2002 HZJ76 Daily Driver & Weekend Tourer (Build Thread) (1 Viewer)

[WildSouth]

2002 HZJ76 Daily Driver & Weekend Tourer (Build Thread)

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Finally. After years of watching @Rigster's thread of his wonderful HZJ76 build, I have one of my own. The '76 has always been on my list to one day own. The coil front end, combined with the old school heritage of the narrow nose and round headlights, in addition to a few mod cons such as power windows, A/C, auto transmission AND more than one cup holder; this has to be one of the best Cruisers ever built.

I have owned a couple of 77 Series - the leaf front and rear just wore me down over time (granted, I never tried changing things up and running parabolic springs). Where I live and the type of camping, exploring and access fishing spots that I do, I often drive bumpy riverbeds, hard-packed gravel roads, and the like. Whilst I LOVED the look of both the 77 Series that I have owned, I always longed for a coil front 76.

Finding one was the issue...

Roll on a near two year process; keeping an eye out at Japan auctions, and in constant contact with an agent who had my strict criteria in the forefront of his mind. Some would pop up, but would always have good and bad points: for instance one would have diff locks, but would be high mileage. Another would be my preferred colour, but be manual and no diff lockers. Getting the holy grail was nearly impossible...

...until yesterday.

Finally the dream rig showed up at auction, and Kimmy, my Japanese agent, basically said it's now or never.

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- Low mileage, check.
- Factory lockers, check.
- Preferred color, check.
- Auto trans, check.
- Rust free, check.

We were both of the thinking that this one would go for mega-money. One of the true gems of this era and also one of the cleanest that had been through auction for some time.

An hour later we had won it. And for reasonable money to boot.

 

[WildSouth]

Some more photos of the Japan auctions. Looking forward to it actually being here so I can see it in the flesh. Expecting mid-July.

 

[WildSouth]

Okay, in my waiting around, sipping coffee (or beer) and writing up a To Do list for the 76, obviously the idea of turbo-ing the 1HZ has come to mind a fair bit.

For those who have done it, I would appreciate advice. Did you use a kit? What boost are you running? To intercool or not? Anything under the sun, I'd appreciate the feedback.

I would like to keep it as low/reliable performance as possible, and run a genuine OEM crossover pipe to keep things look factory.

FYI: I probably wont run 35's - I'll stick to 33's; albeit @Rigster 's build looks phenomenal on 35's and 4" of lift.

View attachment 3337866

 

[Gun Runner 5]

My advice ….. Do not even consider adding a turbo without an Intercooler.

 

[WildSouth]

My advice ….. Do not even consider adding a turbo without an Intercooler.

Interesting! I’ve just spent the last half hour watching a few YouTube videos (Berrima Diesel one of them), who talk about how intercooling a low boost 1HZ is unnecessary.

I’m still 50:50!

I appreciate your input my friend, much appreciated

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Interesting! I’ve just spent the last half hour watching a few YouTube videos (Berrima Diesel one of them), who talk about how intercooling a low boost 1HZ is unnecessary.

I’m still 50:50!

I appreciate your input my friend, much appreciated

P.M. sent

 

[Rigster]

I can speak to this, in detail, but use case would be helpful. Do you plan on pulling trailers at all?

 

[WildSouth]

I can speak to this, in detail, but use case would be helpful. Do you plan on pulling trailers at all?

Not really - just the odd trip with my folks small caravan/camper.

 

[Rigster]

Hey Scotty,

Ok, and the other thing is: will there be more than one driver?

Reason I am asking is, if you turbo the HZ without an intercooler, then you will need to be religious in monitoring your EGT's.

If you are working the engine by pulling trailers, same thing.

If you use a front mount intercooler, then you may find that working the engine while pulling a trailer, the EGT's will be good, but you will find that the engine starts heating up because the air is twice warmed before it goes through the radiator.

In my opinion the intercooler is well worth it, as I fine tuned mine so that WOT and my EGT's sit around 1100F. I could add more fuel and get more power, but then I would need to watch the EGT's religiously again. If you have any other driver's, they would have to do the same, so it makes sense to intercooler and fine tune for this.

The last option, is to install a water to air intercooler and keep the front open so that the condenser and radiator remain truly effective.

You also have an automatic so I am not sure where the transmission cooler is, but that will likely dictate what choices you need to make.

That said, I have no issues with the engine remaining cool unless I am pulling my trailer, hot day, a/c running and climbing a hill. Normal day to day driving is never an issue.

Hope this helps!!

 

[WildSouth]

Hey Scotty,

Ok, and the other thing is: will there be more than one driver?

Reason I am asking is, if you turbo the HZ without an intercooler, then you will need to be religious in monitoring your EGT's.

If you are working the engine by pulling trailers, same thing.

If you use a front mount intercooler, then you may find that working the engine while pulling a trailer, the EGT's will be good, but you will find that the engine starts heating up because the air is twice warmed before it goes through the radiator.

In my opinion the intercooler is well worth it, as I fine tuned mine so that WOT and my EGT's sit around 1100F. I could add more fuel and get more power, but then I would need to watch the EGT's religiously again. If you have any other driver's, they would have to do the same, so it makes sense to intercooler and fine tune for this.

The last option, is to install a water to air intercooler and keep the front open so that the condenser and radiator remain truly effective.

You also have an automatic so I am not sure where the transmission cooler is, but that will likely dictate what choices you need to make.

That said, I have no issues with the engine remaining cool unless I am pulling my trailer, hot day, a/c running and climbing a hill. Normal day to day driving is never an issue.

Hope this helps!!

You’re a wealth of info @Rigster , I really appreciate it!

I’ll reply properly to you questions in your post when I have a bit more time.

