'79 620 daily

[bonvo]

so wait why was it deamed unsafe? sounds like you guys have some fucked up laws down there

[Z chopper]

ya what reasons did the officer give, other than maybe the license plate not installed correctly?? too low? lights not working? took too long to come to a complete stop?

[Pedro]

I'm guessing he got caught for not having the original engine in the car, which would require an engineering certificate (this would cover brakes, seats, basically anything significantly changed from factory) in the relevant state within Australia, then re-registering to update engine number.

 

However, even an engineers certificate can't save you from a defect notice as it's basically at the officers discretion unfortunately (whether the problem is there or not).

[Gary]

next to his car, a 2010 unmarked falcon, mine looks rough. and its old, low, with wide wheels and flares, so the assumption is made that im a street racing murderer or something (we've got the media to thank for that, sensationalist garbage suggesting anything with an exhaust is a death machine - gets ratings though). the tub is cut back to metal in places (and painted, but its clear bog was used to build up the panel), theres one or two holes in the tub, and it looks dirty

 

i doubt hed have known the difference, but the officer assumed the ute was like a car - monocoque and any rust holes or bog he can see means the car is made of rust and bog (:rolleyes:). he didnt mention wheels or height but wrote on the defect notice the car needed original suspension travel (ie stock height) and there wasnt a tyre placard so he cant refer to it to shout at me about the wheels. he didnt care to look at the engine properly, he couldnt spot a turbo to complain about so i think he left it at that. the battery is hidden but i wouldnt have put it past him to try the old unsecured battery rort while he was there

 

honestly the ute was worthy of a minor defect, it did have a few things that it was fair to pick on, but it wasnt dangerous and not worthy of a major defect and a fine - sorta why i was kinda mad. if highway patrol knew more about what theyre were doing itd be a bit easier to respect their opinion, just seems like theyre only out there to inconvenience motorists and raise revenue. real police officers barely look at me, for more than a year noone has hassled me and i live near two police stations. theyve got far better things to be doing with their time and ive the utmost respect for them, but traffic police are less than parking inspections in my opinion

 

the problem with a major defect is you need to do a roadworthy again, which means numbers get checked as part of the inspection. so while the officer didnt notice an engine swap, it'll still get checked later. to change the engine number on record to one from a different engine (ie different altogether, J15 to L20 or FJ20 or something) road authority want an engineer to look at it to make sure its safe, hence the engineering certificate (or VACC cert or whatever). fair point, but the rules used to be fair, a certain increase in displacement and you didnt have to worry about engineers, but turbo or a big increase in displacement meant you did - wholly reasonably and respectable. now its any engine swap at all

 

pedros right though, both rwc and engineering certs are just to keep our road authority happy with keeping record of stuff. as far as police go they can pretty much defect you at sheer will. an old trick if they couldnt find anything was to hang off the battery like an ape until it broke then defect you for unsecured battery - it was within their power to do that and they usually did break when 80-100kg of person is hanging off it. its all up to officers discretion as to what they do, which is frustrating if you do the right thing but are a little lower than what they say you can go or perhaps your wheels are a bit wide. next to some dick with chopped springs, bald tyres, pluming smoke and an exhaust leak the size of a small planet who'd pretty much get the same treatment i did

 

but! thats how it goes, there's plenty more in the way of argument against even more bullshit rules. worst case scenario ill move to new zealand, or arizona :D

[copydat]

dude! This sucks!

 

How you getting on with it now? Don't tell me it's still parked...... if it is, you're putting in the FJ yeah?

[Gary]

had some stuff to deal with first up :) plans are looking good though. ill break this up a bit so its easier to make sense of:

 

progress;

i needed a daily asap so ive got another car going, a U12 pintara (natural habitat of a KA24E, fail wheel drive model though). i spent a week getting that roadworthy and inspected, then when i went to road authority they told me i have to wait 3 weeks for an appointment to register it. shit takes 5 minutes ffs, and they couldnt fit me in for 3 weeks at any of the metro offices. so i went into an office to see what could be done, they said i could get an appointment next day, but i had to drive to portland to do it. 350kms away, so i did, their office was empty but for two people at the desk (makes me want to move there, nice place :lol:). aand now its all registered and ready to roll.

