1HD-FTE electronically controlled multivalve turbo diesel, cruiser porn (1 Viewer)

[Enigma]

If you could find a way to register diesel conversions in CA you'd be a very wealthy man.

Why is Kalifornia so difficult about this? We have a somewhat similiar air quality regime here in the lower mainland of BC (Vancouver), called Air Care, and my diesel barely registers on the annual tests. My most recent being a 5 out of a max 30 on the opacity, which is all they seem to test on diesels here.

 

[Enigma]

Uncle Grunpy

according to CA Smog, you can only register a diesel if it came from the same classification car.

Well if that quote has any truth, then a 1hdt swap into a gas powered 80 series should be legit as 'they are the same classification car'.

And to add to some other comments, I get a consistent 550km per 70 litres of mixed city/highway driving.

These are VERY quiet motors, when compared to any other diesel, even with a custom 3" exhaust.

I've never driven a gas 80, but I'm very satisfied with the power of my hdj81. It has some excellent 'get up and go'. I also drive in ignorance of my egt's with having no gauge, so I'll enjoy it till I finally install one and then probably drive like my old man.....

 

[eleblanc]

Been driving one for 5 month now (I'm in Montreal), awesome totally satisfied. I'm getting 10-11L/100km driving 70mpg on the highway 22-23 mpg. And maybe 13-14L/100 around town 40 mph max continuous stop and go. All that in a 100. See link in my signature for more info

 

[eleblanc]

Can someone explain to me the appeal of spending a bloody fortune on a diesel swap for an FJ80? I just don't get it. For the cost of the swap you can go buy a decent condition diesel truck. The 80 is not a good tow platform, the gas mileage increase is not huge and does not counter the high price for fuel, and it's loud on the trail. What are the pro's?

Not a offroad capable SUV

EDIT: Not loud at all this is a modern diesel it compares to, TDI and Merc diesel in terms of noise. Unless you are a diesel freak you probably wouldn't notice at all.

 

[torfab]

Enigma - the same classification only applies to legal US cars, so only an EPA certified light duty truck engine can go into a land cruiser, and it has to be a newer year vehicle as well. Other states don't care, it's only California that I know of where it really matters (there are probably more).

In Washington, I just show up at the DMV and tell them it's diesel. They then change the classification on the title, and the emission test changes to diesel.

 

[Polar Bear]

Enigma - the same classification only applies to legal US cars, so only an EPA certified light duty truck engine can go into a land cruiser, and it has to be a newer year vehicle as well. Other states don't care, it's only California that I know of where it really matters (there are probably more).

In Washington, I just show up at the DMV and tell them it's diesel. They then change the classification on the title, and the emission test changes to diesel.

No kidding? You've converted an 80 and the dmv didn't care what class or year the new motor was? Hmmmm

 

[Neddy]

Neddy, my next questions would be, have you gone through a CA registration renewal yet? Did the renewal require a smog check? And if so, how did that work out?

I have. Had to renew this past January. No smog check required. I paid the fee online and the new tags came in the mail.

 

[Neddy]

Neddy

The rules get bent all the time, for example people are driving RHD cruisers in the states, but according to the DOT it has to be 25 years old to be legally imported. This means someone didn't follow their check list properly. If you go to the CARB website, you'll see the rules posted.

The rules aren't always followed, and it's definitely better to ask for forgiveness than permission in those cases. I know there are tonns of people driving their diesel converted cruisers in Kalifornia... There are also tonns of people smoking pot...

I guess so? I am open to the possibility that I just got lucky, but I don't think that is the case. Before going into the AAA office, I imagined that this was going to be such a rare thing that the people there would not know what the heck to do. When I left though, I definitely got the feeling that this was business as usual for them.

If anyone bent or chose not to follow any rules, it was without my asking or my knowledge.

Anyone who is serious about owning a diesel conversion would be wise to stop into the local AAA/DMV office that you would go to if you already had the truck. You could speak with the person who would actually do the inspection to find out for sure.

