Rufus The Doofus

Things are progressing slowly on my 1980 HJ45 Troopy turbo project. I’ve been busy the last month with plenty of distractions. Real-world obligations like volunteer projects, day trading, travel for a family reunion and a number of other less interesting things.

I’ve snapped some photos of my progress along the way. Here they are.

This is how the 1″ stubs fit on the laser cut flanges.

I’ve been practicing with the TIG welder on stainless. Looks like I need a lot more practice. Not too bad for my first welds ever with a TIG unit.

Here’s a photo of the general fitting of the tubing. I had a bunch of grinding to do to get the long log tubing to mate up better with the stub tubes. I’m not good enough with a TIG welder to fill those large gaps.

With the welding sequence planned out I bolted the flanges to the spare Toyota H diesel cylinder head and fired up the welder. I was nervous. My first non-practice TIG welds ever. I tried to go nice and slow between passes to avoid warping the long tube with too much heat. I ended up with about 1/8″ of warp in the center that I hope can be taken out with some heat treating and a press.

There’s a guy on the IH8Mud.com Forums that sells Remflex gaskets for the old Toyota Land Cruiser engines. He was able to get Remflex to cut some for the Toyota H series engine. I think they came out really well. They aren’t listed on his website yet but he can sell you a set if you write to him. Remflex is a highly compressible gasket material that’s perfect for manifolds like mine that tend to move, shrink and expand with heat cycles.

And here’s where I’m at currently. I’m waiting on some 1/8″ stainless flat stock to arrive so I can cap the ends of the manifold. I also need to weld the stainless T3 turbo mounting flange to the log tube. Here are a few photos of sizing up the turbo mounting location. I had to cut the ends of the manifold at a 45 degree angle for clearance at the firewall and the alternator. I’m about a week away from having this thing up and running again.

I’m installing a front mount air-to-air intercooler as well. The H diesel engine wasn’t originally designed to handle the additional load and heat a turbo generates. An intercooler will help keep cool down the air that’s heated and compressed by the turbo. Thankfully the engine compartments in these old Cruisers aren’t filled with tons of crap and I’ve got plenty of room for the plumbing. I’m going to route the compressor side of the turbo under the alternator to the intercooler. It should work out really well. I’m happy with the way this project is going. I’m hoping to have it ready in time for the Yankee Toys Fall Gathering.

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