Author Topic: Alistair's 1982 dual cab Hilux from Australia (Read 25726 times)

green200b · « **on:** Feb 15, 2016, 12:44:13 AM »

Thought I'd post up some pictures of my 1982 LN46 dual cab Hilux

I bought the car in March 2014 from eBay. After looking for either a dual cab Datsun 720 or Hilux and finding that dual cabs were quite expensive, I jumped and bought this because in comparison, this was quite cheap.

When I picked it up:

This was under the bonnet. Engineered and registered with the V8, it was cheaper than some standard unregistered ones I had seen advertised:

A bit of fun on the way home. Nothing broke, happy days!

I drove it around for a bit and didn't do too much. It was my first V8 but disappointingly slow, the fact that it was running on barbecue fuel didn't help. Also the ladies' gearbox didn't inspire me very much.

I treated it to a set of 31" mud tyres:

Prior to purchasing the car I had confirmed that it was going to be possible to put a manual gearbox behind the car at some stage. Which was lucky as in July the Turbo 700 blew up quite spectacularly. Luckily I had already assembled a G52 and a clutch pedal so the job began to assemble everything else.

Ladies' gearbox out. I didn't enjoy doing this very much as there was oil everywhere:

I purchased a bell housing adapter from Mark's 4WD Adapters, as well as a clutch kit and master and slave cylinder kit. I bolted everything up:

Putting the gearbox back in was even less enjoyable, it took three of us stuffing around in a garage under the car. But we got the gearbox in. While the car was off the road I also installed an LSD and did a few other jobs.

I finally got the car driving around November and it was much better with the manual! Better on fuel, faster, and it towed noticeably better also.

A bit more 4wding fun:

But as my luck would have it the 350 was also on its way out, it began needing oil as often as fuel. I looked into prices for rebuilding but then this popped up:

The friend who owns the two 60 series above and I went halves in it. I scored a 307 that ran well out of the deal and set to do the engine change.

Coming in like a wrecking ball (thanks Miley):

350 out:

I also used this as an opportunity to ditch all of the barbecue fuel components and put it back on petrol. It now runs a Rochester Quadrajet which seems to do the job well. Whilst it was in pieces I also installed a Detroit Locker I had acquired as the LSD wore out very quickly!

I haven't really done a whole lot else since then, but I do have some future plans. Short-term I will rebuild the old 350 as it had a few nice bits, potentially do a gearbox upgrade, and make a new exhaust as the old one is a bit restrictive and pretty banged up. Long term it may well get lifted more, a ratio change (it currently has 4.375s), some kind of front diff locker (I do love the Detroit Locker in the rear) and some bigger tyres. I'm not really in to rock crawling, more muddy hill climbs and just having fun out camping and in the bush.

I am also temporarily running these wheels with some fairly stuffed all-terrains. I can't decide if I will keep these or go back to the Sunraysias, but time will tell.

Thanks for looking, any comments or suggestions are welcome

redneckcustoms13 · « **Reply #1 on:** Feb 15, 2016, 05:05:37 AM »

Nice wagon, I sure wish we had gotten these trucks in the states. They are awesome.

mdtrail-toy · « **Reply #2 on:** Feb 15, 2016, 07:50:56 AM »

Beautiful Truck! I really do think that would be the holy grail truck over here in the states. Nice to see you getting a more appropriate motor in there.

LittleSteve · « **Reply #3 on:** Feb 17, 2016, 12:51:09 PM »

you trust your hydraulic crane to much, imagine the damage it would do to the grille and the slam panel if it gave out with all that weight on it

H8PVMNT · « **Reply #4 on:** Feb 17, 2016, 03:25:03 PM »

I WILL HAVE ONE OF THESE BEFORE I DIE.

green200b · « **Reply #5 on:** Feb 17, 2016, 03:34:01 PM »

Thanks guys. I wonder how much it would cost to import a four-door cab? They're not super common out here, in saying that a complete car that needs some body work is not worth a huge amount. So it could be done...

LittleSteve: you're probably right haha, although I have had that crane since I was 19 and you'd be surprised what I have lifted with in. Numerous engines, whole cars etc. Luckily it didn't let go or that would have been rather painful for me!

