LJ70 Build Thread!

[Ben]

Well guys an update is long overdue!

So here goes.........................

Exhaust

I finished building the 3" mandrel bent stainless steel exhaust system.

















Took it to work to fully TIG weld it all.









Made up a bracket for the rear exhaust hanger that picks up on the body mount and had it electro plated and then powder coated.

 

[clivehorridge]

That must be the most beautiful bit of welding any zorst has ever seen Ben!
Good looking system and a good fit as well

 

[Ben]

Thanks Clive.

I cant wait to hear it roar!

Radiator

In my quest to keep my engine conversion looking as standard and factory as possible I decided to try and fit a KZJ70 radiator as it would obviously bolt straight in and also the inlet and outlets were in the right position and were the right size.

So I bought a cheap one off ebay.





It fitted fine, but the fan was too close.



So I decided to trim a bit off the blades.











This helped and gave me 10-15mm of clearance.





But the general consensus among the guys on the Bundera Facebook page was that this wasnt enough clearance.

So after lots of searching I settled on this Holden radiator, which apart from the position of the bottom outlet, was perfect.







Because this radiator wasnt as tall as the standard radiators fitted to these 70's, it would fit above the front cross member in the chassis and so could be moved much further forwards.







The position of the bottom outlet was an issue so I lopped it off!



Drilled a new hole for it.



Welded it back on and welded a cap over the old hole.



As its an alluminium radiator and they can crack on rough roads I wanted to rubber mount it to reduce the likelihood of that happening.

So I picked up some rubber mounts.





In order to keep the radiator as close to the radiator support panel as possible, yet still have room for the rubber mounts I had to get creative with some alluminium sheet.









Rad fitted and bolted up beautifully.



The fan had heaps of clearance so the next job was to mark the cardboard that was protecting the core, around the fan, so I could design and build the cowl.



A few hours of cutting, folding and TIG'ing later...........

The cowl actually hangs down into the space between the chassis rails where the standard rad would fit, because the fan on the engine is actually below the bottom of the new rad.









I couldnt find anything around which was the perfect diameter to drawer around so in the end I took the cover off my fan and used that along with a piece of metal.





Cut it out with the jigsaw.





Perfect!!!



It fitted beautifully!







As I want my conversion to look factory, a bright silver radiator and cowl just wouldnt cut it!

So I got them powdercoated satin black.

















Butchered and then taped back together some old hoses to give myself a template of what hoses I needed.



I then went behind the counter at my local Bursons to go through the hundreds of different rad hoses they have in stock to try and find some that would work.

But they didnt have anything suitable.

So I came away with some 90's for the top and got some straight joiners off ebay.



I'm not 100% happy with this, purely from a visual point of view and I'm wondering if the standard Lexus hose might fit and work so I will order one.





I've ordered a standard Lexus bottom hose and that will just need cutting down slightly and one of the joiners fitting in the middle.

But thats the radiator anyway.

 

[StarCruiser]

Looking good there Ben.

The finish line is getting closer.

How’s the little man doing?

 

[Ben]

Thanks Rich.

Hes doing great, sleeping 12-13 hours every night now!

Power Steering

Annoyingly when I had the 1UZ engine in the old 1985 RJ70 chassis the power steering pump (along with the radiator) all cleared fine!

But in my later, different 1993 LJ70 chassis they didnt.





So like the radiator a solution had to be found for the standard 1UZ power steering pump which was far too close to my steering box.

After trawling the internet and finding no mention of anyone fitting a different engine driven pump I actually bought an Astra electric pump as thats what a lot of people use with engine conversions because they're cheap and easy!

But then I decided it wasnt the right way to go as not only are they noisy and draw a lot of amps but also, its not how Toyota would have done it and it wouldnt be in keeping with my goal of having a factory finish engine conversion.

So after searching around my local scrap yard and looking under the bonnet of hundreds of 4wd's, I found the perfect pump off an Isuzu built, Holden/Vauxhall/Opel Frontera!









A bit of spanner work later and it was removed and purchased for $50.



The standard bracket got removed and thrown in the alluminium scrap box.



And I set about making a really strong steel bracket to mount it to my 1UZ engine.

