Clints Cruiser Project

[Big]

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



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

Awesome.. but check ya engine mounts.. I have broken countless ones and with ya new gears I suspect you have done the same..

[Clint]

Where you get manual proportional rear valve from?

It's a Wilwood from Summit racing in the USA. Cardwells have them locally at a similar price all up but only list 1 imperial thread fitting option - Summit has a few versions including the 10x1mm std Toyota brakeline fitting size. I haven't actually got around to tuning the brakes yet, the valve is still wide open, haven't had an issue with the brake balance during a good few km of driving on gravel now. Might find a quiet road somewhere this week, try a few panic type stops & see if some adjustments are required.

Cheers
Clint

[Clint]

Back into it on the cruiser a bit this week. Ordered another Simex for a spare, local tyre shop had a brand new matching ROH rim that they were just about to send back cos they had got the wrong size so scored that for a sharp price. Ordered some non greasable rod ends to make front arms cert compliant.

Decided to check the brakes, need to be able to do 5 stops from 100km/h @0.65G within 3 minutes. How to measure G? Well there's an app for that of course.... This meant getting into designing & engineering the planned Vehicle Onboard Mapping, Information & Telemetry system - or V.O.M.I.T. Or basically mounting a cheap 8" Acer tablet on the dash. I junked the old temperature & altitude displays & bodged the surround a bit higher with a few bits of alloy & rubber to hold the tablet. The power feed to the old gauges feeds a USB charger. MkII is already under construction on a better angle, some retaining clips & a tidier trim will be added.



The physics toolbox accelerometer app was free & worked ok, seemed to be getting well over 0.65G at every stop, abusing 2 grand worth of rubber in that fashion did cause a fair bit of emotional pain though I used the new proportioning valve to dial out a bit of back brake which improved things. Still might look into an 80 series double booster though, more braking power wouldn't hurt & it's almost a bolt on mod.

Also on the tablet is the free Open Street Maps app which does well at street nav, & Viewranger GPS for topomaps. Viewranger gives you all the NZ 1:50K topos for $40, it can record/load tracks, waypoints etc & seems pretty easy to use.

Cheers
Clint

[Big]

if your tablet is android then use backcountry navigator.. about $16 for the app and free maps from topo nz.. just have to download the area you want.. but free essentially

[Clint]

Yep it's an android tablet. There are a few options for NZ topo apps. Haven't tried backcountry navigator but Viewranger was recommended to me by someone who has been playing around with smartphone mapping for a while as being functional & easy to use. On my phone I've got the free Outdoor Atlas app with NZ topos, ok for the price but nowhere near as good as initial impressions of the Viewranger.

Cheers
Clint

[nztimr33]

hah that tablet idea is a goodie , kinda looks like it might obstruct your in cabin view a bit though? very cool none the less

[Clint]

You sit pretty high in the cruiser so it's not too bad. From the drivers position it blocks a little bit of vision just over the left front corner of the bonnet, lean forward a few inches & it's not in the way at all. Check out the 'Terrari' project on here for a sweet home made overhead console with a fold down tablet holder - that's a tidier way to do it but a bit more work.

Cheers
Clint

[Clint]

Got myself a brand new 80 series double brake booster for not much over $250 from Aussie ebay 'bxbooster'. It has tandem diaphragms to give ~ twice the assistance & is almost a bolt in mod.



Diameter & mounting studs are the same as the old one, it's about 20mm deeper. The only mod required is to extend the pedal side push rod - it's a bit short. So I just made up a longer clevis to extend it out.



I may now have to mod my snorkel attachment to the air box when I re-do those but otherwise a very easy install.

Braking certainly requires much less effort now, have only tried it on a wet road so far but seems good. Of course it makes them feel a bit more mushy again, not real bad but I think it could be a little better, might have a look at the rear brake pads & their potentially problematic backing plates next.

Cheers
Clint

[Clint]

Got a couple of Teflon rod ends for the front radius arms - the original ones were greasable jobs which are not allowed for cert (!?) I got another set of front arms to fit the new joints to so I can keep the old set as spares. So now those are all threaded up, rod ended & fitted.



While taking the wheels off to do that one of the wheel studs decided to munt itself as I unscrewed a wheel nut. The Nissan studs are a fine thread & easily damaged, a couple of the other studs were also a bit shagged. Fortunately the studs are the same size as Toyota ones that are a coarser thread so I decided to replace all the studs with those. This also means that they now match the back & all the wheel nuts are now the same. (A little OCD part of me did a happy dance ) The old discs were a bit rust-pitted from sitting around outside & were cheap to replace so I also fitted up the new discs I'd had sitting around for a while, as the discs had to come off to do the studs.



Cheers
Clint

[kbjj]

edit...Fortunately the studs are the same size as Toyota ones that are a coarser thread so I decided to replace all the studs with those. This also means that they now match the back & all the wheel nuts are now the same.

