Builds My LC 80 thread.

[kevsta]

Hi Dave. nice work. hows the rear draw system coming on? I have just started work on the second phase of mine.

and what was the outcome with the ITV station and removing your second row of seats in the end?

will they want the draws homologated, or will you just remove them for the inspection?

 

[Dave 2000]

Hi Kev. The first two sections are complete, I just need to cover them. So far there are two large/long boxes, they fill most of the space between the tailgate and the middle row seats. the one on the right has a flat panel that holds the fridge, this simply slides out. The second sits beside the first, this has three drawers, the lowest is fairly deep, the upper two more shallow, they all have movable dividers in them. There is another small box under construction which houses my shower pump, and also the other electrics for the rear of the car, solar panels controller, amp and volt gauges/USB phone charger/camp lighting, there is a picture of the more or less finished front shown earlier in the thread. It is all modular so I can fit/remove whatever is needed to suit the trip I am taking. I can be a bit of a chippie but, the truth is my wooden drawer system will look like it was made by a mechanic and not a carpenter.

Pretty pleased to say the least with Peters hard graft during August (Thanks Pete ). Pete has popped over to the UK and will not be back for a few weeks. I am hoping work will quieten down, this will give me a chance to do some trials and he will alter to whatever spec I want if need be when he returns. This setup is for my short term camping, three or four days for example, the fridge will always go as it is a must for meds. For longer trips the middle row of seats will come out, and another larger construction will go in there, mainly water storage and heavier spares/tools, this will keep the weight low and more central to the chassis. I also plan to cut out the rear tailgate inner and fit a lid. Basically a cheap copy of the 'Wagongear' (plug) idea. His look super professional mine will look...well ok...ish...I hope. This will hopefully hold some tools and some of the recovery gear.

Re the ITV, my friends feel I should keep the rear seats and just unhook them when needed for camping, as I rarely drink and am often the designated driver for nights out, I doubt this is the motivation for their thoughts, so they will stay and be clipped in when going for the ITV inspection, this of course means the drawers cannot be fitted.

Take it easy mate,

Regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Quick update.

252,361 miles.

Changed engine oil and filter.
Changed gearbox and transfer oils using 80W mineral GL4, high spec for trucks etc.
The drawer part of the drawer system is complete.
The box holding the fridge is built but needs covering.
Front axles to be pulled and the seals replaced with the Marlin Crawler versions, this will be done by mid next week, I know I am going to need a CV on the left side sometime in the very near future, but for now they will be rinsed out and repacked, procrastinating over brand to use and gun drilled versus non drilled has left me seriously behind with time at the moment. I guess I will just replace the pair and call it done, but for now I need to hold back the soup. One of the under bonnet status LED's on the dashboard (slow fan indication) mod has gone amiss, it has worked fine for a couple of months but I may have messed up the ohm calculation for the Green LED and it has eventually fried it? The water bladder in the RH rear quarter tends to make the OE plastic panel bulge out when full. The panel has been replaced with ply, I also cut in the curved parts of the plastic panel from the front and rear and fitted them to the wood, the new covering disguises this really well, and I am very happy with the end result.

Cabling is done for the solar panel, solar controller, water pump, ciggy lighter, I don't smoke but many gadgets use the this socket for power. There are two USB connectors, one for mobiles and the other with a higher amperage for tablets. Volt meter and two amp gauges so one for each panel but fitted pre controller.

And of course when everything is going so well and you are running against a clock things start to go wrong. The drivers window has decided it wants to jam when fully down, and one of the tailgate rams broke when I stupidly shut the seat belt buckle in it! I ordered two new struts and they have arrived very quickly and have been fitted, the window will absorb time I simply do not have so it will have to wait for the moment.

Other than that car is running well.

regards

Dave

 

[kevsta]

Hi Dave.

I didnt do any of those oils yet, but have been installing Split-charging,

LED bar and spots - given that it looks likely that the roof rack will have to come off for the ITV too, may as well put some lights on it

and am approaching finishing the drawers. only the covering and metal edge trims left to do now.

