- Thread starter
- #21
??? You mean get a Nissan rear too ??? they're centered so not so good.
I thought the HD cruiser diffs were 10"? Are they only 9"? They're suitably bigger anyway & common enough, that's what I'll be using.
Cheers
Clint
Intro & LJ71 Project
- Thread starter clintnz
- Start date
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??? You mean get a Nissan rear too ??? they're centered so not so good.
I thought the HD cruiser diffs were 10"? Are they only 9"? They're suitably bigger anyway & common enough, that's what I'll be using.
Cheers
Clint
All cruiser are 9.25. I thought the Patrol t/case hung the same way as a cruiser. I will have a look today.
- Thread starter
- #23
Sorry about the delay Sajidd, here's a couple more pics with some detail of the snorkle & airbox setup:
Offroad-Express • View topic - Clints Cruiser Project
Cheers
Clint
Offroad-Express • View topic - Clints Cruiser Project
Cheers
Clint
- Thread starter
- #25
Hi all, it's been a while. No mods to report for a while as the LJ71 has been doing the business as the bush/hunting/touring/towing rig with few issues for the last several years.
Then... I was just cruising up the track the other day to go for a hunt & started getting one of those bad noises from the rear end.
Of the Landcruiser
This is the 2nd time I've lunched a back diff so I decided to see if I could find a stronger ring & pinion. I located some at the local wreckers in an 80 series. Of course there are a couple of other bits required to put a 9.5" R&P in the back of an LJ71 so I got them too. With all that I'll need a wider front axle to match & the original one is too small anyway so I pulled the Nissan GQ front diff that I had been saving for just such an occasion out of the bushes & gave it a Brazilian & a few other beauty treatments.
Just got a package of goodies to rebuild the GQ knuckles & calipers so into that next. It looks like with new dropped & further outboard chassis end radius arm mounts for rose joint modded GQ arms, shifted spring perches on the axles & new shock mounts on the chassis the GQ axle should go in the front fairly stress free. I'll be trying to copy stock GQ geometry as much as possible so it drives nice. Main question is how much lift to clear 35's nicely. I don't want to go too tall so hacking out the guards is also being considered.
Currently on the way from Ironman 4x4 is an Eaton E-locker for the 80 rear diff.
With the rear I'd like to use the 80 style 4 link setup rather than the original LJ71 2x radius arm but I have yet to measure up precisely to see what will fit. I know I'd need to move the diff spring perches & upper arm mounts inboard if I want to keep the springs in the same place on the chassis.
...Got the hubs back on & the GQ front axle track measured up at 1597mm wide. Maybe plus or minus a mm or 2 as I just eyeballed that the hubs were sitting straight. The 80 series rear width is 1600mm. So that's one less thing to mess with
Cheers
Clint
Then... I was just cruising up the track the other day to go for a hunt & started getting one of those bad noises from the rear end.
This is the 2nd time I've lunched a back diff so I decided to see if I could find a stronger ring & pinion. I located some at the local wreckers in an 80 series. Of course there are a couple of other bits required to put a 9.5" R&P in the back of an LJ71 so I got them too. With all that I'll need a wider front axle to match & the original one is too small anyway so I pulled the Nissan GQ front diff that I had been saving for just such an occasion out of the bushes & gave it a Brazilian & a few other beauty treatments.
Just got a package of goodies to rebuild the GQ knuckles & calipers so into that next. It looks like with new dropped & further outboard chassis end radius arm mounts for rose joint modded GQ arms, shifted spring perches on the axles & new shock mounts on the chassis the GQ axle should go in the front fairly stress free. I'll be trying to copy stock GQ geometry as much as possible so it drives nice. Main question is how much lift to clear 35's nicely. I don't want to go too tall so hacking out the guards is also being considered.
Currently on the way from Ironman 4x4 is an Eaton E-locker for the 80 rear diff.
...Got the hubs back on & the GQ front axle track measured up at 1597mm wide. Maybe plus or minus a mm or 2 as I just eyeballed that the hubs were sitting straight. The 80 series rear width is 1600mm. So that's one less thing to mess with
Cheers
Clint
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #26
This is a condensed version of my build thread off the old offroad express forum:
July 3 2013:
...I was wondering how much lift to engineer in to clear 35's. I think I'm going to set it up to have axle centres 50mm lower than std, with all radius arm mounts placed to keep geometry as similar as possible to the std suspension on the diff donors. Any suggestions on this welcome. I might trim the guards up to get the last inch or so of clearance.
No pics of any progress, all the action recently has been rolling around on the floor with the tape measure going 'Hmmm...' I had a crawl around under the neighbour's 80 series the other night & got a few measurements off that, the diffs on the bench & under mine. It looks like fitting the rear 80 4-link should be fairly easy, plenty of room for the top arms in the Prado & a couple of well placed x-members to attach a bracket too. Biggest issue will be moving spring & upper arm mounts inboard.
In the front the pumpkin will be close to the RH chassis rail on full squish but it doesn't look like I'll lose any travel. Panhard might be close too.
Measured up the rear track on the Prado too, 1415mm. So the new setup is 185mm wider. However if I go from the -25mm backspacing on my current rims to zero that is 135mm overall, or ~70mm wider each side than currently, which seems sensible when I hold the ruler up to the wheel & go 'Hmmm...' Bigger flares will be required of course
July 12 2013:
Just sent off a few notes & pics to the certifier to make sure I'm not going to snooker meself with anything & to check if my welding looks ok. Got the go ahead there so time to start hacking stuff up
Saturday was a great day to be in the shed with a warm welder so made a little progress on the back diff, set up a jig to keep the upper arms aligned while being moved in 40mm each side:
The axle spring mounts will be reattached about 50mm inboard each side & 50mm further forward to match the LJ71 upper spring mounts
July 22
Some more minor progress, front calipers all rebuilt & fitted. Front arms threaded for rod ends.
I've been keeping an eye out for some 16x8" rims on trademe & found some for sale close by last week. Good quality ROH jobbies in the desired black colour with -12 backspace which should be ok. They came with some tyres too.
August 20 2013
Fitted up the new rubber before the axle-ectomy to check clearance:
The Cruiser guards are actually quite roomy. Some trimming will be needed though.
With entropy & a 3/4" rattlegun on the job the old axle came out pretty quick.
The old axle & tyres were last seen heading for Huntly on the tray of a hilux so there's no going back now
Currently sorting out bits & pieces for fitting the GQ axle, machined up an adapter washer for the driveshaft last night & redrilled the flange:
Had a look at the tyre vs front radius arm clearance on full lock:
With the steering stops unmoved from what was probably the factory position on the GQ the 36's just kiss the arm, so the -12 backspace rims are perfect
Sept 24 2013
Time to get back into it after the last few weekends have all been spent helping mates with Taupo 1000 prep.
The GQ axle got rolled under, clamped into place & jacked up & down to check clearances. The panhard mount on the chassis was in the way so that got hacked off. Looks good otherwise. It would have been nice to have the axle a bit further forward but as I could only shift the steering box about an inch without major re-engineering of the front end I decided to leave it in place & the axle will be in about the same spot as the original. Next the old radius arm mouts got chopped off the chassis & fabrication of the new mounts, lower & further back, started. Getting these located properly in all directions took a bit of time.
Pedal to the metal on the 200A TIG sticking these together:
Oct 7 2013
Slow but steady progress over the last week. Panhard mount:
This had to be relocated further forward to clear the diff & a bit lower to get the angle right. I've seen these broken off with the combo of big tyres & too much loud pedal so I stuck to the workshop motto of 'nothing exceeds like excess' & made it a bit stronger than std
With that done it was on to the axle spring/shock mounts. Further back to match the top spring mount & packed up to clear the rear radius arm mount. More metal still to be added to these when I pull the axle back out to fully weld them.
...& then she was able to sit on her own 4 wheels again. Shock mounts next, then bumpstops, make up a proper steering arm, put in all new bushes, plumb the brakes, trim the guards... & I'll be 1/2 way there.
Oct 21 2013
Front end mostly done now. Just need to trim the guards, get some longer shocks & a couple of other minor bits & pieces.
Looks a bit goofy but I drove it across the paddock & down the street & back without any issues. Then back in the shed to start on the rear end.
Tore out the old axle & scraped & brushed about a 1/2 ton of dried mud out from underneath, now ready for the next round of fabrication
At 1st look it doesn't seem like grafting in the 80 axle & suspension will present any major puzzles.
May 30 2014
Too much other fun stuff to do over summer has meant fairly slow progress, but I am gradually getting there. All the rear suspension mounts are now done & dusted & the axle is in for hopefully the last time.
I have tried to copy the 80 series geometry as much as possible.
Thanks to Dan's sheetmetal skillz the wheel arch edges were cut & shifted up about 50mm, just finished migging all those back in & painting/sealing. Dan also helped set up the back diff, all rebuilt with a terrain tamer bearing kit & the Ironman/Harrop/Eaton electric locker.
That's now in the housing, next up is connecting & bleeding the brakes. I also need to work out a longer handbrake cable - might try a MWB 70 one from the wreckers.
The 80 series springs I got with the axle may be a bit wide/stiff/tall but I think I'll give them a go, will help to work out what I need if nothing else. Need to source some shocks too, ideally something not too big in diameter as space is tight.
Other major items on the list are getting a driveshaft made (need to see if I can get a matching bigger flange for the transfer case) & making up the new exhaust. The top arms in the back are where the muffler used to be so I'll be feeding a pipe down each side of the chassis & out the back with home built mufflers under the doors.
Jun 23 2014
Basic structure of the new exhaust now done, still need to swap the cobys in the front, add some hangers & sort joins/flanges. See also chopped guards.
With the pipes in place I can now finish the mods to the sides of the rear bar & start thinking about side bars.
Another pic of the chopped front guard:
Jul 4 2014
Progress continues...
