Bandeirante 1990 Cabine Dupla OJ55LP-2BL - The Knowledge Build (1 Viewer)

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In the MUD...OUTSIDE the box
From the first time I saw a Bandeirante Cabine Dupla, I wanted one. Back in 2005, I lived and worked in Brasil for 6 months and had the opportunity to check them out close up and drive one with 14B engine.

Recently, they have started to trickle into the USA (finalmente!). So, I bought one. I'll call him "o Brasileiro" - the Brazilian. This will be a daily driver, light overland vehicle.
This thread will document the details and slow refurbish/refresh of my 1990 OJ55LP-2BL Cabine Dupla as I learn the ins-outs of such a cool Toyota. And, hopefully, some Brazilians and other US Bandeirante owners will find this thread and contribute along the way.

I haven't had a chance to dig in much, yet. It looks like it had a good respray many years ago and is in overall very good condition. Factory undercoating still in place and no rot (only light surface rust). By 1990, paint technology as well as manufacturing processes were more modern and precise and it's clear when looking at the Bandeirante that they were built to last and perhaps refined some of what Toyota Japan taught Toyota Brasil.

The truck runs and drives well. But, like every +25 year old cruiser, there is maintenance, repairs and improvements needed...which is the fun part!

The specs:
  • 4 cylinder Mercedes Benz diesel
  • H42 trans. non split-case
  • factory power steering
  • No heat, no AC.
  • OME suspsension
Initial plans are to go through the vehicle thoroughly and clean/rebuild/replace as needed. Then, down the road, maybe some mods like H55F (maybe even a 1HZ, the MB diesel is bullet proof but sloooooooooooow, and would be good to have 5 speed for US roads and highways), bumpers, sliders, lighting, bed canopy, etc. Pics to follow...

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Pics?
 
Got to spend a little time cleaning it over the weekend. Upon further review, it looks like original paint. When waxing it, I could see where the paint is thin, able to see the primer beneath, in a few spots from buffing. Any overspray or drip/runs appear to be factory installed :hillbilly:.

Historical tidbit: The first Brazilian Land Cruisers were assembled from kits in a warehouse leased from Ford Brasil. CKD (complete knock down) production was utilized. The Toyota do Brasil plant was completed in 1962 to increase domestic production of the Land Cruiser and reduce CKD. By 1968, the Brazilian Land Cruiser (still with the name Land Cruiser) was built 100% with Brazilian domestically manufactured parts. Toyota Japan had donated much of it's older, vintage heavy machinery and presses to Toyota do Brasil to help in the full domestication of Toyota do Brasil. In 1969, the Brazilian Land Cruiser still based on the FJ25L body (with the funky one-piece front clip/bezel) was redesigned and the Bandeirante was born. In 1989, the headlights were changed from round to square.

Took some pics, today. Early style door limiters, factory seem sealer in great shape, the mighty OM (Mercedes do Brasil) 314-S 3.8L DI NA 85HP @ 2800 RPM diesel (apparently there are marine applications for this motor, too), firewall has thick sound deadening carpet material.

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To turn off the truck, there is a mechanical cable button which is OEM. The first issue I was trying to figure out was why is the idle too high. It turns out the mechanical cable button twists like a choke like on some other cruisers and it was turned too much. Now he idles fine.

The next issue is the speedometer wasn't working. I pulled the cluster and cleaned the speedo gears (they were stuck), hooked up the speedo cable and still no speedometer. Fiddled with the cable some more at the t-case end and made sure it was spinning the odometer. Pulled the drive gear and found it's worn. It's got a metal gear with 10 teeth - not sure if that is common in other cruisers. Tomorrow I will try to see if the other side (in the nose of the t-case) is OK. I'd like to replace with an OEM Toyota Japan part, if possible.

EDIT: Looks like 10 teeth is not common..will probably pull apart the end of the t-case to see what that gear is.

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Research has yielded that Bandeirantes used 10 or 11 tooth speedo gears (pinhao do velocimetro). I can get new ones, including the worm gear, out of Brazil. But, first, will see if I can convert to a 16 or 17 tooth setup (drive (worm) and driven gears) from a 40 and have proper speedo calibration...stay tuned...
 
58-59 they were ckd kits and sold as 59' models.... and even then they were using gm261 engines to start as they had issues with the engine assemblies from toyota

The production shifted because of nationalization laws.

By 1962 however they were 100% Brazilian made. The 1st year in oct 1958 they were receiving knock down kits...they were not able to receive parts till that time. during the 1959 year the brazil gov imposed that they be 85% brazil made...toyoda do brasil was only at 60% at that time. Further production and tooling started there . some time in 1960 they imposed 95% brazil made which made the engines which they received many parts for now not usable. they contracted with Benz brazil for the 4cyl mb engines that were being produced there in jan 1962. April 1st 1962 the 1st benz powered bandi 25 come off the assembly line.
 
Small update - The Bandeirante worm drive gear (bottom) and the Land Cruiser worm drive (top, 6x17). Thanks to @pardion, I've been able to swap out the 10 tooth Bandi driven gear for TLC parts. I'll be running a 16 tooth driven gear which will hopefully keep the speedometer correct with 33" tires. Took apart the speedo housing and there were no surprises.

Ended up putting a speedi-sleeve on the output shaft ( just because I had it out and apart, but it wasn't grooved ), oil seal, and gasket. The parking brake shoes were in good condition.

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Next up is rebuilding the two carrier bearing mounts. The assembly has to be unbolted to remove the driveshaft from the parking brake drum.
The rubbers were squished and worn, as is the stud. I sourced some new bushings from Energy Suspension that closely matched the dimensions of the worn bushings, and plan to find the correct style stud/bolt to complete the assembly.
Original Bandi part on the left (welded on nut is not OEM).

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UPDATE - Carrier bearing mounts installed using SS shoulder bolts, SS washers and nuts. Tcase buttoned up with TLC worm gear and driven gear, new o-rings, new gaskets. Parking brake adjusted. Took it for a spin and the speedometer seems close based on traffic - 35MPH road and speedometer was reading slightly under 60 KM/H (still need to GPS it). No tcase leaks or vibrations. Good to go.

Next issue to address - When I turn sharp to the left, I get some tire rub on the PS steering box(40 series style setup). Will try to adjust the knuckle housing bolt to limit the movement, but am also researching other options like small wheel spacer, narrower tire (33x10.50 BFG mud terrain, currently) or different wheel/tire combo.

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Just purchased this crew cab from a friend in Birmingham, Alabama. His company imports from Brazil. To get the crew cabs imported, he is having the bodies swapped to an older frame. The frames carry the vin numbers not the bodies. Mine is a 96 body installed on a 91 frame. It has the turbo Mercedes motor and a 5 spd trans upgrade. He has 2 more being restored in Brazil at this time soon to be imported. He is able to get body parts as well, I'm wanting to get a stamped tailgate for mine.
staimports.com check out his website

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