LJ70 Build Thread!

[Doodle]

The general consensus is now that I need to get the viscous fan put back on as the electric fans just cant suck enough air through the rad.

Wouldn't surprise me. To give you some idea, the 5 litre lump in my Merc has a huge viscous fan on the back, and a full width pair of AEG electric fans pushing through from the front.

 

[sae70]

Not jealous at all Ben Loads of eventful trips, blue sky's, warm weather, meat, a 50Ton press at your disposal, steam cleaner a tool box that you could live in and a sheila in a long black dress Why is she in the long black dress Don't get me wrong, she looks well, but the rest of you are in shorts and flip flops Have you ever serviced your viscous fan and got it work proper it may be worth a go Then maybe fit a push fan on the front of the rad. Didn't you talk about having a larger ally rad mad some time back Maybe this would be the answer to your cooling requirements Years back when i ran a modified VW Bug I fitted spacers on the bonnet (boot) hinges allowing there to be a permanent gap at the top to help with cooling. May work for you if you could just lift the back edge of the bonnet a half inch

 

[Ben]

Almost right Steven, but Erin isnt my shiela.

Shes an amazing person and a great friend, but I love being single and I'm trying to avoid relationships for the next few years.

As for the black dress, I'm not sure!

The viscous fan worked fine when it was fitted to the engine in the 4-runner, so I'm hoping it should be ok. Spacing the bonnet hinges is also a mod I'm thinking of doing but I want to fit the viscous fan with a new cowl first and see if that fixes the problem.

The rad is fairly new and in good condition so I'm hoping it will be ok.

Going to try and make a start on day 2 of the blog shortly.

 

[Paddler Ed]

Years back when i ran a modified VW Bug I fitted spacers on the bonnet (boot) hinges allowing there to be a permanent gap at the top to help with cooling. May work for you if you could just lift the back edge of the bonnet a half inch

I've got a picture somewhere of a mate of a mate's Nissan S13 that has the bonnet spaced for cooling; he uses it for Motorkhana's, so it's high load but not a load of speed to cool it. I took it especially for you Ben! Now I can't remember which camera it was taken on... but it was only at the weekend so it can't be that buried...

 

[Ben]

Over 400 pics for day 2 of the trip report!

 

[Doodle]

but I love being single and I'm trying to avoid relationships for the next few years.

In my experience, this is normally when the b*stards sneak up on you and take you by surprise. It's a good plan!

 

[Ben]

My plan is stay in Melbourne for the next 2 years and get my welding qualification. Then go and do a few years in the mines, then move to Northern NSW/Southern Queensland, buy some land and build a house.

Then look for a Mrs.

 

[Doodle]

Can we start the sweepstake now?

 

[mrdelmonti]

In my experience, this is normally when the b*stards sneak up on you and take you by surprise. It's a good plan!

Yep I'd planned on doing a few years in my profession then buggering off to Canada or NZ where my skills are in demand and I could have a better quality of life. Didn't quite go to plan, I've ended up married, moved to Swindon and thinking about having a kid .

If you can make your plan work Ben then I take my hat off to you. At least you're enjoying yourself.

 

[Ben]

I guess only time will tell, but I am determined to resist settling down for a while yet!

OK Trip report wont be up tonight.

After 9pm now and got to be up at 5am for the gym and then TAFE.

But the 238 pics and 2 videos are resized, edited, uploaded and ready to go.

Hopefully I will get time to write and post it all tomorrow night.

 

[Doodle]

After a succession of crap relationships I made a break for it and spent just over 3 years being single. Very happy doing my own thing, wasn't bothered about finding someone at all and then suddenly had a lovely girl land in my lap...literally, at a mutual friend's birthday party for their daughter.

Many moons have passed and we still haven't killed each other yet

 

[clivehorridge]

My plan is stay in Melbourne for the next 2 years and get my welding qualification. Then go and do a few years in the mines, then move to Northern NSW/Southern Queensland, buy some land and build a house.

Then look for a Mrs.

I have to comment, sorry!

There's a corny quote, from a corny song maybe, but "a man chases a girl until she catches him" and I know of few exceptions!

