Converting Toyota BJ 44 to an FJ 45 Land Cruiser

[Stickframe]

Well model builders, giving a go at converting an Italeri BJ44 to an FJ45 Land Cruiser:

 

 

The FJ 45, on the left seems to be ubiquitous around the world, but less commonly seen in the US - they are considered something of a treasured find if you come across one of them.  Italeri makes a 1/24 kit of the BJ 44, which is also commonly seen, but also, less so in the US.  I like pickups, so am going to convert the BJ to an FJ.   This will also include a complete rebuild of suspension, axles, engine swap and so on.  First steps, comparing the two in a diagram:

 

 

 

You can see the most obvious difference being one has a covered area in the back and the other (what I am building) is a pickup.  An important feature of both tho, is the rear, wrap around corner windows - thereby eliminating the idea of "just" cutting off the unnecessary roof behind the cab, and instead, cutting off the roof over the cab, and cutting and reusing the rear portion of the roof and back doors:

 

 

I've got to say, I use Tamyia tape for so many things in addition to masking - among them, setting guidelines for cutting!  

 

 

Embarrassed to say, keeping these cuts on the straight and narrow - more of a task than a guy expected - they're mostly straight lines along flat surfaces - maybe too much coffee that day!  When all was said, puttied, sanded, and so on, the cab turned out fine - barely discernable splice! 

 

The Italeri kit doesn't have too many parts - at all.  The floor pan, truck bed, bottom of the engine, and chassis are all molded in one piece - not what I'm looking for.  Rather than fret, a quick trip to the junkbox, and a replacement frame was found.  Feeling full of confidence, I cut apart the cab floor, filled some gaps, added the rear facing corner edges (cut from the rear of the kit provided part), added a firewall, and thought we're good to go! 

 

As part of my ongoing effort to create my own heavy duty Dana 60 axles, back to the junk box I went  - finding idlers from a Bradley and various bits to make up the diff cap, and pinion, then evergreen and alu tube inserts.  Had a nearly built engine on hand, which is fine - as the hood won't be openable, but you will be able to see the side of the block and headers between the chassis and fenders, so I need something, and a small block Chevy is a fairly common conversion - funny bit of info, the small block Chevy is lighter than the Toyota I6 - how about that?  The Toyota engine BTW is a great runner - I just like adding the V8 😀

 

Then began trying to get the body to sit correctly on my donor chassis.  Problem number one is that the area of the chassis beneath the cab isn't flat - and the base of the cab is - easy enough to fix, but would require some thought - then, I noticed - the FJ and BJ trucks share a similar body mound, below the center of the grill - note the pic in the upper right with the red circle - and that brutal gap.....🤨  How would that get resolved???  Well - a different donor chassis was selected, and a piece of the Italeri part was cut up and modified:

 

 

As you can see in the left, this was not a pretty job.  The Italeri kit part (uni chassis/floor pan) was pretty chunky and not at all realistic.  I cut everything in front of the floor pan off, and happily, kept the remnant part handy.  I cut the cast in-place, bottom of a motor, out and separated what looks like a chassis from the "flat" front part.  Then went about splicing the cut up Italeri part to the other chassis.  I didn't take pics of all of this - the process included adding several segments of thick fill material to make what looked like a really big, blocky chassis.  Once the glue was set up, went back and cut off all the blocky parts and began filing, shaping, and sanding until it looked something more like a credible chassis.  

 

Unhappily, the Italeri kit - does not include a transfer case!  🤨  annoying - instead, the kit would have you insert the drive shafts into opposing ends of a skid plate.  The kit isn't bad at all, but the level of detail/parts count, might suggest it's aimed at newer model builders, which is great - wish I'd have found this years ago!  But now, well, I want to build in more detail.  So, I'm going to make up a NP 208 or 205 transfer case facsimile to suit my project, will add a doubler, and attach it all to the transmission.  I will eventually make a skid plate below the transfer case, but mine will be made from thick styrene rod to represent steel tubing, not adapting the kit part.

 

The next tasks will include narrowing the rear part of the chassis, and making the front axle.  From there will being locating and marking the axle centerlines relative to the chassis and fender openings.   This will ride on front and rear four link suspension so we have a long way to go. 

