That insect thing looks fake,like its made out of wood or something
78 Series Tourer
- Thread starter gilghana
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Wonderful seeing those cruiser do such amazing work. Out here, the Civil Defense Agency (only one left in the USA) has a set of four 1991 FJ80s they use in emergency situations and about a dozen more for road works when they are going through the mountains and agriculture zones. Toyota claims they have no commercial users of their vehicles in the USA. Well, the State of Hawai`i and the Hawai`i Civil Defense seem to think that no other vehicle will suffice for them that is currently available on the market. So the continue to rebuild their heavily worked FJ80s.
I was curious if you purchased the ambulance truck from Gibraltar ?
Nice build by the way. I am always impressed by the troopy.
Once I'm done nursing, hopefully I can live in interesting land like you do.
- Thread starter
- #84
Hey thanks for all the comments and interest folks. So to answer some of the questions:
1) No we didn't buy it from Toyota Stockholdings in Gibralter - we bought from a company in Belgium called Demimpex who we have bought a lot of Toyotas from.
2) For the ambulance we have no plans to modify the suspension. We will leave it completely stock as hopefully it gets minimal use.
3) Locals and toyotas...
well my fellow managers are all pretty astonished at what has gone into the vehicle in terms of parts and time. A couple of guys in our Workshop (CAT diesel techs) appreciate the engineering side of things, and bearing in mind most ex-pats here know nothing about our world (of Toyota mods and fanatacism for all things 4x4) things like the shower and fridge just blow them away
as they have never seen or imagined them... There is a fair amount of interest in trips that I have made to Mali etc, as many ex-pats here come and work and really do not get to know much beyond their little bubble of work - I always try to encourage them to get out a bit more. The Ghanaian nationals are likewise pretty amazed by shower and fridge type things - very amazed! I always remember after fitting the detroit lockers and winch to my Defender I took our best vehicle mechanic for a play - he was totally blown away by it's capabilities and still talks about it 5 years later... that type of thing is great, and in general Ghanaians are very enthusiastic about new experiences.
4) The milipede type insect thing is certainly real
1) No we didn't buy it from Toyota Stockholdings in Gibralter - we bought from a company in Belgium called Demimpex who we have bought a lot of Toyotas from.
2) For the ambulance we have no plans to modify the suspension. We will leave it completely stock as hopefully it gets minimal use.
3) Locals and toyotas...
well my fellow managers are all pretty astonished at what has gone into the vehicle in terms of parts and time. A couple of guys in our Workshop (CAT diesel techs) appreciate the engineering side of things, and bearing in mind most ex-pats here know nothing about our world (of Toyota mods and fanatacism for all things 4x4) things like the shower and fridge just blow them away
as they have never seen or imagined them... There is a fair amount of interest in trips that I have made to Mali etc, as many ex-pats here come and work and really do not get to know much beyond their little bubble of work - I always try to encourage them to get out a bit more. The Ghanaian nationals are likewise pretty amazed by shower and fridge type things - very amazed! I always remember after fitting the detroit lockers and winch to my Defender I took our best vehicle mechanic for a play - he was totally blown away by it's capabilities and still talks about it 5 years later... that type of thing is great, and in general Ghanaians are very enthusiastic about new experiences. 4) The milipede type insect thing is certainly real
So, it seems there is some interest in the HZJ78 Ambulance! Well this morning we handed it over to the hospital and did some basic training of how to deal with the stretcher and so on!
So here goes... Troopy arriving at the hospital:
Our Hospital Lab tech sitting inside:
Some stretcher practice:
Cloth interior - most that we see tend to be vinyl:
And finally our BRILLIANT and highly talented Dr. with myself - we are all quite pleased with ourselves as formerly we had a 15 year old Nissan Urvan that cannot leave the area... we try to manage with various LCs in emergency, but finally after we lost a young girl I insisted to our Board of Directors that we need a decent vehicle... and as the choice is mine, well you know what it was gonna be
Our little hospital is very basic, but we do have x-ray and a lab with decent analysis equipment but some of the cases are frightening... most fatalities are untreated malaria (mostly kids). Scores of water related illness and so so many preventable cases. Charles (the MD) is a highly talented Ob Gyn guy and the only way we retain him (so many job offers in US and EU!) is that he relishes the challenge and we let him do a lot of extra courses and studies oveseas. I have seen him save a young girl (accidental ingestion of insecticide) by jumping in his car (nice Prado BTW) and gunning down to the town, buying a handfull of charcoal and forcing her to eat... result! I have also had my share of stuff out here when I have been glad to have an MD I know and trust implicitly.