Bit of lather work first, to put a 13mm hole in some 25mm round bar.





Followed by an M14 tap.

(I realise this could have been done in the lathe, but I'm still a novice on the lathe )



That then got TIG'd to some nice chunky 12mm thick 4" angle.





On the other side I had to weld a thick washer on over one of the bottom holes as the engine block wasnt flat in that position.





Cut, drilled and welded some more steel on.







I then wired the pump bracket onto the bottom of the power steering pipes I'd cleaned up, along with all the brackets, ready for electro plating.



They came back a nice electro plated silver!

The pipes and brackets then went off to be powder coated.



And the pump bracket was ready to fit.












I loosely bolted a power steering reservoir in position while I was working the hoses out.

I then cleaned the reservoir and bracket up and the bracket went off for electro plating followed by powder coating and the reservoir got cleaned and spray painted satin black.



The metal pipes came back from the powder coaters.







I cut up some old pipes to make a sample of the one custom power steering pipe I would need and went and saw my local Enzed hose shop.

They could crimp this one for me but couldnt guarantee it wont leak and will last.





So I bought the parts from them to do the job properly and have a brand new one.







I cut my original metal pipes down ready to TIG the new fittings on, as instructed by the guy at Enzed.



All welded.



I then went back and they crimped the new rubber hose on for me.



Bolted up perfectly.





The reservoir and bracket were back and ready to bolt on.



All done!!!







The final job was to clean up my original and very rusty steering box.

So I got it in the sand blasting cabinet.







Then gave it a few coats of etch primer.



Followed by primer and then satin black.



I also cleaned up and painted the steering shaft.





With those bits fitted and the hoses and pipes all connected the power steering is all complete and looking great!

 

[Ben]

Flares

I wanted to electro plate and then powder coat all the brackets that hold the flares on, as well as some other brackets.



The sand blaster worked but was slow and the machine was temperamental.



So I bought some strong paint stripper.



That worked well.







And soon all the brackets were cleaned and then electro plated.



Followed by powder coating.



Then I just needed to work out which brackets went where.





And I riveted them on.









And then I bolted the rear flares on.






Brackets on the front ones went on next.



The front flares would need modifying and painting before they could be fitted.



As they are off an earlier round headlight model they dont fit the guard/wing perfectly at the front.











They were also too long so needed a bit trimming off the bottoms.





I dug some plastic containers out of the recycling bin to cut up and use to help me mold the fiberglass.



I cut some strips to size and then stuck some masking tape to the side the wet fiberglass would be getting stuck to.



And taped them into position with some strong ducktape.











Picked up a fibreglass kit.



Got them on flares on the bench, clamped and wedged in position.





Mixed some resin.



And laid some mat.







Other one.



I had to fit a washer on this side as the original fiberglass had cracked around the mounting hole.







Then they just needed trimming to shape with the grinder.



Followed by a thin layer of body filler and a sand I then gave them a coat of 2k primer.



As well as the panel from above the radiator that had needed a slight trim to accommodate the new rad.



I then gave all the flares a coat of 2k satin black.







I bolted the flares on but cant show you that pic yet as it will spoil the surprise of one of my next updates.

I've also ordered all new genuine rubbers that go between the flares and the body, but they're a few weeks away still.

 

[Ben]

Battery Tray

I needed to design and build a battery tray next and seen as the 4wd company I work for is the biggest manufacturer of aftermarket battery trays in the world, I was confident this would be an easy task!

Instead of the normal 2mm sheet steel our trays are made from, I decided to use 3mm and rather than just electro plate, like we normally do I would powder coat mine after electro plating as not only would that make it more corrosion resistant it would also make it blend in and look more factory.

After cutting, folding, drilling and welding some 3mm sheet this is what I had.









I wanted to mount my fuel filter and charcoal canister on the side.



Fortunately the fuel filter housing allows me some flexibility in where I run my hoses.



So fuel filter, charcoal canister, ARB compressor and fuse & relay box all sat in position.







Once I was happy with the position of everything I fully welded all the brackets onto the tray.





I got it electro plated.



And then powder coated.

