70 Series Prado Project

[micahb]

Righty ho, bought a LJ78 Prado with a 1KZ TE in it. it died not long after a got it. caps went in the ecm, then pump died. Thought id start a build thread, as over the next while itl be getting a going over, starting with manual pump. Got a whole list of shit i wanna do and ill slowly tick them off. Ill throw up some pics coz i know you all love them.


Right, first off, heres my list.

1. Manual Pump, Happening now. Some questions to follow. Tick
2. Manualize Auto. got, need to install.
3. Diff breathers to glovebox with the old mattress inflater. Just like mogs come standard. haha. Just not as sophisticated.
4. Exhaust upgrade, has anyone done 1 without going into wheel well? possible with a body lift? Tick-ish
5. Install new springs/shocks (4 inch lift.) tick
6. Extra trans cooler. need to install
7. Bars, sliders and guard cut behind rear wheels.
7.5 Remove standard flares etc, fit rubber ones.
8. bigger offset rims. tick
9. Snorkel
10. Manual hubs tick
11. Water/Meth injection. got, need to install.
12. Fit EGT/ECT/BOOST guages etc. Tick
13. And a whole lot of other shit, i cant think of.


Heres some pics the first and only time it went off the tar-seal.

[micahb]

Heres my new springs, should have shocks pretty soon, getting sams fronts from his sas surf.

[wjw]

4. Exhaust upgrade, has anyone done 1 without going into wheel well? possible with a body lift?

You can do it without body lift, Kaiapoi exhaust place has done a couple, then go straight back to firewall and down above the auto

5. Install new springs/shocks (4 inch lift.) Anyone else done this? will it need castor correction? 1 way to find out i guess.

Depends how much you care about your tyres... I got 2 degree castor correction bushes for mine

6. Extra trans cooler.

Best to just ditch the existing stuff and just go straight to an external trans rad.

[wayfastwhitee]

looks like its going to be awesome, keen to see the progress

[micahb]

4. Exhaust upgrade, has anyone done 1 without going into wheel well? possible with a body lift?

You can do it without body lift, Kaiapoi exhaust place has done a couple, then go straight back to firewall and down above the auto

*Need wrapping the whole way down? not all that much room, might give them a call, see what they say.

5. Install new springs/shocks (4 inch lift.) Anyone else done this? will it need castor correction? 1 way to find out i guess.

Depends how much you care about your tyres... I got 2 degree castor correction bushes for mine

*I care about my tyres alot. i need them to last as long as possible!!
Where did you get yours from?

6. Extra trans cooler.

Best to just ditch the existing stuff and just go straight to an external trans rad.

Arent the standard 1's quite efficient apart from blocking the coolant outlet? id put 1 in series on my surf.
Ill keep a look out for a big one then if its better standalone.

[kbushnz]

2. Manualize Auto, deloom as much as possible,
You dont loose any loom...just add more (just done it)

2.5. Glow plugs on a switch on dash.
Kept mine std with ECU

3. Diff breathers to glovebox with the old mattress inflater. Just like mogs come standard. haha. Just not as sophisticated.
Just bring them up high in engine bay

5. Install new springs/shocks (4 inch lift.) Anyone else done this? will it need castor correction? 1 way to find out i guess.
Dont use offset bushes....they flog out real quick and are stiff. Mod the plate on the axle to twist it... Without castor adjustment it drives like a pig on grease

6. Extra trans cooler.
Yup do it.

7. Bars, sliders and guard cut behind rear wheels.(remove standard flares etc, make sturdier ones.)
Can run 35's without trimming rear guards...with 75mm backspaced rims.
Front needs a bit of trimming.

[micahb]

[quote="kbushnz"][quote="micahb"]

2. Manualize Auto, deloom as much as possible,
You dont loose any loom...just add more (just done it)
how hard was it? havnt looked into it much apart from suprasticks, but dont have spare moolah for 1 of them.

2.5. Glow plugs on a switch on dash.
Kept mine std with ECU

3. Diff breathers to glovebox with the old mattress inflater. Just like mogs come standard. haha. Just not as sophisticated.
Just bring them up high in engine bay

I like the idea of having the positive pressure in there. had this on a previous 4wd, worked a treat. never had problems with water again.

5. Install new springs/shocks (4 inch lift.) Anyone else done this? will it need castor correction? 1 way to find out i guess.
Dont use offset bushes....they flog out real quick and are stiff. Mod the plate on the axle to twist it... Without castor adjustment it drives like a pig on grease

can i get a pic please? not quite comprehending what your saying. haha.

Cheers guys!

