new to me '81 BJ42, with donor '77 40 (1 Viewer)

[skcruiser]

I bought a 1977 FJ40 a few years ago with grand intentions to fix it up, and then lost ambition; new house and new daughter got in the way. Anyways, recently picked up a 1981 BJ42 that will now get my focus, as I always wanted a 3B to build my project around; and now I have one!

Some of the parts I'd like to swap onto the '81 are the hood, hard top and windshield frame. I'm sure the top and hood will swap over just fine, but will the windshield frames interchange? All the replacements show up to '78 and '79-up. I'm aware of the difference in the washer nozzle location, but will they physically interchange? And as I would have to change the wiper motors around too (12v-24v) any issues swapping wiper motors? I could likely fix the rust on the '81 frame, but if they will swap, my '77 one is in much better shape.

Thanks!!

 

[skcruiser]

So this is gonna be a long slow project. Here's some pics, because I know we all like to see what's being talked about. The green one is the '77 FJ (original project) and the red one is the '81 BJ (new project). They are both in rough shape but around here, that's what I have to work with unfortunately.







Here's the windshield frame rust; 2 holes. The one on the '77 has surface rust but no holes. Will they swap??









The hood had something bolted to it; which is why I will be swapping them.






At least the doors are in great shape; even has intact window felts and weatherstripping!



And under the hood. The 3B starts and runs like a champ. Factory alternator is gone, but still undecided if I'm gonna convert to 12v or keep the 24v system. I've read lots of pros and cons both ways....





More to follow the next chance I get, likely in a few weeks......

 

[FishTacos]

Good find. I'm quite jealous of you Canadians for your access to the diesel cruisers.

The windshields should swap easily since they both have bottom wipers.

And your bezel is upside down on the 77. Flip it or risk ridicule.

Also, welcome to mud

 

[skcruiser]

well, I did say this was going to be a long slow project!! So I found another '81 BJ42. Brought it back to Sask from Kelowna, BC. It has a 1st gen Aqualu Tub, but original firewall. Runs good and is almost complete.

Come springtime, I will be starting to strip the red one down to the frame and then I'll see how much of the blue one I need to "borrow"

The reason I'm not starting with the blue one is because I had already committed to a Gozzard fibreglass tub by the time I found the blue BJ

Pics of the Gozzard parts to follow....

 

[skcruiser]

here's another pic from in Kelowna

 

[skcruiser]

Here's some pics of the Gozzard products. I'm very impressed with the quality. I also have a set of 'glass front fenders I bought about 5 years ago when I first bought my '77

 

[jim land]

i plan to get a set of hard top side from gozzard ,my 40 is gozzarded from bezel to tail gate since 2001 and im very happy of my choice .
what was the price for hard top sides if you don't mind, did it take long to get those .

 

[jim land]

did you also get doors

 

[skcruiser]

Didn't get doors because of the great shape of the red ones; virtually rust free and seals/felts all intact.

Great to hear some good feedback on another Gozzard unit! Mine too will be glass tip to toe with the exception of doors, hood and fender skirts

HT sides were $980 if I recall. Shipping was the real bummer; almost $1000, but it was a 70"x40"x108" crate weighing 650lbs

My complete order including shipping was about $9500, and Mike was kind enough to give me a bit of a volume discount as well as he test-fit the HT sides to the tub and installed the threaded inserts to secure the HT. I feel very well taken care of so far! Can't say enough good things about Mike Gozzard at this point. If there was one drawback, it was the timeframe; took around 8 months. That's ok though. Because of the snail's pace of my project, it didn't actually set me back! Lol

 

[skcruiser]

I believe he actually had the HT sides pre-made as I added them last minute, so depending on his stock levels, turn around may be immediate.

 

[Varty Yo]

You still building this thing?

 

[DesertEmu]

I think he passed out.........

 

[alberta mac]

Hope we can get a reply !!!
I know first hand of the quality Mike puts into his work. From the get go Mike was an earlier pioneer of the making of Upper Canada Cruisers, as was I. He fell in love with the Landcruiser like us all. Unfortunately or maybe for us '' fortunately'' his first purchase was more rust than metal and being in the luxury boat business knows what to do with fibreglass ! The small group of us got to view the shop and see a new area set out for the the landcruiser dept.
A few peeps signed up for their tub and were all impressed with the Quality.

 

[skcruiser]

Still here guys but sadly no progress. Life has been too busy lately. Still have everything and it's still my goal to get this build done. Mostly just finding a few minutes here and there to do some research etc. My biggest dilemma at this point is do I keep the 24v or convert to 12v....

 

[TCSTARK]

I say keep it 24v since you have what you need to wire it up x2. It will be one less headache when you are putting it back together.

Here is my gozzard tub BJ42. It is a slow road but well worth it.

 

[skcruiser]

Very nice. What's with the extra little "hatch" near the back corner?

 

[TCSTARK]

That is my primary tank for the cruiser. The other one conveniently conceals a kill switch.

I chose to go with a rear mounted tank due to the lack of mounting points for the 79+ style gas tank. I could have added DIY mounting points but opted for a cleaner and easier solution.

 

[TCSTARK]

There are several good Gozzard threads but let me share with you the most important issues:

1. Rivnut Tool and rivnuts - Crucial to your build. They can be ordered on Amazon specifically. Get two, a small handheld size for closed space work and a larger one for the heavy duty jobs.

2. OEM Rollbar/Aftermarket Cages - The width of the stock roll bar will be too wide for the tub and will need to be narrowed. This is due to the double walled fiberglass design. I plan on cutting the feet off of the roll bar and re-welding them to fit OR cutting down the feet to fit and re-drilling the outside bolt holes so it can fit. The aftermarket cage can be built to spec and fit properly but that means you can't buy a used one and expect it to fit.

3. Under body gas tank mounting points - As described above.