Nice to know, wish I knew earlier, then I would have put Nissan studs in my rear axels to keep all mine the same

[muddyplumber]

That's good to no, I am now gonna replace my studs and make them all the same as this is something that has really pissed me off since doing my conversion

[Clint]

The studs were a stock item at the local Toyota dealer & about $5 ea. If you ask nicely they might give you some matching wheelnuts for free - the Rotorua guys had a big bucket of them left over from mag installs. The Toyota studs I had from my old scrapped rear axle were a bit long in the shank & wouldn't quite work.

Cheers
Clint

[Clint]

Bolted on a bit of bling from 4wdbits last month:



The std auto/manual Nissan hubs weren't filling me with confidence as I was sure I could hear them clicking in & out while supposedly locked in offroad, & there was also the odd click coming from that area while cruising on road.



No more funny noises now but I did notice the hubs were getting quite warm while running unlocked, probably due to the splined axle collar running in it's locating ring. Need to pull them apart & check.

EDIT: found out much later that these needed spacers in behind the locating rings which were not supplied - only good luck held them in the right place before I worked this out. New version 4wdbits hubs apparently don't need the spacers.

Went for another good test drive a couple of weeks ago & all was performing well apart from my alternator crapping out. It turns out that ignoring your only slightly leaky power steering pump on a 1UZ is not a good idea as it drips on the alternator, builds up a wad of gunge in around the brushes & wears out both the brushes & the slip ring, effectively trashing the alternator. Fortunately brand new OE Nippondenso alternators are available from NZAD on trademe for reasonable $$$ & minutes after I had hit the 'buy now' they had one on the way.

So having just spent $367 on the alternator I thought I'd better fix the power steering pump. I found a couple of rebuild guides online that were quite helpful: http://planetsoarer.com/Power%20steering%20pump.htm & http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/steering/pspumprebuild.html The local Toyota dealer got the o-ring & seal kit in overnight & the bearing was on the shelf at SKF.





Power steering pumps are tricksy little buggers so I took plenty of pics as I stripped it down - lots of little parts that can easily be put back in the wrong way around.



I've never seen so many buggered o-rings - every single one was hard & brittle. The pump stator was a bit worn so I gave that a buff, then all back together for installation.



Also ticked off over the weekend was some extra tail & brake lights. The big Simex on the back obscures the std lights a bit on that side so to keep the WOF man happy I wired in a few Hella LEDs.



Last week's other achievement was a booking for a certification check. Which took some doing, this sort of work needs an inspector with '1D' category approval which they don't all have - the certifier I had been in contact with from the start of the axle swap has buggered off to the USA for 6 months, the guy who certed the engine swap way back when is booked out until February, next closest guy is about to head off on holiday for a month... So eventually I got hold of Noel McMillin in Hamilton who had a spot & I'll be rolling over there at the end of the month.

Cheers
Clint

[skidmark]

Just a thing with Noel I've heard is a box of piss on the back seat helps everything non hotrod get through that little bit easier..

[Mattman]

Awesome build. Hope the cert goes well.

[Clint]

Thanks guys. Duly noted re beers

I sent the certifier a writeup on what I have done & a bunch of pics & he seemed fairly relaxed about it. Only thing that he picked up on was that the flares are a bit minimal & need extending out a bit & down further at the back which is a fair enough call. I would have made them a bit wider but the garden edging from Bunnings didn't come in a big enough size. Might just rivet the old rubber flares on the edge of them & find a flap of rubber for the back.

Cheers
Clint

[olielux]

Another thing you could use for flares is baler belt, its holds really well and depending on what baler it came out of you can get a fairly wide belt. A local tractor dealers workshop could have some old belts out the back, that's how I got mine

[ski]

Hi did you try Marty Jones in Palmy for your cert work?.. Cheers.

[Clint]

Didn't want to go too far from home for the cert so didn't look further than the Tron. Maybe should have

Got the flares extended, just used my old rubber flares on the existing plastic ones & a strip of stainless steel riveted on.

Took it over for the cert check last month. "Geez that looks high" (you should see some of my mate's trucks...) Had to put some spring washers on all the suspension bolts as loctite apparently doesn't work cos they can't see it or something... easy fix though. More problematic was the fact that he didn't like the handling, "bumpsteer under braking" but it's not really bumpsteer as it will want to go either way a little depending on bumps & road camber. It's no sportscar but it handles better that it did when 1st certified & better than a lot of 4x4's on the road, but, gotta keep the man happy so off to the drawing board again...

First obvious fix for funky handling is of course swapping the big ass crossply Simexs for something more sensible & radial so I'm 1/2 way through bolting on a set of 35" Hankook RT03. I was thinking about having a set of more roady tyres anyway & saving the Simexs for special occasions. The Hankooks are a fairly close pattern for an MT so should handle & last well. 2" smaller in diameter than the Simexs though

Also about to go in is some taller stiffer rear springs custom made by Archers in Rotorua. The std 80 series ones I that came with the axle were just a touch short & quite soft. Also currently trying to track down some stiffer shocks that will fit in the back as the cheap Rancho 5000s that I put in to get it going don't really have enough damping mojo. If anyone has some well damped 2" lift GQ Nisssan rear shocks for sale let me know as they are the same fitment. Clearance is tight so I don't want anything too fat in the body.

