Project Chop!

[NJV6]

The inspiration came today to get out the angle grinder and make myself a single cab Pajero.

But not my good one, I picked another one up to fiddle with - $200 and it has no motor, well it does but it looks like it has been hydraliced and judging by the amount of water that came out of the crankcase... The panels are very straight with not a mark on it.




Tis a bit grotty inside so I biffed the seats away and likewise the carpet. It had been used on a dairy farm so everything underneath has a layer of cowshit induced surface rust, but it is pretty spotless after a good water blast.

So here is the 1st cut.




It is amazing how much the vehicle lifted up when the rear door was taken off, those things are horendously heavy.

I will work out what to do engine wise once the body work is done. It is a manual but I have a spare Auto and trans from a 99 model. I am thinking Lex V8 (if it fits) as it should bolt up to the trans. (Mitsi auto's same as toyota/Lex - Aisin)
I'd love to put a Rover 3.9 as they sound so sweet and easy to wire up but would be harder to adapt.

[steveGLS]

nice, im keeping an eye on this one! keep us posted mate

[Noisey]

tray or ute?

Would also love to do this.

Lots of photos please.

[WACKO]

fark yeah! as joe from family guy says.. "BRING IT ON!!!!"

[pigletracing]

very sweet, did this to a feroza recently(as my comp truck)
would luv to do a paj for my sons 1st car one day,
pls keep it updated

[NJV6]

It'll be a tray.

I have a few ideas on how i'll to it but not so sure how it'll look. Did some photoshopping beforehand to see and it looks ok in photoshop...

Getting the C pillar up to the B will be the hardest as the roof steps up behind the B pillar and the B is also about an inch wider so will take a bit of head scratching. It would by far be easier just to cut it down up and below the front of the rear window on that angle but will leave very little room for a roll bar and place to put me lunch!

I will take plenty of photo's and update the thread, but I can assure you this is a 2 week project and will take more like 2 years!

[Shorti]

wow.... can't wait for more pics and info. This might motivate me to do something with mine.

[NJV6]

Playing with spagetti.

I shouldn't have to get too far into the wiring. This'll be far enough.... (famous last words as I am well known to take things a little tooooo far. I'll prob end up splitting the loom to rid it of unwanted wires).





The windscreen needs replaced as it was cracked and I couldn't find the wee short Phillips screwdriver to undo the top of the dials so simply drilled through the windscreen to fit a long screw driver!!


.......then discovered it never had the screw in it......

[Shorti]

Put the screwdriver down and pick up the mig, bender and grinder

[NJV6]

Sorry Shorti - but I don't own a mig! Or a bender!

I am waiting until Friday evening when the certifier comes for a look so I don't do the next cut where it won't be road legal.

O and I am not a good welder, only have an arc but I have a mate who did his apprenticeship gas welding so we should have some tidy bodywork.

[klrevo]

Playing with spagetti.

its looking good NJ, itll be good to see what it looks like when its done, still miss my shorty, i think ill def have another one, prob NL.

talking about spaghetti though.... i know how you feel, pics from the bodyswap






dean

[NCpaj]

wow awesome- keep the pics and info coming

[Shorti]

Sorry Shorti - but I don't own a mig! Or a bender!

I am waiting until Friday evening when the certifier comes for a look so I don't do the next cut where it won't be road legal.

O and I am not a good welder, only have an arc but I have a mate who did his apprenticeship gas welding so we should have some tidy bodywork.

It should be good man. I don't think I have the guts to take a grinder to my shorty, maybe your build up will help.

[-Mick-]

cool man post lots of pictures

What are your laws like there for that sort of stuff Will it be registered when you finish

[NJV6]

ONce we get further into it, I will post lots of pics.

Certifier didn't make it on Friday, he can come tomorrow but I will be busy with work so it'll ahve to wait till Friday.... Then I am away for a week so it'll be a while till any updates, considering when I get back I will be busy putting the motor back in my other Paj.

Laws - well that is why the certifier is coming to see what I can and can't do. Currently the vehicle has its rego on hold, which keeps the plates live but cannot drive on the road.

I plan to have it fully legal. If it all goes to the pack well I have lost nothing and will use it as a rally truck.

[NJV6]

Right, someone wants all the gear to turn their auto into a manual so I thought I better do some more. and what better way to get to bits than cut it up.

So I got a bigger grinder. It makes things easy.




Next is to lift the body up and off, I tried with the XD9000 but managed to only get some horrendous noises out of the garage roof!. Maybe some reinforcing is in order.

Or I might use the digger. Mates 13 ton should do the trick. Some one on here was wanting the hydraulic lift pump a while back but I lost all my PM messages (my rooster up) so if they still want it, let me know.

