Clints Cruiser Project

[Clint]

Nice rig Bundymonkey! I tried taking a few pics of that sump for you a while back but they didn't come out very well.

What shocks are you using? I'm about to get some new springs & shocks & was thinking of going with Rancho 9000's. I'm just going to get 2" of lift for now, but if I can I'd like to get shocks with enough downtravel to cater for bigger springs in the future. I'm going to pull off the shocks this weekend & measure them up.

The Cruiser is currently at Performance Mechanical (Telexs workshop) getting the exhaust finished. It has been great rumbling around town & in the bush but too noisy on the highway so the very rowdy barely muffled side pipes are getting joined up & sent out the back through another muffler.

While the truck has been over the pit I've been making up a belly plate to protect the transfer case & PTO drive, that should be done by the weekend, watch this space for some pics.

Cheers
Clint

[Clint]

The skidplate is done. As the transfercase in the Prado doesn't hang down below the chassis it's a pretty simple job.

For certification of the engine swap I had to install a driveshaft loop. Any engine swap now requires this, even if you're putting in a smaller engine!
When I went to install the loop I decided it would be just as easy to mount it up off a bar between the chassis rails than down from the round x-member above, & this would also give me a mount for a skidplate. There was enough extra thread on the big rear radius arm mounting bolts to use them to attach a couple of bits of angle to bolt a bar to.

The x-member in front of the t-case is fairly flat so I just welded a couple of spacers under it's 2 front inner mounting holes & got some longer bolts.

There was some high tensile 6mm alloy lying around the workshop so that got used for the plate. I shaped up some angled plates for either end & which have just been TIGed on so I'll get some pics of the finished article tonight.

Cheers
Clint

[De-Ranged]

Nice and tidy

have you drilled some drain holes below the ramp pieces you tiged on ??

I've been looking at using alloy sheet for mine as well till I priced it Geesh I can see why I do bugger all work in alloy!!

Might see if I can get it as a favor yet one of the specialist engineering firms owes me a favor for some machining I did for them... otherwise I'll keep it real with steel

Interesting about the D/S hops I got told it didn't apply to 4wd's as there was so much clearance... might have to ask about that one

[Clint]

Thanks De-ranged, the sides of the plate are still flat so it'll drain out there. Definitely check on the hoop, our certifier said he thought it was a stupid idea too but there was no way around it.

Cheers
Clint

[Clint]

My toughdog 40mm lift springs have arrived, thanks Craig at Genie 4x4, Steve at 4wd Stuff has tracked down some Rancho 9000s that will fit & have the extra length required, so this weekend it's on with the new suspension & a quick service before heading to Nelson next week.

Cheers
Clint

[Clint]

Got back to the Monster Garage on saturday to find my new springs & shocks waiting. Jacked 'er up & whipped out the old stuff, only to discover that the front springs (40mm lift Toughdog from Genie 4x4) were different Fortunately there were some springs in the junk pile outside the workshop that looked about right, so for want of a better idea we chucked them in . Mike thought they might have been out of an old Falcon.

There's not much available for the LJ71 in the way of shocks so the new front shocks from 4wd stuff, Rancho RS99157 IIRC, had to be adapted to fit. I pressed the sleeve out of the top of the old shocks, reamed out the bush on the Ranchos & pressed the sleeve in. They were slightly longer compressed so I packed the bumpstops down 16mm to stop them bottoming, this was needed to keep the tyres off the guards anyway

The rear springs went in sweet, but the rear shocks, RS99157 again, are probably a little bit long as I had to pack the bumpstop down 40mm & the spring is going loose under full droop, I'm going to look into moving the mounts a bit to get more travel.

Given she was a bit saggy before, especially in the front, this has brought her up 50-60mm, & shes sitting fairly level front-back so far.

Test drive: Schweet! the ride before was pretty crap for a coil sprung wagon, it's much more like it should be now. the adjustable Ranchos are great. The difference between #3 & #5 is quite noticeable & when set stiff they compensate well for the now taller, more softly sprung vehicle in terms of on road handling. I think I need some caster correction now but only a little bit.

Offroad testing tomorrow hopefully!

Cheers
Clint

[SupraLux]

pics

[Clint]

Some pics from our trip to the South Is.

Having a break on the desert road.



