HJ45 - Troopy in Utah

[bruggles]

Hey all, I bought a 1979 HJ45 Australian Troopy less than a year ago and am working to get it running again. It came with the H engine that was seized (I got it to move a bit, but one of the cylinders is rusted). The rust is pretty typical rust front floors and some around the wheel wells and rear sill area. A real project and money pit for sure. Here is a picture that gives an idea of what I am working with. I wanted something a bit rougher because I want to make it my own without feeling bad about messing with a cruiser in great condition. I am putting in a fully rebuilt 5.3L LS, Saginaw steering, 6l80e tranny, split case transfer case, etc. in it.

After digging into, my biggest wish is that one of the POs didn't have a welder.

 

[bruggles]

A couple more pics:
- Top one is with the engine mocked up
- Second one is prepping to send the frame to the powder coater. The bracket in the rear is for a Blazer gas tank, it is already equipped for fuel injection, it fits nicely in the troopy, and it leaves room for me to drop the mid floor for a bench seat and some extra doors. Not sure what will materialize there, but I will lower the mounts and use blocks in the mean time, but my wife is dead set that she would like at a minimum 1 more door. I think I have a 5 gallon bucket's worth of Australian dirt in those frame rails, but other than the rear cross member that was welded to excessively the frame is in great shape. The crossmember is now sitting in pieces in my garbage can.

 

[love2fly]

Wish I could find one close by thats going to be a fine ride.

Cheers

 

[bruggles]

Wish I could find one close by thats going to be a fine ride.

Cheers

I totally lucked into this one. Well maybe... it was bare enough that I might have been money ahead buying one that was in better condition, but it will be an adventure.

I did finish the frame repair - about 20 threaded holes to repair or add, new rear cross member, repaired support braces, and some other random repairs on the frame. It is at the powder coater now hopefully to be finished this week

 

[love2fly]

Look forward to seeing your adventure unfold.
Enjoy the build as when its over you'll look for another adventure, I can see it coming.

Cheers

 

[bruggles]

Frame back from the powder coater

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Updates? Where in Utah are you?

 

[bruggles]

Updates? Where in Utah are you?

I am in STANSBURY PARK. I am surprised we haven't met, since I have probably been to Cruiser Outfitters like 20 times in the last year - thanks for having an amazing cruiser shop to help keep cruisers all around alive.

 

[bruggles]

As for an update, this one is going to be a doozy so I will split it into a few posts. I built bumpers and a tow bar for it (this will be a TOAD for roadtrips with our Skoolie that I converted a couple of years ago)

This is a pic of the bumper pre finishing with the tire and high lift jack mount. You can also see the fold down ladder on the right side. I plan to seat people in the back so the ladder will help people get in and out. It folds up and out of the way to keep the ground clearance in the rear. There are some more pics of the bumper and ladder below with one pic of the front bumper thrown in there as well.

All in, the bumpers took way more time than I anticipated, fitting, checking, welding, fitting, checking, etc. I probably have 40 hours into the front bumper, rear bumper with tire rack and stairs and the tow bar (not pictured). They are more finished than the pics, but I will update pics after powder coat. I know there have been conversations going around about the cost of building vs buying, and saying that cost wise the difference isn't huge - for me that wasn't even close to true. I have $450 into all the bumpers and tow bar including the high lift jack, bearings, clips and everything so it is way cheaper to build - assuming you have the tools. The trick is to get steel from a steel supplier not somewhere like metal supermarket (they are great for small stuff but overly expensive if you are getting full lengths). Also I haven't ever seen a bumper with fold down ladder for the FJs so buying isn't even an option. I am taking them to get powder coated as well which will put the cost a bit closer (probably around $300 for the rear bumper and $200 for the front).

 

[bruggles]

I installed and started plumbing the fuel tank. The rear mount works great - the fuel filler neck was a major pain, but I think it will be great to have it back here.

The engine is now fully assembled and almost fully wired. I am waiting on some brackets from the powder coater before I can finish the wiring.

All of the suspension is now installed, the brakes are mostly installed, and the fuel lines are mostly done too. I have started the wiring harness for the chassis, and worked on a bunch of other pieces as well.

Below is a pic of the tranny cooler mocked up and some of the exhaust.

I am hoping to start it this week and send a bunch of stuff to the powder coater. I did also finish the shifters for the tranny and transfer (I will post pics and or a video of the shifters when they get back from powder coat) - from the inside it will look pretty stock despite not being very stock.

 

[bruggles]

I continue working on this thing in every spare minute that I can find. I was able to start it it started so quick it scared me and I shut it off immediately. Good oil pressure, good idle, sounds great, drive by wire works and everything. This was a huge win since I did the wiring harness and programming by myself along with the engine rebuild and all of the connections to and from the engine.

 

[bruggles]

I sent a bunch of stuff to finish the chassis off to the powder coater and while I was waiting I started on the body.

As you can see the floor has seen better days, the whole front floor and the two supports under the floor are basically garbage, so I decided it would be best to pull the front section off of the cruiser to deal with all of it. The front actually came off quite easy, just some spot welds and help from a friend to get it off carefully.

 

[bruggles]

With the front section off I have started making some repair panels. I bought the ones I could find (front floor, outer and inner door frame, etc.) but I couldn't find the other pieces I needed so I made them.

These pieces and the corner pieces were a bit tricky to make, but they should do the trick. I also had to make the tools to make the panels, they will be handy for other random panels with similar features. The next two pics are of the power hammer tool and dies that I made to make the ribs in the floor. It has the flexibility to make any profile with just new dies that are made from 1/4 steel without too much difficulty.

The next pic is of the positioning tool for recesses or to finish the ribs off right, it basically holds a punch and die perfectly aligned to use on a press or with a hammer to make indents. It worked surprisingly well. The tool in it is for the recessed hole in the panel.

 

[bruggles]

More patch panels and the structure pieces below the floor. Some of these panels take quite a bit of time to get to fit right, but I am making some progress, just need to clean them up a bit and start welding them in.

 

[bruggles]

A ton of holes in the dash to patch

 

[redfj45can]

 

[bruggles]

View attachment 3646023

I totally missed that talking lion when I took the picture. I guess I will just have to leave that giant hole

 

[NOSAJ]

Amazing work! Can you explain a little more how you made the ribs in these pictures? Thanks!
Jason

 

[redfj45can]

 

[bruggles]

Amazing work! Can you explain a little more how you made the ribs in these pictures? Thanks!
Jason

View attachment 3646279

I used this tool and concept for inspiration for the body of the ribs

For the ends I made a punch die combo on the lathe and cut a rib section out so it would just finish the end in the shape that I wanted. These tools mounted in the locating tool that I made so they stayed in line with each other.