to the fleet has been dominating most of my brain-space and prac time recently:

8x5 tandem box, with rear ramp, cage and good quality tarp. Purchased to facilitate a move interstate at the end of this month, it will take the bike and all my tools to start work. This thing could get a build thread all of it's own, but to date:

• All wiring replaced, and tired old lamps replaced with LEDs
• Rego plate mounted with bolts instead of the fencing wire
• Broken handle on jockey wheel replaced

Pre-move plans:

• Extend cage upwards 300mm to allow standing room inside
• Extend ramp 300mm for shallower loading angle
• Clad lower portion of cage to maintain weather-proofing
• Mount drawbar toolbox and upright spare
• Wire brush everything, then repaint with Raptor liner
• Build outrigger shelves over mudguards to mount toolboxes
• Check/adjust brakes and bearings

Long term plans:

• Extend tray width-ways over wheel-arches for full width
• 100mm drop axles to lower floor
• Upgrade hubs to 6-stud Landcruiser pattern and electric brakes
• Run exchangeable second set of wheels/tyres with HTs

 

[DarkHorse1HDT]

Ticking off the jobs before the big move next week - console fibreglass finalised and test fitted:

Decided to 'splurge' on some Carling switches and holders rather than use the cheap crappy switches I had lying around for the aux lighting. Much better look matching the ARB compressor/locker switches and and winch control.

I was throwing loads of Raptor bed-liner at the trailer so decided to coat the console in it as well. Everything fitted and wired up:

And finally in the car. This project took a lot more time and effort than I had anticipated, but I'm really happy with the result. One switch slot for future contingency, and plenty of space for more if necessary:

Naturally I only figured out at this point that the ABR dual battery guage/controller was much more visible on the far side angled back at me than in the originally intended spot on the near side. I've removed the ashtray to give it somewhere to sit. I'll think of something to fill the space... or not. May or may not figure something out for stick boots... I'm not particularly fussed about it at this stage.

I finished painting the trailer and had half a bottle of Raptor left over. At AUD$80 per litre I wasn't going to let it go to waste, so pulled the side steps/brushbars off and sanded/masked off the factory flares, which were looking a bit ratty. Had enough for the four flares and the steps before the gun sputtered out, so the brush bars got a quick spray of black instead.

Pretty stoked with the result. It's only a very thin coat, so gives it the texture, makes it look tidy and new, and still allows a bit of the original gloss to shine through.

Of course I now need to do the flare rubbers as well...

 

[DarkHorse1HDT]

Trailer paint is done, after a week of very tedious scrubbing, rust converting, priming, and Raptor lining, inevitably interrupted by a day of rain half way through.

Wire-wheeling 8x5ft of checkerplate is utterly hellish:

End result worth it:

I ended up using 7.5L of Raptor - far more than I anticipated. The cage would have taken a lot of that with overspray waste. Expensive exercise, but worth it. Looks like a brand new unit.

I just have little stuff to finish it off - lights and wiring to go on, refit jockey wheel, bubble level, toolbox and spare mounted to drawbar, wheel chocks and crate for the bike, and get some galv sheet to cover the cage where the tarp no longer reaches, having raised the roof to 6ft to allow standing room inside.

 

[DarkHorse1HDT]

Wow, I haven't touched this thread in 18 months?!?!?!

OK, quick catch-up. The old bus hasn't had that much use or attention until recently to be honest, with trailer and bikes dominating my time and resources.

Move to Melbourne went brilliantly. Bike in trailer, loaded to the gunnels, car pulled it the thousand km like it wasn't there:

Galv sheeting on walls and crate I made up to box the bike in)

The year since in Melbourne really has been all about work. I'm trying to move away from that again now and get a bit more 'life' happenning, but sometimes practical realities ($$$) get in the way.

Unfortunately the vehicular news was all bad...

I managed to get to one track day at Broadford last Easter with the Daytona in the trailer. That went great, but about a week later I came out to go to work one morning to find this empty space where the bike had been:

I miss that bike. Thankfully insurance paid out the finance and left me with enough to buy a cheap little project SV650:

Which now looks, sounds, and feels VERY different!

Has been a really fun little project, which in typical me fashion has careened way beyond the original intended scope.

 

[DarkHorse1HDT]

Trailer didn't fare much better. I have done some basic landscaping of our typically neglected rental backyard, including brick paving a path down to the back fence so I can get the bike in off the street.

