LJ70 Build Thread!

[Red Oktober]

Sterling work there Ben ..... should be proud of that ...

 

[Sam]

Bravo Ben... looking good

Made some more progress myself... off to write up the post now (still no drawers but finally a frame!).

 

[Ben]

thanks Guys.

so i got home tonight and used the circ saw to cut the piece of alloy that would form the drawer fronts, to the correct width/drawer front height.

i then cut it to length for the small drawer.

my heart sank as i realised id cut it the wrong f****g size! too small!

maybe it was because it had been a long hard week and i was tired, maybe it was the beer. i really should have measured twice and cut once.

oh well i will just have to get another piece of alloy next week.

cut the piece for the other drawer.

worked out where it needed to be and clamped it in place.

drilled and bolted it.

decided to make a stop, to prevent the drawer from opening to far.

so screwed a 4" strip of ply to the underside of the top in the correct position.

loaded the drawers up with stuff for this weekends trip.

the drawers are no where near finished, but they are at least usable this weekend.

got the truck fuelled up next with 40litres of veg mixed with 20litres of derv, with a few litres of petrol thrown in aswell.

got the cb all wired up and went and tested it and it works perfectly. cant believe how much better the sirio aerial is compared to the cheap springer ones.

 

[Sam]

Fantastic ... You've got stuff in them and everything!

Nice idea for the drawer stop too.

 

[Ben]

the drawers worked very well over the weekend.

it was so nice being able to slide a drawer out and put my hand on whatever i happened to need.

im thinking i might put the spare back on the back door at some point, just to give me a bit more room in the back.

heres a couple of my favourite pics from the weekend, for people who havnt got access to the green lane section.

really like this pic.

getting a bit too close to trees.

perfect height for cooking at.

viewtopic.php?f=69&t=13647

 

[Roger Fairclough]

Good work Ben, but it's a good idea to strap everything down when you are on the move. In the unfortunate event of a roll over, you would be seriously injured by jacks, spare wheel and jerry cans flying about.

Roger

 

[Ben]

yes good point Roger.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

fishing tackle boxes are worth securing even if they're not very heavy as well, I was once in a upside down car where it seemed like the whole interior and especially the roof had been sprayed with fishing hooks. Added an extra challenge to getting out

 

[Ben]

fishing tackle boxes are worth securing even if they're not very heavy as well, I was once in a upside down car where it seemed like the whole interior and especially the roof had been sprayed with fishing hooks. Added an extra challenge to getting out

its a tool box!

so im more worried about getting hit by flying spanners, and hammers than fishing hooks!

it would have been nice if the tool box had of fitted in the drawers but it wont as its too high!

i might buy a smaller box that will fit in the drawer.

i have been thinking of getting a length of 50mm seamless tube bent into a U shape, and bolting this in place behind the front seat to act as a roll hoop. then i could make a mesh panel, that can be fitted to the rear side, maybe using something like lynch pins. so it can be quickly/easily removed when i want to carry long lengths of timber or metal, as these usually go through the open sun roof!

that way id have a roll hoop for a bit of added protection should the worst happen, and also a mesh guard to protect from flying objects.

ive got so many projects and jobs still to do on my truck before i export it, i just hope i can find the time to do them all.

 

[wobbly]

You watching 'Wanted Down Under'?

 

[Ben]

no mate.

been watching the series on BBC Iplayer though. i find it very interesting.

 

[wobbly]

I watch it every day cos its at tea break time (thats the one just after bacon buttie time, but before elevenses) - whats interesting is that it shows wages - very good rates at the moment due to the exchange rate. Guy today was a mechanic in the UK, could do electrical as well as mechanical, the garage boss was keen cos aussie mechanics arent yet up to speed on diesels. $53,000aus, which is over £30,000.

Pete

 

[Chas]

I watch it every day cos its at tea break time (thats the one just after bacon buttie time, but before elevenses) Pete

 

[fridayman]

no mate.

been watching the series on BBC Iplayer though. i find it very interesting.

I have it series linked. The Revisited series is a bit more interesting though as they cut a bit of the repetition out and you also get to see if they actually went in the end.

We are hoping to hear in the next month or two about our application.

 

[wobbly]

Fingers crossed - have you got a job lined up, seems to make a big difference.

