LJ70 Build Thread!

[Ben]

Thanks guys.

Apologies for the slow reply, I haven't been on the forum since January!

Life is just so hectic now with children and work.

I'm working for my old boss and friend again.

He sold Piranha Off Road after over 30 years and went into semi retirement. But he kept his Suzuki business, Seriously Suzi, which he now runs Tuesday to Thursday.

So I've finally dropped my Mondays and just work Tuesday to Thursday every week now. Having 4 day weekends, every week is sensational and something I hope to continue for the rest of my working life. Time spent with my family and on my projects is more important to me than money, so I'm choosing to earn less and have more time doing what I want to do!


My boss bought a brand new Jimny last year so we've been busy designing and developing new products for it, it's a lot of fun and very exciting!

I'm going to try and get an update up soon. I've been creating and doing so many cool things over the last few months.

 

[froggy Steve]

Good for you Ben. Family and a life at the most important.
I'm glad things are great, keep it up!

 

[Ben]

Thanks Steve.

I’m going to try and do a few small updates rather than one big one. I’m hoping that will work better for me.

I finished my work outside, removing the pointless raised garden bed, widening the drive and building a useful fire wood store.

First I redid all the waste water pipes and a storm water pipe.



Then I added a load of galvanised 4” square steel posts that I had acquired from an old mezzanine at work.

I also replaced the 2 steel posts under the concrete steps as they were too short now I had dropped the ground level so much.

I concreted then into the ground and used clamps and bits of wood to help hold them at the correct height and in position until the concrete set.





With those all in position, I constructed the roof.



And clad it in the same blue colour tin as the carport.

When we do the extension on the house I will replace the entire current, concrete tiled roof with this same blue tin.





Next I needed to add the steel, to reinforce the new concrete.

I added dowels into the existing concrete, to prevent the new concrete from sinking and cracking.





Followed by the mesh.



Then it was concrete time!



My friend Michael did an excellent job!





I used some reclaimed pallet timber to make an end and dividers to stop the firewood from escaping.





We then hired a 30ton petrol log splitter for the day and with the help of my neighbours we split a mountain of fire wood!





It made such a mess and it would take me days afterwards to clean it all up and put it all away!



But it filled the new wood store nicely.



And I was even forced to build another store along the fence, I had far more wood than I envisaged I would.



I decided to keep the temporary metal fire wood shed for now, as I still had a load of firewood that I ran out of time to try and split, during the 8 hours we had the wood splitter here.

But I moved it right back on the old garage concrete pad it’s on, which made room for my big trailer and Sams toys.

Finally the place is looking a bit neater after being a mess for the last 18 months!





The Hilux now lives in the garage all the time and the 2 LandCruisers live in the carport.

I’ve been busy doing lots of great work on the Hilux, which I will share in my next update.

 

[Ben]

Part 1 of the Hilux update.

One of the few jobs that I still needed to do to complete the 1KZ engine conversion I did way back in September, was a decent exhaust system.

So I built a 3” mandrel bent stainless steel exhaust system for it, from the turbo back.















My only regret is using such a big silencer, as currently it’s far too quite. I should have just fitted a small silencer like on The 78, as that system sounds awesome when I put my for down!

I may end up changing the silencer or even deleting it completely, I’m not sure yet.

As I’ve fallen in love with this old Hilux and really enjoy driving it now it’s got a decent engine under the bonnet, I’ve decided I will start using it for some 4wd trips.

So my next modifications was diff locks!

With LJ I fitted ARB air leakers and in the last 9 years I’ve had loads of problems with them leaking air inside the diff and pushing diff oil up the breather tubes.
So I won’t buy those ever again!

With The 78 I went with an Eaton E locker (already has factory rear locker) and although it’s been faultless, I hate that the design of it means the diff unlocks when changing direction/rolling back.
I have 1/3rd of a rotation of a 33” tyre when the diff unlocks but should be locked.
Drive aggressively with an E locker and the chances of breaking a ring and pinion are really high as the locker goes from unlocked to locked under power!

