The Desert Cruiser

[whothehellisdan]

Alright thin i've more or less got to the bottom of the death wobble issues. Wheels balanced, steering box adjusted, all new bushes, bearings tightened and a wheel alingment. Still gets a slight shimmy at about 70km/h but i think new tyres will sort that out. That's what i'm hoping anyway.
I finally got a chance to pick it up with the forklift to see how it'll flex. I'm blown away by how well the front works, but you can tell the rear is still holding it back massively. Looks like i better start selling my ass to buy some Kings for the rear as well. Will probably just go all standard 80 series arms in the rear and an Anti-Rock swaybar to try and balance it out with the front. It'll cost me a little bit of articulation but will give a much more balanced ride and flex.
Next step is to get the thing wired front to back so the locker is working again and the winch and HIDs up and running. Oh, it has the standard issue of none of the bloody power windows working either. Sigh. Here's some pics. I've snapped a few quick ones of how the Panhard is mounted as well, You can kind of see the kick put in it to get it up and over the huge diff centre without fouling on the Tie Rod.

 

[Crick60]

Those TRE's and relay/drag link don't look like they'll serve you well for too long, are they the stockies?
Could be a contributing factor to the shimmy/wobble.

 

[whothehellisdan]

Yeah they're all stockers for now, brand new but stockers. When funds allow i'll be going HD arms and upgrading to 80 series TREs

 

[cruiserpilot]

I was gonna hit the like button twice, but it wouldn't let me! That's the highest praise from a fellow Mudder.
I'm going to fly to Sydney so you can take me out in this truck. I really am hooked on how you did this. J

 

[MicahMan]

Wow just read this thread. I have much to contemplate and build on my truck!

 

[Crick60]

Yeah they're all stockers for now, brand new but stockers. When funds allow i'll be going HD arms and upgrading to 80 series TREs

How about an update when you come back to planet mud Dan.

 

[enfield]

Can't wait to see the finished product man!

 

[Off Duty]

Awesome rig!
Love that early pic while it still had the leaf springs.

It's only gotten better since.
Nice job!

 

[whothehellisdan]

Hey guys,

Sorry just been lurking and forgot to check back in here.

Right, updates. Things have taken a left turn.

I foolishly tried on a mates wheels and tyres and decided I needed a little extra bling in my life, so the 60 is now sitting on 17x8.5 Method Racewheels - The Standard design with machined finish.

The problem with this is they're only available in a 0 offset, which makes them way too narrow on the standard axles.

So the 60 axles are getting plucked out soon, and in their place i'll be slotting in a set out of an FZJ80. Smaller front crown wheel, but stronger CV joints, better width, and they're later model ones too, so much better brakes, especially with disc brakes in the rear. Hoping to have them in over the next few weeks. Currently stripped down in my workshop waiting to plasma all the old bracketry off. Will be doing a SOA in the rear while i'm at it.

While this has been going on i've made a few little changes as well. The old particle board side panels in the cargo area were falling apart, so I used them as a template and made some new ones out of 1.2mm alloy and mounted them using nutserts in the original holes for the clips. I've cut the inside of the tailgate out and made a panel for that as well but no idea yet on how to latch or hinge it so it's just screwed in place.
While the nutsert gun was out I mounted the 12V compressor, 240V invertor and dual battery controller.

While I had the back open I picked up a few rolls of sound deadener and lined the cargo area as well. Wow, what a difference. I could barely hear my young bloke talking in the back seat before and now it's clear as day. At idle it's almost dead silent too. Definitely worth the effort.

Oh, and I bought a new motor as well. 1HZ out of a 1998 HZJ75. I've got the complete powertrain setup out of it, so motor, late model H55F gearbox and manually operated split transfer case - no more stupid vacuum operated 4WD for more. That said i'm still not sold on this path and may end up going an LS1 still. See what happens I guess.

I'll try and get on here a little more regularly too. There's always tonnes of ideas floating around this part and I intend on stealing all the good ones.

 

[whothehellisdan]

Wait, I just remembered some more stuff. I pinched some idea's from here already and did the solenoid modification to get all my power windows working again. Mint now and super fast. I sort of tweaked the idea a little and come up with what I think is a much neater way of doing it with less splicing. I'm still not happy with where the solenoids sit inside the door, and that the window lock is no longer operational, but i've got an idea that might fix both of these issues.