I took the trailer to get a load of cheap bricks that were advertised as 'mostly clean.' They weren't. So suddenly 500 x 3kg house bricks became 4+kg with all the mortar, and the trailer was at least pushing it's load rating. I probably also loaded it badly, with too much behind the axles because after hand-loading 500 bricks I was pretty over it.

Anyhoo, the drive home was one of the scariest of my life. Only a short freeway stretch, but that was enough to get some pretty hectic sway going on, culminating in the left side getting closely acquainted with the concrete barrier. I nursed it the rest of the way, getting within 200m of home before the bearing gave out. Not pretty:

So that axle and mudguard was toast, tyre shredded, and the whole side panel buckled. Finances didn't allow me to fix it up immediately, given I didn't need it useable any time soon, but I pretty much decided I was going to do the full upgrade/overhaul to drop axles and Cruiser hubs rather than spend money just to replace sub-optimal setup.

I wish that was the end of it... but Moreland City Council had other ideas. To be fair, it was sitting there in a state of disrepair for a few months (I got as far as pulling the damaged axle off) BUT it was still registered, and I rode past it twice a day going to and from work and never saw a notice on it. Of course when it comes to issuing a fine they have no trouble getting your contact details, but in a case like this apparently that's too much to expect. So one day it was just gone. 10m away from where the bike disappeared a few months earlier.

I made a point of filing a police report before I called the council to try to find it. After a couple of weeks of run-around and phone-tag, then a full afternoon in person while Pickles sorted out their system and agreed to charge me $250 to get it back instead of $2500, and I limped the poor thing back home. Again. With a bent handbrake lever and munted wiring plug thanks to the towing.

I now have a full load-sharing suspension, 100mm drop axle, elec brakes, 6-stud hubs kit ready to go on, and I'll make new mudguards to fit the slightly larger tyres on it...

My maths says the deck will only end up an inch or so higher thanks to the axle drops. So that's the next major lock-down project.

 

[DarkHorse1HDT]

As for the car... as I said it didn't get much use or attention with all of the above going on, but suddenly having a heap of time free I've been able to get to a few jobs that I've been meaning to do for ages.

The first major thing was finding another N70 battery on sale for around half price at Repco. It's made by Century/Yuasa and looks identical to my main battery, so with the price and warranty I couldn't resist grabbing it.

The next couple of things tie in with the trailer upgrade - I wanted a set of road tyres since most of the km recently are highway stretches, which are needlessly wearing out my $2500 set of muddies, while noise and economy aren't great either. I noticed that there were a heap of barely used Dunlop Grandtrek ATs for sale on Gumtree in 285/60/R18. A bit of research revealed that to be the stock size for the 200 series Landcruiser. A larger rim and less sidewall suited me for a road setup... but the 200 is a 5-stud hub and rim, the 80 of course is 6. More research and it turns out that the only things still running 6x139 with an 18" rim are the Ford Ranger Wildtrak. A few other utes share the PCD, and aftermarket rims are made for them... but modern utes also run drastically positive offsets, while the 80 was 0 stock, and wider tyres typically mean neg offset, anywhere from -12 to -44 if you're running 35"+ tyres.

So pickings were a bit slim, and I was getting close to resorting to factory 16" rims which I could find relatively cheap... but then I lucked onto a set of Speedy wheels from a Wildtrak with 0 offset being sold relatively cheap... at least before freight and machining the centre bore out from ute-spec 93mm to 80-spec 106mm.) My research had also shown that the Grandtreks had a horrible reputation in the wet, but again I lucked out and the shop I went to for the machining was selling a barely used set of Bridgestone Dueller HTS in the right size. So about $1000 later I had my second set of wheels/tyres on:

They are immediately smoother and quieter on the road than the chunky ST MAXXs (which just shows up the other noises/vibes in the car of course!) and I reckon they look pretty good.

The other supporting mod for the trailer upgrade is a controller for the electric brakes. Again, trawling eBay and Gumtree for a while turned up a barely used Tekonsha iQ3 for the price of a basic 'dumb' unit. Turns out it fits almost perfectly in the ash-tray slot, so I'll make that work:

The wiring is a little complicated, involving a constant 12V supply direct from the battery through an auto-reset circuit-breaker, which then requires a switch (bottom right) so the unit doesn't stay powered when the car is turned off. I might do this properly with a relay at some point.

Also pictured is the new head-unit, the main upgrade requirement being bluetooth capability, which is handy and means less cable mess. The phone sits in a wireless charging cradle mounted on the console, so all nice and neat.