So with the Hilux I decided to go with TJM Pro Lockers as I’ve heard such great things about them.

I had my diffs rebuilt with solid pinion spacers and all new Koyo bearings. I also picked up an ARB compressor from work.









I needed somewhere to mount switches for the new lockers and compressor.

So I made a switch panel out of aluminium.







Got it powder coated in texture black.





I also needed somewhere to mount a boost, EGT and volt gauges and a double USB socket.

I started with CAD (cardboard aided design)



Then cut it out in aluminium.



Folded it.



Test fit.



Added some holes.



Got it powder coated textured black.



Added the gauges and socket.



All fitted.



I mounted the compressor behind the rear seat and added an air outlet for inflating tyres and blowing out air filters.





I bought some bits from Trail Gear in the US to do a high steer conversion, in order to ditch the weak point of this model Hilux, the weird steering setup they have as standard.



I TIG welded a piece of 12mm Plate to my chassis in order to allow me to mount an IFS Hilux steering box.





I used the steering box from the engine donor Hilux, with the new Trail Gear flat pitman arm.



While on the subject of the engine donor Hilux.........

I sold everything off it I wanted and made a really good profit!

But the cab I was struggling to find a buyer for at $1800.

Then a guy got in touch who had written his Hilux body off and was interested in mine.

In the end we did a deal which we were both happy with and he swapped me a complete, decent 1KZ engine with a manual R151 gearbox and transferbox, easily worth $4k+
Which I will keep as spares as that’s obviously the engine and box I’m running in the Hilux and The 78.

We’ve since become good friends and I’m hoping to get out on some 4wd trips with him soon.

This is how the cab has come up now he’s had it repainted and got it on his chassis.



Part 2 of the Hilux update coming soon.

 

[Ben]

Hilux update part II

I had never been 100% happy with the angle or position I’d had to fit the airbox from the engine donor Hilux, into my Hilux.

But with my plans now being to use this car for 4wd trips I really needed room to squeeze an auxiliary battery on the passenger side, so that I’d have a second battery to run an Engel fridge.

I tried modifying the airbox from the engine donor Hilux and tried moving the inlet. But that really didn’t go well at all.
The metal is paper thin and even with the amps turned right down on the TIG, it blew holes and looked terrible!



Seen as I like my engine conversions to look completely factory, there was only one option...........

Make my own airbox from scratch, with all the features of the genuine one.

First I cut some aluminium on my hand shear. 3mm for the base and 2mm for the sides.



I put the 2mm in the rollers and rolled it.





I had cut the strip longer than I needed on purpose as the very ends never get rolled properly like the rest of the sheet.

I cut it to length in the hand shear.



I then stood back and admired the beautiful cake tin I had made!



I TIG’d the 2 ends together.



And got it back in the rollers for a final roll.



I needed some 3” aluminium pipe for the inlet but as I didn’t have any I decided to just make some.

So I cut and rolled some more 2mm sheet.



I clamped the 2 edges together then welded it and sanded down the weld on the linisher.



And the next day I called in at my local Pirtek, who for the bargain price of $10, bead rolled it for me.

How sexy are bead rolls!





I drilled a 3” hole in the side of the cake tin for the inlet pipe.





Next I constructed the centre section which helps to locate the filter and also contains the threaded rod that pokes through the airbox lid for the wingnut to screw onto.







Test fitting the standard lid.



I fully welded the base on.







Next I needed to make the baffle, just like the standard airbox has.

The baffle is important as it helps create the vortex affect that these big round Toyota airboxes work on. The idea is the air rushes around the outer edge of the inside of the airbox creating a vortex and all the bigger particles get flung out around the bottom of the airbox and don’t clog the filter.