Checking out a side track in the sounds.



Rosie's dad also has a SWB 70 series, checking out the Maungatapu track.



Went for a drive out around the Whanganui Inlet & down the coast







Had a look around Terawhiti on the way back



...& the south coast of the Wairarapa





Called in to Castlepoint.



The cruiser went great.

Cheers
Clint

[Clint]

Our recent holiday showed up what a jumble everything can become in the back of the wagon after a few days touring so I decided I need some drawers in the back to keep things organised. A bit of web surfing revealed a heap of different Ozzy brands of these & I got a few good ideas from their various websites.

I'm building the storage boxes out of 13mm Armourblack high density MDF - It's a product Laminex made a few years ago & is a lot tougher & more water resistant than normal MDF. HD3 was the normal coloured version which was still being made, but since the mill burned down last year it might not be available anywhere but the 2nds pile in the back corner of our warehouse!

I thought easy access to things like tools & strops & shackles might be required so I designed a setup with some ~ 250 deep compartments along behind the seats - this will also accomodate one of those little car fridges & maybe a 2nd battery & inverter. This bolts down onto the original back seat mounting holes. I still have to add lids & maybe some clampits on the front to hold a rifle.



Behind that are 2 boxes, 750 x 510 x 280. This height is so I can fit my little chainsaw in the drawers & is still low enough that someone can sit on top. The idea is that none, one or both boxes can be used depending on what else is being carried. They'll be bolted through to the front box & bolted down to the rear seatbelt mounting points. I'll be adding some hinged panels either side so there is a full width deck.





The drawers are going to be fabricated out of 3mm aluminium, they'll just slide on the MDF - to get strong enough drawer slides takes a bit of space & $$$ so I'm going for the simple option. They'll be removable & have handles on both ends so tools/beers/etc can be carried to wherever required.

Cheers
Clint

[Mattman]

Nice work Clint.

Matt.

[IcedJohnno]

Looks good Clint
I felt the need to do the same on my trip over Christmas too. However no time now and wont have for ages either!

You can put two batteries under the bonnet, mine is like that from factory.
do you want me to take a photo of it? Having parked my truck on its side once already I'm real pleased not to have had a acid rain back scrub from a battery in cab. The engine got this instead.

I take it you have taken the rear seat mounting rail right out? I still keep one of the rear seats in though it only gets used when we have blue moons. This means I still have the rail there as well but the intention is to cut and fabricate a joining component so 1/2 the rail can go too.

Saw 1/2 a photo of your tow bar setup here, can you take another more detailed shot or two please. I'm still using my temporary version but need to change it at some point.

cheers John

[Clint]

Thanks guys, I have taken the rear seat rail out. I was only going to put a small ~30Ah sealed battery in the back to run the fridge & maybe some lights. The next project is twin snorkles & the LHS airbox will sit where the 2nd batt goes on the 24V wagons.

I'll try & get some better shots of the bar for ya tonight.

Cheers
Clint

[De-Ranged]

just a small sugestion with those big boxes at the back.... are there any bolt holes,mounting pionts on the floor... if there is then use some counter sunk scews as locaters... with holes in the top of the boxes to match that way when you stack them (last pic) you can throw a tie down over them and they won't move

Nice work by the way might do something like this to my wanker when I get onto it
Just curious about the MDF wont' water couse it to puff up and fall to bits ?? I know the covering is all good I'm just curious about the MDF its self

Cheers Reece

[IcedJohnno]

The two 12 v batterys in Prado's are just that, a 12 volt system, not a 24v one.

I guess you will need that extra air u greedy buggar!

[wjw]

My draws etc are anchored using the normal tiedowns in the back. Works well... The Extra battery is then attached with a tie down to the base of the box...

Starting from scratch with mine now though as I need the third row of seats and have to get a buggy in ... will be working from the roof down, rather than floor up...

[Clint]

That's a good idea thanks Reece, I'm not sure if I'll use them stacked or not but the option is there.

The MDF doesn't have a covering on it, it's black, tough & waterproof all the way through, much denser than normal MDF. In fact I think I might attack the underneath & sides of the rear boxes with a holesaw to make them a bit lighter & let out any moisture that gets in the carpet.