In the meantime I finished off my tyre carrier mounted bike rack & took it for a test drive to our winter campout at Minginui. Went great & cruised through a few rough tracks with the greatest of ease. Bloody brand new alternator stopped charging.... then started charging again... been alright since but not sure what's going on there as all the wiring got a good check when I installed it.





Will give the new tyres & springs a test out tomorrow, hopefully she'll be civilised enough to book in for a recheck.

Cheers
Clint

[Madaz]

Yep, hearing you, that certifier does not have the best rep round here. Had my zuk done by him first time round, spring washers on everything even if it had nylocs on it
Different cert guy next time round made me take all the spring washers off....... apparently you shouldnt be using them if you have nylocs Go figure............

If you want to try some stiff shocks id look at the Old man emu sport range, they were the stiffest i could find for my hilux and they really tamed the handling and body roll
Cheers

[Clint]

What's the outside diameter on those OME shocks? A lot of the heavy duty stuff available is really fat which could give me issues as clearance is tight. Was looking at remote reservoir but $$$. Some normal shocks with the shroud cut off & a boot put on could be another option.

In fairness to the cert guy the new LVVTA standard does now specifically state that suspension component fasteners be visibly vibration proof & loctite is not enough... It would be nice however if the LVVTA could post this new standard up on their website rather than the old outdated one which just says 'vibration proof'

Cheers
Clint

[Big]

What's the outside diameter on those OME shocks? A lot of the heavy duty stuff available is really fat which could give me issues as clearance is tight. Was looking at remote reservoir but $$$. Some normal shocks with the shroud cut off & a boot put on could be another option.

Cheers
Clint

I think they are the same size or very similar to oem stuff( I can measure one if you like) but are of better quality and the valving is way superior.. I also think the Nitrocharger sports series are a very good shock.. I got the 6" longs in my truck and they handle beautifully And had 2" lifted ones in my 70 that I had and they were just as good..just not as long..

[Madaz]

What's the outside diameter on those OME shocks? A lot of the heavy duty stuff available is really fat which could give me issues as clearance is tight. Was looking at remote reservoir but $$$. Some normal shocks with the shroud cut off & a boot put on could be another option.

Cheers
Clint

Yeah, they just a normal dia, smaller than the efs extremes i used to run.
Your more than welcome to grab the ones off my hilux and try them out if you want.
I wont be able to use it for a few more months

[tuff lux]

Took the hilux there to Noel first to he didn't want to no about it pretty much same thing by the sounds with bump steer Height etc then took it to Neil miller (Hamilton) no problems and really help full

[churchill]

I've got 2 really stiff shocks out of my truck you can purchase. They're KYB 11" travel max od of 52mm, eye-eye mountiung arrangement. The max od is on the cover with the shock body being 44mm od. They're on the back of my Suzuki which is very light (400kg on the back axle) and it makes the vehicle feel like a race car. They've been used once off road and done about 100km on road. $150 for the pair if you're interested.

[Clint]

Neil Miller was my 2nd choice after cert guy #1buggered off, but he was booked out or on holiday for the next few months, so Noel was the only other choice without a couple extra hrs driving each way. She handles a fair bit better on the Hankooks & new rear springs so hopefully he'll be happy now. Heading over for a recheck next week.

I ordered some OME Nitrocharger Sports last week otherwise I might have been a buyer for those KYB's Churchill. The 420mm closed measurement of the OME 'long' spec GQ rear was spot on what I need & they have 296mm travel - probably about as good as it gets for that closed length.

Cheers
Clint

[churchill]

All good.

[Colinl]

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



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

Geez that green patrol looks like mine...say hi to malcom if it is

[Clint]

Geez that green patrol looks like mine...say hi to malcom if it is

Yep, that was Malcolm's one... he replaced it with a new shape Prado so we've been giving him shit about driving a hairdresser car

Breaking news: Had the re-check for the cert today & all good! So in a week or so I should have another piece of expensive bling to bolt on in the form of a cert plate

Cheers
Clint

[Big]

Geez that green patrol looks like mine...say hi to malcom if it is

Yep, that was Malcolm's one... he replaced it with a new shape Prado so we've been giving him shit about driving a hairdresser car

Breaking news: Had the re-check for the cert today & all good! So in a week or so I should have another piece of expensive bling to bolt on in the form of a cert plate

Cheers
Clint

NICE ONE!! you be glad to get it done.. Im looking at mine soon but new rules may be in place so you have done it nicely.. hats off.. I just hope that i can get it done without too many drama's otherwise it'll be a trailer queen..