88 BJ73 coming home new guy

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badusmaximus

badusmaximus

Joined
May 23, 2020
Threads
17
Messages
134
Location
Northern AZ
I've been lurking for quite some time now while the gears have been turning. Sending payment tomorrow to an old college friend for this (seller pics) :

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1988 JDM LX trim w/ A/C and a 13-BT swap. No lockers, but rear LSD (K085- not sure about the front diff) ODO says ~ 215,000 KM. Rust down in the quarters and fender seams of course. Raptor liner on the body. Not perfect- but a very attainable price will help me to spend more $ where it will count the most.Spent some time on Vancouver Island. my friends imported it to Seattle last year. Was able to sell a 1st gen Tacoma and Kawasaki Super Sherpa to make this a debt-free aquisition :)

I will post more pics and updates down the line but am excited to say that this is mine! Setting up shipping from WA to AZ this week.

Been spending these quarantined weeks putting together the plan for this thing: stay tuned if you care. And retroactive thanks for the amazing resource of minds on this forum.

I grew up with and around Toyotas from a 4wd Tercel to many pickups, Tacomas, Tundras, 4 runners, etc. Excited to finally join the ranks of IMO the best.

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Nice! Too bad the PTO is missing as they are just kinda cool. Mine BJ74 is pretty similar to yours and I’m just getting to fixing the minor rust in the fenders. A bit of a pain but totally feasible as the metal is pretty thick. Enjoy this rig.
 
Okay, the car shipped and arrived today. Due to COVID x AZ, hoping to get it registered ASAP. DMV is on appt only and booked out for weeks apparently, so going to try a 3rd party office. Waiting for that callback so thought I'd hop on here real quick. Drove around the neighborhood and took to a car wash to get those damn bugs off the front.

IMG_9696.webp


"To do" list is as follows:

PHASE I
  • Oil/Fluid/Coolant Flush Change (engine oil, trans oil, diffs)
  • Fuel filter change and Seafoam Hot Soak
  • Check/repair brakes
  • Check/repair hoses/belts
  • Check/repair steering tie rods and knuckles
  • Check/grease axles
  • Fix tachometer (PO sent along the part, will identify and advise on what actually needs to be done)
  • Figure out A/C situation. Factory air setup. As it stands it looks like there's no belt on the compressor. Hopefully that's all it needs, but if it does need to charge do these use R12 or R134a?
  • Radiator is looking pretty sad- might need to look into a recore sooner than later.
  • Stereo is not working. I believe its a 12v unit with a 24v converter. PO said that the batteries drained and he pulled them and trickle charged. Afterwards, stereo wasn't working anymore. Any ideas? I don't love the double din flatscreen unit- almost would prefer a single din with bluetooth and fabricate a panel underneath for aux switches.
  • There are a lot of random wires that don't look stock. I will run them down with a voltmeter and see whats actually going on. PO is sending me a chassis FSM (36262E) so once I have the wiring diagram I'll make some copies and start making neon spaghetti with highlighters. I'll be sure to document that and ask for help.
  • Paint front Toyota logo on grill white
  • Either remove roof rack or figure out why it terminates halfway back. I've got more of the corners and brackets, but not the aluminum bars that go inbetween.
  • Stuff some foam into the drivers seat and repair a 3" tear on it. Going to get seat covers anyways. Maybe a dash cover too. Was looking at stuff Equipt carries.
  • Steam clean the engine bay probably before I start diving into anything too much.
PHASE II
  • Have exhaust refabbed from downpipe back and tucked up into the frame
  • Buy/install ARB front bumper and Baja Designs squadron sports
  • Buy/install new OME suspension lift kit from Cruiser Outfitters. The springs and shocks now are looking pretty sad and the damper looks old as hell.
  • Block heater before winter
  • EGT/Boost Gauge. I'm really liking the digital mini computers such as the Reveltronics I see here on the site. Any feedback? Would prefer not to have A-pillar gauges
PHASE III
  • Rear bumper w/ swingouts for water, fuel, tire, etc. Really going to try not to use the second door as much as I can until I can afford this.
  • Matching spare wheel/tire (anybody have an extra American Racing Baja wheel?)
  • Strip back the rocker panels and lower quarters and fender seams and repair the rust there. Body is painted in raptor liner so this might be a good time to learn basic welding. I at least feel comfortable doing the prep and outsourcing the rest. Repaint as before.
  • Snorkel. Since I live in the dusty hot desert, I would really like to run this thing as cool as possible. Thank god the truck came with the stock airbox (see silly cone filter above). I'll probably pay to have the intake fabricated professionally- might also consider an intercooler at this point. Going to be adding some lag I'm sure but it'll be worth it.
  • Boost controller?
  • Windshield frame replacement. Leaning towards OEM. I can see rust, so I'm sure there's more I can't see. I expected this though.
  • Winch. I'm not a huge wheeler per se, but really like the idea of making this as perfect as I can. Plus I could help my old man pull mesquite stumps from our vineyard property :P
  • Sliders. See above
  • ARB compressor and lockers. Its supposedly got a LSD rear so I'm not too sure about this honestly. I'm going to spend some time on roads and trails before I get too far ahead of myself. I never needed more than 4L in my 1st gen Tacoma for 11 years so IDK???
  • Fab up some interior panels out of thin sheet metal and powdercoat or paint them. I like this look- kind of reminds me of parts that Techno Toy Tuning make for cars like AE86 and TE27.
At some point, if I ever have to rebuild the engine or whatever, I will probably want to invest in the whole frame off rebuild situation. As it stands I want to just drive this thing as much as I can and put money into it where and whenever possible.