 

[fridayman]

Fingers crossed - have you got a job lined up, seems to make a big difference.

I've applied as a sponsored (my brother is in Brisbane) skilled migrant. With my brother's sponsorship we only needed 110 points and we have 130+ anyway, so we're hoping it is a case of "when" rather than "if" we get approved. But this has nothing to do with Ben's truck... Sorry Ben

 

[TonyP]

Yeah back on track, have you finished the draws yet? Common slacker

 

[Ben]

Fingers crossed - have you got a job lined up, seems to make a big difference.

I've applied as a sponsored (my brother is in Brisbane) skilled migrant. With my brother's sponsorship we only needed 110 points and we have 130+ anyway, so we're hoping it is a case of "when" rather than "if" we get approved. But this has nothing to do with Ben's truck... Sorry Ben

good luck.

maybe one day we can meet up for a spot of 4x4ing, outback style!

Yeah back on track, have you finished the draws yet? Common slacker

getting close now mate!

so on Tuseday i picked up a piece of alloy for the small drawer front, to replace the piece i cut too small.

and got it drilled and bolted in place.

i also picked up a piece of alloy angle from wickes.

i cut the angle to length, and scribed the ends to the exact angle and shape of where the angle meets the rear pillars.

once i was happy with the fit, i brought it into the workshop to drill and countersink the holes for fixing it to the ply.

i then screwed it in place.

so that was yesterdays effort.


it was a lovely day at work today, and definitely the hottest day of the year so far. was working on a roof all day in the sunshine.

couldnt believe when i got home the UK was hotter than Melbourne!

granted it was 4am there, but this is the first time this year weve been hotter than there!

anyway..........................back to the drawers!

decided i wanted to get the latches fitted.

so i found some 10mm x 10mm solid bar in the shed.

cut 2 pieces to length and drilled some holes in it.

found some suitable stainless steel countersunk headed bolts.

i unscrewed the alloy angle trim from the edge of the ply, and then positioned a piece of the 10mm steel bar in place, and drilled through the holes.

got a countersink bit, to countersink the ply to accept the bolt head.

and bolted the steel in place, making sure i used plenty of threadlock on the bolts.

got the other one done.

cut the excess thread off the bolts.

marked where the latch needed to go, and brought the drawer into the workshop.

drilled a hole, cut the area out with a jigsaw, and then finally cleaned the edges up with a file.

perfect fit!

this bolt on the back is where the adjustment is for how tight the drawer is pulled into the frame.

refitted the drawer, and adjusted the bolt until it closes nice and tight with no rattle!

cut a piece of ply to act as the stop.

screwed it in place.

sprayed some silicon grease on the runners and bearings.

little drawer done!

decided to put some stuff away in it.

so the little drawer is for all the recovery gear that i need most often. the idea being that when im stuck in a huge hole, about to winch up a muddy incline, etc. all i need to do is open the small back door, slide the small drawer out and get what i need.

so...............................dont use the home made, hardwood, high lift jack base very often, so that went in first.

followed by jump leads.

followed by high lift jack adaptor, which fits into my rock sliders and front bumper.

followed by compressor.

quick strop, 8meter strop and a few D shackles next.

followed by my kinetic rope.

marked where i wanted the latches on the big drawer and brought it into the workshop.

drilled a hole in each marked area, ready to be jig-sawed out.

latches fitted and drawer back in place.

decided to stick some stuff in this drawer.

so in went saw, spade, machete, bolt croppers, and crowbar.

socket set, and scissor jack.

full size C02 fire extinguisher, and a few other bits and pieces.

wheel brace and 2 hatchets.

also found my snatch block for the recovery drawer.

very pleased with the latches. there a nice solid heavy duty cast alloy type lock. i like the fact they can all be locked, or can be left in the unlocked position, where by they can still be used as latches.

i also like how they all use the same key!

hoping to get them finished tomorrow, but my latest copy of 4wd action has finally arrived from OZ, so going to be busy reading that for a while.

such a shame none of the uk 4x4 magazines even come close to the quality of 4wd action. i certainly wont be buying total off road magazine ever again!

 

[karl webster]

Looking good ben

Really taking shape.

Karl

 

[sae70]

Interesting read Ben I'm still trying to shift the smell of bonfire from out of my truck since the weeked