It’s a shame the newer LandCruisers no longer have this style of airbox, because if they did there wouldn’t be anywhere near as many destroyed engines in 70’s and 200’s from dust ingress. The flat, road car style filters just don’t work as well in dusty conditions and there’s no vortex affect!

Anyway, back to the build......

I made the baffle.





Trimmed the end of the inlet to suit the baffle.



Welded the baffle in position.





I fitted an auxiliary battery tray on the passenger side of the Car.



Fitted a battery and then got the airbox in position to test how it fitted.





That all looked good, so I pulled it out and fully welded the inlet on.







This view shows the baffle and how the air is forced around the inside of the box and not just straight through that little section of filter.





Next I needed some mounts to bolt it in position in the car.

I cut and folded some 3mm aluminium sheet.





The idea was to copy the factory mounts as much as possible.



Folded it to the correct shape and size and drilled a hole and cut it out to take the factory rubber mounts.



Welded it on.





Made and welded another one on.



Added some braces to reinforce them.





Next I needed to make some brackets for the factory over centre latches to mount to.

I found some channel the correct size in my aluminium store.

Cut and drilled it.



Welded them on.



Tested they worked.



It was then ready to be powder coaed.



I got the lid and the new box both powder coated satin black.

Then glued all the rubber seals in position on the box and lid.





Bolted it in position.







So I’ve now got that factory look I wanted and room for an auxiliary battery!

 

[froggy Steve]

You sir, are without a doubt, a master artisan! Great job on wood store and esp the truck. We'll done.

 

[mircea163]

Hi, Ben. To start, i hope you and your familly are healthy.

I've read the whole thing, took a while, incredible work, sir ! You do have a set of skills that is quite useful. I especially appreciate the way you explain what your though process is in great detail, so that even an idiot like myself can follow.

I have a question from some while back, how did you find the sun shade on the LJ ? I am considering getting one, but i am quite tall, 191 cm, and already need to bend whyle driving, in order to see the traffic lights. Did this ever bother you ?

 

[Ben]

Thanks Mircea.

I really liked the sunshade and found it worked well. However you will need to duck to see traffic lights unfortunately.
It never bothered me as I didn’t have that many traffic lights near where I was living, but for someone who’s tall it may be an issue.

 

[mircea163]

Yeah, thanks, i figured as much. It may be overkill, but i plan on replacing the sun visors with the tinted airplane ones, because i can look thru them. I never use the visor while driving, because i have to stoop to see.

One more questions, if you don't mind, i read several times that you prefer the waffle boards over the maxtrax, is that still the case ? I will be looking into getting either one, and i can get waffle boards a lot cheaper here.

 

[Ben]

Cool.

In my experience MaxTrax don’t work very well in mud and clay, where as Waffle boards work really well in those conditions.

I haven’t used MaxTrax in sand, but I believe that is one area where they would work better than waffle boards.

If I was doing lots of sand driving I would definitely buy some MaxTrax, but as I don’t and have no plans to I won’t be buying any anytime soon.

Comparing the 2 there’s a few positives and negatives with each……..

MaxTrax are lighter, easier to clean, they don’t give you glass splinters, so wearing gloves isn’t essential and they’re easier to store and carry on a vehicle, especially as they tessellate so well.

Waffle boards are really good for bridging over rocks and trees and stumps, which MaxTrax don’t do so well. They’re cheaper and don’t have studs that wear like MaxTrax. But they’re heavier, an absolute pain to clean mud out of and the glass splinters that come off them can be very painful and difficult to remove.

 

[mircea163]

Well, that settles it, then, i will get the Waffle boards and take it from there. Thanks

 

[yota_lj]

Hi Ben,
How are you?
It's a lot of time you don't write! I hope all is going well for you and your family!

 

[Ben]

I’m good thanks. I hope you are too.

Unfortunately I very rarely come on the forum now, I just don’t seem to have time.

Ive been very busy working on the 3x Toyota’s and house.

