Builds 1996 KZJ78 Family Wagon Build

[FJ40 that green thing]

Hello everyone, looks like I'm going to be here on the 70's forum a bit now so I wanted to introduce myself and start somewhat of a build thread. I've owned a handful of land cruisers and other vintage offroaders over the years. Recently sold this 45 pickup that I enjoyed and modded for adventures. Loved that thing but mainly due to space for my children, I decided it was time to move on to something SUV.

The RHD isn't really an issue living in a smaller town, the 1KZ turbo diesel and solid axles as well as 7+ seater all had appeal for me plus its something different and unique. Found this one with approx 200km and in overall excellent shape. I am not naïve to the strengths and weaknesses of this vehicle and gave it tons of consideration among a few other potential adventure vehicle options but so far enjoying it alot! Have all the wishlist everyone with a prado does.... cooling and performance mods, lift, etc. Just wanted a place to put the info. to help me and others learn along the journey. Follow along if you're interested.

Here are a few pics of the outgoing 45 and the day the 1996 KZJ78 delivered to my door. First mod, JDM mirror and window bubble delete (not a fan) as well as a good cleaning.

Zach

 

[FJ40 that green thing]

Odyssey group 27 AGM battery is a perfect fit for stock battery tray.

 

[FJ40 that green thing]

Ironman constant load lift kit installed last weekend. Was about a 5 hrs job with a shop lift. Massive improvement over the worn OEM suspension. Gained something like 4-5" due to the sag factor. Next up, Dobs front bumper, ARB off road lights, ARB Compressor, Sound system, Kaiapoi downpipe/exhaust and address the wheel/tire combo before summer. Running some studded 245 70 17 duratrac tires on FJ Cruiser steelies with 1.5" spacers I had sitting around for now. Amazing what a lift and getting rid of some chrome can do. I will soon have a Prado OEM front bumper and brush guard available if anyone is interested.

 

[Rigster]

Congrats on the new family wagon! I am really happy with my 76, which I have for the same reason - hauling kids!

Looking forward to seeing what you do with it and how you like it given time. So far, looking great!

 

[FJ40 that green thing]

Congrats on the new family wagon! I am really happy with my 76, which I have for the same reason - hauling kids!

Looking forward to seeing what you do with it and how you like it given time. So far, looking great!

@Rigster, Thanks! Jealous you have a 76. Thus, it shall be called: Family Wagon.

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

Congrats! I've been daily driving a 70 series Prado for 10 years now. Love these trucks a lot.

Looking forward to following your build.

 

[Roastchestnuts]

Ironman constant load lift kit installed last weekend. Was about a 5 hrs job with a shop lift. Massive improvement over the worn OEM suspension. Gained something like 4-5" due to the sag factor. Next up, Dobs front bumper, ARB off road lights, ARB Compressor, Sound system, Kaiapoi downpipe/exhaust and address the wheel/tire combo before summer. Running some studded 245 70 17 duratrac tires on FJ Cruiser steelies with 1.5" spacers I had sitting around for now. Amazing what a lift and getting rid of some chrome can do. I will soon have a Prado OEM front bumper and brush guard available if anyone is interested.

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How much would you be asking for the bumper? Are you willing to ship it? Also Congrats on the new cruiser! I just got mine recently too. Still learning the ins and outs. Its a little different than my old fj80.

 

[FJ40 that green thing]

How much would you be asking for the bumper? Are you willing to ship it? Also Congrats on the new cruiser! I just got mine recently too. Still learning the ins and outs. Its a little different than my old fj80.

message me, we'll discuss. I'm not looking to get rich and yes I would ship for you.

 

[FJ40 that green thing]

JDM factory head unit is useless in USA. Won't tune over FM 88, won't play CD's likely because of format and that leaves my music options to cassette tapes ha ha. If you haven't shopped electronics lately, there are severe disruptions in inventory. I found this ATOTO F7 (close enough to toyota?) Available with Apple Carplay or Android Auto and Bluetooth connectivity for a bargain at around $160. Well reviewed and for a simple head unit, it's all I need. I like it alot so far. Reminds me of some of the Blaupunkt stereos I've had before. Basic but effective and straight forward. Actually seems more OEM than aftermarket to me. No disco ball light shows in the background. The body of it is only 2-3 thick and the face fits the dash bezel like a glove.

Don't plan on plug and play for the factory harness. Too many amps and wizardry behind the harness for a direct wiring adapter to work. Using a test light, I identified ign. wire, constant power and ground but bypassed everything else. Still working on speaker install. Will post more with progress. I planned for a 5 channel amp and replace all factory speakers with pioneer equivelants.

 

[FJ40 that green thing]

Dobinsons front winch bumper installation. Had to be one of the easiest installs I've ever done. Bumper fit up really well, only 4 bolts. I am thinking of adding some additional hardware, id feel more comfortable using a winch on it.

 

[FJ40 that green thing]

ARB Solis off road lights test fit. The light mounts on this bumper are a little small for a good fit. I'll look for some steel plate to increase the surface area so the light bases have a more secure mounting position.

 

[Roastchestnuts]

ARB Intensity off road lights test fit. The light mounts on this bumper are a little small for a good fit. I'll look for some steel plate to increase the surface area so the light bases have a more secure mounting position.

