So it really starts

Well its been a well but at last there is some progress ...
Its funny to go to a workshop and see your LandCruiser or whats left of it spread all over the place. Its like you had what you thought was a reasonable TLC only to find that in fact the only goods bits were the frame, running gear and the roof. But that's what happens when you decide to try and do thing right.
Here's a picture of the sandblasted and primed chassis ..

The good news is the frame is pretty good bar the cross member at the front which needs a bit of replacement metal.
The bulk head has been cut from the body, sand blasted and primed, still needs a small bit of patching in the floor.

So yea its goes from a perfectly working BJ41 to just a frame, bulkhead and a heap of parts. 
But that doesn't take from the excitement of knowing that work is actually being done and the people doing the work are as enthusiastic about the project and even more so about the pile of new parts. Its an impressive sight to see the alu tub, the quality and strength is unbelievable.
Then theirs the s3xy bits, the ARB lockers front and back, the winch and turbo kit all sitting there waiting to be installed.
I'm hoping now that everything has arrived and is in place the project will move along a bit quicker.
Well hoping anyway :)

Paper Work

It’s a curious thing, the more you import the more complicated it becomes. Most items arrive, you get a call pay duty and Vat and jobs done. But the last few deliveries have not been so smooth. No big problems just paper work. Like … my tip for the day, “Make sure the paper work attached to the delivery is correct”. In my case the last bunch of stuff was ordered through one supplier, hence one invoice, but due to the size of the items the parts are arriving in separate deliveries. So … you ask. Well the problem, I have learnt, is you need an invoice to match each delivery and match all items within each delivery. Still no big deal, just, like most things it means delays.

So this leads me again to recommending that when ordering a lot of stuff it’s worth, when possible, sticking with a supplier you trust and do a lot of business with. In my case this has proven to be the single best decision I have made. It means that same supplier, liking your business, will accommodate and help when possible. This has meant that I have been able to have single invoices re-invoices in parts to match specific deliveries at short notice. This might seem like a small thing, but in reality it means being able to have imported parts cleared through customs correctly and with as little delay as possible.

Expectations

One of the things you notice when restoring/rebuilding something is that you are constantly ordering stuff. But the beauty of ordering stuff is at some stage it should arrive!

It’s like Christmas, you write a list, hope the right person gets it, and then sit back and wait. The big difference is you can have Christmas several times a year :)

So I just got confirmation that my latest xmas present is on the way (all the way from Canada) the Alu tub and fenders are on their way !

Money Pit

Might as well put this out there now, LandCruisers are a money pit ... !
I have read this before, but its not till you actually start to fix/repair or restore a LandCruiser that you realise just how much money can be spent.
The reality is once you start, you are pretty much paying the cost of a new truck/car.

I'm trying to keep this site as an actual record of the project and for that I need to list the costs. So here's some parts and costs for same.  These are just the pretty bits :)
This is a list of parts ordered to date. This does not include the next major order which will include the tub and body panels ..... makes me cry :)

order4 TADOR, HEAVY DUTY ALUMINUM ½ DOORS

TARQP, FULL ¼ PANELS, DIAMOND

TCAGE, FRONT CAGE

KBIKI, BIKINI TOP

TRAIL, BIKINI RAIL

S1917, SUPERWINCH

51464, HOOD CUSHIONS, 4EA.

53881, HOOD BUMPERS, 2EA

AS401, SNORKEL, BJ

45451-1, TIE ROD, SHORT                                          Total   €2'922.00

order 3 TURBO KIT                                                                     tOTAL    €900.00

order 2                                     STEEL WHEELS AND TYRES                                       TOTAL  €'1'100.00 Order 1

suspension lift kit with 'u' bolts TUFFTY CENTRE CONSOLE

2 number door window seals

2 number glass retainers

2 number window winders

2 number door internal pull handles  Total    €1'650.00

Decision made ..

Well I have decided to strip the BJ down to the chassis, This is exactly what I never planed on doing, but the truth be known I bought a truck that had all the rush and rot hidden under paint. So I could drive it as it is, but I would only be putting off the work that would eventually have to be done.
Having made the decision to get the body work done, I cant weld or any of that stuff, so it had to go to a body shop. I went about checking and pricing replacement panels, patch panels, 1/2 and 3/4 tubs. The real problem was while there was 60% of the body work in reasonable state (repairable), the labour for the remaining cutting, patching and welding was looking crazy. The more I though about it, the more a 3/4 tub seemed the way to go. Nice idea, but not to many 3/4 tubs in Ireland, I checked some of the tubs that were being imported and was not to impressed with the quality of the steel.
So out of curiosity I checked the aluminium tubs, ok they seem expensive at first but when I compared the cost of the patch repair panels, floor front, bed liner, wheel arches, rocker panels etc, there was only about seven hundered euro in the different. The labour and time saving, if I could get the aluminium tub, seemed to outweight the additional cost.
So that where it is now, I'm a day or two away from ordering the aluminium tub :). And as usual when anyone ordered stuff for their Landcruiser, they can never avoid slipping in a few other bits .....

The Aqualu Aluminium tub :)

Bad News

Well I have been talking to the Alex at the body repair shop (Classic Car Centre)and the news is not good. Looks like the last paint job did a good job of covering up all the fillers, goo, patches and whatever else was holding the metal together.
What initially seemed like a simple floor pan replacement has now turned into;
Floor pans
Doors cills, front and back
Rear bed
Read wheel arches 
One front wheel arch


So there you have it ... its a mess, I just did a quick price on the replacement panels and patches $2500.00 ... :(


So here the problem, if i spend a heap on money on the truck I will never get it back. If I dont spend the money  I will always know the truck is not right !!!!!!


I'll updated when I've decided what to do 

Big Decision

Ok, so the bits of rust are starting to get the better of me ....

As I mentioned before I don't intend (well not in the short term anyway to have a full nuts & bolts restoration on the the BJ), but the rust on the underside gets me down. I went as far as trying to get a welding course, me being over optimistic and thinking I could do the metal work myself, but I have come to the conclusion that the expense and time in me doing the metal work would eventually prove fruitless.
So I have decided to get a restoration guy to have a look at the underside of the truck and see how bad or good it actually is.
I rang the guy last night, and when I mentioned I was hoping to get some metal work done to a Landcruiser he replied "you and half the country" :)
Seems the BJ's are vintage machine of choice these days.
Besides by lack of welding skills, the other reason for going the route of a professional is that the roll cage should be arriving in a few weeks and given that it is only bolted to the floor, I figured the floor at least should be right !.
Will be interesting to get his views on the truck and its overall condition ......