Toyota Landcruiser HJ47 Ute with Isuzu 4BD1 conversion Build

[Haydo]

Aaand I might just leave this one here too while I'm at it. That is a Barramundi that must have weighed 15kg. It measured 950mm head to tail. this was the first fish of the trip. Its covered in mud 'cause there was a 5m high mud bank I had to climb to get up away from the crocodiles that were showing some interest in my catch. needless to say I'm pretty chuffed with myself here!

 

[DTSkyCop]

Envious of your build here... Nice work... Would love to see Australia like that... How long is your trip going to be? Great looking Barramundi too... Safe travels, keep the pics coming! Love it!!!

 

[Haydo]

Envious of your build here... Nice work... Would love to see Australia like that... How long is your trip going to be? Great looking Barramundi too... Safe travels, keep the pics coming! Love it!!!

Cheers mate, yes we're pretty fortunate to be able to live the way we chose! This trip will take us through until mid next year I reckon. we are currently just finishing up with some work we did to keep the funding happening. we'll back into it around the 10th Jan 2016. The Victorian/NSW high country will be next, then Tassie for a month or so. Should be good!

 

[lostmarbles]

This is how the ute looked before the water got up under the clear coat. I reckon it looks awesome. Unfortunately the paint just didn't stick very well.
This is the inside of the Bellhousing I moved the pivot point to the L/H side of the vehicle, and basically copied the geometry of the VDJ79 clutch throwout. I have since modified the offsets on the throwout fork cause I didn't quite get it right the first time. Works well now...
Giving the car a rare wash in a nice fresh water river called Oolloo river in the Northern Territory. Great spot.

Must have been a PITA removing the clear-coat to paint it properly.. I bet you wish you hadn't gone for the bare-metal look. If it's any consolation, I've never had any long-term success with any clear-coats (even the expensive POR15 product).

Superb work on the bellhousing and throw-out set-up! The more I see, the more I like.

I love the Northern Territory but every state in Australia has its merits/attractions.

Was that camping shot with the washing on the line taken in Katherine?



BTW - I don't like the look of all that airbag load hitting the chassis in two narrow lines (even when that top-mount is straightened, strengthened, and moved backwards where it should sit).. Any plans to modify that?

 

[DTSkyCop]

Cheers mate, yes we're pretty fortunate to be able to live the way we chose! This trip will take us through until mid next year I reckon. we are currently just finishing up with some work we did to keep the funding happening. we'll back into it around the 10th Jan 2016. The Victorian/NSW high country will be next, then Tassie for a month or so. Should be good!

Well have fun, safe travels and post up some pics along the way! Cheers!

 

[Haydo]

Must have been a PITA removing the clear-coat to paint it properly.. I bet you wish you hadn't gone for the bare-metal look. If it's any consolation, I've never had any long-term success with any clear-coats (even the expensive POR15 product).

Superb work on the bellhousing and throw-out set-up! The more I see, the more I like.

I love the Northern Territory but every state in Australia has its merits/attractions.

Was that camping shot with the washing on the line taken in Katherine?



BTW - I don't like the look of all that airbag load hitting the chassis in two narrow lines (even when that top-mount is straightened, strengthened, and moved backwards where it should sit).. Any plans to modify that?

That shot with the washing on the line is from a campsite on the upper Macleay river. 50km or so Upstream of Kempsey, NSW. its a beautiful free campsite right on the river. I've stayed there a few times now on my way through that area.

I agree with you about every state having its attractions. I think the mid to north west coast of Western Australia still stands out as one of the best places to visit with a 4X4. remote beaches with nobody else on them for hundreds of km are pretty rare to find anywhere in the world! we drove the full length of 80 mile beach between Port Hedland and Broome and didn't see a single other person except right at the start. Thats about 130km of km beach to ourselves. we spent 3 days just on the one beach!


