Turbocharged bj73 (1 Viewer)

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Location
United States
I'm hoping to find this city driven cruiser a new home. It's been a very fun to drive with the brand new turbo. Comfortable daily driver.


Compression test on 4 cylinders was 500, 500, 500, 500
· Garrett turbo charger with full floating bearings and less than 10k miles on the turbo
· 2 ½ inch custom exhaust with aero turbine muffler
· Extremely clean vehicle inside and out
· Low A/R ratio for quick acceleration off the line with plenty of boost left for highway driving
· Fiberglass removable top. Windshield folds down


SERVICE
Extensive service records from the last 6 yrs of work done from right hand drive Landcruiser specialty shop. Rocker glide undercoating/rust proof professionally done. The frame was totally washed out until the water ran clean. Dried out for days in a garage. Bolts removed where possible. Thoroughly brushed, cleaned and sprayed with rust treatment. Later was coated, after the coat dried it was sealed. Bolts cleaned and put back.
I had the cruiser compression tested and inspected by the same shop that had been servicing it and had all the recommended repairs done before I bought it. This shop’s turbo expert installed the turbo/guages and did a custom 2 ½ inch exhaust for a total cost of ~$4,500 for a professional installation with all necessary adjustments made.
Front brakes were inspected and at 65%. Rear brakes are at 95%. Bearings checked are repacked where needed. Tie rod ends have been replaced. Re cored radiator.


HISTORY
The vehicle is very mechanically sound. The previous owner never drove it much and kept it in his garage for most of its life. I bought the truck from the owner’s son who said that his Dad came home one day and surprised his family by saying he bought a cool truck. His dad is out of town for work 10 months out of the year so he was never home to drive it. The PO drove a Landcruiser in Spain off road once so that is probably where he got the idea to buy this one. He never took it off road and the owner before him in Japan probably didn't take if off road much. As a result the stock suspension is still very comfortable. They took it into a Landcruiser shop for regular fluid changes and each time told them to fix whatever was necessary. I have all of these records. They were a well off family and were selling it to make room for a sports car.

AFTERMARKET
It has Old Man Emu suspension bushings and Cooper ATR discoverer with less than 6k miles on them. The cruiser has a pyro and a boost gauge.

Depending on the cost of current body work I will be asking $15,000-15,500. I will do any leg work within reason if buyer wants a new bumper, suspension lift picked up from ARB, different tires, a green monkey etc.
 
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I have a bull bar from a HJ61 that mounts to the PTO winch frame. It can be included in the sale. The bar will need some light fabrication to get it to fit as the hj61's are a little wider than a 70 series.

I also picked up a 70 series safari rack. Not included in the sale. Just looks really cool.

The ARB warehouse down the street has an complete Old Man Emu lift kit in stock and will cost ~$1,600 no tax and no shipping involved. Just an option.

If you live in Florida and you buy the cruiser I can pay for some of the shipping, part of a plane ticket, or buy you lots of drinks when you arrive. Just a thought.

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The bj73 is a 5 speed. It was turbocharged and maintained by the legendary John Voo "turbo master" at ATEB. His Prado pulled a loaded trailer up a mountain pass with 20+ #'s of boost and at highway speed. His Prado is pretty sweet not sure how he did it with a 4 cylinder engine.
 
I am heeding to good advice and should have done this long ago. Took the cruiser in for its "operaton" a couple days ago. I should have thought from a buyers perspective about the uncertainties of the rust areas and the costs associated with them. Learned a lesson.

I asked the body shop to update me with pics. They aren't too far from my house so I will try to drop in and check on the progress myself too. I liked the fact I didn't get a quote and the owner told me they have to cut into it to get a better idea of where they can make welds for the new panels. The body shop does a good bit of custom work and came recommended by a local 4x4 shop.

I feel confident that this repair will last and want to make sure the work is done right. The owner said they will treat the areas to try to prevent future rust from forming. Any advice from those familiar with this rocker repair will be appreciated. I'm thinking about having the inside of the windshield frame treated too for preservation.

Going to leave the side steps off after the repair because I have seen water pool up and not drain on the step exactly where the rust started. The step contacts the body so the rocker gets a bit "water logged" with the step holding water next to it. This seems to be the case on a lot of the MWB 70's I've seen.

I'll update with pics when available.
 
In the middle of surgery at the moment. The body shop owner thought the body panels were incredibly thick and gave him one more reason to love and respect the cruiser. Rust has been cut out/ treated with rust converter and new panels are being welded in. Wheel well paint bubbles were on the outside and were sanded down to bare metal.

Can't wait to get it out of the shop. I miss the turbo spool sound. It is very likely the decals on the side are coming off. I talked to the body shop owner and a friend who works at another body shop. They both have experience with these decals and recommend using a rubber eraser wheel.

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I removed "Toyota graphics" from a 1987 4Runner and I can tell you that the adhesive that they used has the same half life as nuclear material. We literally had to remove them with a razor blade inch by inch. :D
 
I removed "Toyota graphics" from a 1987 4Runner and I can tell you that the adhesive that they used has the same half life as nuclear material. We literally had to remove them with a razor blade inch by inch. :D

I hope I don't have to use a razor blade to take the decals off. A heat gun in conjunction with the eraser might be the way to go. Might end up with a couple of dents of the body from kicks of frustration if I have to use a razor blade. Not to mention countless six packs of soda pop.
 
Stopped by to check on progress today. Wheel well lips had some bubbles forming so they were sanded down to bare metal. Getting closer..

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What a great truck!

Thanks. It would look even better with bigger tires and a new bumper/ bull bar.

A new bit of history. This cruiser was originally imported by Outback Imports and was sold to a mechanic who worked at the shop that fixed a lot of their quality cruisers before they hit the market.
 
Checked up on progress today. Stickers are off! I was told they weren't too hard to take off and it looks great. When I asked about the body filler on the rocker panels the owner reassured me that they welded new plates (he showed me exactly where) and used body filler to smooth everything out to give it a smooth even finish.

They had a cool hot rod in the shop today. The shop works on a lot of old muscle cars.

I'm going to have the body shop mount the stainless bull bar on the bj74 next. The bar has mounts for a couple of lights right in the middle which will make it even cooler.

I checked out a custom Fabrication shop called Perkins Performance today.

ttp://www.perkinsperformance.com/

They make custom bumpers among other things. I kind of think they are nicer than an ARB because they are completely custom and a bit cheaper. They have recessed housings for 4 in light fixtures. 5/16 metal would be used on a bumper for the bj73. 1/4 in metal is used for some larger bumpers they make. They can make a bar out of up to 2 1/2 in tubing. Shackle mounts and tow bar mounts for a hi lift jack are an option. They had a lot of colors to choose from too. They make a nice dual pull out rear bumper that has a jerry can holder as well as chromoly roof racks and roll cages. From talking to the owner people from all around the Seattle area have taken their 4x4's here because of the quality of the work. His tig welds looked very nice.

I was quoted ~$1200 for a custom bumper and bar. Seems like a sweet deal to me.

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This bumper (the one with the jerry can holder) was made by Perkins Performance and was backed into by a semi truck. The bar was bent slightly and was bent back into place. The bumper itself from what I saw sustained no real damage. Pretty stout!

The rust spot in the second picture was deeper than I thought. They were able to get it out and treat it. Glad this was caught before it spread too far.

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This truck was
from Ateb in Burnaby right?!

Yes. This cruiser was serviced regularly by ATEB for about 6 years. I asked John (Philip's brother/mechanic) which of the 4 MWB 70 series cruisers I have bought I should keep. He has inspected all of them and done work for me on 3. He said I should keep this one because he knows what has been done and the turbo is still very new.

The more work I do to this cruiser the more I want to keep it. Oh well. Its still for sale. Maybe not for much longer though.
 
Sorry maybe i missed it, but you list a price? Thanks, T
 
Sorry maybe i missed it, but you list a price? Thanks, T

I adjusted the first post so not to confuse anyone about the price. It was outdated.

I had the price at $14,500 before I started the rust repair. The price will likely go through the roof for non mud members and be about $15,000-$15,500 for members depending on the final bill. I'll do any leg work within reason if you want any mods installed or picked up.
 
To anyone skeptical of he rockers being stuffed with filler here's pics of the rocker panel replacement / door jam welded on so you can see the plastic used was a minimally thin skim coat. Primer was sprayed today. Almost there.

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