500K km 1998 model 100 'Dhanno' in America

[John Young]

Some of you may remember my other postings about Dhanno the model 100 that I bought in Dubai, fixed up there, and then returned to the US. Well, it's been a bit of a journey, and Dhanno has spent a lot of time in Mr Tire's parking lot--the issues are pedestrian ones, but numerous. A few days ago, for example, I noticed that the dashboard voltage meter we reading low. Up to now it had tended to read high, and then intermittently low, even back in Dubai. I'd just never bothered to address it. But now, after I put the OBD II on it and confirmed that voltage was dropping lower and lower I knew the alternator had given up the ghost. Today's bill was about what I expected for a new Bosch unit. I know that Mr Tire has a local reputation, but I really like one of their mechanics, about my own age, who has a model 80 and seems to enjoy working on my old trucks. Plus I can walk to Mr. Tire.

Anyways....

My 'Ebay mistake' green 2000 model 100 "Crusty" finally lost the battle with rot and the rear body mounts crapped out. I've decided to swap Crusty's nice interior into Dhanno and vice-versa. I re-did parts of Dhanno's interior in Dubai (e.g., new/old salvage carpet, various trim), but it still looks like a 347K mile truck on the inside in spots. Crusty only has 170K miles on the clock and the inside is pretty nice.

Here's a photo of Crusty, sans interior:

Crusty's carpets are pressure washed, dried, and turned out pretty nice:

And here's Dhanno in the garage, ready to be stripped for the swap:

You can see Crusty's interior parts along the wall there. It is a bit more work than I thought, but it should be some fun too. I'm also taking the opportunity to put some more sound deadening material down on Dhanno's floor while swapping the carpets. I'm also putting in a rearward camera for the dashcam setup I will be installing in Dhanno.

Incidentally, I was approached by another forum member today, afgman786, while out and about in Dhanno. Turned out he also had spotted my 1993 Gulf Spec Model 80 last week. It was really delightful to meet afgman786 and I was glad to hear about the monthly local meet up which I will try to attend, schedule permitting.

 

[John Young]

I actually finished this with my sons a few weeks ago, but it was a big success to swap the interiors between my nice-inside-ebay-mistake and Dhanno.

All done but the back seat when I got back on the plane for Dubai. After a week or two I got the itch again and started looking at ads for old land cruisers and I ended up finding a very nice 1992 Land Cruiser Prado 4 cylinder RJ77 and bought it (this is discussed in the Model 70 forum under 'Biscuit'). This involved a lot of running around in Sharjah. One of the salvage yards I visited had this:

This is simply the nicest bull bar I've ever seen. It appears to be OEM Toyota and it is largely made of aluminum and bolts right onto (obviously) Model 100's. I bargained with the salvage yard operator and could not get him to budge off of 1000 AED (275 USD). I thought about it for a day or two--I really wanted it. And I measured it and then measured Biscuit (which is being shipped to Virginia in a few days, and finally broke down and bought it. Here is the bull bar wrapped for shoving in the back of the RJ77:

It's bigger than I thought but with the rear right passenger seat unbolted it should fit in Biscuit. And then when it arrives in the US it will go on Dhanno. I will have to cut a hole for the winch, but that should not be too much of a drama. And Dhanno really needs something much better than the factory bumper with a hole cut in it.

 

[John Young]

Hi all,
Dhanno's volt meter is getting erratic, just the same way my 2000 LX470 did here in Dubai just before the alternator died completely--stranding me literally 50 feet from two of my favorite salvage yards in Sharjah--so it was pretty easy to get that sorted. Just took som time. I'm going to replace the alternator in Dhanno, but I also was thinking about rebuilding it. I've been reading threads about what a pain it is to actually make the swap and I'm thinking of having my friends at Mr. Tire do it for me. Have not yet made up my mind.

Here's the question: should I take the opportunity to upgrade to something else than stock. I've read a bunch of threads but really have not found the information I'm looking for. Should I upgrade? And if so, what should I upgrade to? Or should I rebuild the existing alternator?

Any advice will be gratefully received.

 

[John Young]

Well I still have not changed the alternator or the power steering pump, but I do have the parts sitting on the shelf in the garage. Along with the half-finished OEM bull bar. Even so, Dhanno, sagging front bumper and all, does get noticed from time to time:

 

[D21FJ60]

i've always meant to ask you, did you ever get the factory bull bar installed or sorted?

 

[John Young]

i've always meant to ask you, did you ever get the factory bull bar installed or sorted?

Bits and pieces still in the garage in Arlington. I have not been there for a while.