 

 

Thanks for having a look, and on we go -

 

Cheers

Nick 

 

 

Edited February 4, 2022 by Stickframe
spelling

[keefr22]

This looks interesting - ready...!!

 

Some neat engineering already Nick. 

 

Keith

[Pete in Lincs]

I'm ready for another of your builds, Nick. This'll be a doozy!

I saw lots of these in the middle East. One of our guys even shipped one back to the UK.

The Toyota straight six was an impressive engine to use. But, as you say, a heavy old lump.

On the other hand, I drove a V8 jeep with oversized wheels and that was frightening!

[JeroenS]

Yay, another one! You're flying through these builds Nick! I like your just go for it attitude on these builds. 

[Stickframe]

Hello guys, 

 

Still moving with the FJ 45 - 

 

@keefr22, glad you checked this out!  As for the engineering - yes - and it goes on.  Some anticipated, some not at all - as you'll see below

 

@Pete in Lincs Hi Pete, glad to hear you're on board with this conversion.  The FJs are really remarkable, high quality rigs as is, and clearly NOT speed demons - 😀 not like a Jeep with a V8 - be it a traditional Jeep or a Cherokee- they have some get up and go!

 

@JeroenS Hi Jeroen, thanks - yes, for better or worse, I'm currently stuck waiting for a couple of real work jobs to start up, so, have some time, but not unlimited time for the hobby.  As awesome as on-site team meetings are.....well, model building is more fun!

 

From the mundane and tedious to downright challenging - first up, making the grill look a bit better:

 

 

Sorry about the tiny photo? - well - albeit tiny, maybe indicative of what I did, which you can barely see!  but, you can see what I did by the tone of colors on the grill. The grill in the kit is a molded in grid pattern, which is fine - but, I wanted it to read better - so, out came the #72 drill and after about an hour, I drilled out the the spaces between the grid pattern.  You can see on the left pic, the holes drilled in the upper and lower sections (which looks darker), and the stamped pattern in the middle section (which looks lighter) - and on the right picture, all drilled out!

 

The following is not mundane, and challenging - converting the Toyota axle to a Dana 60, to match the rear:

 

 

Lots going on here - converting the differential, getting the width correct, adding a truss, steering set up for a tie rod and drag link, alu shafts for the brakes and hubs, and - filing down some already small double clevis' to fit.  The clevis' will receive the base for the strut/charged shocks.  What is mercifully difficult to see is that despite my efforts, this axle was about 4mm too wide....perfect.  So, I cut  2mm segments out on either side of the diff - and reattached the parts using various alu and styrene tube, to get a strong connection. 

 

 

Yes - the chassis.  Not much left of the donor frame - it was cut, fill added, and cross members removed, resized and relocated, and engine mounts added.  The engine - well, it's supposed to be a Chevy 350 - it's not tho - I wasn't about to buy a kit, or resin aftermarket engine for this, as the hood won't open, so a Ford SB V8 it is! with a random collection of parts from who knows what - and scratch built radiator, shroud, and styrene hoses. 

 

I only "needed" an engine because the fender wells on this will be open, so you need to see something (specifically, a V8) in there, particularly exhaust, and from the front, an oil pan.  I couldn't find a set of headers to fit...so, kept a regular manifold, which ultimately was a good choice, as the exit slope allowed for some carefully bent alu tube to works its way toward the rear.  It turns out K&S sells a small tubing bender - not fancy or expensive, but with some practice, a helpful tool to have! 😀

 

And - a New Process 205 transfer case and doubler!

 

 

These transfer cases are pretty tough and have a distinctive look/shape  - and by adding the "doubler" you can get further gear reduction.  My doubler was part of an idler for a Bradley AFV - and you can see output shafts/bushings, from an MRAP.