I finally renovated the bathroom, which turned out to be a huge job.

Our original 1970’s bathroom and seperate toilet, which had a wall separating the 2 and a square meter of wasted floor space that I wanted to incorporate into the new bathroom, by knocking the dividing wall out and moving the door out to the hallway wall.







The wall came down first.



Which meant there was now 2 different sized windows in the room, which didn’t look right.

So my next task was to build a new window, to replace the 2.





View from the outside.



As the house is a brick veneer house, the brickwork isn’t actually load bearing and doesn’t hold the roof up.
The hardwood timber stud wall behind the brickwork holds the roof up.

I decided to add some steel to help hold the roof up as the concrete tiles (which I will be changing to corrugated tin when we do the extension) are very heavy.



Old windows out, brickwork removed, new steel and window in.







My OCD required the window to be central of the room with equal reveals each side of it, so I had to build out the brickwork on one side.



After plumbing, insulating and plaster boarding I could apply a waterproofing coating.



Tiled the floor.



Picked up a bath.





Lots more tiling……….





Frameless glass shower screen went in (the one part of the entire job I didnt do myself)





And the final thing was an oak framed mirror to match the oak on the wall mounted vanity.

Rebated some Tasmanian oak on the table saw.



Mitred, glued and clamped.

Sanded and varnished.



Fitted the mirror into the frame and installed it.





There’s a few days work on the house decorating before we can get the place valued and get our plans drawn up for the extension.

I’m hoping to get the plans drawn and submitted in the new year.

In October I dismantled and re-assembled a cubby house for Sams 4th birthday. We managed to keep it a secret and it was a great surprise for him. He loves it!







Sand went in……





Some sleepers to retain the pine bark.



Installed the weed matting.



Picked up 5 cubic meters of pine bark.





All ready for the big reveal.















His face when he saw it for the first time!

 

[Ben]

LJ.

Now that the V8 engine is running properly after I diagnosed that one of the coil packs was faulty and then fitted new coil packs and HT leads. It is a lot of fun to drive and the power is incredible in such a small light 4wd!

I decided in order to make LJ more usable, all year around I should re-fit the canvas roof and aluminium cage the soft top body came with.

So I got the bare aluminium cage powder coated texture black, as after being stored in the garden for the past 4-5 years it was looking a bit tatty.

















I didn’t want to drill holes all over the body and rear doors for the press studs to clip onto, so
I came up with a solution.

Aluminium angle.











Powder coated textured black.















I got a few pics of the 2x LJ’s together.

I took LJ for a drive with the windscreen folded and door tops removed, something I’ve always wanted to do.

 

[Ben]

Earlier in the year a couple of mates bought me a Toyota light up sign (which I love)



I decided to get a local sign maker who specialises in making vintage/retro looking signs to make me a metal version for my workshop wall.

This is the pic he sent me when he first painted it.



And these were the pics he sent me a few days later after he had distressed/aged it.







I love it and couldn’t wait to screw it up on my wall.











I recently got him to make me another sign for something I’ve been collecting………

I’ve always liked old English made Record tools and in particular vices and when I moved out to Australia I brought 4 of them with me.

In March this year I discovered an Australian made Record #3 vice. I couldn’t believe it and despite hours of researching I couldnt find any information of them ever having been made here.

I had to buy it so I bought it and since then I’ve been searching for more.

I then began searching Market Place, Gumtree and EBay every single day for more and as the months went on I found a #6 then a #4 and most recently a #2 which I had to drive all the way to Adelaide to get.

I’m now hunting for a #1 and #5.

They’ve all needed cleaning up and repainting because they’re at least 60 years old and they’ve all been used and abused.









This is the sign I got made.

 

[Ben]

I’ve just updated my LJ78 build thread with the pics and information from converting the rear axle to a fully floating axle with 9.5” diff.





Underseat compressor mount.



Rear door jerry can holder.



And rear door table.

