Suzuki LJ80 build

[lach]

hi,
this is my 1979 LJ80 project which i was given for free from my dad. He bought it new and has used it for the past 25 years to go to and from the beach windsurfing. As a result it is very rusty but i thought it would be a good project.



I first started by stripping it all down




I found alot of rust :-(






I then set out to make a new floor for it





I then stripped the chassis, got it sand blasted and rebuilt the diffs.



I then painted it, fitted all the parts back to it. Installed a 2 inch lift, a late model Maruti F10A.




I recently finished up all the floor and test fitted the body.


sprayed the interior with high build primer



Then got one of these and sprayed it on



I'm really happy with the result. It provided a nice textured finish. 8)



so it turns out that rust has molested my bonnet over the years and it looks as like my old man has had a go at fixing it :no:




Some of the stuff that came out



After cutting most of it out....all of the outer and most of the inner skin missing.



So i grabbed the bonnet off the red LJ body and although it has bog all over it (up to 15mm in places) it seems to be alot less rusty 8) .





I also bolted the front clip together and seam sealered it all up, I also sprayed some high build over it all.




It doesn't look perfect but it was the best i could get it without spending heaps more hours getting it straight. This is how it looked to start with. :blink:



I painted the front clip and grill in colour today and I'am pretty happy with how it turned out. I also sprayed the inner gaurds with stone chip paint.






I got some W/T hubs the other day for my disc brake conversion. I stripped them down and painted them. I'm just waiting on some parts to arrive and I can get stuck into that.



I'm also having fun with bonnet repairs....the red bonnet that i thought would be easier to repair is being a PITA. I ended up welding the whole corner from the brown bonnet on, aswell as both bonnet clip mounts as the the ones on the red bonnet had fatigued and the metal had split. I'll get some pictures once i have primed the bonnet.



I got the bonnet all painted in colour. It involved cutting the mounting points from either side of the brown bonnet and one corner of the brown bonnet and welding them into the red bonnet 8O





I just finished my front disc brake conversion using highway-star's write up. I got some w/t sierra calipers and rebuilt them as the caliper cylinder seal had perished.






Got the sj50 drums ready for the rear conversion



I also pulled apart and painted the air and heater box.




Other then that the body is coming along, i'm hoping to be painting it in the next month.


painted and fitted up the sj50 rear drums with some new wheel cylinders and pads.
old vs. new

[img]http://www.ae86drivingclub.com.au/dcimages/1/8/3/3/178193.jpg[/img


Finished the painting

[lach]

WHERE I'M AT NOW:

roof, door bars, stero, tacho installed .

It all seems to be running great apart from one of the self adjusters in the rear drums seizing up on a test drive last week. I can't beleive how bad burning brake pads smell. put some new self adjusting arms in and it's all sweet now.

I'm going to pull the engine and gearbox out this week sometime and hopefully sort out this gearbox problem . I'v got a new clutch to throw in at the same time.

After that i'll get an exhaust made and paint these doors that i just had sandblasted. Then all i need to do is make a front bar and it's pretty much finished/legal yess!!

i know everyone likes pictures

[Nicko]

Simply awesome

Would be even better if it was running a 4AGZE though

[fantapants]

not often i agree with nic on ANYTHING, but bombdiggity the boy has said all that needed to be said.

simply awesome!

[macca1590]

so awesome, looks like some serious work has gone into it, what size tires are you running?

[lach]

cheers guys. It's running 30'' bfg's.

[Robo86]

farout dude. top job

[racsov]

this would have been a great project just to have enjoyed the process.. nothing hugely overcomplicated. well done

[OniKyan]

What an amazing build. Results definitely paid off, that is an awesome rig.

I do believe a 4AGZE, or a Suzuki G13B would be a great addition but I have a respect for the old school, no wiring or computers approach you've taken.

[lach]

thanks for the comments guys . Unfortunatly putting in a bigger suzuki motor is a bit complicated with the centre diff pumpkin and steering setup of the LJ80. So the 1L was an easy upgrade from the original 800cc as they are the same block and head so gearbox and mounts are the same. It can sit on 100km/h so i'm happy with that