Mighty short cruiser (1 Viewer)

[Gib009]

Since i have been doing alot of work to my cruiser i thought i should start a build up thread. Well here she is, a 1987 Toyota Landcruiser BJ71 jap import with the 13BT 3.4litre turbo diesel. The idea was to get a dedicated off road rig, that was in good running order so i could enjoy it from day 1, and then mod it along the way without worrying to much about it as its not my daily driver.

This is how i got it

First mod was to take the stickers of the back, remove that godawful sundeck bumper
and to get it dirty

Then i gave her a bit of TLC and removed the winch as i broke a shear pin. Whacked my high lift on the front as i didn’t have a bumper

 

[Gib009]

Next mod was my custom drawer setup to make it more camp friendly.

I then started to concentrate on what it was lacking off road.... Flexability, so off came the sway-bar and on came some extended shackles.

 

[Gib009]

I then started making a custom bumper to try mount the PTO winch closer to the body. Its my first experience working with metal so its going quite slow at this stage. So far i have a bolt on extension of each chassis rail with a recovery point on each side. It should mount the winch about 10mm higher and 90mm closer to the body than the old mount.

I planned on 35’s so i had to move my front diff forward an inch to fit them. This was just a simple case of redrilling the spring perch backwards an inch so the diff moves forward.



I sold my 31's and while the tyres were off i decided to paint my rims black.

Then after weeks of waiting around for some second hand 33's or 35's i finally got new tyres. 35inch MTRs got them brand new for a steal because of the 4 for 3 deal at Goodyear... $1070 fitted and balanced for four 35's!

These are them next to our runaround

 

[Gib009]

Next to my 3inch lifted navara

A few garage shots

This is the approach angle... not bad!

I have decided to move my diff forward an extra 3inchs again which should make it more stable and improve the approach angle again. Im going to have to reverse the leafs 180degrees and then drill a new hole in the spring perch to stop the steering arms interfering with each other. And then i just need to extend the driveshaft 90mm. Well so i have been told, lets hope it works!

So thats how she stands today my planned mods in the next week are:

Beef up some 60series rear springs so the back sits a bit higher (heavy draws have made them sag)
Body lift 1 or 2inchs to clear the tyres a bit better
Move diff an extra 3inchs forward for a total of 94inch wheelbase and a better approach angle.
Cut the guards to hell
Add garden edge flares to keep it somewhat legal
DRIVE IT!!

And in the near future:

Lockright in the rear
Finish bumper
New converter as i drowned the old one (its a bit quiet in the car with no radio or uhf)
And about a million other things!

 

[roscoFJ73]

looking good Gib

Whats the 4 bolt holes on each of the upper fenders?

 

[Gib009]

LOL they are the old japanese style wing mirrors. If you look carefully in one of the first pictures you can see them still attached. I am very anti japanese styling so off they went

 

[roscoFJ73]

. I am very anti japanese styling so off they went

Im the same. Dumbest place you could put a mirror on a 4wd

 

[crushers]

um, since you don't like them then i will take them off your hands...
i like the fender mounted mirrors...

 

[prado t]

Nice work, see if you could mount the HI LIFT on the back, your springs will start sagging on the front if it remains there with the "pin breaker", nice drawer system.

 

[MarcoPolo]

Nice drawer system, and I like the folding table top on the back door.

Your front end sure looks vulnerable without a bumper of some type.

Welcome to the Madness

 

[Gib009]

um, since you don't like them then i will take them off your hands...
i like the fender mounted mirrors... 09-20-08 07:47 PM

Sorry but they went in the skip about a month ago.... blasphemy!

Thankyou for the kind words everyone!

Nice work, see if you could mount the HI LIFT on the back, your springs will start sagging on the front if it remains there with the "pin breaker", nice drawer system.

The more i look at these photos, the more i like the approach angle... so i might make 2 bumpers.... one for normal use and one for the winch. So i dont have to have it on all the time. Your right, my rears have started sagging from that drawer system, and that pto winch is damn heavy.

