78 Diesel FJ55; How Rare? Even Real?

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inkpot said:
Howdy! I hope it turns out to have been an original Toyota diesel, but I'm betting that since it has a Saginaw steering box in it, that it was either a 5.7 gas, or 5.7 or 6.2 diesel from GM. Anybody know what GM used for diesels before they started using the Detroits? John
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Its possible. The manual steering box was clearly cut out at some point and one side of the frame rail was torched and then 3/8 plate welded to the outside of it to mount the siganaw box. The fact that the badges were Toyota badges is the thing that kind of drives me to thinking it was stock... I just don't want to believe that some red-neck in East TX would go to all the trouble of finding Toyota badges to make it look stock.

Moreover, I realized this a few hours ago. It's a late 78' model and it was registered until early 84' according to the sticker. That means it was probably wrecked in 83'. Its highly unlikely that the 2F would have pooped out that quickly and a diesel swaped within the first 6 years of its life. There were no other cuts in the tranny cover to suggest a transmission besides the stock 4-speed. If a chevy V8 diesel was used, the transmission would have had to have been moved forward a few inches making the shifter hole foward...

The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced...
 
I would assume that a factory deisel would have
1. A Glow position on the ignition Switch
2. A Glow Plug Indicator Light on Dash
3. A "filter" Light somewhere on the Dash for the Water/Sediment trap (this is a maybe???)
4. No choke Lever

Dave
 
fjdaveinoz said:
I would assume that a factory deisel would have
1. A Glow position on the ignition Switch
2. A Glow Plug Indicator Light on Dash
3. A "filter" Light somewhere on the Dash for the Water/Sediment trap (this is a maybe???)
4. No choke Lever

Dave
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Good call... I totally didnt think about that. Also I am unsure of what the japanese specs are for the voltage system for that year.
 
See, these are all the things that sparked my curiosity in the first place. Glad I'm not the only one.

I will try to reexamine the dash for Glow plug lights, or Glow plug positions in the ignition. I did examine the fuel gauge, it DOES NOT read Diesel Fuel Only.

There is a stange dial on the dash, in an add-on type pod below the HVAC controls, to the right of the steering wheel. Don't know my Pigs well enough to know what that is/was. Any ideas?
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Is the dial the rear heater control? I noticed it does have the same type of rear heater that (2) of my (3) 40's have had. Not sure of the control for a 55.

More pics;
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RHINO said:
the dial is for dealer option AC, mine had the same dial, supposedly a temp control but the system never cooled the cab enough to actually work like it was supposed to.
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Really!! I just got the A/C hooked up on mine (factory A/C with a diesel engine and a few different controls). I'm putting mine to the test tomorrow when I drive out to El Salvador. If it can keep me cool in the jungle as the truck is pulling up hills then I'll pronounce it good. So far on the few trips around town it freezes my knees!
 
In the FWIW category, Wikepedia (and some other websites but the info could all be from the same source) states that the FJ55 was imported into Germany (Continental Europe, I presume) with a diesel option starting in 1978. I have searched for one for sale (I speak fluent German) but haven't had any luck as of yet. Lot's of 40's for sale with diesel engines however!

Anyway, that doesn't solve the mystery of this Pig as the writing would have been in German (which could have also been written as either Diesel or Gasoil but the other words would obviously have not been written in English).
 
If this FJ-5x has individual seats in front, then it is (was) probably an FJ-56V; from the "50th anniversary book, pg 46". It was nick-named the 'moose'.

There are no listings of a BJ-5x.

...
 
Man, I love this site. It does feed my addiciton though.

I went to the same book for reference, and found no info about factory diesels in 55's either. The front seat is a bench in this one.

All interesting trivia info, but since the eng/trans/xfer are all gone, and the frame is hacked, any Rare Cruiser value is ruined already IMO. If the boneyard owner thinks he has a goldmine and won't part it out, not sure it does us much good. Didn't think I told him too much about what he has. Guess I shouldn't have told him anything.

Thanks for the interest. Glad you found it as interesting as I did. If I hear anything else interesting about it, I'll post.
 
If it get's to a point where he will let us part it out, I'll let you know.

FYI, I believe the diesel badge (one is already missing) on the fenders are the same as on the 40, (I think in the grill on them.)

The sticker by the fuel fill, is a neat piece, but seriously doubt if it will come off in reuseable form.
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toyotatruckjunkie said:
FYI, I believe the diesel badge (one is already missing) on the fenders are the same as on the 40, (I think in the grill on them.)
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The '40 series diesel badge is different, at least the ones I've seen. I have one for the '45LV when it gets that far.
 
I still want it. I can get the 40 grill badge new from Japan 4X4 for about $27. + shipping. that might be one from the rear of a 40. Im a screen printer so I can print my own DIESEL FUEL ONLY if I decide to use one. Might not be a bad idea.
Keep me posted on the badge.

Terricola
(for cruiser guy)
 
The "Diesel" side badge looks to me like one from an early GM diesel.
 
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