 

[DarkHorse1HDT]

In other 12V news... the EGT side of the SAAS gauge crapped out not long after it was installed, with the reading shooting straight to 999 and triggering the flashy/beepy warning constantly. Annoying, because I'd happily use it just as a boost gauge if not for that constant annoyance... so it's been sitting there without power most of the last year. From what I can gather the issue is with the sensor and wiring, but it's hard to get a straight answer so it's on the backburner for now.

Finally, with most of my pre-covid work being in Ballarat or Frankston, I decided that cruise control had moved up the priority list. I have never been keen on the universal vac units, and my old cable-driven speedo means it would need drive-shaft mounted magnets rather than a direct electronic input... but I found an AP60 system very cheap and figured it was worth a shot... $100 rather than the $800 I was quoted to get the same system installed by a shop. I found a good spot for the controls on the steering column shroud:

The brain box is on a spare stud in behind the kick panel, with power from the gauge/turbo timer setup, and brake switch along with the trailer controller:

Under the bonnet was tricky... for some reason everything is ending up on the driver's side while there is a heap of space on the other side... but in this case I didn't have a choice. Vac unit is mounted off the bracket for the catch can, and just nestles nicely between that and the airbox, plumbed to the vac feed for the brake booster:

(I'm trying to find out if the non-return valve is built into the booster or if I need to run that vac feed all the way over the other side to the canister.)

That mounting position lines up nicely for the throttle cable to follow the actual throttle cable over the motor to the linkage, which I pretty much rebuilt to fit the arm, which I figured was a good option to give it a bit more leverage, given deisel motors don't generate as much vacuum as petrol motors:

The only thing left is to mount and wire the speed sensor, which I'm holding off on while...

 

[DarkHorse1HDT]

The old girl has had a bunch of different vibes and shakes for as long as I've had her. Some have been speed dependant, some I feel through the wheel, others through the floor or seat. Some were cured with the front end rebuild (new cromo axles/CVs, and longer spline drive flanges) some also disappeared with a new set of tyres... but some have just been persistent. The new highway tyres improve noise and vibes again, but also make the other issues more apparent. So, with covid gifting me a heap more time, and the odo creeping towards 400,000km, I decided to get into some preventative/speculative maintenance to see if I could find the culprit.

Starting with the obvious/easy stuff... 4 new balljoints on the steering arms:

Not all that easy, but done. Cleaning stuff up as I went of course revealed a leaking steering stabiliser, weeping steering box, and the standard 80 series chassis crack... all of which are now on my list.

New front engine mounts:

The passenger side was easier than I expected, but the driver side was a nightmare - the top stud points straight at the underside of the turbo, so getting fingers in there let alone a spanner is seriously difficult.

To make matters more frustrating, jacking the motor up off the chassis pulled one of the hoses between the power steering reservoir and pump straight, and the brittle old rubber cracked. Add another thing to the list... but given my track record with rubber hoses failing I'm glad to do this.

Gearbox mount:

This actually was as easy as it looked like it should have been. Nice for once.

 

[DarkHorse1HDT]

Pulled both drive shafts out... the rear in particular being very reluctant. Even swinging off a 2ft breaker bar all I managed to do was pull through the gearbox and handbrake and roll the car forward. Several doses of Inox over a few days finally freed the bolts up, but that was only the beginning...

I don't have a press, or even a vice at home, so I was reduced to the 'hammer method' to get the old unis out. This eventually became the 'grinder method' as in all but one case even pushing the cap all the way out of the yokes it was still stuck fast, and I then couldn't get the opposite cap back through the other side. A cutting disc made short work of them after struggling for most of a day. Everything was then cleaned up and painted - there was probably enough crud on the shafts to throw them out of balance, and definitely enough in and around the joints to restrict movement.

I took the opportunity to linish the bores of the yokes, and reassembly was a breeze - taking care of course to line everything up as it was (I scored reference marks in yokes and slip joints before I took them apart) orient zerks so they are accessible, and snap rings so they are not impossible to remove next time. Generous amounts of grease used so hopefully they won't be seized if I ever have to do them again, and each uni and slip joint will get filled with grease as soon as the gun I've ordered arrives.

Jacking the motor up off the frame to do the fronts required the fan and shroud to be unbolted to prevent any clashing, and then the fragged hose meant they needed to come out completely. Naturally that didn't happen easily... the shroud eventually emerging in three pieces:

Rather than try to glue or plastic weld it back together I will make up some ally plates so it can go in as seperate bits and bolt together in situ. Much easier for future.

