Clints Cruiser Project

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Clint
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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Clint » Thu Jul 24, 2014 10:24 am

Did some research on sizes etc of my various brake system components, it wasn't really making sense why I should have spongy brakes, so I was suspecting it might just be the master cylinder needing replacement or a rebuild. Then I found a really good article on Pirate 4x4:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Brakes/

In that I found the gem of info that for floating caliper brakes (eg the Nissan fronts) you double the piston area to get the effective area. Which is obvious when you think about it :? :P The old front brakes were a fixed caliper.... Doing the numbers again it is clear a bigger master cylinder is required. So, an 80 series one is now on the way.

Cheers
Clint
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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby DMcCready » Thu Jul 24, 2014 7:27 pm

Nice! That Billavista has some awsome tech articles. I used to read them all even for stuff I didnt have on my truck :lol:
There's gotta be some rocks round here SOMEWHERE!

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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Clint » Mon Aug 04, 2014 9:47 am

After a very busy week of messing around with brakes, flares & a few other little jobs that needed to be done, we were ready for some offroad testing :D Big thanks to Dan & Karl for helping out with a few things over the last couple of weeks.

Image

I had set myself the target of having the cruiser ready for our midwinter campout at Minginui quite a while ago so it was great to make the deadline & get out for some muddy fun.

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The good news is it goes really well! Rides much better in the bush, articulates heaps better but still feels nice & stable, puts the power down well, plus none of the modded bits broke, fell off or interfered :D

Image

Plenty still to do before cert time buts it's great to know I haven't made any serious screw-ups with the major details of the axle swap.

Cheers
Clint
Last edited by Clint on Mon Aug 14, 2017 12:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Checkerhead » Mon Aug 04, 2014 11:01 am

Nice one Clint.

Would have been an awesome weekend out with that crew!

What other bits are you doing before cert?
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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Clint » Mon Aug 04, 2014 11:42 am

Just bits & bobs for the cert - get a manual proportioning valve & work on getting the brake feel a bit better, side indicators, probably should replace all the rear suspension bushes, front rod ends will need changing to non-greasable, get a new passenger door. Other stuff I'll be doing soon is side bars/ steps under the doors, a swing-away tyre/MTB carrier for the back, beefier front driveshaft...

Anyone with a Nissan Y60 front driveshaft spare... I'm buying, just need the diff end UJ so a semi-munted one is fine. Would also like to track down a couple of full-size Landcruiser spec slip yoke driveshaft top ends with long travel like the Prado ones - not sure if there is such a thing, maybe on the SWB 70 series with leaf springs.

Have decided to keep the Simexs. The road handling doesn't seem too bad & of course they're pretty good in the bush. So once the toy budget recovers a bit I'll get another on a rim for a spare. Going to have to check with the cert guy on rim width, the tyres say '10" rim' mine are 8" & I've heard of that being an issue for the cert.

Cheers
Clint
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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Clint » Wed Aug 27, 2014 9:27 am

Been re making the side bars over the last few weeks, back mounts were in the way of the new exhaust, pax side one was too munted to re use anyway, plus they've always needed a few improvements like another mount point in the centre to strengthen them... What you'd think was a pretty simple job swallowed up a heap of hrs.

Image

With all the mount points in a different plane & various things to work around you can't just measure it up & build them on the bench... It's fit up, measure next bit, bend next bit, cut next bit, grind next bit, check fit, grind some more, (put out overalls that have caught on fire :shock: ) check fit, (etc) tack on, take off to fully weld, bolt back on, repeat on next bit, jack it all into place cos it's pulled with the welding.... :D

Image

But all done now bar the topcoat.

Image

Next up is a spare tyre carrier, the back door was feeling the pain a bit with a 33 on it so I won't try hanging a 36 on the poor thing. With the nice solid back bar already there to build off it should be more fun than the side bars to do.

Cheers
Clint
Last edited by Clint on Mon Aug 14, 2017 12:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Clint » Mon Sep 15, 2014 10:21 am

Some good progress on the spare tyre carrier over the weekend. Started with the hinge, Plan A was to use an old trailer hub & stub assembly I had, but the hub turned out to be cast iron so I wasn't going to be welding anything to that. A fossick in the random old bearings box found the old taper roller kingpin bearings from the front knuckles I rebuilt. So it was off the to machine shop to make some swarf & some bearing housings:

Image

Add threaded rod, some pipe, a bend, convert lots of steel into grinding dust &...

Image

Image

Image

Got a plan for the wheel mount bit, still thinking about the latch end. Maybe a car door latch bodged on somehow.

Cheers
Clint
Last edited by Clint on Mon Aug 14, 2017 12:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Checkerhead » Mon Sep 15, 2014 10:58 am

Steal a latch off a surf rear tyre mount or something similar?
They have a nice rubber preload antirattle type bit in them. Also means you can put the latch out of sight and just have the release cable in a good place.
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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby derk » Mon Sep 15, 2014 11:19 am

RH taillights safe now, will have to make another tyre carrier for the other side to protect the other light :D

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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Clint » Mon Sep 15, 2014 12:59 pm

Yep, will have a look at a Surf one today, should get some ideas at least.

