HDJ100 - Body off renovation, now with a hot dip galvanised frame *Picture Heavy*

[IndroCruise]

It's happening!

When I started the fluid looked clean and new-ish. Don't remember the exact number of pedal pumps until pedal drop, but was within the normal margin as described in other posts here. Booster motor was also running for the normal duration of ~30s with normal slightly buzzing sound.

The connection boots were almost pristine, very little corrosion.

The reservoir was pretty dark at the most common fluid level. I cleaned it with alcohol and then degreaser, followed by 30 minutes rinsing with water and then drying with the compressed air. The reservoir is an absolute pain to rinse! There are a lot of crevices where dirty water and solvents can get trapped.

I have created a Google Photos album with detailed photos of the AHC & brake pipes - LC100 AHC & brakes piping - https://photos.app.goo.gl/pDtpX5U8UFshfgX7A
I also did one for the (diesel) engine bay without the engine (and some missing AC pipes) - Land Cruiser HDJ100 Engine Bay - https://photos.app.goo.gl/QHpXPCL8d6fSJTrs7

Tomorrow I will be dropping the body on the chassis, so if anybody wants any other inside details, should ask here in the next 14 hours

Thank you!!

 

[silvarshooter]

Crazy build! Cool to see you used muriatic acid to remove the zinc where needed. We use that trick at work(carpentry) for hinges and hardware but as a way to strip them so they can then be rusted with a vinegar, peroxide and salt solution for rustic builds. It's amazing how fast it works!

 

[Njck22]

Crazy build! Cool to see you used muriatic acid to remove the zinc where needed. We use that trick at work(carpentry) for hinges and hardware but as a way to strip them so they can then be rusted with a vinegar, peroxide and salt solution for rustic builds. It's amazing how fast it works!

Intriguing. I’m curious, how did you mitigate seizing the hinges?

 

[silvarshooter]

Intriguing. I’m curious, how did you mitigate seizing the hinges?

We don't, the solution creates a good surface rust but not enough to seize the barrels so it hasn't been an issue. Opening and closing the hinges a few times after seems to break up any rust in the barrel. From our experience it doesn't even make them squeak. A couple drops of oil would be about all that is needed if theres an issue. P.S. this has all been for indoor applications( we're also in an arid area.) We finish by putting a few coats of clear on after to protect the patina.

If you're curious and want to experiment, the solution is basically majority peroxide, a small splash( literally, too much will produce poor results) of white vinegar and about a table spoon or less of salt, soak the bare metal and agitate it occasionally. Works rather fast.

 

[Moridinbg]

I do not know where does it come from, but mating a body with a chassis is called locally a "wedding". So in a small ceremony we pronounced them husband and wife

I kind of like that lift

Rear AC hoses. It wasn't very easy, but managed to attach them using the factory brackets. It would be one hell of a job trying to do that without separating the body off the chassis, particularly around the middle and rear crossmembers.

Finally!

Now for the string of bad news
1. Lots of brake fluid leaks from the rear axle left steel pipe. I had the pipe redone a few months ago...
2. I destroyed the thread for the AHC line going into the pump
3. The oil return hose from turbo to engine was cracked, of course we found out after everything is assembled and it's barely accessible.
4. The starter motor was refurbished together with the motor and now it doesn't cut off after engine start.
5. There is some doubt that the fuel pump advance is wrong. On the FTE timing is completely ECU controlled but the pump still has to be correctly fitted to the timing case.

And a video of the damned thing finally running. You can hear the starter motor grinding at the beginning. The 3" exhaust completely transformed the engine sound. It's much fuller and bass-ier now, closer to the V8 sound. Hard to capture this on phone video. With the stock exhaust it sounded a lot more agricultural.
CEL and ABS lights are due to the ABS ECU being completely disconnected.

 

[2001LC]

It was bound to have a few bugs, that needed working out. Good JOB!