About me: I am originally from Flagstaff AZ. I lived in SLC, UT for 8 years while I went to college and decided I want to punish myself and work in kitchens professionally. I also did an internship at JDM Legends in SLC for a loose couple of years. I got really good at cooking though and opened up a couple places in SLC- one of which (Yoko Ramen) has been pretty successful. My wife and I moved back to AZ in 2018 to get the hell out of Utah- most beautiful place but worst state to live in. Her parents live in northern NM and we're considering a move to Denver this year (got a good job offer the week before COVID shut er all down.) Needless to say, the Colorado Plateau is where I consider "home" to be and I fantasize about overlanding in all the amazing places we have to access. Foraging and farming native ingredients is a big thing for me, so this might turn into a bit of a way to access those things.

Previous vehicles:
1983 Mercedes 300D
2000 Toyota Tacoma SR5 xtra cab
1973 Toyota Corolla TE27
2001 Kawasaki Super Sherpa

Okay now I'm just rambling. Thanks for looking. I'll try to post on here as I start knocking down the list.
 
Awesome and congrats! I've been going through a lot of stuff on mine as well if you want to check my thread in my signature.

A/C = My belt was off on mine as well. Checked it and the compressor is seized. Haven't gotten around to fixing it. Personally I'd do R12 if you can.

Radiator - get that cooling fixed ASAP. A bad cooling system lead to a blown hose then headgasket/piston scoring at highway speeds. I ended up buying it that way and completely rebuilt the engine and down the rabbit hole I went. My radiator needed help, but was able to be repaired. It made is 485,000kms before that hose did it in.

Seems like there is ALWAYS extra wiring...pull that junk out. There is links to PDF's of factory manuals if you want to keep one on your phone like I do.

Roof rack - I see a lot of people only have the upper part on the front, or just the back, not sure why. Don't put huge loads up there, it will in time tear up the roof rails on the FRP top.

Driver seat - Mine had the same issue, someone had already patched the small tear, and the seat was slightly tilted because of beat down foam. I just swapped the passenger seat foam to the drivers side and it's MUCH better. I plan to get equipt seat covers someday. This is on my thread if you want to see that. Easy to do.

EGT/Boost - I use Auber guages SYL-2813 EGT/Boost guage. Has the cool 80's digital look too it. Like $150 total for guage and sensors and you can have it relay other things/audible visible alarm, turn on fans etc. I run mine in my ashtray spot, eventually will go under the single din radio spot.

My steering damper looked old and 1/2 white, half rock pitted rust. I pulled it expecting to replace (technically you shouldn't need it if all steering is good) when I did all my tie rod ends and it still felt decent both ways. Painted it black, put it back on and saved $65~80 on a fancy one.