Of course it's usually the other, out of sight LH taillight that gets damaged :roll: I did think about having a similar setup on the LH & having a bike rack attach to it, but it's just more stuff to dick with to get in the back, so the bike rack will get attached to this thing too.

Cheers
Clint
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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Clint » Tue Sep 23, 2014 9:48 am

Side bars painted & installed:

Image

Image

Spare tyre carrier mostly done:

Image

Used a car door latch which seems to work well. The recess in the bumper being the right size for the latch assembly to sit in was a stroke of luck, must have been thinking ahead when I made the rear bar 8 years ago :D

Image

Getting one of the Simexs onto the mount can be done without blowing a foo-foo valve (just)

Just need to make a socket for a bike rack, & add a couple of gussets & she's done.

Cheers
Clint
Last edited by Clint on Mon Aug 14, 2017 11:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Checkerhead » Tue Sep 23, 2014 1:56 pm

Very clean bro. Nice work.
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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Clint » Tue Sep 30, 2014 8:01 am

Tyre carrier all done & rear bar reinforced to stiffen up where it mounts:

Image

Image

Just need another 36" Simex to go on it now :D

Next job is to replace the old brake proportioning valve with the manual one & refresh the remaining old flexible hoses with new ones to try & get better feel on the brakes. Going to have to take it for a trip to Taupo sometime soon too so I can borrow Klembo's hoist & install the new transfercase gears.

Cheers
Clint
Last edited by Clint on Mon Aug 14, 2017 11:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby derk » Tue Sep 30, 2014 10:20 am

how well does it stop with those tyres you usually need a vh40 or vh44 remote booster to get those cruisers to stop and/or get them to pass the lvvta brake test, did that prado come out with a double diaphragm brake booster like the 80 series cruisers?

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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Clint » Tue Sep 30, 2014 10:52 am

It actually seems to stop ok, just has a spongy feel in the brakes so that's the first issue I want to sort out. The 80 series master cylinder & a thorough bleed up improved things but they still could be better. In theory the bigger MC should give a harder feel at the pedal.

The Prado doesn't have a double booster but I think an 80 series one will bolt straight on if I need it. (assuming I can find one) Will check up on the brake test spec & give it a go once I've got the new hoses & proportioning valve all plumbed in & adjusted up.

Just remembered that Dan's 70 series passed it's cert brake check last year no problem, & he has a similar setup to me, booster & master cyl, front brakes, tyre size all the same.

Cheers
Clint
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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Clint » Tue Oct 07, 2014 6:24 pm

Given the diff gearing & tyre sizes are now a bit different from stock the speedo was way out, 100 indicated = actual near 140 :shock: So I thought about electronic/gps speedo replacements, DIY little gearbox thing on the cable, $$$ speedo drive correcters... Then had a brainwave & just drew up a new face, printed it out & stuck it on :)

Image

After working out the increments I drew an appropriate pie chart on an excel spreadsheet then pasted the image into MS Paint to tidy it up & add the numbers. No doubt there would be other ways to skin the cat depending on what software you've got but that worked pretty easy for me. Looks factory 8)

Image

The Cruiser gauges aren't actually backlit, they are lit by reflected light from the surround, so still all good for night ops.

Image

Will check against the GPS but the calibration shouldn't be too far off. The dash is pretty easy to pull off if I need to stick on another face to get it right.

Currently working on the brakes, have manual adjustable proportioning valve now installed instead of the old load sensing one, just waiting on a few new brake hoses to hopefully get the stopping side sorted.

Image

Cheers
Clint
Last edited by Clint on Mon Aug 14, 2017 11:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby zukmeista » Wed Oct 08, 2014 5:24 pm

OK I'll bite, what's / ? ! C / mean? :?

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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Big » Wed Oct 08, 2014 10:02 pm

well way I read it ? means.. hey you have past the 180 mark better slow down.. ! means holy shit mate.. slow down.. and well C means you're gonna crash.. :lol: :lol: Nice idea about the face plate.. might do the same.. :wink:

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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Clint » Thu Oct 09, 2014 7:25 am

Well I've always thought it stupid when car makers put 240 km/h speedos on grandma's 1600cc hatchback so I couldn't bring myself to put numbers on this that it'll never do. ? & ! can be whatever you like, c is 1079252848.8 km/h of course, :roll: weren't you paying attention in 4th form science :lol: I also considered WTF - OMG - LOL :lol:

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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Checkerhead » Thu Oct 09, 2014 11:10 am

Clint wrote: c is 1079252848.8 km/h of course
Clint


But to ever reach this speed the cruiser would have to have no mass. And also you will get old less quickly.
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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Clint » Thu Oct 30, 2014 9:12 am

Checkerhead wrote:But to ever reach this speed the cruiser would have to have no mass. .


That's where the flux capacitor with a close-coupled bosonic hydro-isolator comes in :wink:

Been ticking off a few more small jobs over the last few weeks. Replaced the remaining old brake hoses, all bled up still not 100% though, a little bit of squishy travel before it feels right, need to take it for a drive & test them.

