X 2 on the photos of the power steering setup
Awesome job so far good on ya
Awesome job so far good on ya
My F/HJ45 rebuild thread
- Thread starter Vossie
- Start date
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- Thread starter
- #22
dont worry, im making sure i take plenty of pics of all the work done this december.
so far i have completed the rear axel swap, and am just about to start on the front axel. the PS will follow after that
- Thread starter
- #23
Challenge Accepted!
Within half a day i have the load bin off the back of the tortoise and all my nice new to me axels stripped and checked... all good there
the tortoise ready to receive her new rear axel
the front axel after stripping and checking... all good
so im just about getting ready to get stuck in when my uncle, not the one from the farm (yes, i have a large family
) pitches up and proceeds to tell me that he has managed to score us a hunt in the coveted Matetsi conservancy area in victoria falls.... and its gonna be for free
all i have to do is get my cruiser going in time, and make sure that the 4x4 is in good working order. no sweat. when did you say you needed it done by?
we leave next friday.
yup, that means i have 6 days to do 2 axel swaps, and PS, and test before under taking a 2000Km round trip, some of it in some serious 4x4ing areas.
i can do that
first up: Rear axel...
more to come
Within half a day i have the load bin off the back of the tortoise and all my nice new to me axels stripped and checked... all good there
the tortoise ready to receive her new rear axel
the front axel after stripping and checking... all good
so im just about getting ready to get stuck in when my uncle, not the one from the farm (yes, i have a large family
) pitches up and proceeds to tell me that he has managed to score us a hunt in the coveted Matetsi conservancy area in victoria falls.... and its gonna be for free all i have to do is get my cruiser going in time, and make sure that the 4x4 is in good working order. no sweat. when did you say you needed it done by?
we leave next friday.
yup, that means i have 6 days to do 2 axel swaps, and PS, and test before under taking a 2000Km round trip, some of it in some serious 4x4ing areas.
i can do that
first up: Rear axel...
more to come
Hey vossie how did your trip go and your axle swap
- Thread starter
- #25
hey, thanks for checking in chappo
axel swap went well, never made the trip tho 
will be doing a full write up on all of it a lil later. im currently fabbing up a new tuffy box for the 45, so will post up when done with that
Vossie you still kicking mate it has been a while since I've seen you on here how's the ute going
- Thread starter
- #27
Hey chappo,
Ja, still kicking. Just life getting in the way is all. The 45's still going, she won't let me down
I will be updating this thread shortly. Thanks for the msg.Ross
- Thread starter
- #28
Hi all,
sorry for being AWOL, its been a rough start to 2014.
so, i guess i should start with the work that was done to the tortoise in December.
as i posted in Dec, i had a once in a lifetime chance to take the 45 into the Matetsi hunting conservancy, one the most prime and highly sort after hunts out here, all thanks to my uncle Sport (yes that is what we call him
)
unfortunately for me, time was not on my side, neither was the rear diff :/ after installing the wider 60 series axel, i came to horrible realization that the left hand side half shaft was seriously scored, so much so that to run 2000km with her would surely result in a wheel bearing failure.
Hmmmm..... only one thing for it! out with the 60 axel, and back in with the 40! it took about an hour to get the newly installed 60 axel out, about another hour to remove its diff and install it into the 40 axel, and then about 45min to get that back under the ol girl. no sweat.
but now comes the real problem... the front axel.
now i could put that lovely new 60 front axel in, but that would involve a lot of work, such as out boarding the spring hangers and such... all that work would take a lot of time, time i dont have. solution?
put the diff into the current 40 axel! easy, all we have to do is install the new diff to the existing half shafts..... existing half shafts??? oh damn. just like my front diff and drive shaft, my front half shafts are AWOL. thats a problem.
after much surfing and posting here on MUD, i finnaly got a quick fix to my dilemma. 70 series half shafts are the same length as ones from a 40. and it just so happens, that there, parked right next the 60 that i robbed blind, is a 70 chassis, complete with front axel and half shafts. all i have to do is organize for some one on the farm to get em and bring them up to me in Harare.
and that right there is what sank the SS.Matetsi ... the half shafts never got to me in time....
more to come
sorry for being AWOL, its been a rough start to 2014.
so, i guess i should start with the work that was done to the tortoise in December.
as i posted in Dec, i had a once in a lifetime chance to take the 45 into the Matetsi hunting conservancy, one the most prime and highly sort after hunts out here, all thanks to my uncle Sport (yes that is what we call him
) unfortunately for me, time was not on my side, neither was the rear diff :/ after installing the wider 60 series axel, i came to horrible realization that the left hand side half shaft was seriously scored, so much so that to run 2000km with her would surely result in a wheel bearing failure.