 

[Moridinbg]

I did 2000km (~1300 miles) in the past few weeks. Initially I was very unimpressed with the engine response and performance, but I was also breaking it in, so was trying not to push it too much. Right around the first oil change at 1000 miles I noticed that I have put the passenger mat in the drivers footwell and I was not able to fully depress the acceleration pedal

This thing is a rocket now! Way way more responsive than before. 0-100 (0-60) is about the same, but it picks up low end speed way snappier and there is noticeable acceleration kick when stepping on the pedal going at 110-120kmh (70 miles), which was not the case before.
I was averaging 12.5-13l/100km (18-19mpg) at the pump when doing 120 with cruise control, now it is ~11.5/100 (20-21mpg). I calculated that in about 500 000km I will recoup the engine repairs I can now easily maintain 140kmh (87mph) which is the highway limit here, but fuel economy goes down to 16.5l/100 (14mpg) and with the MT tires 120 feels more comfortable. It should be a mix between the larger exhaust, new injector nozzles, remanufactured fuel pump and rebuilt engine.
The bigger intercooler dropped down intake temperatures massively. From 50-60C+ at 20C ambient now it is around 30C when doing 120kph. Should also help heaps when offroad low speed/low range.
I was planning to Unichip it and push the engine, but honestly with the response I have right now, I do not feel any need for more so won't be doing it anytime soon.

It feels much more tight in general - steering, cornering, bumps. All those new bushings have a very noticeable effect and I love it!
There is one unresolved issue though. The steering wheel is not centered. We tried to center it from the steering wheel itself, VGRS recalibration, wheel alignment, but to go straight the best I managed to get is having to hold it at 10 o'clock. It was exactly the same before taking everything apart. I suspect VGRS issues.

 

[Moridinbg]

After the break in period I immediately went on a few short offroad trips and very quickly managed to get stuck in a pretty deep bog hole. Made the mistake to open the door before looking though the window and got water on the driver side. The passenger side plug was not seated properly and water got there on it's own. The rear was higher so no water got there.

I lifted the carpet to wash it and let it dry and found a few presents from the PO. This cable mess is what turned out to be a (inactive) GPS/GSM tracker. It also turned out to be wired to the starter motor trough a relay, which I found out after I lost the ability to start the car while removing it At least now I have kill switch cables ready.
All electrical work done on the car has been consistently horrendous...

Splicing for the tracker I redid and resoldered that with heat shrink.

So I just removed the carpet, the sides, the headliner, everything. It's now or never to do the sound deadening.

I am using STP and CTK European products. Butyl damping mats, closed cell foam for the floor and doors, MLV-like material for under the carpet (MLV is virtually unknown in Europe?!), open cell foam for above the headliner and random hollow spaces, open/closed cell combo for the hood.

It's going mega slowly! It took me 12 hours to do the DS and PS footwells with just the butyl mats! I hope that when I go to the big flat space behind the frond seats it will be much quicker and I will have some practice by then, but I tought I would have been done with the butyl in a day or so... At least the foam and MLV do not need that much tight fit with the contours.

It's weird how sound is perceived as the source changes. With no interior and the factory bitumen deadener removed, engine and tyre noise is very loud, but as I covered the footwells, engine noise got very concentrated coming from the transmission tunnel, which I am yet to cover. It sounds louder too, even though it's not!

 

[LndXrsr]

So you just tore this truck apart top to bottom with an incredible body-off restoration of the frame and then immediately got it stuck in a mud hole?

This might be the single greatest thing ever done in a 100-series, and you, sir, are a hero...

 

[neoworm]

So you just tore this truck apart top to bottom with an incredible body-off restoration of the frame and then immediately got it stuck in a mud hole?

This might be the single greatest thing ever done in a 100-series, and you, sir, are a hero...

That's definitely not what I was thinking. Haha.

 

[Mike NXP]

So you just tore this truck apart top to bottom with an incredible body-off restoration of the frame and then immediately got it stuck in a mud hole?

This might be the single greatest thing ever done in a 100-series, and you, sir, are a hero...