While I had the screwdrivers out I also ripped apart the dash in an attempt to fix my unrealiable temperature gauge (Another modification i learnt on ih8mud). It didn't end up fixing the gauge completely, still basically sits on cold 99% of the time but at least it doesn't spike anymore. While it was all apart I stripped all the gauges apart, polished the factory lenses with a little plastic polish and replaced all of the gauge lightglobes with bright white ones meant for parker lights. Looks a hell of a lot cleaner now and was a super easy modification to do. Between that, a working stereo, working power windows, and a much quieter ride due to the sound deadening it's actually not a bad place to spend a few hours behind the wheel anymore.

 

[enfield]

You're not one for taking half measures, are you?

This is my favorite build on 'mud. I can't think of anything I would do differently on your rig, you have excellent taste my friend!

 

[whothehellisdan]

Haha thanks mate. I'm really trying to build this thing once and build it right. It'll end up owing me similar money to a UZJ100 but i think it'll be a lot cooler.

Also holy s***. I just realised i was last on here in November. I thought it had been a month or two max!

 

[cwwfj60]

really cool build man! nice work and I was planning on doing the aluminum side panels in the back and now I definitely will after seeing yours!

 

[mcguirejohnson]

This build is amazing man! The aluminum side panels are genius. The 1HZ 5-speed combo would be the cherry on top IMO.
Keep at it!

 

[cruisermatt]

I can personally attest to how awesome a 1HZ and H55f is, not in a 60 but still. I would be considering a turbo in a 60 application.

What I don't get is why you're redoing the front axle with one from an 80, why not just run wheel spacers? Although the difference in strength between the 8" and 9.5" diffs is negligible it doesn't make sense to me. The front is an inch wider than the rear stock so I wouldn't even mess with the front.

 

[cruiserpilot]

While this has been going on i've made a few little changes as well. The old particle board side panels in the cargo area were falling apart, so I used them as a template and made some new ones out of 1.2mm alloy and mounted them using nutserts in the original holes for the clips. I've cut the inside of the tailgate out and made a panel for that as well but no idea yet on how to latch or hinge it so it's just screwed in place.
While the nutsert gun was out I mounted the 12V compressor, 240V invertor and dual battery controller.

View attachment 1084644
Oh, and I bought a new motor as well. 1HZ out of a 1998 HZJ75. I've got the complete powertrain setup out of it, so motor, late model H55F gearbox and manually operated split transfer case - no more stupid vacuum operated 4WD for more. That said i'm still not sold on this path and may end up going an LS1 still. See what happens I guess.

I'll try and get on here a little more regularly too. There's always tonnes of ideas floating around this part and I intend on stealing all the good ones.

The aluminum side panels looks really good. How is the dual battery controller set up? I've got dual batteries, but no controller like that, but
from what I've read I should only need one to keep the fridge battery going. Why 2 controllers is what I'm asking.

As far as an engine, can't you source out a 12H-T? I've got one in my 60 and it seems to be the perfect motor.
Anyhow, keep it coming. J

 

[whothehellisdan]

The dual battery system is pretty bulky but really simple. The top one is the actual controller, and it has an input for solar power as well - it'll just chop and change between solar and alternator based off what's putting out more power. The lower part is called a smart pass. From my understanding it basically just helps you prioritise your power. So you can run your starter motor only off the main battery, other essentials such as a fridge can be run off the 2nd battery, and the smart pass lets you run things at a really low priority, so say things like camp lights, invertors, power outlets etc. The idea is it'll keep your fridge running as long as possible.

12HTs aren't very common in Australia, they're very expensive, and the 1HZ makes the same sort of power without a turbo. Add to that the 1HZ is probably the most popular motor in Australia and it just sort of makes sense. Like I said, i'm not convinced either way yet and still considering going an LS1.

 

[dbleon]

Man I love this build...Do the 1hz if you can get it !!!

 

[cruiserpilot]

So the two controllers are different part numbers? I'll look into that. I've looked into the first one already; not the second.
I thought 12H-T's were quite common and easy to get there, I guess learn something every day.

 

[pyrotech]

I found this on pirate, thought it was interesting, as i am currently looking at engine upgrades for my 60
also lots of people saying that the 12HT is more fuel economical then then the 1H series of motor..

2H 105hp
12HT 136hp
1HZ 130hp
1HDT 160/170hp