Needs bull bars and points but keen to get it lifted, how high do I need to go to get 35" tyres in there. Is it best to lift suspension or body or both? Is it worth ditching the leaf springs and getting a coil/shock combo? How much does this stuff cost? Is it worth getting extractors and new exhaust, how much grunt will it liberate? Spoke to one bloke who was on about fabricating some brackets so the axles sit below the leaf springs to help get a couple of inches on body height? Also I'm in Christchurch and keen to try it out while there are people around to tow me out. Used to have an Isuzu Bighorn on muddies and a snorkel, killed it, was I trying to hard or are they just destined to crack?70 series SWB mods
70 series SWB mods
Just bought an '85 70 series SWB with 4.0L petrol. Currently has 32" Maxxis tyres, snorkel and as Kiwi new has rear LSD. Only done 130,000Km and looks a minter, but it's beige Needs bull bars and points but keen to get it lifted, how high do I need to go to get 35" tyres in there. Is it best to lift suspension or body or both? Is it worth ditching the leaf springs and getting a coil/shock combo? How much does this stuff cost? Is it worth getting extractors and new exhaust, how much grunt will it liberate? Spoke to one bloke who was on about fabricating some brackets so the axles sit below the leaf springs to help get a couple of inches on body height? Also I'm in Christchurch and keen to try it out while there are people around to tow me out. Used to have an Isuzu Bighorn on muddies and a snorkel, killed it, was I trying to hard or are they just destined to crack?
Needs bull bars and points but keen to get it lifted, how high do I need to go to get 35" tyres in there. Is it best to lift suspension or body or both? Is it worth ditching the leaf springs and getting a coil/shock combo? How much does this stuff cost? Is it worth getting extractors and new exhaust, how much grunt will it liberate? Spoke to one bloke who was on about fabricating some brackets so the axles sit below the leaf springs to help get a couple of inches on body height? Also I'm in Christchurch and keen to try it out while there are people around to tow me out. Used to have an Isuzu Bighorn on muddies and a snorkel, killed it, was I trying to hard or are they just destined to crack?
Re: 70 series SWB mods
Welcome to both the world of ORE and Landcruisers 
To answer some of your questions. I run 35's on my Cruiser all i have done is fitted 50mm lift blocks to raise the body away from the tyres and i don't seem to have any rubbing issues. You do have to be careful that you maintain enough length in your brake lines/ handbrake cable when you lift it. Although these can easily be lengthened if required. The Spring Over you are talking about would also give you the clearances you need for the tires. Some folks on here are pretty biased when you mention these and i'm sure they'll make themselves known once they read this thread
As for cost, the blocks and new bolts probably cost around $100. The spring over i'm not sure about. It would depend on whether you can do some or all yourself or just pay the money and get it done for you. I think 4WD Upgrades here in ChCh do it for about $2000.00 (Don't quote me here) as a drive in drive out deal. As for engine mods well thats your choice, but remember gas ain't getting any cheaper!
No such thing as trying to hard so it must have been a crap truck
To answer some of your questions. I run 35's on my Cruiser all i have done is fitted 50mm lift blocks to raise the body away from the tyres and i don't seem to have any rubbing issues. You do have to be careful that you maintain enough length in your brake lines/ handbrake cable when you lift it. Although these can easily be lengthened if required. The Spring Over you are talking about would also give you the clearances you need for the tires. Some folks on here are pretty biased when you mention these and i'm sure they'll make themselves known once they read this thread
As for cost, the blocks and new bolts probably cost around $100. The spring over i'm not sure about. It would depend on whether you can do some or all yourself or just pay the money and get it done for you. I think 4WD Upgrades here in ChCh do it for about $2000.00 (Don't quote me here) as a drive in drive out deal. As for engine mods well thats your choice, but remember gas ain't getting any cheaper!
gazthedoc wrote:Used to have an Isuzu Bighorn on muddies and a snorkel, killed it, was I trying to hard or are they just destined to crack?
No such thing as trying to hard so it must have been a crap truck
***Got the balls, just ain't got the bucks***
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Sadam_Husain
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Re: 70 series SWB mods
H2OLOVA wrote: I run 35's on my Cruiser all i have done is fitted 50mm lift blocks to raise the body away from the tyres and i don't seem to have any rubbing issues.