Hmmmm..... only one thing for it! out with the 60 axel, and back in with the 40! it took about an hour to get the newly installed 60 axel out, about another hour to remove its diff and install it into the 40 axel, and then about 45min to get that back under the ol girl. no sweat.
but now comes the real problem... the front axel.
now i could put that lovely new 60 front axel in, but that would involve a lot of work, such as out boarding the spring hangers and such... all that work would take a lot of time, time i dont have. solution?
put the diff into the current 40 axel! easy, all we have to do is install the new diff to the existing half shafts..... existing half shafts??? oh damn. just like my front diff and drive shaft, my front half shafts are AWOL. thats a problem.
after much surfing and posting here on MUD, i finnaly got a quick fix to my dilemma. 70 series half shafts are the same length as ones from a 40. and it just so happens, that there, parked right next the 60 that i robbed blind, is a 70 chassis, complete with front axel and half shafts. all i have to do is organize for some one on the farm to get em and bring them up to me in Harare.
and that right there is what sank the SS.Matetsi ... the half shafts never got to me in time....
more to come
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Sounds like you had an adventure of your own without the drive
- Thread starter
- #30
i did indeed
had absolute blast in Matetsi, even with out the tortoise. would have been magnificent to have her there though. oh well.
- Thread starter
- #31
Well, that was all she wrote when it came to taking the Tortoise to Matetsi. i did however get to spend 10 fantas
tic days in the conservancy with my uncle and his family, so all was not lost. had a great time with family and just thoroughly enjoyed being out in the bush.
back to the 45 whilst still waiting for the 70 half shafts to arrive, i decided to use some of the other 60 series goodies i had lying in my garage. so, in with the seats
Really happy with how these turned out. the mounting brackets perfectly lined up with all existing holes in the 45, so it was just a simple bolt in job. they're about 2 inches higher than the original bench seat, but this is actually really handy as it means I sit up more behind the wheel, which helps in turning the non power steered Tortoise. plus, once i added the new canvas seat covers, i really love the way they look
Now that i have two bucket seats instead of a bench, i could begin work on a new center console, my own tuffy box.
i started by making a 3D model of what i wanted in google sketch up. then i transfered this as templates onto some 9mm marine board and cut out the peices.
once this was done, it was just a simple case of screwing it all together and then using a little wood filler to make sure it was all nice and neat along the seams. came out really good and fits my radio head perfectly also gives me some safe stowage in the 45 now when i have the top off.
more to come
back to the 45
whilst still waiting for the 70 half shafts to arrive, i decided to use some of the other 60 series goodies i had lying in my garage. so, in with the seats
Really happy with how these turned out. the mounting brackets perfectly lined up with all existing holes in the 45, so it was just a simple bolt in job. they're about 2 inches higher than the original bench seat, but this is actually really handy as it means I sit up more behind the wheel, which helps in turning the non power steered Tortoise. plus, once i added the new canvas seat covers, i really love the way they look
Now that i have two bucket seats instead of a bench, i could begin work on a new center console, my own tuffy box.
i started by making a 3D model of what i wanted in google sketch up. then i transfered this as templates onto some 9mm marine board and cut out the peices.
once this was done, it was just a simple case of screwing it all together and then using a little wood filler to make sure it was all nice and neat along the seams. came out really good and fits my radio head perfectly
also gives me some safe stowage in the 45 now when i have the top off.
more to come
That is a very nice looking console
Glad you went to the park anyway
Glad you went to the park anyway
Hey vossie mate have you got any updates haven't spoken to you in a while
Make sure that radio has some air to the back of it so it doesnt get too hot. Everything is looking great.
- Thread starter
- #35
wow... Just realized how long Ive been away for!!!
