60 series rebuild......

[flyology]

I am about to do an overhaul on my 60 series, so will try and catalogue the process. I was going to up date to an 80 or 100 series, but would have to spend around 25K for an equivalent 80 series (I have a VX/Sahara 60 series) hate to think if what it would cost me for a 100.....

Most of my driving will be towing the boat (455 Quintrex hornet) and is trips to places like Darwin (planned in October this year) and Cape York fishing destinations......


My budget is 8K, I already have a few parts.

Some of the mods and repairs I have planned are:

rust repairs
fitting my factory bucket seats to BJ74 suspension bases
fitting a factory clutch booster (my car was originally an auto)
new rear bar
190L replacement fuel tank (on order from 4x4 systems in South Aust)
new sun/moon roof panel (bought it on ebay for $500)
new carpet and underlay
top mount intercooler and bonnet scoop
turbo rebuild/service
build a true 3" dump pipe and replace the flattened section of my mandrel bent system....(the previous owner decided that was easier to beat it with a hammer than than fix it properly where it was rubbing on the left rear wheel...... )
80 series 16x8 GXL rims (bought on ebay for $438)
RTC steering damper (ebay again 5 for $149)
after market cruise control (was all ready fitted, will be refitting)
alarm and remote central locking
Marks Gear Master transfer case gears
rebuild and service injector pump
rebuild/service spring packs
new wheel bearings, swivel hub kit, tie rod ends, disc rotors and calliper overhaul
rear disc brakes (maybe)

plus probably a heap of other general stuff

I will try and photograph and post pictures of my efforts, pending shiftwork, making fishing gear, dealing with siblings and an ex that I am sure has a voodoo doll of me with thousands of pins sticking in it......

If anyone out there has done similar to me I am open to suggestions and any assistance will be greatly appreciated.

MB

[joel HJ60]

Giddy up, this sounds exciting.

[dogbreath_48]

80 series 16x8 GXL rims (bought on ebay for $438)

Might have trouble fitting these. I brought a set and the backspacing was too big to fit on my 75. Which sucks because they'd look great!

Otherwise sounds like a good list! I with i had the time, money and motivation to properly fix my troopy.

[flyology]

was the back spacing too much on the rear, front or both?

If it is just the rear then I will do the rear disc brake conversion, use 80 series hubs which should fix that back spacing issues.......

[dogbreath_48]

was the back spacing too much on the rear, front or both?

If it is just the rear then I will do the rear disc brake conversion, use 80 series hubs which should fix that back spacing issues.......

Don't think i evenc hecked the rear, but they fouled on the tie rod end on the front IIRC. Only solution is wheel spacers or IFS lux/runner hubs with a disc spacer (marks, ORI make em)

-Stu

[flyology]

Ok, here is what I am starting with.

I really would like to use the 80 series rims, so will look at the possibility of surf/lux hubs and the disc conversion on the back, which will give me a slightly wider track which will be nice.

I dont mind the rims that I have, only they are 7" and I would like to fit 33" tyres. Don't think the fit would be real good, but if I widened the rims I would probably end up with the same issue as the 80's rims.

[flyology]

Was bidding on a ricer FMIC (to use as a top mount) on ebay, but had to go out at lunch time when the auction was due to finish. Had my top bid on $75 and it was only $26 with an hour to go. Got nailed whilst I was out, final bid was......$75.01. I got out bid by .01c

[davec]