I tried 35's on my truck and it was a no go without a body lift, its a cab/chassis so rear tyres were no problem but the front tyres were a problem and that was with 50mm lift OME springs, I've just stuck with 33's untill somehow the problem fixes itself without me having to do anything?
I didn't like the 3F engine, I'd had 40 series cruisers for about 18 years with 2F engines, the 3F's rev well but lack the torque of the 2F, I'm probably too long in the tooth to change my driving style now so I did an engine swab to a s/b chev and havent looked back since. The price of gas is killing me but the economy is just the same as the 3F unless the Mrs Husain's driving it. :fart:
Gas Conversion
4.0L 3F engine in '85 70 series SWB. How much would it cost to convert to LPG and is it financially sound?
Bottling it
Am due to pick up the truck on saturday, am about to pay $7000 for this truck, is NZ new, done 127,000Km, near new Maxxis 32" muddies, snorkel, looks a mint, nice and tidy underneath, v.clean interior and no rust. Am I paying over the odds? Is this going to be reliable and how much am I going to be buggered in terms of petrol in a 4.0L 3F motor?
Do the Math's.
LPG conversion = $2500
LPG = $00.89 per litre(approx)
91 = $01.40 per litre(approx)
You save approx $00.51 per litre at the pump.
But you have to take into account the outlay on the system....
Say your vehicle does 450K's per 60L tank of LPG on avarage.
So take your out lay of $2500, and divide it by the saving on fuel cost per litre ($00.51) to work out how may litres of fuel you would need to purchase before the saving on fuel and the outlay on the LPG system breaks even, which is 4901 Litres of LPG.
Divide the 4901 litres of LPG into 60Litre tanks, which is 82 tanks of fuel.
Multiply the 81 tanks of fuel by the avaerage distance traveled by a tank of fuel which is 36,900K's.
You would have to travel roughly 36,900k's before you actually started saving anything on fuel costs.
If you intend to keep the vehicle that long, then go for it.
Note that as fuel prices increase, and the margin between what LPG costs and what Petrol costs increases, the less distance you will have to travel on your LPG system before it has payed for its self and you start to save
(Note: Someone correct me if i'm wrong)
LPG conversion = $2500
LPG = $00.89 per litre(approx)
91 = $01.40 per litre(approx)
You save approx $00.51 per litre at the pump.
But you have to take into account the outlay on the system....
Say your vehicle does 450K's per 60L tank of LPG on avarage.
So take your out lay of $2500, and divide it by the saving on fuel cost per litre ($00.51) to work out how may litres of fuel you would need to purchase before the saving on fuel and the outlay on the LPG system breaks even, which is 4901 Litres of LPG.
Divide the 4901 litres of LPG into 60Litre tanks, which is 82 tanks of fuel.
Multiply the 81 tanks of fuel by the avaerage distance traveled by a tank of fuel which is 36,900K's.
You would have to travel roughly 36,900k's before you actually started saving anything on fuel costs.
If you intend to keep the vehicle that long, then go for it.
Note that as fuel prices increase, and the margin between what LPG costs and what Petrol costs increases, the less distance you will have to travel on your LPG system before it has payed for its self and you start to save
(Note: Someone correct me if i'm wrong)
lax2wlg wrote:Is that like saying 'she's hot, for a crackwhore??
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LT1-62
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Re: Bottling it
gazthedoc wrote:Am due to pick up the truck on saturday, am about to pay $7000 for this truck, is NZ new, done 127,000Km, near new Maxxis 32" muddies, snorkel, looks a mint, nice and tidy underneath, v.clean interior and no rust. Am I paying over the odds? Is this going to be reliable and how much am I going to be buggered in terms of petrol in a 4.0L 3F motor?
Hey Gaz
the 3F is a thirsty, thirsty beast. I had one in my 60 series and they are a great engine, SUPER reliable, plenty of power (especially for a swb), but man can they drink petrol. My 5.7L V8 conversion has me saving a siginicant amount of money on gas over the 4.0l 6, although that probably has a lot to do with the fuel injection. I think it would be a great idea to put it on LPG although this costs a lot to do also. 7G is not an outrageous price to pay for one of these if has only done 127k (and you can prob believe it if it is NZ new and a petrol), but with a 3F 70 series the kms arent as important as you might think, cruisers are so reliable that a very well maintained one with 250k will probably be just as good mechanically, and with this in mind what your really paying for is the zero rust. In short, with todays petrol prices dont expect to daily drive your new truck unless your last vehicle was a big block chevy, would be a great truck to have on LPG but the conversion can also be very costly...