Planning a big write up on all things Tortoise and all the work that's been done, but for now, this should suffice
Planning a big write up on all things Tortoise and all the work that's been done, but for now, this should suffice
Look like you've been on safari
- Thread starter
- #37
indeed I have been
working on the write up for all the work I've done, including suspension, re-wiring, dashboard modifications and etc...
- Thread starter
- #38
Right, so I do believe its been a very long time since I've updated this thread... so, as condensed as I can make it, here is what has happened to the Tortoise in the months of my absence.
Part 1... the interior
The Tortoise never came with door panels. another thing to curse the PO about.
So, first up, I made mock ups out of 4mm chip board. came out really well.
so then I upgraded the 4mm chip board to 9mm marine board. much more sturdy and better looking. and of course, there has to be speakers!
Then I turned my attention to the dash. ( PURISTS LOOK AWAY NOW
)
so, I never really liked the dash on the old girl. not that I don't like the stock look, but my particular dash had many holes in it, much rust, and a serious amount of switchgear missing. price of a new one? way too much for my budget. plus, as I'm sure I've said some where before, the interior of the 45 is one of those places I believe you can make your own, something unique. so that's what I did
start off by cutting out the dash insert nice and neatly
then take an 0.8mm piece of galvinized sheet steel, sand it, wet and dry it, polish it, and fix in place with nice neat galv screws.
then I measured up, marked up and drilled out the holes for all the new switches. I decided to standardize on metal bodied toggle switches, because, lets face it, who doesn't like a good toggle switch??
those with a keen eye will notice the top left hole is outa line... yes I know but, its actually like that for a reason... so that the switches and LED's fit back into the dash with out shorting out on anything. well, I do also heat shrink every thing, but clearance was a bit tight so had to move that one up a bit. oh well 
and here's one of the finished product on the road...
so, from left to right. the big red button is the heat plugs. the big green one is ignition.( and Audi's brag about push button start) the toggles from left to right are: wipers, lights, spot lights, aux lights, radio, misc ( stuff like the cig lighter and USB charger combo in the tuffy ad inverter). all of them have green LED's to let me know what's on.
all in all, I'm real chuffed with how the dash and doors came out.
now, onto the power steering install....
Part 1... the interior
The Tortoise never came with door panels. another thing to curse the PO about.
So, first up, I made mock ups out of 4mm chip board. came out really well.
so then I upgraded the 4mm chip board to 9mm marine board. much more sturdy and better looking. and of course, there has to be speakers!
Then I turned my attention to the dash. ( PURISTS LOOK AWAY NOW
)so, I never really liked the dash on the old girl. not that I don't like the stock look, but my particular dash had many holes in it, much rust, and a serious amount of switchgear missing. price of a new one? way too much for my budget. plus, as I'm sure I've said some where before, the interior of the 45 is one of those places I believe you can make your own, something unique. so that's what I did
start off by cutting out the dash insert nice and neatly
then take an 0.8mm piece of galvinized sheet steel, sand it, wet and dry it, polish it, and fix in place with nice neat galv screws.
then I measured up, marked up and drilled out the holes for all the new switches. I decided to standardize on metal bodied toggle switches, because, lets face it, who doesn't like a good toggle switch??
those with a keen eye will notice the top left hole is outa line... yes I know
but, its actually like that for a reason... so that the switches and LED's fit back into the dash with out shorting out on anything. well, I do also heat shrink every thing, but clearance was a bit tight so had to move that one up a bit. oh well and here's one of the finished product on the road...
so, from left to right. the big red button is the heat plugs. the big green one is ignition.( and Audi's brag about push button start
) the toggles from left to right are: wipers, lights, spot lights, aux lights, radio, misc ( stuff like the cig lighter and USB charger combo in the tuffy ad inverter). all of them have green LED's to let me know what's on.all in all, I'm real chuffed with how the dash and doors came out.
now, onto the power steering install....
- Thread starter
- #39
but first, a couple of teaser pics of a small trip I did into the bush with my Pa, my uncle (yes, that same one who wanted the Tortoise to go to Matetsi) and his awesome family, my little cousins
bear with me here, tech is coming
so here are the pics. enjoy
now, onto that tech
bear with me here, tech is coming
so here are the pics. enjoy
now, onto that tech
That's looks like you had a great trip mate I would love to do that someday