DamoPeru
SILVER Star
Well here goes… I’ve been putting this off for a number of years, the restoration/expo build has been agonisingly slow, now in its 5th year, due to a mix of slow local workshops (or car jails as I like to call them), import downtime, my living in a high rise apartment with no decent garage and of late just plain bad workmanship. Whilst I always planned a build thread to give back a little of the knowledge I gained from this and other forums, I had originally thought to hold off until it was finished so everything could be appreciated in one concise block without flicking over too many comments, but the last 6-months I’ve actually taken a rest from the hands-on part of the build to travel and I’m starting to forget what I did, so chau to that idea.
In the next few days (or weeks) I’ll be attempting to post everything done to date in some sort of order. I had debated putting this in the expo build section, but much of my customizing is very specific to the 70, so here it goes...
Edit: this is a better intro photo, my thinned down repair manual, where I replaced all the sections updated by supplements and removed the bits on other models.
I do love Peru but it’s been a difficult place to source and build an expedition vehicle. After a 3-year search, I ended up with a 2002 HZJ78L STD without a single factory extra, one of only 45 registered post-1990 diesel troopies in the country at the time, with no body/chassis rust (due to the very high altitude), painted to sell and absolutely everything mechanical completely knackered after being thrashed in a Peruvian gold mine for 7 years with what appears to be no maintenance whatsoever. Beggers can't be choosers, but I finally had a troopy again (FYI, at that point in time you still couldn't buy a new troopy from Toyota Peru, they had only been brought in on special imports for a couple of mines or by the Red Cross).
The only extras were the sturdy bull bar, a mine spec roll cage, a burnt out Ray Hall adjusted AXT turbo, and a non-operative aftermarket aircon.
As bought.
It wasn’t driveable, I brought her the 600km home lashed to a trailer.
In the next few days (or weeks) I’ll be attempting to post everything done to date in some sort of order. I had debated putting this in the expo build section, but much of my customizing is very specific to the 70, so here it goes...
Edit: this is a better intro photo, my thinned down repair manual, where I replaced all the sections updated by supplements and removed the bits on other models.
I do love Peru but it’s been a difficult place to source and build an expedition vehicle. After a 3-year search, I ended up with a 2002 HZJ78L STD without a single factory extra, one of only 45 registered post-1990 diesel troopies in the country at the time, with no body/chassis rust (due to the very high altitude), painted to sell and absolutely everything mechanical completely knackered after being thrashed in a Peruvian gold mine for 7 years with what appears to be no maintenance whatsoever. Beggers can't be choosers, but I finally had a troopy again (FYI, at that point in time you still couldn't buy a new troopy from Toyota Peru, they had only been brought in on special imports for a couple of mines or by the Red Cross).
The only extras were the sturdy bull bar, a mine spec roll cage, a burnt out Ray Hall adjusted AXT turbo, and a non-operative aftermarket aircon.
As bought.
It wasn’t driveable, I brought her the 600km home lashed to a trailer.
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