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Looks good man! Looks like Ill be getting a sick factory bumper soon too

 

[kgrove]

JDM factory head unit is useless in USA. Won't tune over FM 88, won't play CD's likely because of format and that leaves my music options to cassette tapes ha ha. If you haven't shopped electronics lately, there are severe disruptions in inventory. I found this ATOTO F7 (close enough to toyota?) Available with Apple Carplay or Android Auto and Bluetooth connectivity for a bargain at around $160. Well reviewed and for a simple head unit, it's all I need. I like it alot so far. Reminds me of some of the Blaupunkt stereos I've had before. Basic but effective and straight forward. Actually seems more OEM than aftermarket to me. No disco ball light shows in the background. The body of it is only 2-3 thick and the face fits the dash bezel like a glove.

Don't plan on plug and play for the factory harness. Too many amps and wizardry behind the harness for a direct wiring adapter to work. Using a test light, I identified ign. wire, constant power and ground but bypassed everything else. Still working on speaker install. Will post more with progress. I planned for a 5 channel amp and replace all factory speakers with pioneer equivelants.

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I'm curious - are you just replacing the factory speakers with new equivalents? Or you're changing the size and location? The front speakers are extremely limiting. My eventual plan is to build some kind of speaker pod to locate a 6.5" speaker on the door instead of using the tiny dash speakers for the front (3.5 or 4 inch - can't recall which). I haven't gotten around to planning it yet, however. I've gotten as far as finding some nice speaker pods out of Australia, but the price is a bit high so they might be more of an inspiration for something I make than a purchase.

 

[FJ40 that green thing]

Looks good man! Looks like Ill be getting a sick factory bumper soon too

Yup! I'll try to get it packaged up and shipped out ASAP!

 

[FJ40 that green thing]

I'm curious - are you just replacing the factory speakers with new equivalents? Or you're changing the size and location? The front speakers are extremely limiting. My eventual plan is to build some kind of speaker pod to locate a 6.5" speaker on the door instead of using the tiny dash speakers for the front (3.5 or 4 inch - can't recall which). I haven't gotten around to planning it yet, however. I've gotten as far as finding some nice speaker pods out of Australia, but the price is a bit high so they might be more of an inspiration for something I make than a purchase.

@kgrove Yea, I'm navigating that right now. The front dash fits any standard 4" speaker. I replaced with some Pioneers that do sound alot better but its a lightweight sound. The rear factory speakers are kind of proprietary but I was able to get some 6 1/2" pioneer speakers to work in there with some minor adjustments. I have seen those pods from AUS, they look sweet. I wonder how much they take up in the foot area however, already feels a little cramped to me in the driver seat so as much as i like the idea, I don't think I'd do it on the doors unless they were able to flush mount. They are kinda pricey too.

This head unit definitely needs an amplifier, so i am going to try a 5 channel amp and have replaced the 6" sub in the back door as well and see how that sounds. I love a good sound system but this vehicle feels compact inside and I don't know where else to put better speakers. If you could get some 6 1/2's in each of the 4 doors I think that would be ideal, not sure if that could happen without those pods though. I'd love to see what you come up with. For me, I'll probably settle with the stock speaker locations only for now.

 

[Roastchestnuts]

Yup! I'll try to get it packaged up and shipped out ASAP!

Thanks!

 

[kgrove]

@kgrove I have seen those pods from AUS, they look sweet. I wonder how much they take up in the foot area however, already feels a little cramped to me in the driver seat so as much as i like the idea, I don't think I'd do it on the doors unless they were able to flush mount. They are kinda pricey too.

I watched install videos for those pods. It appears they stick out from the door card by about an inch plus the height of whatever speaker grill you mount, so maybe 1.5". I don't think it would be a particularly noticeable intrusion into the footwell. They achieve this by requiring you to cut a hole for the speaker through the door panel and the metal of the door. I couldn't tell exactly how deep into the interior door space this leaves the speaker magnet.

As soon as I have more time, I plan on pulling the door panel and seeing what's inside the door and how deep a speaker could be mounted without interfering with the window mechanism, or anything else in there. It wouldn't look quite as "factory" as those expensive pods, but one could use the same speaker mount concept those pods use, which is basically just a speaker ring with an inner rabbet to inset the speaker a bit, then cut hole in the door panel and metal so the speaker can stick into the door cavity, and mount the ring from the outside. Paint or wrap the ring in door colored vinyl and it might look OK. It really depends on how much the speaker can penetrate the door before it causes a problem.

I'll post whatever I discover once I get the time to dive into this. It will likely be at least a couple weeks.

 

[FJ40 that green thing]

@kgrove Yea, something that still utilizes any available space in the door cavity would be a lot more compelling. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

 

[ripcalifornia]

super clean rig, wasn't a huge fan of the beige fender-ed prados but this is changing my mind.

looking forward to seeing more

 

[epaul]

I put the Cruiser Consoles speaker pods on my KZJ71 and they are worth every penny. They look so factory they fool everyone. I used the old speaker location to put tweeters with the woofers in the door. The cavity behind the door card on these is perfect so there is no cutting of the metal involved. c2dfj45 imports these to the states and sells them so you dont get killed on shipping.