[micahb]

Also a question or 10 for any of you guys who have gone manual pump on your 1KZ.
throttle butterfly, have you made up a spacer or just removed the butterfly's from standard bits and refitted?

ideally want to get rid of/hide the wiring and shit/stuff i dont need in the engine bay.
Like in pic below, can i remove all of this sorta stuff? by my understanding, the engine will run completely free of electronics bar fuel cut off. So all the emissions and electronic stuff can go?

Cheers, Micah.

[Jerry]

what brand suspension did you end up going for?

A rear bar with protection around the lights would be a good idea, all 70's seeb to get dented there,

[micahb]

got cobra springs as i got them real cheap. front shocks are raw, haven't got rear shocks yet. need to suss how long they need to be first..
yeah bars are on the list, but first i need to get it running. its my only car. so iv been lucky so far with riding a bike from work home everyday.
then buy a welder and start creating. haha.

[wjw]

5. Install new springs/shocks (4 inch lift.) Anyone else done this? will it need castor correction? 1 way to find out i guess.
Dont use offset bushes....they flog out real quick and are stiff. Mod the plate on the axle to twist it... Without castor adjustment it drives like a pig on grease

mine were fine when I sold the truck after 6 years...

[kbushnz]

5. Install new springs/shocks (4 inch lift.) Anyone else done this? will it need castor correction? 1 way to find out i guess.
Dont use offset bushes....they flog out real quick and are stiff. Mod the plate on the axle to twist it... Without castor adjustment it drives like a pig on grease

mine were fine when I sold the truck after 6 years...

I had OME castor bushes... Lasted about 2 years then split tore out the nolethane. (too much flex??)
Went back to factory and did the 80series castor correction trick on it....

No issues now and that was 8 years ago....
I did mine a bit neater and it looks factory so to speak

[kbushnz]

Also a question or 10 for any of you guys who have gone manual pump on your 1KZ.
throttle butterfly, have you made up a spacer or just removed the butterfly's from standard bits and refitted?

ideally want to get rid of/hide the wiring and shit/stuff i dont need in the engine bay.
Like in pic below, can i remove all of this sorta stuff? by my understanding, the engine will run completely free of electronics bar fuel cut off. So all the emissions and electronic stuff can go?

Cheers, Micah.

Have a search of my posts, I have done most of what you are about to do....
In them you will see great info from others on the forum and links.
You can call me if you like....PM if you do I am in West Akl....
There are some great mods on this forum....And some real talented guys and gals !

[mudmike]

you might want to look at the front hubs, if they are working ok great, but if they don't all of a sudden, you need to carry the tools to put them in manually, the options for a fix is get yours made manual ( from oldblue if he us still doing them). Or do a full hub and stub swop. don't use the spacer plates they can do a huge amount of damage if they come loose.
You are welcome to look at what I've done to mine I'm in botany and with the manukau club.
Good luck with the build.
Mike

[micahb]

hey mike, were in the same club, we met at the club christmas do in hunua briefly. i was driving the red kzn130 surf. our other halves were chatting a bit. ive seen you truck a few times. want to do an exo like yours 1 day. yeah hubs are on the list. i forgot a few things when i wrote that list.
cheers, will take you up on the offer. first things first i want to get it running! missed the club meeting tuesday. anything interesting come up?

[micahb]

Well hopefully getting my new manual pump back tomorrow! woop! Cheers Kaiapoi Repowers! Was hoping to get that in next week but now will be visiting Rangiora for the week building some bikes up. So it wont happen then, Oh well, should get a bonus for that!
Put my new 4inch lift supension in, then took it all out, it makes it so fricken high to lean over into engine bay.
Air con is all coming out now too. going to do onboard air with the AC pump, got an old fire extinguisher for a tank. and think ive sussed a system to keep it lubed enough to last for a while. (scottoiler chain lube system stolen off an old bike and modified a tad...)
Got what i think is probably a dumb question here,
castor correction, carry this out on front and rear arms? or only front?
and also next on the buy list is a water/meth injection kit. been researching quite a bit, and itl give me cooling both high and slow speed, so easier, cheaper and more efficient for what i want.
Also just bought a manual boost controller from these guys, nice bit of kit.
http://nxsmotorsports.com/
Better than the chinese shit on trade me.
pics to come for you pic ho's.

[wjw]

Rear Panhard rod adjuster thing from Paul Delis in Kaiapoi.......

http://www.delis.co.nz/

[kbjj]

Also just bought a manual boost controller from these guys, nice bit of kit.
http://nxsmotorsports.com/

Made me laugh... these are pretty much how I made mine. Bolt has a long point on it like a needle valve.

