Builds 1995 HZJ77 wagon build - Japan sourced

[OGBeno]

Ive b


I've not tried to replace without fully separating the two however it may be possible as I think all of the bolt reliefs are slots. I'm not at the shop to look at the gasket/trim (spacer) but based on our pics they may all be slots?

Front Fender Left Hand Side Spacer - OEM Toyota - Fits 7x Series (WS53879)

Toyota Land Cruiser Weather Strip

cruiserteq.com

It’s almost impossible to do without separating upper from lower.

 

[cruiserdan]

Ive b


I've not tried to replace without fully separating the two however it may be possible as I think all of the bolt reliefs are slots. I'm not at the shop to look at the gasket/trim (spacer) but based on our pics they may all be slots?

Front Fender Left Hand Side Spacer - OEM Toyota - Fits 7x Series (WS53879)

Toyota Land Cruiser Weather Strip

cruiserteq.com

They are not slotted. At least they were not when I painted mine 9 years ago. The new version has a captive metal core that keeps them from pulling out over time

 

[cruiseroutfit]

They are not slotted. At least they were not when I painted mine 9 years ago. The new version has a captive metal core that keeps them from pulling out over time

Hmmm, this is what I recall putting on more recently, they just have “openings” where they slot around the bolts? Again I’m a long ways away and DID fully separate mine when installing.

 

[cruiserdan]

Hmmm, this is what I recall putting on more recently, they just have “openings” where they slot around the bolts? Again I’m a long ways away and DID fully separate mine when installing.

View attachment 3853730

Maybe another revision or my memory is faulty. More likely the latter.

I do clearly remember the metal "spine" that the originals did not have.

 

[cruiserdan]

The more I think about it, the more I think they were slotted. Toyota is really good at getting holes in the right place but probably not that good.

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

The more I think about it, the more I think they were slotted. Toyota is really good at getting holes in the right place but probably not that good.

Thinking back on it some more, I believe they may have been slotted, and it was the plastic clips with the captured nuts that clipped onto the fender that held it in place until the bolts were tightened, and then it was sandwiched between the body panels.

 

[coldtaco]

When I did mine I just loosened all the bolts and slid it in, then tightened back up

 

[JuanJ]

Hmmm, this is what I recall putting on more recently, they just have “openings” where they slot around the bolts? Again I’m a long ways away and DID fully separate mine when installing.

View attachment 3853730

Hello,

My 1995 73 Series uses these. As they age, they slip out.

It may be possible that a design review after 1999 included the metal part.





Juan

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

Well, a lot of things have happened in the past year. Some good, some fun, and one... VERY BAD... but we'll get to that.

A while back I posted a list of projects I had planned. I got a decent number of them done, so I'll start with the list of completed projects that y'all have to look forward to seeing

Tire carrier swing arm assembly (started)
Reattached fender flares, and repaint + put new weather stripping on
Had Cruiser dynoed so I know what power I'm gettin before the turbo install (just to satisfy my own curiosity)
CAD and then bend an underseat mounting bracket to hold my ViAir compressor and 24-12 stepdown that powers my GMRS for under passenger seat
Wired aux lights on dash through highbeam switch so I can turn them off when I go to low beam (switchable so I can turn that function on and off)
CAD a new roof rack and have it cut
Installed the turbo kit
Rebuilt the power steering pump

Also was finally able to go to the 70 series meet at Wind Rock and met a lot of cool people. ^_^

First things first: I did the swing arm mount for the rear tire carrier in CAD (Cardboard Aided Design as usual), then cut and welded it to my bumper. Also got the rear barn door mounting plate bent up, sanded, painted, and mounted.

most of it is out of 3/16" steel for strength, but I wanted a bit of extra for the bottom plate (that may get drug across some rocks) so I made that out of 1/4" plate and fully boxed it in. I also had a fairly agressive angle to make sure it won't get hung up on anything while wheeling.

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

All painted up and shiney.

Got the door mounting plate finished, painted, and mounted.

All this in time to then pull the transmission out of my little Fiat 124 to see why it had been jumping out of 4th gear and making whining noises...