I am having 4 x 2" high-density foam cushions made in grey leatherette to make it comfortable for doggy passengers and/or double bed (with seats down and another 2 cushions)

the rear quarters hinge up, and house the 3rd battery (and inverter, which is still in the post) the design allows me to use the left-hand pair with the right-hand (6th) seat in, the rear pair (closest to seats) or all four, and it also all comes out without disturbing the 3rd battery.

**where are you planning on getting these Marlin Crawler seals?

 

[Dave 2000]

Hi Kev, good to see your moving on with your build looks great! I love those handles, I was looking for some of them but could not get them on the quick, so I will find them somewhere I am sure. For the moment I have some kitchen cheapo's on there. I am banging my head against a wall at the moment trying to get the car ready for next weekend. If it could go wrong then it has! The material that has turned up to cover the fridge box is wrong, it was a bad call on my part, it is so hard to go by photos! So that is a pain and will not get done before the trip, then the shower pump seems to have had a heart attack, and everything is going wrong at the same time. Re your roof rack, quite frankly it is bollocks that it has to be removed for the ITV, I have never dealt with such archaic rules! I suppose you having a street lamp bolted on will not go down too well.

I got the Marlin Crawler seals a couple of months back from IIRC Cruiserparts USA? Great service! Look back through my thread if you get a moment, I need to go and get showered off, my dog opened up the pads on her feet trying to get out today. So she is now sedated in a cage!!

Airport run tomorrow am, and then a visit to the bank to put some Wonga in, and then hoping to crack on and at least get the dashboard in and the shower pump repaired.

Keep in touch mate,

EDIT: Seems that the dog had some kind of seizure or fit? She was attacking the floor!

On the mend now.

regards

Dave

 

[kevsta]

Hiya. thanks, yes Im quite pleased with it, but frankly can see why drawer systems are so expensive, along with several hundred Euros on wood and materials, it's been a lot of work and its not finished yet. however with my required specs for what had to go in there, and where (battery/ inverter, tools, compressor, small fuel can etc) and for flexibility / rear seat use, it's not possible to buy what I wanted, ready-made anyway, so there was no choice but custom.

I started covering it yesterday, that should be mostly finished by end-today with any luck.

the handles came from here Recessed flip handle - heavy duty - zinc plated (after another company sending me the wrong thing including a 6 week wait for them, for my man-with-van courier to arrive, I then had 3 days to get some more to my mum who is visiting. I messaged them through ebay and he replied:

If you need the handles in a hurry, your best route would be to buy directly through our main Blue Aran website (search there for product code ADH34082) you will be able to choose there from a range of guaranteed and timed delivery services (including courier services at rather less than the £10 fee for registered delivery you mention). You will also find that we are more than happy to ship to Ibiza - again, ebay's systems don''t allow us the flexibility to offer this on transactions through their sales channel - but international airmail deliveries can tend to be a little unpredictable on the timing front, so I would hazard that shipping to your UK address would probably be more prudent. We will ship same working day on any order placed and paid for before 2:30PM.
​

..which I then did, and which arrived (at mums) registered delivery the next day, as promised.

the roof rack thesis is not definite, but a friend here is made to remove his big steel rack from his LandRover every year, because it doesn't have the EC number on it, so I'll probably do it prior to testing every time until / if it can be homologated.

she is starting to sag at the back now though as we approach 180kgs load with tools, drawers and rack, even before any of the steelwork goes on. it probably doesn't help much that there are 30mm spacers at the front now, either.

it does mean the lift kit now jumps to the front of the buy-list through necessity though

EDIT. covered and trims going on. nearly there..

 

[Dave 2000]

Looks real professional, nice one Kev.

Agreed about the custom side of things, I need to be able to move from eight seats to weekend trip to a full on expedition, so am trying to keep it as modular as possible. When not doing anything more than a weekend trip, I reverse into the garage and hook up the roof rack to four pulleys and lift it off the car, tent, spare wheel and all, not bothering with homologado for a f*cking roof rack FFS, they can go whistle for that!!! I am off on Sunday to meet up with some members of the Landcruiser.netclub. Will be great to put faces to 'handles' and run some trails with them. I am going to do my update now, and finish getting the car ready tomorrow, just teething issues really.

Keep in touch.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Trying to prep for a trip with some guys from a UK forum (Landcruiserclub.net), I have been rushing around like a blue arse fly!