Hey there mb im doing the same thing,86 12ht sahara,she's getting a full rebuild exept motor hopefully,finishing off a big house reno at the moment and when its sold i'll be cashed up,could afford a 80 or 100 but i like the old girls they have soul,like the troopys but dont like the two doors,60 series reminds me of a troopy with 4 doors.
The one ive got is not in the nick yours is but i bought it because the only rust she has is a little in one door,motor goes good,turbo seals r buggered,5 speed will be rebuilt,rear diff,clutch,front knuckles,steering,reupholstered,resprayed.
Im still working on this house so i haven't done much,i have to use it most of the week also,im putting new carpet in soon but got some fatmat off ebay and lined all the front floor and box hump etc,big diff in the noise reduction,im doing rear section and doors also soon,removed rear aircon and all plumbing,same with rear heater,i dont like them pipes running under the car,put some dakar springs with anti invert shackles on last coupla days,dash has been resprayed black,the rest is gonna be trimmed in black,stratos seats fitted with pump up thing,o head console in,had to move and rewire sunroof controls,arb winch bar fitted,have rear draws,rear wheel jerry carrier in shed,headlining is coming out and were gonna line it like a troopy,its getting sprayed that silver grey that some of the later model 79 series utes come out in.
if you dont have much luck with those wheels i bought some off ebay 16x8 and were still in the boxs,quite nice wheels,steel too,the company that sells them is in qld,any tips on bits and pieces i'll pass them on.
cheers dave

[flyology]

Ok, here are a few more pictures.

Firstly a picture of some of the bits and pieces I have been collecting over the past year or so. some of the things I forgot to mention previously are the boost gauge, boost controller and pyrometer. I scored a full set of brand new in the box genuine toyota wheel bearings (front and rear, both sides) and a few assorted seals off ebay, $40.00 for the lot. I also bought another injector pump, will have that one tested and serviced, then swap with mine.

I also bought new rear tail lights, worth pointing out that it was cheaper to go to my local 4x4 parts supplier (who gives me a good discount) and get them than buy them on ebay, lots cheaper. (I got 2 x new front discs, drag link repair kit, and rear tail light assemblys for around $70.00) Pays to shop around.....






here is the rearbar/wheel carrier which is great, but........ when I have my boat on the back I cant get into the rear of the car unless I take the trailer off, which is a bite in the @rse. I will either modify the carrier so the clamp clears the towbar, or build a new rear bar with a shorter arm on the wheel carrier.






Now for the nasty stuff. Here is the major rust in my cruiser. Note that it is not the usual in the roof rust, it is actually under the sill, none above it. I believe someone did a quick overspray job on it before the person I bought it from got it, probably via the car yard they purchased it through. Appears some bellend has put a weird sealer (instead of proper drip check) in the gap under the sill lip. the paint didnt stick properly, and then moisture (I live in Gordonvale, near Cairns in North Queensland) has got into the sealer. I am off today to go and get quotes from a few panel shops in town to fix it.



When the body work is done it will be living in the shed rather than out in the weather as it has been the past 3 and a half years I have owned it....

[brentz]

dam thats gotta suk!!!
i thought the limit would be 5c!! oh well
good luck and keep every1 posted wif da build

[Sixty]

You may find that the roof has been repaired/bogged, whilst the rest of it has been left....

[flyology]

Don't think so, I checked the roof with one of those little magnet spring loaded jobby things, and it hangs on like it is all steel.

Plus the repairs would have been done over 5 years ago now, (I knew the person I bought it from) and I cant see them doing the repairs so well they have lasted over 5 years, then being a cheap skate with other stuff.


Anyway, went to a couple of panel beaters in Cairns today and it appears there is no money in rust repairs, no one really wants to do it. Nearly all the major panel beaters didn't even look at the car, "sorry we dont do rust repairs, only insurance work". I was recommended one bloke, who hummed and harred about it, but eventually said no, as he has too many commitments to insurance jobs, and didn't have enough staff. I tried a smaller place, and got a bloke who was willing to do the job for $2800. Only thing that put me off was that he could hardly stand up and assess the job, because he was so pissed!! and that was at 2.00pm in the afternoon on a Thursday...... Seriously, he could hardly walk around the car without falling over, and there were empty tinnies all over the place in his workshop.

So, looks like I will be doing the repairs myself, have allready got a quote from a mate for a second hand door frame (to replace the area pictured) for $40.00 I have all the gear, (mig, grinder, compressor, spray guns etc) so I might as well bite the bullet........

[dogbreath_48]

A new body probably wouldn't cost that much without the doors etc. A mate got a hold of an A1 condition GQ body for $400.