Rear bar has been modded to clear the tyres & fitted back up. Also made a shield to go at the back of the RH wheel arch & protect the fuel filler hose.
Rancho 5000 rear shocks arrived from Summit & have been fitted. These were one of the few things in the conversion that have actually just bolted on with no mods at either end. I was a bit worried about clearance off the springs & chassis at full squish but with the bump stops packed down to keep the tyres off the sheetmetal she's all good.
I finally got my handbrake cable after it went to the wrong address, looks like it might fit up without mods... maybe. Into that this weekend .
Jul 8 2014
More minor progress, handbrake cable went in sweet with a few small mods to brackets. It did take quite a lot of rolling around under the wagon trying different routing before finding the right arrangement that would take up the extra length, not foul on anything & not have any tight bends .
The cable came an Oz outfit on trademe, 'allfourx4' It was about $70 delivered & seems pretty good value. Only issue was they didn't put the right address on the package so it went to a place down the road & I almost never saw it.
Need to get some more argon before finishing the exhausts, so it was onto the other major item left to do, the rear driveshaft. Turns out the 75 series driveshaft I got has quite a short slip yoke spline compared to my original, too short for the travel I need, so instead of shortening that shaft, plan B will be to fit the bigger UJ's off it onto the existing LJ71 shaft with it's longer spline. So it was into the 'machine shop' to spin off the welds:
Jul 15 2014
Got one end of the driveshaft done, still need to upsize the other end & make it a bit longer but it'll do for preliminary testing. If anyone has a munted Prado driveshaft I'm buying, need the t-case end female spline - then I could make up another whole female end & keep the current one as a spare.
Got the exhaust all finished over the weekend, NO RATTLES! The old setup didn't have much room in a couple of places so a bit of a tweak or a flex would always leave it rattling somewhere.
So last night it was time to visit 'a closed road under controlled conditions' for a little test drive ... and it drove pretty well! No vibes, wobbles, pulls or shakes. I didn't push it too much but I think it handles not too bad for a SWB on big Simexs. A bit over geared of course, but a set of lower ratio t-case gears was always in the plan, & they have the option of an 8% high range underdrive which I think I'll be getting. Just need to double check speeds/revs/ratios before ordering.
Still a big list of stuff to do before some offroad testing next month, & another list to work through before getting a cert, but it's real nice to be rolling.
Jul 18 2014
So I did a few gearing calculations for the 4.11 diffs (vs original 4.88) & the big tyres & worked out that if I can rev out in 5th I should hit 275 km/h... Somehow I don't think I'll be able to fit a blower big enough...
So I have just ordered some new transfer case gears from Marks Adapters in Oz, 55% lower low range which will bring it back very close to stock & 8% lower hi range which should have it doing about 2200rpm in 5th @ 100km/h on the road.
Marks Adapters had an NZ distributor listed but when I enquired with them they wanted over $800 more than the price in Oz Not the best business model for them as my gears are currently on the way to an Oz workmate who is coming over in a few weeks. I could have flown to Oz & collected them myself & still come out better off!
Busy on some painting now, want to get that done ahead of putting flares on etc, so she'll look like quite a different wagon by next week. Am using my mentor Klembo's top secret methods in automotive coatings technology
Cheers
Clint
July 3 2013:
...I was wondering how much lift to engineer in to clear 35's. I think I'm going to set it up to have axle centres 50mm lower than std, with all radius arm mounts placed to keep geometry as similar as possible to the std suspension on the diff donors. Any suggestions on this welcome. I might trim the guards up to get the last inch or so of clearance.
No pics of any progress, all the action recently has been rolling around on the floor with the tape measure going 'Hmmm...' I had a crawl around under the neighbour's 80 series the other night & got a few measurements off that, the diffs on the bench & under mine. It looks like fitting the rear 80 4-link should be fairly easy, plenty of room for the top arms in the Prado & a couple of well placed x-members to attach a bracket too. Biggest issue will be moving spring & upper arm mounts inboard.
In the front the pumpkin will be close to the RH chassis rail on full squish but it doesn't look like I'll lose any travel. Panhard might be close too.
Measured up the rear track on the Prado too, 1415mm. So the new setup is 185mm wider. However if I go from the -25mm backspacing on my current rims to zero that is 135mm overall, or ~70mm wider each side than currently, which seems sensible when I hold the ruler up to the wheel & go 'Hmmm...' Bigger flares will be required of course
July 12 2013:
Just sent off a few notes & pics to the certifier to make sure I'm not going to snooker meself with anything & to check if my welding looks ok. Got the go ahead there so time to start hacking stuff up
Saturday was a great day to be in the shed with a warm welder so made a little progress on the back diff, set up a jig to keep the upper arms aligned while being moved in 40mm each side:
The axle spring mounts will be reattached about 50mm inboard each side & 50mm further forward to match the LJ71 upper spring mounts
July 22
Some more minor progress, front calipers all rebuilt & fitted. Front arms threaded for rod ends.
I've been keeping an eye out for some 16x8" rims on trademe & found some for sale close by last week. Good quality ROH jobbies in the desired black colour with -12 backspace which should be ok. They came with some tyres too.
August 20 2013
Fitted up the new rubber before the axle-ectomy to check clearance:
The Cruiser guards are actually quite roomy. Some trimming will be needed though.
With entropy & a 3/4" rattlegun on the job the old axle came out pretty quick.
The old axle & tyres were last seen heading for Huntly on the tray of a hilux so there's no going back now
Currently sorting out bits & pieces for fitting the GQ axle, machined up an adapter washer for the driveshaft last night & redrilled the flange:
Had a look at the tyre vs front radius arm clearance on full lock:
With the steering stops unmoved from what was probably the factory position on the GQ the 36's just kiss the arm, so the -12 backspace rims are perfect
Sept 24 2013
Time to get back into it after the last few weekends have all been spent helping mates with Taupo 1000 prep.
The GQ axle got rolled under, clamped into place & jacked up & down to check clearances. The panhard mount on the chassis was in the way so that got hacked off. Looks good otherwise. It would have been nice to have the axle a bit further forward but as I could only shift the steering box about an inch without major re-engineering of the front end I decided to leave it in place & the axle will be in about the same spot as the original. Next the old radius arm mouts got chopped off the chassis & fabrication of the new mounts, lower & further back, started. Getting these located properly in all directions took a bit of time.
Pedal to the metal on the 200A TIG sticking these together:
Oct 7 2013
Slow but steady progress over the last week. Panhard mount:
This had to be relocated further forward to clear the diff & a bit lower to get the angle right. I've seen these broken off with the combo of big tyres & too much loud pedal so I stuck to the workshop motto of 'nothing exceeds like excess' & made it a bit stronger than std
With that done it was on to the axle spring/shock mounts. Further back to match the top spring mount & packed up to clear the rear radius arm mount. More metal still to be added to these when I pull the axle back out to fully weld them.
...& then she was able to sit on her own 4 wheels again. Shock mounts next, then bumpstops, make up a proper steering arm, put in all new bushes, plumb the brakes, trim the guards... & I'll be 1/2 way there.
Oct 21 2013
Front end mostly done now. Just need to trim the guards, get some longer shocks & a couple of other minor bits & pieces.
Looks a bit goofy but I drove it across the paddock & down the street & back without any issues. Then back in the shed to start on the rear end.
Tore out the old axle & scraped & brushed about a 1/2 ton of dried mud out from underneath, now ready for the next round of fabrication
At 1st look it doesn't seem like grafting in the 80 axle & suspension will present any major puzzles.
May 30 2014
Too much other fun stuff to do over summer has meant fairly slow progress, but I am gradually getting there. All the rear suspension mounts are now done & dusted & the axle is in for hopefully the last time.
I have tried to copy the 80 series geometry as much as possible.
Thanks to Dan's sheetmetal skillz the wheel arch edges were cut & shifted up about 50mm, just finished migging all those back in & painting/sealing. Dan also helped set up the back diff, all rebuilt with a terrain tamer bearing kit & the Ironman/Harrop/Eaton electric locker.
That's now in the housing, next up is connecting & bleeding the brakes. I also need to work out a longer handbrake cable - might try a MWB 70 one from the wreckers.
The 80 series springs I got with the axle may be a bit wide/stiff/tall but I think I'll give them a go, will help to work out what I need if nothing else. Need to source some shocks too, ideally something not too big in diameter as space is tight.
Other major items on the list are getting a driveshaft made (need to see if I can get a matching bigger flange for the transfer case) & making up the new exhaust. The top arms in the back are where the muffler used to be so I'll be feeding a pipe down each side of the chassis & out the back with home built mufflers under the doors.
Jun 23 2014
Basic structure of the new exhaust now done, still need to swap the cobys in the front, add some hangers & sort joins/flanges. See also chopped guards.
With the pipes in place I can now finish the mods to the sides of the rear bar & start thinking about side bars.
Another pic of the chopped front guard:
Jul 4 2014
Progress continues...
Rear bar has been modded to clear the tyres & fitted back up. Also made a shield to go at the back of the RH wheel arch & protect the fuel filler hose.
Rancho 5000 rear shocks arrived from Summit & have been fitted. These were one of the few things in the conversion that have actually just bolted on with no mods at either end. I was a bit worried about clearance off the springs & chassis at full squish but with the bump stops packed down to keep the tyres off the sheetmetal she's all good.
I finally got my handbrake cable after it went to the wrong address, looks like it might fit up without mods... maybe. Into that this weekend .
Jul 8 2014
More minor progress, handbrake cable went in sweet with a few small mods to brackets. It did take quite a lot of rolling around under the wagon trying different routing before finding the right arrangement that would take up the extra length, not foul on anything & not have any tight bends .
The cable came an Oz outfit on trademe, 'allfourx4' It was about $70 delivered & seems pretty good value. Only issue was they didn't put the right address on the package so it went to a place down the road & I almost never saw it.