I KNOW this troopy will be saving lives in the near future!
The mods are as follows:
- collapsable stretcher with locking mechanism in the vehicle
- Stainless steel ramp
- 4 overhead fluoro lamps
- Oxygen set
- Siren and light set (Damn loud)
- heavy duty flooring in the rear
- Privacy glass on rear windows
- Typical stickers
We still have to put in a good first aid kit, put on some better/wider tyres and maybe an HF radio.
Cheers for the interest,
Gil
Excellent pics
Thanks Gil
- Thread starter
- #86
So I decided to do the bullbar this afternoon. The one on the old 75 series (used as a runabout by electricians) was made up years ago and has taken a beating in the bush, so I reckon it's battle proven. The uprights are damn thick, the bumper likewise and the tube work too. Here it is on the old 75:
Now I wanted to get all the fitting checked but first here is a shot of it behind. It has bolt holes on the side and a large vertical bolt, but no bottom strap for the bolt to go through (I will weld one on so the bar is firmly clamped top AND bottom - this will in effect make it a 4 sided pocket that fully fits over the chassis members). IMHO it is strong enough, but may as well be very sure.
So here it is mounted - the small cannister plugged into the onboard water system is a general ecology water filter so that I can also draw drinking water from the tank with no worries - works nicely!
So it needs a bit of cleaning up! But considering the price of them I am quite happy - a few hours with wire brushing and sanding and a bit of paint and it will be fine. It weighs (guestimate) about 40 kgs, so is no lightweight. Whether the winch goes on or not is open at this stage. I will hang back with the painting for a while as I have some wurth stoneguard stuff on the way which I might try...
The lightforce 170s protrude a bit, but they are tough lights, and I dont want any airflow restrictions that I can avoid - it gets hot enough under there!
Cheers,
Gil
Now I wanted to get all the fitting checked but first here is a shot of it behind. It has bolt holes on the side and a large vertical bolt, but no bottom strap for the bolt to go through (I will weld one on so the bar is firmly clamped top AND bottom - this will in effect make it a 4 sided pocket that fully fits over the chassis members). IMHO it is strong enough, but may as well be very sure.
So here it is mounted - the small cannister plugged into the onboard water system is a general ecology water filter so that I can also draw drinking water from the tank with no worries - works nicely!
So it needs a bit of cleaning up! But considering the price of them I am quite happy - a few hours with wire brushing and sanding and a bit of paint and it will be fine. It weighs (guestimate) about 40 kgs, so is no lightweight. Whether the winch goes on or not is open at this stage. I will hang back with the painting for a while as I have some wurth stoneguard stuff on the way which I might try...
The lightforce 170s protrude a bit, but they are tough lights, and I dont want any airflow restrictions that I can avoid - it gets hot enough under there!
Cheers,
Gil
That is a nice 75 and bumper. However, you sure have small centipedes there. =P Need to see ones that are about 18 inches (about 40 cm.) long or so before you start calling those big. If I had a point of reference in that picture, would be nice.
EDIT: 18 inches is about 45 centimetres in length. I need to start using a calculator more often.
EDIT: 18 inches is about 45 centimetres in length. I need to start using a calculator more often.
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- Thread starter
- #88
Hey, I never said it was big - only real The tap gives some scale - it's a totty wee milipede type thing of only a few cm. At 40cm we have nothing like that! Jeez. However the snakes can be large - don't want to find this guy under the troopy (well actually he wouldn't bother me 'cause he didn't survive the 2x4 but his brother or sister would be alarming!):
The tap gives some scale - it's a totty wee milipede type thing of only a few cm. At 40cm we have nothing like that! Jeez. However the snakes can be large - don't want to find this guy under the troopy (well actually he wouldn't bother me 'cause he didn't survive the 2x4 but his brother or sister would be alarming!):
- Thread starter
- #89
Back on topic.
Well I couldn't hold off with the painting I also made some modifications to the bar as I was not entirely happy with the sides. So I got hold of some old steam pipes (3mm wall) and also strengthened the mounts and welded some channel underneath which are supposed to stop the hi-lift jack slipping... Okay I say "I" but I am not that good a welder, so I got someone to do all the cutting, bending, sanding, grinding, priming, painting and clear coat. Cost me $20
So tomorrow afternoon is sorted out.
