LJ70 Build Thread!

[Paddler Ed]

Rocco, you're lying about the cold! I've got a mate who lives in the Portland area and works in Lithgow who gets sent home when there's frost on the roads in winter

 

[RJ70 BUNDERA]

Rocco, you're lying about the cold! I've got a mate who lives in the Portland area and works in Lithgow who gets sent home when there's frost on the roads in winter

i live in the windsor/blacktown area!... dont no how lithgow got into my profile im going to try to change it... but here in the coldest winter we just get frost if were lucky..i went to the snow for the first time (im 27) last year 4.5 hours away in jyndabyne why would he get sent home from frost being on the roads..ive only heard it spinkle snow at Lithgow a couple of times on the news but very rare...

 

[Ben]

That's because he's always inside working on LJ or Michaels house.

Pretty much yes!

I kind of feel I've neglected LJ the last 6 months or so. I really need to crack on and get the work done and start getting out on more trips.

Hey ben... I must say what an inspiring build thread you have... coming from the uk and all also welcome to oz I love your Lj70 and you have some balls driving that thing with your lift and tyresmy Rj70 has 2.5inch lift with 33s and its still very tippy i could imagine yours I started reading your thread about a 150 pages ago and got hooked and now hours later my eyes are burning you got to get out of melbourne and move to western Sydney when you can..there some pretty good track here aswell Lithgow,menai,watagans,appin,mt walker,all within an hour..it never gets really cold or never snows or goes below o normally imho its the best place to live but very expensive for housing anyways this is one thread ill be watching cheers rocco....

Awww thanks mate.

I am planning on leaving Melbourne but I've got to stay here for one more year then I'm free to live anywhere in OZ.

Actually today has been freezing!

Its felt like the first day of Winter.

Will give you a shout when I'm next up your way.

I'm still hoping to get into the mines/oil rigs and earn some big money for a few years but then I'm thinking it would be nice to buy a brand new 70, deck it out and then go around the world.

I really want to spend a year or 2 doing the Americas tip to tip. Start in South America in the jungles and explore the Mayan ruins and end up in Alaska admiring the Northern lights. Should also get to fire some big guns in North America.

 

[Paddler Ed]

i live in the windsor/blacktown area!... dont no how lithgow got into my profile im going to try to change it... but here in the coldest winter we just get frost if were lucky..i went to the snow for the first time (im 27) last year 4 hours away in jyndabyne

I know that area... I used to be based in Blacktown just on the border with Mt Druitt so not far from AutoOne... which was helpful...

Now that I know of more people that way I've got more people who can go to Northern Road Wreckers at Londonderry!



Knowing Ben's determination I'm sure either the rigs/mines or the US will come off as a trip...

 

[RJ70 BUNDERA]

I know that area... I used to be based in Blacktown just on the border with Mt Druitt so not far from AutoOne... which was helpful...

Now that I know of more people that way I've got more people who can go to Northern Road Wreckers at Londonderry!



Knowing Ben's determination I'm sure either the rigs/mines or the US will come off as a trip...

haha their ok for hilux stuff but landcruiser stuff they hardly get or atleast lately anyways!

 

[Victor]

The 'zuke looks really good, but one thing bothers me, quite a lot actually, WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH THAT SPARE WHEEL GODDANGIT? XD Looks so out of place it's just.. D'oh!

 

[Ben]

Knowing Ben's determination I'm sure either the rigs/mines or the US will come off as a trip...

Thanks Ed.

I start back at TAFE today after the Christmas break.

The 'zuke looks really good, but one thing bothers me, quite a lot actually, WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH THAT SPARE WHEEL GODDANGIT? XD Looks so out of place it's just.. D'oh!

Thanks.

The idea is to give people some idea of scale. It should look better once one of our Seriously Suzi By Piranha Off Road wheel covers goes on.

We couldn't put a 37" on the back, it would completely cover the rear of the truck and we wanted to keep the original rear bumper which is scalloped out for a standard size spare.

We wanted the truck to look mad and grab attention but at the same time we want people to be able to identify that its a Suxuki Jimny.

 

[clivehorridge]

The 'zuke looks really good, but one thing bothers me, quite a lot actually, WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH THAT SPARE WHEEL GODDANGIT? XD Looks so out of place it's just.. D'oh!

A great write-up Ben, as usual! Mmmmm but Victor is right and I'd never noticed it before!

It does look more like a spare for a trailer rather than the truck

 

[Igotababyfrontera]

I never noticed that before.