 

id started an intake before i thought id need the car as a daily, so i finished that for roadworthy - man KA's sound pretty good with all the stock intake removed :D just like a scoob at full noise. its kinda nice to have a car that most passengers dont wince in too, but im fighting the temptation to lower it and swap out the rims on it for some nicer offset ones ive got. its not a great looking car but its a pretty sweet daily, its a Ti with a TRX kit, comfy and most things still work ok. its probably the fastest thing ive owned for a couple years too! hah

 

so with that done i can now organise getting into another job to pay off my recent escapades (prospects are looking good at the moment). in the meantime however ive been thinking about what to do with the ute. there's zero chance im giving up on it so ive been weighing up engine options to get me through. i could stay with the L series, figure out whats wrong with it and spend cash on stock carbs and EGR's and roadworthies and engineerings and maybe headers just so i can stop the damn exhaust leaking, and fixing the mystery oil leak from underneath then getting it legal before eventually get the dellortos on for some noise and fun, make some better engine mounts and fix my ebay radiator (which is LEAKING :()

 

or i could use an engine ive got lying around, that doesnt leak exhaust or oil (hopefully!), doesnt have carb problems, will need new engine mounts anyway, will make more power, be easier to live with, be cool as all hell, and make my pants fit nicer every time i open the bonnet. i had to do some stuff before making decisions though so thats what ive been up to

[Gary]

so, ive decided im going to put one of these innit

 

an FJ20ET i bought for my 510 :devil: its complete and in decent condition as far as previous owner tells me (an ozdatter who did the conversion to a 200B but had problems with legalities i think)

 

it uses the same trans as the one ive put into mine, so the tailshaft will work with it :) it's a fair bit longer than the L20 (i think 8cm forward) which doesnt sound like much but when ive got an intercooler to think about and less than 5mm clearance to the current radiator...

 

before getting my heart set on it i had to make sure it was actually going to be legal. lots of rules change and more and more bullshit bureaucracy so i wasnt sure. i called up a good engineer and he said yep as long as its done nice so that sold me!

 

i had a think about what id actually need to do to fit it. a quick idea;

1. front of the cab will need some chop to suit an intercooler (not sure what im going to do about that yet, anything from a sidemount, to a top mount, to a water to air, to a front mount, to nothing at all) i want it behind the grille. i might look into a spook airdam or something if i have to, they look pretty badass

2. ill need a thinner radiator (im thinking an N13 pulsar radiator with nice big thermos like the 510 guys down here use for their SR, CA and FJ conversions, ive got a couple of those already to test fit)

3. need to replicate the gearbox mount i have out of thicker steel just to keep engineer smiling

4. need to make engine mounts to suit the FJ - they'll incorporate a round bush like FWD

5. the swaybar might be in the way, ive got ideas to drop it if its a problem though

6. crank pulley will need one of its guides machined off i think

7. fuel system will need work, im thinking a D21/hardbody fuel tank and pump cradle will be good, and a nice bosch 040 to go with it (cheap and good)

8. fresh fuel lines

9. intercooler piping (maybe stainless, i dont think im good enough for aluminium yet)

10. exhaust (no more bloody MIG exhaust, TIG all the way if it kills me, just mild steel)

11. tailshaft is already done since im using a similar if not identical transmission

12. a good solid clean and inspection, a little regasketing and a good service of the engine and trans to go in

13. work out what to do for engine management, im missing stock ECM (maybe S14 ecu, maybe microtech, maybe stock just to get it past engineering)

14. front suspension will need a look, ill make sure all balljoints and tierod ends are good

15. ill have to raise it just enough so it feels a bit nicer and more trustworthy (ill need bigger tyres if my wheels are to be passed so it might not look that bad a little higher)

