just something else to go wrong.... I don't think he will bother with that liability.
HDJ81 guts in FJ80
- Thread starter huckthehaus
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just something else to go wrong.... I don't think he will bother with that liability.
won't be missed in the new truck.... I plan on picking up an ARB fridge potentially in the summer....
- Thread starter
- #24
lol, I will always have stock fridge envy. That thing worked amazing! I'll probably install it and plug it in, but I haven't committed to getting the AC going again yet. The 1HDT compressor shat the clutch last winter, and the 3FE compressor is a no-go. I've been thinking about converting to onboard air instead of AC. I don't mind the heat but the dust kinda sucks!
There is a shop in Whistler that can do custom automotive AC lines, but that would take me halfway to a good portable electric fridge anyway, which I could also run in the boat, etc...
Thanks, like to wheel with you again one day too. Halfway options exist, Hut Lake or maybe between Lillooet and Harrison Lake... cheers
There is a shop in Whistler that can do custom automotive AC lines, but that would take me halfway to a good portable electric fridge anyway, which I could also run in the boat, etc...
Thanks, like to wheel with you again one day too. Halfway options exist, Hut Lake or maybe between Lillooet and Harrison Lake... cheers
hey hey dylan...
awesome build man! cant wait to see it in action. how/whered you roll the 81? let us know when shes ready to run...i think jeff would enjoy hut in the snow!
awesome build man! cant wait to see it in action. how/whered you roll the 81? let us know when shes ready to run...i think jeff would enjoy hut in the snow!
- Thread starter
- #26
Thanks Sonny. I live on the bottom of the Birkenhead FSR... One Sunday morning back in May this year, me and two friends jumped in the truck, sleds and trailer already attached and tied down from the prior weekend. We got to 5km and I noticed my buddies machine creeping its way off the trailer in the LH mirror. I should've paid more attention to the road, because I lost control coming out of a twist in the road, skidded right off and at least 50 feet down a very steep bank. Truck rolled 1.5 times, the trailer and sleds got launched further down. We got stopped by some little trees.
We were lucky as all hell to walk away with scrapes and bruises. My sled totalled, truck totalled, trailer and other two sleds lightly damaged.
We were lucky as all hell to walk away with scrapes and bruises. My sled totalled, truck totalled, trailer and other two sleds lightly damaged.
Good work dude!! Some of that did not look like fun. Must go wheeling soon. Your not planing to make the body too pretty are you?? You know that ferry line ups are the best place to punch dents out of doors 
I was sad to see the pictures and am glad you were okay. I must admit I had butterfly's thinking that I just might be able to turf the 2lte and install a real motor
Good to see everything's working out for you. Try to keep it up right at least for a little while anyways.
Take care
I was sad to see the pictures and am glad you were okay. I must admit I had butterfly's thinking that I just might be able to turf the 2lte and install a real motor Good to see everything's working out for you. Try to keep it up right at least for a little while anyways.Take care
- Thread starter
- #28
Thanks Jeff!
A lot of this wasn't fun, only because I could think of a trillion things I'd rather be doing! It's really not that hard a swap, just time consuming. Cheap though! And you know, everytime I started getting fed up, I just reminded myself how lucky I was not to have hurt or killed one of my friends or myself, and that doing a LHD conversion was getting off really easy in the scheme of things.
Finished all wiring today. Did not install dash as I have a FZJ80 LHD HVAC system coming later this week from Washington and I am waiting on a regi reprint anyway. It kinda sucks being outside right now, as it is -18 with the wind chill, but I am a man on a mission. I took the lady's 89 Hilux up the Birkenhead yesterday morning and got stuck in the white stuff. We're good to go for sledding, just waiting on the Cruiser to tow the barge. Irony is, by the time the Cruiser is on the road officially, there will probably be enough snow to ride from my doorstep.
A lot of this wasn't fun, only because I could think of a trillion things I'd rather be doing! It's really not that hard a swap, just time consuming. Cheap though! And you know, everytime I started getting fed up, I just reminded myself how lucky I was not to have hurt or killed one of my friends or myself, and that doing a LHD conversion was getting off really easy in the scheme of things.
