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

[CaptBeardilocks]

Right in time my Slinky front coils FINALLY arrived. I’d only been waiting since February. So not too long. Lol. But seriously, Matthew & Albert at MillCreek are the best. Some of the best customer service I’ve had on this build, and from a VERY tough position when it come to the Slinky stuff. If anyone knows if they’re on MUD I’d love to tag them.

So with that done I dropped the motor in. Trans will follow shortly as soon as I get my clutch from Cruiser Bros. Then welding up a custom cross member/bash plate for the shorter transmission. Fun!

In the meantime, Im stuck looking at this weird thing.

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

As I was waiting for my clutch to arrive I took a better look at my flywheel to see if it needed to be resurfaced. Something looked wrong. A quick measurement showed that for some reason my turbo motor had the 275mm clutch/flywheel instead of the 300mm. A bit of research later and it looks like Europe got 275mm clutches on their turbos? Terrain Tamer’s website suggests that and my VIN pings to a 275mm clutch.

So a quick Partsouq order later (seriously, how do they ship that fast?) and way too many $$$ later I have a fresh 300mm clutch flywheel. Comparing them, that 25mm is a lot of grip surface.

I also found it kind of amusing it came in a Lexus box. I wouldn’t imagine they ever made a manual transmission in ANY market. But then I didn’t expect to find a HZ clutch on my HDT...

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

Just a “for fun” photo here. We don’t get to see our 80s like this very often.

Ignore the EV in the background.

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

Slow progress over the holidays waiting for shipments and for folks to get back to work. Lol.

But my Terrain Tamer HD clutch got here.

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

Wow. This thread got boring. Lol. Hopefully progress will start to pick up heading forward here.

One of the things I was waiting on over the holidaze was raw materials that were holding me up from getting the driveline strapped in. Because going with the manual transmission moves the crossmember forward ~2.75" I had elected to cut the crossmember gussets off and weld new ones on in the correct position for OEM manuals. I had even bought the damn things (anyone need a set?). Honestly, the biggest PITA of that approach was trying to add capture nuts for 4 of the mount points that would need them inside the frame. In the end I decided to strengthen the crossmember a bit and adding more protection underneath. Sort of in the style of the IPOR monster bash plate. But maybe not quite THAT heavy duty.

So I made this abomination of welding. 3/8" plate with an indent for the T-case (extra-necessary because it's moved forward), 1/4" front & rear bash plates for the transmission and the T-case, and some protection for the mount studs. It's ugly but hey, I'm using ancient stick welder and frankly I suck at welding. Luckily I'm a decent photographer and can hide my crap welds with bad lighting and angles.

Almost ready to slide the chassis under the tub again. Yikes.

I've started to lose the thread on this build over the last month or so. Shipping delays due to covid & over the holidays and more logistics & design than actual wrenching. Lack of progress and renewed understanding of how far I have to go has really put in a dent in my enthusiasm and moral on this. I haven't been off the road for more than 3mo in the last 4yrs, so 'restless' is a bit of an understatement here. This time last year I was somewhere in Death Valley...

 

[cahill]

These things always take longer than expected. Keep on plugging away at it and you'll get there!

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

Well, today was a monumentous day in history, I think we all can agree on that. After a solid 9 months with her ass hanging in the breeze, I finally got the Princess's tub back down on it's roller-skate. Oh, and some government stuff happened. New president or something right? I heard Gaga nailed it. I wish it I could ramble on about how amazing it felt. But I think it was a bit easier to palate as discordant, dissociative, groupings of parts and I didn't quite have to face it as a very incomplete "truck" that I was hoping to drive off in in the spring. Lol. Of course the 2ft of snow we got in the last couple of days was a good reminder of how far off spring still is. But on the bright side it takes up WAY less room in the shop now. Anyway, onwards and... downwards. Onto the chassis.


You guys think this is too much body lift for an 80?

Settling down on those new luxurious body mounts. Desert washboard will just feel like corrugated pillows from now on.

Hmmm... My Slinky 75mm lift looks HUGE with an empty tub.

See what I mean about "more together" looking "father from finished" somehow?

On the bright side, my @Campteq pop-top should be shipping any day now. @NLXTACY has some goodies coming for me soon. My driveshafts are on the way to @landtank for some loving and stretching. @white-knuckleoffroad sliders are ordered. I need to talk to @Delta VS about bumpers at some point. And maybe a console. And definitely some radius arms. How much is that next stimulus check going to be? I need to stimulate up some seats next...

On the dark side I have a LOT of wiring to do now. Crap.