Nice drawer system, and I like the folding table top on the back door.

Your front end sure looks vulnerable without a bumper of some type.

Welcome to the Madness

Lol thanks.... the way i think of it, the less that is there.... the less that can be damaged. But i will put something over tnem chassis rails

 

[Hulsty]

Looking good mate with the new rubber. With moving the front diff forward, you reckon you will have problems with the steering arms? My front diff is ~15-20mm forward and i'd love to flip the springs and move it further forward but i'm worried about the steering arms. Probably have to cut the front guards out even more too

 

[Gib009]

Looking good mate with the new rubber. With moving the front diff forward, you reckon you will have problems with the steering arms? My front diff is ~15-20mm forward and i'd love to flip the springs and move it further forward but i'm worried about the steering arms. Probably have to cut the front guards out even more too

cheers hulsty, well i have just got into contact with gudeano who is the guy that has actually done this and ive asked for pics so ill get back to you to see if anymore modification is needed. I think you need an extension of the driveshaft 90mm which might be too big for a spacer. But yeah i think it will be good to do, longer wheelbase and better approach angle sounds good to me

 

[Hulsty]

Good stuff let us know how it goes. I've spoken to him too, but was unsure what to do. Apprently a 60 series front shaft is slightly longer. I was going to use a 60series DC shaft and probably make a spacer at the transfer case end

 

[Hulsty]

Another thing I was thinking, to reduce those bars rubbing would be to use a shorter pitman arm, would affect steering though, dunno how much I havent looked was just a random though haha

 

[Gib009]

Another thing I was thinking, to reduce those bars rubbing would be to use a shorter pitman arm, would affect steering though, dunno how much I havent looked was just a random though haha

Yeah i was thinking that too about the pitman arm. But as much as you change one thing, its only going to create problems somewhere else. Not a bad idea about the 60 shaft. Im beggining to think you have a complete 60series that you are wrecking in your driveway though lol. Say you get a 40mm spacer, you would still need the 60series shaft to be about 50mm longer than the 70series one.

Would the middys front drive shaft be longer than the shortys?
Or i could stop being so cheap and get one made haha

 

[crushers]

the front drive shaft (prop) is the same for the shorty, mid and long wheel base, the rear is different between the 3

 

[NeilT]

Guess there's no roos left in WA after the drought or you wouldn't have taken off your "godawful sundeck bumper"

Friend of mine hit a little grey in his Hilux and it cost him $8,000.....

- Neil.

 

[Gib009]

the front drive shaft (prop) is the same for the shorty, mid and long wheel base, the rear is different between the 3

Thanks for clearing that up crushers

Guess there's no roos left in WA after the drought or you wouldn't have taken off your "godawful sundeck bumper"

Friend of mine hit a little grey in his Hilux and it cost him $8,000.....

- Neil.

Your right, but i havnt, and dont really plan to travel further than 40mins outside perth with this truck. I have a daily driver so it only gets driven on weekends and mostly in the day time. And i prefer the extra clearance off road. The bumper i am making will protect the centre of the car in the same amount as the old bumper, but will have nothing on the sides. I couldnt see the bolt on aluminium side bits doing much anyway. But thanks for the warning

 

[Gib009]

Bit of an update:

Got the last 35 on and took it for a spin. First impressions is that it is a much more drivable car now. Alot smoother for some reason, maybe the wider track and a bit more length, and the power delivery is more suited to the road than before. Doesnt seem to be much power loss but i guess that will show when it sees some thick mud or boggy sand. Low range seems fine but i guess it will show when i need it.

Here are some out of garage pics.

Now here is the real surprise
Barely any rubbing, none at full lock, none during flexing, the tyres seem to fit quite well in the standard guards. I heard it rub twice at a few funny angles and 3/4lock but i think this could be sorted with the guard chop and beefing up the rear a bit. No need for a bodylift i hope!