Some of you may remember Ziplock, my first BJ74, first acquired in 2002. It was always my 'back-up' wheeling rig, but eventually became my go to off-roader. It had a spring over, 4.88 gears, one of the very first Marlin Toyboxes, factory cable lockers, 4x4 labs steering with home-made assist ram, longfields, roll cage and 40" tires.
Together, we went a lot of places. Rubicon, Black Hills, Canol Road, Moab, Satan's out house, most River Shivers, and a T-Bar, that I can think of... Memories.
But, I rolled it in Moab (Area BFE, Green Day trail) in 2015.
Twas merely a flesh wound. I ordered a whole new fiberglass clip from Australia (Hood, fenders, windshield etc), and it was back on the trails by July. But, the July long weekend trip in 2015 would be one too many for poor Ziplock.
Ziplock's last stand....
During that last trip, the axle housing that I bent on the Rubicon in 2006, then further bent on the Alaska highway in 2009, was right fully twisted when it was rolled over back onto it's wheels in Moab. The Full Float axle shaft was shearing off studs. But what really did it in was the classic Toybox / H55F failure which we now better understand... I towed 45Kevin some 32 kms with a dead clutch off the trail... all that torque overcomes the clamp that Marlin provides to hold the output shaft of the H55f, and causes the output shaft to bind against the input shaft. So, I had a bad transmission in need of a rebuild, and a bent axle housing. For those that know me... you will know that this is the EXACT combination of failures that triggered me to build TippyR back in 2002, and put 53" tires on my 60 series (see avatar pic)
So I parked Ziplock in 2015, and built the ultimate shop in which to build land Cruisers. We can talk about that later!
This weekend, I started ziplock's revival. I towed it into the shop to asses the situation.
It's been scavenged for parts... Headlights, Seats, alternator and a/c compressor all stolen for the other BJ74s. Tires, lockers, gears, longfields and air compressor are now in Shaker the BJ42. Tub is in bad shape - the 3 or 4 roll overs over it's life have take their toll. And 18 years in Canada has exposed all the rust spots.
The first step is to strip it down. I am going to pull the body entirely off the frame so I can fix the suspension, but before that... I already have the tires... 42" iroks. some inspiration...
This would make the wheelbase about 118", up from 105. It would enable a fantastic approach and departure angle! What do you think?
Together, we went a lot of places. Rubicon, Black Hills, Canol Road, Moab, Satan's out house, most River Shivers, and a T-Bar, that I can think of... Memories.
But, I rolled it in Moab (Area BFE, Green Day trail) in 2015.
Twas merely a flesh wound. I ordered a whole new fiberglass clip from Australia (Hood, fenders, windshield etc), and it was back on the trails by July. But, the July long weekend trip in 2015 would be one too many for poor Ziplock.
Ziplock's last stand....
During that last trip, the axle housing that I bent on the Rubicon in 2006, then further bent on the Alaska highway in 2009, was right fully twisted when it was rolled over back onto it's wheels in Moab. The Full Float axle shaft was shearing off studs. But what really did it in was the classic Toybox / H55F failure which we now better understand... I towed 45Kevin some 32 kms with a dead clutch off the trail... all that torque overcomes the clamp that Marlin provides to hold the output shaft of the H55f, and causes the output shaft to bind against the input shaft. So, I had a bad transmission in need of a rebuild, and a bent axle housing. For those that know me... you will know that this is the EXACT combination of failures that triggered me to build TippyR back in 2002, and put 53" tires on my 60 series (see avatar pic)
So I parked Ziplock in 2015, and built the ultimate shop in which to build land Cruisers. We can talk about that later!
This weekend, I started ziplock's revival. I towed it into the shop to asses the situation.
It's been scavenged for parts... Headlights, Seats, alternator and a/c compressor all stolen for the other BJ74s. Tires, lockers, gears, longfields and air compressor are now in Shaker the BJ42. Tub is in bad shape - the 3 or 4 roll overs over it's life have take their toll. And 18 years in Canada has exposed all the rust spots.
The first step is to strip it down. I am going to pull the body entirely off the frame so I can fix the suspension, but before that... I already have the tires... 42" iroks. some inspiration...
This would make the wheelbase about 118", up from 105. It would enable a fantastic approach and departure angle! What do you think?
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