16. front brakes might need a look at, ive got disc fronts from a 4x4 doublecab 720 which might suffice, it not ill need to look into Z32, R32 or R33 gtst brakes. i dunno much about that yet though

17. im planning on leaving the diff as is, id like an LSD and baby allah knows ill need one but its not on the to do list. if i find a nice one from a terrano or something ill think about it though

18. sump will need some mods, and so will the pickup but ive made a few of them before so that wont be a problem

 

thats about all i can think of off the top of my head. there'll be more no doubt, like ill maybe try find a tacho now that revs will be reasonably important to know, and ill sort out a boost guage

 

so! ive certainly got some work to do. progress will be a little slower until i get a job but it'll get there :D most of the engine fitting will be cheap so i can at least get started on that

[Greiggy]

whoo this is a good thing to hear!!!

[Farmer Joe]

well you might as well get to pullin the L motor then... :lol:

 

thats gonna be tits man!

[copydat]

agreed and approved! ;)

 

Guaranteed you'll get all this done before I finish building my CA....... sigh......

 

Good luck Gary!

[Mika]

:hyper:

 

 

But please finish the D once the 620 is done. It looks so lonely in the corner

[Greiggy]

gary flip the centre link and get that motor down as low as you can mate!

 

with mine i had a hell of a time finding a radiator which i felt would keep it cool behind the cooler - as you know its f'n tight in the front of these!! if you need any tips or pics from mine please let me know mate i will try to get them to you asap

[Gary]

well you might as well get to pullin the L motor then... :lol:

cant wait to get it out and just hang the new one inside :D

 

But please finish the D once the 620 is done. It looks so lonely in the corner

true :( needs money more than much else though. one dayyyy

 

gary flip the centre link and get that motor down as low as you can mate!

 

with mine i had a hell of a time finding a radiator which i felt would keep it cool behind the cooler - as you know its f'n tight in the front of these!! if you need any tips or pics from mine please let me know mate i will try to get them to you asap

thanks man, i dunno if its just me, but lt looks like we've got a hell of a lot less room than american cabs, even when ive moved my support forward a bit :( already flipped the steering linkage, the swaybar could be troublesome but ill see. it looks like it'll fit fine when you look at the cam cover but then you peek down and realise theres lots more poking out the front

 

Guaranteed you'll get all this done before I finish building my CA....... sigh.....

seems like the curse of the CA! it'll be heaps worth it though :D

[Mika]

seems like the curse of the CA! it'll be heaps worth it though :D

 

Mine isn't a curse...it's laziness!

[copydat]

hmmmm got a mate showing me some new blogs.......

 

Think Gary should check page ten!

 

http://trackbuilt.tumblr.com/page/10

[Z chopper]

hmmmm got a mate showing me some new blogs.......

 

Think Gary should check page ten!

 

http://trackbuilt.tumblr.com/page/10

 

think you meant page 11

 

http://trackbuilt.tumblr.com/page/11

[copydat]

bottom of 10 for me. Whatevs.....

 

Gary, you got stance bro and that's all that matters! B)

[Gary]

thanks geordie :D wish it still looked like that now :( it'll be back soonish though. i dunno how you could tell which page it was on, it was one of those weird blog script things for me, stayed on page 1 no matter how much i scrolled down. some cool pics there

 

progress;

last couple of weeks ive been tied up with another thing im making, thats basically finished now though so now i have time! that and i found myself a sweet job, so ive got cash again which is nice. im working 6 days a week now but still have arvos to get stuff done. heavy fabrication :D its pretty fun, my welder is a few hundred kilos and says it goes up to 800A, its wire feed is bigger than my whole MIG ive got at home :lol:

 

ive been looking about the place as to what to do about a couple things for the conversion, one was finding more room up front. im now planning on getting an electric water pump so i can delete the stock one, should give me a few inches clearance which is desperately needed. ive heard an argument against them that theyre less effective than mechanical ones which makes sense, but a LOT of people with FJ 510's run them with good results so im not worried. pretty sure i can machine two of the 3 belt guides off the crank pulley, since one was for aircon i think and the other was for waterpump leaving the one closest to the engine for alternator. so that should work out good