Need to get some more argon before finishing the exhausts, so it was onto the other major item left to do, the rear driveshaft. Turns out the 75 series driveshaft I got has quite a short slip yoke spline compared to my original, too short for the travel I need, so instead of shortening that shaft, plan B will be to fit the bigger UJ's off it onto the existing LJ71 shaft with it's longer spline. So it was into the 'machine shop' to spin off the welds:
Jul 15 2014
Got one end of the driveshaft done, still need to upsize the other end & make it a bit longer but it'll do for preliminary testing. If anyone has a munted Prado driveshaft I'm buying, need the t-case end female spline - then I could make up another whole female end & keep the current one as a spare.
Got the exhaust all finished over the weekend, NO RATTLES! The old setup didn't have much room in a couple of places so a bit of a tweak or a flex would always leave it rattling somewhere.
So last night it was time to visit 'a closed road under controlled conditions' for a little test drive ... and it drove pretty well! No vibes, wobbles, pulls or shakes. I didn't push it too much but I think it handles not too bad for a SWB on big Simexs. A bit over geared of course, but a set of lower ratio t-case gears was always in the plan, & they have the option of an 8% high range underdrive which I think I'll be getting. Just need to double check speeds/revs/ratios before ordering.
Still a big list of stuff to do before some offroad testing next month, & another list to work through before getting a cert, but it's real nice to be rolling.
Jul 18 2014
So I did a few gearing calculations for the 4.11 diffs (vs original 4.88) & the big tyres & worked out that if I can rev out in 5th I should hit 275 km/h... Somehow I don't think I'll be able to fit a blower big enough...
So I have just ordered some new transfer case gears from Marks Adapters in Oz, 55% lower low range which will bring it back very close to stock & 8% lower hi range which should have it doing about 2200rpm in 5th @ 100km/h on the road.
Marks Adapters had an NZ distributor listed but when I enquired with them they wanted over $800 more than the price in Oz Not the best business model for them as my gears are currently on the way to an Oz workmate who is coming over in a few weeks. I could have flown to Oz & collected them myself & still come out better off!
Busy on some painting now, want to get that done ahead of putting flares on etc, so she'll look like quite a different wagon by next week. Am using my mentor Klembo's top secret methods in automotive coatings technology
Cheers
Clint
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #27
Got some paint on over the weekend:
Before
After
Did some research on sizes etc of my various brake system components, it wasn't really making sense why I should have spongy brakes, so I was suspecting it might just be the master cylinder needing replacement or a rebuild. Then I found a really good article on Pirate 4x4:
The Brake Bible by BillaVista - Pirate4x4x.com...
In that I found the gem of info that for floating caliper brakes (eg the Nissan fronts) you double the piston area to get the effective area. Which is obvious when you think about it... The old front brakes were a fixed caliper.... Doing the numbers again it is clear a bigger master cylinder is required. So, an 80 series one is now on the way.
Cheers
Clint
Before
After
Did some research on sizes etc of my various brake system components, it wasn't really making sense why I should have spongy brakes, so I was suspecting it might just be the master cylinder needing replacement or a rebuild. Then I found a really good article on Pirate 4x4:
The Brake Bible by BillaVista - Pirate4x4x.com...
In that I found the gem of info that for floating caliper brakes (eg the Nissan fronts) you double the piston area to get the effective area. Which is obvious when you think about it... The old front brakes were a fixed caliper.... Doing the numbers again it is clear a bigger master cylinder is required. So, an 80 series one is now on the way.
Cheers
Clint
Last edited:
crushers
post ho
love the color
GTSSportCoupe
2LTE abuser
Looks great! I like that color too.
- Thread starter
- #30
After a very busy week of messing around with brakes, flares & a few other little jobs that needed to be done, we were ready for some offroad testing Big thanks to Dan & Karl for helping out with a few things over the last couple of weeks.
I had set myself the target of having the cruiser ready for our midwinter campout at Minginui quite a while ago so it was great to make the deadline & get out for some muddy fun.
The good news is it goes really well! Rides much better in the bush, articulates heaps better but still feels nice & stable, puts the power down well, plus none of the modded bits broke, fell off or interfered
Still a bit to do before getting it certified road legal but it's great to be driving it again.
Cheers
Clint
I had set myself the target of having the cruiser ready for our midwinter campout at Minginui quite a while ago so it was great to make the deadline & get out for some muddy fun.
The good news is it goes really well! Rides much better in the bush, articulates heaps better but still feels nice & stable, puts the power down well, plus none of the modded bits broke, fell off or interfered
Still a bit to do before getting it certified road legal but it's great to be driving it again.
Cheers
Clint
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #31
Knocked off a bunch of minor jobs over the last few months plus got some Marks adapters gears installed in the t-case, 8% lower highrange, 55% lower low range. A bit noisy but the ratios are great.
Klem had a full Terrain Tamer t-case rebuild kit waiting for me so all the bearings, seal etc were replaced along with the gear install. Installing the new gears isn't rocket surgery but does have to be done with brain engaged. The Marks adapters setup has some improvements like roller bearings on the output gears vs the original bushes, & the new idler gears come on a different shaft & are axially located by taper roller bearings rather than the original, wear prone thrust washers, so assembly is not just the reverse of disassembly. You also need to grind a tiny bit off the inside of the case in a couple of places to clear the bigger gears. But after much consultation of the Mark's instructions & the Toyota service manual it all went back together ok
Thanks to Klem, Jeff & the team at Performance Mechanical in Taupo for helping out with the install.
2nd round of offroad testing last weekend & everything is working good!
Aug 27 2014
Been re making the side bars over the last few weeks, back mounts were in the way of the new exhaust, pax side one was too munted to re use anyway, plus they've always needed a few improvements like another mount point in the centre to strengthen them... What you'd think was a pretty simple job swallowed up a heap of hrs.
With all the mount points in a different plane & various things to work around you can't just measure it up & build them on the bench... It's fit up, measure next bit, bend next bit, cut next bit, grind next bit, check fit, grind some more, (put out overalls that have caught on fire ) check fit, (etc) tack on, take off to fully weld, bolt back on, repeat on next bit, jack it all into place cos it's pulled with the welding....
But all done now bar the topcoat.
Next up is a spare tyre carrier, the back door was feeling the pain a bit with a 33 on it so I won't try hanging a 36 on the poor thing. With the nice solid back bar already there to build off it should be more fun than the side bars to do.
Sep 14 2014
Side bars done.
Some good progress on the spare tyre carrier over the weekend. Started with the hinge, Plan A was to use an old trailer hub & stub assembly I had, but the hub turned out to be cast iron so I wasn't going to be welding anything to that. A fossick in the random old bearings box found the old taper roller kingpin bearings from the front knuckles I rebuilt. So it was off the to machine shop to make some swarf & some bearing housings
Weld a bush into the existing rear bar:
Sept 23 2014
Spare tyre carrier mostly done:
Used a car door latch which seems to work well. The recess in the bumper being the right size for the latch assembly to sit in was a stroke of luck, must have been thinking ahead when I made the rear bar 8 years ago
Sep 30 2014
Tyre carrier all done & rear bar reinforced to stiffen up where it mounts
Next job is to replace the old brake proportioning valve with the manual one & refresh the remaining old flexible hoses with new ones to try & get better feel on the brakes.
Oct 27 2014
Given the diff gearing & tyre sizes are now a bit different from stock the speedo was way out, 100 indicated = actual near 140 So I thought about electronic/gps speedo replacements, DIY little gearbox thing on the cable, $$$ speedo drive correcters... Then had a brainwave & just drew up a new face, printed it out & stuck it on
Will check against the GPS but the calibration shouldn't be too far off. The dash is pretty easy to pull off if I need to stick on another face to get it right.
Currently working on the brakes, have manual adjustable proportioning valve now installed instead of the old load sensing one, just waiting on a few new brake hoses to hopefully get the stopping side sorted.
Oct 30 2014
Been ticking off a few more small jobs over the last few weeks. Replaced the remaining old brake hoses, all bled up still not 100% though, a little bit of squishy travel before it feels right, need to take it for a drive & test them.
Got a double cardan driveshaft to adapt on for the front. Out of Dan's parts pile, possibly out of an MQ Patrol. Even seems to have good UJ's in it Same size UJ's etc as a Y60 so will bolt on at the diff end. Flange bolt hole spacings are actually the same as full size Landcruiser but the Nissan spigot is much bigger, so went to machine out a Landcruiser flange for the t-case end. Then realised that there'd only be about 1mm of steel left behind the hole. So made up an adapter washer instead
Machined off the weld at the spline end of the new driveshaft & shortened it up, now ready for welding
Nov 24 2014
All new bushes in the back end now. I had a spare set of 80 series rear suspension arms in stock that I put the new bushes in & then I discovered that the existing lower arms were actually quite a bit beefier with bigger diameter tube & forged ends.
The other set I had must be off an earlier model 80 series, not as strong:
Cheers
Clint
Klem had a full Terrain Tamer t-case rebuild kit waiting for me so all the bearings, seal etc were replaced along with the gear install. Installing the new gears isn't rocket surgery but does have to be done with brain engaged. The Marks adapters setup has some improvements like roller bearings on the output gears vs the original bushes, & the new idler gears come on a different shaft & are axially located by taper roller bearings rather than the original, wear prone thrust washers, so assembly is not just the reverse of disassembly. You also need to grind a tiny bit off the inside of the case in a couple of places to clear the bigger gears. But after much consultation of the Mark's instructions & the Toyota service manual it all went back together ok
Thanks to Klem, Jeff & the team at Performance Mechanical in Taupo for helping out with the install.
2nd round of offroad testing last weekend & everything is working good!
Aug 27 2014
Been re making the side bars over the last few weeks, back mounts were in the way of the new exhaust, pax side one was too munted to re use anyway, plus they've always needed a few improvements like another mount point in the centre to strengthen them... What you'd think was a pretty simple job swallowed up a heap of hrs.