If your doors etc are good i'd be on the lookout for a body without rust in the roof - this way you can also repair any other faults in the new body whilst your 60 is still on the road.

[DIRTY ROCK STAR]

Mate have you considered patching up the rust flogging it off and starting again mate??
sometimes its easier to get rid of something and start again...

[flyology]

I have considered a new body, but finding one in Cairns could be difficult. If I did find one down south I would hate to think about the cost of getting it delivered would be, plus then there is the issued of taking the old one off the chassis, and getting the new one on, where to store it before I re-body it, getting it past DOT and then actually finding a good Sahara body, just because it looks good doesn't mean it is, someone could have patched it up and be flogging it off as has been suggested what I do.....

I even considered buying another car and fitting all my bits to it, and flogging off what I have left. Only problem with this is it ends up being a messy process (have done it before) with car parts all over the place, and spending more time trying to sell stuff than actually working on the car.

I dont need my cruiser as a daily driver, so if it is off the road for a few months it doen't matter. I have a 1990 pintara hatch as a run around, really cheap to run and I can fit heaps of stuff in the back, has air and steer so is comfy to drive.

My plan (at this stage) is to fix the cruiser up properly or as best can be done, bathe it in a mixture of fishoil and diesel, fit an electronic rust pretection device (interested in peoples view of these things) and hope that it lasts five years. In 5 years time it will be feasible for me to get either a brand new cruiser, or late model one.

As I said the rust is not in the gutters, it is below it. Spoke to a mate who reckons that if you put silicone anywhere on your car expect rust, as the chemicals in it react with steel. (someone put silicone under the gutters)

However, if anyone knows where I can get an 1987 sahara shell in perfect condition, let me know...........

[flyology]

I probably should mention that that area in the picture is the only area where there is rust under the sill, about the rear passenger door. the rest of the car is pretty clean. I have pulled the inspection covers off the front cowel and the wiper motor, and its spotless in there.

small patch on the inside bottom of drivers side read door,

small patch on outside of drivers door

patch on driverside rear behind "landcruiser" badge

I have checked the turret with a magnet and there appears to be no bog along the roof line above the sill

[flyology]

just went out and pulled the trim and roof liner away from that rusted section above the rear passenger door.

On the inside it is perfect, no rust, just the standard green/grey toyota undercoat inner panel colour.

I think I might be lucky, and that it not as bad as it appears.

[rowan]

hey fly a couple of things peaked my interest- how / where / how much for those suspension seat mounts? bolt stright in ? my 12ht isn't a high roof-would it make the seat too high? mmmmm.... suspension seats.......

also- i just fixed my factory central locking- have you looked into how easy it is to make it remotely controlled?

BTW- a clutch booster should make a huge difference-i'm always surprised at how nice my clutch is when i get back in my vehicle after driving work cars ( new 79 series utes etc).

nice work- 12HT 60s are an awesome 4by

[vSAHARAx]

Hey Champ

She's a tidy old wagon i love them in white!

Why did you chose to go top mount cooler? Why not front mount? id be affraid of the top mount becoming an inter warmer when crawling off road.

how many k's had yours done? the clutch booster makes them a Gem to drive, i should know this as my booster died last week so now i got a nice heavy clutch!

I just put a set of new wheels and tyres on my old girl, i originally wanted 16x10's with 306x75xr16 tyres but the rims i wanted fouled on the tie rods so i went for 15x10's with 33's and my got the car looks awsome!!!!




keep us posted!!!!!!
Troy

[flyology]

The suspension seats are out of a BJ74, they were a factory option. The wont bolt in, but as my cruiser has front buckets (ala sahara) the mounting points are not too different.

With a bit of planning making brackets should not be too difficult.

Only problem is that spacing on the seat rails, front to rear is the same, but width is different. I was going to use the seats that came with the bases, but they are brown, and match the interior of the FJ55 I have in the shed that I have been working on for years..... decided that the bases would be better in my 60 that in the 55, as I am going to sell the '55.

How did I get them? that is a long story......

