RJ70 Build Thread.

[Ben]

Work is progressing well on my 1985 soft top RJ70 and rather than continuing to document it in my LJ70 Build Thread, I've decided it should have its own thread and unlike the other thread I'm hoping to keep this as just a build thread!

The soft top 70 is the last of the LandCruiser soft tops as no newer models have been sold with a soft top option.

Their quite rare cars in Australia having only being sold here new in 1985 and 1986 and not in huge numbers.



3 months ago I bought this.





I found some pics online of it from when it was for sale 6 years ago.







I picked it up and towed it back with my LJ70.







It had front 80 series, Dobinsons springs fitted front and back which gave it a 4" lift and Superior Engineering adjustable panhard rods.







I fitted the windscreen hold down clamps.
















I bought RJ with a 2LT 2.4 turbo diesel engine fitted that had been partially stripped down as it had a cracked head.

I'm going to fit a Toyota/Lexus 4 litre V8 petrol engine instead.

This week I sold the old engine on Gumtree!

I havent got an engine crane yet so I had to improvise a bit.















The money I've got for the old engine will pay for an engine crane and the new V8 engine.

Then I need to purchase the adaptor kit to make it fit the R151 gearbox I sourced a few months ago.

I also need to finish modifying the bullbar and rear bar and then they can be shot blast and powder coated and the freshly rebuilt Superwinch bolted into the bullbar.

Then I need some new tyres and she will be ready for a trip to Fraser Island.

Eventually I want to remove the body and put it on a rotisserie and have it fully re-sprayed.

 

[Paddler Ed]

Good to see it's coming along nicely Ben!

That crane is a bit more high tech than when we removed the block (and refitted it) in our Mazda van... a bit of old seat belt with a head bolt and a few other conveniently placed straps and it was lifted out via the side door! Replacing it was much the same!

What wheels and tyres are you going for? If you're going steelies, I found Beaurepaires the cheapest for Dynamic steel wheels as they didn't charge for delivery unlike everyone else which pushed the price up a fair chunk.... although the last 4x rims I got for a carton of beer... shape that at first glance they're all matching.... only on closer inspection do you discover one has a different load rating.

How much work are you doing to it given that it's going to need engineering anyway? Gives you a bit of a blank canvas to work with...

 

[Ben]

Thanks.

Going with 33" x 12.5's on steel wheels.

I may pick up a second hand set of wheels and tyres if I can find some at a decent price. Otherwise I will stick with the steel wheels that came fitted. Although I only have 3 matching ones so I will need to source another 2 the same.

Thanks for the heads up regarding Beurepairs. I will also speak to my old boss and see how much he can get me some for. I just need to take one off and measure the offset first.

Engineering, whats that?

Wont be making huge changes and hopefully no welding to the chassis if I can get the engine mounts to work OK. This vehicle will be kept reasonably standard and wont be getting used hard off road.

 

[AndyCook]

It will be awesome with a V8 in its belly!

 

[clivehorridge]

I love the look and potential for this little truck Ben.

I cant wait to see it change colour though, it looks quite desperate as it is, but I suppose I have to wait given your admirable intention to roast it with full repairs, sealing and a re-spray .

It will look and perform superbly when finished I'm sure, and LJ can be used for the rough and tumble stuff that full body protection offers.

It's almost as cute as a 40 Series, although that's pushing it a bit, but its really nice that they're rare and when finished will be a practical summer "toy" with heaps of character.

In short, I think it's great and very lucky to be in your capable hands and custody!

Great find and plans mate, watching with interest

 

[Ben]

Thanks guys.

I got the old gearbox pulled out tonight.

Hoping to pick up an engine crane this week.

I'm busy looking for engines/donor cars. Typical there isnt many for sale now I'm seriously looking, where as a few months ago I found loads!

I'm also going to look into maybe fabricating my own alluminium bell housing up to fit the new engine.

 

[Ben]

The engine bay is now looking nice and empty ready for the V8.





So now the engine.



All the parts for it.



And the engine bay wiring loom needed for the conversion, are all ready for the new owner to collect.



I've got 2 G52 boxes I also need to sell.



And the R151 that I sourced out of a diesel LJ70, which is a much stronger box than the G52, RJ70 petrol box and will handle that V8 power nicely.



I made a start removing the dash.



This horrible console has to go, complete with cheap shitty gauges and I'd like to fit an original altmeter/inclometer for that classic 80's Japanese retro look.





I pulled the complete dash out.







A tiny bit of rust behind the dash, but pretty good really.



