Offroad-Express

Oh well I have been going at this project for about 2 or is it 3 years now... What started as just chopping off the rear of my Prado has turned into something else....hhahha
So I thought I would share what I have done.....(The forum has been a bit quiet lately)
Now some of what I have done has been posted in bits n bobs so I will put it all together in one thread for people to see, comment, admire or laugh.
Lets kick it off...
We will start with a series of photo's with the rear being cut off.
Below the aftermath.




Here I have added some support to the floor structure using 3mm angle steel.


And then added some cross bracing.


Then I fitted a panel on the back... 1.6mm electrogalv steel....


And trimmed and welded...


Fitted a window...


End result...


Well that was the body part chop.....

While doing the body chop I discovered my chassis had some terminal cancer...
When I purchased her some 12 years ago I wasnt aware it had been in a crash and the chassis was bent.
The repair shop had pulled it sort of straight. Bashed the rails and filled with bog...
Now during the last 4x4 season before I started the chop a big hunk of filler fell out. This also confirmed my suspicions something wasn't right as when I did my lift, one coil was on the piss.....
So while it was off the road a scored a replacement chassis....
Now this has started to get real serious....
I used this new chassis and added a rear winch...
Transfered my old mid mount PTO and added mounts for sliders and rear cage.
Also tabs for another mod (thanks monstr) a rear radiator....
Along with this I decided to swap out the rear brake shoe handbrake for disc brakes with hand brake in it.....
Then my cert man informed me I would have to terminate my exhaust out the rear and not the side as it was already.... Just another thing to do...
So on to the photo pron.....

Welding bits on the new chassis


Rear winch mount (Warn 8074)


Exhaust run and Mid mount winch


Rope run for rear winch


Chassis painted


Rolling Chassis


Next brake mod

Cool - nice to see it all posted in one thread. Watching.

Awesome! Looking forward to the updates.

So my Wife is off on a Hens night so I have some time to add more to this thread !
Next up is the handbrake swap... I was sick and tired of losing handbrake all the time...
So Scored a set of Subaru Leone front calipers... They have a piston very close in diam to the original rear caliper.
Matched up with a Nissan Saf rear disc..
The Nissan disc needed the stud holes opening a tad and I made a ring to keep it central.
Custom brackets and modified the original handbrake cable.
Also tweaked the calipers slightly by swapping them from side to side and moving the linkage arm over...
At this stage it works fine but I haven't road tested it yet.
While mucking around with the brakes I also swapped out the Master cylinder and booster for an 80 series non ABS unit.
Bolted right upto fire wall ok however the brake pedal needed modifying as the rod in the booster is shorter in the 80 compared to the 70.
Onto the photo's

Subaru calipers.


Safari disc with centralising ring. Ring is press fit over original Toyota hub.


Caliper brackets


Pad coverage, they needed a little grinding back of the pad material as no overhang allowed for cert. But still has more surface area than Toyota pad.


Caliper on axle assy.


Another view of caliper with rim.


Next new shock mounts....

Again another addition to the mod list.... Phil from what is now Force 4 put me onto some EFS shocks but they are pin / pin rather than the original Eye / pin. He has had them fitted to his Playdoh but it resulted in a portion of the chassis being cut away and plated. Not a biggie for a trailer queen but I needed to have mine certed. So while the chassis was out I worked out where I could position them and have them not hit the chassis at full flex etc etc
I had to blow away the factory top mounts and add in a new one. I also did the same for the front adding a plate over the front towers.

Rear shock mount



Front shock

Now some of you may be thinking how the hell am I going to get the body off the old chassis and onto the new one.
Well while the truck was still mobile I positioned the new chassis in my single garage. Then out in front of it in the drive way, jacked up the truck and removed the axle assy's while holding up the truck oversized axle stands. These were welded to the old chassis so it couldn't get knocked off / over.
Later once the new chassis was mobile I lifted off the body from the old chassis. Cut it up and moved it away. Then dragged out the rolling chassis under the body and lowered it down. I had to make my own timber gallows to lift aff the body... Worked well...
Had a slight oopps when we went to position the truck back in the garage. My drive is on a slope and we needed to lower it in on a rope but had to bump it over a lump in the drive... Well it went a bit fast and broke the rope.... And I had no brakes !....hahhaa lucky it rolled to a stop before going thru the garage wall.

Onto some photo's

Body being lifted off old chassis



Chassis removed


New chassis under body


Using the Rav to move chassis


Old chassis all cut up.

As a prado handbrake sufferer I fully appreciate the handbrake mod. (I leave it backed off between wofs now and live with no handbrake, bit of a pain in a manual) Presumably the modified safari disk was dictated by what would fit the subi caliper, and subi was chosen to get similar piston fluid volume to originals? Is there nothing that will fit up to the original disk (with new mounts of course).

Now I am onto making the rear cage, rear radiator mount and spare wheel.
Its all 32nb tube and based on ORANZ spec although I am not making it as a winch challenge truck.
I ised some 4mm x 50 box section as the base and then added on the tube.
Started with the main hoop and braces...
The radiator is a Nissan one and Falcon Au fans from memory.