 

Next - the cab - and roll cage:

 

 

No, this is not a "typical" roll bar.  Turns out the Italeri kit requires the dash board to be mounted to the cab body, and not the interior.  This is big problem because the steering wheel is attached to the dash.  The problem you ask? the floor plan and roll bar needs to be installed squeezing between the body and steering wheel - this also prevents the installation of a dash height, horizontal roll bar brace.....so, a guy fit in what would fit - and we have this.  Another challenge, well, I went ahead and added some inner door panels - which the kit does not include:

 

 

 

You can barely see panels from the junkbox inside each door, and on the steering column the tilt housing.  While you can't really see these features, you can clearly see the placement of the steering wheel and how it could and does interfere with installing the floor mounted roll cage - 

 

and a few dry dry fit test shots:

 

 

All dry fit, but you can see what's going on - and nice view of the rear Dana 60 (which still needs a truss and clevis').  Both the front and rear are sitting a bit too high, but ride height will get adjusted as the suspension gets built.  Like the 1941 Chevy, this will have front and rear four links.

 

Maybe a better view, which looks better.  More apparent is the ride height is a bit too high:

 

 

So far so good - I was worried the transfer case might be hanging too low, but seeing it in place, it's fine.  This will eventually receive a set of larger diameter tires, but will uses these (front) rims.   Once I have a better idea of what the tires look like relative to the body, I'll make the bed.  I might have run into a bit of a standstill, or will shortly as I've run out of the clevis' which are needed for the rear axle and mounting towers. 

 

In the meantime, well, what to do?  maybe driveshafts and mounting studs for the four link brackets?  I can to proceed to a certain point, then will have to stop, until I get the clevis'.  I learned on the '41 Chevy, that as the suspension will be posable, the geometry needs to be relatively precise - if you clock the axle incorrectly, it will tilt up or down too much (pinion angle, front and rear), and won't work with the four links.  To get the "clocking" correct the shocks need to be place - to keep the orientation of the axle correct - essentially for vertical control, while a panhard will provide horizontal control.  

 

OK gents, have a good day and thanks for having a look 😀

 

Cheers

Nick 

 

 

[keefr22]

That's looking good Nick, some really neat progress!

 

I'm liking the stance...!! 

 

Keith

[JeroenS]

I'm liking everything! That bent alu tube looks the part. 

[Pete in Lincs]

Your grille modifications make all the difference. Like the mechanical bits, and the stance looks great. 

 

[heloman1]

Looks like an interesting conversion. We have lots of the early Land Cruisers running around South Africa. When the kit came on the local market, I was quite tempted but I have too many helicopter and bike kits in my stash for another diversion. So, I'll enjoy your build.

 

Colin

[Stickframe]

Well guys, my progress for February was modest at best - real work took priority.  But, last week some more parts arrived and I had sent out a deliverable for work, so back to the bench I went.  

Seems I put hours into this, and there's not all that much to show.  I managed to make progress on the bed, but that went pretty quickly - the real time sink was on the front axle and suspension:

 

 

My few weeks off conveniently allowed me to forget just what a handful this type of build is!  As you can see, this is becoming a posable four link suspension, similar to what I made for the '41 Chevy.  Some things worked better, while others - big headaches - like getting the steering to work - 😓 

 

 

When I note "posable" I'm referring to the suspension being able to freely move up and down, and the steering to be adjusted.  I've made practically no progress on the rear end, other than making it look more or less like a Dana 60 with a beefy truss - the rest still to be built.....

 

 

 

Unlike this Chevy, this is intended to be a full on rock crawler, hence the front fenders removed, for now.  I'll add something back.  As to the stance, it will sit closer to level when I add the shocks - but not until the rear end is built.  

 

And the steering:

 

\

 

There's a lot going on up here, and I seem to have forgotten the order in which construction should go! 😓😓  This time I did correctly clock the front axle, but I had a really hard time getting the steering to all fit - there's a tie rod, drag link and panhard/tracking arm all in front of the axle!  That's a lot of moving parts - and the steering gear, drag link, and pitman arm...I must have built/torn down and rebuilt a half dozen times - I ran into clearance problems, limited axle travel, and steering bind!  That said, now it all works as hoped - and the axle is still pretty close to being centered on X and Y axis!  good!  😀 

 

The next task will be making up some shock towers and fitting the generally operable (posable) shocks - the challenge with this will be the obvious - making a tower mount that is the correct height and centered on the axle - but also offset enough from the chassis to allow the fake shocks to move.  I discovered the last time that if the shock towers are vertical to the chassis, the shocks bind!