SqWADoosh · « **Reply #6 on:** Feb 17, 2016, 05:07:33 PM »

emsvitil · « **Reply #7 on:** Feb 17, 2016, 05:37:07 PM »

redneckcustoms13 · « **Reply #8 on:** Feb 18, 2016, 05:19:52 AM »

My friend jon had just a cab and half the frame imported. Over 7k.

green200b · « **Reply #9 on:** Feb 21, 2016, 01:12:49 AM »

Had a bit of fun on the weekend. Was heading down a rocky hill and heard a strange noise followed by a hiss. I couldn't really stop where I was and by the time I did this was the result:

Luckily that tyre was basically bald anyway so I used this as a good excuse to put my mud tyres and Sunraysias back on, and then head back out:

What are peoples' thoughts and opinions on which wheels look better? The mag/alloy wheels or the white metal wheels? They are called Sunraysias over here. I initially didn't really like the alloy wheels on the car but they have certainly grown on me. I will keep the mud tyres but on which wheels?

Gillesdetrail · « **Reply #10 on:** Feb 21, 2016, 10:55:17 AM »

The white wheels (wagon wheels they are called around here I think) look so much better in my opinion, and more period correct, this is what I have on my truck also.

redneckcustoms13 · « **Reply #11 on:** Feb 21, 2016, 11:21:49 AM »

Wagon wheels for the win!

green200b · « **Reply #12 on:** Feb 21, 2016, 04:23:29 PM »

That makes sense that they are called Wagon Wheels actually, I'll try and start that trend out here! They are called Sunraysias here, I think a company called Sunraysia originally built them but now lots of companies do, they are very cheap. I wouldn't mind them in black, not sure what I will do yet. But thanks for the feedback.

I was leaning towards the Wagon Wheels a bit because due to the offset of the mags, the tyres are hanging slightly out past my guards. If I went up to a 33x12.5 tyre they would be a long way out! This doesn't seem to be an issue for you guys but over here the police will put you off the road for that!

emsvitil · « **Reply #13 on:** Feb 21, 2016, 04:26:35 PM »

What size are the 2 wheels 15x7 or 15x8?

OVRAROK · « **Reply #14 on:** Feb 21, 2016, 04:27:34 PM »

plus, you can always pound the wheel lip on the steel rims, if you bend it, to get tire to seat

green200b · « **Reply #15 on:** Feb 21, 2016, 05:16:20 PM »

Both sets are 15x8. Haven't measured offsets but the alloy wheels are far more negative than the Wagon Wheels. I never thought of beating the rim in like that but it is worth taking into consideration, so thanks!

Cheesemaker · « **Reply #16 on:** Feb 22, 2016, 11:05:12 AM »

Quote from: ovrarok on Feb 21, 2016, 04:27:34 PM

plus, you can always pound the wheel lip on the steel rims, if you bend it, to get tire to seat

This is the benefit of running steel wheels. Bend a lip, whack it back to seal up. Aluminum, toss in the garbage. Try to whack aluminum, it will crack.

green200b · « **Reply #17 on:** Mar 02, 2016, 02:54:39 AM »

Well I went for a bit of a drive and came home with this poor old girl:

It runs a Holden 308 V8, Toyota Dyna gearbox with Mark's 4wd adapters, and a Land Cruiser diff. Unfortunately it's been sitting for a long time and the weather has got the better of it

Having said that, it has a few dual-cab-specfic interior parts I need and a friend has called shotgun on the engine and gearbox. I'll probably post some bits for sale on here in case someone wants anything.

I must say though, I don't really want to tow something this big again. My suspicians of the engine not being too happy were confirmed when I had to drop it down to first gear for some hills. And I boiled my brakwle fluid going down a hill :p still, we made it home in one piece.

OTO Phil · « **Reply #18 on:** Mar 02, 2016, 03:06:29 AM »

Reminds me of when I brought home mine...

Solid steel trailer with sides... might have been pulling a little less than you though... Great find!

Still... That's one of the reason we love these trucks: they're made with steel where today's vehicles are made of plastic

redneckcustoms13 · « **Reply #19 on:** Mar 02, 2016, 04:44:33 AM »

Get us some more pictures of that parts truck!

green200b · « **Reply #20 on:** Mar 04, 2016, 07:13:20 PM »

The standard rear lights are cable tied up underneath the tray. Quality!

As you can see the cab is well and truly stuffed, sitting for several years with smashed windows didn't help its cause.

