Irish's Another BJ73 Build Thread

[Irish11]

Figured it was time to add a thread for another BJ73 and document the trials and tribulations of "the build." IN Dec 2020 I sold my 1978 FJ40 (Irish's Slow 1978 Rustic Green Build | IH8MUD Forum). After a long rebuild, I had made it too nice to use and it was sitting, so I was determined to find a 70-series after wanting one for years. Here is the build for my Euro spec 24v 1990 BJ73 with a 3bii and h55.



Current Photo:

1990 BJ73 Mods:

Electrical

• 24v Stereo - Axis AX1503BT
• LED Dash Lights
• Koito Headlight H4 upgrade
• Odd Iron LED
  • Dome
  • Reverse lights
• JDM Taillights
• Pyle PSWN720 24v to 12v converter
• Blue Sea Fuse Panel
• Yaesu 2980
• Noco Gen5 dual battery charger

Engine

• Racor 490r Fuel/Water Separator
• Gates Barricade Biodiesel Safe Fuel Line
  • In - 8 mm hose (27340)
  • Return - 6.3 mm hose (27347)

Interior/Trim

• Ram Mount on dash
• Fj62 HVAC Vents
• Driver side fire extinguisher mount
• Rust removal/Sound Deadening
  • Patches welded on the front seat mounts
  • Master Series Silver Primer
  • Master Series AG111
  • Kilmat 50
  • Noico Red

Body/Exterior

Suspension/Wheels

• Ironman 2" lift
• 245/75r16 Yokohama Geolandar

 

[Irish11]

Found One!

After a year of searching for a BJ73/74 in the US I located @Branwillith 's just 800mi away in the Salt Lake area. I drove down and picked it up, and with some basic parking lot maintenance drove it home.

It cruises along at 60-65mph just fine (until you hit a hill, haha).

When I brought it home:

 

[Irish11]

So many wires...

First major project was removing some of the interesting wiring that had been done over the 30 years of its life. Took it all out and moved it back to stock

After that I moved on to my long and nerdy list of things that just needed fixing including removing the old, bubbling tint, fixing some loose odds and ends. Adding in a 24v stereo (Thanks @jblueridge ! ), adding in a ram mount so I could see the current speed on my phone (KMPH only gauge cluster, that was set for smaller tires), etc.

 

[Irish11]

Biodiesel

I purchased a diesel for a reason. I wanted to be able to run biodiesel. The local farm co-op down the street sells B100 and that sounded good to me. Not sure what percentages I will be running, but I can mix it at least. To do that I needed to do a once over on the fuel system. Its a good thing I did, one of my hoses leading from the rail to the IP was cracked, and another almost 12" section was actually replaced with heater hose (guessing that was a field expedient fix).

After reading through this thread on new fuel lines: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/seriously-15-00-ft-for-viton.419890/page-2 I purchased some napa/gates biodiesel rated hose. (incase anyone is looking this up, tank to engine - 8 mm hose (27340) Return - 6.3 mm hose (27347))

I also added Racor 490 series filter to work as a fuel/water separator with a 10micron filter. Copying @jim land because the 3bii is tight on space on the engine bay, I placed it down on the frame rail, just after the transfer case on a plate I bent up to shield it from debris and allow it to drain.

 

[Branwillith]

This post makes me happy! Glad to see you're taking care of it!

 

[Irish11]

This post makes me happy! Glad to see you're taking care of it!

Thanks! I'm loving having it. It was just what I was after. Thanks again!

 

[theglobb]

Looking good with the painted grill!! Awesome work, can't wait to see what's next.

 

[Irish11]

Looking good with the painted grill!! Awesome work, can't wait to see what's next.

Thanks for the advice! I agree on the grill, the white wasn't bad, but the black looks better. The white wheels have grown on me too with the white top. I've just been fixing all the little things so far, but looking forward to some trips in it.

 

[Rigster]

This post makes me happy! Glad to see you're taking care of it!

It's nice when a loved cruiser stays within the mudd family to remain cared for.

One of my cruisers I sold to a friend, was just slowly degraded and damaged and driven into the ground.

Way to go Irish! Keep the posts and pics comin!

 

[Irish11]

Meet the Flintstones...
Finally got around to fixing the fuel door cable since it was broke. In the process the seats have to come out to get the cable run underneath. The driver's seat has been a bit wobbly, but I chalked that up to it just being a 30 year old seat. Turns out, the floor below it is cracked on the left and on the right, just missing. Wondering how bad anything thinks this looks? A simple patch and weld, or something more difficult?

Left side rear:

Right side rear:

The whole thing:

I cannot weld myself (long story, but I have a pacemaker and cannot be around the welder. Lame) but there are a bunch of local shops that I figure can tackle something like this if its not too bad.

*update I took a grinder to the paint and looks like rust, not stress fractures.

 

[Irish11]

Other Little Projects

Joined the @FJ73Texas gauge cluster overlay club. Looks factory and should work out great.

