Builds Intro: Ugly Betty(so far)

[jccubitt]

Hi there love the 40! Im busy building a 45 and really want to do a 1uzfe conversion but want to stick to using the manual do you think a coulod use the stock 4 speed manual box? A h55 is kinda hard to come by and really expencive!

 

[tmarx]

Thanks, JC ! Yes, there is no reason not to use your current 4sp box.The 5sp is just nicer for highway cruising and slow crawling along in the shorter 1st gear.For the rest it is all fine - these motors are so revvy that when I tow my trailer I stay the whole day in 4th gear at 2300 RPM doing about 110 km/h and then get 5km/l

 

[tmarx]

My new 4 core Aluminum radiator from Champion Radiators finally arrived from the US. It is a thing of beauty !

And the quality is every bit as good as what was claimed

I had read that the 4 core might not be a complete simple "bolt in and go job" like the 3 core is but it was easy enough.In total I had to drill only 2 holes in the radiator's mounting flange on the LHS and I had to trim the radiator support at the bottom on all 4 corners by about 3 mm.I also enlarged the oem access hole to the radiator drain and that was all that was required.

I had to strip the entire front end away in order to fit it back though

All back together ...

 

[crushers]

sweet,
i can't enough of this truck ... congrats yet again

 

[tmarx]

Thanks Wayne ! Folks like you, help us "normal" guys, keep our vehicles alive and we appreciate that !

 

[ColoCruiserJeff]

I spent my workday reading through this thread. Absolutely fantastic, and inspiring!

Love the photos of your trips along with your build-up progress. A great mix of photos. Can't wait to see where she takes you next!

 

[Ken White]

Nice buy mate and great to see another LX being looked after. Where abouts in Aust did you get her from and how much did she cost you.

 

[tmarx]

I spent my workday reading through this thread. Absolutely fantastic, and inspiring!

Love the photos of your trips along with your build-up progress. A great mix of photos. Can't wait to see where she takes you next!

Thank you for the kind words.It is getting to be winter over here but we are leaving in 3 days time for an extended weekend trip to a remote part along the mighty Orange river which borders Namibia.

Nice buy mate and great to see another LX being looked after. Where abouts in Aust did you get her from and how much did she cost you.

Thanks mate, she hailed from the friendly state and cost a whopping $2.5k Au !

 

[tmarx]

Time for an update.My old packing system was functional

but eventually I got gatvol of schlepping those ammo boxes around so it was time for a change.The only requirement was that it had to be completely (bolt in and out) removable.I eventually settles for teflon slides as opposed to the conventional bearing type drawers.

Aluminum drawers

At the same time I built a box for the water container and moved the Fini to a semi-permanent spot which was otherwise wasted space

Easy in and out and only OEM boltholes used !

I has some OEM tie downs left over from our previous 105 and 120 series so ...

All done

Then I remembered swambo always complaining about the lack of storage space for keys, cell phones etc ...

Those OEM humpcover bolts came in real handy

And last but not least something for dad ...

I also fitted some wheel spacers ...

Which has changed Olive's look a tad but definitely improved her cornering etc

 

[M5driver]

Dis baie lekker, Theo!

 

[tmarx]

Dan, busy getting her ready for another 40* only, trip in 2.5 weeks time !

 

[tmarx]

With our upcoming trip just around the corner, I decided to relocate the aux batt electrics to the rear and to build a proper 3 way distribution box ...

I also attempted to tidy the loose wiring a bit in order to open up some more valuable space ..

5 days and counting ....

 

[Vossie]

hwzt Theo.

look really nice. where abouts where the wheel spacers from?

Thnx,

Ross

 

[tmarx]

Thanks mate.

I found the spacers from these guys http://www.4x4direct.co.za/shop/whe...wheel-spacer-hilux-triton-ford-isuzu-p-19.htm

 

[Honger]

I've been reading through several 40-series builds over the last couple of days. This picture here just stopped me in my tracks... She is gorgeous!!!

You've done a splendid job giving this old LX a second lease on life. The color... The engine swap... The removable roll cage... The custom soft top... I could go on. Your attention to detail shows.

This thread should be renamed to "Sexy Betty".

 

[RyanCostaRica]

Amazing build and pictures...Congrats

 

[tmarx]

Thank you for the kind words, much appreciated.

 

[Vossie]

hwzt Theo. saw your 40 got featured in SA 4x4 magazine. nice one!

 

[tmarx]

Yea, thanks mate.

 

[tmarx]

Did a quick trip this weekend to the Tankwa Karoo and this happened

Recently enlarged the air intake and power & consumption showed a significant improvement. Best consumption this weekend was 7.8 km/l and the worst was 7.3 km/l