What did you do on your 70 series today? (20 Viewers)

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I tried to remember where I ordered those door panels but I don’t get the company name in my head. Originally, I was supposed to draw the pictures and order them laser-cut, but then I found a company in Poland whose selection included finished panels (all six pieces) powder-coated so cheaply that I didn't even bother to start modeling the panels.
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Yesterday I went to spend quality time with the Cruiser driving along old logging tracks.

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Any more info on those panels from Poland ?
 
Started work on my new front bumper today. The stock bumper is not durable enough to put a high lift under and I need to mount a winch. I'm going to make something that functions the way I want, Is durable enough and looks OK.
Durability-I want a flat surface to jack underneath it from anywhere on it's length without bending it or the jack slipping out. It needs to bump trees at very slow speed when doing 3 point turns in the woods without damage. Brush guard strong enough to push over a 3" sappling at less than 5mph without damage.
Functionality-Have flat surfaces to jack under. Have a brush guard that I can mount fishing rod holders etc.. to. Be able to stand/step up/walk on it to some extent. Have a higher more clear approach angle to the tires than the stock bumper. I may put enough space between the brush guard and grill to strap in jerry cans if need be.
Looks-Try to be somewhat stylish while meeting functional needs.

I did the initial sketch up and welded up the beginning winch mounting/bumper mounting plates today. Procure more steel and continue tomorrow. Hopefully I can make it somewhat close to the sketch below.

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It's been a long month of working on the 75. First we had to un-'engineer' the 3.5" body lift the PO in Australia put on the Cruiser so they could run a TMIC. They welded the bolts in place, so new hardware went in and in some places, new body mounts. Once the lift was off, the TMIC came off. That meant I had to track down a charge pipe and chop the hole-ridden exhaust in half since it was routed between the body and the frame. Once that was done, I had to re-tune it as it was super sooty (the underbody of the Cruiser is covered in black soot) from exhaust leaking out of the holes.

A local shop built a custom 3" turbo back exhaust and it is amazing! They did it in three sections. All flanged so when/if I have to drop the t-case, or gas tank, I can remove it and have some extra room. I couldn't be more pleased at their cost/craft ratio. Cruiser Outfitters had belts for the 12ht, so I changed those out, installed some Baja Designs LP6 amber spotties, a new Pioneer head unit with a back up camera, my friend made me some hook and loop pockets that I could put on the Dash Mat or hang from the overhead cargo tray. My One Stone arm rest/cup holders came in, I'm beginning to clean up the wiring and replacing the split loom under the hood (which got a new hood liner) so I can Corroseal the surface rust for paint. It's all coming together...

Overall, it's driving way better, 3.5" lower to the ground, doesn't smoke out the neighbors anymore when I cold start it (we live at 6,800') and I'm pleased with a few modern updates to an '87 Cruiser.

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Started work on my new front bumper today. The stock bumper is not durable enough to put a high lift under and I need to mount a winch. I'm going to make something that functions the way I want, Is durable enough and looks OK.
Durability-I want a flat surface to jack underneath it from anywhere on it's length without bending it or the jack slipping out. It needs to bump trees at very slow speed when doing 3 point turns in the woods without damage. Brush guard strong enough to push over a 3" sappling at less than 5mph without damage.
Functionality-Have flat surfaces to jack under. Have a brush guard that I can mount fishing rod holders etc.. to. Be able to stand/step up/walk on it to some extent. Have a higher more clear approach angle to the tires than the stock bumper. I may put enough space between the brush guard and grill to strap in jerry cans if need be.
Looks-Try to be somewhat stylish while meeting functional needs.

I did the initial sketch up and welded up the beginning winch mounting/bumper mounting plates today. Procure more steel and continue tomorrow. Hopefully I can make it somewhat close to the sketch below.

View attachment 2322669
Made good progress on the bumper today. Struggling a bit with the ready welder. I'm using old surplus aircraft 24 volt batteries. They were dying too quickly and not hot enough so I put them in series to get 48 volts. Very hot at first but doesn't last long. I might have to take the batteries out of the Land cruiser to finish it.