With all the mount points in a different plane & various things to work around you can't just measure it up & build them on the bench... It's fit up, measure next bit, bend next bit, cut next bit, grind next bit, check fit, grind some more, (put out overalls that have caught on fire ) check fit, (etc) tack on, take off to fully weld, bolt back on, repeat on next bit, jack it all into place cos it's pulled with the welding....
But all done now bar the topcoat.
Next up is a spare tyre carrier, the back door was feeling the pain a bit with a 33 on it so I won't try hanging a 36 on the poor thing. With the nice solid back bar already there to build off it should be more fun than the side bars to do.
Sep 14 2014
Side bars done.
Some good progress on the spare tyre carrier over the weekend. Started with the hinge, Plan A was to use an old trailer hub & stub assembly I had, but the hub turned out to be cast iron so I wasn't going to be welding anything to that. A fossick in the random old bearings box found the old taper roller kingpin bearings from the front knuckles I rebuilt. So it was off the to machine shop to make some swarf & some bearing housings
Weld a bush into the existing rear bar:
Sept 23 2014
Spare tyre carrier mostly done:
Used a car door latch which seems to work well. The recess in the bumper being the right size for the latch assembly to sit in was a stroke of luck, must have been thinking ahead when I made the rear bar 8 years ago
Sep 30 2014
Tyre carrier all done & rear bar reinforced to stiffen up where it mounts
Next job is to replace the old brake proportioning valve with the manual one & refresh the remaining old flexible hoses with new ones to try & get better feel on the brakes.
Oct 27 2014
Given the diff gearing & tyre sizes are now a bit different from stock the speedo was way out, 100 indicated = actual near 140 So I thought about electronic/gps speedo replacements, DIY little gearbox thing on the cable, $$$ speedo drive correcters... Then had a brainwave & just drew up a new face, printed it out & stuck it on
Will check against the GPS but the calibration shouldn't be too far off. The dash is pretty easy to pull off if I need to stick on another face to get it right.
Currently working on the brakes, have manual adjustable proportioning valve now installed instead of the old load sensing one, just waiting on a few new brake hoses to hopefully get the stopping side sorted.
Oct 30 2014
Been ticking off a few more small jobs over the last few weeks. Replaced the remaining old brake hoses, all bled up still not 100% though, a little bit of squishy travel before it feels right, need to take it for a drive & test them.
Got a double cardan driveshaft to adapt on for the front. Out of Dan's parts pile, possibly out of an MQ Patrol. Even seems to have good UJ's in it Same size UJ's etc as a Y60 so will bolt on at the diff end. Flange bolt hole spacings are actually the same as full size Landcruiser but the Nissan spigot is much bigger, so went to machine out a Landcruiser flange for the t-case end. Then realised that there'd only be about 1mm of steel left behind the hole. So made up an adapter washer instead
Machined off the weld at the spline end of the new driveshaft & shortened it up, now ready for welding
Nov 24 2014
All new bushes in the back end now. I had a spare set of 80 series rear suspension arms in stock that I put the new bushes in & then I discovered that the existing lower arms were actually quite a bit beefier with bigger diameter tube & forged ends.
The other set I had must be off an earlier model 80 series, not as strong:
Cheers
Clint
Last edited:
Pleased there's another shortie fan around!!
I considered 80 series axles but in the end I upgraded the 8" insides to nitro.
Great build up you have.
I considered 80 series axles but in the end I upgraded the 8" insides to nitro.
Great build up you have.
- Thread starter
- #33
24 Nov 2014 cont.
With that done the next item on the list was a new tow hitch. The old one was a bit high for the trailer to sit level plus the new tyre carrier couldn't be opened with the trailer on. Some cutting, bending & welding later...
Jun 4 2015
Got myself a brand new 80 series double brake booster for not much over $250 from Aussie ebay 'bxbooster'. It has tandem diaphragms to give ~ twice the assistance & is almost a bolt in mod.
Diameter & mounting studs are the same as the old one, it's about 20mm deeper. The only mod required is to extend the pedal side push rod - it's a bit short. So I just made up a longer clevis to extend it out.
Much less braking effort now.
Jun 10 2015
Got a couple of Teflon rod ends for the front radius arms - the original ones were greasable jobs which are not allowed for cert (!?) I got another set of front arms to fit the new joints to so I can keep the old set as spares. So now those are all threaded up, rod ended & fitted.
While taking the wheels off to do that one of the wheel studs decided to munt itself as I unscrewed a wheel nut. The Nissan studs are a fine thread & easily damaged, a couple of the other studs were also a bit shagged. Fortunately the studs are the same size as Toyota ones that are a coarser thread so I decided to replace all the studs with those. This also means that they now match the back & all the wheel nuts are now the same. (A little OCD part of me did a happy dance ) The old discs were a bit rust-pitted from sitting around outside & were cheap to replace so I also fitted up the new discs I'd had sitting around for a while, as the discs had to come off to do the studs.
Also some beefy hubs as the std Nissan auto ones were a bit dodgy.
Went for another good test drive a couple of weeks ago & all was performing well apart from my alternator crapping out. It turns out that ignoring your only slightly leaky power steering pump on a 1UZ is not a good idea as it drips on the alternator, builds up a wad of gunge in around the brushes & wears out both the brushes & the slip ring, effectively trashing the alternator. Fortunately brand new OE Nippondenso alternators are available from NZAD on trademe for reasonable $$$ & minutes after I had hit the 'buy now' they had one on the way.
So having just spent $367 on the alternator I thought I'd better fix the power steering pump. I found a couple of rebuild guides online that were quite helpful: Planet Soarer: V8 Power Steering fix & Lexus LS400: How to Rebuild a Lexus LS400 or SC400 Power Steering Pump The local Toyota dealer got the o-ring & seal kit in overnight & the bearing was on the shelf at SKF.
Power steering pumps are tricksy little buggers so I took plenty of pics as I stripped it down - lots of little parts that can easily be put back in the wrong way around
I've never seen so many buggered o-rings - every single one was hard & brittle. The pump stator was a bit worn so I gave that a buff, then all back together for installation.
Also ticked off over the weekend was some extra tail & brake lights. The big Simex on the back obscures the std lights a bit on that side so to keep the WOF man happy I wired in a few Hella LEDs
Last week's other achievement was a booking for a certification check. Which took some doing, this sort of work needs an inspector with '1D' category approval which they don't all have - the certifier I had been in contact with from the start of the axle swap has buggered off to the USA for 6 months, the guy who certed the engine swap way back when is booked out until February, next closest guy is about to head off on holiday for a month... So eventually I got hold of Noel McMillin in Hamilton who had a spot & I'll be rolling over there at the end of the month.
August 24 2015
Got the flares extended, just used my old rubber flares on the existing plastic ones & a strip of stainless steel riveted on.
Took it over for the certification check last month. "Geez that looks high" (you should see some of my mate's trucks...) Had to put some spring washers on all the suspension bolts as loctite apparently doesn't work cos they can't see it or something... easy fix though. More problematic was the fact that he didn't like the handling, "bumpsteer under braking" but it's not really bumpsteer as it will want to go either way a little depending on bumps & road camber. It's no sportscar but it handles better that it did when 1st certified & better than a lot of 4x4's on the road, but, gotta keep the man happy so off to the drawing board again...
First obvious fix for funky handling is of course swapping the big ass crossply Simexs for something more sensible & radial so I'm 1/2 way through bolting on a set of 35" Hankook RT03. I was thinking about having a set of more roady tyres anyway & saving the Simexs for special occasions. The Hankooks are a fairly close pattern for an MT so should handle & last well. 2" smaller in diameter than the Simexs though.
Also about to go in is some taller stiffer rear springs custom made by Archers in Rotorua. The std 80 series ones I that came with the axle were just a touch short & quite soft. Also currently trying to track down some stiffer shocks that will fit in the back as the cheap Rancho 5000s that I put in to get it going don't really have enough damping mojo. If anyone has some well damped 2" lift GQ Nisssan rear shocks for sale let me know as they are the same fitment. Clearance is tight so I don't want anything too fat in the body.
In the meantime I finished off my tyre carrier mounted bike rack & took it for a test drive to our winter campout at Minginui. Went great & cruised through a few rough tracks with the greatest of ease. Bloody brand new alternator stopped charging.... then started charging again... been alright since but not sure what's going on there as all the wiring got a good check when I installed it.
September 9 2015
Breaking news: Had the re-check for the cert today & all good! So in a week or so I should have another piece of expensive bling to bolt on in the form of a cert plate.
Sept 29 2015
Fully Legit! Got the cert plate on a couple of weeks ago so she's now all warranted & registered & ready for action (well, was ready for action before, ready for parking in town maybe?
)
With that sorted it was promptly put to work towing Dan's race truck over to the NZ1000 last weekend .
Next up was some more pimpin' of the tyre carrier. The reversing lights are a bit arse so have now been supplemented by an LED floodlight:
This can be raised, lowered. tilted & swiveled for a camp/work light & switched either to on or reverse.
I also made a spade mount with a nice solid latch, shortened up a spade to fit.
A stop & latch also got made to keep the whole mess in place when open.
Nov 11 2015
Had my sparky hat on this week.
This is the switched LED strip light inside the rear door I put in on tilting brackets. Cheap from Jaycar. Real nice to be able to see into the back & in the drawers at night
The drivers side engine bay wiring was a bit of a mess with lots of surplus original crap like the electric shocks & locking hubs etc, & a few hastily added relays that were my work. Pulled out a huge pile of wiring right back through the firewall, tidied a bunch of stuff, put in some mounting blocks for the relays & wrapped it all back up.
Behind the dash I also stripped out some surplus crap, tidied some splices, converted the old glow plug light into a locker warning light, re-routed some accessory wiring along the loom instead of hanging down around my knees & stripped out an old keyless entry / immobiliser box that was starting to get flaky.