 

It's a challenge to get bolts and nuts into the tiny single and double clevis' that serve as mounts.  You can just see above, the lower clevis' installed - of course, these are perilously close to the mounts for the upper four link connectors - I hope I have enough clearance! Particularly on the driver's (left) side - it was unusually difficult finding the center of the axle, as the diff is not centered, so there's an unequal width of the axle truss.  This led to me using the "eyecrometer" more than I would like to locate the lower clevis mount.  Should any of you decide to go for a project like this, I suggest you buy the appropriately sized nut driver - it helps more than you might guess to get nuts started!  

 

So, on we go - thanks for having a look

 

Cheers

Nick 

 

 

[JeroenS]

Nice work Nick! Those wheels look brutal!!

[keefr22]

Some more stunning micro-engineering there Nick - and I agree with @JeroenS about those wheels....!!

 

Wouldn't mind a real one that looked like that!!

 

Keith

[Pete in Lincs]

Yep, Brutal. Suspension looks great too.

[Stickframe]

Hi gents - thanks!  Yes, those tires are pretty hefty - they're 38" (96 cm) tall!  so well suited for some heavy duty rock crawling 😀   As noted above, getting the shock towers and rear end set up to accommodate them is proving challenging, tho they are the same size as those used on the '41 Chevy.  Seems there are just enough differences between the frames and bodies that new challenges are emerging - for now, working on the rear four link set up and keeping the axle on the correct X and Y axis - then on to the shock towers.....and ride height.

 

Thanks for having a look

Nick 

[Toftdale]

I always thought your suspension work was impressive,  but now I have tried modify suspension myself I only just to begin to understand just how deeply impressive it really is, thanks for sharing - Andy 

[JeroenS]

Hi @Stickframe, any news on this? Of late, I'm kind of hooked on a couple of YT channels dealing with off-road recovery and building stuff like your FJ, I must say your build fits right in and I could do with some more of your work 🙂 

[Stickframe]

Hi Model builders, 

Yes, I found myself tired of building models, just about the same time work began to really heat up.  So, away from this and other models I went.  @JeroenS, thanks for asking!  So, now, several months later, a guy decided it was time to get cracking on this build.  Unhappily for me, I ran out of some parts, so a few less of those sassy brass bolts and nuts, and instead brass wire with small pieces of aluminum tubing filling in.  They might not look quite as fancy pants, but they work - and the goal here is to build something rather than pondering how I might find some of these tiny (and expensive!) bits of hardware.

 

As I've been away a while, here's a refresher on what I'm trying to make:

 

 

 

There's a guy on a youtube channel called Fab Rats - he built this FJ.  In the process he provides step by step instructions on how to do it.  I used this channel to guide the construction of the Chevy Canopy Express a while ago - and then, I discovered Italeri's kit - perfect!  So, this is what I'm building.

 

When I last posted, the front end was about done but needed to make front the shocks and towers - a bit tedious but not hard - to do this, I was planning on using said brass parts, and some equally minty brass double clevis' for each tower - alas - I didnt:

 

 

I went back to the parts bin and made up my own.  This led to building the rear four link set up.   I developed a method for this where each hanger bracket receives a brass dowel, a small piece of brass square tube slipped over the end, a piece of slightly larger aluminum square tube fit over, with tabs for mounting tiny eye bolts - and here you have it.  In the photo on the right, you can see the mounting hardware near mid-frame, while in the upper left, you can see the hardware mounted on the rear axle, which are similar to those used on the real truck.

 

Next, you can see the four link arms and driveshaft installed:

 

 

As you can see there is plenty going on here - drinking lots of coffee is not an ideal choice for this process - at one point, five tubes are dangling from the rear end, and another five from the chassis - all you need to do is get them cut to the right length and plug them together - not a picnic.  But, all worked out OK - I still need to make the rear shocks and towers, but the chassis is now largely done - oh, and to snake the rest of the exhaust through.

