That looks super nice, Phil. Reminds me I need to get some kind of paint-over-rust stuff for touchups this summer. I am hell-bent on not getting rust on Fezzik.
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Stitched on a new wheelskins cover.
Installed an armrest. This thing is downright gettin comfie!
Had air conditioning working for a little bit but due to an issue Iām going back next week to get a recharged again. Part of the problem was the belt bracketry and I also put on a new dryer slash filter
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Thatās a heck of an arm rest, Phil! Does the bottom still open?
Looks like things are coming together nicely. Iām looking forward to getting some work done on my truck once all these house projects are complete. (Remodeling the back porch.)
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The wheelskin cover looks great! And the arm rest looks comfy, if not a bit tall. How does it affect your driving posture?
It does look tall but the original one is practically at posterior level so itās not as tall as it appears. When Iām sitting in the truck with my hand on the shifter my elbow can rest comfortably on the armrest, so itās about perfect. The lower part still functions as a storage area, and the armrest also has storage, which is a bonus.
Iām a bit behind here but hope to spend more time on tgp going forward.
Iāve been busy with this thing, as usual, and have some new prizes to report. My temperatures were a little on the warm side when we were getting some warmer weather, so after changing the factory sending units on the temperature gauge, and then adding an aftermarket gauge, to the center instrument panel that I got from the other truck, I decided it was time to go bigger.
Got a new aluminum radiator, with higher capacity, and replaced the thermostat just for grins. I saw an immediate drop in my temperatures of around 15Ā° Fahrenheit. This should really help on some of those longer mountain roads.
Finally, I got to my valve clearances. This engine uses a shim and bucket style to adjust the clearances, which means if youāre out of spec then you have to change the shim. Not a lot of fun, and Iāve been putting it off for a few years. Yesterday I finally got in there, checked with feeler gauges, measured the shims, and ordered up what I needed. Hopefully this week I can button it back up and have my valves all in mid spec.
Here were my results yesterdayā¦
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Wow! Thatās a great cooling system upgrade. I did the same with my Montero.
Is the setup of valve clearance adjustments as exhausting as it looks? Iāve never dealt with that kind of setup. But, it doesnāt look fun.
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I took another break from almost all things online, except IH8MUD where I continued to glean info.
But perhaps Iām back? Its been a heckuva year, with lots of things going on that I havenāt shared, although this is a place where it is safe to, methinks.
My Father in law is now in hospice and hasnāt got long. 
The big C is harsh, as you all know. Lots more could be said here, but what can you really say that changes anything?
The new job has been good, but way busy, and iāve been bringing work home for the first time in many years.
Butā¦ the truck is as close to perfection as it has a right to be, well except for one pesky rattle that i havenāt solved yet.
Iāve done a few more doodads since aug, but the biggest mod was one that wasnāt bolted on. It was her change in role.
I sold the mini. So the 70 Series is now my one and only. I havenāt had just one DD sinceā¦ wellā¦ maybe the 93 Paj? Now, wifey still has the throwaway Kia, and her 100 series, but stillā¦ my daily is now a 1991 that could easily be called a 1981. LOL. Itās glorious.
First snow last week, and Iām talking 25cm, plus cold cold. No ABS, no traction control, just me, a few pedals, 5 gears and a steering wheel. Glorious.
Also? NO smoke, no overheating, no UNDERheating. It just works. Not fast. Not aerodynamic. Not pretty. NOT quiet. But damn if it isnāt one of my favorite vehicles, in a long line of favourable faves.
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Okay, enough gushing. Back to the build!
Todd, the valves really sucked to do. I had to take out and measure every bucket, do the math, put it back together, order the new shims (after Iād done the math, I figured out how to switch them around enough to only need 3 out of a potential 12). Then install the new shims and switch the rest, then measure again. Yep. Sucked.
Then I redid the injection timing AGAIN. Right in the middle of the range at 1.06. Then I started on the fuel screw again, with dozens of passes on my test drive route (its exactly one MILE to my west (edge of city) and is rural. Its a long pull up a hill and then down the other side. Its a loop so I can do it either way, in about 10mins and be back in my garage.) After many passes and changes with my stubby screwdriver, I had achieved what had heretofor eluded me. Almost zero smoke, EGTās that only climbed to 1200F at the very max, and able to climb a hill with sustained throttle and no change in water temp. FINALLY. It was just waiting for the right combo of valves, timing and fuel. Witchcraft? No, just patience, and a basic understanding of what I was doing. For me that was a lot of the first, and a little of the second.
A few other things. LED reverse and marker lights. New seat covers. Solar panel controller (MPPT) but no panel yetā¦ then I replaced the fuel injector seals, seats, and washers. Just because.
Now, on -14C days (because who doesnāt like a mixture of imp and metric units in one post?) I get a smooth start, a slightly high idle until warm up (set that way with wax pellet Automatic Cold Start Device that I have working smoothly), and NO SMOKE. Did I mention no smoke? Yeah.
How about a random round up of catch up pics?
Yep, thatās Betsy 5!
And, lest you think I donāt take this thing out in the woods anymore, a fall camp and kayak in Banff national parkā¦
Cheers!
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Last week was the third anniversary of having this rig so we did our usualā¦ Five Guys Burgers&Fries.