Work and personal commitments meant I am adrift about two and a half days of pre trip preparation!

So, at 252, 361...ish miles.

Gearbox oil changed
Transfer box oil changed
Front axle oil changed, contaminated with CV (Birf) grease. The breather pipe had collapsed so oil/grease has been crossing over. Pumped a load of Moly in there as a stop gap, I will carry a spare CV, grease and flange. Working on the basis of 'if I don't have a spare it WILL break' then I should be good. I will replace both axles and CV's later.
Both prop shafts greased.
Engine oil and filter were done 28/09/2016

The fridge box will not get the outer covering before the trip so that is a shame, it would have completed the three modules in the back of the car. Shower pump did get repaired and is OK. CB was also fitted, I found one that (with minor fettling) fitted in the vacant place you get when you bin the ashtray. Green LED (slow fan speed) has been replaced, I did cock up the ohm calculation as I first thought, it had cooked in a very short time, the other six LED's were all checked and I got them right.

Other than that all is well.

regards

Dave

 

[kevsta]

Have a good and safe trip Dave.

ps. would still like to see current pics of the beast at some point, rack, tent & drawers etc, I looked back through the thread but didn't see any

 

[Dave 2000]

Well just got back from a few days running some trails in Almeria with members from landcruiser.net club and it was great fun with a great bunch of guys and girls. Work commitments meant it was rush rush rush for the trip but managed to get the car ready. As I walked around checking everything on the Sunday morning, it struck me just how....well 'right' the 80 looks when loaded up, ready for business if you like. Off I set and a short while later I realised I did forget some bits and pieces but mostly camping related. Setup base camp where some other members had already arrived, this gave us all a fresh start on Monday morning. The 80 performed fantastic, keeping in mind the stock wheel/tyre size and stock suspension she did great. I used the diff locks with some care as to not strain the CV's which are past their best, no problem though. One of the things I did forget was the engine driven fan, I had planned to take it and it would be there if I had trouble with my all electric system. I need not have worried, I am happy to say that despite 30+ temps, engine often running for around four hours solid at a time, idling, low range/high revs and of course AC on giving a nice steady 6 degrees C, the engine did not even get near hot, the fast fan speed responding to the AC, meant the fan only needed to run for around 10 seconds at a time. The rig was loaded as you would expect, full load of fuel, full length roof rack, RTT, sand ladders, Hi lift, spare fuel, second spare, 40 litres of water (30 on board and 10 in bottles), drawer system with fridge, cooker, gas bottles, trail spares in fact, everything you need to run trails and camp.....brilliant!!

With the stock ride height brought down by the additional weight meant I managed to loosen one rear mud flap and then trying to get in a position to repair a puncture (more of that later), I trapped the other rear and tore it off and busted the bumper support at the same time, my error that one. Just not wanting to delay the group more than necessary.

I could not take the solar panel, it turns out it will not fit under the roof rack I purchased awhile back. The camp site had leccy so with the loan of a camping adaptor (thanks guys) I just run a small 2 amp battery charger to the batteries, this kept the fridge going all night. Drawer system and fridge slide work brilliant, the fridge slide a little too efficient, I nearly lost the fridge when we had stopped on a steep slope to check to see if we could go on any further, water having washed away a lot of the trail. I grabbed a cold drink and walked away, good job 'Rodger' a Land Cruiser Net forum member was there to stop a runaway fridge as I had not closed the tailgate, I will work on that asap. I noticed on occasions I am leaving a puff of blue from the exhaust fading to a light hue when on the move, no one mentioned it so I may be overreacting to and an engine with over a 250,000 miles, I will keep an eye on it all the same.

With trails pretty much over for the year, I can concentrate on finishing stuff and sorting the CV's.

@kevsta

No problem mate, I will grab some pics for you over the weekend.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

I mentioned in an earlier post about finding a CB that was small and convenient for the 80. The Albrecht AE-6110 ultra compact was the chosen unit.

This is not an all bells and whistles device, it is for communication purposes without unnecessary extras so if you want a 'roger bleep' or extra sidebands move on.

It is a FM/AM unit and is designed for most markets, but different countries get different options, some get an additional 80 channels, so look carefully before you order.

With careful trimming of the area around the ashtray the unit can be slid into place, and looks great. I added some two pack resin to fix it in place. This leave a gap underneath the CB which means the speaker is easily heard, I was running against a clock so used a simple centre loaded antenna with a mag mount base, stuck it on the bonnet, SWR was easily sorted and called it done. I used it for a few days on the trail and found three issues, all revolve around the microphone. The first is the PTT button, it seems to have no 'feel', you are not sure you have actually pressed it enough unless you are looking at the unit to see the red LED indicators to confirm you are transmitting, not a big deal and you get used to it. The second problem is with the channel change buttons, they are on the top of the microphone, they were always getting knocked and swapping the channel, they either got triggered when putting the mike down or when clipping it in place, you only noticed it when you did not get a reply. The manual states you can lock the keys by holding the 'EMG' for two seconds mine did not work soooo? The third problem is the mike is a fixed affair, you cannot simply unscrew and replace with your favourite 'power mike'.

Transmit and reception was great, I may change the LED colour from orange to green to match the stock dash colours but other than that a great little unit, there are some reviews about, and even some info about modding for higher output, the cheap price means if you screw it up then no big deal, for car to car comms in convoys the stock output if perfectly ok.

Pictures coming tomorrow.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Sorry @kevsta and all for the picture upload delay, a lot going on.

Despite the drawer module being covered I do have a pic but it not installed in the car, the fridge slider pic again is when not installed, that is not covered anyway as I run out of fabric.

So I will put up what I have thus far.

Drawer set.

Fridge holder/slide. My carpenter friend made the simple slide using a strip of Formica, on the recent trip to Tabernas desert I left the tailgate down and was parked point slightly uphill. Good job a fellow traveller saw the fridge making an escape attempt, I could have lost the lot! I will put a chain behind it to limit how far it can come out. Needs covering at the moment.

The water bladder behind the right rear panel, a 'MUD' member warned of the bladder making the plastic side panel bulge and distort. I removed the plastic panel and replaced it with some ply. Then where the panel curves out to the body front and rear, I cut the plastic curved area off and then screwed them to the wood, the covering nearly hides the join, I will put another cover over that later, it has to come out as I need some tin worm cut out and new metal welded in.

As an aside, the drawer units are held in place by passing a strap over the top from each of the seat brackets, and a further strap from the same point but around the front of the fridge/drawers, just to make sure they do not slide forward if braking hard or in a shunt.


regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

The next pictures are of the water pump box, this also houses the wiring for the gauges/solar controller and power distribution points. Above the box is the fill point for the water bladder, have to be careful not to overfill, I put a piece of plastic there when filling just in case. The lid of the box is held in place by magnetic catches and simply lifts off. As the box is a permanent fixture whether camping or not, the slope at the rear allows me to use the rearmost seats, this keeps the inspection people happy.

The control panel from the front. The water pipe at this point is just pushed on the pump connector, I do need to find a quick release connector. The pump has a 'no drip' valve so will not leak, just in case thought there is another tap inside the pump housing, this can be used to isolate the water bladder from the pump if anything needs maintenance.

Another front view of the control panel, I was asked as to why I use the analogue gauges, simple really, the LED and LCD are not so easy to see when the sunlight is on them.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

This final couple of pictures are of the mega small CB, just a little widening around the ashtray opening and it fits like a glove.

The CB is an 'Albrecht' unit model number AE 6110, no bells and whistles, just simply does what it says on the box, plugged it in, set the SWR and away you go. I have two criticisms, the microphone does not unscrew when not needed, and when you do put the microphone down it is way to easy to change the channels, the buttons being on the mic and are very sensitive, you can lock the buttons, but if you need to alter the squelch or gain on the quick, you have to unlock them again. Given you are in a convoy with little distance between you then you can wind the squelch up and lock the buttons and leave it there, so a minor issue really. The gap under the unit is perfect for sound, the speaker is in the bottom of the unit, so no external speaker needed.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

The rack and tent pictures you asked for @kevsta, one is in the village of Tabernas and the others during strip down after returning.