Agreed

 

[Moridinbg]

Some people have the strange notion that after restoring it I would put it on a display or only drive it on Sundays downtown. I find that idea amusing

I am slowly progressing with the deadening even though I am pouring a lot of hours into it - this easily is more painstakingly time taking than anything related to stripping the frame... I vastly underestimated the amount of time and effort going into measuring and cutting.

I more or less covered everything apart from a small section at the rear end with the butyl sheets and that made **** all difference for tyre noise. I am driving around with no interior at all and the worn MT tyres are super loud. Today I did driver side front and rear doors and WOW! that easily cut the noise in half on that side. I already have the rear wheel arches covered both in the cabin and between cabin and outer wing and that barely changed it, but the doors sure did.

I will push myself to do the other two doors today. It takes me about 4 hours per door, including removing the tacky sh*t that holds the vapor membrane.
Thick (2.3mm) sheet inside the door, then 8mm closed cell foam. Thin (1.8mm) sheet instead of the vapour membrane

15mm open cell foam on the door cards (this one is using scraps from the ceiling)

I tried to put some foam on the sunroof shade, but the sunroof itself goes no more than a few mm above it, so not much place there.

 

[SNLC]

I have not read your whole thread yet.

Did you go through the head yet? I have torn down a number of FT and FTEs now and have found the heads to be very gunked up and clogged with carbon. Like a lot of EGR Toyota engines they seem to burn exhaust valves too. Besides that though, they are the best Toyota diesels ever made in my opinion.

Cheers

 

[astoriany]

Some people have the strange notion that after restoring it I would put it on a display or only drive it on Sundays downtown. I find that idea amusing

I am slowly progressing with the deadening even though I am pouring a lot of hours into it - this easily is more painstakingly time taking than anything related to stripping the frame... I vastly underestimated the amount of time and effort going into measuring and cutting.

View attachment 2665994

I more or less covered everything apart from a small section at the rear end with the butyl sheets and that made **** all difference for tyre noise. I am driving around with no interior at all and the worn MT tyres are super loud. Today I did driver side front and rear doors and WOW! that easily cut the noise in half on that side. I already have the rear wheel arches covered both in the cabin and between cabin and outer wing and that barely changed it, but the doors sure did.

I will push myself to do the other two doors today. It takes me about 4 hours per door, including removing the tacky sh*t that holds the vapor membrane.
Thick (2.3mm) sheet inside the door, then 8mm closed cell foam. Thin (1.8mm) sheet instead of the vapour membrane

View attachment 2666005


View attachment 2666003

15mm open cell foam on the door cards (this one is using scraps from the ceiling)

View attachment 2666009

I tried to put some foam on the sunroof shade, but the sunroof itself goes no more than a few mm above it, so not much place there.

How many sq ft of the sound deadening mats did you use to cover? I'm planning to do the same to my land cruiser. I was wondering how much I should get.

 

[Moridinbg]

I finally finished it! That was incredible amount of work. Whatever are people charging to do this - it's too little!
In the end I went through:
14sqm of vibro damping - 9sqm of 2.3mm and 5sqm of 1.8mm
9m2 closed cell foam - 6m2 6mm and 3m2 8mm
8.5m2 open cell foam - 6.5m2 7mm and 2m2 15mm
6.3m2 acoustic barrier
I have probably 0.5-1m2 of the 8mm closed cell foam left over and almost nothing of the rest. I wasted very little material - none open cell foam, probably less than a 1/3m2 butyl vibro damping.

The result is just WOW. It's like somebody turns the volume way down when I close the doors - kind of surreal. Very little outside noise gets inside. The diesel engine is way quieter and I can barely hear the 3" exhaust.
The tyres are still loud My biggest goal in this was to have silent MT tyres and they are considerably quieter than before, but still scream at 130kmh... Maybe if someday I remove the dash and do the firewall I will be able to do something about them, as it sounds like most of the tyre noise comes from the front. Every creak from the trim is super loud in that silence, so I will have to redo some of the panels.
My amplifier is drowned in mud so no idea about the music yet. The bluetooth speaker sounds about the same

Cross section of the 3 layers on the floor

End result

I had some surface rust on some of the seat brackets and all of the centre console brackets, so acid dip to strip, then epoxy primer, urethane paint. The console brackets are always rusty on all photos I have seen - why?