A few other milestones too - 40k kms put on now since I got it, so sitting at 279,XXX kms And next month sheāll be 32 years old to her build year/month.
All indications so far are that sheās sticking around, but any claims of forever would be met with disbelief 
so letās see what happens.
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Has it already been three years? Wow. Time flies.
25 Oct 2020
I know what you mean by the forever feelings. Itās like, on the one hand, you can see the naivete of our past selves fawning over machines we swore would be our forever cars, while on the other hand, we see our present selves cautiously entertaining such ideas because weāre [hopefully] a little wiser.
For me, itās like thereās a sliding scale that runs between this is what Iāve always wanted and Iām not doing all this again. If I had all the time and money (and patience), I might do another project, but Iām getting kinda tired of fixing things. Forever could simply be a litmus for reliable performance.
Cheers to Olā Betsy ZX and the Hansford Clan.
PS: Saw you caught up with Andy and Mercedes last weekend. Sweet!
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Getting ready for another trip to Utah. Post up if you wanna join in. Leaving here second week of May I think. 10 days or soā¦?
So of course that means inspiration to get some things doneā¦ stay tuned!
But maybe a sneak peek?
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WOW! I love those setups. Iāve been thinking of doing the same, now that Iāve gotten rid of the rooftop tent.
May in Utah? Tell me moreā¦
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What he said. 
Also, Iām in.
- 2 days there (Sa-Su)
- 5 days there (M-F)
- 2 days back?
PS: Lol. Iām still closer to Moabāby 10 minutes!
Okay some updatesā¦
Been trying to get rid of the rattle thatās plagued this truck since I got it in 2020. When cold especially, I would get a fairly loud rattle at about 2000 RPM under load that would continue through to 3,000. It lessened when it was warm but it was still kind of annoying. Iām sure it annoyed me more than it did anybody else, but you know how it isā¦
Iāve guessed in no particular order that it was exhaust, clutch, AC compressor, the injectors, the injection pump, and even big and bearings in the bottom of the engineā¦ None of the upgrades and maintenance made any difference to the rattle.
The nice thing is that many of these other things āhad to be doneā anyway (in my view) so Iāve been ticking off maintenance items for the last 3 years and the truckās been slowly getting closer and closer to whatever my ideal is which is probably never reachable lolā¦
Anyway, a few weeks back I read about somebody adjusting their load sensing timer, which is a setting on the injection pump that is normally not messed with after itās been calibrated. I did some reading in the denso VE pump manual (not light reading) and concluded that adding a few turns of that particular Allan bolt would put pressure on the spring, raise the pressure inside the pump, and magically fix my rattle. Assuming the rattle was fuel rattle? Well I carefully added some turns to it last weekend and the rattle is pretty much gone! I still get some fuel rattle when cold but thatās diesel for you. When itās warmed up that RPM range sounds the same as any other section of acceleration.
So letās call that a win!
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Anytime you are working on a vehicle that has a purpose, you need to schedule a trip or else the work slows to a crawl. So we have done just thatā¦ We are leaving Calgary on May the 10th which is a Friday and heading south. The plan is to stop in. Probably Helena Montana Friday night and then Saturday get through salt lake City. Sunday will end up somewhere around Moab and then we will hit the trails heading south or southwest out of Moab. This is not a Moab trip. As such. Itās just too busy, especially in May, and weāve done all the classics, so no need to metal mash again and againā¦ This trip is going to be in the less explored areas and we are looking for scenic views rather than epic obstacles. If we happen to get both? More the better.
So far we have my mostly stock 91 HZJ77 Land cruiser and my buddy Chrisās highly modified 92 Pathfinder, solid axle swapped and basically race suspension underneath, on 35s. Another buddy is bringing his 2015 Ram 2500 with canopy on the back and pretty highly modified, on 35s. I have another buddy who is hoping to come from New Mexico in his 200 series Land cruiser (lightly modified). Our plan is to camp all week and then head north on probably the following Saturday and be back in Calgary on Monday the 20th.
Everybody here is welcome to join us, so post up if you have questions. My buddy Chris is currently working on the route, and is a bit of a guru when it comes to trails in that area as heās traveled it extensivelyā¦
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Look really close. LHS. I finally have my solar controller remote roughed in. And I got a 160 watt folding solar blanket thingy. So once I have my mppt hidden away and paired to this remote Iāll be able to monitor from the back.
Also did some more dialling to the rear setup.
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Bottom left, on the end, right?
Looking good, man.
How happy are you with the setup on that wire shelf up top? Just noticed the supports left and right. Looks muy practicalo. 
Today I learned!
I like the dates. I like the destination. Itās a bit further than I was hoping to go, as I was looking at something more Alpine Loop, Colorado, but Iād be lying if said Moab wasnāt the first destination I considered.
If youāre going to make the even (10 minutes) longer drive from Calgary, Iāve got no room to complain.
Questions:
- Minimum spec for the route in mind? Iām seeing lots of 35s and big mods. 33s, no winch, no sliders gonna have a good time?
- Longest stretch between resupply? Left my Jerry cans in Phoenix and have 300-500km range without them.
- Iād like to invite Josh (ADD) & John, my brother in Phoenix, with a extensively modified TJ on 35s.
excited.
- Iām on 33s with lsd. Weāll have winches to spare. Youāre good.
2.Your range will be same as Chris. No worries there.
3. Invite cool!