 

[TonyS]

Now the spare wheel has been mentioned, it really does stand out! Gotta go now, Ben.

 

[Ben]

I agree but its out of my control.

A bit like the ridiculous thing on the top of the snorkel, in some of the last pics of Frankenzuke.

The spare should atleast look better once the cover is on it, it wont stand out as much then. I think it would look odd whatever we do. 37" spare would cover most of the back of the truck if we could get it to fit. No spare and the rear end looks a big naked, especially with the scalloped out bit in the rear bumper. Or tiny original size spare like we've got.

Now Frankenzuke is nearly finished we can start on the air boat soon. So I will weld a hull together out of alluminium then mount a car engine on the back with a huge fan blade directly off the crank of the engine.

Then theres the thing I've got to build for the Guinness world record attempt.

But I've got to go to TAFE now. Need to get my welding qualifications!

 

[clivehorridge]

I agree but its out of my control.

A bit like the ridiculous thing on the top of the snorkel, in some of the last pics of Frankenzuke.

The spare should atleast look better once the cover is on it, it wont stand out as much then. I think it would look odd whatever we do. 37" spare would cover most of the back of the truck if we could get it to fit. No spare and the rear end looks a big naked, especially with the scalloped out bit in the rear bumper. Or tiny original size spare like we've got.

I recon a 37" on the back would look just fine! Shame you have no say in it

 

[Ben]

Update time........................

My boss wanted a box building for the trailer to keep the winch remote in.



So I made a template of the shape/size of the box.

And drew around it onto alluminium.







Folded it up.





Welded all the corners.





Made a lid.







Added some rubber trim.





Fitted the lid.









Bolted it in place.







Thursday night I got to work on LJ's rear door.









































With all the new metal welded in I turned my attention back to the broken hinge that I wanted put a new pin in.



I still needed to remove the old pin.



So I tried the press.



13,000psi of pressure wasnt enough to shift it and the bolt I was using bent and shot out, fortunately id held a big tarp around the press to catch anything should it fly out.



So I got the oxy torch out.







It now came out using a punch and hammer.



I managed to punch the other pieces of the hinge pin out on the other piece of hinge, I then ran a 10mm drill bit through.



Now I cocked up in that I should have drilled the hinge out to 10.5 or even 11mm but I didn't I drilled it out to 10mm and then tried inserting 10mm rod.



The pin ended up bending and the hinge is jammed solid in that position.

I will fix it next week by cutting the pin and starting again with bigger holes.



I started cutting the door out to take the stove.





Today I carried on with the door.





I needed to drill out all the spot welds.





Center punched.



And drilled.



I could then pries the section of metal out.







More cutting.



Next section out.





The rear wiper motor was in the way.



I never use the rear wiper so decided I'd loose it.





Both gas stoves fit, so I could use either one.





Cut a bit more out.









So the idea is the stove will be hidden in the door behind my fold down table.

Then when the table is folded down the gas stove can be pulled out (through the cut out that I'm yet to do in the back panel) and used.

The next thing to do was to make a cardboard template for the box that will line the door. I will then be able to make an alluminium version.

The box is tapered to maximize the usable space. So is 100mm deep at the bottom and then tapers to 80mm deep at the top.

Stove fits with space to spare.

With that done I made a start filling over the areas I've welded.

I decided to make the template for the triple battery tray I was planning for the engine bay.

So my idea was to turn the batteries to face the other way and instead of having 2 have 3.

The spaghetti mess of wires under the bonnet will be fixed up very soon when we do the electrics.

Removed the batteries and trays.

Managed to pull some redundant wires, relays and fuse holders out.

Compressor out next.

Would need to re-home a few things for my plan to work.

Due to the shape of the gaurd my plan wont work as the batteries will sit up too high.

So now I need to work out what to do........................

I could cut the guard out to fit the batteries where I want them but that obviously isnt ideal.

I could put a battery in the back, maybe some where in the drawer system or in the currently wasted space next to the rear wheel arches at the side of the drawer system. But Michael said that isnt a good idea as the batteries release poisonous gasses while charging. Unless I fitted a sealed battery like and Optima.

Or I could fit 2 13" Optimas in the engine bay in the same configuration as the standard batteries fit, all be it with a new tray. 2 13" Optimas should give me more amperage than fitting 3 normal batteries like I was planning.

Also according to Michael the Optimas will go from flat to fully charged in an hour as there very fast chargers. Which would be useful for times when I'm winching for hours on end and flatten both batteries like on my Otways trip.