 

ive had a look around for a gasket set and couldnt find one from ACL and permaseal (id be reluctant with permaseal anyway) so the guy at the parts place i go to said he'd look around. he managed to find KP gaskets, a japanese gasket maker who still does a full FJ gasket set, with front and rear main too (neoprene thank allah). im impressed with the quality just looking at them, all holes line up bang on which is a lot more than can be said for some, cam cover seal is weird ive never seen a gasket quite like it. metal in the middle and a stiff rubbery material either side, feels trustworthy! unlike cork and some rubber ones ive used before. exhaust gasket is nice, headgasket looks ok but i dont think ill need it, intake gasket is cut from urethane sheet i think, certainly better than paper like im used to heh so if anyone needs FJ gaskets, KP seem pretty damn good

 

ive been thinking about guages and speedos and things, keen to sort out electronic speedo somehow so ive got a chance of correcting the speed (between wheel size, diff ratio and foreign gearbox, cog swaps wont help me). the instrument cluster will need some work to suit, pretty sure i have a spare though

 

sometime this week i should be able to pull the L, I might try hang the new one in see what it needs before getting too into chopping up the front. either way its getting progress now :D

[Greiggy]

huzzah my day went from shit to great reading this ! good work buddy !!!

[Gary]

sorry to hear that :( spose itd be hard to recognise the good days without the shit ones!

 

progress;

ive been poking around ozdat about speedo senders and asked some questions and it turns out S13/S14 5speed (dunno about auto) senders fit most L boxes. i had a training thing today so i was out near my favourite wrecker so on the way home i dropped by to see what they had - a sad looking 180sx complete with 5 speed and CA. i got the sender off that, took it home and see if it fit my box and it did :D just need to sort out correction and a guage

 

also had a poke around the front of the engine, removed the water pump to see how much extra room id have, roughly 70mm more clearance at that bit of the engine including the plate ill make up to cover the hole (75ish from flange forward). the pulley sticks out past the waterpump flange so i dont get a straight 70mm extra, but should get about 35mm at the bottom. as it happens the bottom pulley is actually a harmonic balancer, and its had some meat taken out of it to balance. im gunna ask around to make sure removing two of the guides wont hurt anything. pretty sure it wont be ideal but realistically wont be a problem but better to check, maybe hit my machine shop

 

also pulled the exhaust manifold off cos previous owner warned me there was no gasket, just RTV. seemed to work ok though and gaskets are pretty hard to come by as it seems

 

tomoz maybe some cleaning, i might work a little on the L to get it ready to come out

[benny620]

I love it. FJ will haull ass in this.

[Gary]

progress;

ive been looking about some more for guages, cheapest price for what i want so far is $600 for 4 of em :( ill keep looking see what i can find. local parts place can get autometer and speco, speco looks boring as hell but pretty sure they have what i need, autometer looks expensive but the pro comps look cool as

 

i pulled the L today, enginebay is nice and empty ready for some work :D

 

a closer look at the crank pulley and some more pokin about, seems like the front pulley is all steel and just sorta popped on there as an afterthought, easy and cool to machine off. the next one however is attached to rubber so removing it might be a problem for reliability. if i can figure out how to make a keyway i might have a crack at making a pulley to suit, but not sure what ill do just yet. i might not even need the bottom groove machined off cos clearance might be good down there i dunno. we'll see

[Greiggy]

gary buy your autometer gauges from the us... when i had my 3 3/8" gauges and full autometer dash i bought them from summit racing... i got the whole lot for the price of what the speedometer was going to be locally.. the dollar is pretty average atm but its better then paying 3 or 4 times the price for something that does the same job !

[Gary]

nice one, i didnt think they made em in KPH and their site is annoying so ive got their catalogue instead. ill ask around with some part numbers and see what i can get :)

[Green Queen]

wow! i can not believe how amazing all your work is!!! it blows me out of the water! :w00t: you have so much knowledge and its awesome! u have really inspired me to work harder on my truck! :hyper: