My new BJ of unknown origin...

[coleman2347]

More stuff completed

Engine is mounted, whether or not it stays here depends on when we mount the body but it looks good so far...first three pictures is of the front propeller/drive shaft. As we used 70 series springs and axles we either had to lengthen the front shaft or get out of the box. As shaft balancing is iffy we got out of the box and found a Hilux front shaft fit perfectly . Got lucky on that one. The clearance on the oil pan is about 5/6 inches, looks closer in the pictures but I think we have enough clearance. The oil pan gets modded a lot but with this combo we hope not to have to as I like as much oil as possible. I also believe the Toyota engineers designed it that way for a reason as it is to me a strange design. Any comments appreciated...Lee

 

[coleman2347]

Engine mounting

The engine is finally mounted. Depending on your point of view you might or might not like the mounting system. There is a entire cottage industry here of people who make things out of old used tires, The mount is made this way, IF I were still in the states I would have laughed at this, but I have found that the older I get the less I know, these mounts are strong and are used on many things from trucks to buses here..with good sucess...when in Rome...As always comments are entertained and actually paid attention to, when we started this there were few of these particular swaps done on IH8MUD. I understand there are a lot of these in Malaysia but having never seen one it is difficult to use that for a guide. We are in the solve as you go mode and are winging it. Your eyes may see stuff we haven't considered...Thanks Lee

 

[coleman2347]

Position of engine in frame

The next three pictures will give you some idea of how the engine is mounted in the frame...still have to make a transmission/transfer case mount but that should be fairly simple...Thanks Lee

 

[coleman2347]

More misc. pictures including rear shaft and overall view

I don't know if these help but I do know I like pictures and most of yall do also so heres some more...

 

[coleman2347]

Air conditioner and supercharger mounting points

First is the supercharger mounting point, the bracket will have to be fabbed and the hose routing figured out but this is where it has to go.
Second is the point where the compressor for the ac will go, bracket also will have to be fabbed as usual, so far though, all parts are from Mr. Yota, We may have to deviate from that some on pwr. steering and steering components...the idea is to make this nearly indestructible in the mountains as I dont like to walk back.....
Third is another one of the front spring hanger boxed....Thanks to those who read this and hopefully can take something from it...building it is more fun than I've had in a long time...I especially enjoy having to be creative in a way I haven't had to do in the US since I was a small boy on the farm....I got spoiled in the US as everything is just around the corner..Lee.

 

[coleman2347]

Starting to look like a truck

This week we got the tub on the frame to mock up where everything fits, actually we plan on getting everything bolted down and test driving it and then tearing it apart again...We need to do this to make sure all our modifications are really going to work (like we hope) and to allow us to correct any problems we find...
Today we decided we are going with Mitsubishi Pajero pwr. steering as the way we will mount it will be stronger and allow us to be more flexible in out front end configuration. Also the 15BF fills the engine compartment and the Mits. steering will allow us to clear the engine without any problems.
I have always disliked the turning radius of this particular truck...Three point turns were the norm, I think the PO got the steering wrong when he set it up the first time....
1. First picture about where the Mits. pwr. steering will fit
2. Engine to firewall clearance
3. Overall rear view body on frame...

 

[coleman2347]

How the 70 series axles fit the body

When we decided to go with the 70 axles I knew I was going to get a wider stance but could not really picture how wide in comparison to the body. Now I can and I like it. When I measured the frame to ground clearance it was 23 inches like it sits now and I suspect I will only loose and inch or so when the top, seats etc are installed. I didn't get a measurement on the approach and departure angles but it looks pretty good just eyeballing it.
1. First picture shows how far the stance is out from the body
2. Shows the frame to ground clearance.
3. Shows the rear wheel to body clearance.

 

[coleman2347]

Just more pictures

These pictures are just general shots of where things are at...as you can see, things are moving along..sometimes not as fast as I would like but at least going in the correct direction...
I drove this truck a couple of months and there were some things I definitely did not like. It came to a head when due to a misaligned pulley, I threw a couple of belts one night and had to limp home..
Driving the truck was like listening to a symphony of rattles and the turning radius was worse than a dump truck. As you know it rain here a lot and every time I went out in the rain with the drum brakes I had to ride them for a while to dry them off, just got to be a PITA..
So....I decided to rebuild it with the mods I wanted. We are in the process of sorting the mechanical s and after we get a running truck together we will tear it down and address the body work etc..Thanks for looking...as always any observations on your part are welcomed. I can't see the forest for the trees sometimes...especially kind of winging it like we are....Thanks again...Lee, hopefully to soon be

 

[rocrunr]

I have been following your build and have to say Good Job! THe strength of your steering can be improved by installing a 5th stud on your steering arms. Its a simple and cheap mod that greatly increases the shear strength of your steering arms when running bigger tires. Keep up the good work.

 

[coleman2347]

Steering Box

We tacked the steering box in to get the alignment for the steering shaft etc. The pictures show the mods made before reinforcement. Once we get it like we want it and ensure everything works we will go back and reenforce everything so dont worry its not going to wheel like this..

 

[coleman2347]

The first picture shows the outer frame, this will be tube and box
The second picture shows the run of the steering shaft
The third picture shows the clearance problem with the shock tower, this will be solved by boxing the frame with 1/4 plate which will give a 1/2 inch clearance of the tower while making the frame a little stronger.. the tower will be gusseted also...As always thanks for looking and opinions are appreciated.....Lee

 

[rocrunr]

Lee what we have done in the past when you go to plate the frame for the steering box is to sleeve inside the frame. To do this we made the inside plate and drilled the steering box holes ,then took some 5/8 tube that will slide over the bolts,we then cut the tube the width of the frame,then cut holes in frame for the tubes to run through to the outside of the frame. Build the outside plate and bolt it all together. Then weld. Essentially what you are doing is sleeving the bolts inside the frame to stop the frame from crushing when the bolts are tightened up. A lot of work but never a issue after. Derek

 

[rocrunr]

Lee for shock mounts we use ford truck front shock mounts from f-250/350. They simple weld or bolt to the frame and allow you to run longer shocks. Not sure how available these parts to you but just a thought. Looking good keep at it! Derek

 

[coleman2347]

Waiting on parts, some body work started

I have to apologize for not posting in a while, some family problems are getting in the way. We are waiting for some parts but have finally got the emergency brakes set up for fiddle brakes. While we were waiting for parts we decided to start on some of the body work. Not a lot of rust to deal with but a lot of bondo to sand down. It is standard practice here to use a good bit of body filler, don't ask me why...a culture thing I guess...also remember the painter gets paid by the hour and the more hours he puts in the more the gets paid. But when you are talking about guys that make about 240 php a day it's not a problem. (42 php = 1 usd)..having said that, here are some of the pictures of where we started on the body work.

 

[coleman2347]

Sorry wrong pictures its been a while

try again

 

[coleman2347]

Some more

Just more bodywork pictures

 

[medicdave]

Looking good your about 3 months behind me Lee. I have to crack the whip constantly to get my guy going and moving but we are almost there. Are you putting the supercharger on the 15B?

 

[coleman2347]

Back at it again

Due to a lot of personal things I had to put the project on hold for a while, its finally underway again and here is some of the latest.

Dash is kicked out about 30 degrees to allow for the ac to be installed behind the dash and the vents to be incorporated into the dash, when finished it will be a lot cleaner than having it hung under the dash.

Also the addition of a hundi steering column to give me a tilt wheel and the turn signals on the left...

We had some red paint left over from another job and as it was close to where we wanted to be, we just shot a light coat over the primer to get and idea if we liked it, the truck was originally red so thats how its going back.

Glad to be back....Lee

 

[coleman2347]

An idea of what the BJ will look like RED

Once this thing is put together and tested, it comes apart and gets painted, hopefully so you will never know it was blue, we are going to test it before deciding if we need to install the super-charger. Putting it together and taking it apart is a lot of work, but with all the modifications we are doing its the only way to tell if they work in harmony.
We built a rear battery box accessible from the inside floorboard to house the two 12 volt battery's, there is a picture of the underside and how its supported.

 

[coleman2347]

It lives

first run of 15b in truck


http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=4357622148297


i tested this link, hopefully it works for you guys, by next week we will road test the truck then start tearing it down to finish body mods and and paint. Finally its coming along....