LJ70 Build Thread!

[Ben]

thanks for the link Scott, it looks like theyve got what im after.

ive dug out some pics to show the sort of catch i was thinking of. when i was in OZ the construction company i was working for employed there own full time metal fabricator, who kindly helped me make a secure storage box for the back of my little soft top suzuki, because i was worried about my laptop and camera etc. getting stolen while i was doing a 10,000mile trip around the country. anyway.........................the catch/lock he got me for the box is just the sort of thing i was thinking for for this drawer system.

 

[Gary Stockton]

Have a look on a yacht chandler site - there are a few good ones around - they'll have what you're looking for.

Cheers

 

[Ben]

thanks Gary i will have a look.

i remembered today that wicks sell lengths of aluminium angle and box, so i will try there first and if they dont have what i need i will try B&Q as suggested by Chris.

wanted to go to wicks today but didnt get chance, and i doubt i will get chance tomorrow either.

anyway..........................

so tonight i braved the horrible Arctic conditions to do somemore on [strike:3jd4cgv8]Chris's[/strike:3jd4cgv8] my drawer system.

found a box of roofing bolts and some threadlock for bolting the 2 sections together.

and bolted the 2 sections together.

after doing this i found a load of shorter roofing bolts which would have been a lot better, because the 25mm ones are far too long. so i will change all the 25mm ones soon.

next i turned my attention to the remaining piece of cable tray. the medium duty 75mm tray.

so i marked the length it needed to be, the width of the drawer unit. but then i realised that it wouldnt be a good idea to cut it on a line of holes, as that is very near where id be drilling through to bolt it on. so i remarked it and cut both ends to make it symmetrical.

cut it, and drilled and bolted it in place.

with this piece bolted on it made the whole structure a lot stronger.

next i cut another piece of the 75mm tray and laid it in place over the threaded holes in the floor, where the rear seats used to mount to.
i then marked the sides of the tray on the floor with my paint pen.

i then positioned the drawer system in place and after checking its position was correct, i checked the loose rear piece of 75mm tray was still in the position with the lines id marked on the floor.

once i was happy with the position of everything, i used a tape to measure the distance the 2 pieces of 75mm tray are apart.

i then brought the whole lot back into the garage, and then used the tape measure to reposition the 75mm tray into the correct position.

a bit more drilling and bolting later it was all done.

dropped it back in the vehicle to double check everything was still ok which it is.

very impressed with how little waste ive had from this job.

decided to leave what ive built so far in the back of the truck for now. its such a tight fit between the 2 wheel arches and the front seats and back doors that i dont think it will go far.

decided to stick an old piece of ply on top so that i can get my spare wheel back in.

noticed that the 2 outer pieces of tray seem to bow slightly with the weight on top. obviously once a top is bolted in place it should be a bit better, but i think i will strengthen these outer front corners a bit to prevent any bowing, and possible drawer issues.

will just be enough room for my little drawer.

need to get the aluminium box next, then i can measure up for the bearings and get them ordered.

im thinking i will make the drawers using the 5mm alloy sheet ive got and 50mm alloy angle. should be strong and light weight, and free.

 

[Ben]

bit more progress on my build today.

but sadly no progress on the drawer system!

i managed to find to go into wicks today. they do have some alluminum sections and also some mild steel sections. but the biggest aluminium box section they sold was 20mm x 20mm x 1mm. so not very big and a bit too thin. also not cheap at £9 per meter!

so plan is tomorrow to go to one of the 2 metal scrap yards near me and have a look through there pile of aluminium that theyve had weighed in. hopefully i will find something suitable, and if i do i will be charged twice the current weigh in price which is about 80p-£1 a kg.

thats if we havnt had a lot of snow over night, which im kind of hoping we will have had, because it will make laning on sunday a lot more fun!

had a delivery of the genuine toyota bits i need for my gearbox today, courtesy of Ian.

loads of shims in various thickness's, new output bearings, oil seals, and gaskets.

ive booked next friday off work, so i can get the box removed, ready to get the bits fitted next saturday.

so my steering guard and what ive been planning.............................................























i noticed a while ago that on earlier toyota 4x4's, they have on the grill on the front of the truck, the words Toyota. where as on the later 4x4's they have the toyota logo.

mine being an earlier truck ive got the toyota lettering, which i like as i find it quite 80's and retro, along with the chrome grill, door handles, roof gutters, and badges.

so i thought it would be nice to have a toyota logo some where on the front of the truck, but where?

decided against the bumper. then i had an idea......................................

how about having it laser cut into the steering guard on the front of the truck! now that would look cool!

so with a huge thanks to Gav, with his computer wizardry skills, and his contacts in the laser cutting business.

very happy with it!

just need to weld a few bits of metal onto it now, using the first one as a template. then give it a few coats of spray paint, and then it will be ready to fit!

if i get to display my truck at the 4x4 show, its going to look seriously cool on the front of my truck. as it will be very visable with my truck all jacked up on full articulation!

 

[sae70]

I like that

 

[Chas]

That'll look the dogs danglys Ben

 

[Ben]

thanks guys.

ive had a few suggestions which could make it look even cooler.

i could weld a piece of plate on the back behind the logo, and then paint the logo in a bright colour to make it stand out more.

or i could leave as is and have a light behind it.

any other suggestions?

cant wait to get it all welded up and fitted and see how it looks.

anyone want to buy my other steering guard?

if it hasnt gont before i leave the UK, it will go on the scrap pile and be weighed in.

 

[ModelMakerMan]

I like the idea of the light behind it but I would because thats what I did with my numberplate light.