I've got ARB's front and rear, I've had them on 4 Land Cruisers that I wheeled hard in Colorado and needed them. I like them, but they are an expensive upgrade if you aren't really planning on being in any hard situations. Any limited slips I've ever used are marginal at best. ARB for me! If you can swing it, do it, but I wouldn't consider it a necessity.

As for Colorado, it's beautiful and amazing wheeling. Grew up and lived in Colorado pretty much my whole life The front range is insanely popular and getting overrun like crazy. So unless you like tons of people (and a lot are transplants for cali) I would go more mountains or western colorado personally. Me, I wouldn't live in Denver, but I'm not a city person at all.
 
Welcome to the madness!!
 
Thanks all! @FJBen I read your thread through- thank you for the insights.

My A/C compressor seems to spin freely but I'm not sure if that means anything. After I get the belt, I am going to call around and see if any shops in town are willing/able to do a 12a recharge. Otherwise we might be looking at a conversion of some sort? I don't love it but its hot here!

As far as the radiator goes, are there any options for performance aftermarket here in USA? Otherwise a recore is at least in short order. I didn't notice any spikes on my dash gauge today driving around but some of the fins on the lower part have corroded and fallen out. No leakage.

Since I choose the desert, I'm willing to get these jobs done ASAP. That coupled with some real data monitoring should make me feel comfortable for road tripping. Everything else can fall into place later.
 
Congrats on the great rig! Looking forward to your progress. My truck is almost identical. Same plant, same trim, same factory color, and my VIN is only 207 lower than yours. Probably built the same week!
 
MTB Rider said:
Congrats on the great rig! Looking forward to your progress. My truck is almost identical. Same plant, same trim, same factory color, and my VIN is only 207 lower than yours. Probably built the same week!
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Wow! With this much paint on mine its hard to see what it would have been like stock. Yours looks much cleaner! Is there data on the VINs? I assume ours are ~4100 out of a run of XX,XXX? These JDM Models are pretty nicely equipped and kept in my experience. How fun
 
badusmaximus said:
Wow! With this much paint on mine its hard to see what it would have been like stock. Yours looks much cleaner! Is there data on the VINs? I assume ours are ~4100 out of a run of XX,XXX? These JDM Models are pretty nicely equipped and kept in my experience. How fun
Click to expand...

I’m not sure how many BJ73/bj74 were made. The general idea I got from @Onur was that they don’t really have production numbers.
 
FJBen said:
I’m not sure how many BJ73/bj74 were made. The general idea I got from @Onur was that they don’t really have production numbers.
Click to expand...

Total heavy duty 7x production from 11/1984-12/2016 is 1,330,720. How it breaks down to each series/type is probably only available to internal Toyota folks.
 
Still pretty cool to have a lower number car IMO. I remember some of the frame numbers for cars at JDM legends were insanely low. I think there was a series 1 Fairlady Z with like 0000024 or something like that.

Couple quick updates: Turns out the damage that I thought was the radiator was actually the a/c condenser... duh. I put a belt on the a/c compressor (Napa 25-9420) and replaced the missing 10A fuse. I was really hoping that would do the trick. It now blows air, but nothing cold. I am working on finding a local shop that can do an r12 recharge but I'm still kind of leaning towards the r134a option even though it's not ideal. There doesn't seem to be any leaks but some of the fins on the bottom are corroded and falling out. Are condensers rebuildable like radiators?

Hoses and belts all look great. I am going to have the coolant flushed, system pressure tested, and refilled this week. Oil change and checking transmission/tcase/diff levels as well. Have been doing some preliminary driving around and it runs strong! A bit of black/greyish smoke but I do live @ 7000'.

I think I'm going to have the exhaust and intake (snorkel, stock airbox, intercooler?) done at the same time- preferably by a shop with experience with both fabrication and tuning. I should probably get an egt/boost gauge sooner than later still though.

In the meantime, I'm going to be "that guy" and get an ARB front bumper. Without the factory PTO winch, I just don't like the look/functionality of the OEM unit. Will consider selling if anybody wants it.

Baja Designs squadron sports on the way. Amber lenses w/ combo spot/wide angle. I had these on my Tacoma and won't go back.. period correctness be damned. I also ordered a worksight spot to mount on the rear. With the extreme tint on my back windows this will help.