Any ideas or opinions welcome.

I also had to do some work on Michaels new 80.

We fitted the rock sliders that have now been electro plated and powder coated.

Weve fitted one of our battery trays and a battery. (OZ spec 80's only got one battery on the passenger side.)

And one of our duel battery systems.

I welded some angle to the chassis. The pic below is it tack welded in place before I fully welded it.

For an air tank.

I started back at TAFE (college) on Friday. My lecturer wanted to know what modules to enrol me in. So I explained to him that I want to get a welding qualification so that I can go and work in the mines, and then I want to contiune working in the 4wd industry so TIG welding would be useful, especially for welding chromoly roll cages together for comp trucks.

So I've been enrolled on a TIG course and its pretty full on. I will now be going Monday nights 5.30pm till 9.30pm to do theory. So Monday will be a crazily long day! Up at 5.20am for gym, then work till 4.30pm then TAFE till 9.30pm, going to be 11pm till I get to bed.

I will still be going every Friday to learn and practice the practical side of it.

Its for 5 months and then we have external exam people come in to do the theory and practical exams, and providing I pass I will then be a fully qualified, ticketed TIG welder.

Its costing me a fortune and will be pretty intense. But once thats done the other welding qualifications I want to get will be a lot easier to get as all the theory side of things which I've got to do for my TIG will cover all the other modules. So the other modules will be a lot cheaper and a lot less work.

OK heres a few pics of my first play with the TIG welder.

No laughing please!

All 3mm plate, the first one was welding 3 pieces together. So I left a 1.5mm gap between each piece.

I welded 2 pieces together at 90 degrees and then tried welding them onto a piece of flat. The internal welds onto the flat were very tricky and far from good.

My lecturer said the trickiest weld would be a lap joint.

So far from pretty but I've got to start some where and I will get good and succeed at this!

So back to LJ for a minute............................

Thursday night after work I need to sort the hinge out and fold up and weld the alluminium for the box that will go inside the rear door. Then I need to finish filling, sanding and painting the rear door and then thats that done.

I need to decide what I'm doing battery wise under the bonnet.

I am tempted to go for 2 13" Optimas but it means I will be left with 4 perfectly good batteries that are surplus to my needs, all batteries I've bought new within the last few years.

I also want to start looking at designing and making a 60+ litre auxillary fuel tank.

So lots still to do.

 

[Gary820]

Nice work, I think I've finally read everything now! I've attempted to use a TIG once and it really wasn't pretty lol.

Personally with the batteries I'd go for the optimas, less work, more output and if recover quicker when winching a lot more ideal. Think I'll be fitting one when it's time to replace mine (only got one battery)

 

[Paddler Ed]

What about turning the battery 180 degrees so that the terminals are nearer the windscreen as opposed to being near the radiator?

I've worked out how to fit an N70ZZ in my 4Runner, having done a cardboard mock up of the length of the battery I know it'll clear the PS stuff (the GF veto'd removing that...) and shunting the existing battery back and forward to check it'll clear the inside of the wing.

 

[Blown80]

Good read again Ben, hope that panel work lasts. Might want to pour some rust converter inside.
Good to see you're wearing your safety thongs too......

If it helps at all, and even I don't take my own advice, on that hinge pin are you looking for a press fit on the outers or inner section? You obviously want to drill your moving point, but try putting your new pin in the freezer for a day or two, then heat up the corresponding section again when you go to press it in. Might make it easier for you and still result in a press fit on the section you want.

With the batteries, you might have to opt for some Optimas (no pun intended). The model D34/78 are 199mm high and 175mm wide, and have side connection points as well. So being fairly square end on (175/199), with the extra 24mm difference on the width if you were to lay them on their side would that still work for you. You could cut the posts off if not needed or still wire the battery terminals to the posts of the batteries as traditionally done which eliminates more height issues on the 'top' as such. That way the length is still the way you want. Three side to side along the guard equates to a minimum of 600mm, but will it fit?
The D34/78s have a 750CCA rating and 55Ah, so depending how you wire and control them you could have yourself 2250CCA for winching, and a combined 165Ah for running your fridges, etc.
Just flog your old batteries to a club member over there.

Just a thought if it helps. Cheers.

 

[Paddler Ed]

Another thought Ben, keep the rear washer wiring there and use it for a spotlight switch for the back for reversing etc... Just disconnect the washer motor wire.