The left of the engine bay wiring needs a tidy up too at some point... all the engine management stuff was tidily done by Mike & is all good but there's lots of other stray stuff that needs sorting
Cheers
Clint
With that done the next item on the list was a new tow hitch. The old one was a bit high for the trailer to sit level plus the new tyre carrier couldn't be opened with the trailer on. Some cutting, bending & welding later...
Jun 4 2015
Got myself a brand new 80 series double brake booster for not much over $250 from Aussie ebay 'bxbooster'. It has tandem diaphragms to give ~ twice the assistance & is almost a bolt in mod.
Diameter & mounting studs are the same as the old one, it's about 20mm deeper. The only mod required is to extend the pedal side push rod - it's a bit short. So I just made up a longer clevis to extend it out.
Much less braking effort now.
Jun 10 2015
Got a couple of Teflon rod ends for the front radius arms - the original ones were greasable jobs which are not allowed for cert (!?) I got another set of front arms to fit the new joints to so I can keep the old set as spares. So now those are all threaded up, rod ended & fitted.
While taking the wheels off to do that one of the wheel studs decided to munt itself as I unscrewed a wheel nut. The Nissan studs are a fine thread & easily damaged, a couple of the other studs were also a bit shagged. Fortunately the studs are the same size as Toyota ones that are a coarser thread so I decided to replace all the studs with those. This also means that they now match the back & all the wheel nuts are now the same. (A little OCD part of me did a happy dance ) The old discs were a bit rust-pitted from sitting around outside & were cheap to replace so I also fitted up the new discs I'd had sitting around for a while, as the discs had to come off to do the studs.
Also some beefy hubs as the std Nissan auto ones were a bit dodgy.
Went for another good test drive a couple of weeks ago & all was performing well apart from my alternator crapping out. It turns out that ignoring your only slightly leaky power steering pump on a 1UZ is not a good idea as it drips on the alternator, builds up a wad of gunge in around the brushes & wears out both the brushes & the slip ring, effectively trashing the alternator. Fortunately brand new OE Nippondenso alternators are available from NZAD on trademe for reasonable $$$ & minutes after I had hit the 'buy now' they had one on the way.
So having just spent $367 on the alternator I thought I'd better fix the power steering pump. I found a couple of rebuild guides online that were quite helpful: Planet Soarer: V8 Power Steering fix & Lexus LS400: How to Rebuild a Lexus LS400 or SC400 Power Steering Pump The local Toyota dealer got the o-ring & seal kit in overnight & the bearing was on the shelf at SKF.
Power steering pumps are tricksy little buggers so I took plenty of pics as I stripped it down - lots of little parts that can easily be put back in the wrong way around
I've never seen so many buggered o-rings - every single one was hard & brittle. The pump stator was a bit worn so I gave that a buff, then all back together for installation.
Also ticked off over the weekend was some extra tail & brake lights. The big Simex on the back obscures the std lights a bit on that side so to keep the WOF man happy I wired in a few Hella LEDs
Last week's other achievement was a booking for a certification check. Which took some doing, this sort of work needs an inspector with '1D' category approval which they don't all have - the certifier I had been in contact with from the start of the axle swap has buggered off to the USA for 6 months, the guy who certed the engine swap way back when is booked out until February, next closest guy is about to head off on holiday for a month... So eventually I got hold of Noel McMillin in Hamilton who had a spot & I'll be rolling over there at the end of the month.
August 24 2015
Got the flares extended, just used my old rubber flares on the existing plastic ones & a strip of stainless steel riveted on.
Took it over for the certification check last month. "Geez that looks high" (you should see some of my mate's trucks...) Had to put some spring washers on all the suspension bolts as loctite apparently doesn't work cos they can't see it or something... easy fix though. More problematic was the fact that he didn't like the handling, "bumpsteer under braking" but it's not really bumpsteer as it will want to go either way a little depending on bumps & road camber. It's no sportscar but it handles better that it did when 1st certified & better than a lot of 4x4's on the road, but, gotta keep the man happy so off to the drawing board again...
First obvious fix for funky handling is of course swapping the big ass crossply Simexs for something more sensible & radial so I'm 1/2 way through bolting on a set of 35" Hankook RT03. I was thinking about having a set of more roady tyres anyway & saving the Simexs for special occasions. The Hankooks are a fairly close pattern for an MT so should handle & last well. 2" smaller in diameter than the Simexs though.
Also about to go in is some taller stiffer rear springs custom made by Archers in Rotorua. The std 80 series ones I that came with the axle were just a touch short & quite soft. Also currently trying to track down some stiffer shocks that will fit in the back as the cheap Rancho 5000s that I put in to get it going don't really have enough damping mojo. If anyone has some well damped 2" lift GQ Nisssan rear shocks for sale let me know as they are the same fitment. Clearance is tight so I don't want anything too fat in the body.
In the meantime I finished off my tyre carrier mounted bike rack & took it for a test drive to our winter campout at Minginui. Went great & cruised through a few rough tracks with the greatest of ease. Bloody brand new alternator stopped charging.... then started charging again... been alright since but not sure what's going on there as all the wiring got a good check when I installed it.
September 9 2015
Breaking news: Had the re-check for the cert today & all good! So in a week or so I should have another piece of expensive bling to bolt on in the form of a cert plate.
Sept 29 2015
Fully Legit! Got the cert plate on a couple of weeks ago so she's now all warranted & registered & ready for action (well, was ready for action before, ready for parking in town maybe?
With that sorted it was promptly put to work towing Dan's race truck over to the NZ1000 last weekend .
Next up was some more pimpin' of the tyre carrier. The reversing lights are a bit arse so have now been supplemented by an LED floodlight:
This can be raised, lowered. tilted & swiveled for a camp/work light & switched either to on or reverse.
I also made a spade mount with a nice solid latch, shortened up a spade to fit.
A stop & latch also got made to keep the whole mess in place when open.
Nov 11 2015
Had my sparky hat on this week.
This is the switched LED strip light inside the rear door I put in on tilting brackets. Cheap from Jaycar. Real nice to be able to see into the back & in the drawers at night
The drivers side engine bay wiring was a bit of a mess with lots of surplus original crap like the electric shocks & locking hubs etc, & a few hastily added relays that were my work. Pulled out a huge pile of wiring right back through the firewall, tidied a bunch of stuff, put in some mounting blocks for the relays & wrapped it all back up.
Behind the dash I also stripped out some surplus crap, tidied some splices, converted the old glow plug light into a locker warning light, re-routed some accessory wiring along the loom instead of hanging down around my knees & stripped out an old keyless entry / immobiliser box that was starting to get flaky.
The left of the engine bay wiring needs a tidy up too at some point... all the engine management stuff was tidily done by Mike & is all good but there's lots of other stray stuff that needs sorting
Cheers
Clint
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #34
Nov 16 2015
Cruised out through to Waikaremoana on the weekend to go hunting with some mates.
The combination of the stiffer springs & OME shocks in the back & the 35" Hankooks has really improved the handling. It's a real pleasure to drive on twisty gravel now, better than it was on the original running gear & 33"s
April 28 2016
On about the 9th anniversary of smacking up my passenger door at the Reefton challenge, the right combination of having some $$$ in the toy budget, remembering to look for one & actually finding one all came together & I finally got around to replacing it.
Jeez there's a lot of stuff going on inside a door with an electric window & central locking... but got it all swapped over & working good. Having a window that goes all the way up & down should win me a few brownie points from the co-driver.
Nov 24 2016
The cruiser has had plenty of use in the last few months. A few hunting trips, the Dirt Drags & had a great camping trip into the Urewera with some mates a couple of weeks ago.
Dec 20 2016
The old clutch was feeling the stress of the bigger wheels & higher gearing a bit so it was time to track down some parts for a rebuild. It's a hybrid of Nissan GTR pressure plate & 9" Toyota disc. BNT Rotorua tracked me down a heavy duty Exedy pressure plate for not much more $$ than std. The diaphragm is definitely thicker than the old one so hopefully it isn't too heavy (could put on a remote booster if required I suppose) They also ground the flywheel. I got the old friction disc re-lined with a carbon-kevlar compound at Auto-Clutch in Auckland, cheaper than a new plate & they reckon it's a big improvement in durability over std. Unfortunately you need to freight the whole mess up there & back so they can get it set up just right so no saving after that's paid.
Now waiting on the gearbox. Sent that into Driveline Automotive for a birthday as it was a bit noisy. Some gears needed replacing.
March 10 2017
Finally got the gearbox back in. First big job in the new shed. The parts box I had was also worn out. While it's got an R150F trans like a million other Toyota 4wds, turns out the LJ71 version is a bit different, new bits were $$$ ex Japan, I couldn't find any other decent bits around, but the guys at Driveline had a a few old boxes out the back & eventually managed to find a good layshaft & input shaft to go in along with some new bearings.
My rough-as gearbox positioner cradle worked mint. A steel frame bolted to the trans mount & the trolley jack & welded together in place before removal so it sat at the right angle, with a scissor jack at one end for adjustment. Made the trans swap an easy 1 man job. All bolted to the motor now, looks like good shed weather this weekend so should get everything else connected & back together & knock off a few other minor jobs.
Also swapped in a Walbro fuel pump which is definitely quieter than the rowdy Fuelmiser Repco one I got recently.
March 20 2017
Rolling again! Gearbox all in & working nice. The transfer case gears are still a bit noisy though, trying a different oil hasn't helped there. Might look into some of that soundproof matting for under the carpet. New clutch is working well, doesn't seem too much heavier at the pedal.
Planning a bit of an expedition to the Mainland next month so I've been re-jigging the storage setup in the back to house our new car fridge & add a few refinements to make it nicer to camp out of. The boxes in the back have done pretty good service for 10 years
The initial plan of drawers never happened after I found that 2 plastic bins per side would slide in nicely
The modular design has made modding one section to fit the fridge really easy.
