1992 HZJ-75 Troopy: Going to need a bunch of advice on this build..... (1 Viewer)

[Bing173rd]

Whether it is a good or bad idea has yet to be seen, but I was able to purchase an old 1992 75 Series 1HZ troopy. Mechanically seems legit at first glance, body and interior are a bit rough but those should be easy fixes as the interior is pretty sparse to begin with.

I am rookie with dealing with older vehicles but I am looking forward to learning and playing with fixing this thing into a decent overland style rig. The first of many questions I will annoy members of this forum with is about what mechanical areas are the biggest concern I should tackle first as well as a rudimentary service schedule for fluids and such.

I am going to get the timing belt replaced, I know it’s supposed to be done every 100Ks but being used I am not sure when it was done last. But what other areas are hotspots?

A couple of pictures before it was sent to the body shop. Having them go over it to ensure there isn't any rust hiding than painting it to look all pretty again...

 

[MyCruiserisaHogBeast]

That's one sexy pile you've got there! Welcome! There are some crusty web warriors in the 70 series section here, but try not to let them bother you. This is supposed to be a community and it's still much friendlier territory than other forums, despite internet culture trying to divide us all, so ask away....

Anyway, is this your first Cruiser? How many KMs? Generally speaking, a 1HZ rig is pretty bombproof. You mentioned the timing belt. Other than that it's just normal car stuff, if it leaks or is cracked or looks old, fix or replace. I bought mine and immediately drove it cross country from Missouri to CA without a hitch. You should be able to do the same.

As for the rest of the truck you can look up most of the common Land Cruiser stuff. Knuckles on the front axle are almost always due for servicing on an older rig, you'll know if the knuckle balls are wet with oil. Because it's kind of a Land Cruiser thing I recommend everyone do their own knuckles at least once since it's kind of the only thing that goes "wrong" on a Cruiser when you use it hard. It's kind of a right of passage, haha. Also make sure the nuts on the top of the steering knuckles are tight.

Check trans and t case fluid, they should be level with the fill plug. If one way way higher than the other and fluid pours out of the fill hole, that means you have a bad seal between the trans and t case and that should be fixed as a bad seal will cause the trans and transfer case to push fluid from one to the other, leaving the other low. Which one gets more fluid depends on the conditions inside, I believe the t case will usually push fluid to the trans. that's what it did on mine.

After than, it's all basically the same as any old 4x4. Fix and replace stuff that's old. Enjoy it. Make sure and cycle 4x4 and lockers, if it has any. Turn the hubs, make sure they work and don't stick.

 

[FJBen]

Sweet looking 70!
I'd just go for a full baseline on the rig.

T-belt
Water Pump
Any sketchy looking hoses
Coolant flush
Oil
Filters, oil/air
Brakes

Then move on to, if it needs...
Knuckle rebuild
tie rod ends
diff fluids
rear axle rebuild (bearings/seals)


Then you can start a regular schedule on maintenance

Welcome!

 

[Gun Runner 5]

I think I'll change my 'MUD signature to "crusty web warrior".

 

[Loober]

Replace ALL brake lines hard and soft. You'll find many of the threaded connections being seized or stripped, causing you to question is this worth the satisfaction of posting about your brake line replacement project on the "What did you do on your 70 series" thread. At least you'll in the comfort of your garage where you can go inside and take it out on your wife rather then stuck on a side of the road. Depending on your state of residence, the wife part may not be applicable.

 

[Bing173rd]

It is my first one, it has 250K kms, not the best but seems like these things are tanks so that isn't half bad. And honestly, this site is pretty helpful. It is the internet so you have to take the good with the bad with who and how they respond but overall this site is super helpful.

That's one sexy pile you've got there! Welcome! There are some crusty web warriors in the 70 series section here, but try not to let them bother you. This is supposed to be a community and it's still much friendlier territory than other forums, despite internet culture trying to divide us all, so ask away....

Anyway, is this your first Cruiser? How many KMs? Generally speaking, a 1HZ rig is pretty bombproof. You mentioned the timing belt. Other than that it's just normal car stuff, if it leaks or is cracked or looks old, fix or replace. I bought mine and immediately drove it cross country from Missouri to CA without a hitch. You should be able to do the same.

As for the rest of the truck you can look up most of the common Land Cruiser stuff. Knuckles on the front axle are almost always due for servicing on an older rig, you'll know if the knuckle balls are wet with oil. Because it's kind of a Land Cruiser thing I recommend everyone do their own knuckles at least once since it's kind of the only thing that goes "wrong" on a Cruiser when you use it hard. It's kind of a right of passage, haha. Also make sure the nuts on the top of the steering knuckles are tight.

Check trans and t case fluid, they should be level with the fill plug. If one way way higher than the other and fluid pours out of the fill hole, that means you have a bad seal between the trans and t case and that should be fixed as a bad seal will cause the trans and transfer case to push fluid from one to the other, leaving the other low. Which one gets more fluid depends on the conditions inside, I believe the t case will usually push fluid to the trans. that's what it did on mine.

After than, it's all basically the same as any old 4x4. Fix and replace stuff that's old. Enjoy it. Make sure and cycle 4x4 and lockers, if it has any. Turn the hubs, make sure they work and don't stick.

 

[deadhead7]

250k is nothing, you should be stoked about that. My ‘92 PZJ75 will be hitting 400K very soon.

I had the same uncertainty about the timing belt when I bought mine. Found on my truck there was a sticker on the timing belt cover that had the mileage written when it was last replaced.Yours will probably only have that if a Toyota dealership had done it, but could be something to check.

For me it just confirmed my suspicion that it was way overdue.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Of all of the information you've been given, the most important and first thing you should do has been omitted.
Post more photos .....

 

[AirheadNut]

Agreed, 250k is peanuts; that’s only 155k miles. A US spec cruiser with that mileage would be considered “low miles” and be worth a small fortune! Congrats on the purchase, sounds like you’re on the right track!

 

[FJ73Texas]

The 70 series tend to age pretty well if they are not constantly beat on "in the bush" or "in the mines". Rust is the worse enemy of the older 70 series.

 

[JuanJ]

Sweet looking 70!
I'd just go for a full baseline on the rig.

T-belt
Water Pump
Any sketchy looking hoses
Coolant flush
Oil
Filters, oil/air
Brakes

Then move on to, if it needs...
Knuckle rebuild
tie rod ends
diff fluids
rear axle rebuild (bearings/seals)


Then you can start a regular schedule on maintenance

Welcome!

Hello,

x2.

Add

1. Front axle rotors/bearings/seals.
2. Clutch master and slave, along with lines.
3. Transmission oil.
4. Transfer seals.

At 250k kilometers your Troopie is broken in. As stated above, 70 Series age well if not abused.

Welcome to the madness.





Juan

 

[Bing173rd]

I only found a couple of little rust spots, one of the rear lights seal was bad and let water into that area and a couple of little pinholes in the rear wheel wells. I had the windshield pulled to redo the rubbers and was surprised that there was no rust around the area. I heard that was a bad spot so I was pretty happy.

The 70 series tend to age pretty well if they are not constantly beat on "in the bush" or "in the mines". Rust is the worse enemy of the older 70 series.

 

[tmarx]

Congrats on a nice find - looks in good condition with nice upgrades already !

And in case you did not know: 75 Series Troopys Rule !

 

[Bing173rd]

A couple pics of the money pit It came with pretty fancy door cards. I ripped out the entire interior already minus the dash but the plan is to replace all the old brown stuff with new grey parts. Seems easier to acquire and honestly outside of weird pieces here and there the parts are rather cheap.

 

[divemedic]

I’d recommend getting all bodywork done in japan (looks like you’re in Okinawa?); rust repair and paint is so much cheaper. I’d also recommend all your soft parts like weather stripping and window gaskets, replaced concurrently.

Also interior work is cheap done in Japan too.

Aside from the baseline stuff mentioned, just enjoy the truck. All the mods and extensive maintenance can be done in the states.

Some light reading:

Builds - Stiflers Hzj75rv Mild build

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Builds - The '93 Troopy Hodgepodge

This is going to be a slow build for the next few months. But I figured I needed a place to post my progress of the clusterfuck of parts and vehicles that'll come together to make this... thing. After owning a built-ish 200 series for a year and a half, I realized they aren't my thing. They're...

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Builds - Portland Troopy Build

I recently purchased a 1990 BJ75 Troopy from gilmorneau. You may recall his "Tale of Two Troopies" post. He found himself in a position where he had bought two Troopies so I helped him with his "problem." ( I now have that problem as well but that will be in another post at a later date.) The...

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Builds - A simple Troopy build thread....

Figured I'd better get build thread going on this one...it's moving WAY faster than I planned. We all like pics and fortunately, I take far too many. So I think this one is going to be super pic heavy......it won't be technical, it won't be a super cool pop top Alu-cab truck. Just a beat down...

forum.ih8mud.com

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[FJBen]

A couple pics of the money pit It came with pretty fancy door cards. I ripped out the entire interior already minus the dash but the plan is to replace all the old brown stuff with new grey parts. Seems easier to acquire and honestly outside of weird pieces here and there the parts are rather cheap.
View attachment 2344652View attachment 2344653View attachment 2344654

Paging @Rainman That interior is right up his alley

That troopy looks really nice, it always cracks me up to find out what previous owners do. Just the strangest things. I've been EXTREMELY lucky with my BJ74 and previous owner mods.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Seems as though you actually have a Toyota steering wheel which is a rare occurrence.

 

[Bing173rd]

Not the correct one, it did come with the weird little one that the Japanese love but it had that one as a spare. Its grey, the rest of the interior was tan. Well the majority of the interior, its a bit mismatched.

 

[Bing173rd]

I am getting a lot of the work done here in Japan, labor is way cheaper. Plus parts that are not troopy specific are easy to get and free shipping. The plan is to get it looking better over here and then do all the fun stuff to it back in the states.

I use the simple troopy build as a baseline of what I need to do, it won't be as pretty but very helpful.

In Sasebo, Japan.

 

[Honger]

Nice truck! 250,000 kms is nothing. It’s more a matter of how it was used. Yours looks to be in fine shape if perhaps questionably decorated.

Others have covered the baseline stuff. Once your timing belt is done then brakes, clutch, axles... drive it.

Picked mine up with around 230,000 kms... sitting at 247,000 now... and my confidence in this trucks longevity is only building.

More pics...