Along with this little bracket I made which allows me to use all standard captive nuts in the guard to mount my after market fuse and relay box.

I used the same fuse and relay box in my LJ78 build and I love the neatness it provides of having all the fuses and relays secure and neat in one little black box, just like Toyota would have done in the factory.








Freshly powder coated tray.



Mounted the fuel filter and charcoal canister.





And bolted it in.



ARB compressor next.

I'd had the square plate bracket electro plated and powder coated and had inserted rivnuts into the mounting holes on the compressor and had picked up some rubber mounts for it.





All bolted in position.







Once I am at the stage where I'm ready to do all the electrics and wire the engine up I will grab a 12" Optima yellow top from work.

 

[Ben]

Front Bumper

I wasnt happy with the standard front bumper I had fitted. Too much chrome and not tough enough.

*Apologies for the terrible picture quality, not sure what went wrong there.





On my LJ78 I need a strong bullbar as that is my touring/overland vehicle so it needs animal strike protection. But being as LJ is just a toy that will only be driven in good weather and used mainly for driving to work in and day 4wd trips, with the very occasional weeked trip thrown in, then I dont need the same kind of protection.

Also I hate how bullbars hide the face of the vehicle.

So I wanted a tough, good looking winch bumper and I didnt want lights or aerials mounted on top of it, I want it to be subtle.

I started to mock one up in timber.







Once I had a design worked out I cut and drilled 2 pieces of 6mm plate, these would mount the bumper to the chassis.



Bolted them in position.



Each one is held on with 4x M10 bolts, with a thin copper washer between the plates and the chassis, this is to allow for the thickness of the powder coat, otherwise the bumper will be too tight to get on and off the car.



Cut and tacked a piece of 6mm plate along the front, which I had drilled out for the winch.







Next I folded up a 3mm skin to go over the top of what I had bolted to the chassis.





Sat in position.









I removed the 3mm skin so I could finish the chassis mounts.

I drilled and bolted in some 50mm x 6mm flat, one above and one below each chassis rail, held in position with 2x M12 bolts and like the side plates I also spaced these away from the chassis rails with some thin copper washers, to ensure the brackets wont be too tight after powder coating.







I tack welded them all in position and then removed the entire thing.





Took it tot work and with the MIG cranked right up, put down some nice beads of weld.





Bolted the outer 3mm skin on.



And carefully welded it on.

I didnt want too much of the weld bleeding through the steel as that would show through the powder coat and as will become clear shortly, I wanted a perfect finish.



Next I made some really chunky, strong recovery points!

We didnt have any metal thicker than 12mm so I decided to weld 2 pieces together.



I prepared the weld joint by grinding back the edges to create a nice V when the 2 pieces come together, this is so I could grind the weld down afterwards and not remove all of the reinforcing and end up with a weak join.



TIG'd.



Welds ground down.



More on those later.

I brought the center section of the bumper home and got it bolted back in position.





My next step was to design the wings, which would need to accommodate the recovery points I made above and also these lights which I had chosen.



I made up a cardboard template and started playing around with different angles.





Then back at work I cut some 3mm sheet out and then spent 40 minutes marking all the bends out and double and triple checking it was all correct and that the 2 sides were an exact mirror image of one another.





Then it was onto the folder to fold them up.









A perfect match!

 

[Ben]

I brought it home and bolted it back on the car.

*I had also drilled a 25mm hole in each recovery point and notched the edge of the wings for the recovery points to slot into place.











The next step was to mark and cut the ends of the wings so that they would finish just past the flares, to hopefully protect them a bit.





Then I brought it back to work to trim the ends off.







I cut some more 3mm sheet to cap the ends off with but to make them nice and strong like the rest of the bumper I added a fold.



I cut them a bit smaller than the edges of the bumper, so that once welded I wouldnt grind all the weld away when smoothing the welds up with the grinder.





Some nice beads with the MIG.





A shot of the inside of the bumper to show how the fold works on the ends caps.



Gave the welds a clean up with a flap wheel disc in the grinder.





I TIG'd where the wings meet the middle section, on the outside at least as I wanted 100% fusion so that once ground down there wouldnt be any pin holes like you get with MIG.

Gave those welds a quick, careful grind down.



