I thought I might start a thread detailing my latest project. This is to help people who might be thinking of doing the same and to try and nut out some of the problems I'm having. I'm not good at writing these kind of things so please bare with me.
What I wanted was a solid axle vehicle with coil springs all round, a torquey motor, diesel, manual box, and a full size tray to haul my gear around. I had to be comfortable enough to travel 1200km a week for work and still be capable enough to tackle the cape and Simpson desert. It will eventually have a removable camper setup on the back. Nothing really fitted the bill except maybe the GU patrol turbo 6, but I'm a toyota guy so I thought why not build one.
So I started off with this
2012 VDJ79r. I picked it up cheap enough at the auctions so that if this project didn't eventuate, I could sell it off as parts and still make my money back. It's a parts vehicle so I cant use the chassis or cab. All other parts and panels will be used in my build. Its a flood damage vehicle so it can't be re-registered as is.
I bought it condition unknown, I didn't know if it ran or had engine damage. I visually check it over, oil wasn't milky, no water in the headlights, no mud or silt inside so I took the gamble. They picked it up with a forklift and loaded it on my car trailer,that didn't look promising.
So when I got it home, I put a battery in it and turned the key. Bam, the ignition lights came on. I thought to myself, well thats a start, then turned the key a little further and she came to life, purred like a kitten. I breathed a sigh of relief, the gamble payed off. I started playing around with all the controls and everything worked fine. Cold aircon, indicators and lights worked, and then I looked at the odometer, 52xxx kms, only a baby. After looking at it closely, it couldn't have had too much water through it, maybe up to the transmission tunnel at most. What a waste of a landcruiser.
I've had this for over 2 years now, always to busy with work to get a proper start. So next I had to find a chassis and running gear at a reasonable price. Local prices were through the roof so I flew down to Sydney and picked up this
Its a 2000 Fzj105r with 380xxx kms. I drove if home 2200 kms and the 1fz-fe didn't miss a beat. It also averaged 18l per 100k @ and average speed of 110km/h. Not too bad for a petrol. It looks pretty neat and tidy in the picture, but the interior was trashed and had a few dents on the l/h side.
To be continued.......
What I wanted was a solid axle vehicle with coil springs all round, a torquey motor, diesel, manual box, and a full size tray to haul my gear around. I had to be comfortable enough to travel 1200km a week for work and still be capable enough to tackle the cape and Simpson desert. It will eventually have a removable camper setup on the back. Nothing really fitted the bill except maybe the GU patrol turbo 6, but I'm a toyota guy so I thought why not build one.
So I started off with this
2012 VDJ79r. I picked it up cheap enough at the auctions so that if this project didn't eventuate, I could sell it off as parts and still make my money back. It's a parts vehicle so I cant use the chassis or cab. All other parts and panels will be used in my build. Its a flood damage vehicle so it can't be re-registered as is.
I bought it condition unknown, I didn't know if it ran or had engine damage. I visually check it over, oil wasn't milky, no water in the headlights, no mud or silt inside so I took the gamble. They picked it up with a forklift and loaded it on my car trailer,that didn't look promising.
So when I got it home, I put a battery in it and turned the key. Bam, the ignition lights came on. I thought to myself, well thats a start, then turned the key a little further and she came to life, purred like a kitten. I breathed a sigh of relief, the gamble payed off. I started playing around with all the controls and everything worked fine. Cold aircon, indicators and lights worked, and then I looked at the odometer, 52xxx kms, only a baby. After looking at it closely, it couldn't have had too much water through it, maybe up to the transmission tunnel at most. What a waste of a landcruiser.
I've had this for over 2 years now, always to busy with work to get a proper start. So next I had to find a chassis and running gear at a reasonable price. Local prices were through the roof so I flew down to Sydney and picked up this
Its a 2000 Fzj105r with 380xxx kms. I drove if home 2200 kms and the 1fz-fe didn't miss a beat. It also averaged 18l per 100k @ and average speed of 110km/h. Not too bad for a petrol. It looks pretty neat and tidy in the picture, but the interior was trashed and had a few dents on the l/h side.
To be continued.......