Builds HDJ-81 Build thread (1 Viewer)

[DancesWithMutts]

He got the Wholesale Automatics valve body for the 3rd gear lockup. Great mod!

Worth every penny. I had this really annoying gap in usable power between 3rd and 4th, where rpms were too high in 3rd, making my EGT's high, and letting it shift into 4th would drop me out of boost. It made mountain passes very annoying, because if I lost momentum and had to downshift, I'd be stuck in 3rd till I got to the top of the hill.

Now that I have lockup in 3rd my RPM's have dropped by about 300 and I can get enough speed out it to make the shift back into 4th.

I do need to upgrade the turbo still.

 

[Sonofaskipper]

I’ll have to look into that, as I’ve got similar issues. I’m way behind you in my build tho.

 

[DancesWithMutts]

Been neglecting my thread. I have been working up in the mountains for the last 5 weeks, living in my Alu-cab and pocketing my hotel money. The Alu-cab paid for itself on this trip. I got sick of the ugly wiring all over my rig, so I finally removed every bit of non-factory wiring (that was done by the PO's) and start fresh. This is my solution for the in-cab fuse panels, it's behind the dash on the passenger side, where the little speaker and factory amp used to be. One panel is always hot, the other is switched on and off with the key, and fed from a relay under the hood in my bussman panel.

 

[DancesWithMutts]

With that done, I re-did my gauges, adding a "mud pod". Everything in the pod is wired to Metri-pack connectors so I can easily pull the pod if I need to mess with it.

While I did this, I also deleted the after-market turbo-timer, and made my EGT gauge act as a automatic Turbo timer. When I turn off the key, everything loses power except the fuel cut-off solenoid and the gauges, once the temps hit 365, the circuit kills itself and the ruck shuts off. The red button will override the circuit and shut it down immediately.

 

[DancesWithMutts]

I had a work opportunity in Steamboat springs, and I was able to camp on the outskirts of town and pocket $150 a day in hotel expenses from my employer for the duration of the 5 week job. My alu-cab pretty much paid for itself, when my alarm would go off at 5am, I was in the cruiser driving by 5:15, at work by 5:45. It was perfect.
On a day that I had free, I was exploring some local roads and this happened. (hole in sidewall)

Thanks to this rock

That makes 2 Toyo's I have lost to sidewall damage. Bringing me down to 3 matching Toyo's, and one Falken that I got from a friend.
Rather than buy another tire in 285/75/16, which I had planned to switch away from anyway, I bought 4 new Cooper ST Max's in 255/80/17. I already had the Tundra rims in my garage, thank you craigslist.
Here is the old 285/75/16 next to the new 255/80/17

This new tire wheel setup is 15lbs heavier per corner than the old one! Hopefully that means less flats.
I like how the tundra rims look too.

 

[DancesWithMutts]

Unable to keep myself out of trouble for long, I hit the trails around Kremling, Co. There were down trees everywhere, and I got to put my cordless chainsaw through it's paces. It worked really well, but after about a dozen trees the battery died. It only has the 2.0 AH battery, and a 7.5 AH battery is available.

Not to let a couple of logs keep me from my destination, I tried to drive over these.

And ended up sliding entirely too close to comfort to this dead tree

Hi-lift to the rescue!

I was able to drag myself away from the dead tree, but still had to use my maxtrax to get myself out of the rut I was in.

I retreated back down the trail, but at least I got to use most of my recovery gear.

 

[DancesWithMutts]

 

[projectcruiser]

Unable to keep myself out of trouble for long, I hit the trails around Kremling, Co. There were down trees everywhere, and I got to put my cordless chainsaw through it's paces. It worked really well, but after about a dozen trees the battery died. It only has the 2.0 AH battery, and a 7.5 AH battery is available.

Not to let a couple of logs keep me from my destination, I tried to drive over these.

And ended up sliding entirely too close to comfort to this dead tree

Hi-lift to the rescue!

I was able to drag myself away from the dead tree, but still had to use my maxtrax to get myself out of the rut I was in.

I retreated back down the trail, but at least I got to use most of my recovery gear.

Glad the MAXTRAX worked well for you.

 

[Dilspec]

Great build