Update time.
Normally I try and split it all up into sections but today I'm just going to do it all in order. Hopefully it wont be too disjointed or hard to follow!
Last weekend I did some more filling and sanding on LJ.
I removed the rubber trim from the passenger door to investigate the surface rust, this turned into a hole when I poked it.
It has also cracked on the inside seem where it was brazed in the factory.
I will take it to work and MIG weld it.
I removed the slam panel from the front of LJ in order to make removing the rad easier. But 3 of the 4 bolts sheared off on me.
So I drilled out the broken bolts.
Next I wanted to re-fit the rad and rad cowl, but first I wanted to alter the rad cowl slightly.
The cowl had been rubbing slightly on a bolt on the power steering pumper occasionally when off road.
You can see where it had rubbed the paint off.
I decided to hole saw it, so I positioned a hole saw in place and marked the center.
I trimmed the edges.
I then hung it up and gave it a coat of black spray paint.
Once it was dry I could refit it and the rad.
I want to replace the bottom rad hose, but I need to find one thats suitable. The top one is just a standard KZJ70 hose, but the standard KZJ70 bottom hose didnt fit properly.
I also want to carry spare hoses in LJ at all times, along with alternator belts and fuel and oil filters.
I refitted the top hose but not the bottom one as I wanted to try and source a new bottom one with a slightly differnet angle on the end.
I decided I should probably remove all the rubber grommets from the holes in the back door and fill them before the respray.
I needed to remove the table/storage box first.
Grommets removed.
I chose to use some glass fibre filler.
I decided the easiest way would be to put masking tape on the outside of the panel and this worked well.
Well that was last Sunday, so work pics next.
We had another Suzuki in for wrecking and as space is tight I said I'd get it stripped and put away in a day.
This is quite a rare Suzuki, sold as a Holden Drover and has a high top roof.
Sadly the rot was far too far gone for it to be salvageable so we had to strip it.
It had come from a property destroyed by bush fires. The house and other vehicles went but some how the little zuke survived relatively unscathed!
OK...........
I've stripped lots of 4x4's over the years and I believe this is the cleanest, safest and best way to do it!
Firstly remove all the doors, bonnet, grill, interior etc.
Then lift the body off the chassis.
And roll the chassis out from under it.
Dump the body outside for the scrap man.
Then all the dirty bits attached to the chassis like the engine, gear box, T box, axles and fuel tank can be jet washed until there spotlessly clean.
Slight interruption to the Suzuki stripping because I had a delivery!
A new steering column for LJ from my favorite wreckers yard! I really cant recommend them enough, always great prices, great service and super quick delivery!
OK back to the Suzuki stripping.
With everything now degreased, pressure washed and nice and clean I could pull the engine out. Now doing this with the body removed is both easy and safe as its all done from above!
I pulled the other bits off and then took the chassis out for scrap.
I stripped all the suspension off the axles next.
The tyres had loads of tread but all had been burnt.
All stripped and the scrap taken away in one day.
My next job was to get my bosses new ARB bull bar ready for fitting on his 80. The existing bar is a low mount one but now he wants to upgrade and fit a Warn 8274 High Mount as the low mount winches just arnt as good.
This is the old bar.
Which he had extra lights added to.
He wanted me to do the same to the new one.
So I made a template.
And got the new bar.
We will be fitting LED indicators instead of the stadard lights.
(Are these the ones you need for your bar Nelson? Let me know and I will bring them over for you if so.

)
The ARB badge needed removing.
I managed to save it but not sure what I will do with it yet.
I selected the right size hole saw.
I needed the cut out for the light to cover the recess in the bar from where the badge was.
I cleaned up the edges with the diegrinder.
Trim next.
Other side.
I had another delivery!
My rock sliders came back from the electro platers.
Back to the bar.
Parts for me to fit.
Lights and recover points.
And Warn 8274 Hgh Mount with a faster 6.5HP motor and Gigglepin drum with air free spool.
Drilled the holes for the lights.
Recovery points next.
I questioned why I was to mount them in that position as obviously its not very strong and my boss explained that there there for emergencies when the lower recovery points and winch are completely buried, these recovery points can be used with care, with a bridal between them.
Next I got the 80 on the hoist.
The auto rad is very well protected.
But the oil pan on the auto box and in particular the hose at the front of it were quite vunerable.
So I needed to make a gaurd.
I bent up some 40mm x 5mm flat.
And welded some bits on the ends.
The brake press does a great job at producing nice tight bends but I wanted to add some welds to beef them up a bit.
The suspension was at full droop so I knew the prop shaft would clear my bracket.
I got a sheat of 4mm checkered plate.
Sadly too thick for the guilitine.
So I cut it with the grinder.
Folded it in the brake press.
I wanted to fold the edges but couldnt in either of the folders.
So I used the vice and some muscle.
Next I needed to work out where and at what angle to weld the guard to the bracket I'd bolted to the chassis.
Done.
I put it in the back of the 60 and took it to be electroplated.
And picked up LJ's rock sliders from the powder coaters.
I had to prep the 70 for a trip my boss has gone on for 4WD TV.
Oil change.
Greased all the nipples.
Checked all the suspenison bushes and all the fluids under the bonnet.
I'm very sceptical about these electronic rust prevention systems.
This one has been fitted since the vehicle was brand new.
Yet you dont have to look hard to find surface rust!
I asked my boss where he got the bags from that we use for our latest recovery kits as I wanted one to put my tools in for tafe. He said I bought 2000, you can have one.
So I took it with me on Friday.
This is after the hot pass.
And this is after the next run, the first of the 2 capping runs.
After the 2 capping runs.
I machined more pipe.
Ready for tack welding.
The first 2 tack welds wernt good as there was far too much penetration.
The 3rd was ok though.
Tack welded the other 2 together.
This time the tacks were perfect.
So I put it on the jig and did my root pass.
And finally today (Saturday).
First job on LJ was to tap the captive nuts that I drilled the sheared bolts out of on the slam panel.
Shiny new bolts.
I picked up some longer M12 bolts as the ones I had brought home last week wernt quite long enough.
And got them fitted through the recovery points, steering guard, winch tray and chassis.
Got the winch electrics re-connected.
next job was the body lift spacers. In hindsight I wish I had never fitted a bodylift and I wont be fitting one on one of my vehicles again, I'd rather cut the body work to fit bigger tyres than fit another bodylift. Its too late to remove it now as everything has been made to fit it being body lifted.
Anyway...................
I wasnt happy about having alluminium spacers against the body as on the back they managed to punch through the body.
So I fitted a piece of rubber between each body spacer and body.
I needed to fix the front wing that was loose at the bottom.
Both of the bolts had sheared off.
So I drilled and tapped the captive nuts.
And fitted some new bolts.
I fitted the rock sliders next.
Other side.
With the sliders back on I could bolt the radius arms back on.
I jacked them up.
But the holes wernt lining up.
So I used a ratchet strap to pull the axle back.
New steering column next.
Toyota obviously stopped powder coating the top part of the steering column after 1993 as the new one was built in 1995 according to the sticker.
I removed the ignition barrel from my old steering column.
I then found I couldnt get it to fit the new column as it was damaged slightly.
So I removed and fitted the complete top section off my old one.
I fitted the bottom shaft piece and then got it fitted on LJ.
For the last hour I did some more filling and sanding.

Lots still to do but its getting there slowly.