Some bug has clearly been building a home behind the dash at some point.



The reason for pulling the dash out was partly to remove all aftermarket wiring that has been fitted over the years during its 2+ engine conversions. But also so I could replace the heater matrix as the pipes coming through the fire wall were damaged.



I pulled the heater matrix out as well as the aircon box.



RJ came with a few spare heater matrix's, so I will swap the damaged one.



The aircon box can stay out as I will sell the complete aircon setup to recoup some more money as I will be keeping RJ topless anyway so there is no need for aircon.



Next job is to clean everything up behind the dash, sort out the rust and refit a new heater matrix and the section of air duct I have left over from LJ that replaces the aircon box. Then the dash can go back in.



I've ordered a ridiculously cheap engine temp gauge from ebay.



And that will fit beautifully where the hideous, oversize dimmer switch was sitting for the instrument cluster.



And here is a random pic of a 1UZ engine in an RJ70 engine bay. Cant wait for that V8 sound and power!

 

[doyle61]

Really looking forward to this build Ben! ! Like LJ70 I'll probally be robbing some of your ideas in this thread for my own build but you know what the saying says; imitation is the best form of flattery

 

[Ben]

Thanks mate.

After months of checking Gumtree daily for second hand engine cranes I gave in and bought a new one.

All the second hand ones people wanted $200-$300 for and they were only 1250kg ones.

Where as I bought a brand new 2000kg one for $200 off ebay!







I really need a bigger workshop as even folded up it takes up a fair chunk of room.



The aircon setup is now fully removed and for sale on Gumtree.



I need to replace my damaged heater core before I can refit the dash.





Sadly all the spare ones I have, which came with RJ are wrong.

So these ones can all be sold and I will try and source another ones.



Another thing I'm keen to replace is the instrument cluster which was also painted Zeon blue.



Fortunately I have a spare one.



Its slightly different but should work.



RJ didnt come with mirrors, well it came with one but I broke it.

Anyway............................

I'm really not a fan of the little short stubby mirrors that Aussie LJ & RJ 70's got.

Its the one thing I think looks wrong, everything else I like visually.



So I've found some of the bigger ones from a company just up the road. I'm just waiting to hear back from them to see how much cheaper they will do them if I collect and pay cash.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Toyota-L...558790?hash=item280e2d8fc6:g:-hYAAOSwARZXoD-b

 

[alexy]

Ben,
my dash is identical to the blue one. I think LJ before 90 had that variant and the one you have spare is a post 90 variant.
Im not sure you can swap them, check if there are matching contacts on the back.

 

[Victor]

Na, my lj7 which is a 87 and diesel have the black one, blue should be for a petrol one (rj70) and black is for a 2l-T one, since that one have turbo lights that comes on with boost

 

[Ben]

Thanks guys.

I've seen at least 5 different instrument clusters out of the RJ and LJ models. All have the same plugs on the back but all have been slightly different depending on petrol/diesel/auto/manual/year.

I may just get another RJ one yet as I think I've tracked down another source of parts up here.

 

[kzj78]

Hi Ben have you been in a Lexus powered 4wd before? They sound great but lack torque. Two of my mates have them. One in a lj70 the other in a hilux surf. Any how my 1kzte powered hilux double cab leaves them for dead in a race. Personally I wouldn't bother. Very expensive to run I hope petrol is cheaper in Australia then it is here in NZ. Why not another diesel? 12ht would be pretty cool. Anyway good luck with the build.

Cheers Ben.

 

[Ben]

No I cant say as I have.

Appreciate what your saying, my 1KZ-T powered LJ70 used to out accelerate my ex house mates diesel 80 series all day long! 1KZ-T is a surprisingly torquey engine!

But I believe that for what I'm building this car for, the 1UZ will work well. I'm building RJ as a fun, sunny weather car that we will use on the weekends for nipping to the shops, taking the dog to the beach etc.

Its not going to get abused off road and will be for light, non damaging off road use only. Its going to be a practical, usable, cool, classic car. That will also sound awesome with that V8!

Apart from the bull bar and winch its going to be a reasonably light vehicle as its never going to have all the heavy stuff my LJ70 has in it, like fridge, drop slide, aux fuel tank, drawer system full of camping gear, tools and recovery equipment etc.

The other thing regarding acceleration and the 1UZ is that I can always change the ratio of the gears in the diffs if I find its not as nippy as I'd like.

I've already got a diesel one and for big trips or towing that will always be my LC of choice so I'm not too concerned about fuel consumption with this one when its just a weekend toy. Petrol is really cheap here anyway at about a dollar a litre!