LJ78 Build Thread

I have the same problem but on the opposite side. A bodywork guy said it often happens after a new screen is fitted and they scratch the paint. Graeme

www.landcruiserclub.net

 

[StarCruiser]

Great work as usual Ben. I can’t believe Sam is 4 already. I’ve not been in much either as I’ve been working on our bungalow. I’ll not go into that as you seem to do twice as much work in a day with one hand tied behind your back as I do but I think we share the same level of OCD.

 

[Ben]

Thanks Mate.

He’s certainly growing up fast! I’m hoping to start taking him 4wding soon.

Yesterday I took my Hilux out for its first ever 4wd trip and it surpassed my expectations, even on the little 31” tyres.

It was my first trip in over a year and my first hard trip in 2.5 years!

I’m hoping this year I will be able to get out on lots of trips!

We headed for one of my favourite tracks……Rocky Track!

Aired down.



And commenced our ascent.



It’s very Rocky and very steep and the Hilux refused to go up with just the rear TJM Pro Locker engaged, but with the front in as well she sailed up!











we headed in search of more challenging tracks……



The Rangey showing off how well l it flexes!





We drove one of my favourite tracks, Jacksons Track. Not a ridiculously hard track but it’s bed rock and boulders the whole way!



We also found a few fords.





And some really really deep ruts!











I said over the radio to my friend Michael “the right hand track looks more challenging”

Next minute he’s on the radio saying he took the right hand track and has a slight issue……




Thankfully the only electric window that still works on the old thing is the passenger side one!







The hole he fell into had a conveniently placed Boulder which stopped him from going completely over.




I backed the Hilux down and we set to work.









We got him back and off the boulder and then re-rigged the winch rope to pull him forwards and up the bank.








And he was free!



The rock had damaged the doors slightly but it wasn’t too bad considering.





A few easy tracks next to get to some more harder ones.



More deep muddy ruts!





We soon decided progress forwards was impossible, especially as the Rangey didn’t have a winch.

So I winched him out and we called it a day.



I was really impressed with how the Hilux went and I didn’t get stuck or need to winch all day.

I wish I had fitted 33’s to it though the same as my 2 LandCruiser’s and I will at some point change to 33’s.

For future trips like this I’ve bought a set of 33” Silversones that I will be able to fit 2 all 3 vehicles, if/when I’m doing a trip that requires them.

I’ve just got to fit them to some 6 stud wheels when I go back to work in a few weeks time.

Happy New Year guys. Let’s hope 2022 is a great year!

 

[extraease]

Fantastic read, this could make a great book. Would enjoy an update on the life of Ben in Australia and how the house extension went and how the 70’s are going.
But undestand the busyness of young family and doing selfbuilding.
Respect for all your accomplishments.

 

[Ben]

Fantastic read, this could make a great book. Would enjoy an update on the life of Ben in Australia and how the house extension went and how the 70’s are going.
But undestand the busyness of young family and doing selfbuilding.
Respect for all your accomplishments.

Thanks.

The house extension only really got started a few months ago unfortunately, after it took over a year to get planning permission as well as lots of other delays.

The groundwork’s was a huge job and the engineer specified a ridiculous amount of reinforced concrete for the foundations.

I’m now on to fabricating the steel frame of the build with some big 300mm tall I beams, some of which are 15 meters long!

I’m hoping to get it all lifted up onto the posts at the end of the month, with some help from a telehandler.

I spent 2022 restoring a little JDM import Toyota Blizzard. I put the body on a rotisserie and had the entire thing sand blasted.

I painted it myself in KTM orange.

So the fleet now stands at 5x Toyotas.

I’m still only working 3 days a week for my crazy boss which is fantastic.

Our latest project has been building him a 8 meter tall lighthouse as another folly in his garden.

And finally I’ve gotten into Vlogging. Just on Facebook at the moment, but I may start a YouTube channel in the future.

Life is good!