Good luck with your plan Ben, 10 out of 10 for having a plan!

The rest will be history, one day!

My life plan has been full of disappointments, re-starts, further disappointments and eventual bliss (or as close as I can imagine that to be) so my advice is to be ready for anything, you'll be lucky if it goes to plan, and even luckier if it all works out, as it eventually did for me!

 

[Ben]

Thanks guys.

Time to start on day 2 of the trip report.

 

[Paddler Ed]

Come on, you've had 2hrs now Ben

or is it keeping the audience waiting?!

 

[Ben]

Otways Trip Day 2.

We awoke Sunday morning to find it was drizzling a little bit.

I cooked breakfast for Erin and I.





Sausage, egg and cheese sandwiches.



Theres 2 essential items that I always keep in the truck for trips. One of them is an umbrella!
Even if its pi55ing it down in the evening when you all want to sit round the fire, you can sit and stay perfectly dry with an umbrella!

Or when your cooking dinner and havent yet bought and fitted an awning/foxwing.



Erin is a coffee National Barista coach and taught Justin how to make a proper coffee.



We met up with Michael who had got and fitted a new hub.



He got it off a guy who has got 50+ LandCruisers! Hed got lots of early ones some which had been imported from Japan and he was trying to get them all fully restored. He had even got lots of early 25,30,35 series cruisers!



One repaired hub.





We soon hit the tracks.





And were soon hitting the hard stuff! Or in this case soft, slimy, muddy stuff!







Michael made little progress and was just sat spinning all his wheels.



LJ's turn.





I got a bit further than Michael but ended up needing to winch. The pics don't do it justice in terms of how steep it was.











The others drove up the easier entrance onto the track and we continued. I was now at the front and soon hit a section with a bump I couldnt get over.





So back out with the winch.



Michael next.















Justin needed to winch next.









The next section looked interesting.



LJ drove it faultlessly! Literally on tick over with both air lockers in.

Michael wasn't quite as lucky as can be seen in the video below.





Justin was soon winching again.

















We got a bit further and Justin ended up having to winch again. His little 33" tyres were really slowing him down next to the 37" tyres on the 2 cruisers.

















We got to the top of the hill and turned onto the next track.



















We passed a house with a really cool water tank.



















I found a tree across the track.







Michael got his chainsaw.









With the tree cleared the guys repaired the farmers fence.





We soon got to a gate.





So we turned around.











One of the rangers stopped and had a quick chat with us. He was a fellow 4wder in his spare time and was driving a nice V8 70 series ute.



















We rounded a bend and found a huge tree across the track.







He climbed up and cut the top first.





And then came down and cut the bottom into sections.













Love this pic!





We rounded the next bend and found another one down.











We soon found another one down.



Fortunately we could squeeze through the small opening some one had cut through.









We stopped for lunch at the start of our next track.







The crazy French man, Andre trying to keep his hair dry!







After lunch we set off down the track.









I was testing out a speaker linked to the cb radio, and had cable tied it to the grab handle on the dashboard. This meant that Erin couldn't hold onto the handle properly so instead decided to destroy the dash as we bounced our way down the track.



Michael was soon chainsawing again.











Through a little stream/creek at the bottom.











We reached the bottom and I realized my bag had split open.

So I did a quick repair with a ratchet strap.










The next track was sadly closed.



So we turned around and headed back to the awesome track we had just come down. The plan was to drive up it.





The start was very overgrown.







Back through the stream.



Beginning the steep rutted climb.









Justin was soon winching.





After that awesome drive which I loved!

We stopped at the top and Michael made a coffee with his new coffee machine that has cost him a fortune to have installed.





We then hit the tracks again.



Back on the bitumen.



We stopped in a village hoping for fuel but their was no where selling fuel. But we did get ice cream!



We decided to drive for a bit further in search of fuel.





We stopped for fuel.



Michael couldn't resist cleaning his 80.





We hit the road again.



We then had to stop so Andre could go and get beer.





Finally we hit the road again and headed back towards the national park.





We got to a big bog hole and Michael sent me through first.





Michael took the chicken track but Justin drove through.





