Go the mustard - hj47 project

[matt tin]

You'll want to throw the 60 series front diff/axle in too. The 60 series diff is 2" wider and with a wider rear diff and narrower front you'll go through front tyres flat chat.

I did this on my LX. 60 series rear diff first, and was shocked how quickly the front tyres began scrubbing down. I put the front 60 series diff in by moving each hanger outboard 1" and solved the issue. PLUS, I could not believe how much better it handled with the wider stance.

An added plus was that it didn't want to pull from rut to rut when braking at intersections because now the track was actually a similar width to modern cars.

PS that 45 appears to have everything AND the Kitchen sink. Score.

Thanks, the plan was to change the backing plate for the handbrake relocation and was easier to buy the whole diff. I did not know about the wider track it’s something to ponder.

 

[jembourbe]

You'll want to throw the 60 series front diff/axle in too. The 60 series diff is 2" wider and with a wider rear diff and narrower front you'll go through front tyres flat chat.

I did this on my LX. 60 series rear diff first, and was shocked how quickly the front tyres began scrubbing down. I put the front 60 series diff in by moving each hanger outboard 1" and solved the issue. PLUS, I could not believe how much better it handled with the wider stance.

An added plus was that it didn't want to pull from rut to rut when braking at intersections because now the track was actually a similar width to modern cars.

PS that 45 appears to have everything AND the Kitchen sink. Score.

just the differentials. use the same axle housings. No need to be chopping' n weldin'

 

[Chamba]

Yes, easier to keep your axle housing. But you'll need to get the handbrake cable for the 40 series as the 60 stores cable is too long.

However, if you're in the mood to do a bit of fabricating and welding (and Queensland doesn't MOT where you are), the wider axles are a sweet upgrade.

 

[Meshal]

Alright, this post is going to be interesting because of your five-speed conversion. I would be interested in hearing about your experience with the LX-H55 five-speed top cover, especially since you have a 1984 J45.

And because you just picked up your H55, I got mine yesterday, but from a 1991, fj75

 

[Meshal]

Regarding the diffs:

I am still not sure if I should go to the FJ62 diffs, but my master plan is to get drum plates from FJ62 and FJ75 or FJ79 handbrake cable.

you should see this one

 

[Living in the Past]

Great news, music to my ears @Chamba!
Actually it should work: the clever Japs did use this combo in the HJ60 (which is slightly heavier than the J45/47 Pups).
In respect to the tyres I'm considering stock, e.g. 205R16 (29 inch), OEM size in the European market for both Cruisers...

It was this combination in Europe where I found the listing for the 15 teeth driven gear for speedometer cable. I managed to scoop a few up before they were NLA. Easiest solution to getting close reading on the speedometer with taller tires on the 79-87 Land Cruisers in the US market. Those had 3.70:1 diffs and 15" wheels with tires under 29".

 

[matt tin]

Parabolics are in and have had some short test drives. Very happy with that decision. Car came with a new radiator in a box so I thought that would be an easy swap. Couple hours of sweat and pinched fingers and I’ve only got 2 bolts in, quick trip to my mechanic nearby to confirm I have the correct radiator but at some point the original shroud was modified to suit a slightly larger radiator. Sigh. Put that on the list of todos. Anyway. New tie rod ends.

Well someone will spot my first error, lesson learnt don’t rush these jobs.

Slowly unravelling my super glow system. Someone has done some creative wiring. So it currently works, Kind of.. once I have the correct relays etc together maybe a trip to the mechanic.

One highlight. A new cable and a few drops of oil on the back of my cluster and I have a Speedo again, apparently it’s not a permanent fix, but I’ll take the wins when they come and enjoy it while it’s working.

 

[matt tin]

sourced a new radiator support.
Weld some new bolts in and a bit of paint
New fan, viscous and thermostat, flushed engine.

New apron painted and old trims back in with some new lights. First crack at painting came up ok. Endless wet weather here so had to do inside. Probably should have hung a sheet in hindsight

Put it back together

pretty well ready to drive now. So did abit of a wheel alignment and went for a spin to see how my temps went. That’s when things started to go sideways.

Developed a tapping that came and went and after about an hour it turned into a loud knock.

Bit of diagnosis over a few days and a set of reco injectors were sourced, as potential injector failure could cause a knocking. Had a relative with abit of knowledge give me a hand to fit.

His initial impression was not good. But we did some testing and fitted the injectors with fingers crossed. And the knock is still there.

Well an hour later and we are here

Can see piston 3 has been impacting the head.
Few scenarios where this can happen, gudgeon pin, spun bearing. Another week of contemplation and the end result it has to come out

So this is where I’m at. I’ll take the bottom end in for some diagnosis and see what can be saved. Hopefully no serious damage to crank or anything else.
Feel like I’m back to square 0 minus 3.
I have sourced a used 2H but allot of work to put another old one in and potentially have to pull it out again.