The only visible welds on the whole bumper once its fitted would be the ones around the recovery points, so for looks and strength, they had to be done with TIG!







The flush mount LED lights arrived.





And I drilled some holes for them.



Brought it back home and refitted it.













Next I needed to think about the winch!

It will be controlled from inside the cab via these switches.





But for the freespool I had to come up with something clever as I didnt want to have to cut a hole in the top of my perfect bumper!



This is the freespool lever on my Superwinch.





With that removed I was left with a shaft with a thread inside it.



I marked where it sits normally when the freespool is not engaged, and then pulled it out into the freespool position.

As you can see it only requires a tiny amount of pull to put it in the freespool position and it has a very strong spring on it so pulls back in nicely.



I decided not to go air or electric and instead keep it nice and simple with just a cable to pull inside the cab.

I had a few cables to choose from.



With the bumper removed and the winch sat in position I could design something.





I machined up a piece of 10mm thick steel to bolt to the freespool shaft and allow me to attach a cable to it.







I then came up with a bracket for the outer cable to lock onto.





That worked really well and I'm very happy with my simple solution.

Next I spent an hour with the belt sander making the TIG welds where the wings meet the center section invisible.

It was very important for me to have a completely seamless finish!

 

[Ben]

I didnt want big ugly driving lights or light bars on my bumper as I wanted it look reasonably standard and I didnt want anything to detract from the beauty the designers had created back in 1989 when they designed the rectangular headlight front for the facelift LJ/RJ/KZJ70's.

But I had a gap below the panel under the grill and the top of the bumper and I managed to find a super slimline LED light bar that would fit beautifully!



I actually got it even cheaper than that ebay price as I collected and paid cash.







More on the light bar shortly.

I cut and folded up some more 3mm sheet to make some pieces to fill in where the back edge of the wings meet the center section as I wasnt 100% happy with the step in the top, even though it wasnt very noticeable with the bumper fitted.



Tacked them in position.







Made some brackets out of more 3mm sheet for the light bar.



And tacked them on.





TIG'd the corner fill in pieces.







Used this air tool to carefully grind down the TIG welds on the top.



They needed some more weld each side of the original weld to fill them up nice and flush.





Then more sanding down.



And it was almost finished!

I couldnt resist getting it on the scales to see what it weighs.



31kg and the winch was another 20kg, so just over 50kg in total.



Brought it home for one final fit and check.



Then it went off and got electroplated silver.





Followed by satin black powder coat.





Bolted the winch in.



And fitted the bumper and then lights.



I set the slimline light bar back quite a bit so that from most angles the light bar is invisible.



Unless you get down low.







I'm totally stoked with how it turned out!

I think its perfect!

 

[Ben]

Rock Sliders

I cut and drilled some 75mm x 50mm x 5mm box section steel.



Quality Aussie made steel.



Drilled some 27mm holes in the ends for my High Lift jacking points.









Cut and bent some tube.



Welded it on.





Welded some 3mm steel checker plate along the top to stop mud splashing up and to provide a better surface for standing on when entering and exiting the vehicle.



Cut and bent some 50mm x 6mm flat for my chassis clamps.



Then it was time to combine these main rock slider sections.



With these sections of 50mm x 50mm x 4mm box section arms.



I drilled the bolt holes in the chassis clamps.





And bolted them on to the chassis.





Back ones are simple but the fronts have to pick up on the body mount outrigger on the chassis.





Positioned the rock slider where I wanted it.



The end had to fit into the standard mudflaps mounted to the bottom of the front flares.





Cut the arms on my cold cut saw.



And tacked them to the chassis clamps and rock slider.







Added an extra brace on the front as they are very close to the bottom of the sill and I dont want them taking a hit and pushing up into the seam along the bottom of the sill.



And a gusset on the back mount.



Same process on the other side.





I pulled them off and fully welded them.





Then got them powder coated.

No electroplating first on these as that would have meant I would have to drill holes all over them as they cant electroplate enclosed sections, each section has to have a hole at each end.





Got them fitted.













I'm pleased with how they came out.

 

[Ben]

Fuel Tank

I spent many hours modifying a standard tank to take the Lexus fuel pump and fuel bowl.

