Builds 2002 HZJ76 Build

[Rigster]

One of the highlights of the trip is one of the wives of our regular attendees likes to bake.

We like that she likes to bake.

She did not disappoint, but sent some hearty filling treats well suited to provide energy and nutrition while out exploring... (and back at camp!)

We did not waste any time on our base camp but headed into the mountains to locate a couple of mines we missed when we were here last.

Unfortunately, as is often the case, the mine had collapsed and caved in, locking its secrets and treasures within... Getting there was still worth it for the view:

We also stopped by to visit a cabin along the old railway that belongs to a friend of one of our members

 

[Rigster]

We headed in another direction to check out a trail that we had not previously been on, and apparently it has a mine called the "Silver Bell Mine" that is still being actively worked. On our way over to that side of the valley, we passed the remains of another venture:

The tailing pile for this mine went on for a long ways:

The journey to the silver bell was definitely picturesque:

We finally reached the location of the silver bell. it was clear that this mine was still be cared for and worked. Some high grade silver/lead/zinc ore was stacked and piled below. Any worker was off that day (or potentially underground, but we saw no vehicles parked) so we just respectfully checked things out and took a few pictures.

Upper part of mine with a cabin for two, and a 2 room workshop, and massive compressor.

 

[Rigster]

A couple of more pictures of the silver bell

 

[mt72]

BC is a treasure in it self with beautiful wild life Thank for sharing

 

[Rigster]

We spent a day relaxing and deciding where to venture next.

We decided to check out the valley of Wilson lake, which also holds little wilson lake and Beaver lake. The camping spots available at the 3 lakes are limited, the best 2 at Beaver and Wilson lakes. That said, there are only 4 or 5 spots available at Beaver and Wilson.

We chose to setup camp at Beaver since it had the space available and it would save another several miles of dusty dirt roads. The camp spots were all in the trees and deep shade.

several days in the shade caused the backup generator to come out to run the fridge and lights, etc to give the solar panels some time to recharge the inhouse batteries.

The Land Cruiser opted for a more appropriate location

To our chagrin, the trails we were hoping to reach were recently washed out from an unusually heavy rain storm. However there were a couple of very old lake cabins to get to and view

This old cabin is on Wilson Lake.

Not sure how much longer it will last but the view has been great for many years

 

[Rigster]

We continued onward to another cabin further into the mountains, this Lake was named "Kimbol Lake" and the cabin at this lake was in reasonable condition considering its age

The floor is recessed, so despite the small door, once inside you could stand comfortably.

Unfortunately at some point along the way, someone absconded with the wood stove that used to be in this cabin.
A view of Kimbol Lake (low water in the fall):

Having exhausted our exploration routes due to a couple of key links that were washed out or buried, and us lacking the motivation and equipment for moving a large amount of mountain in a timely fashion, we put our heads together again and thought of reasonable locations within a couple of hours that we could alternatively explore.... more to come!

 

[Rigster]

From the Wilson Lake area, beautiful as it was, we decided to head south from here and explore a less historically prolific area during the silver/gold rush era.

We headed south past the needles ferry on the eastern side of Arrow lake and found a camp location along the shores of the lake.

This lake is actually a reservoir, VERY long, and a little on the chilly side for bathing/swimming, but doable. Where we setup camp is near the high water mark, so the reservoir was quite low this fall.

 

[Rigster]

What made this campsite unique is we were less than 10km from the needles ferry, so we were a lot closer to civilization than we were used to, and it showed.

In just a few days, we ended up helping 3 different groups of people with various challenges. (one retired couple was stranded after blowing out 2 sidewalls in their travel trailer on the same side). They were woefully ill-equipped for the area they were wanting to go. We went and grabbed some tools from our camp and returned to replace one of the tires with their spare, then helped them limp the trailer to a spot they could park it.

We took off the other flat so he could go get 2 new tires the next day. Then we ran into a group of forestry workers that were unable to get an electric awning to roll back up on their trailer. After a brief troubleshooting session, it was determined that the switch, power and wiring was good, so that left the electric motor was likely seized. We disengaged it and rolled it up manually with them so they could get on their way.