I got some 60kg full extension drawer sliders off Fullie on trademe, an alu drawer will mount on these to hold the fridge.
Where the old cooler used to sit in front I'll mount a 50A/hr sealed battery which should run the fridge for a couple of days.
Also being made is an alu tray that folds down off the back door, angle frame & 3mm base:
March 24 2017
The Bar is open .
Now waiting on the alu tray that is being bent up at a local engineering outfit, this will be the drawer for the fridge. Just ordered a gel cell battery to run the fridge when the wagon is off, about to hit up jaycar for a dual battery controller relay & some cables to hook it up.
27 March 2017
Good progress on aux battery wiring over the weekend. First I stripped out a bunch of redundant/surplus wiring to tidy up around the battery area.
Then made up some brackets & mounted up the blingtastic 60A fuse holder & the Jaycar voltage sensing relay. This dual battery isolator cuts in at 13.8V & out at 12.8V, so the fridge battery gets charged when the engine is running & the starting battery is topped up, & the fridge can't run down the start batt.
From that I've run a bit of 8awg cable back to the box behind the pax seat where the fridge battery will sit. Hopefully my deep cycle gel-cel arrives soon & I can finish the job.
Also made up some 25mm shorter rear bumpstop packers. Since the 35" touring tyres are 50mm+ smaller in dia than the 36" Simexs that the spacers were made for (no it's not MY math that is wrong) I thought I may as well use the extra inch of travel. Also planning to check the rear ride height when fully loaded up with the full travelling/tramping/mountainbiking/camping kit (& a fridge full of cold beer) then make some spring packers to level her up. Last time we were packed with supplies for a big trip she was a bit down in the bum
April 3 2017
Out cruising on the weekend.
All going good. Got quite a few 'nice to have' jobs to tick off before sailing South on Saturday though
May 15 2017
Well she made it down south & back no worries
The fridge & table etc in the back made it really nice to camp out of.
Even towed a little souvenir back from Dunedin
Cheers
Clint
Cruised out through to Waikaremoana on the weekend to go hunting with some mates.
The combination of the stiffer springs & OME shocks in the back & the 35" Hankooks has really improved the handling. It's a real pleasure to drive on twisty gravel now, better than it was on the original running gear & 33"s
April 28 2016
On about the 9th anniversary of smacking up my passenger door at the Reefton challenge, the right combination of having some $$$ in the toy budget, remembering to look for one & actually finding one all came together & I finally got around to replacing it.
Jeez there's a lot of stuff going on inside a door with an electric window & central locking... but got it all swapped over & working good. Having a window that goes all the way up & down should win me a few brownie points from the co-driver.
Nov 24 2016
The cruiser has had plenty of use in the last few months. A few hunting trips, the Dirt Drags & had a great camping trip into the Urewera with some mates a couple of weeks ago.
Dec 20 2016
The old clutch was feeling the stress of the bigger wheels & higher gearing a bit so it was time to track down some parts for a rebuild. It's a hybrid of Nissan GTR pressure plate & 9" Toyota disc. BNT Rotorua tracked me down a heavy duty Exedy pressure plate for not much more $$ than std. The diaphragm is definitely thicker than the old one so hopefully it isn't too heavy (could put on a remote booster if required I suppose) They also ground the flywheel. I got the old friction disc re-lined with a carbon-kevlar compound at Auto-Clutch in Auckland, cheaper than a new plate & they reckon it's a big improvement in durability over std. Unfortunately you need to freight the whole mess up there & back so they can get it set up just right so no saving after that's paid.
Now waiting on the gearbox. Sent that into Driveline Automotive for a birthday as it was a bit noisy. Some gears needed replacing.
March 10 2017
Finally got the gearbox back in. First big job in the new shed. The parts box I had was also worn out. While it's got an R150F trans like a million other Toyota 4wds, turns out the LJ71 version is a bit different, new bits were $$$ ex Japan, I couldn't find any other decent bits around, but the guys at Driveline had a a few old boxes out the back & eventually managed to find a good layshaft & input shaft to go in along with some new bearings.
My rough-as gearbox positioner cradle worked mint. A steel frame bolted to the trans mount & the trolley jack & welded together in place before removal so it sat at the right angle, with a scissor jack at one end for adjustment. Made the trans swap an easy 1 man job. All bolted to the motor now, looks like good shed weather this weekend so should get everything else connected & back together & knock off a few other minor jobs.
Also swapped in a Walbro fuel pump which is definitely quieter than the rowdy Fuelmiser Repco one I got recently.
March 20 2017
Rolling again! Gearbox all in & working nice. The transfer case gears are still a bit noisy though, trying a different oil hasn't helped there. Might look into some of that soundproof matting for under the carpet. New clutch is working well, doesn't seem too much heavier at the pedal.
Planning a bit of an expedition to the Mainland next month so I've been re-jigging the storage setup in the back to house our new car fridge & add a few refinements to make it nicer to camp out of. The boxes in the back have done pretty good service for 10 years
The initial plan of drawers never happened after I found that 2 plastic bins per side would slide in nicely
The modular design has made modding one section to fit the fridge really easy.
I got some 60kg full extension drawer sliders off Fullie on trademe, an alu drawer will mount on these to hold the fridge.
Where the old cooler used to sit in front I'll mount a 50A/hr sealed battery which should run the fridge for a couple of days.
Also being made is an alu tray that folds down off the back door, angle frame & 3mm base:
March 24 2017
The Bar is open .
Now waiting on the alu tray that is being bent up at a local engineering outfit, this will be the drawer for the fridge. Just ordered a gel cell battery to run the fridge when the wagon is off, about to hit up jaycar for a dual battery controller relay & some cables to hook it up.
27 March 2017
Good progress on aux battery wiring over the weekend. First I stripped out a bunch of redundant/surplus wiring to tidy up around the battery area.
Then made up some brackets & mounted up the blingtastic 60A fuse holder & the Jaycar voltage sensing relay. This dual battery isolator cuts in at 13.8V & out at 12.8V, so the fridge battery gets charged when the engine is running & the starting battery is topped up, & the fridge can't run down the start batt.
From that I've run a bit of 8awg cable back to the box behind the pax seat where the fridge battery will sit. Hopefully my deep cycle gel-cel arrives soon & I can finish the job.
Also made up some 25mm shorter rear bumpstop packers. Since the 35" touring tyres are 50mm+ smaller in dia than the 36" Simexs that the spacers were made for (no it's not MY math that is wrong) I thought I may as well use the extra inch of travel. Also planning to check the rear ride height when fully loaded up with the full travelling/tramping/mountainbiking/camping kit (& a fridge full of cold beer) then make some spring packers to level her up. Last time we were packed with supplies for a big trip she was a bit down in the bum
April 3 2017
Out cruising on the weekend.
All going good. Got quite a few 'nice to have' jobs to tick off before sailing South on Saturday though
May 15 2017
Well she made it down south & back no worries
The fridge & table etc in the back made it really nice to camp out of.
Even towed a little souvenir back from Dunedin
Cheers
Clint
Last edited:
Seen this rig in person and it's a beast! Well done Clint!
Cheers!
Cheers!
- Thread starter
- #36
Picking up on the story again, been busy copying my build thread over from the NZ forum where I had it as things are a bit quiet there now. Have edited in a bunch of pics & stuff to my previous posts in this thread. Almost caught up now.
This is the finished fridge slide & aux power system that was finished early 2017. Done in a bit of a rush before heading south but it all worked well.
Modded the old boxes to fit a 60Ah gel cell in front of the fridge.
Kept it pretty simple with a just a combo USB/ciggy socket & the special Engel socket for the fridge.
The sockets came with inline fuses so I just used them, I have some panel mount fuses to install one day if I'm really bored. The aux battery connects to the dual battery controller under the hood via an Anderson plug & some 8AWG cable, there was even a factory cable tray alongside the door under the sill with space to run the cable.
The alu drawer tray was almost too wide for it's house, but a snug fit meant no rattles. The height is set so it's just sitting on the bottom of the box when it's in so the slides don't take the weight while the car is bouncing around. It'll run a couple of days without the truck running.
August 18 2017
The cruiser is now in that happy place where I do more driving of it than working on it but gotta stay entertained on rainy weekends somehow so there's always something going on. Recently finished off the gadget mounts on the dash, made up a holder for the tablet that sits on a RAM mount, then also put a RAM mount alongside it for the phone or the Garmin GPS. The bolt holes for the old temp display/altimeter were perfectly located to just bolt a couple of RAM balls through.
Next big project is to try installing a clutch booster, I don't mind the heavy duty clutch too much, but lighter would be better & the co-driver has voiced her displeasure at the effort required. I couldn't see how I could fit in a booster until Mohawk showed his 70 series internal booster - so it was on to trademe & Dan down in Chch who wrecks a few cruisers had one there, out of a PZJ70 I think
September 2018 Update
Mostly just been using it. Always need to have a few improvements planned for when there's a rainy weekend in the shed though. Recently I pulled the seats etc out & Dynamatted the floor to cut some of the whine from the noisy Marks Adapters transfer case gears. Also replaced the rear cobys in the exhaust to some louvered ones to quieten that down.
Had one too many snarl-ups with the wire rope on the winch so finally bit the bullet & ordered some plastic stuff off Aliexpress. Got 12mm which might be a bit excessive, can only fit 30m on the drum, but it's really strong.
Over a year after getting the boosted clutch setup I finally got around to putting it in over the weekend. Std LJ71 vs boosted 70 series:
It looks to big to fit in the cramped space under the dash but it does just fit. I had to take out some heater ducting & the brake pedal assembly to get in there.