I don't like the look of that airbag at all. It was never my intention to build a vehicle so heavy that I need airbags. They offer improved on road handling but at quite a cost off road I've found, losing significant flex/travel.
To fix the issue with the airbag I'll probably remove them as soon as I can unload some weight once I get home. I made a critical mistake in calculating my potential payload in the design process. That was that I didn't weigh the vehicle with an empty tray to accurately calculate remaining GVM. The factory steel tray which I have I believe weighs about 500kg empty. then I have a 275L fuel tank under that which I originally only planned to be a 175L tank. That little project just snowballed as parts became available to repair the tank, it was easiest to weld a second part to it which I had sitting around in the shed anyway. Things got really heavy really quick!

To reduce total weight if this vehicle is to take us on future trips, I'll remove the steel tray and fit a lightweight aluminium tray in its place. that will take 1/2 a ton off in one fell swoop. I'll probably tow a boat on a trailer which will remove maybe 100kg of boat related bits and pieces out of the camper. I'll also be able to carry some other misc camping related stuff in the boat as well. that will allow me the GVM to make the camper a slide on style as originally planned which means I can unload the vehicle completely once at our campsite. It will all serve to reduce the permanent load on the chassis.

 

[lostmarbles]

Thanks

We're always trialing new ideas and learning from our experiences.

What you've learned in your vast travels in those harsh environments puts you miles ahead of any city-slicker who's just starting out on "putting together an expedition rig" (as they say on this board)..

 

[Haydo]

This one is a bit different to other vehicles I've travelled in, being designed to keep us entertained in the bush for a year or so. We are carrying 2 kayaks, 2 mountain bikes, we were carrying a 12' Dinghy and 9.8hp outboard (since removed), stacks of fishing gear, guitar, 50L fridge, 40L esky, and all the tools and spares you'd expect for a trip like this. I partly made the mistake of investing too heavily in the build up project. in hindsight I should have kept it much simpler and left on our travels half a ton lighter, half a year earlier and with double the money! This is a valuable lesson for next time!
My previous trips were a maximum of about 4 months long or so. Realistically it doesn't make too much difference, whatever you can do without for 4 months you can easily do without for 12!

So I anyone is reading this while building/planning an "expedition rig", look at it, then take half of the accessories off. then take another half again, then you'll be close to the amount of stuff you'll likely use!

 

[Haydo]

Last post was a long time ago!

It's been busy, I've just begun wrecking the ute in the above build

I snapped the crankshaft while carting firewood. The rust had taken its toll on the body and the chassis wasn't looking too flash either.

A shame to break it down after so much effort, but I can use the parts on my other 40 series builds.

 

[Haydo]

stumbled over this old thread, it was fun build.
Current status for anyone who followed along all those years ago -

• Chassis donated to another persons project, it got a full rivets removed restoration and has lived another life.
• body sold to another person who restored it and drives it locally
• engine still broken, replacement crankshaft not yet found, packaged carefully in the shed with all the original conversion gear. it might still live again, I have a good chassis and body sitting here for when the time is right

Since then I have built a HJ47 troopy with a 12HT which I drove halfway around the country in last year.

 

[NOSAJ]

Nice @Haydo i have 2 of these Isuzu 4bd2t in my shop. I am struggling to find a bellhousing. The only one I have possibly found is mating a Dodge nv4500 to it. Do you have design files for the bellhousing you made? Thanks!

Jason

 

[Haydo]

Nice @Haydo i have 2 of these Isuzu 4bd2t in my shop. I am struggling to find a bellhousing. The only one I have possibly found is mating a Dodge nv4500 to it. Do you have design files for the bellhousing you made? Thanks!

Jason

Hey mate, i would have the files somewhere probably. Do the 4BD2Ts run the same flywheel housing as the 4BD1?
I did have to manually modify a couple of details on my bellhousing, due to oversight in the design stage, but if you're handy with CAD you'd be able to sort it out pretty easy.
I'm sure these days there are H55 to SAE3 bellhousings available off the shelf though. Buying an existing design would be much cheaper than getting one of mine machined.

 

[NOSAJ]

Sent you a message @Haydo