I was never 100% happy with it as some compromises had to be made, just because of the shape of the standard fuel tank and what I was trying to fit into it.

Non the less it was done.

I then spent even more time cleaning all the paint coating off the outside of the tank (even though it was fine and didnt need doing) so that I could get the whole thing eletro plated.



I even did the fuel tank guard too.





I then sent them off to be electroplated.

And a few days later I got it back.



Unfortunately the electro platers failed to tell me when I dropped the tank off that their process would strip every inch of zinc coating from the inside of the tank, from when Toyota had built it and deposit nothing in its place as it would be too far from the electrodes!

So I went from having a modified tank with a small amount of surface rust on the inside in places (that could have been treated with some tank sealer) to a tank with bare metal on the inside, especially between layers of metal that are impossible to seal, like where the baffle meets the main tank and is spot welded to it.

So that tank was completely f****d and there was only one place for it!



And there was only one thing for it...............

Design and build a new one from scratch.

I purchased a sheet of 3mm thick marine grade alluminium for $160 and got to work.



Cut it.





Folded it.







Clamped the 2 sections together.



Tacked them.





End section went on next.



This section needed a notch out of it for the exhaust.





I welded this seem both sides before welding it onto the tank to hopefully ensure it never leaks.



Wedged it in place with a piece of wood inside the tank.



I used a hole saw to cut a 40mm section out of some 8mm thick alluminium.





For a standard drain plug to fit into.



Drilled the center out.



And drilled another hole for it through the bottom of the tank.

In hindsight I should have drilled it 50mm further over as it ended up being right in the middle of where one of the tank straps sit.





And bolted the drain plug boss into position.



And welded it on.



Drilled some holes in the top of the tank for the standard fuel level sender, standard fuel outlets and the Lexus fuel pump.



Drilled and taped all the mounting holes for those items.





And bolted them on.





And drilled and taped the Lexus fuel pump opening.



Folded up a baffle section.





The Lexus fuel pump would bolt to this baffle.







Drilled and bolted the pump to the baffle so I could get the exact position of the baffle.



This would also dictate where the Lexus fuel bowl would be welded.




Next I welded in the Lexus fuel bowl, which has an alluminium base which gets spot welded into position.



I would have liked to have TIG'd it but didnt want to risk putting too much heat into it and melting the plastic. Also space was very tight as I had to weld looking through the hole in the top.

So I MIG'd it. Not pretty but it felt very secure.



And crucially was in the right spot.



Then I could weld the baffle in position.



Carefully and slowly so as not to put too much heat into the base of the tank as again I didnt want to melt the plastic fuel bowl.



I selected which fuel filler neck I would use and got it electro plated.



Bolted it in position.



So I could work out where the inlet on the tank needs to be for filling.

 

[Ben]

I brought the tank home and got it in position under the car so I could work out the position of the fuel filler pipe.



I also had to work out how many outlets I needed going from the tank to the filler neck.



I cut and folded the end section and welded some tube to it.



I welded a seem of weld around the tube to help prevent the rubber hose from coming off.

In hindsight I could have made this a bit longer as I have more space to get the tank in and out than I thought.



Drilled and taped a piece of 8mm plate for the breathers.







My M20 tap arrived so I set about tapping the fuel drain plug on the under side of the tank.

To avoid swarf entering the tank I taped an aerosol cap on the inside.







And taped it out using a suitably sized socket over the tap as it wouldnt fit in even my biggest tap wrench.





Freshly electro plated standard drain plug.



The cap caught a bit of swarf.



One final check before welding the end on the tank.





All was good so it was time to finish the welding.

As alluminium is such an amazing conductor of heat I covered the tank in wet towels around the plastic fuel bowl to keep it cool and prevent it from melting.






Some beautiful TIG welds.







Just needed to weld this section on next.



I welded it on but forgot to take a pic.

Made some tank straps and brackets.



Bought it home and bolted the tank in position.







Made a tank guard out of 2mm steel.

I thought about using 3mm but decided it would be too heavy.



As the drain plug was in the wrong position I had to notch one of the tank straps and weld a piece on the side to reinforce it.