Finished all wiring today. Did not install dash as I have a FZJ80 LHD HVAC system coming later this week from Washington and I am waiting on a regi reprint anyway. It kinda sucks being outside right now, as it is -18 with the wind chill, but I am a man on a mission. I took the lady's 89 Hilux up the Birkenhead yesterday morning and got stuck in the white stuff. We're good to go for sledding, just waiting on the Cruiser to tow the barge. Irony is, by the time the Cruiser is on the road officially, there will probably be enough snow to ride from my doorstep.
"lol, I will always have stock fridge envy." You can't give up the beer fridge
My compressor, condenser, dryer and lines are in great shape and collecting tons of dust in the crawl space and looking for a new home and R-12 refill is no problem either. Just say the word and it's yours.
My compressor, condenser, dryer and lines are in great shape and collecting tons of dust in the crawl space and looking for a new home and R-12 refill is no problem either. Just say the word and it's yours.- Thread starter
- #30
"lol, I will always have stock fridge envy." You can't give up the beer fridge
Kicked em out when you put the intercooler in didja?
That sounds awesome! You got a P/N and pic of that compressor Jeff?
There you go. I don't know if it will fit, but nothing a custom bracket won't solve.
- Thread starter
- #32
P/N is different. But it looks the same. Can you measure from the back of pulley to the center of the first bolt hole, and hole centers, x&y?
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How is this coming along?
Any pictures of it all done?
Looking at doing something similar.
Do you think it would have been better/easier to start with a FZJ80 and why?
Any pictures of it all done?
Looking at doing something similar.
Do you think it would have been better/easier to start with a FZJ80 and why?
Wow...nice work...impressive! 
Is it the whole AC clutch you need or just to stator coil? If it's just the stator, I bought a 12V one from Dave in Japan...and IIRC it was around $60. I needed it to convert my compressor to 12V.
Is it the whole AC clutch you need or just to stator coil? If it's just the stator, I bought a 12V one from Dave in Japan...and IIRC it was around $60. I needed it to convert my compressor to 12V.
- Thread starter
- #36
Yeah, the truck has been on the road since boxing day 2010. It still needs paint and I still haven't rebuilt the front end/installed the front e-locker, but I put about 10,000 troublefree km on the build to date.
The truck is wired for the '93+ electric HVAC, but I'm still running the '91 system for lack of having the proper '93+ LHD parts. (I traded my JDM swing out tire carrier for the proper parts from a mud member, but they were damaged- or smashed I should say, in shipping.
I also no longer have the self retracting mirrors or the fridge. A/C system has been turfed for a future intercooler and OBA.
I've started to build it into a dedicated wheeling/camping rig, but I have too many projects on the go right now. I've added some gauges, a brake controller, in cab winch controls (M12000 and bumper I fabbed back in 2008 when I got my HDJ81).
Everything else is installed and working flawlessly, including the 24V cranking and factory glow, lockers, etc.
If I did it all over again, I'd have started with a mint FZJ80 or LX450. I put 120-150 hours into this build and the exterior looks like ass due to the P.O.'s primer job. The part that matters more to me, the interior, is well used too. Oh well, if I 'm gonna start wheeling it like I did with the old one, I might as well paint it myself.
Mud is a great resource. Wish I had more time for my truck.
is LHD and RHD handbrake cable interchangeable? with the build you did, you must have encountered handbrake swap between the two. nice build.
- Thread starter
- #39
The stock LHD fj80 cable is too short to work with the hdj81 full floater disc rear end. Used the rhd 81 cable, it was a bit longer.
thanks huckthehaus. i am about to transfer the stock icebox on the left hand side. convert rhd to lhd. i have sourced an lhd shift console and am about to transfer the icebox after some extensive research. but to do this i need to transfer handbrake from rhd to lhd side. my concern is could i use the existing hdj81 handbrake cables if i transfer the handbrake from rhd to lhd side? like just swapping left with right handbrake cable?i searched and your thread was the closest i could find.