Well I couldn't hold off with the painting
I also made some modifications to the bar as I was not entirely happy with the sides. So I got hold of some old steam pipes (3mm wall) and also strengthened the mounts and welded some channel underneath which are supposed to stop the hi-lift jack slipping... Okay I say "I" but I am not that good a welder, so I got someone to do all the cutting, bending, sanding, grinding, priming, painting and clear coat. Cost me $20So tomorrow afternoon is sorted out.
- Thread starter
- #90
Well yesterday I mounted up the modified and painted bullbar. In it's previous form I did not like the wings that wrapped around lights - the tubes were quite bent and I really wanted something more unobtrusive and simple. I also decided to try mounting the hilift on it - works pretty well, and I had seen this mounting on a few other vehicles, but will put some sort of wire lock to stop it wandering...
Of course in the process of strengthening the mounting points and tidying up some of the welds things have got a bit out of alignment, so a few hours of drilling, grinding and filing will be needed today to get some of the mounting bolts sorted properly.
At the same time I plan to change the green water hoses to some black hyd hose I blagged, so a bit of playing around there is also to be done.
I also did the axle breather extensions - routed them up to the bulkhead near the bonnet. However the gearbox breather eludes me so far... Pretty difficult to access? I must say that LR had the whole breather thing sorted better that Toyota. But the worst I have seen is some "Extreme Duty" Renault Kerax trucks we bought last year - the axle breather is just a open section of hose hanging down behind the diff, no check valve and probably the worst breather mounting imaginable!
Of course in the process of strengthening the mounting points and tidying up some of the welds things have got a bit out of alignment, so a few hours of drilling, grinding and filing will be needed today to get some of the mounting bolts sorted properly.
At the same time I plan to change the green water hoses to some black hyd hose I blagged, so a bit of playing around there is also to be done.
I also did the axle breather extensions - routed them up to the bulkhead near the bonnet. However the gearbox breather eludes me so far... Pretty difficult to access? I must say that LR had the whole breather thing sorted better that Toyota. But the worst I have seen is some "Extreme Duty" Renault Kerax trucks we bought last year - the axle breather is just a open section of hose hanging down behind the diff, no check valve and probably the worst breather mounting imaginable!
Ron R
Drive a Landruiser, enjoy life
Have only been reading this without any comment.
Enjoy it very much. Just want to say how much I drool over it.
Very nice build, think you cannot wait to leave...
Enjoy it very much. Just want to say how much I drool over it.
Very nice build, think you cannot wait to leave...
- Thread starter
- #92
Thanks Ron!
well a good while ago I ordered a 70 series "Turbo" badge from our local Toyota dealer - now most times they are pretty fast at getting more normal parts, but this one I guess was a bit tougher as it took over three months. Now it's crazy I know, and on ebay any turbo badge will cost a couple of quid/bucks whatever, but I just had to have an original red turbo emblem! Too cool
thinks I have lost it - first of all ordering it, then waiting three months and then taking a picture of it on the sofa at lunchtime to put on the internet!
well a good while ago I ordered a 70 series "Turbo" badge from our local Toyota dealer - now most times they are pretty fast at getting more normal parts, but this one I guess was a bit tougher as it took over three months. Now it's crazy I know, and on ebay any turbo badge will cost a couple of quid/bucks whatever, but I just had to have an original red turbo emblem! Too cool
thinks I have lost it - first of all ordering it, then waiting three months and then taking a picture of it on the sofa at lunchtime to put on the internet!
Gil, your wife is not the only one who thinks their man is a wee bit off........
- Thread starter
- #94
Suspected as much Phil
Actually some stuff here on 'MUD she really admires - she really likes Soenke's hybrid 40/80 in "Traveling Cruisers" on the Expedition side. And the guy who is covering his 40 with camouflage vinyl!
Anyway just back from a quick "fix" with the good old cordless drill:
Ron R
Drive a Landruiser, enjoy life
Hmmm, if I would be driving around like that (with the high-jack on the front side) I would be pulled over by the first policepatrol car I met.
Guess you won't have that kind of problems over there
Was just wondering about the rooftoptent. It's just sitting on two crossbars. Ain't you afraid the struts will break? During a trip in the Sahare one of the members of the group had even more struts. But eventually they all broke. See my page here
(sorry this is in Dutch only), about three quarters down the page. Hoover over the picture.
It was not so much the movement across the vehicle, but the acceleration and decelleration from bumps that make them break.
These struts are much longer than yours as far as I can see from the pictures, but he had a kind of diagonal struts between the crossbeams in forward aft direction. We had to take it off. Luckely one of us was towing a trailer and could carry it for the remainder of the trip.