With the tank in position on the straps.



I jacked the guard up under it, then tacked it to the tank straps and then removed the straps and guard to fully weld them on the bench.





That then went off for electro plating.



Sadly I couldnt powder coat the tank as the fuel bowl would have melted in the 200 degree oven they use to bake the powder on.

So I gave it a few coats of etch primer, after roughing up the alluminium a bit first with some course sand paper to help key the surface for the primer.





Followed by a few coats of 2k primer.





Got the tank guard back from electro plating along with a few other bits and then sent it all off for powder coating.





I wasnt happy with how well my MIG welds in the fuel bowl would have sealed the bowl to the base of the tank and as I dont want to find myself on a steep hill with my fuel bowl empty because all the fuel has leaked out, I bought some sealer for it.



And gave the base of the fuel bowl a good coat.



Got the bits back from the powder coaters.







And I'd also given the tank a few coats of 2k satin black.









Fuel filler neck came up good.



I wasted no time in bolting everything back into the tank, starting with the Lexus fuel pump.

 

[Ben]

I've got some rubber strips to go between the tank and guard and then its ready to be fitted.

Then I just need to run all the new metal fuel lines from the tank to the engine.

 

[Ben]

Windscreen Surround

I had been busy getting lots of bits electro plated, like this transmission guard that Toyota fitted to the earlier round headlight 70's.





And the sail track that goes above the windscreen for the soft top to slide into.

Its the long bit in the middle of the pic below.



I got all those bits powder coated black.

And then it was finally time to fix the sail track to my windscreen surround.

Normally its spot welded on but because I'm using a fiberglass windscreen surround that obviously wasnt an option.



So instead I went for the most expensive, made in Japan, Sikaflex I could find.



Applied a good bead.



And stuck it on.

I also added some screws as I wasnt happy relying on just the Sika.





The screws were a bit long, so they would need cutting off on the other side.





Cut off, filler applied and sanded down ready for paint.





Then it was ready to go back to the panel shop for painting.





All painted.







Bolted it on.





New hinge covers went on next.





Then it was ready for a new windscreen.







I'm entitled to 1 free piece of glass per year per vehicle on my insurance policy, they came out and fitted me a nice new screen!





Then I could finally fit my special double pivot wipers and new blades.







ECU

I wanted to mount my ECU to the underside of the dash, which is where Toyota mount them on the JDM 70's but sadly it wouldnt fit.

So I made some alluminium brackets to mount it to the roof of the glovebox instead.










I had to trim a little bit off the back of the Dougs Tub.





And then it fitted fine!



So this is where I'm up to!

I need to fit the fuel tank and run the lines to the engine.

Modify and fit a KZJ70 airbox.

Fit a 12"Optima yellow top battery and then I can finally wire the engine up and hear that V8 roar into life!





Citizenship.

And last but by no means least.................

A couple of weeks ago I stood up and publicly swore an oath of allegiance to the greatest country on the face of the planet and officially became an Aussie!

 

[AndyCook]

Nice, mega updates - enjoyed the read with a mug of tea this morning
Hassle about the original tank being screwed up by electroplating
But new one looks great

You make the fabrication work look so easy !

Look forward to a video clip when you turn the ignition key

 

[Chris]

Beautiful work as always Ben. I'm always blown away at the standard of finish that you get on things. I know how hard that is.

Australia is of course the second greatest country on the planet; the first being Yorkshire, obviously.

 

[Paddler Ed]

Well done Ben!

Now, just remember you need to tell them every time you move otherwise you can lose your driving licence!

 

[chadr]

Echo the sentiments about the quality of your work and how easy you make it seem.

Congratulations on the citizenship

 

[StarCruiser]

There you go, just as promised I’ve now got my fix of Ben-Build. Made me late out the door this morning but nobody died and I had to finish it off this evening. Great work as always. I wish I had your patience and resolve not to cut corners just because the finish line seems so close. That truck is going to be superb when it’s done and it should last a very long time, long enough for Sam (who’s looking like he’s turning into a nice young man BTW) to have plenty of trips in it and get to drive it.

I’m going into the garage to stare at my welder now before giving it a kick ok.