The full length rack holds the tent (obviously), a second spare wheel, sand ladders, a 48" hi lift, (60" only goes when I am on my own), there is 10 litres of diesel up there in this pic, in the garage now are two 40 litre jerry cans for future use, and a 3 piece ladder for climbing onto the rack. I do not rely on ratchet straps to keep everything safe, the sand ladders for example are sharp enough to fray and cut at the straps. Everything is chained up (down) and held in place by small 'U' shaped versions of bow shackles. The shackles can be replaced with padlocks if in areas where this may be needed and the vehicle is left unattended. The advantage of using the shackles is they do not get screwed up with fine dust like padlocks do. The orange ratchet strap is simply pulled tight over the accessories and stops a lot of rattles that would otherwise drive you (me) barmy.

If I had a brain Kev then I would have dropped the tailgate and you would have seen the drawer system installed, it is there but not really visible.

That's it for now Kev and guys and girls, feel free to offer advice, comments.


regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

About two months ago (Sept 2016), I fitted 4 brand new Yokohama Geolander All Terrain tyres to my Land Cruiser. A few weeks later I got a puncture in the sidewall in a dry river bed........by a twig!!! Yes a twig, tried repairs but the sidewall was so soft it did not hold the insert. There were others with me, none on Yokohama, but a variety of other brands, they covered the same ground I did and had no problems whatsoever, I was gutted that my money may have been thrown in the bin. The tyres were available with NO white writing on the sidewall, which is my preference, I have no need to shout about the tyres....until now!

I contacted Yokohama Tires, the first site that came up, of course it was the American customer support. Sadly I did not get a "Sorry, you have contacted the wrong department and we will forward your complaint." They simply did not reply. So I looked for the contact details of Yokohama Spain but no luck, so I contacted the head office in Japan, and it was not long before a rep from Yokohama Iberia rang me. His thoughts were it was 'bad luck', WTF??? I told the rep I was not happy about that and it should not happen to an A/T listed tyre, he came out with some long winded procedure that the Yokohama laboratories were going to carry out on the tyre and this was going to take some time to complete. So I reminded him it is illegal in Spain to have mixed brands of tyre across an axle, and I have had the tyre repaired. He then told me he would ring me the following week to arrange the tyre to be removed in his presence and he would make the decision on going forward..............I never heard any more, the classic **** YOU!

He has my mobile number, and my email address, no excuses!!

So, I now have serious reservations about Yokohama tyres being advertised as ‘ALL TERRAIN’, perhaps it should say ‘SOME TERRAIN AS LONG AS THERE ARE NO TWIGS’!

To date I still have heard nothing. Any company whether tyre related or not who does not respond to a customer complaint and stick to appointments is not worth a light, you have been warned.


regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Thanks for that @pengfinn do you have experience of these tyres?


regards

Dave

 

[pengfinn]

Thanks for that @pengfinn do you have experience of these tyres?


regards

Dave

Honestly, I've never had any issues back when I ran some of the A/T's on my last truck (Tacoma), but I could definitely see something like a twig killing the sidewall. I don't know what the difference would be between how they're manufactured for the US markets and how they're manufactured for European markets, but that doesn't matter since customer service seems to be giving you a the runaround. I'd keep calling and make sure he made it all right.

 

[Dave 2000]

Thanks for getting back to me.

The Yokohama customer service to use the Americanism 'sucks', I am very disappointed to say the least. Re the twig, I and others noted that the tyre wall seemed very thin. Not 'wrinkly' thin or damaged from running flat, I had probably gone just a few yards when I heard the twig hitting the car underneath, and it still had plenty of air when it was taken off. The rep from Yokohama Iberia did say it could be a faulty tyre but unlikely, it matters not, he put it down to bad luck and to all intents and purposes blew me off.

Customer service to me is the main thing, I run a small mechanics business in Spain, if I treated my customers as he has me, then I would soon be out of a job. A company as big as Yokohama don't give a toss about their customers but, social media is a great place to vent off when they do not step up to the plate, a 10 cent call and he could not be bothered.

I am not going to bother to ring him, I will just vent off whenever someone asks me what I think about Yokohama, I will tell them how it is.

regards

Dave

 

[pengfinn]

If you use Twitter, publicly asking them wth happened would likely get you a response. If there's anything that forces a behemoth company into acting, it's being shamed on social media.