Got a double cardan driveshaft to adapt on for the front. Out of Dan's parts pile, possibly out of an MQ Patrol. Even seems to have good UJ's in it :D Same size UJ's etc as a Y60 so will bolt on at the diff end. Flange bolt hole spacings are actually the same as full size Landcruiser but the Nissan spigot is much bigger, so went to machine out a Landcruiser flange for the t-case end. Then realised that there'd only be about 1mm of steel left behind the hole :shock: So made up an adapter washer instead.

Image

Machined off the weld at the spline end of the new driveshaft & shortened it up, now ready for welding.

Image

Off to borrow Klembo's hoist this weekend & install my low range gears in the transfer case along with a new set of bearings.

Cheers
Clint
Last edited by Clint on Tue Aug 08, 2017 3:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby DMcCready » Thu Oct 30, 2014 7:21 pm

Looking Fine!! Giving me ideas for my 70 series 8)
There's gotta be some rocks round here SOMEWHERE!

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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Clint » Mon Nov 03, 2014 8:17 am

Had a good weekend of spannering at Performance Mechanical in Taupo. So nice to have the use of a hoist & transmission jack for this part of the job, cheers Klem! Big thanks also to Dan, Jeff & Zac who all helped out at some stage.

Once you've got the transfer case out of the LJ71 you're 90% of the way to having the gearbox out, plus assembling the transfer case has to be done on the gearbox which is hugely easier when it's stood on end, so we took out the whole mess to work on.

Image

Klem had a full Terrain Tamer t-case rebuild kit waiting for me so all the bearings, seal etc were replaced along with the gear install. Installing the new gears isn't rocket surgery but does have to be done with brain engaged. The Marks adapters setup has some improvements like roller bearings on the output gears vs the original bushes, & the new idler gears come on a different shaft & are axially located by taper roller bearings rather than the original, wear prone thrust washers, so assembly is not just the reverse of disassembly. You also need to grind a tiny bit off the inside of the case in a couple of places to clear the bigger gears. But after much consultation of the Mark's instructions & the Toyota service manual it all went back together ok.

Image

A bit of a test drive showed everything was working as it should, low range sure is nice & low, hi range feels about right. The new gears are a bit noisier than std, Mark's do warn of this & recommend a specific lube, which of course wasn't available on a Sunday in Taupo, so hopefully once I get some of that they'll quieten down a bit.

Cheers
Clint
Last edited by Clint on Tue Aug 08, 2017 3:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby tomsoffroad » Mon Nov 03, 2014 2:14 pm

Did my transfer gear a couple of months ago too. Best money ive spent on my pig ;)

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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Clint » Thu Nov 13, 2014 8:39 am

Took the cruiser out for it's 2nd round of testing on the weekend. Did some exploring deep into Tuhoe country with Dan.

Image

Image

Everything is working well. The new gear ratios are really good. No vibes out of the new driveshaft setup. Brakes seem to be bedding in a bit now & feeling more like they should.

Current job is putting in a new set of bushes in the back suspension as a few were due for replacement. Just got the cheap blue polyurethane ones ex trademe, not sure how well they'll last but they should give a bit more stable handling as far as the cert check at least.

Decided to make up some proper size punches for pressing the old bushes out, made what can be a bastard of a job hugely easier, some of em still gave the 20T press a bit of a workout though.

Cheers
Clint
Last edited by Clint on Tue Aug 08, 2017 3:15 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby 4wdstuff » Thu Nov 13, 2014 9:46 am

Just got the cheap blue polyurethane ones ex trademe,


If you need some genuine rubber ones have a look at

http://www.4wdstuff.co.nz/catalog/toyota-landcruiser-80-series/suspension

Cheers
Tim

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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Clint » Thu Nov 13, 2014 10:16 am

Will see how the poly ones go... at $150 for the full rear kit vs $550+ for the rubber ones I thought it was worth the experiment :D

Cheers
Clint
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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Clint » Mon Nov 24, 2014 12:30 pm

All new bushes in the back end now. I had a spare set of 80 series rear suspension arms in stock that I put the new bushes in & then I discovered that the existing lower arms were actually quite a bit beefier with bigger diameter tube & forged ends:

Image

The other set I had must be off an earlier model 80 series, not as strong:

Image

With that done the next item on the list was a new tow hitch. The old one was a bit high for the trailer to sit level plus the new tyre carrier couldn't be opened with the trailer on. So first make a bending die then deal to a bit of 16mm bar with the press:

Image

Cut, cut, cut, weld, weld, weld, paint, paint, paint...

Image

Cheers
Clint
Last edited by Clint on Tue Aug 08, 2017 3:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby Clint » Fri Jan 09, 2015 12:43 pm

Got out for a bit more testing over new years with some mates. The low gears were very very nice on the steep as farm tracks :D

All going good apart from a bit of movement in the engine + gearbox mounts at times - the low gears must being torqueing things around. Need some new engine mounts anyway.

Cheers
Clint
Last edited by Clint on Tue Aug 08, 2017 9:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Clints Cruiser Project

Postby KIWI_TERRANO » Fri Jan 09, 2015 2:42 pm

Where you get manual proportional rear valve from?

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