I run an LPG falcon, big car driving at honda civic running costs, so...GO FOR IT!!!!!
is gas cheaper up north?? its 1.76 for 91 at the moment, so add another 35 cents to the equation, and it starts to look quite attractive
try summit 4WD in CHCH, he can fit LPG kits, so he might give you a good idea about costs to fit etc.....
your other option....fit a diesel.
either way.... drive it hard and get it dirty!!!
is gas cheaper up north?? its 1.76 for 91 at the moment, so add another 35 cents to the equation, and it starts to look quite attractive
try summit 4WD in CHCH, he can fit LPG kits, so he might give you a good idea about costs to fit etc.....
your other option....fit a diesel.
either way.... drive it hard and get it dirty!!!
"He who dies with the most toys wins!!"
6 fingers in all...Whats the deal with the diesels? I've heard that the fuel is changing to not contain sulphur and this is going to goose the o'rings on the diesel pumps, that was the reason why I looked at mainly petrol trucks, if I'm wrong please reply and I'll see if there are any diesels on the go, unless someone has a truck they are trying to sell around christchurch.
the low sulphur diesel thing is only really an issue for older engines modern engines run on it no worries some old engines will run on it fine as well but not sure which ones exactly i should check that out myself but if i get my arse into gear i won't need to worry about it as i will be using veggie oil
I'm running LPG on a 2F 40 series & really happy with it - couldn't afford to run petrol all the time, & the extra range helps with such a thirsty beast. Keep an eye on trademe for an LPG kit - I've seen them come up a few times for around $300-$500. There should be heaps of them around cos they were pretty popular on 40's and the old 4.2l Falcons - which should have a suitable mixer - just need an adaptor on the carb..
I have a 90 FJ70 LPG dedicated and love it. It apparently had LPG installed late 90, so been run on LPG its whole life – doesn’t blow any smoke. I get 18-22 L/100km out of it round town. It can suck the juice a lot worse if you want it to get off the mark quick. Being dedicated I have tuned it to LPG 100%, but of you intend to run dual fuel, then you will need to compromise some of that. My wife’s Toyota 1.3 Echo gets about 7L/100km (@$1.769=$12.38/100km). Pump price for LPG is around $0.88 in town (@ 18L/100km=$15.84/100km). I’ve got a Rockgas card, so pay a bit less than that, so actually pay about the same as her car.
I had a dual fuel 84 FJ40 and found the torque band on that to be lower with LPG than petrol. I could not stall it on LPG, but could on petrol. It was tuned 60/40 to LPG. I assume the 3F torque band is similar. I reckon the torque band is about 500rpm above the 2F which is bugger all.
Problems with LPG: 1 location of fuel stops - There’s none in the wops, so you have to plan you trip and jerry cans don’t work too well (there is a way round that though); 2. Location of LPG tank – to maintain any room in the rear, it has to go underneath, but then hangs down. Damaging the tank could be a problem on its 10yrly inspection, but it will need a huge nudge to actually fracture it.
PM me if you really are keen, as mine still has the old petrol bits in (ie petrol solenoid valve), and I have some other old parts from work.
Rowan
I had a dual fuel 84 FJ40 and found the torque band on that to be lower with LPG than petrol. I could not stall it on LPG, but could on petrol. It was tuned 60/40 to LPG. I assume the 3F torque band is similar. I reckon the torque band is about 500rpm above the 2F which is bugger all.
Problems with LPG: 1 location of fuel stops - There’s none in the wops, so you have to plan you trip and jerry cans don’t work too well (there is a way round that though); 2. Location of LPG tank – to maintain any room in the rear, it has to go underneath, but then hangs down. Damaging the tank could be a problem on its 10yrly inspection, but it will need a huge nudge to actually fracture it.
PM me if you really are keen, as mine still has the old petrol bits in (ie petrol solenoid valve), and I have some other old parts from work.
Rowan