1998 Prado rescue mission!

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Well the first step is to get the thing really running and driving and inspected by the Roads and Transport Authority. Yesterday I went by the garage fooling with lug nut issues on another vehicle, but I snapped a couple of progress photos:

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Incremental progress continues to mount.

The engine is largely back together:
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With new ignition wires, I might add.

No change yet on the suspension, but I see a lot of work going on.
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I thought some of you might be interested in the financial aspects of this.

I also got my second big parts bill today:
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The first big parts bill was about 3500, and the set of tires and rims and new lug nuts were 1700, so I have about 9000 AED in parts going into it so far. That is about 2500 USD--oh and another 250 USD for the lower arms I bought in the US, so we are probably at about 3K USD in parts now.

The purchase price, all in, was 7600 AED, or about 2K USD

Labor, I have no idea at the moment. I need to find out.

In terms of fair market value, I think I am about at break even. Here is a 3 door automatic with 300k km on the local market:
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I think the labor won't be too bad. Where it will get expensive is in the paint and body work.

I still think it is worth it to get a 2 door with a manual transmission, and at the end of this I should have a pretty solid runner.
 
Today was a big day of progress.

Wheels!
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And new lug nuts (from the toyo pickup dismanters)
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Underneath I got my first good look at things. Not too bad.
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Those are new shocks.
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And the front suspension is looking real good; really nice and tight now; no play that I can feel.
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But one thing I forgot were the brake hoses. cruisermatt had mentioned this first to me in relation to work on our 77. I took a look at the lines on the Prado and I did not like what I saw.
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The little Prado is getting new hoses at all four corners.
 
The Prado was parked outside today on new tires; I think the size and rims look really good.
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Something is not right about the side steps. They don't fit right into the rear wheelwell. I will have to look into that.
 
That's what my running boards looked like... there's a weird little open space in there between the fender flare and the black plastic that kicks up from the running board.

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That being said, I couldn't get mine off fast enough and recommend you do the same :)
 
Generally I like the bare aluminum side steps on LC's. The ones on the Prado are not solid on the drivers side at least, so something has to be done. From past experience, it is possible to take them apart and refurb them. They are pop-rivited to the hangers. I will see what the Prado-specific salvage guys have.

Thanks for the comment on your truck Apex. I will take some more detailed photos tomorrow and post them, and maybe underneath too. I don't have any photos of those areas currently. If it is convenient, it would be very nice to have a photo or two of your truck in this are so I can see in detail what it -should- look like.
 
John Young said:
Generally I like the bare aluminum side steps on LC's. The ones on the Prado are not solid on the drivers side at least, so something has to be done. From past experience, it is possible to take them apart and refurb them. They are pop-rivited to the hangers. I will see what the Prado-specific salvage guys have.

Thanks for the comment on your truck Apex. I will take some more detailed photos tomorrow and post them, and maybe underneath too. I don't have any photos of those areas currently. If it is convenient, it would be very nice to have a photo or two of your truck in this are so I can see in detail what it -should- look like.
Click to expand...
Sure, I'd be glad to lend a hand.
 
Hey, great thread! These must share a lot of parts with the 3rd gen 4runner and 1st gen Tacoma. I think I heard somewhere they share the frame and axles with the 4runner, but I could be wrong. Anyway, looks like it'll be a sweet little rig.
 
Great work on bringing this back to life, John.

Having spent the better part of 2021-2022 rebuilding this 520,000km FZJ80 (including an auto->manual swap) I know exactly how difficult it can be with no history to work with - and even with the reasonable supply of parts we are fortunate to have here in the UAE.

Having just completed an epic 3,000km trip to Salalah - it's absolutely worth it in the end.

Good luck and keep at it! Would love to check out the final product.

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Imthishan said:
Great work on bringing this back to life, John.

Having spent the better part of 2021-2022 rebuilding this 520,000km FZJ80 (including an auto->manual swap) I know exactly how difficult it can be with no history to work with - and even with the reasonable supply of parts we are fortunate to have here in the UAE.

Having just completed an epic 3,000km trip to Salalah - it's absolutely worth it in the end.

Good luck and keep at it! Would love to check out the final product.

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Click to expand...
Wow! That was very brave! And the results are very impressive!
 
Yesterday some progress was made. The auction house produces sort of a generic transfer certificate. This one was from the Abu Dhabi police General Head Quarters.
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I have found that the Tasjeel service bureau up in an auto mall in Sharjah can deal directly with this kind of paperwork, at least in the past. What I needed to do was get some form of title in my name. But when I went to the 'VIP counter' where they usually can do this, I was refused because of this:
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I was told by Tasjeel that the car was titled in the name of a company. I later learned from my friend in Abu Dhabi, an American whose language skills I envy, that what it really says is 'Vehicle Management Committee'. The supposition being that this is the part of the police department that deals with abandoned vehicles.

Anyways the Tasjeel fellow suggested I go speak with the Sharjah police, who had a desk in the service center. I did that and they took me to a knowledgeable lady who suggested I go visit another private service bureau next door, which I did, and that service bureau had no problems dealing with the paperwork. And I now have a possession certificate in my name with a 'No Objection' for transfer from Sharjah to Dubai. It is all a little complicated, but it starts to make sense after a while. Kind of similar to moving a car from state to state in the US.

Next step is to get the truck safety inspected, after which I can get Dubai title and plates.
 
Today is a red letter day! The Holy Truck passed inspection!
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The remarks are interesting:

"FRONT BULK HEAD, BUMPER FRAME REPAIRED. REAR CHASSIS COIL SPRING AREA MINOR DENT .UNDER CHASSIS THICK RUSTY PROOFED. "

After the guys got the truck inspected I went to the Tasjeel office in Motor City and, lo and behold, was able to register and get plates!
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It is even a very nice number too.

And you know what, I have not driven the damn thing, not even one foot!

Tomorrow or Friday I will put the plates on and have the first drive.
 
Whoops... I put this in the wrong forum. That said, I hope to repeat this with the little Prado before too many more days pass.

For those of you curious, here is the link to the Holy Truck.
 
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