Ooooooh, I miss my LJ10....

Have a neat story while driving your LJ. Tell us!

Moderator: stevec

Post Reply
drh3rd
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2008 6:19 pm

Ooooooh, I miss my LJ10....

Post by drh3rd »

Purchased while in college. 1973. I have a bazillion stories about it. Like, putting on oversized tires and being able to cruise at 60-65mph. That was awesome. It was then I began to learn about lubricants, to squeeze speed and efficiency out of it. And special spark plugs from the automotive catalogs.

I once snuck two of my college buddies into a drive in movie. This was a softtop, and the top was down. And these were not small guys. We did it tho, including beer. It takes a little imagination but this is true... 3 people, two of which were concealed in the back, driving through the ticket taker window.

Did some very serious mountain passes in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming. Way too many stories on that, but the Kamakazi (her name) did everything.

The time I drove 5 of us to Red Rocks to see Linda Rondstadt and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, then flew down the highway at 60mph to Colorado Springs and saw Waylon and Willie at the City Auditorium. 5 people in the Kosmo, cavorting back and forth to these concerts. Fantastic times.

The motor mounts broke during some serious 4wheeling so I had to chain the motor down temporarily while I found parts. Meantime, that didn't stop me. Was again, 4wheeling and the motor was bouncing and one time too far, and the fan nicked the radiator hose. Lost all coolant. Up in some high mountains. No problem. Believe it took some tape to remedy a temporary fix of the cut to the hose, and 4 beers to fill the radiator. Instead of turning back, kept going to wherever. Fun had by all. Repairs made somewhat later.

Did I mention I could climb anything, and did. The usual snickers from the CJ crowds when tooling around in the high country, until you would not be stopped when other were. Especially washed out passes where I could negotiate stuff when the CJs were stopped.

Lost a brake line while out about so ended up rerouting temporarily one line to the rear wheels. Not exactly safe, and I negotiated to the top of Mt Lincoln... hey, no problem.

On Dec 23rd, 1975, drove from Colorado to New York City. Wild weather, especially hard winter snowstorms and the famed Kansas crosswinds. Wrapped myself in a sleeping bag to stay warm. Took 50 hours. Drove straight to Kennedy Airport to try and pick up someone who had flown in on the 25th of Dec. As I got lower in elevation, the motor ran better and better. I had a knack for tweaking the motor, ignition, timing, to get superb mileage and performance, and speed. Was attaining 65-70mph into NY. Enough to not get run over. Went across the GW Bridge, right through Manhatten where I was to live for several years later, did the Times Square thing, then out to Long Island and to Kennedy Airport. Unfortunately, the little guy had enough, and the distributor snapped at the gear. I coasted into a gas station smack in the middle of Kennedy airport. Pushed and parked it, for 5 weeks it sat there, while I had to order a new distributor from Japan. Ended up a mechanic in Colorado was able to use a Datsun distributor I believe it was, to ultimately get me going. When the distro arrived to where I was staying, took a bus to the airport, dropped the distributor into place, set the gap by feel, performed a couple of hand tweaks, and it started right up, a couple more hand adjustments... and I drove back to Colorado. 53 hours. Long, grueling, cold, required penultimate concentration to deal with traffic and harsh weather conditions, and had absolutely the best freaking time.

So many more stories.

Ended up bending the leaf springs and ultimately sold it to a bloke who dropped a Datsun motor into it and rebuilt it.

A couple of days ago ran into an old college buddy and he waxed on about the Kamakazi. Ended up here where all of the photos have brought back unbelievable memories.

What a time, and machine. Am glad I found this place so I can look at the pics and float backwards in time. Man, I really, really miss that thing.
User avatar
Jimny
It's an LJ thing!
It's an LJ thing!
Posts: 4751
Joined: Wed May 28, 2003 8:02 am
Location: KANSAS
Contact:

Post by Jimny »

:cool: :cool: :cool:

WOW! That's some pretty wild stories! I tell ya, I sure have had a lot of fun with the ones I have had and I can't wait to have more.