 

Finally, a bit of a test to see if it all works:

 

 

And we are closer - the object of this much flexibility is to keep all four wheels on the grounds and turning, despite unevenness of the terrain - 

 

There you have it - getting closer - 

 

Thanks for having a look 

 

Cheers

Nick 

 

[Pete in Lincs]

Nick, sorry to hear that work was getting on top of you. But it's great to see you back on here.

The FJ is looking rather amazing. Great micromodelling has given it very realistic articulation. 

Looking forward to more.

[JeroenS]

Good to have you back Nick! The FJ is looking really cool, that's great modelling. I love watching Paul from Fab Rats clunking about in his shop too!

[Vesa Jussila]

Nice to see you back and progress looks good!

[keefr22]

Some marvellous micro engineering on display here, and all the more impressive that it all works - great stuff! 

 

Keith

[Stickframe]

Hi model builders, thanks for the welcome back!  While work is fun 😄....this is more fun!  

 

Following up on the last post, I kept working on the rear suspension.

 

As noted before, no fancy parts anymore - instead, those made by modifying fancy parts into the parts needed to pull this together:

 

 

Until this point, I was using some pretty nice parts - not anymore.  Instead, using the PE bender as a vice and small file to make these parts into what I needed.  These are used to keep the parts operable:

 

 

 

If you look carefully under the rear end, you can see a trailing arm, which is attached via these small parts - and tied together with small dia brass rods and alu tubing end cuts.  Works out fine - and in use:

 

 

 

You can see the flex - so far so good.  While this mostly worked out fine, I am not pleased with mounting angle of the left rear shock tower, and, the rear end should sit a bit lower - but, in this context - no reason to worry!  So I won't  - 

 

Next up will be the roll bar in the bed, bumpers, a few odds and ends, then paint.

 

Thanks for having a look

 

Cheers

Nick 

[Pete in Lincs]

Rock on! (Nearly an off roading joke)

[PatW]

Superb so far! Are the wheels and tyres combo 3D printed?

[Stickframe]

Hello model builders -

 

Yes, Pete - rock on! 

 

Pat, thanks! and, yes the wheels are made by Fireball Model Works and are very nice - usually intended to the be used with some really nice 35" tires they make - but, the 35" just wouldn't do it for this, so had a friend print up these 38" tires!  The 3d printed tires are not cheap - under other circumstances, I'd stick with the 35's which are more affordable.

 

And rock on I have done - some of the last few pieces for the chassis:

 

 

So, yes, rocks - and big rocks - to address this, these trucks commonly use rock sliders - the example I am using as a guide are 2" x 4" x 1/4" rectangular tube - they create a frame that runs where rocker panels usually are parallel to the chassis - except, unlike sheet metal body panels, screwed in place, these are welded to the chassis - then reinforced, with 1/4" steel panels (skid plates added.  In "real life" these a often also welded to the body!  Interestingly, the four link arms are thick walled 2" dia tubes, which believe it or not, seem able to slid over rocks too!

 

This rock slider assembly is not the same as the bolt on tube type (the black or chrome one's which are really more like running boards/steps - these are structurally integrated are are very strong.   

 

This worked out pretty well for what I am doing - ideally, the transfer case skid plate would be flush - alas - only so much I could figure out how to do! 

 

You'll see the tail pipes now make their way to the rear bumper - which now has a big pintle hook receiver, while up front a new bumper and winch.

 

A few of the body, which now has a roll bar in the bed:

 

 

And for some scale, the Dude - who looks pretty comfortable with it all - Added some hardware to the bumper on either side of the winch.  You can also see this sits with a bit of rake, with the rear sitting slightly higher than the front.  I'd rather it be flat, and lower front ant and rear, but came up against the frustration and limits of making all of this work (which means, I managed to get the correct ride height on the Canopy Express, but it takes a long time and many retries to get just right) - I'll live with it!

 

I have a few parts to add, but soon to get some paint - I was thinking about the color.  The prototype is a light beige, but I am thinking about using one of my favorite light blue/green colors, like this:

 

 

The Suburban is the Revell 1/25 kit that I converted to a 4 x 4 - and has enjoyed some "life's experience" too!  😄😄  

 

ok gents, thanks for having a look - 

 

Cheers

Nick