If the rear drawer was one piece it would have attached with the tiedown points quite happily, I thought of using some lil' turnbuckles there, but the 2 piece design would need to be attached in the middle somehow too to do it tidily. Luckily the seatbelt mounting points are in the right place to just put one countersunk capscrew down through the middle of them. Hopefully I can find some with the right thread.

Cheers
Clint

[De-Ranged]

Was thinking also with having slide out boxes, recess the top edge of the MDF so you can get your hand in to grab the inside grab handle before you lift them out... would just make the trays a bit easyer to lift out and put back in

Cheers Reece

[wjw]

I'm planning on cutting into the side of the truck to make access flaps where the windows used to be, so basically there will be little cupboards for ropes shackels etc, completely sealed and only accessible from outside... money is the problem though, need some steel and a welder...

[Mattman]

How come you are going to run twin snorkels Clint? Does your manifold have two outputs?

Cheers
Matt.

[Clint]

Why twin snorkles?

a. 'Cos it looks cool.

b. I scored a twin throttle body intake off my mate that does the conversions, they do give a little more power at the top of the rev range.

c. I'm planning on integrating the snorkles into a full exo-cage/lightbar/roofrack & it'll keep all that symmetrical.

d. 'Cos it looks cool.

Thanks again Reece, that's another good idea! Something I saw on one of the Oz sites- that I'm going to use - was lockable patio bolts on the drawers.

Cheers
Clint

[wjw]

That would be the main reason to go with an 8 ... dual snorkels, saw it on one of the aussie winch trucks

[Clint]

That would be the main reason to go with an 8 ... dual snorkels,

Yep. The 300hp is handy at times too

Here's some pics of the rear bar for ya Johnno, As I had some rust in under the taillights I cut off a bit of sheetmetal where the sides of the bar are, this made it much easier to mount strongly.







And here's a few of the engine bay as requested:







Cheers
Clint

[wjw]

I'm planning on doing the same with my rear end, less to get hung up on, although there is no rust in them...

[adventures_more]

How do it go with being Engineered/Certified ? who did the compliance , etc ? ( seeking a consultant myself to what i can and can't do legally for on the road legalitys , so the blue brigade don't pick me up )

[wjw]

Best bet would be to speak to the certifier directly, we are using wayne somebody... tell him what your planning and see what he thinks

[Sadam_Husain]

How do it go with being Engineered/Certified ? who did the compliance , etc ? ( seeking a consultant myself to what i can and can't do legally for on the road legalitys , so the blue brigade don't pick me up )

heres a good place to start looking at certification complance and requirements http://www.lvvta.org.nz/

[Madaz]

So Clint - Do you think its got enough power or is it time for that supercharger?

[Clint]

How do it go with being Engineered/Certified ? who did the compliance , etc ? ( seeking a consultant myself to what i can and can't do legally for on the road legalitys , so the blue brigade don't pick me up )

Mark Stokes from Auckland (IIRC) did the cert. Mike who's the lexus conversion guru gets him down every few months to cert all his stuff. Apart from a few silly rules like the driveshaft hoop it's all pretty straightforward. As wjw says, it's always best to talk to the certifier before doing any mods. Find a certifier with some 4x4 experience if you can, some of them are a bit clueless about 4x4s.

Mmmmm... Supercharger... Surely you should know that one can never have enough power But in the interests of keeping my diffs & CVs intact I think I'll hold off on the boost for a while. Maybe a few years down the track in conjunction with a Nissan axle swap...

Cheers
Clint

[Leithfield]

Maybe a few years down the track in conjunction with a Nissan axle swap...
Clint

Forget the Nissan axles - treat yourself to maximum strength and maintain light weight, go for the Longfield 30-spline super set (CV's + axles for the front http://www.longfieldsuperaxles.com/) and Marlin Crawler chromoly rear axle( http://www.marlincrawler.com/htm/axles.htm ), in combination with a twin set of ARB's.

I did, and the setup is bulletproof.

[Clint]

Yep, that's another option, & probably a better one. Mind you Nissan gear would be much cheaper to do.

An air locker for the back is on the shortlist, I don't think I'd put one in the front without the longfields or bigger diffs. Gotta get the snorkles done, then sort out the on-board air, then if there's any pesos left I'll be phoning 0800 AIR LOCKER fer sure.

Cheers
Clint