Mats LJ70 Rebuild, cracked my 3L TD Head, time to modify :)

[Matt_c70]

Hey guys
Been into this truck for a while now and thought its about time I should post it on here as to keep me going on the project and be good to hear what u think.
Once completed me and the missus are goin to pack it in a container and do the big lap of Australia in her so lots to do.
My last 3l cracked the head as I was running to much fuel through the mechanical pump its just far to easy to boost it up and me being me got well carried away and thus payed the price
So I picked up a another 1kzte and am in the process of getting rid of all that computer controlled nonsense fitting my mechanical pump and refitting the engine this time with a nice big alloy rad.
Heres some pics and I'll keep them coming as I progress

 

[Iwan]

Good to see it happening mate! The 80 000mile 1kzte out of a granvia was a bargain bud for £450! Love that 70 was the first cruiser I bought back in 2000.. When the 60 is done and yours, we will have to take them back to the test run site (again). Been a while since the two have been out. Future is looking bright, future is lookin turbo'd modded cruisers!!

 

[Ben]

Nice work.

Give me a shout when your coming over.

I'm planning on doing a big lap of Australia myself. I want to spend probably a year doing it. Drive every single iconic outback track, spend atleast a month up Cape York, The Kimberlys and Tassie. Then ship the truck to South America and drive back to the UK.

 

[Matt_c70]

Nice work.

Give me a shout when your coming over.

I'm planning on doing a big lap of Australia myself. I want to spend probably a year doing it. Drive every single iconic outback track, spend atleast a month up Cape York, The Kimberlys and Tassie. Then ship the truck to South America and drive back to the UK.

Hey ben!
Cheers!
Thats our plan to mate so when time comes prob end of the year we will deffo let you know when were arriving
I will be shipping to Sydney and starting off from wollongong after a few weeks seeing my dad and family no plan yet on which way round but if your still there will swing by your way and stop for a steak on the barbie lol,it will be great to catch up with you out there and to put sum serious k's thru these machines on some serious terrain.
A quick q for ya mate..did you have much agro gettin your truck in there u know with the cleanliness of everything and rego? And also what is a good ballpark figure of shipping out there and company you used?, i will only be sending the truck with as much stuff as we can fit inside, it and been quoted from 1.900 to 2500 quid.

 

[Ben]

I think people worry a little too much about cleanliness of vehicles entering OZ. Yes they have to be clean but with all the panel damage on LJ it was obvious it must have been used hard off road, and encountered a lot of mud before coming to OZ yet mine passed first time. I dont know maybe I just got lucky?

I did try and get it as clean as I could though and even undersealed/dinitroled everything underneath so it looked shiny black.

Getting them on the road is very much who you know not what you know.

If you were registering it in Vic I could tell you exactly who to see and where to go and the process wouldnt be too hard. Maybe your Dad might know people?

In Vic you need to first get a road worthy certificate. So a test a bit like the MOT but I'd say less strict.

Then you need to take it to an engineer to sign off/give you a certificate off conformity. This is the bit I screwed up on as I didnt have a contact so ended up having to change the seat belts, head lights, grind down and fill the seam of weld below my windscreen from the rust repair, and remove the spare as it was obscuring the rear drivers side light.

Then I had to take all the paper work to Vic roads to get the vehicle registered and be issued with my number plates.

IIRC I paid £1800 for a 20ft container from my house to Melbourne.

The way to get cheaper shipping is to get 4 or 5 quotes and then play each quote against the other.

So I'd get a quote for £2200 say and another at £2100. So then I'd email the £2200 saying look this company can do it for £2100, can you lower your price to match or beat them?

Doing this took me a few weeks but I saved thousands.

I went with John Mason and using this technique got them to drop about £1300 off their price.

The container was owned and shipped by Maersk.

Be prepared though...........................

I had to pay more this end in wharf fees, import charges, quarantine inspections etc. etc. than I did to get the container all the way from my house in the UK to Melbourne.

 

[Paddler Ed]

Also is it staying permanently in Aus?

 

[Matt_c70]

I think people worry a little too much about cleanliness of vehicles entering OZ. Yes they have to be clean but with all the panel damage on LJ it was obvious it must have been used hard off road, and encountered a lot of mud before coming to OZ yet mine passed first time. I dont know maybe I just got lucky?

I did try and get it as clean as I could though and even undersealed/dinitroled everything underneath so it looked shiny black.

Getting them on the road is very much who you know not what you know.

If you were registering it in Vic I could tell you exactly who to see and where to go and the process wouldnt be too hard. Maybe your Dad might know people?

In Vic you need to first get a road worthy certificate. So a test a bit like the MOT but I'd say less strict.

Then you need to take it to an engineer to sign off/give you a certificate off conformity. This is the bit I screwed up on as I didnt have a contact so ended up having to change the seat belts, head lights, grind down and fill the seam of weld below my windscreen from the rust repair, and remove the spare as it was obscuring the rear drivers side light.

Then I had to take all the paper work to Vic roads to get the vehicle registered and be issued with my number plates.

IIRC I paid £1800 for a 20ft container from my house to Melbourne.

The way to get cheaper shipping is to get 4 or 5 quotes and then play each quote against the other.

So I'd get a quote for £2200 say and another at £2100. So then I'd email the £2200 saying look this company can do it for £2200, can you lower your price to match or beat them?

Doing this took me a few weeks but I saved thousands.

I went with John Mason and using this technique got them to drop about £1300 off their price.

The container was owned and shipped by Maersk.

Be prepared though...........................

I had to pay more this end in wharf fees, import charges, quarantine inspections etc. etc. than I did to get the container all the way from my house in the UK to Melbourne.

Thank you ben that's some really good advice and i like how you got the price down that's a hefty reduction well done mate .

i plan to register on nsw plates as my dad lives there in Wollongong and that's where we will base our self's, even though i think this is the most regulated state in Australia.

dad drives trucks out there so maybe he might know somebody that can help pass it off for conformity.. we will soon see

thanks again ben for the good info, its helped out a lot

 

[Matt_c70]

Im back at it!!
lol there is a big push on getting the truck ready for summer.. these are a few parts off the list, and a few ideas i have about an air box for the 3.0 conversion:

http://www.milneroffroad.com/toyota...70-suspension/lj70-suspension-axle-bush-kit-0

This is an airbox im thinking about adapting to the lj engine bay

http://www.f150forum.com/f6/connecting-k-n-oem-air-box-214989/

Maybe overkill? lol

i have no airbox atm and considering fabricating one but if i can find one to modify it will save time!?

 

[Ben]

I'd get an 80 series airbox off Karl and modify that. The KZJ70 uses 80 series filters so the actual box is the same size, youd just need to alter the hose positions possibly.