Builds SOCAL BJ74 - The Fridge

[BarnFab]

Many Years ago in a Land Far away I had a BJ74 which I very much enjoyed but like a lot of things in life it was sold to support a move and I always thought of it fondly.

Fast forward several countries and I have managed to wind back the clock and again become the happy owner of a BJ74 Landcruiser, I almost got to buy my old one back but missed it by a few months.

Nothing real special about it, she is white, auto, A/c, P/S , Cable locked and has cancer in the windscreen so pretty normal for a BJ74. She did come with a new OEM Screen and white aint that hard to match so at some point I will swap it over and do a respray.

One of the great things about this cruiser was the fact that it has a legit CA title and was issued before the rule changes .

Once the deal was done the old girl was loaded up for the trip home.

 

[OGBeno]

The California legit reg is worth the truck and a billion times more.

Possibilities.

Congrats. Enjoy the slow lane.

 

[BarnFab]

The California legit reg is worth the truck and a billion times more.

Possibilities.

Congrats. Enjoy the slow lane.

Thanks, I dunno about slow though she goes faster than her older brother , I guess its a matter of prospective.

 

[saltycoconuts]

Thanks, I dunno about slow though she goes faster than her older brother , I guess its a matter of prospective.

View attachment 3345751

Love the 46

 

[BarnFab]

The fridge was never destined to stay stock for long and the 1st point of business was to sort out some Ruber worthy of a BJ74. The obvious answer was 35 x 12.5 and I had some ICON Rims to suit so BFG KM3's were sourced and setout to see what could need to move.

Like most good 70's you can pretty much fit 35's with no clearance issues. Rims are off an 80 series so Zero offset and I just made some spacers, so they cleared the leaf packs.

Now that looks better and while they might clear they certainly look like some lift might be required.

 

[BarnFab]

Ok so now we have it rolling on some 35's its time to list out the PLAN .

The PLAN :

1. Base line it - new rad hoses, new fluids, inspect, adjust and clean
2. ARB Bull bar
3. Lift it a few inches and modify bumps to ensure 35's leave the sheet metal alone.
4. Rear Bar - some sort of swing away to hold the 35
5. Boost, Pyro and Trans temp Gauges
6. Boost to 14 PSI / fuel to match
7. Re-Gear it to with reduction to match the 35's
8. Service the Auto and look at getting an extreme valve body to give better lockup and stuff.
9. Side Step
10. Tint Windows so it is less fish bowl.
11. Give it a winch for when the lockers take me no further.
12. Center console of some sort to fix the No cup holder issue most cruisers have.
13. Start hoarding spares cause 70's run for ever but Toyota seems keen on making it hard.

That should do it for now as I am sure other things will pop up as I go along.

 

[BarnFab]

@OGBeno can you Build Tag the thread so I stop loosing it please

 

[FJBen]

Great looking lair and cruiser. I’ll give some unsolicited advice because that’s the mud way.

I wouldn’t change the R&P with a diesel even though the auto gives you more leeway with that, unless you are going to like 37s.

If anything I would do lower t-case gears with an under drive. Sumo makes 10% underdrive gears that’s the equivalent to 4.56 gears in the diffs. Also you can get them with a 4:1 low range.


Make sure to do ALL rubber hoses and also check/replace that vacuum pump oil line. If it breaks, it will dump all your oil in like a minute.
Mine started leaking so I had it replaced at a custom hose shop using my ends for $50.00. Great peace of mind.

I’d plan on a turbo upgrade. It will wake the cruiser right up. Gturbo seems like the easy button. All bolt on and good results from all that I have seen. I upgraded to a Holset he221w cheaper but needs mods as it’s not bolt on. Has been an excellent upgrade.

Exhaust. Go 2.5” or 3”. Will help it breathe and cool off those EGT some.

 

[BarnFab]

Great looking lair and cruiser. I’ll give some unsolicited advice because that’s the mud way.

I wouldn’t change the R&P with a diesel even though the auto gives you more leeway with that, unless you are going to like 37s.

If anything I would do lower t-case gears with an under drive. Sumo makes 10% underdrive gears that’s the equivalent to 4.56 gears in the diffs. Also you can get them with a 4:1 low range.


Make sure to do ALL rubber hoses and also check/replace that vacuum pump oil line. If it breaks, it will dump all your oil in like a minute.
Mine started leaking so I had it replaced at a custom hose shop using my ends for $50.00. Great peace of mind.