 

[crushers]

to assume rules were broken is a sign of ignorance, if someone has found a loop hole that is not a rule being broken, that is a sign of someone willing to look outside the box.

if you are nevous about living outside the box then don't do it, some people just have to live with a warm blanket around them. others want to experience life and are willing to try something different.

i do know how SOME of these newer RHD and LHD diesel vehicles are being registered in the states. it is not illegal but at the same time the ones that found the loop holes don't want everyone and their dog using the same loop hole thus forcing the government to close it.

they did their homework, they found the way to do it legally and it is up to those that are envious to do their OWN homework and find it out for themselves. there is no moral or legal law that you can call upon to ... manipulate ... these ones into revealing what they have done.

just because you do not understand HOW they did it does not automaticly make it illegal.

just sayin ... quit judging.

 

[B Legit]

to assume rules were broken is a sign of ignorance, if someone has found a loop hole that is not a rule being broken, that is a sign of someone willing to look outside the box.

if you are nevous about living outside the box then don't do it, some people just have to live with a warm blanket around them. others want to experience life and are willing to try something different.

i do know how SOME of these newer RHD and LHD diesel vehicles are being registered in the states. it is not illegal but at the same time the ones that found the loop holes don't want everyone and their dog using the same loop hole thus forcing the government to close it.

they did their homework, they found the way to do it legally and it is up to those that are envious to do their OWN homework and find it out for themselves. there is no moral or legal law that you can call upon to ... manipulate ... these ones into revealing what they have done.

just because you do not understand HOW they did it does not automaticly make it illegal.

just sayin ... quit judging.

Crushers,
I respect your position, and know that your role in the industry has formed your point of view. From what I understand from your posts, you make money doing conversions for people and some of your clientele have found loopholes that have allowed them to register gray area vehicles in the states. I don't find it judgmental that people are speculating and discussing the risks involved with such a large financial investment. It would be great if I could find myself in a position where I could throw all caution to the wind, bank on a loophole, and throw 15 grand at a project that might be unregisterable (<not a word.) I don't think that anyone is doubting that it can and has been successfully done, I just think that for the regular guy interested in this, there is an element of concern that they might be the first one to experience the negative side of what can happen when you walk the line of legal/ illegal. I think that Tor's approach to these types of swaps is responsible and that he is doing nothing more than making sure that he doesn't build someone a road worthy offroad only vehicle. If you want to do it differently, that is fine too.

 

[northernrighty]

Can someone explain to me the appeal of spending a bloody fortune on a diesel swap for an FJ80? I just don't get it. For the cost of the swap you can go buy a decent condition diesel truck. The 80 is not a good tow platform, the gas mileage increase is not huge and does not counter the high price for fuel, and it's loud on the trail. What are the pro's?

I will reiterate the quiet comment, even with my 3" custom exaust, the 1hd-t is very quiet and the sound I can hear is ALL TURBO and I love it. As for fuel consumption; I get about DOUBLE the miliage that darwink gets with his 80, almost the same lift and tire size (we were both on 33's at the time). The Manual tranny, PART TIME 4X4, and 1hd-t combine for some great numbers for a 3/4 tonne trail rig. As for towing, I have not had another vehicle that I would rather tow with, great power and miniscule drop in fuel economy with the trailer behind. These trucks are highly sought after around the world for towing, especially in Africa, AUS and NWZ. I must add that I am not a conversion but OEM, still the cost of my rig was simmilar to buying an 80 in good shape and doing the conversion on my own ($12,000 cdn).

 

[crushers]

diesels USUALLY return very good mileage compared to a similar gasser, not always but there is always variables to consider and mostly is driving style.

for towing it is hard to beat the old 7.3 powersmoke, tons of grunt, reliable and the older 95-97 returned very decent fuel mileage.