How tall of tires were you able to get under it?


BTW: Welcome to the forums!

Sorry someone kept deleting you.
I'd rather be driving my LJ!
User avatar
ResidentPsycho
LJ Enthusiast
LJ Enthusiast
Posts: 274
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2007 5:11 am
Location: Queensland, Australia

Post by ResidentPsycho »

impressive story :cool:

any pics you mind sharing :wink:
If you can't fix it with a hammer. You got an electrical problem!
Image
User avatar
stevec
The Parts Dude!
The Parts Dude!
Posts: 7664
Joined: Thu Jun 12, 2003 10:26 am
Location: Seattle WA area

Re: Ooooooh, I miss my LJ10....

Post by stevec »

Wow, great stories!

What engine and gearing did you have in your LJ10? (Because it clearly wasn't stock! :))): ) Do you have any old pictures you could scan in for us?
The only difference between an ordeal and an adventure is your attitude
User avatar
russmehl
Whats in Your Garage?
Whats in Your Garage?
Posts: 2070
Joined: Sun Aug 24, 2003 11:33 pm
Location: South East Michigan

Re: Ooooooh, I miss my LJ10....

Post by russmehl »

I'm thinking that your speedo must have been in KPH, or else you were running NOX.
And the National Speed Limit went down to 55 MPH in 1974...
This is retirement?
User avatar
stevec
The Parts Dude!
The Parts Dude!
Posts: 7664
Joined: Thu Jun 12, 2003 10:26 am
Location: Seattle WA area

Re: Ooooooh, I miss my LJ10....

Post by stevec »

That would explain a lot. At 55mph, a stock LJ engine would be turning over 7000rpms, which is past "redline".
The only difference between an ordeal and an adventure is your attitude
User avatar
tweeder
Resident Smart Arse
Resident Smart Arse
Posts: 1443
Joined: Tue May 11, 2004 8:44 pm
Location: Cabot, AR

Re: Ooooooh, I miss my LJ10....

Post by tweeder »

umm, guys, he was running bigger tires...maybe big enough to get to that speed. i know with the 31s on my rig, it's like having a 10% overdrive. if the speedometer says i'm doing 60, its actually 66
A legend in my own mind.
User avatar
Idahopaul
Lead Foot
Lead Foot
Posts: 647
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2004 1:49 pm
Location: northern Idaho

Re: Ooooooh, I miss my LJ10....

Post by Idahopaul »

so the LJ motor being a 2 stroke what is the limiting factor of the rpm level, why is the redline so low? unless it has weak rods or crank it should be able to turn up into the 10,000 rpm range no problem.
Strength is for service, not status.
Each one of us needs to look after
the good of the people arounds us,
"How can I help?"
User avatar
tweeder
Resident Smart Arse
Resident Smart Arse
Posts: 1443
Joined: Tue May 11, 2004 8:44 pm
Location: Cabot, AR

Re: Ooooooh, I miss my LJ10....

Post by tweeder »

probably starves for air above 6k. to go higher, it'd need a 2bbl.....a single primary and secondary. you COULD go for a much bigger carb to get the airflow, but you'd absolutely murder the low-end that LJs are so good at.

ETA: or how about a constant velocity carb (variable venturi) from one of them high-perf bikes? if you can find one from, say, a 700cc twin-carb crotch rocket.....then you just need to get the rotating assembly balanced and blueprinted so that it's stable at high rpm.....you could be looking at 10,000 rpm
A legend in my own mind.
User avatar
Idahopaul
Lead Foot
Lead Foot
Posts: 647
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2004 1:49 pm
Location: northern Idaho

Re: Ooooooh, I miss my LJ10....

Post by Idahopaul »

ya, these things are fun. fun to see others reactions as well.
Strength is for service, not status.
Each one of us needs to look after
the good of the people arounds us,
"How can I help?"
Post Reply