 

[SteelHunterFJ80]

Well, today was a monumentous day in history, I think we all can agree on that. After a solid 9 months with her ass hanging in the breeze, I finally got the Princess's tub back down on it's roller-skate. Oh, and some government stuff happened. New president or something right? I heard Gaga nailed it. I wish it I could ramble on about how amazing it felt. But I think it was a bit easier to palate as discordant, dissociative, groupings of parts and I didn't quite have to face it as a very incomplete "truck" that I was hoping to drive off in in the spring. Lol. Of course the 2ft of snow we got in the last couple of days was a good reminder of how far off spring still is. But on the bright side it takes up WAY less room in the shop now. Anyway, onwards and... downwards. Onto the chassis.


You guys think this is too much body lift for an 80?

View attachment 2559922


Settling down on those new luxurious body mounts. Desert washboard will just feel like corrugated pillows from now on.

View attachment 2559925


Hmmm... My Slinky 75mm lift looks HUGE with an empty tub.

View attachment 2559924


See what I mean about "more together" looking "father from finished" somehow?

View attachment 2559926


On the bright side, my @Campteq pop-top should be shipping any day now. @NLXTACY has some goodies coming for me soon. My driveshafts are on the way to @landtank for some loving and stretching. @white-knuckleoffroad sliders are ordered. I need to talk to @Delta VS about bumpers at some point. And maybe a console. And definitely some radius arms. How much is that next stimulus check going to be? I need to stimulate up some seats next...

On the dark side I have a LOT of wiring to do now. Crap.

Brilliant writing at all levels! Great work on your cruiser as well

Very excited to see it come together. With the snow and the body on the frame now do you feel like you have more time to get it wrapped up and possibly reinvigorated? Where did you source the body mounts? Did you get all new ones?

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

I am currently hoping for reinvigoration. Hahaha. i got her bolted down late this evening and haven't had much time to reflect or refocus. But several factors in the last the week have already me pushed so far into the future as to make enjoying the moment a bit distracted. Things like really starting to dig into the wiring fun I have ahead. The fact that I can't find a bloody source for 12mm/1/2" fuel line in the US without paying literally $300 shipping. Lol. A subtank set-up that is awesomely finally on the way after 6mo. Delayed... everything. UAE shipping is set back by a couple weeks right now due to... a systems update? Sure. Cool. I know a lot of suppliers like Joey are fighting to get raw materials and parts to set us all up with what we need.

Also: Spray-in or glue-on insulation/sound deadening for the interior? I have to live in this thing, so quiet is good but space is a concern...

I replaced all body mounts with a Febest kit from Oz for the bushings. And all new OEM Toyota hardware. I'm OEM on 99% of everything I've done but the Febest bushings were highly rated for the price difference to OEM. I'll report back in 4-5yrs on how great of an idea that turned out to be if I live that long.

 

[J2P]

You are doing great even if it doesn't appear that way to yourself. Keep plugging away at it. You will like the GTurbo but remember that you have to feed her. I used a mid 2000 Duramax air box with it's huge intake elbow and reduced down at turbo.

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

@J2P The airbox is on my extensive list of problems that need solving. I have researched about as much as one can but there's not much for concrete options. Other than throw a couple thousand samolians at a PDI box. Torfab was making one but I see that page is no longer up. I have a local welder who is amazing but after a conversation he figured it would be pushing $500 to fab up an aluminum one from scratch.

I saw that someone had done a Duramax setup in the airbox thread. Did you ever write that mod up? Did you have to trim the bottom off for it to fit like the other example I saw?

I would eventually like to run a snorkel as well, which creates it own set of breathing problems. I've been trying to sort out a way to suck air from 4"+ inlet inside the fender most of the time and then switch to the snorkel when required for water crossings. At least that seemed like a better than the expense/bling of running a 4" snorkel.

I am getting a bit of an energy boost from the fact that it actually looks like a truck after most of a year as an unassembled Revell model kit.

 

[MonsterCruiser]

@J2PI saw that someone had done a Duramax setup in the airbox thread. Did you ever write that mod up? Did you have to trim the bottom off for it to fit like the other example I saw?

I got my inspiration from @J2P and I think I pretty much did the same thing as he's got. I put some pictures and info here:

The "Official" 1HZ/1HD-T/1HD-FT Airbox/Intake Mod Thread

forum.ih8mud.com

Yes, you need to trim off the bottom of the box with this one. I was thinking of applying FRP to seal up the bottom, but once I close the gap to the fender I think the amount of air coming into the box from the engine bay will be minimal. It'll mostly be cold air from the fender.

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

Yes, you need to trim off the bottom of the box with this one. I was thinking of applying FRP to seal up the bottom, but once I close the gap to the fender I think the amount of air coming into the box from the engine bay will be minimal. It'll mostly be cold air from the fender.

Ah yes, I saw those pictures. So you ended up just leaving the bottom of the box open on top of the fender?