So onto some photo's far better than words.

Rear hoop all bent up.


Rear hoop with cross braces


Box section frame


Mock up of the radiator and wheel


Basic shape done


I have done the wings and added tie down points for the wheel. Radiator has been fixed in place with some original mounts donated by monstr.
Still have a bit more to do like make the fuel tank, tail light mounts etc etc.. Will add those as they happen.

drive it ... wrote:As a prado handbrake sufferer I fully appreciate the handbrake mod. (I leave it backed off between wofs now and live with no handbrake, bit of a pain in a manual) Presumably the modified safari disk was dictated by what would fit the subi caliper, and subi was chosen to get similar piston fluid volume to originals? Is there nothing that will fit up to the original disk (with new mounts of course).

Yes the disc was selected to fit over the Toyota bearing hub and also allow the caliper to fit with good pad coverage etc etc...
I tried to use the original disc but the disc part where the caliper went over wouldnt go deep enough due to its diameter being too small.
The Nissan disc is large and the pad area is deep.
There are some Supra rear calipers that use handbrakes that could have worked and I also looked at Mazda RX7 calipers... but the mechanism for clamping them did not align with the factory cables... The coils and shocks got in the way.... On a leaf sprung it would work better.

Awesome build. What's the rest of the plans?

Mattman wrote:Awesome build. What's the rest of the plans?

Well I have new sliders to make, front bar work plus exo cage over the roof.
Make fuel tank and fit.
Mount second battery in the rear.
Mount up the led light.
New snorkel and air box.
Finish off extending the PTO lever in the cab. Factory one way too short lol
Wire up the lights and rear winch.
Mount ARB compressor and run airlines.
Trim front guards to clear the 35's.
Add new small radiator and fan to front for WTA intercooler....
Panel and paint.
Cert and hopefully done.....

Oh and I have done a few tweaks and wont know how they will go until its running...
Had the Torque converter rebuilt with lower stall.
Changed the turbo waste gate actuator for one that is set at 20psi instead of using the bleed off approach in the actuator line.
Fuel pump went back to the guys who built it and had it re tuned internally as the engine ran really rattly on coast and light throttle. They had a new tune to stop that. Something to do with internal timing....

Look forward to seeing it out on the track.

Good write up, truck will be mint definitely envious of your skills. I need to buy a mig and learn how to use it, just incase i slip with the grinder and the back of the safari falls off ......

Did you change the diff ratio before or plan to do it?
I have the standard 4.33 and consider to change to at least 4.56 as I ride 33"

had to laugh on the scrapped frame...I have seen worse frames on the road than this one ready for the scrap


this is an wesome build thread

peter_Kzj78 wrote:Did you change the diff ratio before or plan to do it?
I have the standard 4.33 and consider to change to at least 4.56 as I ride 33"

had to laugh on the scrapped frame...I have seen worse frames on the road than this one ready for the scrap


this is an wesome build thread

I changed to 4.8 ratio many years ago.... and run 35's... this brings the speedo back to factory readings....
I ran 33 with the 4.8 it is was good.....Not sure what options are out there but I got some diffs at a great price (swapped then for my old 4.33)

Watch this space will update this thread soon...

my friend runs 4.88 with 33" and this is a strong set up offroad. problem here is, offroading is totally illegal in our country. so if we want to we need at least a 600km road trip to Romania before we get any gravel underneath our wheels. if I cruise at a speed of avrg 110 km/h my truck takes 11,5 l/100 km while his is at 14,5 l/100 km, mine is the 1KZ-TE his 1KZ-T which is a bit more thirsty anyways.
did you ever find problems with other parts such as CV´s or axle shafts with your setup? you seem to enjoy a hard ride and I understand you have tuned up your machine quite a bit, so extra torque and big wheels are supposedly taking their toll on the 8" diffs and axles? Only last year I saw a KZJ73 on 35" who shredded his CV´s one pcs a day.

I will stay tuned

Hi Peter.

Can you settle a question for me regards model codes? The KZJ78 is the model equipped with the 1KZ-TE engine and the KZJ77 is the model equipped with the 1KZ-T engine - basically the same vehicle but with the manual pump rather than the ECU controlled pump?

