HJ45 (2H motor) complete vehicle rebuild thread

[vincent85]

Hey guys!,

I am new to the forum,

I surf the net trying to find good people to interact with and share knowledge. I was retired last year after being wounded in Afghanistan, so after my second chance at life I decided to put my dream of many years in motion and sell the condo that I own out right this fall and next year I am planning my trip to Dead Horse Alaska, to start down the Pan American to Central/South America (then to Africa if all is well).

My vehicle of choice after making a first mistake and having to sell my BJ40 after realizing there is no way I want to take a journey of this length in a SWB vehicle with me and my dog, is my now 1979 Toyota Land Cruiser HJ45. It has a 2H diesel engine in it, which was rebuilt not to long ago and the owner put in a new heavy duty clutch in the truck as well.

Off the top of my head here are some modifications I am thinking of doing:

- Dual battery setup
- Lockers front and rear (Aussie?)
- Fold out back storage lockers with sleeping platform on top
- Linex the inside of the vehicle
- Skid plates
- Roof rack/light bar
- Winch
- Dual tire, tire carriers in the back
- Tint of the windows
- 2-3 inch lift
- 31 inch MTT
- Hannibal RTT
- Snorkel
- Fridge connected to a isolated battery system inside recharged by solar
- New front bumper and fog lights
- Biggest gas tank upgrade I can put on it

I am sure I am missing something, but that is a macro snapshot. Can anyone give me a list of sites there are must haves to get parts for a FJ45/HJ45? Also any suggestions on this gear and a good place to find some of or any gear that I am missing? Please fill me in . I am not the HJ45 expert by any means, I just have a general understand of overland/expedition builds.

I look forward to getting the feedback of the community here and taking pictures as I build this project prior to my departure.

Sincerely,


Vincent

 

[vincent85]

Also FYI, here is the Land Cruiser!

 

[DomSmith]

Sounds like a good adventure. Just off the top of my head I would recommend heavy duty suspension to carry all that weight and probably a potable water storage setup. Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters is a good source for suspension (OME) and many other items.

Good Luck!

 

[vincent85]

Sounds like a good adventure. Just off the top of my head I would recommend heavy duty suspension to carry all that weight and probably a potable water storage setup. Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters is a good source for suspension (OME) and many other items.

Dood Luck!

Ah for course the suspension! Thank you for the link! I want some kind of potable water system that I can have a water pump on and have a shower. Not sure how I will do that yet.

 

[vincent85]

http://www.cruiseroutfitters.com/helton.html Hot shower there! Thanks for the link again.

 

[CycloSteve]

First things first...thank you for your service and sacrifice, Vincent, and welcome to Mud!

You may want to check out the adventures of Karin-Marijke and Coen in their HJ47.

http://www.landcruisingadventure.com/

They have been traveling for a LONG time, and post here on Mud too.

Mailking = their Mud username

Good folks, great pictures, plenty of amazing stories.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/complete-bj45-rebuild-start-next-week-in-bolivia.358410/

Looking forward to hearing about your build, and perhaps catching you on the trail one of these days.

 

[vincent85]

Thank you! I am excited to start this journey and meet others on theirs.

 

[45Kevin]

That's a great platform for an expedition truck.

I would never put an auto-locker in the front.

I have an auto locker (Aussi) in the back of my long wheel base 45 and it works flawlessly, but I would not put one in the front.

The birfield is a weak link in the Toyota drive train and locker take full advantage of that. Put a selectable locker in the front and learn how to use it without doing damage to the birfields.

Sounds like a great adventure you have planned and this is the best place to get info.

 

[vincent85]

45Kevin,

Thanks for the info! You know what is funny? I was just about to post about lockers. I am torn, but I agree on the Aussie locker in the rear. Which selectable to you prefer for the front? Is ARB really the only route to go for that?

Do you have a suggestion to beef up the birfield?

Do you recommend upgrade stuff link the tie rod and drag link or could I just leave that stock? I do not want to overdue it, but I do not want to miss and key weakness in the drive train.

Also any suggestion on a good place to get skid plates for the undercarriage or do I will I have to fab that myself?

Thanks!

 

[Doctor do Little]

Jasmine and Fabian are travelling through Africa.
They have a great Blog and you can read how they prepared their HJ47.
http://norbertsadventures.com/
Cheers
Peter

 

[45Kevin]

I don't have a front locker. I have a winch that will get me that extra (last) 50' or so if I get stuck.

I am a big fan of stock. The world is full of stock land cruisers that are 30 - 40 years old and running just fine. KISS.

There are improved birfields out there, like Longfields and some chromoly stuff, but all you are doing is moving the weak point to somewhere else that might be more difficult to fix / replace.

Just carry spare axles and birfields and learn how to change them in the field.

 

[Michael B]

Vincent thank you for your service to our country! I would suggest a High lift jack and jerry cans. Enjoy your well deserved trip.

Michael <><

 

[sneaky]

Diesel /Water separator filter, you never know what's in the tank from that last gas station.

If your troopy is from Aus, it may already have one as its a pretty common thing to do here.

 

[80nick]

Where are you located at? When you get closer you should post your rough route. Some crazy mofo's, like my self, might load up and join you for a week or two....

If you have contact with the PO or have a box of receipts I'd really go through that and see what they really "rebuilt". Did they do the injection pump and injectors for example. I'd make a real list of preventative maintenance items and really attack those.

Me personally, I'd skip a front locker, and just do a rear ARB. If you are going solo(plus dog), I would really try and build a sleeping platform inside with storage underneath and skip the roof rack/RTT if you can. I have grown to really hate stuff on my roof, and the increased wind resistance, and associated decrease in mileage. I like the stealth approach to expedition building. I have a 3B turbo in a 45 truck and I really try to make an effort to keep everything as light weight as possible without under-building the rig. You have a good list going. I'd think about adding at least a new/used comfy driver's seat. And get a good stereo system! That's about my 2 cents worth.

 

[ozcrusier]

This is a ozzie checklist but it should help
http://www.vehiclecomponents.com.au/Outback and Offroad Checklist.pdf

 

[vincent85]

Hey guys, thanks for that comments and advise! All well recieved!

80nick, I am located in Melbourne, FL, you?

 

[vincent85]

Question:

For my journey ( Elevation can get high in South American ), do I HAVE TO get a turbo? The 2H was not really designed, not saying you can't bolt one on. I see kits from like AXT, but they are like over $3,000. Trying to figure out if it is worth it and if it would add wear and tear to the truck.

I am considering a intercooler from AXT, unless anyone knows a similar quality here in the U.S.

 

[vincent85]

Update on my question regarding the turbo. After consulting many people, I am going with the AXT turbo and intercooler setup. I will post a thread when I start all my builds.

 

[daniel.watters]

I'd go limited slip rear locker (Spartan or Aussie) with a winch and call it a day.

I'm currently in Korea but have deployed a few times. Good luck to you and post pics of your build up and adventure.

 

[CycloSteve]

I may have a full-floater 60 series factory LSD with 4.56 gears. I went with ARB's on my build and 4.11's. Most folks just don't want the LSD, nor have a FF axle where they can use this carrier. I think it would work with your setup though (Aus-spec FF rear). The only sticky-wicket would be the need for either another 4.56 ring/pinion or to swap out for the front ones you have already. Let me know if you are interested and I will see if we can find it in my parts stash at Valley Hybrids. Would be happy to see it go to a good home and get to travel the world...won't be cheap to ship, though.