Princess Rig: Diesel Manual Troopy-Style Pop-top Conversion and Off to Adventure

[CaptBeardilocks]

Have you considered having the frame galvanized? It's only a couple hundred bucks usually. Coats the inside channels as well that way.

I painted the inside of the frame with Eastwood internal frame paint. I hadn't thought of galvanizing. Next time. Lol. The biggest problem for me where I am right now is that I would have to ship the frame out somewhere. There's very little anywhere near me even for sand blasting & powder coating without shipping.

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

Some bull**** mumblings before I get to an update. Feel free to scroll straight to the photos.

Well I have to start off by saying that I lied in my last post. Specifically about there being a "next time"... If I'm not buried in this Pig then I will haunt the sweet weeping Jesus out of it's future owners. This is a helluva thing to do alone and part of me loves it and part fo me hates it. Lol. I'm extremely lucky to have the time and space to do this right now. There's a deep peace of mind in knowing that everything will come apart properly when something goes wrong out there, as it inevitably will. I live in my truck and travel a lot and every breakdown I've ever had (in my previous rig) was way the hell out of AAA's coverage. Which, to be fair, if you have all 4 of your Geolanders off of God's precious asphalt, you're way beyond saving in their mind. But I digress.

I've been struggle a lot with the spirit of this build. I honestly hate pouring this much money into anything. But it's going to be my home as much as it will be a means to get anywhere. And I could have just as easily dropped $150k on a 4wd Sprinter that would go half as many places but that I could s*** inside of after my morning coffee. So the ~$25-30k invested in a truck that I built from the ground up and that will go anywhere legal is worth it to me. I'll use the rest of the money saved for a very very fancy portable outhouse trailer.
...
Trying to stay on point: It's hard to pull a thing apart in this fashion and not want to make everything perfect. But this rig is meant to be USED. It's a shockingly, motherf-ingly exhausting amount of work for something that I intend to beat the hell out of and live in. The point is reliability & smiles. Almost no one in my world here can comprehend the amount of time I'm investing on something that won't have a dollar amount attached on the other side. And the MUD community both helps and hinders my lack of vision. Haha. A half-ass mechanic/builder like me can't live up to 95% of the big builds on here. But as one member on here once said "Don't let perfect get in the way of good".
...
I'm still not getting to my point... Maybe it's an excess of this Four Roses. But how do YOU define a truck or a build? Do you start with a vision and adapt as you find out just how MUCH it needs? Or do you start out with no idea at all and make one up as you find out just how MUCH it needs?

Anyway... So. The build.

Painted a bunch of parts that came off the frame etc. That's I think Round 4 of small parts painting... I was too high on paint fumes to document the other rounds.

Pushed in a few bushings. In is SO much more satisfying than the Shock & Awe of out, right?

Final coat on the frame.

It's a special pleasure to bolt the FIRST part on after months of deconstruction....

New heart out of the parts truck. I was feeling oddly bad this time about tearing down a running/driving rig. Until I had to cut/grind every bolt off the diesel belly pans/cross members etc underneath. F**k salt man. She was done. You did well old girl.

Side note: One man and one Harbor Freight 1Ton engine hoist is not enough to pull a 1HDT complete power plant out. I did it, but I hurt my everything. I'm typing this from the floor. I would say that I would do things differently next time but, as i explained earlier, there will not be a next time. (Jesus God how many times have I said that before..???)

Up next: Tear apart everything taken out there (Engine/T-Case/Trans) and make out a parts list that will likely ship in early 2021 based on my last order, pay the freaking Aussies WAY too much of my ill gotten gains for a turbo/pump set up, and do the BEBs that came pretty quick from my upstairs Canadian brothers at RADD Cruisers.

Anyone have a 1HDT Oil Pan they can spare? Mine is extra crispy & crusty....

 

[NorCalFJ100]

You are quite resourceful there! Great build so far!!

 

[Pippylongsausage]

Enjoying this thread very much. I used the 2 ton hoist to pull my 1fz solo in the middle of the night and that was sketchy. Can't imagine doing it with the 1 ton hoist.