Finally, only about 200M away (think 2 football fields) this decides to show up out of the blue:

We discovered they are working with the Hydro authority on replacing the insulators on their high-voltage transmission lines. Apparently if they are hit by fire retardant, they need to be replaced. The previous year did see a forest fire in the area and thus, they are replacing the insulators. So the beach became their staging and refueling area 200M from where we were camped. I do not remember that being in the brochure... but it did add some entertainment.

At one point their refuelling truck got stuck on the beach and I went over with the land cruiser and gave them a tug to where they were staging. They were a great group of guys and they appreciated the land cruiser. The pilot was originally from New Zealand so he was right at home with it. They did NOT fill up the cruiser with the JET-A they were hauling, so I suppose they were not THAT impressed. Something about needing it all for the heli...

We decided to head over the mountain into the area they were working and check it out. It is not every day you get a chance to view exorbitantly expensive maintenance activity and wanted to see our tax dollars at work. I have to admit, I was impressed with the efficiency considering the challenges

Taking an insulator to the waiting crew

Crew switching out the insulator

Trust, teamwork, and no room for mistakes, but these guys were experienced, they made it look easy.

You can see the new clear ones on the right, and the old ones still to be replaced on the left

 

[Rigster]

Time flies... and I have been busy. Just not with the Land Cruiser. I have been doing a lot of maintenance on the families fleet of VW's before the winter, as I dislike working on vehicles in the winter if I can avoid it. Although I am looking at adding a diesel heater in the shop this winter to help with that!

One of the projects I did is definitely outside of my comfort zone. Mostly because I have had no training whatsoever in body work. I do not even have a friend that could coach me with tips and tricks. However, I paid $1500 for this car, so it was the perfect candidate victim for all my thumbs when it comes to bodywork.

Before

After

Not great, but not too bad for a first effort. I still need to do the other rocker on the other side, but it was not nearly as bad as this side. Then I have little rust spots to clean up here and there, but I just want to keep this serviceable for some time, as it only has about 175,000 miles / 290,000 kms on it and has a lot of life left in her. I get close to 600 miles / 950kms per tank so it is a no brainer to keep this running, it pays for itself. I will tackle the rest next summer when I have time.

 

[Rigster]

Not that I have been neglecting the Land Cruiser - I spent a week at a family reunion thing late in October. It was a good time to put it through the colder weather camping scenario

I used the diesel heater at night for a week, and it only used about 5 litres of fuel, and kept the trailer at a comfy at 21C/72F.

 

[Rigster]

Gosh, haven't posted in a while. Took two of my kids "Land Cruiser Boarding" out at a friends ranch yesterday. They had a blast for a few hours, and I put the cruiser through the paces. Having diff locks made it possible, as with chains, I would never get fast enough for them in the straight stretches.

Made some great memories with the kids in one of the best ways possible... with a land cruiser.

 

[cuietqontender]

Good afternoon!
I wanted to reach out and thank you for sharing your ownership journey with your beloved HZJ76. I can't express enough how relieved I am to come across such a valuable and insightful read -- your prose and adventure narration is also world class!
Like the title mentions, I am a fellow HZJ76 owner. I currently live in Japan, and will be importing my '99 HZJ76 that I bought in November to the states in the next couple months as I relocate to California.
This is my first LC, and I am nowhere near as handy and mechanically oriented as you are. I realize this is a big undertaking and not an easy "project" car. After much searching and research, I came away with a completely stock (minus the seats) HZJ76 with a standard transmission but no locking differential. Bit of a let down I know, but I could not secure a unit that would be able to be legally registered in the prefecture I live in here in Japan. Complex rules regarding diesel emissions and NOx/PM requirements. That is my only gripe with the car so far. It's a bit higher on the mileage side, but so far it has been free of any flaws and has been cared for.
Now for my primary question: having read your posts and seeing the struggle with parts procurement from the west, what spare parts/parts in general would you recommend I order before I leave Japan in May? Like you, I aim to lift the truck and turbo the engine once I am stateside so I will likely be purchasing the big items for that build out before I leave. I will also be removing the mandatory NOx/PM device that is in the car now to make it legally registerable in my local prefecture in Japan.
Again, thank you so much for documenting your journey with your 70, along with your experiences with past cruisers. Would love to hear any any other insights and advice you have!