I’d plan on a turbo upgrade. It will wake the cruiser right up. Gturbo seems like the easy button. All bolt on and good results from all that I have seen. I upgraded to a Holset he221w cheaper but needs mods as it’s not bolt on. Has been an excellent upgrade.

Exhaust. Go 2.5” or 3”. Will help it breathe and cool off those EGT some.

I like advice and I would not call posting on a forum unsolicited

The gearing I was referring to is exactly that reduction in the T-Case and funnily enough they can from @cruiseroutfit and are 10% and 4:1 . I intend to keep the diff ratios factory.

I got as many hoses as Kurt had for the 13BT and ordered the rest from Toyota , agree 100% on replacing before they fail.

Plan to stay with the Ct26 at this stage, depending on Temp and fuel might reconsider if it still has issues on my hills.

Good call on the exhaust I forgot to put that on the list it will get a 3" dump into a straight 2.5 . I want to get gauges in first

 

[BarnFab]

Ok so one of the things I need to sort first is some gauges for what is going on under the hood. Now I have 35's but everything else is stock I need to know what is happening heat wise in both the turbo and trans department. I figure a Pyro, Trans and Boost gage will be a good start so grabbed some Autometer units as I have found them to be reliable and accurate .

So that brings me to the location issue, with 3D printing being what it is these days I figured that is by far the quickest option to get something that looks factory. Fusion 360 is pretty much free so I used it to draw up a lower section pod that will hold Boost, Trans Temp and Pyro.

 

[BarnFab]

Not in love with the result and I thinking that maybe the more original location will work better so found an example of someone else's truck with them in the DIN area.

 

[BarnFab]

The more I looked at it the more the look of bezels being trimmed annoyed me but the concept was sound so I figured I would just make a new panel with some stand off. Getting them to fit with the single Din Stereo is going to be tight but the OD of the gauge is smaller than the bezel and CAD says it will fit, surely CAD wouldn't lie to me .

 

[fireball]

Keep them up high is my recommendation.

 

[BarnFab]

@fireball yeah I did think about putting them up there under a factory style cover BUT my BJ74 came without it so it has the dash top without the check out of it and holes so I get less room under it than what you have. I will keep it in mind, and it is certainly an option.

 

[BarnFab]

I think it will work, just need to check the fit of the vent section and then make a proper one.

 

[fireball]

Looks nice! Are you able to fit the angled rings in there? I found it really helpful in actually reading and monitoring the gauges to have the angled rings.

 

[BarnFab]

Looks nice! Are you able to fit the angled rings in there? I found it really helpful in actually reading and monitoring the gauges to have the angled rings.

Anything can fits its just a matter of design . To be honest I did draw one up with angles but I did not like the look on the dash as the dash is relatively flush. I will keep it as an option but the gauges are not what I consider critical to watch every second so went flat. Who knows once I make a black one and mount them all up I might change my mind and go with an angle

 

[BarnFab]

Its funny how much better a set of 35" tires make a 70 series look, almost like Toyota Intended .

 

[Felde]

Hi
Point 3 of your plan already implemented?

3. Lift it a few inches and modify bumps to ensure 35's leave the sheet metal alone.

What did you do to make it fit?
I only run 31x10.5 BFG AT with a 30+mm OME lift, and my back wheels still rub the wheel well at full articulation. Can't imagine what to do to make 35s work. Just curious
But yes looks great.
Cheers Ralf

 

[BarnFab]

Hi
Point 3 of your plan already implemented?

What did you do to make it fit?
I only run 31x10.5 BFG AT with a 30+mm OME lift, and my back wheels still rub the wheel well at full articulation. Can't imagine what to do to make 35s work. Just curious
But yes looks great.
Cheers Ralf

In those pictures nothing it is all stock but it was also not really driven offroad on that config as that step was simply to make sure it looked cool and the gearing on the 35's would not kill the Auto 13Bt setup with standard boost and fuel.

After driving it around and confirming it is fine, I will be fitting OME leaf packs and reconfiguring them to move the diff forward and making wheel spacers as required and modifying bump stops. I expect to go forward 40mm with the axle and extend the bump stops 30 - 50mm I can't say for sure as there always seems to be some slight variance. If it was a drive in job I would say 30 mm forward and 50mm bump stops of a 40mm backset spacer but that would leave some travel on the table and I like to tinker