 

[matt tin]

Abit of a set back. Silver lining is I’ll get into engine bay and give it a tidy up.
Also a nice surprise in the mail

Power steering box arrived. Fresh from USofA thanks @Chamba it’s sweet and will be allot easier to install now that I’ve made a big hole in my engine bay.

So might be a few months before I’m back on the road but the mighty mustard will live again!

 

[matt tin]

Luckily there’s always a 2h for sale around me somewhere so I found one running in an 84 troopy. With the usual oil leaks. Bonus the seller had a set of drive shafts resized for a h55f so they came home with me as well.

While waiting for the seller to pull it out I’ve stripped my interior and I’ll try and get the floor done while the driveline is out. Chipped up the old deadener. Not that difficult didn’t have to get any dry ice or anything special. Just a clean up with some turpentine and now I can see all my rust holes.

Picked my new engine up. I really wanted to check a few things so go straight into pulling the bottom off to have a look.

Did the rear main and pulled a cap off to check the bearing. Consensus is put back together and see what happens.

New rear main and put it all back together.

The plan is to get the h55f and engine together and install as a single unit. With some luck I’ll come out of this with a 5 speed and my interior all done.

 

[matt tin]

No motor or gearbox thought best time to fix the floor pan. My first attempt making patches was a fail. Ordered a reproduction floor pan and cut a square out and it went in nicely. Not much of a welder but I’m improving.

Found a nice tray off a 45 in much better condition than mine

Now I’ve started on the rust thought I might as well fix it all. This time I enlisted some help.

It wasn’t pretty under there. Luckily this guy is abit of a magician.

Much better.

 

[jay hj 47]

I’ve greatly enjoyed the threads on here about other members journeys so want to contribute my own.
Having an affinity for Toyotas since getting picked up from school in a hj45. Now driving a 200 series and the wife in a rav4 I thought I’d keep the theme going with a hj47 that I can pickup my son one day in.

I found this one on marketplace in a small town 2 hours out of Brisbane. It had been online a while and I thought I’d find out why after missing out on a couple of my earlier choices. Being sold as registered and roadworthy was also a big plus as I could get in and start driving from day 1.

Well I quickly found out that calling it roadworthy was a stretch but I was immediately taken by this yellow mustard Ute. First inspection identified some obvious issues, cracked windscreen, a variety of oil leaks. Suspension bushes almost non existent. Tie rod ends very possibly original from factory. But none of this mattered, it ticked the main boxes which was basically all original, with a manageable amount of rust. I quickly made a deal, and 5 days later I had it in my shed.

I have had a couple of weeks now to start a few repairs and come up with a plan.

To date I’ve changed the oil, the rocker cover gasket and spent a couple of hours cleaning 40 years of mud out of the chassis rails. It just keeps coming!

Stage 1. Get it drivable.
Clean and paint chassis in situ.
Terrain tamer kit on order and will fit myself. Brake service at a mechanic. Possibly steer it knuckle rebuild.
Tie rod ends and wheel alignment.
New headlights and indicators

Stage 2 Tray. Remove tray, treat or replace timber bed as needed. Panel beat and remove rust and paint. I have discovered a couple of tray mounts have been welded in place. Possibly due to lack of suitable bolt at the time. So some effort to correct this.

Stage 3. Upgrades. Have sourced a 5 speed gearbox and most parts. At this stage will do end bearings and any other mechanical necessary. Power steering, have the steering column on order, factory power steering box currently somewhere in continental USA but it will come my way thanks chamba.

Stage 4. Body. I’m going to try very hard to not start anything on the body until earlier stages are complete. Other than the windscreen it is all serviceable. When I do I’ll probably get the seats out to an upholstery and while not driveable I’ll pop the roof off and try and resolve some rust around back panel mounts and floor pan.

If you made it this far I really appreciate your interest and I’ll try my best to capture the journey.

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mate good stuff, ive just got a hj 47 myself with very limited mechanical knowledge am also starting the journey, fun times ahead! if i can follow this website ill be keen to follow along ha

 

[jay hj 47]

No motor or gearbox thought best time to fix the floor pan. My first attempt making patches was a fail. Ordered a reproduction floor pan and cut a square out and it went in nicely. Not much of a welder but I’m improving. View attachment 4209892
Found a nice tray off a 45 in much better condition than mine

View attachment 4209893 Now I’ve started on the rust thought I might as well fix it all. This time I enlisted some help.

View attachment 4209894
It wasn’t pretty under there. Luckily this guy is abit of a magician.

View attachment 4210117
Much better.

hey mate where did you get the floor panel from?

 

[matt tin]

hey mate where did you get the floor panel from?

Track auto

Few places sell them now. Cruiser panels or mr landcruiser in Aus