 

[crushers]

there is always risks and i don't wash my hands of the issue.
i ALWAYS warn if i see a risk but it is the peep that makes the final decision. i will not sneak a vehicle over the border for anyone, that is smuggling and i don't want something like that hanging over my head.
as you probably have read in some of my posts:
"NEVER invest money you can not afford to lose"
this applies to everything in life.

there are loop holes but those are legal.
then there is blatant illegal practices.

i have seen both in action.

yes, Tor is working towards a completely safe approach and that is admirable. it is when someone says something is "illegal" when it might not be since the person saying it (not pointing fingers at Tor with this statement) doesn't understand HOW it was done.

I am not a cop, i am not a judge so in reality i don't care what someone else does. i won't be the one with the charge against them.

 

[B Legit]

Very well stated Crushers.

 

[northernrighty]

What gets lost in this whole conversation is the Fact that these engines should have been and should now be available in our market. Now here comes the conspieracy theory, Big oil is in bed with the governments both CDN and USA. They money was spent to build petrol refineries and not diesel. We can afford to consume 1.5 to 2.5 time the fuel so the sell it. Can you imagine the profit loss if north america reduced it fuel consumption by even 25%? That is not exceptable when you are used to making 10-15 BILLION a quarter. We should not have to fight for better more efficient and powerfull engines, but we do. Don't forget that it is BIG OIL that started this not the Gov, they just enable it to happen.

 

[B Legit]

I'm sure you recognize as well that Big Oil and Government have become one in the same in many cases. Furthermore, Diesel and it's use has the ability to promote a fairly renewable source and market that has the potential to be locally sourced. As stated, this could have a profound impact on our economy and there are many steps being taken to ensure that that kind of transition does not take place all at once. I have a feeling that guys like Tor and Crushers will be able to make a sound living off of Diesel conversions in the near future, and that is one of the reasons why I plan to keep my 80 for as long as I can. To add to the tech, and to keep this from becoming chat, this is also where I tend to agree with Crushers Philosophy of keeping engines as simple as possible when I do my conversion it will be a direct injected Toyota Diesel with no ECU and a manual transmission.

 

[crushers]

well, i will take this one step further
it is the whole protectism of the big three which ties the hands of Toyota
plus
the fleet renewal plan that is slowly coming into effect.

i sent pics of the removable hardtop 79 series that was sitting on the docks in Japan waiting to head out. Brian contacted Toyota Canada for permission to bring these bad boys into Canada for the mines since it saves a lot of fab work when they can unbolt the hardtop and windshields instead of cutting them off
but
Toyota Canada said "no".

why? nobody knows. that was the short and sweet answer Brian got back.

Toyota is no longer caring about what the consumer wants, it will sell what it WANTS to sell and force the buying public to do so by not offering all the models that they produce. Toyota can make a diesel that will meet or exceed the demands of polution standards in North America
but
they won't.
why? could it be because Toyota North America doesn't want to? could it be because the market will be too small? could it be because of an agreement between the big 4?
who really knows.
in the end, we just don't get them.

 

[kbahus]

I have one more question, since these things are all over the world (except the US) why are they not readily available through an importer? I can purchase JDM STI engines all day long straight from the mother land. I did a JDM STI swap on my RS back in 2003 while everyone else was screwing around with crappy USDM engines. Through my eyes a 1HD should be a dime a dozen engine. What am I missing?

 

[crushers]

what you are missing is the Land Cruiser sells as a complete unit for big bucks.
finding a parts rig is not an easy task.
plus
the 1HZ,1PZ,hdt and varriants are worth a small fortune when you do find one.

 

[Monty2056]

Suddenly this set of crates showed up at my shop the other day, and the guy said "I think it's an engine" and helped me unload it. Magically, I opened both crates and it's a matching set: 1HDFTE Engine with 5 speed manual transmission with only 16k miles on them from the UK - Courtesy of G&S Cruiser parts

Someone is going to be very lucky, either by swapping this in to their 95-97 FZJ80, or their 100 series.

The engine doesn't currently have an owner, but for 12k and a few dollars labor they can have this engine installed in their cruiser.

I'm drooling over getting to drive this monster, and even more about the job of installing it into - something...

Damn Tor... you are making it really hard to send my kids to college...