The rear mount on the bracket bolts on but at the firewall end the main hole needed to be enlarged & two more bolt holes drilled. Fairly simple as the new bracket can be bolted on through the one common hole then used as a template. Just a lot of contorting to get positioned under the dash to work on it.
The master cylinder for the boosted clutch is 3/4" vs the 5/8" stocker on the LJ71, so some of what you gain from the boost is lost to the bigger diameter, but it's still a much easier clutch than it used to be. I initially made the mistake of just plumbing the vac line into the hose off the intake, which meant all the boost disappeared with the engine off. A closer look found a vacuum accumulator & non return valve thingy under the brake booster. Connecting the clutch booster in the hose on the other side of that lets it hold enough suck for a few pedal strokes with the engine off.
The weekend's other job was to fix the broken fuel door release handle thing which has been rattling around for years. The wee lathe rocks for stuff like this. Yet another broken plastic bit replaced with billet aluminium
Cheers
Clint
This is the finished fridge slide & aux power system that was finished early 2017. Done in a bit of a rush before heading south but it all worked well.
Modded the old boxes to fit a 60Ah gel cell in front of the fridge.
Kept it pretty simple with a just a combo USB/ciggy socket & the special Engel socket for the fridge.
The sockets came with inline fuses so I just used them, I have some panel mount fuses to install one day if I'm really bored. The aux battery connects to the dual battery controller under the hood via an Anderson plug & some 8AWG cable, there was even a factory cable tray alongside the door under the sill with space to run the cable.
The alu drawer tray was almost too wide for it's house, but a snug fit meant no rattles. The height is set so it's just sitting on the bottom of the box when it's in so the slides don't take the weight while the car is bouncing around. It'll run a couple of days without the truck running.
August 18 2017
The cruiser is now in that happy place where I do more driving of it than working on it but gotta stay entertained on rainy weekends somehow so there's always something going on. Recently finished off the gadget mounts on the dash, made up a holder for the tablet that sits on a RAM mount, then also put a RAM mount alongside it for the phone or the Garmin GPS. The bolt holes for the old temp display/altimeter were perfectly located to just bolt a couple of RAM balls through.
Next big project is to try installing a clutch booster, I don't mind the heavy duty clutch too much, but lighter would be better & the co-driver has voiced her displeasure at the effort required. I couldn't see how I could fit in a booster until Mohawk showed his 70 series internal booster - so it was on to trademe & Dan down in Chch who wrecks a few cruisers had one there, out of a PZJ70 I think
September 2018 Update
Mostly just been using it. Always need to have a few improvements planned for when there's a rainy weekend in the shed though. Recently I pulled the seats etc out & Dynamatted the floor to cut some of the whine from the noisy Marks Adapters transfer case gears. Also replaced the rear cobys in the exhaust to some louvered ones to quieten that down.
Had one too many snarl-ups with the wire rope on the winch so finally bit the bullet & ordered some plastic stuff off Aliexpress. Got 12mm which might be a bit excessive, can only fit 30m on the drum, but it's really strong.
Over a year after getting the boosted clutch setup I finally got around to putting it in over the weekend. Std LJ71 vs boosted 70 series:
It looks to big to fit in the cramped space under the dash but it does just fit. I had to take out some heater ducting & the brake pedal assembly to get in there.
The rear mount on the bracket bolts on but at the firewall end the main hole needed to be enlarged & two more bolt holes drilled. Fairly simple as the new bracket can be bolted on through the one common hole then used as a template. Just a lot of contorting to get positioned under the dash to work on it.
The master cylinder for the boosted clutch is 3/4" vs the 5/8" stocker on the LJ71, so some of what you gain from the boost is lost to the bigger diameter, but it's still a much easier clutch than it used to be. I initially made the mistake of just plumbing the vac line into the hose off the intake, which meant all the boost disappeared with the engine off. A closer look found a vacuum accumulator & non return valve thingy under the brake booster. Connecting the clutch booster in the hose on the other side of that lets it hold enough suck for a few pedal strokes with the engine off.
The weekend's other job was to fix the broken fuel door release handle thing which has been rattling around for years. The wee lathe rocks for stuff like this. Yet another broken plastic bit replaced with billet aluminium
Cheers
Clint
- Thread starter
- #37
Feb 2019
The cruiser has been on firewood duty over the last couple of months so now ours & mum's woodsheds are all stocked up. I wanted to sort out a few 'nice to have' jobs & decided to get stuck in when I broke a rear spring a couple of weeks ago. Cracks in the steel had been steadily corroding away until a bit of enthusiastic driving up the bush broke one right off. The other side had the same cracks visible:
These were custom made by Archers in Rotorua, & to their absolute credit, they made me up another set quick smart, no fuss & no charge. Some fault with the steel apparently. Luckily it happened not far from home & they were able to make the new ones 25mm longer, I'd had to put packers on top of the old ones to get her nicely level with a load on.
Also on the list is new handbrake shoes & Terrain Tamer shoe struts - the 80 series handbrake sucks balls & these little 1.5mm longer doofers are apparently the hot ticket to sort it out.
At $80 for a pair they better bloody well work. I probably could have made some easily enough but the weather's been way too nice lately to spend a day in the shed grinding & filing them out...
The other big job is some bigger louvred core cobys in the exhausts to hopefully quieten it down a bit. Stainless ones from Adrenaline R were about the biggest thing that would fit. Passenger side is done & now 1/2 way through the other side.
And from the WTF Is That Noise files, how about this:
Silentguard my arse! The outer backing plates on my new front brake pads had slipped inwards until they were rubbing on the hubs. Never seen that before.
Feb 28 2019
Exhausts & handbrakes are all sorted now, this week's job was actually completed almost entirely out of my carefully curated junk selection. I have needed a cold idle up control for ever but have just made do with the hand throttle, a while back I had a brainwave & realised I could easily switch open a normally closed relay with the programmable fan switch on the Link computer. I had a solenoid air valve in my parts stash, taken off the motorbike about 14 years ago, plenty of bits of hose etc. So now the Link fan switch opens the idle up relay at 60 deg engine temp & closes the solenoid valve from bleeding off intake vacuum. Works sweet.
April 23 2019
Hit the South Is again last month for some biking, hiking & 4wd.
Drive/tramp up the head of the Rangitata:
April 2020 Update
Cruiser has been running well. Got in a last hardcore hoon on the local gnar just before lockdown.
...which resulted in smashing a side window on a bank... Of course not the side I had a spare for... Not totally a bad thing though as I found some rust under it to fix. Now I know to blow the crap out of the drains along the bottom of those sliding windows.
Other recent upgrades have been some mad soundz... new front speakers anyway. With recent Dynamat & muffler additions the cruiser is now kinda almost quiet enough to hear the stereo
Also re-wired the 4wd control. On this era of cruisers the transfer case 4wd is engaged by vacuum. On the LJ71 this was controlled by a little computer that also managed the long-gone electric hubs. She started to intermittently not shift out of 4wd & it took ages to work out the problem which was the 4wd control computer. So this was binned & replaced with a simple changeover relay to switch the vacuum solenoid valves.
July - Sept 2020
Knocked off quite a few jobs over the last few months. She's done 30 000km since the axle swap now so a few regular maintenance jobs are starting to come up, plus I can never resist a few more modifications & gadgets.
Rear UJ replacement. Big, solid, simple drivelines are so nice to work on!
Out at our favorite playground, Whirinaki Forest.
Wired in a cheap wi-fi reversing camera & rewired the rear work light to the house battery.
The camera kinda works with my tablet but it can be a bit slow to connect.
Then it was time for a big service. New starter motor, new power steering pump, rebuilt steering box, new filters, almost all fluids changed & a bit more tidying of wiring.
The new steering parts were a nice improvement, I had noticed the pump was a bit worn when I rebuilt it a few years back, & sure enough the new one has lightened up the steering nicely. As well as no leaks the rebuilt box has a lot less slop also.
October 2020
I have always intended to set up the air con pump on the 1UZ as an air compressor but never got around to it. Recently I thought I might actually swap in air con one day so maybe I should just put in an electric air compressor. After a fair bit of googling & a good tip here on mud I found that I could fit a Viair 88P in the space beside the battery under the hood. The Viair seems to be a good solid unit & the hose is long enough to reach all 4 wheels from it's spot.
Bracket made with CAD & 3mm steel to pick up existing bolt holes:
Added a couple of tabs under the existing batt hold down bracket & she's super solidly mounted but pretty quick to remove if required:
Ran power through an Anderson plug so the battery clamps can be easily re-connected if it's used out of the truck. Then I had a very cunning idea. Years back I had replaced the park lights with a common LED unit in a piece of aluminium as I'd smashed a few & they were getting expensive:
So I remounted that on a hinge with a strong magnet for a catch, ran the airline into the guard & wired in a switch that is hidden up in that cavity.
The hose is coiled up in a bag to keep it contained & mitigate any rubbing. Works great!
The 88P compressor is on the small side for 36" tyres, but it is about the biggest thing that would fit in the hole. It will still air up the Simexs in under 20 minutes which is comfortably inside it's 25 minute duty cycle. I don't air down hugely often so was happy to trade off some speed for the convenience of having it out of the way under the bonnet.
Cheers
Clint
The cruiser has been on firewood duty over the last couple of months so now ours & mum's woodsheds are all stocked up. I wanted to sort out a few 'nice to have' jobs & decided to get stuck in when I broke a rear spring a couple of weeks ago. Cracks in the steel had been steadily corroding away until a bit of enthusiastic driving up the bush broke one right off. The other side had the same cracks visible:
These were custom made by Archers in Rotorua, & to their absolute credit, they made me up another set quick smart, no fuss & no charge. Some fault with the steel apparently. Luckily it happened not far from home & they were able to make the new ones 25mm longer, I'd had to put packers on top of the old ones to get her nicely level with a load on.
Also on the list is new handbrake shoes & Terrain Tamer shoe struts - the 80 series handbrake sucks balls & these little 1.5mm longer doofers are apparently the hot ticket to sort it out.