Guess you won't have that kind of problems over there
Was just wondering about the rooftoptent. It's just sitting on two crossbars. Ain't you afraid the struts will break? During a trip in the Sahare one of the members of the group had even more struts. But eventually they all broke. See my page here
(sorry this is in Dutch only), about three quarters down the page. Hoover over the picture.
It was not so much the movement across the vehicle, but the acceleration and decelleration from bumps that make them break.
These struts are much longer than yours as far as I can see from the pictures, but he had a kind of diagonal struts between the crossbeams in forward aft direction. We had to take it off. Luckely one of us was towing a trailer and could carry it for the remainder of the trip.
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- Thread starter
- #96
The roofbars are actually very strong - and the tent is well within their loading limits. I know two look a bit light, but the old tent (fairly similar weights) gave the bars a good beating with no issues. My terrain here is only gravel roads and potholes, so you get a feeling for what will take it and what won't. Worst case I stick another bar under it... I could have fabricated a serious duty roofrack as I had on the old Defender, but I wanted as little weight up top as possible while still using a RTT.
Anyway yesterday I had a feeling that in our store were some spacers - ordered by my predecessor who in his quest for bling ordered 4 daft shiny rims for a 105 series... Only he knew not a lot about cruisers and ordered for an IFS 100 series! So spacers were bought but never used 'cause he left and when I got his car the first thing I did was get rid of the alloy rims and homemade spacers and put it back to standard. So these H & R 30mm spacers have sat there for 4 years. I decided to utilise them as IMHO the '78 can always do with a slightly wider track, and well they are there! The issues of flares and so on might have to be crossed - but not now. I know there a lot of fors and againsts with spacers, but 30mm is not that big a deal and German TUV approved so they must be half decent - certainly pretty pricey on the web, so I feel compensated for spending $30 on a plastic badge!!
Anyway yesterday I had a feeling that in our store were some spacers - ordered by my predecessor who in his quest for bling ordered 4 daft shiny rims for a 105 series... Only he knew not a lot about cruisers and ordered for an IFS 100 series! So spacers were bought but never used 'cause he left and when I got his car the first thing I did was get rid of the alloy rims and homemade spacers and put it back to standard. So these H & R 30mm spacers have sat there for 4 years. I decided to utilise them as IMHO the '78 can always do with a slightly wider track, and well they are there! The issues of flares and so on might have to be crossed - but not now. I know there a lot of fors and againsts with spacers, but 30mm is not that big a deal and German TUV approved so they must be half decent - certainly pretty pricey on the web, so I feel compensated for spending $30 on a plastic badge!!
Ron R
Drive a Landruiser, enjoy life
Oh man, what a pity you had to put these old things on your rig
- Thread starter
- #98
Yesterday I tackled the handbrake cable - when I fitted the underbody water tank it is no longer possible to use the original handbrake cable so I got one for a 79 pickup which is slightly longer. It was a bit of a race against darkness to drop the original fuel tank and get the cable installed so no pictures! Only one with the troopy on a 4 post lift, and basically yes some fender flares are going to be needed... I am off on last leave next week to Germany and UK, so am putting together a last list of stuff - including flares, better water hoses and valves.
Oh the new cable worked perfectly
Oh the new cable worked perfectly
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Hi gil, was reading your thread and I like the buildup. When you come to ordering another vehicle for work maybe you should give a bit of thought to http:/www.multidrive.com.au/ ... they do some pretty specialised stuff that could be exported to you easily. You'd obviously have to work out the LHD/RHD thing tho
- Thread starter
- #100
Many thanks Entaran - some super vehicles on there! 6x6 w/shop truck would be sweet... Ghana has some really funny import laws about RHD though (except when the Gov wants ex-London buses
)
Well we are still on our hols, so nothing to report - although we were staying with friends in Germany, and he is also a troopy nut. They are currently about 1000hrs into a total restoration of a BJ45. Was a great evening - standing in a freezing barn drinking top Bavarian beer for an hour before more beers in the warmth. He is doing a fantastic job. I really enjoyed seeing it so thought I would share: BTW final colour will be beige (Dune beige ??)
)Well we are still on our hols, so nothing to report - although we were staying with friends in Germany, and he is also a troopy nut. They are currently about 1000hrs into a total restoration of a BJ45. Was a great evening - standing in a freezing barn drinking top Bavarian beer for an hour before more beers in the warmth. He is doing a fantastic job. I really enjoyed seeing it so thought I would share: BTW final colour will be beige (Dune beige ??)
