Series IIA 109" Body, Modified Toyota Chassis and driveline

[steveep]

Also fabricated a new cross member and hangers mount a new 18 gallon, EFI ready, tank from Tanks Inc. in the rear - a definite upgrade from the under seat tank I was running - though still not quite as big as the later 109 rear tanks I think?

Still have to figure out where I'm going to direct the fill spout to. I was originally thinking to mimic the defender fill spot, but that really intrudes on the interior space. So, I might take it to the rear and possibly hide it behind the license plate.

Thinking of using the original front fill cap and tank position for a little diesel tank to feed a cabin heater - but also thought it could be fun (albeit more ambitious) to use it as a hidden air hose port for a compressor.

This is the tank (think it only fits mine because of the wider toyota rails): https://www.tanksinc.com/index.cfm/page ... prd568.htm

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AD ... pXcM=w2400

[steveep]

With the latest modifications done, it was off to the sand blaster!

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[steveep]

In the meantime, the archaeological work on the body began

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[steveep]

Reasonably happy with my amateur aluminum shrinking effort. The panels are a lot flatter than before, and I didn't melt any holes in them!

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[oldgravy]

That is *a lot* of bondo. 😬

[steveep]

That is *a lot* of bondo. 😬

I was starting to think that the previous owner must have owned shares in 3M!

Although, to be fair, I had the truck for about 15 years, parked outside, before I noticed it had any bondo (it separated from the metal at the heater duct intake on the fender)...and I had NO idea it was this extensive. So, other than the tendency for it to crack rather than dent - it could probably be argued that it wasn't really a problem (anywhere that the aluminum was all still there and just dented). Still, I thought it was worth getting rid of as much of it as possible. If nothing else, the truck is going to be about 50lbs lighter now - might save me a few $$$ on fuel :p

[steveep]

Bulkhead repair/modification underway.

New footwells, outers and A posts from YRM metal solutions.

Custom made the new inboard footwell walls out of sheet metal.

Changing to the later style hood hinges and modifying the dash/tray to be removable, will be using a new piece of sheet metal to replace the part of the bulkhead that's currently missing above the footwells/behind the dash. //uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202401 ... 4ddd5d.jpg

Sent from my Pixel 8 Pro using Tapatalk

[steveep]

Cut new floorboards from aluminum sheet and designed a new transmission tunnel (and firewall and bench panels) to fit the Aisin A340e automatic gearbox and shifter (from a 4runner) that's going into it. //uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202401 ... c67e46.jpg

Sent from my Pixel 8 Pro using Tapatalk

[steveep]

Decided that it was silly for the dash to not be as modular as the rest of the vehicle, so drilled out all of the spot welds and cut and removed the dash tray upper portion of the bulkhead. Then welded a new support frame to the bulkhead, new upper and lower mounting flanges to the dash tray, and cut a new piece of metal to serve as the firewall portion of the bulkhead. Finished product seems just as sturdy but the dash tray and upper firewall are both now removable.

I also designed the pieces to accept a new cab heater with the heater core in the cab under the dash, and the Spal dual cage blower on the engine bay side. The combination appears to have stats that match or outperform the RoversNorth heaters, but at a fraction of the price: https://infernoheaters.com/product/infe ... 2-3-ports/

Old metal cut out:
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New support frame/mounting surface welded in:
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New upper flange welded onto dash tray:
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New lower flanges on dash tray, new sheet metal cut for firewall and holes cut for new heater
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Painted and installed (also added some dividers to enclose the section behind my steering wheel mount):
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[steveep]

Latest creation, mechanism to marry RRC/Disco e-brake lever to Toyota e-brake mechanism (the old Toyotas have a very long-pull e-brake lever in the dash)

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP ... XnxY=w2400

[steveep]

New 18 gallon expanded capacity GM tank, from Tanks Inc, hung and plumbed. Plan is to have the fill tube come through the rear quarter locker and be fed through a flat-mount aluminum filler cap behind the license plate (using a flip down plate holder).

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP ... s-dO=w2400

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[steveep]

Wiring progress

Under-seat box modified to:
- have a front compartment, that will be accessible through a flip down door, containing fuse and relay blocks + battery disconnect; and,
- have a drop down to fit two optima batteries

Under cubby tray fabricated to hide away the Toyota engine/transmission electronics.

Toyota harness modified and married to Painless Performance aftermarket body harness (the latter, annoyingly, required a fair amount of lengthening in order to go under the seat).

Aftermarket gauges wired - using Deutsch connectors in this iteration - for easy cluster removal in the future. Would eventually like to get some combination gauges to make more like the original, and despair at the thought of doing all of this cluster wiring again when that happens, but it's too big an expense at the moment.

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[steveep]

Re-galvanized cappings and shiny new rivets installed. Pretty pretty IMHO!

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Also installed some insulating tape and a thin neoprene strip under the cappings to protect the aluminum and hopefully provide a tighter sealing surface.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP ... LKn2=w2400

[steveep]

Operation hidden fuel filler complete. Flush mount aircraft style filler from Tank's Inc and flip down plate bracket from Torklift.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP ... wHkS=w2400
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[ryancr500]

Looking Great!

[steveep]

Looking Great!

Thanks Ryan - Hoping to make some significant progress over the holidays and join your land rover gang on the streets of Tsawwassen early in the new year!

[steveep]

Stripping and painting all of the small bits! All of the silver pieces I primed, then sprayed with krylon wrinkle finish, then finished with an automotive clear coat. Door handles were additionally finished with large heat shrink and a bit of plasti-dip on the end to close them off:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP ... bbt8=w2400
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[steveep]

Tropical roof and vent restoration/sealing/painting - including removing and regalvanizing the roof channel (something like 150 semi tubular rivets), and making new sunshield standoffs (replacing the aged plastic with aluminum):

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[steveep]

Cutting/installing larger, sliding, windows - custom ordered from sunview industries in the Okanagan: https://www.sunviewindustries.ca/ - and installing roof, sides (after painting) and doors on truck

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP ... gfxE=w2400
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[steveep]

Installing a Defender/RR Hand Brake Lever, custom modular seat box top and lids, and custom seat risers (to fit Smart ForTwo seats):

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[oldgravy]

Plastidip door handles is a great idea. I hope they wear really well!