 

[Tommysosa]

I am very much enjoying this build. I appreciate the effort you are putting in and also letting us know how you feel along the way. I too have been caught at a crossroads before when working on my build. Sometimes I think I ould have just dropped the money into a newer vehicle and been done with it. But that's not what us Cruiser heads do, is it? Keep up the great work on this project. I am eager to see how it all turns out and to follow along as it goes.

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

Enjoying this thread very much. I used the 2 ton hoist to pull my 1fz solo in the middle of the night and that was sketchy. Can't imagine doing it with the 1 ton hoist.

The problem wasn't the sheer weight of it but more that the 1Ton hoist didn't have the reach I needed. 2 cranes would have made it quite easy, the second being utilized to lift the T-case up after the oil pan cleared. But who has 2 engine hoists lying around? Or pull the trans and do it in pieces. But where's the fun in that?

 

[Pippylongsausage]

Yep, I had the exact same experience. The engine, trans, and xfer case make up a LOOOOONG hunk of metal and it is a bear to get out.

 

[B Large]

Love this build!
Your question about defining a project and vision is a great one. I like to have a general idea of what I want in the end, keeping in mind that the best laid plans make God/the Universe laugh the hardest. Sometimes you've got to be flexible in your projects and open to "suggestions" from the build itself. My last couple vehicle builds started with a general idea of what I wanted but tended to deviate a bit here and there due to certain factors during the work. When I look back on them and where they ended up, I'm generally pleased but always see details I'd like to redo or fix. I guess that's the never-ending part of a project: continually fixing the details. It's never really complete until it leaves your ownership and you can't work on it anymore.

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

My biggest struggle with this project from a vision standpoint has been restraint. Lol. Trying to follow the thread of the entire build in a constantly fluctuating tide of needs, wants, and should-I's. I seem to roll the dice every single day to decide how many "while-I'm-in-there's" I should chase. AND I'M IN EVERYTHING. Reliability vs Cost. And time time time time... I could be here building this thing for the next decade taking care of every little issue. But I'd much rather be driving it out in the mountains and the deserts again, waking up to absolutely nothing at all. As pictured below.

Case in point: the T-Case needs new seals (well... pre-point: do I use the Non-VC one that is on the trans right now or the VC one from my FZJ but then I have to get custom driveshaft made...). WHILE I'M IN THERE/while it's out do I re-gear? Part-Time kit? I'd like to just get the conversion done and drive it a bit and make sure I'm happy with everything before I start modding everything. Sort of baseline and then adjust. But at the same time I hate doing things twice.

I have about 200 of those decisions being made with the chassis/drivetrain alone. I try to pretend that the gutted body and all the electronics/living space/accessories/missing steering wheel/etc don't exist right now.

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

Wow. I have been slacking on this thread. How did I manage to go all freaking summer without an update on this build?? Summer get a bit busy around here, but not that busy. What can I say,? 2020 is beyond F-ed up. A bit of boring catch-up run for a few post but hopefully back with some color and fun after that.

So the 1HD-T/H151 came out of the Parts Pig. The T-case and Transmission came off with some Liquid Wrench, a torch, and patience. Fought the engine onto the stand and started tearing down. Nothing like a never-washed 30yr old diesel to get you dirty.

In the meantime it was time to install as much of the Slinky Kit as I've been able to come up with. The front springs have only been out of stock since… I think 2019 sometime. The folks over at Millcreek Overland have been great and it's definitely not their fault. Fingers crossed I'll get a set before the end of the year.

I have to admit that that felt good. Actually putting some things together instead of teardown and painting.

Then a nice order came in from the UAE. Christmas again. Now if I can only remember what all of it was supposed to go to. Way to many things apart at once…

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

First up was valve lash check Absolutely everything was tight. Time to get out Grandpa's old caliper and the calculator. And the conversion table because grandpa didn't do anything metric. (Is that a roll of TP? Hell, it's 2020, you have to stash that stuff anywhere you can)

And just like that I need 12 new shims. Lol.

Next the injectors came out. Well, 5 of then did. The last one took 3-4 days of soaking and beating until it finally surrendered and came out. Boxed them up & sent them to BECS Pacific for a rebuild as long as they're out.

“As long as it's out.” I'm beginning to really hate that phrase....

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

Ready to flip her over for BEBs.