Thanks again

 

[WildSouth]

On a side note, I was down at my local hardware store today and saw one of the new Ineos Grenadier’s in the flesh.

Pretty snazzy bits of kit.

What are your thoughts on them?

 

[WildSouth]

Does anybody know what brand wheels these are? Obviously the vehicle isn’t in my possession so I’m trying to ascertain from photos, and wheels are NOT my forté.

Cheers

 

[WildSouth]

Browsing some photos this morning and stumbled on this one. Picture is my old HZJ77 that I had a few years back, and my late dog Järvi who passed away just two years old.

Some fond memories there!

The 77 was a great platform, but after owning a few coil-front 70 Series (HZJ78 Troopcarrier, VDJ 78 Troopcarrier and a VDJ76 Wagon), I just can't go back to leaf springs all round...

 

[WildSouth]

Aaaand another one of the old 77 Series. Looking through these photos is really exciting me for the pending arriving of the HZJ76...

I just need the cargo ship to sail a bit faster. ETA is mid July

 

[svsisu]

Mate, you are from the land of endless road cones and road works. The RUCs they put on light diesels are hilarious given the state of the highways. The roads in Northland were s**t when I lived there, and I can't imagine it would make much difference whether one had coils or leaf springs. I really can't believe it to be any better down south, but maybe.

That being said all of your trucks look amazing and it would be a joy to drive any of them, anywhere. Your old 77 looks sweet as! And for what it's worth, when I lived there I drove a NZ built/assembled coil sprung 2.8L Toyota 4Runner (yes, 4Runner not a surf) and a Nissan Vanette. The 4Runner ranks up there with one of the all time favorite trucks I've owned and I'm still kicking myself for leaving it behind. The Vanette, not many second thoughts enter my mind about it, but given the market in the US right now I could probably flog my $NZD 1,000.00 van as a rare, unattainable (read un-wantable) JDM classic for $USD 20,000.

Oh, but wait, you're flogging your auction win here already, and it's not even in your possession. So much for the dream rig and build thread. GLWS

I miss the Speights, but not the WOFs

 

[WildSouth]

Mate, you are from the land of endless road cones and road works. The RUCs they put on light diesels are hilarious given the state of the highways. The roads in Northland were s**t when I lived there, and I can't imagine it would make much difference whether one had coils or leaf springs. I really can't believe it to be any better down south, but maybe.

That being said all of your trucks look amazing and it would be a joy to drive any of them, anywhere. Your old 77 looks sweet as! And for what it's worth, when I lived there I drove a NZ built/assembled coil sprung 2.8L Toyota 4Runner (yes, 4Runner not a surf) and a Nissan Vanette. The 4Runner ranks up there with one of the all time favorite trucks I've owned and I'm still kicking myself for leaving it behind. The Vanette, not many second thoughts enter my mind about it, but given the market in the US right now I could probably flog my $NZD 1,000.00 van as a rare, unattainable (read un-wantable) JDM classic for $USD 20,000.

Oh, but wait, you're flogging your auction win here already, and it's not even in your possession. So much for the dream rig and build thread. GLWS

I miss the Speights, but not the WOFs

Oh mate, I couldn't agree more about the roads! Hilarious about the RUC's - I am with you on that.

In terms of the auction, we will see, all going well it'll be on a ship to me in a fortnight's time. Govt just announced higher Clean Car Tax Scheme, so now New Zealand import costs are: vehicle cost, shipping, insurance, GST (15% purchase price), Clean Car Fee (~$8,000). So despite being the rig I've chased for years, I'm not a rich man and don't have endless money - so I have to be reasonable and practical with it. We also have a wedding to pay for - haha!

We will see if I can get it past the other half. If so, I'm a happy man!

 

[svsisu]

Oh mate, I couldn't agree more about the roads! Hilarious about the RUC's - I am with you on that.

In terms of the auction, we will see, all going well it'll be on a ship to me in a fortnight's time. Govt just announced higher Clean Car Tax Scheme, so now New Zealand import costs are: vehicle cost, shipping, insurance, GST (15% purchase price), Clean Car Fee (~$8,000). So despite being the rig I've chased for years, I'm not a rich man and don't have endless money - so I have to be reasonable and practical with it. We also have a wedding to pay for - haha!

We will see if I can get it past the other half. If so, I'm a happy man!

Clean car tax scheme! is that Biosecurity BS and the $8000? That's ridiculous. I'm all for environmental controls, especially in a relatively isolated and pristine place but that seems excessive for some pressure washing.

I hope you get your dream truck, but I understand the constraints. More importantly, enjoy the wedding!

 

[ikarus]

Does anybody know what brand wheels these are? Obviously the vehicle isn’t in my possession so I’m trying to ascertain from photos, and wheels are NOT my forté.

Cheers

View attachment 3340777

Probably Bradley wheels. We have a clone here in the US called Stealth Custom Series F5.

 

[WildSouth]

Clean car tax scheme! is that Biosecurity BS and the $8000? That's ridiculous. I'm all for environmental controls, especially in a relatively isolated and pristine place but that seems excessive for some pressure washing.

I hope you get your dream truck, but I understand the constraints. More importantly, enjoy the wedding!

Clean Car Tax has been implemented essentially as a "fine" for importing a high-emitting vehicle. It was around $2,000 USD but from July 1st it is increasing to $5,000 USD ($8,000 NZD approx).

On top of that there is another $1,000 or so in costs for registration.

So we could see the thick end of $15,000-$20,000 on top of the car price when importing to NZ now, depending on the vehicle. And that, my friend, is where the wedding takes priority

 

[WildSouth]

Probably Bradley wheels. We have a clone here in the US called Stealth Custom Series F5.

Thank you sir! I just realized they were Bradley's yesterday too. Cheers!