Also updated my Ram mount to a thicker piece of steel, now its way more solid. Its a simple piece of angle iron from Home Depot (MiTek 2 in. x 5-3/16 in. x 2-1/4 in.) trimmed down and uses a stock bolt under the altimeter.

 

[Irish11]

Making some progress on the floor

Got a fellow cruiserhead @NookShneer to help me patch the seat mounts. Looks like someone took a hammer to them to add more headroom or something. The more I dig into little spots on this, the more rust I discover (really not horrible compared to some). Its starting to take me down that rabbit hole. I think its time to remove the sound deadening, grind the flaky stuff, and coat the interior with Master Series rust sealer. That will at least hopefully stop the rust for now.

On Another note. Anyone who has replaced their HVAC controls, do you have one of the little white plugs around? Mine got cracked and is no longer holding the heat/cold wire in place, making temp adjustments not great.

 

[mt72]

Other Little Projects

Joined the @FJ73Texas gauge cluster overlay club. Looks factory and should work out great.
View attachment 2907037

Also updated my Ram mount to a thicker piece of steel, now its way more solid. Its a simple piece of angle iron from Home Depot (MiTek 2 in. x 5-3/16 in. x 2-1/4 in.) trimmed down and uses a stock bolt under the altimeter.


View attachment 2907038

the bracket bolt directly on the dash on the right side or the left side. I don't have an altimeter so I am very curious to know also you would have a link for the Ram bracket?

 

[Irish11]

the bracket bolt directly on the dash on the right side or the left side. I don't have an altimeter so I am very curious to know also you would have a link for the Ram bracket?

I'll see if I can grab a photo later. Its the left bolt below the Altimeter cluster in this diagram:

The Ram mount is RAM-B-238U Diamond Ball Base with B Size 1" Ball (RAM® Diamond Ball Base - https://www.rammount.com/part/RAM-B-238U), and the arm is RAM-B-201U Double Socket Arm (Medium) (RAM® Double Socket Arm - https://www.rammount.com/part/RAM-B-201U)

 

[mt72]

I'll see if I can grab a photo later. Its the left bolt below the Altimeter cluster in this diagram:

View attachment 2934571

The Ram mount is RAM-B-238U Diamond Ball Base with B Size 1" Ball (RAM® Diamond Ball Base - https://www.rammount.com/part/RAM-B-238U), and the arm is RAM-B-201U Double Socket Arm (Medium) (RAM® Double Socket Arm - https://www.rammount.com/part/RAM-B-201U)

Thank I think I got it the bolt is near the windshield?

 

[Irish11]

Its this one under the altimeter. I think on the non-altimeter version is a smooth dashboard there I think.

 

[mt72]

View attachment 2934588
Its this one under the altimeter. I think on the non-altimeter version is a smooth dashboard there I think.

On mine, it's like this and there's the pad cover the hole too

 

[Irish11]

That would work well I think. Just put a bolt through that. You could aim the mount at you more so you would get more adjustment vs my 90 degree turn to clear the altimeter foam cover. Looks like it has the cut out for the altimeter wiring too. You could get fancy and run wiring for a charger through that.

 

[Irish11]

24v Step Down and Fuse Panel

24v Stepdown

Like so many before me I am putting it above the glove box and under the dash. Found a ton of info on them, but all of them power the radio and I have a 24v radio so that was not needed. (24v step downs - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/24v-step-downs.1275072/) Using this to run a 12v ham radio, 12v cig lighter, and some other odds and end. All I had to do was double up the flasher relays on the right, make a bracket, and mount it (upside down on my back, while swearing and holding a flashlight in my mouth, haha)

For the fuse panel I used a Blue Sea 6-fuse with cover. Took me a while to located a spot I liked (Aux fuse panel locations in cab? - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/aux-fuse-panel-locations-in-cab.1277203/). I took off the passenger side kick panel and found the wiper control (LHD) has a nice little pocket around it. Tested to see if it worked upside down, and then built a little bracket and relocated it. Fits snugly in the little pocket with the panel re-attached over it.

 

[Irish11]

Rust removal/Sound Deadening
After getting patches welded on the front seat mounts it was time to refresh the rest of the floor and seal the rust. Then sound deadening and put it all back together.

Master Series Silver Primer: (this stuff sticks to everything and self flattens nicely)

Master Series AG111. Makes a nice top coat, and is supposed to be UV stable. Its a two part system with a hardener and tinted paint, but no mixing instructions so there was a bit of trial and error involved.

Kilmat. Time to reduce the vibrations in the cab. The 3b is a paint shaker and is a little loud for long drives. Hopefully this helps.

I am in the process of putting Noico Red down on top of the Kilmat. So far its the most annoying thing I have done. It sticks to everything and rips if you try to adjust it. Not a fan at all. Hope all the positive reviews are worth it. Then its factory carpet going back in for now. Vinyl would be nice to put in, but not in the budget currently.