RevISK
SILVER Star
I don’t think @MatthewMcD has been to RoundUp yet either.Betting pool for how long he takes before he chops off the ends?
What have you done to your Land Cruiser this week?
- Thread starter IH8MUD
- Start date
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I think I've driven my old trucks to more Roundups than most of the MUDers who LIVE in TX. Six IIRC
RevISK
SILVER Star
More than me for sure.
Well there’s nothing like a full day of rolling on the concrete floor for an old man. Picked up a flip kit secondhand from @knuckle47 and yesterday was the day to get it on with new bushings and center pins cobbled together from a couple local hardware stores. Turned out great, nothing like new bushings all the way around.
MatthewMcD
SILVER Star
A little more than halfway through the Energy Suspension body mount swap. Going to do the passenger side 4 tomorrow.
This is a photo when I hit the halfway mark.
This is a photo when I hit the halfway mark.
RevISK
SILVER Star
Looking forward to hearing about the results.
I was over at Jose’s around the corner and thought about stopping by… glad I didn’t, I might have disrupted your mojo.
MatthewMcD
SILVER Star
Actually, spent most of the day touring around the hill country after a trip to Cabellas.
I didn't buy the hat, but I considered it.
We hit Desert Door for lunch and cocktails.
She's beautiful! I love that color! I would take the top off but I don't have a cage or the room to store the top!
I need to do this. Are you lifting the body to get the old mounts in and the new out?
MatthewMcD
SILVER Star
Yep, 2x4 on a high lift jack. You have to get it high enough to allow for the springs to relax I was surprised how high I had to go.
Once you loosen the fender mount screws up front you can clear 4 bolts and mounts. Then move the jack to the rear end and clear the 4 mounts at the back plus 2 shims. Tomorrow I'll shift the truck and finish the passenger side.
The Energy Suspension instructions are really good.
Certainly something my ‘75 would benefit from. I just hate those metal chips and sparks landing on my neck
@MatthewMcD i just went and read the 1 sheet of instructions for the body mounts….what do they mean about using a 2x4? Is it across the frame on both sides and lifted with the 2x4 sticking out of one side? Like a lever?
I went looking at YouTube to find someone demonstrating this process… nearly all of them have easy access…the body is already off the frame.
I went looking at YouTube to find someone demonstrating this process… nearly all of them have easy access…the body is already off the frame.
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Ackcruisers
SILVER Star
This is how I ran my 2x4’s when I jacked up the body to install Energy mounts. Don’t forget to loosen front fender bolts.
@Ackcruisers ..ah! Thank you…got it now. Makes more sense seeing it
RevISK
SILVER Star
I have an offroad jack that starts really high and works great for the frame rails if you need.
My garage is full of Land Cruiser parts. My shed is full of Land Cruiser parts. This is getting out of hand. So, this weekend I ordered some more parts. Slowly filling up the kitchen now. I am very lucky that my wife is patient and understanding. I also ordered a wet blasting setup for a pressure washer and a pressure washer. Do you know how damn hard it is to buy a 4gpm/4000psi pressure washer in California? Due to new laws, no more gas powered equipment can be shipped to CA. However, stores are still allowed to sell what's on the shelves. I finally found one. I don't want to turn this political but damn I hate that my state makes everything difficult. I talked to a guy at one of the pressure washer manufacturing companies and he told me that the only difference between the 49 state machines and the CARB (California Air Resources Board) ones are that the company pays the state a fee for the CARB sticker. The machine is identical in every way. I can't wait to move to Spokane. Anyway, I'll be taking lots of pictures/video of the blasting setup once I get everything. We will be mocking up the drivetrain this week. Also, I made an independent handle for the valve on my Harbor Freight engine hoist that will give Dad a lot more control over lowering the engine in than the original arrangement which utilized the end of the jack handle. This means fewer trips to the ER for me, since I'll be underneath while he's lowering it. 
Thanks Mark, but I'm not an expert by any means and I suck at doing gel coat, so I stay away from it.I used indoor/outdoor carpet. I have had the same headliner in my swb45 for over 30 years and am still happy with the choice.
As for the roof, the 45 has a metal roof. Whole different animal. I don't know squat about fiberglass. The one time a customer asked me to repair their roof, I just bought some resin, used it like bondo, and sanded/prepped/painted like I would a steel part.
I consider @osamenor to be a resident expert on fiberglass, as he has been around boats his whole life. Maybe he will chime in on your question.
If you have a hole in the roof, you can get away with just bondo for a while, but what you're better off doing is:
- sand and clean hole and the area around the hole
- put a layer of fiberglass cloth over the hole and apply laminating resin
- repeat the above step with a larger piece of cloth and laminating resin
- when the hole patch is good and hard, fill the bottom with bondo or you can make your own fairing compound with the resin and some cabosil
- lightly sand, clean, the use more fairing compound on the top and bottom to get it as smooth as you want
- prime and paint
This is a good video that does a better job explaining the process than I did, but do yourself a favor and wear nitrile gloves and a respirator and don't huff it like Keith because the resin is bad enough and the catalyst is a lot worse:
MatthewMcD
SILVER Star
All done with the body mounts. The very last bolt broke in a very awkward way. I ended up having to be a human Sawzall to cut the top of the bolt so that it would clear the frame. Very happy to have this one behind me. @RevISK I'll let you know after I take it for a spin if the difference is noticeable.
Well done. It’s always that last bolt that launches the insurgency. What’s next?
How far are you from the “Circuit of the Americas” track in Austin?
MatthewMcD
SILVER Star
Thanks! I have some cosmetic stuff, like the headliner, but I am not going to do that until I remove and restore the hard top. I'd like to swap wheels, not a huge fan of the current ones, I prefer the look of the chrome hub caps.
Before that I have some mechanical stuff like the diffs, steering box, and transmission. Nothing pressing, but since I haven't been inside, I "gots ta' know" what it looks like inside.
Of course, then I'd like to remove the whole body from the chassis and attend to the rust damage on the tub. But that's going to wait for retirement.
I could do COTA for Cars and Coffee. It's a few miles East of here.