HJ61 rebuild from Holland

[cruisermatt]

Ahh, did realize you were putting a bumper over that. Carry on !

 

[Jentuh]

Yeah, finally got the bumper back from powder coat and got it installed

The actual tow hook still needs painting.
I just need to weld on some thing to connect the small cable that can activate the brake.

Looks out of line on the pic, but luckily it's straight in real life!

Allthough lights were not sorted out yet, I just had to take it for a test run...

One step closer to...... Hell, who am I kidding. It'll never be finished
Next up is checking play in the power steering to make it a little less like driving 'the A-team' bus.
Followed by designing and fabrication of the roofrack.

I'm a big fan of www.prinsudesignstudio.com And I'll try to accomplish the same kind of looks....

 

[Jentuh]

Time for an udate:

8th till 12th of September we attended Buschtaxi meeting in Germany. A massive get together of around 1000 Cruisers!

On of the rigs was a very nice HJ61. I really like the front with the chrome and LED headlights.

Lots and lots of Cruisers, giving lots and lots of inspiration for new mods.

Finally found some interior lighting that will work. They can be selected at either white or orange light. I hope to create lighting inside the cabin that can be activated during driving, allowing the passenger to find stuff in the dark without the driver being blinded. I hope to realize this with the orange dimmed light.

Today I got the Cruiser to the annual inspection.

One of the stabilizer brackets has been lost somewhere this year...

New bracket in place

 

[Jentuh]

Although not a remark during inspection, I found some play on the front bearings.
Tonight I tightened left, and will do right tomorrow

Brake shoes have served their time, and need replacement.
Drums are well within spec and can serve anothor few years.

I't been a year on the road after the big rebuild. She still looks clean and almost without rust.
This winter I'll clean her up thoroughly and then check for small rust spots. The plan is to check this annually to keep it under control

The plan for the next year or so has been made at the Buschtaxi meeting.

1: Install a 3" exhaust
2: Install a front mount Inter-cooler
3: Install a Wink4x4 turbo. This will increase the original 136hp (?) upto a little over 200, and increase the torque from 350Nm (?) upto approx 600Nm.

Those guys developed their own Turbo, by machining the housing, install their own turbine and do some other stuff to it. I have to admit that I'm not too much into turbo's to understand all the details.

They were @ Buschtaxi in a 45 series with a '12HT - Wink Turbo'd'. Holy smokes, I was impressed after a trial run in it. Very quick spinning-up turbo, and loads of torque at low rev!!

I'll keep you posted once started on the Stainless exhaust

 

[HoJo 61]

I think stock maxed out IP can barely give you 200hp at max. If you (or i) wanted more than that you would need to get bigger fuel elements in your IP and that's €€€... What is the cost of Wink turbo? Their website leaves a lot to be desired..

Buschtaxi meeting looks like a lot of fun!

 

[Jentuh]

Those are the numbers I've been told.
In a few weeks I'll head over to their shop to pick up my new exhaust damper. I'll check on current pricing and power / torque figures then!

 

[mcguirejohnson]

Wow, damn good job on the rebuild.
Post up your findings with the wink turbo please! I want to have either one of those or a g-turbo under my hood one day..

 

[SteveH]

A staggering amount of work has gone into this truck - enjoy it (and yes, inspect it yearly for rust...)

 

[TLC Norway]

Good stuff! Will definitely go to the bushtaxi event some day. I have one or two years booked, but I might shuffle it in. Looks like a perfect event every year!!

 

[hdjtachtig]

Wow, just found this thread. You did a nice job! We also used to have a 86 hj61. The rust was worse then you had. It was an original Dutch car with 'grijs kenteken' (commercial vehicle). Once it got tax free we had it registered as a geel kenteken normal car, found a decent body to replace the rusted out one, and then the tax rules changed. After we had it parked a couple of years we sold it and it is scrapped for parts now (but the engine lives on). Now all of our time is getting in restoring the 1962 fj40. And we have a 63 LV waiting.

The 12HT is a great engine! Felt better then the 1HD-FT in our 80. I have no experience in tuning, but IMO the performance is good enough as it is. Extra power is always nice but don't overdo it with the risk to break things. OTOH I think Wink nows what they are doing...

 

[User Name]

Great restoration! Not sure if you have sorted tires/rims yet but I prefer 15" wheels on 33 or 35", the extra tyre works well offroad when deflating.

 

[Kaasdief]

Baie goeie werk! Jy wou regtig die trok hê. (Very good work! You really wanted this truck.)

 

[Jentuh]

So, I finally got all the parts sorted out for then new 3" exhaust.

As a damper I'm going for the Jones JT-3030XL

I't quit big, but will fit in nicely between chassis rail and the sill. I'm going for a side pipe, in order to avoid the tricky bend over the rear axle.

Inner fender removed. I'll need to modify that one as the exhaust will pass through it

 

[Jentuh]

I got a flange that bolt straight to the turbo from Wink4x4

Since it's stainless steel, I needed to either get new gas and welding wire for the MIG welder or go with electrode welding.

For this I chose the cheap way and decided to use electrodes for welding.
Never done it before, so made a few trial welds. Not to bad for a first timer.

I opened up a 90 degree elbow, as I start with the oval shape on the turbo.

Also opened up the 3", 2mm thick pipe I got to taper it down from oval to round.

Damper roughly in position

 

[Jentuh]

main items tagged in place

Trial and error with welding position and settings, but I got a good hang of it

Again, trial and error. Some welds are good, some require some grinding...

This is it for now, coming week I'll continue.

I'l get a flexible part directly after the elbow directing it horizontal. I also got an addition flange, but i'm still not sure about necessity of making the exhaust partible... What do guys think?

 

[Jentuh]

The exhaust is finished!

I made the split right behind the flexible part:

For a first timer with stainless steel electrode welding, I'm pretty excited with the outcome

Bracket for mounting

Tagged in place

 

[Jentuh]

Exhaust in place, Only have to cut my inner fender to make space for the 3"

Bracket in place, right after the flexible part

The end result!

The sound is awesome!! When the engine is working hard, it makes a deep roar followed by a very nice wissle when shifting gears.

When cruising at cruise speed the sound is comparable with the orignal, a little louder and deeper.
This is the exact combination that I was looking for.

Allthough I find it difficult to judge, it feels as if it has some more power, and picks up quicker at lower revs when accelerating.

Step one is (almost) finished. Just need to get the inner fender back in place. Next big project might just be an intercooler.... Or one of the other things on the wishlist

 

[HoJo 61]

Great work!

 

[cruisedeisel]

Nice build! Time to do some fuel mods.

 

[Paul07]

I want one for christmas.what would be the price for this master piece of enginiering?