That's a really easy job with the engine on a stand and upside down. Lol. And a good thing I did. Truck has 195k miles and I have zero idea if they were ever done. Definite delaminating. And #3 had cratered. Luckily the crank was fine. I put in fresh Taiho Standard bearings and they plastigauged in within spec.

Jumped back to the chassis and completely rebuilt the parking brake with new parts. Not nearly as expensive of a job ordering from Dubai. I did not do the dogbone mod at this time. I want to see how fresh everything works first before modifying anything.

A few more goodies came (pump not pictured for some reason).

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

Then I took a break to deal with a few other things around the old farm:

My 400k mile Tacoma blew the water pump so I had to do the timing belt on the old girl. Again.

Made a steak pizza.

Harvested some hot peppers from the garden, fermented them for a month, and made hot sauce.

Helped my old man rebuild some 100yr old barn doors.

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

I flipped the engine back over upright after a quick rattle can of the oil pan and started reassembly.

Rebuilt the Power Steering Pump with some new bits. The pesky NK 17/16 bearing was rough so I had to source that and ended up with two somehow?

Rebuilt the Vacuum Pump as well but forgot to take any pictures I guess.

Prepped the rebuilt Fuel Pump to go on.

Another sexy arrival: Rebuilt gear box from Redhead.

Starting to come together finally.

 

[thatcabledude]

An old FC just chillin’ back there.

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

An old FC just chillin’ back there.

That's another thing that happened this summer: We sold off my grandfather's collection of seconds and parts trucks. He was a huge FC collector. All the good ones are still squirreled and hidden, don't worry.

 

[nickolai]

You might be all over this, so please ignore if so, but it looks like you have the 'small body' alternator on that 1HDT. This can be a problem if you were thinking of upgrading to the 100+amp alternators listed in lots of parts catalogues. They use a different adjuster bar, which won't work with the ones listed in catalogues. I went all round the houses sorting this a while back.

Covered in these threads

1HDT Alternator bracket question

forum.ih8mud.com

Build - Mail Order Ride - My HDJ81

Thanks. Everything I've read has suggested this motor vehicle should be quicker, so I'll be banging through all the possibilities soon. If I can get it more highway-able by summer, I'll be happy. I turned another year older yesterday, so as part of getting quicker, I maybe overindulged :beer...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

This is proper orientation, correct? Want to be sure before I bolt it up.

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

So after a few weeks of struggle and several of those oh-so-fun two steps forward & one step back operations, my motor is more or less refreshed and assembled. There was a SUPER fun moment when I had completely resealed the transmission with the fancy pants Toyota FIPG (purchaser from a reputable Toyota dealer through their website) that was apparently expired as it never set. So disassemble, clean, rinse repeat. All good now with some The Right Stuff. We’ll see how that holds up.

After installing the new fuel pump I had regrets about not doing the ACSD delete properly and replacing the oil cooler cover instead of just plugging the nipples off. Which reminded me of demons I’ve found in old oil coolers in the past, and spawned a very specific nightmare where my engine overheats in Death Valley and I end up going back to Purcell Service in Pahrump NV and after 4hrs in the waiting room Ellen Barkin came out and told me that the Oil Cooler had clogged and sent #3 piston into The 8th Dimension and it would be astronomically expensive to recover it.

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

So I timed the pump up and got the sexy new turbo installed along with a very nice used exhaust manifold I picked up from a great guy on here. Now I had a bit of a think about what to do with the exhaust manifold before putting it on. I have ceramic coated a few in the past and was exploring that. I called Jet Hott who did my last manifold and, after my violent coughing fit when I was given a quote 3x what I paid two years ago, the representative offered me a 5% discount, I politely excused myself from the call in order to find a very strong Bourbon to set me right. So where to go from there? The build budget was spiraling out of control despite having followed advice of previous HDT builds: Carefully map out an approximate cost, double it, then set that number on fire.
Ive never had any luck with DIY ceramic paints. And my GF won’t let me cook parts in the oven anymore anyway. The parts store hi-temp paints don’t last and chip and look horrible after a few months. And this build isn’t bloody about looking good. It’s about function over form and reliability over resale value goddamnit! So I’m trying an old hotrod trick I heard about: using Slip Plate graphite lube as an exhaust coating.

Looks great now. Very similar to fresh cast material before rusting starts. We’ll see how it ages. Supposedly it’s Easy to touch up on the vehicle.