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I spent about 25 minutes on hold so I could talk to a sales guy at Summit Racing.
He will investigate the procedure for ordering me 16x7 6x139.7 backspace=3.5" wheels from US Wheel.
US Wheel says they make these at no extra charge but do not stock them.
They also say Jegs or Summit is the only way to get them ordered.
People at Jegs told me via email that US Wheel does not make that size, so I called Summit.
With these people and the virus, I figure these wheels will be a Xmas present for myself.
 
He will investigate the procedure for ordering me 16x7 6x139.7 backspace=3.5" wheels from US Wheel.

Since US wheel stocks many kinds, I am wondering what style wheel are you talking about exactly that they allow modification on or is it any two piece steel disc wheel they offer?
 
I want the Crawler, Series 42. If I understand correctly, they can set their machines to make this size wheel without it being a major re-tooling or hassle.
On their website, under a tab labelled MEDIA, you can find their backspace tables. Incredibly useful in my case. 3.5" backspace falls in the Standard category.
Here is one page

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Gaining a little more...except for the wrong wheel studs :mad: had to stop here last night.
But I found the correct ones and they should be here tomorrow morning...hopefully.

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Made good progress on the bumper today. Struggling a bit with the ready welder. I'm using old surplus aircraft 24 volt batteries. They were dying too quickly and not hot enough so I put them in series to get 48 volts. Very hot at first but doesn't last long. I might have to take the batteries out of the Land cruiser to finish it.

View attachment 2327179

Made good progress on the bumper today. Struggling a bit with the ready welder. I'm using old surplus aircraft 24 volt batteries. They were dying too quickly and not hot enough so I put them in series to get 48 volts. Very hot at first but doesn't last long. I might have to take the batteries out of the Land cruiser to finish it.

View attachment 2327179
Another good day of progress on a bumper. Pretty much completely welded now. Everything from the bumper down is 3/16 bar stock or tube. The plate under the winch is two pieces of 3/16 welded together or 3/8 so to speak. I have three to five bolts on each frame rail bolting the bumper on. The brush guard is 1/4 by 2 inch bar stock, it is stronger than needs to be I could have used 3/16. I'll do a bit of grinding while brushing priming and I'll painted with bedliner tomorrow. When it dries I will mount the winch.
This is my most complex welding project I've done. it's actually come out better than I thought it would. The only friend that I've showed it to ask me if I used plans or bought a kit. I do need to break down and buy a real plug in the wall welder did I can control the voltage and temperature and weld with gas shield instead of just flux core wire. It's a challenge to weld with batteries and a spool gun and make it look good. Wire feed is great because you can hold you work with one hand and weld with one hand. I think the way to go will be to use the spool gun ready welder to tack it together but to use a TIG to finish weld.

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Another good day of progress on a bumper. Pretty much completely welded now. Everything from the bumper down is 3/16 bar stock or tube. The plate under the winch is two pieces of 3/16 welded together or 3/8 so to speak. I have three to five bolts on each frame rail bolting the bumper on. The brush guard is 1/4 by 2 inch bar stock, it is stronger than needs to be I could have used 3/16. I'll do a bit of grinding while brushing priming and I'll painted with bedliner tomorrow. When it dries I will mount the winch.
This is my most complex welding project I've done. it's actually come out better than I thought it would. The only friend that I've showed it to ask me if I used plans or bought a kit. I do need to break down and buy a real plug in the wall welder did I can control the voltage and temperature and weld with gas shield instead of just flux core wire. It's a challenge to weld with batteries and a spool gun and make it look good. Wire feed is great because you can hold you work with one hand and weld with one hand. I think the way to go will be to use the spool gun ready welder to tack it together but to use a TIG to finish weld.

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Finished the bumper today and got the winch mounted.
Also took time to paint the gray Lowe's fatigue mat black to match the floor mats in the rest of the floor rubber. Used gloss black vinyl can fabric spray paint from the auto parts store

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