I came up with a more optimal distribution of the open cell foam in the door cards. You can fit a lot in there and pretty thick too. The only place that interferes with the door is the flat section next to the speaker hole on all doors. I wasn't able to fit more than a single 7mm layer there.

The wheel arch covers are the only piece of the interior that I had trouble fitting back, so I cut the bottom edge. It doesn't press the carpet that good any more, as I was hacking at it until I could put the covers back without measuring too much, but it is not awful. No space for foam on top of the arch due to the layer of materials I have put there.

More open cell foam in the rear windows trim piece

I was able to fit a lot of foam on the roof too. There is plenty of space behind the rear AC vents and between them and the sunroof. 20, maybe 30mm at some places. 10mm underneath the vents. Lots of space above the front windshield too, underneath the sunroof mechanism.

I did the hood too. Can't say there was much of difference from that. Engine noise seems to come mostly through the transmission tunnel.

Put the final piece of trim and carpet in 6am and at 11 I already was sliders deep in mud after a 3 week hiatus.

 

[saudi]

So you just tore this truck apart top to bottom with an incredible body-off restoration of the frame and then immediately got it stuck in a mud hole?

This might be the single greatest thing ever done in a 100-series, and you, sir, are a hero...

I agree

 

[Moridinbg]

So I made a RTT rack from the local equivalent of 8020. After looking through a few threads here I realised that US cruisers have a slot along the factory rack that European ones do not have! So jealous! My workaround was to get a thicker bar and cut through it so that it is low profile.

I put a 2mm piece of rubber between the racks and hold it down with a piece of scrap metal turned into brackets

This has been a loooong time comming

There are a few downsides - the brackets holding the tent to the 8020 bars are impossible to tighten with the bars mounted to the factory rack. Aligning everything, especially alone, is a nightmare. Looks like the best option is to mount the bars to the tent and then drop this as an assembly on top of the car. I do not plan to carry anything else on the roof. I can't enter neither the apartment building's underground parking, nor the other street level garage or our countryside house's garage with the tent on! I wanted to be able to make a ceiling contraption to lift and drop the tent from the car...

This project is slowly drawing to a close, if these things ever do. What I have left planned is solar, 270 awning and drawers, all DIY of course. Will take a break at least throughout June before starting to tackle this.
Might throw in some new speakers and amp - the sound deadening simultaneously upgraded noticeably the audio quality and emphasize the lack of it

 

[Moridinbg]

Did a first real use of the RTT. I wish I had this setup years ago! Also my girlfriend finally saw some use of this bottomless money and time pit

Replaced an inner tie rod end. There was A LOT of play. There was a hole in the boot last year for couple of weeks, evident by the rust in the tie rod.

Had the leather interior refurbished. Prices for new leather are prohibitive here. Had all seats, steering, shifter and armrest done for the price of the leather of a single seat.

Driver's seat before (colour is the same. Different light between the photos)

Replaced the music, starting with the speakers. European cruisers come with Pioneer amp and speakers, instead of JBL. Also speakers have rubber surrounds, instead of foam, which is nice, as factory were still perfect. Amp is 5x22W Pioneer unit branded with a Toyota part number.
Changed just the speakers for a start, Even playing through the factory amp there is massive improvement. They go MUCH lower and the highs are way clearer. Soundstage expanded too. Being in Europe, Hertz are actually a pretty good deal here. Will replace the amp with a free one from a friend soon and at some point I plan to go active with a Helix P Six DSP.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

This is the next level build! Between this, and folks converting to solid front axle and folks converting their 100 to utes - I can't call any of my stuff a "build" anymore!

I am glad you are turning this into a lifelong truck! Here in US the labor alone would be cost prohibitive to what you accomplished. A body off restoration usually makes them $80K+ trucks and of course, once that happens they become garage/museum queens forever

 

[Mike NXP]

Curious to see if that inner tie rod replacement will help with the steering pull / drifting