It does mean that I can replace a few stuffed parts of my interior with some slightly less-stuffed parts though

CrazyYota · « **Reply #21 on:** Mar 05, 2016, 09:29:42 AM »

I want the fender emblems!

how much shipped to CA?

redneckcustoms13 · « **Reply #22 on:** Mar 07, 2016, 10:25:52 AM »

Dang beat me to it lol
There are a set on ebay for $100. That is insane.

green200b · « **Reply #23 on:** Mar 23, 2016, 06:03:58 PM »

CrazyYota - have the emblems arrived yet?

redneckcustoms13 - PM me, I might be able to find you another set

A bit of an update, this thing has been annoying me a bit lately so I haven't done much.

The Hilux has been slowly starting to run more and more poorly. You have to be very careful under 1,800rpm as sometimes the carbie just decides to have a flat spot and it stalls. Either way, I went for a quick burn in the bush and had some fun in a bighole. Came back out and and decided to get a picture of the Hilux all nice and muddy. Here it is:

About the time I took the photo the Hilux just stalled. For the life of me I couldn't get it started again. Ended up running the battery flat and had to call a friend to tow me out. He came from a long way away so now I owe him a high lift jack

managed to roll start it and drove it home. It died again in the driveway so it sat there for a bit. I charged up the battery and tried to start it, again it acted as though the battery was flat. So I replaced it with a battery that had moments before started the yellow Hilux and same thing! Ended up being a burnt-out starter motor.

$67 later I had a new started motor and bolted that up, and all seemed well. The Hilux had been running badly for a while and I was very sure this was down to the carbie. Luckily the yellow Hilux had the same carbie (Rochester Quadrajet) so I swapped them over. I'm not going to say it ran perfectly but it was a lot better. I went for a bit of a drive and everything seemed fine, it was much smoother and wasn't a whole lot quicker but it had a much better power delivery. Everything was fine on the road, so I decided to try a hill climb in the bush. That's when I started having issues! It stalled again and didn't want to start. I popped the bonnet and there was fuel everywhere!

Luckily my electric fuel pump is on a kill switch in the cabin, as I ended up turning it on and off to get home. I didn't need one before but it looked like it would need a fuel pressure regulator. Luckily I had one lying around so I messed around plumbing that up quickly. Went to try and start it and the starter motor started making strange noises! It looks like it isn't engaging properly. Jumped underneath and even with the bolts tight it was moving, which it wasn't doing when fitted before!

So I have ordered some bolts from eBay that are supposedly the correct starter motor bolts for a 350 Chev (I just used the ones that came in the convertible Land Cruiser above, so who knows!) and we will see if that holds it properly. I was going to take it camping this weekend as it is Easter, but I don't have much confidence it in now

CrazyYota · « **Reply #24 on:** Mar 23, 2016, 06:14:06 PM »

Maybe the float is sticking open? No emblems yet.

but patiently waiting.

green200b · « **Reply #25 on:** Mar 23, 2016, 06:17:53 PM »

Yes potentially. I will get it running again and go from there. I remember many years ago a friend said to me "Alistair, what does shiit plus shiit equal? More shiit! That comes to mind here haha. I just need it to go a few more months until a full engine rebuild can happen.

CrazyYota · « **Reply #26 on:** Mar 23, 2016, 06:23:07 PM »

Quote from: green200b on Mar 23, 2016, 06:17:53 PM

Yes potentially. I will get it running again and go from there. I remember many years ago a friend said to me "Alistair, what does shiit plus shiit equal? More shiit! That comes to mind here haha. I just need it to go a few more months until a full engine rebuild can happen.

hahaha maybe a carb rebuild will help?

green200b · « **Reply #27 on:** Mar 23, 2016, 06:37:19 PM »

Oh definitely, but the engine isn't happy either :p the plan always was to rebuild the original 350. But yes, to start with the carbie can have some love.

Cheesemaker · « **Reply #28 on:** Mar 24, 2016, 09:36:05 AM »

Did you shim up the starter? I know that you have to use shims to align the starter gear with the ring gear. If not, you will ruin one or both.

And those Quadrajet carbs are stupid easy to rebuild. The hard part is getting the float dialed in.

emsvitil · « **Reply #29 on:** Mar 24, 2016, 02:08:29 PM »

I've had the floats go bad (absorb gas) and sink

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