At $80 for a pair they better bloody well work. I probably could have made some easily enough but the weather's been way too nice lately to spend a day in the shed grinding & filing them out...
The other big job is some bigger louvred core cobys in the exhausts to hopefully quieten it down a bit. Stainless ones from Adrenaline R were about the biggest thing that would fit. Passenger side is done & now 1/2 way through the other side.
And from the WTF Is That Noise files, how about this:
Silentguard my arse! The outer backing plates on my new front brake pads had slipped inwards until they were rubbing on the hubs. Never seen that before.
Feb 28 2019
Exhausts & handbrakes are all sorted now, this week's job was actually completed almost entirely out of my carefully curated junk selection. I have needed a cold idle up control for ever but have just made do with the hand throttle, a while back I had a brainwave & realised I could easily switch open a normally closed relay with the programmable fan switch on the Link computer. I had a solenoid air valve in my parts stash, taken off the motorbike about 14 years ago, plenty of bits of hose etc. So now the Link fan switch opens the idle up relay at 60 deg engine temp & closes the solenoid valve from bleeding off intake vacuum. Works sweet.
April 23 2019
Hit the South Is again last month for some biking, hiking & 4wd.
Drive/tramp up the head of the Rangitata:
April 2020 Update
Cruiser has been running well. Got in a last hardcore hoon on the local gnar just before lockdown.
...which resulted in smashing a side window on a bank... Of course not the side I had a spare for... Not totally a bad thing though as I found some rust under it to fix. Now I know to blow the crap out of the drains along the bottom of those sliding windows.
Other recent upgrades have been some mad soundz... new front speakers anyway. With recent Dynamat & muffler additions the cruiser is now kinda almost quiet enough to hear the stereo
Also re-wired the 4wd control. On this era of cruisers the transfer case 4wd is engaged by vacuum. On the LJ71 this was controlled by a little computer that also managed the long-gone electric hubs. She started to intermittently not shift out of 4wd & it took ages to work out the problem which was the 4wd control computer. So this was binned & replaced with a simple changeover relay to switch the vacuum solenoid valves.
July - Sept 2020
Knocked off quite a few jobs over the last few months. She's done 30 000km since the axle swap now so a few regular maintenance jobs are starting to come up, plus I can never resist a few more modifications & gadgets.
Rear UJ replacement. Big, solid, simple drivelines are so nice to work on!
Out at our favorite playground, Whirinaki Forest.
Wired in a cheap wi-fi reversing camera & rewired the rear work light to the house battery.
The camera kinda works with my tablet but it can be a bit slow to connect.
Then it was time for a big service. New starter motor, new power steering pump, rebuilt steering box, new filters, almost all fluids changed & a bit more tidying of wiring.
The new steering parts were a nice improvement, I had noticed the pump was a bit worn when I rebuilt it a few years back, & sure enough the new one has lightened up the steering nicely. As well as no leaks the rebuilt box has a lot less slop also.
October 2020
I have always intended to set up the air con pump on the 1UZ as an air compressor but never got around to it. Recently I thought I might actually swap in air con one day so maybe I should just put in an electric air compressor. After a fair bit of googling & a good tip here on mud I found that I could fit a Viair 88P in the space beside the battery under the hood. The Viair seems to be a good solid unit & the hose is long enough to reach all 4 wheels from it's spot.
Bracket made with CAD & 3mm steel to pick up existing bolt holes:
Added a couple of tabs under the existing batt hold down bracket & she's super solidly mounted but pretty quick to remove if required:
Ran power through an Anderson plug so the battery clamps can be easily re-connected if it's used out of the truck. Then I had a very cunning idea. Years back I had replaced the park lights with a common LED unit in a piece of aluminium as I'd smashed a few & they were getting expensive:
So I remounted that on a hinge with a strong magnet for a catch, ran the airline into the guard & wired in a switch that is hidden up in that cavity.
The hose is coiled up in a bag to keep it contained & mitigate any rubbing. Works great!
The 88P compressor is on the small side for 36" tyres, but it is about the biggest thing that would fit in the hole. It will still air up the Simexs in under 20 minutes which is comfortably inside it's 25 minute duty cycle. I don't air down hugely often so was happy to trade off some speed for the convenience of having it out of the way under the bonnet.
Cheers
Clint
GTSSportCoupe
2LTE abuser
Thanks for the updates Clint! Love your truck. So many custom improvements; so many hours of blood sweat and tears. Glad you're still at it!
- Thread starter
- #39
To bring things up to date... Recently I saw these 5L water containers on display at a local hardware store & they are the perfect size to fit alongside the fridge. I had been thinking of making a water tank to go in here but these are much more convenient.
To stop anything bouncing around or rubbing through I fitted some straps & lined the drawer with rubber. Also replaced the big ugly drawer latch with a tidier little stopper.
Next up was some better driving lights. Tho old Hellas were just spots, so the spread wasn't great, & the brackets were never very secure so the lights were rarely pointing in the correct direction - they were hastily bodged on before a event that had some night stages about 13 years ago, the classic long term temporary fix. I had been looking at the Rigid lights with the side spread but they were $$$$. However these Ironman Eclipse 5x7 ones are a bit less $$$ & the perfect size to fit in my bullbar. Thanks to my mates at Performance Mechanical in Taupo for doing me a great deal on these. They are a really solid unit with well engineered mounting brackets too.
The old mounts were ground off & new steel tigged on. I welded a collar underneath around the bolt to make them a bit harder to steal without the right tools.
The shape suits the LJ71 front end well & they sit fully behind the line of the bars so are well protected when shoving through scrub or branches as we often do.
They are REALLY bright, with a great pattern.
Cheers
Clint
To stop anything bouncing around or rubbing through I fitted some straps & lined the drawer with rubber. Also replaced the big ugly drawer latch with a tidier little stopper.
Next up was some better driving lights. Tho old Hellas were just spots, so the spread wasn't great, & the brackets were never very secure so the lights were rarely pointing in the correct direction - they were hastily bodged on before a event that had some night stages about 13 years ago, the classic long term temporary fix. I had been looking at the Rigid lights with the side spread but they were $$$$. However these Ironman Eclipse 5x7 ones are a bit less $$$ & the perfect size to fit in my bullbar. Thanks to my mates at Performance Mechanical in Taupo for doing me a great deal on these. They are a really solid unit with well engineered mounting brackets too.
The old mounts were ground off & new steel tigged on. I welded a collar underneath around the bolt to make them a bit harder to steal without the right tools.
The shape suits the LJ71 front end well & they sit fully behind the line of the bars so are well protected when shoving through scrub or branches as we often do.
They are REALLY bright, with a great pattern.
Cheers
Clint
- Thread starter
- #40
December 2020 Update
The old flares were getting a bit munted so it was time to replace them with something slightly tidier. The cobbled together combo of garden edging & rubber was binned in favour of 4.5mm insertion rubber sheet (fabric reinforced) with a 25x3mm stainless steel strip riveted on to hold the shape.
This was attached to the existing M5 rivnuts I had installed under the guards. Once one bolt was in I used a grub screw in the next rivnut along & tapped the rubber on to it to mark the hole positions for drilling.
Pre trimming pic above. The trick is to have plenty of excess rubber then trim it down.
With 2 curves It's harder to get the back sitting right vs the front but it looks ok from a distance
Smooshed them against a few trees & ruts up the bush block last weekend without damage so hopefully they'll last well. Enough rubber in the roll I got to make another set anyway & cutting out more would be quick with these as templates.
The next little mod has been a long time coming. The std interior light is rather useless...
I'd tried an LED bulb in this a while back that was slightly brighter, but after a few seconds it would start flickering, probably overheating. I saw the Odd Iron Off Road LED replacement units which looked really good, I thought I should order one of those sometime but never quite got around to it.
Then @Gun Runner 5 contacted me about NZ number plates for his collection, the Odd Iron link in his sig line jogged my memory about the LED kits so I suggested a swap for a couple of NZ plates & a deal was done. Eventually some plates jetted off from New Zealand to Southern Georgia as an LED kit did the opposite. Check it out!
The LED insert is a nicely made unit that fits tidily inside the existing light fitting & installation was very easy. Highly recommended. Big thanks to Charles & Odd Iron!
Cheers
Clint
The old flares were getting a bit munted so it was time to replace them with something slightly tidier. The cobbled together combo of garden edging & rubber was binned in favour of 4.5mm insertion rubber sheet (fabric reinforced) with a 25x3mm stainless steel strip riveted on to hold the shape.
This was attached to the existing M5 rivnuts I had installed under the guards. Once one bolt was in I used a grub screw in the next rivnut along & tapped the rubber on to it to mark the hole positions for drilling.
Pre trimming pic above. The trick is to have plenty of excess rubber then trim it down.
With 2 curves It's harder to get the back sitting right vs the front but it looks ok from a distance
Smooshed them against a few trees & ruts up the bush block last weekend without damage so hopefully they'll last well. Enough rubber in the roll I got to make another set anyway & cutting out more would be quick with these as templates.
The next little mod has been a long time coming. The std interior light is rather useless...
I'd tried an LED bulb in this a while back that was slightly brighter, but after a few seconds it would start flickering, probably overheating. I saw the Odd Iron Off Road LED replacement units which looked really good, I thought I should order one of those sometime but never quite got around to it.
Then @Gun Runner 5 contacted me about NZ number plates for his collection, the Odd Iron link in his sig line jogged my memory about the LED kits so I suggested a swap for a couple of NZ plates & a deal was done. Eventually some plates jetted off from New Zealand to Southern Georgia as an LED kit did the opposite. Check it out!
The LED insert is a nicely made unit that fits tidily inside the existing light fitting & installation was very easy. Highly recommended. Big thanks to Charles & Odd Iron!
Cheers
Clint