12HT would be awesome! Its one of the best diesel engines Toyota every produced, I dont think any of their other diesel engines will do as many K's without a rebuild as the mighty 12HT!

Too long for the engine bay of RJ though!

The 5 cylinder 1PZ would be about the longest Toyota engine that would comfortably fit.

 

[Ben]

I've ordered the new mirrors and they should be here next week.

The electrics will be quite a simple affair on this build but I will need to mount 4 switches in total.

I want to mount them in the spacers below the heater controls.





Some switches came onto the market about a year ago that are perfect for this application.







The only issue is I cant seem to find a horizontal winch in & out switch.

So I may have to get one made as I really want:

Winch Power
Winch In & Out
Driving lights/Spot Lights
Rear Lights/Reverse Lights

I'm going to fit a pair of LED driving lights to the bull bar and some small LED lights to the rear bar and apart from the winch and a couple of extra 12v cig sockets and USB sockets thats it electrical wise.

This company has a lot of the Toyota switches but sadly not the Winch In & Out one that I need:

http://www.aironboard.com.au/store/products/switches/toyota-switches.html?limit=36&p=12

 

[Ben]

Picked up the engine donor.











Lexi and I took the trailer back.





Then I headed North and pulled some parts off the remains of this RJ70.



Grabbed a few parts.



Got some rear door trims/cards. Their the wrong colour and not in the best of condition but they will do as a pattern so I can make some as my ones were missing when I bought the car.



Also got the replacement heater core I need.

 

[BRE Fabrications LTD]

Hi Ben have you been in a Lexus powered 4wd before? They sound great but lack torque. Two of my mates have them. One in a lj70 the other in a hilux surf. Any how my 1kzte powered hilux double cab leaves them for dead in a race. Personally I wouldn't bother. Very expensive to run I hope petrol is cheaper in Australia then it is here in NZ. Why not another diesel? 12ht would be pretty cool. Anyway good luck with the build.

Cheers Ben.

I find this a little hard to believe. KZ-TE in standard trim puts out 97kW, 287N.m. The 1UZ puts out 191Kw, 353n.m. If your KZ-TE is "leaving them for dead in a race" then they are not doubt very poor conversions that were done... Not to mention the fact that the 1UZ (pre 1994) is capable of being pushed well past the 500bhp range with a little FI love.

Ben, what year is the donor? I think you need a twin turbo setup...

 

[Julian T]

Ben, what year is the donor? I think you need a twin turbo setup...

I think perhaps we need a poll with regards to that, and Ben you ignore him now, just go ahead and supercharge it....
nothing like a little bit of supercharger howl to keep the mosquito's away

 

[BRE Fabrications LTD]

I think perhaps we need a poll with regards to that, and Ben you ignore him now, just go ahead and supercharge it....
nothing like a little bit of supercharger howl to keep the mosquito's away

Hmmm supercharger vs turbocharger debate. This could get intetesting...

 

[Ben]

What models had twin turbo's and will they bolt straight on?

Its a 1992 Lexus and does have a few issues.

This was the ad.









After the guy cleaned all the plugs it fired straight up!

The power steering pump is leaking (I will buy a rebuild kit for it and fix that) and as the PS pump is above the alternator and he reckoned the oil has killed it, which is why he was disconnecting the battery when it wasnt running to stop it going flat.

He gave me a spare set of injectors as he reckoned thats why the plugs kept fouling up, I'm not convinced though. I reckon the plugs kept fouling as he hasnt been driving it and has just been starting it up on his driveway for a minute or 2 then turning it off.

I asked him what the lowest he would take for it was and he said $1400.

If it had been in better condition then I would have paid that and probably more, but looking at the car there is very little apart from the engine that can be salvaged.

Its got 5 odd alloys all of which have been badly spray painted, are chipped and have bald tyres.





The interior is shit.



I cant even open the boot, it has dents, a badly painted black bonnet and tail gate. In short its been messed with by some one who shouldnt be allowed to work anywhere near motor vehicles.

So I offered him a grand cash and was fully prepared to walk away!

After speaking to his mrs he came back out and agreed to a grand and $86 in trailer hire later it was mine!

The engine sounds sweet when its running and if the K's are correct it should be a great engine.



I'm thinking remove the CAT, battery and the alloy wheels and weigh all those in with the local scrap man, then take the rest of it and weigh that in and I should get $200-$400 back.

I may be able to sell the coil overs and any other bits other people want but I wont be stripping it and storing parts, if people respond to my ad wanting parts I will pull them off as and when.