[IcedJohnno]

Re Castor correction
It is just this. You are adjusting the castor angles of the steering king-pins.
Hence only required on the front end, unless you are creating a RWS trials rig!

Calvin's method, or the now illegal radius arm bending method, are the two that I would use. Offset bushes restrict articulation. These trucks require flexure via these bushes to articulate.

I went from 540mm wheel travel on each wheel (measure via lifting wheels with forklift) to 490 on each wheel, when I changed out my flogged rear axle bushes. (Std height springs)

[micahb]

Cheers for that info, and thanks again KBushNZ for letting me come and check out your truck. something to work towards and a whole lot of ideas for the future.
Anyway, have bought a egt guage and probe and a boost guage from auberins.com.
and got my pump back!!!!
removed exhaust sheild and noticed a broken stud, nut sitting on manifold(explains the rattle!)
removed the egr shite, was leaking alot! around the big nut joint on intake side. made some nice little steel caps to block it off. just trying to get the little shit done. dont need it on the road yet so doin it all at once. and coz the manifold needs to come off, it gives me an excuse to do my dump pipe now!

[likemagic]

while you have all the covers off the exhaust it would be a good time to drill and tap for egt gauge. if you are not keen on drilling and tapping the manifold I put mine in the planking plate at the end where the egr came off.

I spent 8 days towing a caravan around the bottom of the South Island (catlins, invercargill, manapouri, gore, alex) with the egt I could predict what the water temperature was going to before it started to move (under 500c didn't move from 85c, 600c moved up to 100c) long climbs i kept the egt on 600c till I caught up to slow cars and had to slow down.

[micahb]

while you have all the covers off the exhaust it would be a good time to drill and tap for egt gauge. if you are not keen on drilling and tapping the manifold I put mine in the planking plate at the end where the egr came off.

I spent 8 days towing a caravan around the bottom of the South Island (catlins, invercargill, manapouri, gore, alex) with the egt I could predict what the water temperature was going to before it started to move (under 500c didn't move from 85c, 600c moved up to 100c) long climbs i kept the egt on 600c till I caught up to slow cars and had to slow down.

yeah that was the plan also. just forgot to write it down! cheers.
i'm also doing water/methanol injection. not for power (although a bonus!), but to keep engine cooler.

[micahb]

bought a water temp sensor from auberins.com too. so boost, water and egt all the same type. just waiting for them to arrive, as i want to install them. getting a club member to make my dump pipe. just saw it on here. so that's Coxsy doing it. looking good!
got my boost controller, but that was a 5 sec job to put on, and have installed my new pump. but realised i left out an oring so it needs to come out again. and have started making up the throttle whateveryoucallitthing. haha. also removed the butterflys in old throttle set up.
Heres some crappy pics.
and 1 of caps leaking in the ecu.

[mudmike]

send the ecu to Nelson for repair, they did mine cheaper than one from a wrecker and with a warranty, can't recall there name but is a couple of threads with all the info if you do a search.

[Cameron]

"anything electronic" in nelson?
http://www.anythingelectronic.co.nz/rep ... ecu&menu=1

[kbushnz]

Looking good, don't forget to put the filter on the vac / pressure line to the top of the boost compensater (top of pump) re use the old one.

[micahb]

send the ecu to Nelson for repair, they did mine cheaper than one from a wrecker and with a warranty, can't recall there name but is a couple of threads with all the info if you do a search.

Cheers, but i already had it repaired ages ago. just put the pics up so people can know what it looks like. not that it makes all that much difference. it wont be running the pump anymore!

[micahb]

Looking good, don't forget to put the filter on the vac / pressure line to the top of the boost compensater (top of pump) re use the old one.

Cheers! i had forgotten bout that!

[micahb]

ITS ALIVE!
havnt been able to work on it much lately, family takes priority, but got it running friday night, ran it up to temp on sunday. all good so far. even moved under power!(on idle as havent hooked up throttle yet). blocked/welded off old airbox intake and need to cut hole for new pipe to weld on for better flow. looking at snorkle options, easy to do cheap plastic one, but leaning towards doing it up inside guard so wont lean on it. also put egt probe and coolant temp probe in. pics will come later tonight. just free revving it a little its completely different with the manual pump. cant wait to drive it. need to sort throttle quadrant thing and put auto controller on, got one from states, should arrive in next couple of days from www.radesignsproducts.com was going to try doing it myself, but im really not wire savvy(at all!), and its one less headache. then will put hi susp back in and do caster correction.
Still need to sell my bike to fund the road wheels and a few other things. but not much interst. ah well.
so still a long list, but its running now, and thats motivation.

[micahb]

heres a few pics for the people that like them.
in no particular order. just pics of stuff done.