Basically I went to buy some parts advertised in the trading post for my '55 years ago in Brisbane. The parts ended up being from a car reported stolen by the owner, who was doing a job on the insurance company so I handed them in, and did my dollars. I did some investigation, and found that the guy I had bought the parts from stole the car from Northern NSW, re-identified it, drover it around for a year and then reported it stolen (which it wasn't) and then started selling off the parts and waiting for his 16K insurance pay out. I located the original owner of the vehicle, who was still in dispute with his insurance company and hand not been paid out for the vehicle, which was stolen from him over 12mths before hand.

So, the theif ended up getting pinched, the orginal owner got his payout figure that he had been waiting for, I got my money back for the parts I had bought and handed back, and then I put a tender in to the insurance company and bought all of the bits that were left over, which included the bostrum seats (plus a heap of other good stuff)

Sometimes the good guys do have a win , however the thief didn't do any time, but I am sure the insurance company will make him pay back what they paid out the orignal owner for the car.

[flyology]

Sahara, that rig of yours is very nice, seen the pics in the members area. The top mount is on hold at the moment, I spoke to dumbdunce and he has told me of a few things.

My old girl has done just over 450K, and is still going strong, but needs a bit of a lift.

I am looking at fitting IFS lux hubs to the front to clear my 80 series rims, and also 80 series hubs on the rear to widen the track equivalent to the front. will do a rear disc conversion also, just working out how I am going to go about it, t/case hand brake or rear caliper handbrake.

[davec]

geez sahara that is one nice 60,im for steel wheels but they sure are nice,is that an import or just a well looked after oz model.

fly i couldnt beleive after seeing the first photos of your truck the pictures with the rust,once its in that roof area its bad news,i hope you can get rid of it,thats one reason why im removing headlining and going troopy style,marine carpet or something like that glued to roof,gives me access to inside of roof to fishoil every so often.

cheers dave

[chunks]

I just put a set of new wheels and tyres on my old girl, i originally wanted 16x10's with 306x75xr16 tyres but the rims i wanted fouled on the tie rods so i went for 15x10's with 33's and my got the car looks awsome!!!!

That looks farken tough man!!! I can't wait to get the 33's on mine!! One question, where did you get that bonnet protector from?

Cheers,
Bill.

[vSAHARAx]

Dave, she is a well looked after Aus spec, came from goondiwindi lived there its whole life out in the country, then i bought it off a young family who owned it for 18months. When i bought it it was stock as a rock. It looks good in photos but the front of it has been plastered with stones, but i prefered stone chips over rust.

Bill, I bought the bonnet protector off ebay for like $80 its a rip snorta!!!!

[davec]

mate ive only seen imports in that condition,thats fantastic,i reckon 24volts would be a pain in the arse,mines gonna come up like that but thats after alot of work,ive got nearly a rust free start so not so bad,just a couple of small dings to sort out,how many klms on the truck sahara?
cheers dave

[vSAHARAx]

she just clicked over 365 000k, inside is in mint condition for a 18 year old truck i think its fair to say its in good nic, couple little bits of rust on the bottom of the doors which have been treated and a couple of little dents here and there. but shes my pride and joy and is on jack stands at the moment while the rear diff is gettin fixed

[chunks]

Bill, I bought the bonnet protector off ebay for like $80 its a rip snorta!!!!

Awesome thanks!

[flyology]

Ok, been out shopping yesterday and got a few more parts.

Bought a cut out of a cruiser wreck to replace the rust section in mine.

set of 80 series rear hubs to go with my rear disc conversion

set of V6 lux front calipers with the 45mm pistons

Waiting on my IFS lux front hubs to turn up.

Anyone got a good 45/47 split t/case with park brake assembly on the output shaft for sale??

[joel HJ60]

set of 80 series rear hubs to go with my rear disc conversion

set of V6 lux front calipers with the 45mm pistons

Take a million pics of the rear disc build please

[RED60]

set of 80 series rear hubs to go with my rear disc conversion

set of V6 lux front calipers with the 45mm pistons

Take a million pics of the rear disc build please

x2