Builds 1988 HJ75 Troopy rabbit hole (2 Viewers)

[Branwillith]

So I was doing the usual classifieds browsing while at work and an ad popped up with a single photo and a single sentence description of a troopy. It was somewhat local to me so we decided to check it out. Price was very reasonable compared to a lot of other troopies being sold these days.
I had recently sold my BJ73 to @Irish11 and was looking to fill the hole that was left.
Here she is before bringing it home.

A quick overview of the vehicle:

1988 HJ75 with an aftermarket turbo
ARB Rear locker with full float axles
Australian import
3rd side door for passengers
Some mileage on the clock. (I've given up being picky about mileage on Toyotas)
Aircon

Plans for the vehicle for now:

Main plan at the moment is to give it a nice baseline service. Rear hub needs attention.
Locker in the rear does not function properly. Seems like an air leak
Refresh cooling system as well as aircon.
Relocate spare to door. This was a rabbit hole that I did not know existed when I found out there are 70 series doors with and without internal support.

Here's what it looks like after cleaning it up a little and removing a weird smittybuilt rear bumper. I'll be replacing that with an OEM bumper.

 

[LXPlode]

thats gorgeous

 

[duncanrm]

3rd door conversion, right hand drive.. Mines vehicle or Ambulance from Australia are two solid possibilities.. any insight into its heritage? Mader in Tasmania did a lot of these third door conversions for local ambulance services.

 

[Branwillith]

3rd door conversion, right hand drive.. Mines vehicle or Ambulance from Australia are two solid possibilities.. any insight into its heritage? Mader in Tasmania did a lot of these third door conversions for local ambulance services.

I have not looked into it's history yet. It does have an industrial feel to the upgrades made to it so I'm suspecting mines or something like that.
It doesn't have much evidence of a hard life though it's hard to tell.

 

[AirheadNut]

Very nice! The third door looks like it adds a huge amount of usability to a Troopy. Australian ambulance conversion is the first thing that comes to mind for the history of the vehicle, though I believe there were some companies that did three door conversions in South Africa. @janyyc has a very similar 78-Series Troopy that was an ambulance.

 

[FJBen]

What a great troopy. That 3rd door will be helpful as all get out.

 

[JuanJ]

Hello,

Nice find.

I like the side vents on the HJ75s.





Juan

 

[coldtaco]

Hello,

Nice find.

I like the side vents on the HJ75s.





Juan

I wonder if those side vents in the engine compartment was a option because mine (85 Ute) didn’t come with them. I think it’s for battery cooling?

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Hello,

Nice find.

I like the side vents on the HJ75s.





Juan

Are they factory?

 

[coldtaco]

Are they factory?

I believe they are, they are listed in the parts book

 

[Branwillith]

Interesting. I was looking at another HJ75 for the African market and it did not have the side vents.
Definitely looks factory on mine though.

 

[JuanJ]

I wonder if those side vents in the engine compartment was a option because mine (85 Ute) didn’t come with them. I think it’s for battery cooling?

Hello,

I understand they provided additional engine cooling/ventilation for Australia-spec 75 Series.

I am not sure whether they were early- or late-model specific.





Juan

 

[JuanJ]

Are they factory?

Hello Charles,

Yes, they are.

And I like the look of them.





Juan

 

[ripcalifornia]

I saw this for sale and almost jumped on it, good buy!

 

[Branwillith]

I saw this for sale and almost jumped on it, good buy!

I'm glad I jumped on it. Plus it was local to me so it seemed like a no brainer

 

[ripcalifornia]

I'm glad I jumped on it. Plus it was local to me so it seemed like a no brainer

well if you see another one, let me know hahaha

 

[ofer bruhis]

I bought my 75 a few months ago. Any you think this is a rabbit hole...

 

[FJ73Texas]

Nice troopy. That third door will make access easy for you.

 

[Branwillith]

I bought my 75 a few months ago. Any you think this is a rabbit hole...

I bought my 75 a few months ago. Any you think this is a rabbit hole...

defidefinitely following along with your rabbit hole of a build!

 

[Branwillith]

Going along with my goal of not overbuilding this vehicle I decided to not go with an aftermarket rear bumper. This will help keep weight down and I don't have a huge desire to bash this cruiser over rocks. Got an 80 for that.
@joekatana had a 78 series OEM bumper and shipped it over to me with no delay. Thanks Joe!
The cross member had some cracks in it so I welded those up with my little Harbor Freight welder. (another new hobby...)

Welds aren't pretty but should be functional and make me feel better.
A couple holes on the 78 bumper don't line up but it fits for the most part. I'll drill some new holes tonight and get it straightened up.

Coming along nicely. I'm having second thoughts on putting the tire on the door. Original plan was to add a plate on both sides of the door skin to spread the load of the oem carrier. No dual tanks on this one so there isn't really anything stopping me from putting the spare in the original location underneath.