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

A little interlude to my own projects: I had to help dad get his little MG TD engine back in after he painstakingly rebuilt it after the turbo fiasco last year. (some of y'all may remember that I had to try car hauling with my HZJ77 for the first time to get him home when his engine failed on a British Car Club drive.... He found out that one of the rod bolts had snapped and so it caused enough play on the stroke to score a cylinder.)

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

Parking lot shot! (carrying another load of steel tubing for some more workshop projects ^_^ )

Finally Dyno time!
Had to drive nearly two hours to get up to Race City Autoworks who was suggested to me by a friend, but it was worth the drive. They were pretty quick and helpful getting everything done for me. And a lot of fun to look around the shop at some of the other things they were working on.

Any guess what it'll be at the wheel? Toyota says 129hp and 210lbft at the crank for a fresh 1HZ engine.

Yup... a whopping 89hp and 164lbft at the wheel

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

Workshop project!
My final design idea for the rear bumper tire carrier is going to require me to bend some 1-3/4 roll cage tubing, so... I purchased a SWAG tubing bender. It doesn't come with a mount, and I wanted something moveable, so I took inspiration from YT Dirt Lifestyle Nate's bender stand.

Also picked up a rear seat cover for my co-pilot and her sister. I like this one because it has hard plates in it that extend over the footwells for more walking space. It also folds in half if you need to have a passenger and a doggo in the back.

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

The previous owner put the OE fiberglass overfenders on... in an interesting way... he just used some metal strapping and sheet metal screws through the fiberglass and bodywork... That has caused some rust over time... (why I had to replace the front fender this spring)

I have given them quite the beating with my wheeling. Also cracked one by sliding sideways into a rock... so they were in need of a bit of love. Although fiberglass work is my nearly least favorite type of work (just in front of doing bondo work and sanding before paint...) I knuckled down and got it done it anyways.

I dremeled out the cracks to fit some epoxy and fiberglass reinforcement into, then sanded it down and painted it. Also remounted them using some strips of stainless steel, stainless bolts, and some stainless rivnuts through the bodywork and fenders (which I painted before adding the rivnuts to prevent more rust from forming. So hopefully that lasts a bit longer ^_^

Yes, I could have sanded them down smoother before painting them... but this isn't a show car, and I can almost GUARANTEE they'll be smacked into a rock and either broken or cracked again sometime soon

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

So, I've been wanting to go to the 70 Series Land Cruiser meet that @Gun Runner 5 , Sam Houston, Rob from Odd Iron, and a few other fine gentleman have been hosting since about the time I bought my HZJ77 back in 2018 and knew I'd be taking it home with me when I moved back from Japan.

It's been several years... and I couldn't go to many of the events due to Covid and then just life got in the way... but I was finally able to go this year!! ^_^ (dad came along for the ride too~)

Setting up camp, and changing to mud tires.

LOVE the retro graphics on this one! ^_^

Robs homebuilt VDJ79 (and Charles' VDJ76) were two of the coolest trucks there

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

Thursday evening getting to meet a few people was a lot of fun. Especially getting to see all the different trucks and how different people go about modifying them in completely different ways ^_ ^

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Thursday evening getting to meet a few people was a lot of fun. Especially getting to see all the different trucks and how different people go about modifying them in completely different ways ^_ ^

View attachment 3860415

View attachment 3860416

September 11-14 …. Hope you’ll return.

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

The meet up Friday in front of the Outpost was really cool as well.

Got to see some SUPER rare trucks too. Like this MEGA CRUISER (Japan's version of the HMMWV) that I haven't seen since I saw the JSDF rolling around in them in Japan!

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

September 11-14 …. Hope you’ll return.

I'm going to try to, but I'll have to see if I can get my engine rebuilt by then... (I'll post about what happened as I continue with the updates to this post, though you may have seen a bit about it on the 70 series FB page)

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

The MEGA CRUISER even comes with Portal axles like the HMMWV!

Another cool truck, and one I wish I had gotten a bit more time to take a look at was a Troopy with an AluCab Hercules pop-top camper conversion (I definitely want one )