Cheers

The KZJ78 is a Japanese spec truck with a 1KZTE
The KZJ77 is a European spec truck with a 1KZT

Basically same truck with one having an electronic pump... "E" the other good old fashioned manual pump
The 1KZT engines seem to be used in Europe.... I know a few pop up on ebay from time to time in the UK...

kbushnz wrote:The KZJ78 is a Japanese spec truck with a 1KZTE
The KZJ77 is a European spec truck with a 1KZT

Basically same truck with one having an electronic pump... "E" the other good old fashioned manual pump
The 1KZT engines seem to be used in Europe.... I know a few pop up on ebay from time to time in the UK...

agree 100%

in Europe the 70 Series light duty versions have been quite popular. there is the short wheel base 70 and middle wheel base 73 (that´s the one with the plastic roof) . the 77 was a very rare model and it was only seen in minery, there are very few left as LDH versions which we prefer in Europe except for UK of course. So I got my KZJ78 over ebay.co.uk three years back. the cruisers in UK are sometimes less than half the price compared to Europe but downside all RHD just like mine. I picked mine up including suspension lift, winch, snorkel and good 31" MTs for something around 3000 sterling. o.k., no pristine car, has seen very little offroading then (I could tell by the paint).

the 1KZ-T was used in KZJ70/73/77
the 1KZ-TE was used in the early Prado KZJ90/95 models until it was replaced by the D4D KDJ90/95
there were two different versions of the 2.4 turbo diesel as well, one built from 1985-1990 which was the 2 L-T with 86 horses, had this in an old LJ73, totaly lame, from 1990 there was 2 L-T2 which was still mechanical pump but different cam shaft and 90 horses, doesn´t sound much better but has some 30Nm torque over the old version which was just 180Nm.

I am frequently checking in with ebay.co.uk, they have a lot of import cars from Japan and they suffer from more expensive insurance or tax, for no special reason I would say. so I got mine pretty cheap. well, don´t ask what I had to invest so far, starting with a new cylinder head...meanwhile I changed to OME heavy duty coil springs and tough dog adjustable dampers and it is a great set up. since we have long distances to go for a decent offroad experience we also need to keep the truck fit to return home

you can get revamped 1KZ-TE engines in UK for 1100 sterling, used ones including all auxilliaries for less than that.

much more to tell but don´t want to dilute this wonderful thread

peter_Kzj78 wrote:you seem to enjoy a hard ride and I understand you have tuned up your machine quite a bit, so extra torque and big wheels are supposedly taking their toll on the 8" diffs and axles? Only last year I saw a KZJ73 on 35" who shredded his CV´s one pcs a day.

I will stay tuned

I have been running the 35's for 8 years or so now. So far so good, but I am one of those drivers who needs to get home after a day out. I tend to have a few goes at an obstacle and then winch it.... Where as some will just hit it full noise and bounce all over the place.... Drive to survive I guess....
Or some would say I drive like a "Nana" hahaha each to his own ...

Hi Calvin
Noticed in your side pic of the radiator you have a 180 deg bend, if it is not vented I think you will restrict the flow a bit as the air will sit in the top of the bend, unless you have really good flow that will drag the air down the pipe.
Cheers
Tim

Hey Calvin.

Really digging watching your build mate, sorry for hijacking it there. I was wondering about the designations as I see a lot of 77s on overseas sites but never in NZ. I guess we only get the Jap imports that all have the Electronic pump. I think the only engine variant I've known of in NZ (apart from the 2LTE) was that petrol one that was on Trade Me a while back - RJ70? I've never seen a factory middy in NZ either which is a shame...

Looking forward to seeing the rest of the build... Then the videos ...

suzolla wrote:Hi Calvin
Noticed in your side pic of the radiator you have a 180 deg bend, if it is not vented I think you will restrict the flow a bit as the air will sit in the top of the bend, unless you have really good flow that will drag the air down the pipe.
Cheers
Tim

Thanks Tim for the heads up... I have done a test run (long idle) and burp the system (squeeze all the hoses heaps to force the air thru) Seems to work ok but haven't done a road test yet... When the thermostat opens you can sure feel the temp rise in the radiator and feel it follow along the bottom outlet.
Also have a bleeder valve up behind the head in the heater hose.. Put in a brass 90 deg and tapped in a 1/4 BSP petcock.
I think monstr runs the same setup in his Nissan. I am trying to keep the radiator an off the shelf Nissan TD42 item incase I damage it or it leaks... Current one was a freebee....

More bits done.
Rear cage all but done. Even painted.
Here are the wings.

Here is the Hi Lift mount

I also made my own fuel tank.
Recycled some of the parts from the old tank including pickup, sender and drain bung. Also filler neck.
As it needs to be certed I followed the rules for steel tanks.
Used electrogalvanized steel, mig welded, inside has been sealed with fuel resistant epoxy primer.





Rear winch battery cradle made.
Note will have a bigger battery when done.

The whole thing fitted with tail lights mounted.
They all go with the old wiring loom and plugs reused and lenghts adjusted.

I even got it to run and can move it in and out of the garage !!


More to follow...
Sorry if the photo's are a bit big....
Any questions fire away..... I am more than happy to share.

Looks good Calvin, might need a coat of sunscreen now its out of the shed?

Awesome

Is there enough room on your rear deck to mount a couple of storage bins?

nice aesthetics on the chop and barwork mate it looks really good they usually turn out looking like something you wouldn't dare show your mother

Mattman wrote:Is there enough room on your rear deck to mount a couple of storage bins?

Yup plan on a couple of boxes one each side.... Was going to use ammo cans but they are a bit small unless I can find the bigger ones but our forces don't use them.....
Otherwise they will be HD plastic boxes.../ tool boxes.