The track was called Pipeline Track and all the way along it were raised concrete cylinders with man hole covers on the top. I stopped and lifted one of the lids up and inside was some big blue taps and lots of pipes.

Soon we got to a tunnel.





We crossed a bridge.







We reached the camp site for the night and I was very impressed with it. It was a huge site with lots of trees and loads of other groups of 4wd's, motorbikers and families.











Cool Suzuki.





Comp trucks.









As we drove into the camp site I spotted LJ's brother!!!!

So I was straight on the radio saying "shit we need to go over there"!

This is the first LJ70 I have seen on the tracks in Australia and it was even almost the same colour.





It was owned by a guy called Ash who it transpired only lives 20mins up the road from me. We spent the next half an hour chatting and looking at each others trucks.

One of his mates had tried recovering him that day and had pulled a piece of chassis off.



He also had a gorgeous Border collie puppy called Ziggy.









Showing him my engine conversion. His was still running the 2.4TD but he had plans to change it.



I asked him why he had got a SWB 70 series, as I know there pretty rare over here and he said it was his dream car and took him a while to find one but he loves it! So a true enthusiast.

It was getting late and would soon be dark so we started setting camp up.







As all the nearby fire wood would already have been taken, Michael and I went for a drive.

We had passed a fallen tree that had obviously fallen across the track and been cut out of the way, on our way to camp so we drove back to it.





I arranged the waffle boards to protect the fridge and side window.





Michael chain sawed it and I loaded it.











Loads of fire wood.



We got back to camp and the guys had had a few drinks and written on Justins car.



I got the fire going with some off cuts of hardwood flooring from home and super hot MAP gas.





And of course more used engine oil.



Michael split the fire wood.





We set up some of the excellent fluro camp lights the 4wd company I work for make and sell.



And I cooked dinner.





For a change........................

Steak, mash and veggies.







We heated a billy of water up which I put 3 deserts into. Chocolate pudding for Erin, gooey caramel pudding for Michael and syrup sponge for me.





The night was then spent sat round the roaring fire eating and drinking and listening to Michaels terrible music! I'm sure there must have been a lot of fellow campers who were bloody happy when I got up at 12.30 and told the guys I was going to bed and turning the music off. It really was shit.

Quite a funny moment actually when Andre turned and said "Well Michael we certainly didn't invite you on this trip for your music"!

So that was day 2 and what an awesome day it had been!

I will try and get day 3 up soon but I'm really busy this weekend as were starting on the bathroom, which were going to totally gut and then re-build. I'm doing all the carpentry, plumbing and tilling and Michael gets to do the fibreglass insulating and electrics.

 

[Paddler Ed]

Awesome write up!

I was surprised to see that the other 70 was also an LJ; I was expecting a BJ70 with that nose, as that's more common. We've got either an RJ70 or an FJ70 in town; drove past it yesterday and GF thought it was our old FJ73 (which I look for everytime I go to Sydney, as we sold it to a lad in one of the small towns in the Hunter Valley)

Was Michael's music standard Aussie Country music? We get it inflicted on us when we go to Team Penning... sometimes I can cope with it, other times I'd rather to poke myself in my eyes...

That sign saying "No Trespassing" is quite normal on the Liverpool Plains etc, where they are worried about mining and don't want the mining companies to come onto their properties; I'm not sure if it's a mines company or anti-mines sign. Lock The Gate have a load of yellow signs all over the Liverpool Plains, and this is one of the signs that they have put up on other properties where the mining companies want to explore:

Glenugie Community Blockade against Metgasco by lockthegate, on Flickr

Now what's going to happen in Part III?

 

[Ben]

Thanks Ed.

The music was just terrible. Imagine all the worst songs fromt the last 30 years compiled together and thats what it was like.

You might be right about those signs because the tracks were definitely 4wd tracks on the map.

Day 3 was pretty eventful.

 

[Graham]

Great pictures Ben.

Thanks for sharing.

Your weather must be starting to pick up nicely now.

Gra.

 

[grantw]

Another great update Ben.

I'm curious about Michael's coffee setup ... do you have any more info on it or more pics?

 

[clivehorridge]

Keep 'me coming Ben, great stuff! Thanks!