 

[Edward Moyse]

I caught up with this thread again yesterday morning, and felt so exhausted just reading about what Ben had been up to, that I went back to bed... ;-)

Thanks for the vid of the gate latches too!

 

[Ben]

OK guys I really wanted to do an update tonight, I've been pretty busy and have got heaps more pics to share with you.

But I've just found out I've got to go to a meeting tonight regarding Tough Truck which is next month.

Don't want to say too much just yet, but I'm very excited about Tough Truck and the other things I will now hopefully be getting involved with!

Watch this space!

Nice work, I think I've finally read everything now! I've attempted to use a TIG once and it really wasn't pretty lol.

Personally with the batteries I'd go for the optimas, less work, more output and if recover quicker when winching a lot more ideal. Think I'll be fitting one when it's time to replace mine (only got one battery)

Thanks Gary, another vote for Optimas then.

What about turning the battery 180 degrees so that the terminals are nearer the windscreen as opposed to being near the radiator?

I've worked out how to fit an N70ZZ in my 4Runner, having done a cardboard mock up of the length of the battery I know it'll clear the PS stuff (the GF veto'd removing that...) and shunting the existing battery back and forward to check it'll clear the inside of the wing.

Thanks Ed.

Sadly turning the battery around wouldn't help as there just isnt the height for 3 batteries.

Interesting idea about using the power already in the door, thanks.

Good read again Ben, hope that panel work lasts. Might want to pour some rust converter inside.
Good to see you're wearing your safety thongs too......

If it helps at all, and even I don't take my own advice, on that hinge pin are you looking for a press fit on the outers or inner section? You obviously want to drill your moving point, but try putting your new pin in the freezer for a day or two, then heat up the corresponding section again when you go to press it in. Might make it easier for you and still result in a press fit on the section you want.

With the batteries, you might have to opt for some Optimas (no pun intended). The model D34/78 are 199mm high and 175mm wide, and have side connection points as well. So being fairly square end on (175/199), with the extra 24mm difference on the width if you were to lay them on their side would that still work for you. You could cut the posts off if not needed or still wire the battery terminals to the posts of the batteries as traditionally done which eliminates more height issues on the 'top' as such. That way the length is still the way you want. Three side to side along the guard equates to a minimum of 600mm, but will it fit?
The D34/78s have a 750CCA rating and 55Ah, so depending how you wire and control them you could have yourself 2250CCA for winching, and a combined 165Ah for running your fridges, etc.
Just flog your old batteries to a club member over there.

Just a thought if it helps. Cheers.

Thanks Chris.

Regarding the rear door, yes I'm going to use loads of rust convertor. I'm also going to spray plenty of Dinitrol inside the door to hopefully prevent anymore rot.

Good idea regarding freezing the pin and heating the hinge.

Originally the hinge pin was a press fit but I was planning on welding the ends of the pin anyway so there really was no need for it to be so tight. I cocked up on that job!

Thanks for the info on the Optimas.

I caught up with this thread again yesterday morning, and felt so exhausted just reading about what Ben had been up to, that I went back to bed... ;-)

Thanks for the vid of the gate latches too!

Glad your enjoying it.

 

[Paddler Ed]

Sadly turning the battery around wouldn't help as there just isnt the height for 3 batteries.

Interesting idea about using the power already in the door, thanks.

What about a couple of washers to lift the back of the bonnet a fraction to get some more clearance?

I'm still thinking about that switch; what I think is the go is to leave the cabling there, but replace the switch so it's now a 2-position as opposed to a 3-position (IIRC the equivalent switch in my FJ73 had 3 positions; Off, Intermittent or On, and Washer squirt) so that you had on-off only... unless you want a giant water pistol!

That may still leave another live wire that could be used for something as well, not sure what though at the moment, but an additional switch using that could be a 2nd worklight.

Check the rules for wiring in aux rear lighting; IIRC in NSW they must only be operable when reverse is engaged (so takes a feed from the reverse circuit, much like a set of driving lights taking a feed from the high beam switch, as well as the isolator switch) Probably less of an issue in VIC at the moment as there isn't the annual road worthy inspection.

Regarding the rear door, yes I'm going to use loads of rust convertor. I'm also going to spray plenty of Dinitrol inside the door to hopefully prevent anymore rot.

Was there a drain hole where the rust was? I know on my 4Runner the rust is congregating around the drain holes in the doors.... which is annoying, but also shows that in the past people haven't been that good at keeping them maintained. With the patches you've put in have you sealed the drain holes?