Eric After Hours
Eric's tireless goals of achieving at the highest level possible is also found in his personal life.
BJ40 Landcruiser Restoration
Cycling
BJ40 Landcruiser Restoration
I bought this BJ40 Short Wheel Base Landcruiser about 15 years ago and spent a lot of time in the high country of Victoria four wheel driving with my son. I travelled up to Cape York in the Landcruiser some years ago, so it has completed some big drives over the years.
I used the car for many years until my son was 18. Then I gave it to him for his birthday, which coincided with the day he got his drivers license. In typical fashion with 18-year-old boys he drove it into the ground delivering it to my house 18 months later, un-roadworthy. He bought himself a Commodore.
The old BJ40 sat outside my house for 2 years. Then I decided to give it a birthday rebuild. I approached Eureka Offroad in Dandenong. Their business 'specializes in full restoration of series 40 cruisers from mild to wild'. They usually convert them to soft tops and fit them with wild V8 motors and big Mag wheels and tyres.
I started with the idea of restoring the car to its original show room condition. After some thought, I decided to customise the car in congruence to a hot rod and set about to get some inspiration.
During work one week I hired a Toyota RAV 4, obviously for work reasons. I noted the car's internal set up looked perfect for what I wanted to create for the BJ40. So I bought a complete RAV 4 dashboard from the wreckers and proceeded to customise it. I cut 40mm through the gauges pod and another 40mm through the glove box to reduce its width. Then I welded the plastic dashboard to suit and sent it off to the 'Dash Board Doctor' in Coburg to be 'reskun' in vinyl. The end result is perfect.
The door trims are now customised in leather to replicate the RAV 4 interior and the carpets have been fitted.
The cruiser has been fitted with Lexus electric seats. Behind the seats are the second battery and the car alarm system. The amplifier powers up the 12" woofers, obviously creating some rather nice and loud sound from the CD/Mp3 player.
BJ40 Restoration Gallery
The work conducted on the vehicle is as follows:
- Removed the body off the chassis rail, sand blasted the body, removed any rust, rust proofed the body and re-sprayed it metallic gun metal grey
- Applied fibreglass to GT bonnet
- Diffs, and bars refurbished, new bearings, painted black
- New Baja bar front and rear bumper bar
- Power steering
- New Baja bar front and rear bumper bar
- Disc brakes on the front
- The 3 litre naturally aspirated motor and 4 speed gearbox is replaced with a 4.2 Litre Turbo Diesel, and 5 speed gear box
- New snorkel
- LED lights front and rear
- Dashboard replacement Lexus bucket seats, upholstered in leather
- New lengthened suspension reverse spring shackles
- Hilux rear lights customisation
- Engineering certified
- Highly polished Mag wheels
- Customised & widened front guards
- Panel beating applied to front doors
- Rear flares
- New 33 inch tyres x 5
- Electric windows
- Air-conditioning
- Tinted windows
- Cobra car alarm
- Cruise control
- Dual battery installation
- Total rewiring car
- New internal upholstery and carpets
- RAV 4 steering column
- Long range fuel tank
- RAV 4 dashboard
Cycling
Eric Bishop: International Road Cyclist
Eric represented Australia in the World Professional Road Cycling Championships, Great Britain in 1982 and again in Colorado, USA in 1986.
Eric was also a member of the MAVIC Professional Cycling Team in 1982, Belgium and qualified as an International Referee with the International Cycling Union in 1991.
Australian Road Championships, 1987, Sandown, VIC
Visit the Hall of Fame for more of Eric's cycling career.
Eric also loves to spend time fishing, four wheel driving and has a passion for photography.