I've also been wanting to service the fan hub for ages, so that got drained, cleaned out, the valve operating temp checked, and fresh oil:

 

[DarkHorse1HDT]

I've also replaced a few little broken interior panels, a window switch, windscreen washer nozzle, and bonnet liner.

So that's more or less caught up I think.

Immediate list now is:

• Steering box rebuild (with later model sector shaft and pitman arm)
• Weld up chassis crack and fit strengthening plates.
• Steering hose replacement (might rebuild the pump too... why not.)
• Mount speed sensors for cruise control
• Panhard bushes seem fine, but might do them in case.
• Wire and mount trailer plug with brake controller line and 12V to integrated Anderson plug.

The biggest thing is the trailer rebuild, which will not go down well with the neighbours.

 

[Steveindar]

I've also replaced a few little broken interior panels, a window switch, windscreen washer nozzle, and bonnet liner.

So that's more or less caught up I think.

Immediate list now is:

• Steering box rebuild (with later model sector shaft and pitman arm)
• Weld up chassis crack and fit strengthening plates.
• Steering hose replacement (might rebuild the pump too... why not.)
• Mount speed sensors for cruise control
• Panhard bushes seem fine, but might do them in case.
• Wire and mount trailer plug with brake controller line and 12V to integrated Anderson plug.

The biggest thing is the trailer rebuild, which will not go down well with the neighbours.

Keep it coming bud, I'm enjoying this.

 

[DarkHorse1HDT]

Keep it coming bud, I'm enjoying this.

Cheers Steve, it won't happen at quite that pace very often!

Plenty to do, and time to do it, so hopefully a bunch of progress to come... just not allowed to test drive it to find out what I've messed up!

 

[Steveindar]

No worries, we all have some kind of restrictions now. We are not on lockdown but the pubs are so little trips out hardly worth the effort.

Cheers
S

 

[DarkHorse1HDT]

Got the fan shroud reassembled today. It's a little agricultural, but will be solid enough when installed. Looks better with a squirt of black of course:

I will replace the bottom bolts with countersunk heads, and probably a few of the rivets as well just to stop them pulling through the plastic.

Also got the steering box off. Easier than I expected with the use of a 2ft breaker bar. Pitman arm is still on, with some Inox soaking to hopefully free it up. Looks like I already have the later version sector shaft and pitman with no taper, so that's a positive. Waiting on rebuild kit in the post now.

Chassis behind the box is pretty sad - crack that I knew about along the bottom edge, but also a lot of signs of stress around the mounting holes:

Will give it a good clean up and strip back tomorrow to get a better idea, before drilling, welding, flattening, then plating.

Finally... this is what it looks like when a (probably nearly 30 years) old PS hose gets over-extended jacking the motor up to do engine mounts:

I'm currently in the process of deciding how much of that plumbing debacle to pull out, maybe get a cooler in there. Definitely getting rid of every ancient rubber hose for a fresh one.

 

[DarkHorse1HDT]

Just a couple of little tweaks yesterday...

Got the fan shroud bolts swapped over, so no chance of fan interference:

Grease gun arrived, so the new unis and slip-joints are pumped full and ready to back on the car.

Had another look at the PS plumbing, and pretty much decided I'm going to replace every bit of rubber hose, and run the return line direct from the box to a 12" inline cooler on the front crossmember, and from there back to the reservoir. No hard line. I'll keep the high pressure side as is - the car never sees snow or salt roads, so the steel lines look OK.

 

[DarkHorse1HDT]

Rego time has snuck up on me, and I'm going to get the old girl on historic/club plates this year (saving me something like $650/year for rego.) But, that means I have to get it inspected for roadworthy... which shouldn't be a problem except that it currently has no driveshafts, no fan or shroud, and only half a power steering system. So that has all shot up the priority list for this week.

In preparation for doing the steering box rebuild tomorrow I popped the pitman off ($50 puller did the job. Not easily, but it's off) and cracked all the bolts on the outer housing, just to make sure I wouldn't get held up by anything seized. They all came loose reasonably easily (2ft breaker bar also paying for itself!) but the 10mm Allen bolt for the power piston - not so much. Despite liberal application of Inox, heat, and rattle gun, she's rounded out:

I'm guessing my best bet now is to weld a nut onto it? Open to any other ideas.

 

[8cam]

Just read the whole thread, really great writeup and a nice job on everything. Only idea on your steering box problem would be to sacrifice an allen key and weld it into that. Then you'll have a nice post to get something real on.