[klrevo]

yeh man,

i figured out exactly how heavy the body of a paj is. i know mine is LWB but even for what it is, i was expecting the kind of weight that was shown. i have no idea exaclty how heavy but the 16T city crane i had to take my body off showed how heavy the rear end is.







hahahah after lifting one, and again i know it was a LWB but the body i rekon, and this is just from my experience, would go close to being equally as heavy as the chassis/engine. There is a lot of glass in those things, you ever tried lifting just the rear barn door??? its HEAVY

yours will be lighter minus glass and panels and what not, ahahha but prob not worth bringing down the garage. watch how you use the digger as well cos i know 2 guys that have bent the 'good' bodies they were swapping over using a bobcat...

its looking good, now hurry up

dean

[NJV6]

Yes the back door must weigh 40 or 50 kg and that is without the spare wheel on it.

Where did the guys you know lift from to bend things? I reckon I will be ok cos all the heaviest stuff is gone. Just the doors but they are a pain in the buttocks to remove.

With the 1.5 - 2 metre drainage bucket on the digger - if we put the ropes over it properly then shouldn't be a problem.............

[tojo_runner]

id even leave the bucket off the digger. jus use straps on the hook behind the quickhitch. buckets will only get in the way

[mad geordies]

thats what i want to do to mine but just making it into a pick up for now!

[.:Dave:.]

Some one on here was wanting the hydraulic lift pump a while back but I lost all my PM messages.

That was me,

Im still working on the hydraulic suspension for uni, I have a pump, but its a massive thing (off a tailgate lifter) 12V pulls about 100 Amps

Ill send you a PM < i did send one before but i guess you lost it.

the cars looking good.

[NJV6]

Bit more today, as expected I ran into troubles - haven't ever done one of these or seen a Paj done so just feeling my way.... The B pillar is narrower at the top than the c pillar by about an inch and wider at the bottom by nearly 2 inches.

The step up in the roof is right where the easiest place to cut it is as that is a straight line up from the window. Therein lies the next problem, the two roofs don't match up.

Here are some pics.





Plan from here is to leave the c pillar on the angle it is on there - it is a steeper rake than if I was to slide it straight forward but it looked a bit dopey ~ not steep enough.

Cut the c pillars away from the rear roof and tack them in then do the roof last. This means I probably won't be able to use the rear barn door welded into position as I am altering the measurements. To have been able to use the rear door would have been good as everything would have fitted, right down to the heated rear window..

[NJV6]

O, and I have got anther Pajero

I am going to pick it up at the end of the month. I was going 12 hours north for a winch challenge (I navi) and couldn't turn down this opportunity! $400, It is a rolled JTop with 3.0 V6 and diff locker.

It will also have all the parts this one is missing such as the radiator, headlights and everything from the front of this one which seemed to have gone missing

So this one might recieve a 3.0 with only 105km as its means of propelling for a while.

[.:Dave:.]

I love it, I want one. What are your plans for the back half?

[NJV6]

Wait and see!

But seriously - not sure. I will be cutting the chassis behind the panhard mount and lifting it like JTop and Overkill did on here. (But Overkill sold his Paj ) I will be doing a 2 inch body lift anyway to fit the 35 or 36 centipedes on.

Make some sort of tube deck, I have been gathering a few pictures of what I like.... And have another cunning plan up my sleeve too....

Nothing drastic suspension wise as $ and wouldn't know where to start re link lengths etc.

[WACKO]

sweeeett.. what happened to the original idea of that other chassis you had lying around? that still a goer or you going to mod the current one instead...

once ive had a play in mine and built up the funds i cant wait to chop it. those side pics look like it will turn out mint.... man i wana do mine..

Sam.

ps. has chop got a sun roof?

[NJV6]

Yes, Chop's has a sunroof....

[siggie]

looks good buddy
Id like to turn my j top into a stylside eventualy
yours is coming along nicely
I dont suppose you have the flares and stuff for the shorty
siggie

[NJV6]

Pulled out old motor on Sunday night. Was an easy job as the heads were already off and it doen't have a push pull clutch like my 3.5. The 3.0 has a conventional clutch.

Started pulling 3.0 out of another (doner) wreck I got.

Don't know if it runs as the wreck had no petrol tank and wires under the dash had been chopped. The oil looks good and antifreeze nice and green so here's hoping it is a good motor.

The 3.0's are a whole lot easier to work on than a 3.5 that is for sure, such as alternator placement is perfect!

Another couple of evenings I hope the motor will be out and I can put it in Chops.

Glen

[Cee]

I love it!
It's very tempting, but I had better not do the same to mine, I'd just make a big mess!!