All the best! Happy family time & exploring out in the snow!

 

[Rigster]

Hey @cuietqontender thanks for the kind words. I am just a guy with a Land Cruiser that I love too much to trust to anyone else working on it. So I took it upon myself to learn. That's it.

what spare parts/parts in general would you recommend I order before I leave Japan in May?

The items you will pay a premium on for shipping will be body parts, and windshield (though the windshield you should be able to source in the US). If you need any of these items (rust repair, etc), I would purchase them and stick them in the vehicle prior to shipping the vehicle.

Due to the age/mileage you state, then I would have a look at the rubber on the unit - hoses, fuel lines, belts, timing belt, etc - maybe grab those while you are there as well and save shipping. Maybe grab a set of injectors just to have, you can get the existing ones rebuilt here. The steel fuel lines are actually very reasonable. However you mention that it was well maintained, so you may have very little to do.

I have heard from more than one person that you should wait to buy lift-related parts in the US as they are better quality than the lift kits in Japan. All the lift parts I put in were available in NA and were primarily Dobinson's, Old Man Emu, Slee Off-Road and Trail Tailor in no particular order.

70's themselves have been in North America since the late 80's so most regular maintenance items you can get stateside - brakes, alternator, starter, etc and there are a few vendors listed on MUD that are regular suppliers of a lot of items. I will not try to list them all as I will likely forget one and risk offending them and never getting a discount! You can check the Vendor's section on MUD.

Hope this helps, I am sure once you get into working on your cruiser you will have more specific questions at that time. Some others on the forum might have some helpful advice as well. Congrats on your purchase!!

 

[mt72]

Hey @cuietqontender thanks for the kind words. I am just a guy with a Land Cruiser that I love too much to trust to anyone else working on it. So I took it upon myself to learn. That's it.


The items you will pay a premium on for shipping will be body parts, and windshield (though the windshield you should be able to source in the US). If you need any of these items (rust repair, etc), I would purchase them and stick them in the vehicle prior to shipping the vehicle.

Due to the age/mileage you state, then I would have a look at the rubber on the unit - hoses, fuel lines, belts, timing belt, etc - maybe grab those while you are there as well and save shipping. Maybe grab a set of injectors just to have, you can get the existing ones rebuilt here. The steel fuel lines are actually very reasonable. However you mention that it was well maintained, so you may have very little to do.

I have heard from more than one person that you should wait to buy lift-related parts in the US as they are better quality than the lift kits in Japan. All the lift parts I put in were available in NA and were primarily Dobinson's, Old Man Emu, Slee Off-Road and Trail Tailor in no particular order.

70's themselves have been in North America since the late 80's so most regular maintenance items you can get stateside - brakes, alternator, starter, etc and there are a few vendors listed on MUD that are regular suppliers of a lot of items. I will not try to list them all as I will likely forget one and risk offending them and never getting a discount! You can check the Vendor's section on MUD.

Hope this helps, I am sure once you get into working on your cruiser you will have more specific questions at that time. Some others on the forum might have some helpful advice as well. Congrats on your purchase!!

More than just a guy —you're a hero father, search and rescue pro, and a full-fledged geek!

 

[Rigster]

More than just a guy —you're a hero father, search and rescue pro, and a full-fledged geek!

Tommy!!! Stop it, you will only succeed in embarrassing me and potentially making it so I cannot fit my head out the door!!

I am just thankful that all of the monotonous drivel I posted in this thread has been somewhat helpful to someone. That one person has made it all worthwhile, lol.

 

[JDM Journeys]

Darren always sells himself short. Good thing his buddies always have his back! Hope you and fam are well, pal. Spring is coming... Isn't it?

 

[Rigster]

Darren always sells himself short. Good thing his buddies always have his back! Hope you and fam are well, pal. Spring is coming... Isn't it?

Thanks Phil. D00d, I looked at the forecast and apparently we have a little longer to wait. It looks like mid next week it will be dropping to -17 overnight. I will not complain though, as from experience, if I am getting temps like that, it is usually far worse further inland.