 

[J2P]

@J2P The airbox is on my extensive list of problems that need solving. I have researched about as much as one can but there's not much for concrete options. Other than throw a couple thousand samolians at a PDI box. Torfab was making one but I see that page is no longer up. I have a local welder who is amazing but after a conversation he figured it would be pushing $500 to fab up an aluminum one from scratch.

I saw that someone had done a Duramax setup in the airbox thread. Did you ever write that mod up? Did you have to trim the bottom off for it to fit like the other example I saw?

I would eventually like to run a snorkel as well, which creates it own set of breathing problems. I've been trying to sort out a way to suck air from 4"+ inlet inside the fender most of the time and then switch to the snorkel when required for water crossings. At least that seemed like a better than the expense/bling of running a 4" snorkel.

I am getting a bit of an energy boost from the fact that it actually looks like a truck after most of a year as an unassembled Revell model kit.

I just couldn't justify the $100s people spend on higher flow airboxes so I used my ingenuity and my very basic mechanical skills. The box is shaved slightly on the bottom to sit down low enough but it's very minimal. Buy it with the intake tube so you get that massive 6" elbow coming out of it, it reduces down to 4" if I remember correctly. The intake end of box is a rectangular cutout that is larger than the fender hole but if you want to run a snorkel you can put a cover plate on the inlet side of the airbox with a hole for the size of snorkel you run. I see you have the intake piece for an intercooler setup on your motor, a definite must do.

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

I'll definitely look into the Duramax airbox. I've been meaning to look into plastic welding as an option for this sort of thing.

Can I ask what style catch-can you have on the crankcase breather?

 

[J2P]

I'll definitely look into the Duramax airbox. I've been meaning to look into plastic welding as an option for this sort of thing.

Can I ask what style catch-can you have on the crankcase breather?

It’s a Moroso aluminum and seems to work for me. There is steel mesh inside.

 

[MonsterCruiser]

Ah yes, I saw those pictures. So you ended up just leaving the bottom of the box open on top of the fender?

Yes, it's currently just open at the bottom on the side closes to the fender as per the photo in that thread I posted.

 

[SteelHunterFJ80]

The fact that I can't find a bloody source for 12mm/1/2" fuel line in the US without paying literally $300 shipping.

Also: Spray-in or glue-on insulation/sound deadening for the interior? I have to live in this thing, so quiet is good but space is a concern...

I used dynomat sound deadening and then their foam layer and am very pleased. Your focus should be on the doors and roof for sound reduction as well as the wheel wells. I'm also replacing the padding on the oem carpet with new backing. Here is the stuff I am going to order:

Sound deadening pad for carpet

Had a idea that I wanted to DM you but your inbox is full. This might help you with your fuel line shipping issue but I don't know if the numbers would check out... wanted to see if your interested before doing any more research.

I am doing a diesel conversion too and would prefer oem 12 mm fuel lines as well. I live near Seattle WA which usually a bit cheaper to get stuff from Asia so what if we split shipping costs some how? Might not be a ton of savings but every little bit helps.

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

I used dynomat sound deadening and then their foam layer and am very pleased. Your focus should be on the doors and roof for sound reduction as well as the wheel wells. I'm also replacing the padding on the oem carpet with new backing. Here is the stuff I am going to order:

Sound deadening pad for carpet

Had a idea that I wanted to DM you but your inbox is full. This might help you with your fuel line shipping issue but I don't know if the numbers would check out... wanted to see if your interested before doing any more research.

I am doing a diesel conversion too and would prefer oem 12 mm fuel lines as well. I live near Seattle WA which usually a bit cheaper to get stuff from Asia so what if we split shipping costs some how? Might not be a ton of savings but every little bit helps.

Inbox issue solved.

Thanks for the suggestion. I can try to run the numbers on the fuel lines but I'm not sure the math gets very much better. At the time I could only find them on Megazip (currently showing as Out of Stock on there) and they were about $200. When they messaged me back on shipping it was ~$300. We could run a shipping quote to the West coast instead and check on getting one set the rest of the way across the country... I'm guessing the second leg of the journey would be at least ~$75 for oversized maybe? So the saving on the first leg would have to be fairly significant. I was going to run it and see, but now they're out of stock right now anyway.

I do have a piece of SS line coming today from a company in Michigan. I misread their site and as 1/2" line cannot be coiled, I accidentally ordered ten 1ft pieces of 1/2" line. I tried to cancel that and they said that they would send me a 10ft piece "bent for shipping". I'll let you know what I find in the mail today... The difficulty of properly bending the 1/2" SS tube might make it all moot anyway.

Updates as events warrant.

 

[CaptBeardilocks]

It will never look this clean again. Posting for posterity.