I might be interested in the guard.

 

[Ben]

I like the idea of the light behind it but I would because thats what I did with my numberplate light.

I might be interested in the guard.

i knew id seen it some where but couldnt remember whod done it. yours glows red doesnt it? i remember it looking good.

will give you first refusal on the guard once ive fitted the new one.

 

[ModelMakerMan]

Ive put a new LED strip in there now and angled it a bit better so the light is more uniform, sorry havent got any more up to date pics.

The problems that could arise from using a light in your situation is that to keep it legal it would have to be a white light as its at the front of the vehicle, I doubt youd get done if you used any other colour, it would depend how anal the coppers were being at the time. Also it might end up full of mud which wont look so good with brown light.

 

[Ben]

thanks. does look good.

ive had a nightmare day so far. spent the last 4 hours driving round all the places where i thought i might be able to get some alloy box section, or even stainless steel box section, and failed miserably!

the alloy box in B&Q is the same as the stuff wicks sell, only more expensive.

might have to just buy it from ebay, which i didnt want to do as it seems expensive. £50 ish for 4 x 1 meter lengths seems far too much.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-1-2-X-3-4-A ... 3118wt_698

or they do one with a much thicker wall.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-1-Rectang ... 3118wt_698

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aluminium-Box ... 1569wt_942

or could use stainless.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/stainless-ste ... _500wt_715

 

[Ben]

bought some from the company Sam linked to in his build thread.

ordered 2x 2.5m lengths.

LINK

so now i know the size of the box section i can start making the drawer boxes.

just trying to work out how much clearance i should allow for between the alloy runners and the cable tray sides. i guess if i allow say 3mm each side, and find its too much and the drawers rattle around too much or feel loose, then i can always put a washer between the aluminium runner and the drawer box. id rather do that than find ive made the drawer box too big and its too tight a fit.

 

[Roger Fairclough]

Ben.

There's a scrap metal place 5 minutes away from me that has mountains of alloy section, sheet, bar, plate and tube. £1 a kilo. If you can wait until next Saturday, you could browse away before you arrive at my place.

Roger

 

[Ben]

thanks Roger i will bare that in mind.

i have ordered some aluminium box now though, so im hoping i will have enough now.

now i know what size box section im using for the runners i could crack on with building the drawer boxes.

so i dragged the sheet of 5mm aluminium off the shed roof. its been on there for the past few years since i found it at the side of a road.
dusted the snow and leaves off and got it in the garage.

the fine tooth wood cutting blade on my circular saw has been on for a few years now and is a bit blunt, so decided to use that for cutting the sheet up.

clamped a piece of wood on as a guide and it cut the 5mm sheet beautifully!

soon had it all cut.

cut, drilled, and bolted a piece of angle on.

then drilled and bolted this to the base of the bigger of the 2 drawers.

added another side.

drilled, and bolted angle to another side.

and drilled and bolted it to the drawer.

cut and drilled some upright pieces for the corners.

horrible weather outside.

with the corner pieces bolted in place i tried it into the drawer unit.

fits lovely.

decided to remove all of what ive built so far, so i could load the truck with all my gear ready for laning tomorrow.

hopefully get the other drawer built during the evenings in the week and get the drawer fronts fitted.

now i know the size of the box section im using for the runners i can measure up and order the bearings.

 

[Chris]

You could fix it all up and then find a local fabricator who could TIG it all up. Nothing wrong at all with what you have, but TIGGED would be supreme.

Chris

 

[Ben]

forgot to say, need to cut all the bolts down that are currently sticking out inside the drawer.

thanks Chris.

im hoping to have my own TIG within the next few years. so i might just wait until then.

the alloy sheet ive cut up and all the 2" angle hasnt cost me anything, but it isnt perfect and has got a few holes already in it, from where its previously been used for something else.

so i might replace both drawer boxes one day.

i thought it would be nice to have some alloy or stainless bent into a U shape to form the drawer front, base and back. then weld in 2 sides.

that is how id have liked to have done it, but unfortunatly i dont have the equipment to be able to do work like that yet!

 

[Ben]

first time out laning today since before christmas!

ended up having to tow a nissan terrano quite a bit as he was on road tyres.

shogun did well though with mud tyres and standard rear locker.

the new strengthened steering bar and guard worked faultlessly!

even drove a few new lanes.

driving back it became apparent that i really need a 6th gear. it will cruise happily at 75-80mph but its sat at 3000 RPM, so is screaming a bit.

would fitting bigger tyres, say 37"s improve things?

i love the torque and acceleration the trucks currently got with the 3litre engine and the 2.4 diffs, but top end its not ideal. i guess if i stick to 60mph its not noticable, but theres times where i want to go faster.

also found that the engine was getting a little bit hot when off road and going up steep hills. really need to get a thermo switch fitted and the electric fan wired up.

 

[Ben]

had a few deliveries waiting for me when i got back from site today.

aluminium for my drawer system.

rear recovery point to bolt onto my chassis where the standard toyota one is.

ebay bargain.

the cheapest ones i could find were still more than i was willing to pay, but luckily i found one cheap on ebay.

http://www.qtservices.co.uk/parts/defen ... ackle.html

no progress on the drawer system this week. as after working outside on a roof all day in the cold i really CBA!

 

[Beau]

What exactly do you mean by "hot"? Is the temperature gauge going up or moving...

And yes, by fitting larger diamter wheels it will give you a better top end.

At about 3000 rpm I am doing just over 90 mph. I think mine could do with another gear as well. It would be so economical cruising at 90 at about 2500

 

[wobbly]

Bit fast for greenlaning.....