African expedition FJ/HJ60 Build for Jesus (2 Viewers)

[PurpleFJ62]

zulu,
you just graduated with a M.E. degree?? How have you found the job market? I am currently a sophmore at kettering(Former General motors institute) going for my M.E. degree. Many of my friends have not been able to find work after graduation, but the economy really sucks in the rust belt.
I wish all involved the best of luck, I think you picked the right vehicle to send over there!!!
cheers

 

[zuluzeugma]

zulu,
you just graduated with a M.E. degree?? How have you found the job market? I am currently a sophmore at kettering(Former General motors institute) going for my M.E. degree. Many of my friends have not been able to find work after graduation, but the economy really sucks in the rust belt.
I wish all involved the best of luck, I think you picked the right vehicle to send over there!!!
cheers

This is off topic so I'll keep it quick: I graduated two years ago when every company in the country would hire you if you had a live pulse. Things are MUCH different now. Luckily, I got a job with an Oil and Gas company that doesn't believe in lay-offs.

 

[cruiser_guy]

Very awesome. Are you going to turbo the 2H or leave it as is? Non-turbo 2H probably better since it would all be stock.

I'm not sure what the topography is like in Liberia, if it is basically flat then a turbo is really not going to help much, if it is like here in Guatemala where you are either climbing a hill or going down one then a turbo, in my opinion, is a nice feature.

We appreciate your thoughts on the tires- we have been looking into this. Yet we are having problems with getting some help from companies. Any ideas on who to talk to at Michelin? A set of service manuals will be a definite plus- you know anyone with an extra set?

You'll find, as you probably already have, that most support is from various individuals and not companies (at least that has been our findings and we've been "on the field" for 5 years). Companies need the visibility for advertising and frankly the tire companies are not going to pay money to outfit your truck with tires unless there is something in it for them ie: their name plastered on the truck as you race over a course with TV cameras and photographers for off road mags in attendance. I'd love a set of boggers for next time a hurricane hits down here but I'm not holding my breath!!

The 2H manual should be available on the internet as a download. I have the 3B as a download and a hard copy, sorry, no 2H manual.

 

[toymaniac]

Any chance a donation for this mission can be tax-deductible? Great cause for a buildup for sure!

If possible (donations permitting), don't send the truck with boggers, send it with heavy-duty Michelin tires. A replacement will bogger will be impossible to find in Liberia and I assume a Land Cruiser used for missionary work will see loads well beyond the recommended, best to have some serious-duty tires. Steel wheels are IMPERATIVE, too, alloys will *not* stand up to the abuse and cannot be easily field-repaired.

May I also suggest sending a set of factory service manuals along with the truck? They'll be worth their weight in gold over there.

Hi guys. I'm another one of the AS guys helping build the truck. We have been debating the tire problem for a while now. Our biggest hurddle is we don't know what tires Ben is going to be able to get over in Liberia. From the little info we have gathered anything he can get in Liberia is not available here in the US. So we just picked the most aggressive mud tire we know of and will send spares. If anyone has a better idea, were listening.

Leni

 

[cruiser_guy]

Our biggest hurddle is we don't know what tires Ben is going to be able to get over in Liberia. From the little info we have gathered anything he can get in Liberia is not available here in the US. So we just picked the most aggressive mud tire we know of and will send spares. If anyone has a better idea, were listening.

Leni

Post up on Expedition Portal: Vehicle-Dependent Overland Expedition Community and see if anyone on there is or has been travelling in Africa and Liberia specifically. Maybe they know what is available.

 

[Mikesta]

Very Very cool! We have great missionary friends in Liberia. They actually emailed us and told us of this build. Rick and Debbie Sacra. Rick is the lead doctor for a hospital there in Monrovia.

We attended church with them over in Massachusetts 15 years ago and last year ran into them at the grocery store in Seattle of all places. It was cool spending an evening with them, listening to the stories and advances they are making within the hospital they serve at. Very cool people with a dear heart for helping those in Liberia.

Count us in financially on this build. We will help where we can. Also, I've parted out about 8 FJ60's. Let me know if you need any parts. Free to the build if I have them.

 

[LiberiaBound]

Very Very cool! We have great missionary friends in Liberia. They actually emailed us and told us of this build. Rick and Debbie Sacra. Rick is the lead doctor for a hospital there in Monrovia.

We attended church with them over in Massachusetts 15 years ago and last year ran into them at the grocery store in Seattle of all places. It was cool spending an evening with them, listening to the stories and advances they are making within the hospital they serve at. Very cool people with a dear heart for helping those in Liberia.

Rick and Debbie are really good friends of ours, my wife is a nurse and works with Rick quite a bit. Rick and his family and such good people and have been through two evacuations. It is such a small world!

[/QUOTE]Count us in financially on this build. We will help where we can. Also, I've parted out about 8 FJ60's. Let me know if you need any parts. Free to the build if I have them.[/QUOTE]

THANKYOU for the help financially and also for the help with parts. We will let you know if there is something that we need and maybe you will have it.


I wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts on 12v or 24v systems. Any thoughts we can at this point go either way...

Thanks- Ben

 

[cruiser_guy]

I wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts on 12v or 24v systems. Any thoughts we can at this point go either way, we heard from a friend in Liberia that

"all the land cruiser have an in-line 6 cylinder 12 valve diesel engine. However the style and year land cruiser that you guys are working is very, very rare here in Liberia and I would not think that the parts would be interchangeable with the hard top land cruisers that are everywhere here"

any one have any thoughts that might help us

Thanks- Ben

If you can, find out if the 'Cruisers there have the 1HZ engine. The 1HZ is simply a newer version of the 2H and no, the parts do not interchange. The 2H would have been the older model.

Better yet, some pics of what they have. My guess is mostly '70 series.

 

[zuluzeugma]

Yeah, 1HZ would have been great but very spendy... From what we've heard, 2H parts are attainable there though.

 

[Jan-78FJ40]

I wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts on 12v or 24v systems. Any thoughts we can at this point go either way...

Thanks- Ben

Go with what they have there, which I think is 12V. Otherwise you'll have trouble getting the correct relays, bulbs, alternator...anything electrical.

I have an electronic 2H manual, but it is a big PDF file (74MB). I'd be happy to throw it on a CD (with a body manual, PDF of Toyota parts numbers, H55F manual...) and mail it as my contribution. Just let me know where to send it to.
cheers,
Jan

 

[LiberiaBound]

Go with what they have there, which I think is 12V. Otherwise you'll have trouble getting the correct relays, bulbs, alternator...anything electrical.

I have an electronic 2H manual, but it is a big PDF file (74MB). I'd be happy to throw it on a CD (with a body manual, PDF of Toyota parts numbers, H55F manual...) and mail it as my contribution. Just let me know where to send it to.
cheers,
Jan

THANKYOU I just sent you a PM, about where to send and an online option.

Yes most of the cruisers there are 70 series and lots 1hz's.
There are also some 100's there.

 

[Gwynley]

Go with what they have there, which I think is 12V. Otherwise you'll have trouble getting the correct relays, bulbs, alternator...anything electrical.

I have an electronic 2H manual, but it is a big PDF file (74MB). I'd be happy to throw it on a CD (with a body manual, PDF of Toyota parts numbers, H55F manual...) and mail it as my contribution. Just let me know where to send it to.
cheers,
Jan

If the truck is going to Africa this isn't a problem - it only seems to be the US where there is a problem getting hold of 24v stuff.

 

[RredFJ40]

What you guys are doing is amazing and we'll be praying for you. I have a friend working at Galmi Hospital in Niger with a 60 series diesel and I'll ask him some questions about his cruiser, engine, tires, availability and such. He's not a mechanic or anything but he may be able to give some input.

FWIW, you may want to make sure that you don't send too much stuff over as they'll probably need room in the shipping container for household goods as well. Make sure the tires you supply can be sourced over there or at least suitable substitutes. A winch may serve them better than ultra aggressive tires that may not be able to be replaced. Definitely something with as high a ply count as possible.

 

[Gwynley]

~ please be very careful about sending "freebies" to Africa. Well intentioned westerners have actually done more harm than good, creating a reliance culture. Countries such as Botswana have had their textile industry destroyed by charities flooding the country with clothes given by westerners. If you are trying to set up a business you cannot compete with free.

From my experience of places like Malawi it is difficult to get people to see the worth of business if they have had 20-30 years of people giving stuff away.

Far better to support local business with loans / and actually buying items out there.

Hope this is not too off topic.

 

[LiberiaBound]

~ please be very careful about sending "freebies" to Africa. Well intentioned westerners have actually done more harm than good, creating a reliance culture. Countries such as Botswana have had their textile industry destroyed by charities flooding the country with clothes given by westerners. If you are trying to set up a business you cannot compete with free.

From my experience of places like Malawi it is difficult to get people to see the worth of business if they have had 20-30 years of people giving stuff away.

Far better to support local business with loans / and actually buying items out there.

Hope this is not too off topic.

Gwynley, good point, we would love to buy things locally. Unfortunately Liberia is much like what you described in Malawi. After 15 years of civil war, 15,000 UN Peace keeping soldiers coming in it has created a dependence on outsiders.
With that being said everything comes from somewhere else, when we want to buy something in country you can get many things. All of which have been imported. When it comes down to it, we can buy something from someone and pay for them to import it. Or we can buy it, install it and import it. We love to support locals in this case it is just not possible, or possible with no guarantee of what we are going to get or what would be available and at what price you will pay.

 

[zuluzeugma]

A winch may serve them better than ultra aggressive tires that may not be able to be replaced. Definitely something with as high a ply count as possible.

Hoping to do both if the money is there! Problem is: sometime there is nothing to strap the winch cable to. We are trying to get a pull-pal donated or we may have to make one from scratch. Thanks!

 

[amos715]

wow - what an awesome project.

my son (only 11) will probably go to La Turn O, for his MAF training. my buddy went there for a couple of years for his mechanical engineer degree.

this is going to be a fun thread to watch

 

[cruiser_guy]

If you'll be parking the truck on the street as opposed to a locked or guarded compound a winch might have too much "theft appeal". It's amazing how many heads turn for the PTO winches on my trucks here in Guatemala. I have the luxury of parking in guarded or enclosed compounds most all the time.

Here I have seen folks bondo over the front wheel lockout mounting bolts to try to avoid theft!

I've got to assume that Liberia has as poor a police/security situation as Guatemala does. In other words if something goes "missing" it isn't likely to be found.

 

[zuluzeugma]

If you'll be parking the truck on the street as opposed to a locked or guarded compound a winch might have too much "theft appeal". It's amazing how many heads turn for the PTO winches on my trucks here in Guatemala. I have the luxury of parking in guarded or enclosed compounds most all the time.

Here I have seen folks bondo over the front wheel lockout mounting bolts to try to avoid theft!

I've got to assume that Liberia has as poor a police/security situation as Guatemala does. In other words if something goes "missing" it isn't likely to be found.

They live in a compound with a large brick wall with razor wire on top. I guess the old saying still applies though: "Locks keep honest people honest." We have all intentions of tack welding anything bolted down so someone has to REALLY want it to take it. Any other ideas for security concerns?

 

[GAS-A-LOT!]

Parts of El Salvador, the driver always stays with the truck. Or at least someone who can move it while your in the cities and towns.

Rural areas are not too bad but none the less, you keep it in a gated area or next to your window/door.

Not having it too shiny also, helps.

Also, at least what I have heard, is never leave anything of value in plain sight or near windows... Watches, shoes etc. I've heard stories where they break a window to take a pair of shoes while they are taking a bathroom break at a gas station. Again, This is mostly in big towns and cities...

Will keep you in our prayers...