Suspension seems better than I thought. I think I'll wait a bit on the OME upgrade. On 33's this truck drives a lot smoother offroad than my Dad's 95 F350, which was my baseline for a F/R leaf spring vehicle.

Having some difficulties with my rear bench seat. It does not click into the bar that holds to the floor in back. I was messing with it yesterday and could not for the life of me get it to "click." Furthermore, the bar that connects to the hinge release so it will fold was bent and ended up snapping where it meets at the corner. Also found out that I only have 3/4 bolts connecting the seat to the cab so needless to say nobody is sitting back there until I replace these:

Rear Seat Folding Bar 79929-90K02
Rear Seat Catch 72660-90K01
Rear Seat Bolts 90119-08653 x 4

Wasn't sure about the washers/fasteners I need though? The megazip photo for that corner doesn't have parts #'s for that corner.
rear seat.webp
 
badusmaximus said:
Strip back the rocker panels and lower quarters and fender seams and repair the rust there. Body is painted in raptor liner so this might be a good time to learn basic welding. I at least feel comfortable doing the prep and outsourcing the rest. Repaint as before.
Click to expand...


Congratulations. I would start on these as a matter of urgency. Not as glamorous as suspension lifts and bull bars, but it can get worse real quick.
And rusty windscreen frames often let water in and cause other problems.
 
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Congrats on the rig! They're loads of fun. Your list looks great. I did a full Seafoam hot soak on my BJ74 and it made a world of difference.

As for the rack I'm mounting mine similarly to yours (a modified Front Runner rack) From what I gather the gutters should be able to support a decent amount of weight. I'm going to throw my hardshell RTT up there. My plan is to install some rubber feet and put tension on them to distribute some of the weight in the middle onto the top.

My JDM rig had the AC out, I did an R134A conversion and it was decent, but it looks like the compressor is leaking and even though the pressure switch is still active I fired the AC up for the first time this summer and it doesn't do much and the nose of the compressor is wet, so I think the front seal is toast. It lived in a fishing village in Japan so I don't think the AC was every really used. It was little stiff at the time so I'm just going to replace it and see if I can sell or rebuild the compressor since they're pretty rare. Just do R134A, but I'd look through you system and see if you can figure out what's up with it before you spend the money getting the AC charged.

badusmaximus said:
Okay, the car shipped and arrived today. Due to COVID x AZ, hoping to get it registered ASAP. DMV is on appt only and booked out for weeks apparently, so going to try a 3rd party office. Waiting for that callback so thought I'd hop on here real quick. Drove around the neighborhood and took to a car wash to get those damn bugs off the front.

View attachment 2350131

"To do" list is as follows:

PHASE I
  • Oil/Fluid/Coolant Flush Change (engine oil, trans oil, diffs)
  • Fuel filter change and Seafoam Hot Soak
  • Check/repair brakes
  • Check/repair hoses/belts
  • Check/repair steering tie rods and knuckles
  • Check/grease axles
  • Fix tachometer (PO sent along the part, will identify and advise on what actually needs to be done)
  • Figure out A/C situation. Factory air setup. As it stands it looks like there's no belt on the compressor. Hopefully that's all it needs, but if it does need to charge do these use R12 or R134a?
  • Radiator is looking pretty sad- might need to look into a recore sooner than later.
  • Stereo is not working. I believe its a 12v unit with a 24v converter. PO said that the batteries drained and he pulled them and trickle charged. Afterwards, stereo wasn't working anymore. Any ideas? I don't love the double din flatscreen unit- almost would prefer a single din with bluetooth and fabricate a panel underneath for aux switches.
  • There are a lot of random wires that don't look stock. I will run them down with a voltmeter and see whats actually going on. PO is sending me a chassis FSM (36262E) so once I have the wiring diagram I'll make some copies and start making neon spaghetti with highlighters. I'll be sure to document that and ask for help.
  • Paint front Toyota logo on grill white
  • Either remove roof rack or figure out why it terminates halfway back. I've got more of the corners and brackets, but not the aluminum bars that go inbetween.
  • Stuff some foam into the drivers seat and repair a 3" tear on it. Going to get seat covers anyways. Maybe a dash cover too. Was looking at stuff Equipt carries.
  • Steam clean the engine bay probably before I start diving into anything too much.
PHASE II
  • Have exhaust refabbed from downpipe back and tucked up into the frame
  • Buy/install ARB front bumper and Baja Designs squadron sports
  • Buy/install new OME suspension lift kit from Cruiser Outfitters. The springs and shocks now are looking pretty sad and the damper looks old as hell.
  • Block heater before winter
  • EGT/Boost Gauge. I'm really liking the digital mini computers such as the Reveltronics I see here on the site. Any feedback? Would prefer not to have A-pillar gauges
PHASE III
  • Rear bumper w/ swingouts for water, fuel, tire, etc. Really going to try not to use the second door as much as I can until I can afford this.
  • Matching spare wheel/tire (anybody have an extra American Racing Baja wheel?)
  • Strip back the rocker panels and lower quarters and fender seams and repair the rust there. Body is painted in raptor liner so this might be a good time to learn basic welding. I at least feel comfortable doing the prep and outsourcing the rest. Repaint as before.
  • Snorkel. Since I live in the dusty hot desert, I would really like to run this thing as cool as possible. Thank god the truck came with the stock airbox (see silly cone filter above). I'll probably pay to have the intake fabricated professionally- might also consider an intercooler at this point. Going to be adding some lag I'm sure but it'll be worth it.
  • Boost controller?
  • Windshield frame replacement. Leaning towards OEM. I can see rust, so I'm sure there's more I can't see. I expected this though.
  • Winch. I'm not a huge wheeler per se, but really like the idea of making this as perfect as I can. Plus I could help my old man pull mesquite stumps from our vineyard property :p
  • Sliders. See above
  • ARB compressor and lockers. Its supposedly got a LSD rear so I'm not too sure about this honestly. I'm going to spend some time on roads and trails before I get too far ahead of myself. I never needed more than 4L in my 1st gen Tacoma for 11 years so IDK???
  • Fab up some interior panels out of thin sheet metal and powdercoat or paint them. I like this look- kind of reminds me of parts that Techno Toy Tuning make for cars like AE86 and TE27.
At some point, if I ever have to rebuild the engine or whatever, I will probably want to invest in the whole frame off rebuild situation. As it stands I want to just drive this thing as much as I can and put money into it where and whenever possible.

About me: I am originally from Flagstaff AZ. I lived in SLC, UT for 8 years while I went to college and decided I want to punish myself and work in kitchens professionally. I also did an internship at JDM Legends in SLC for a loose couple of years. I got really good at cooking though and opened up a couple places in SLC- one of which (Yoko Ramen) has been pretty successful. My wife and I moved back to AZ in 2018 to get the hell out of Utah- most beautiful place but worst state to live in. Her parents live in northern NM and we're considering a move to Denver this year (got a good job offer the week before COVID shut er all down.) Needless to say, the Colorado Plateau is where I consider "home" to be and I fantasize about overlanding in all the amazing places we have to access. Foraging and farming native ingredients is a big thing for me, so this might turn into a bit of a way to access those things.

Previous vehicles:
1983 Mercedes 300D
2000 Toyota Tacoma SR5 xtra cab
1973 Toyota Corolla TE27
2001 Kawasaki Super Sherpa

Okay now I'm just rambling. Thanks for looking. I'll try to post on here as I start knocking down the list.
Click to expand...
 
badusmaximus said:
Still pretty cool to have a lower number car IMO. I remember some of the frame numbers for cars at JDM legends were insanely low. I think there was a series 1 Fairlady Z with like 0000024 or something like that.
Click to expand...

I think there is also some weirdness to Toyota's VIN number scheme so who knows what is actually correct. My VIN number ends with 000001. VIN tag and Frame number match. It's an 88, build date of 10/88 for the Australian Market, 11/88 Australian Compliance Tag, and shows sold new from dealer in February of 1991 in Redcliffe Australia from the paperwork I have along with a few maintenance records confirming that.
Now we know 88 Wasn't the first year BJ74, nor was it the first year of the BJ74 in Australia so I have no idea. Onur didn't really know either off the top of his head.
Either way, I think it's cool that it's 000001, whether it actually means anything cool or not.

I'm an ARB guy, although I think Dobinsons makes a cool bumper similar to the ARB.
 
I am coming to the party late but would recommend finding an old school radiator shop and having it recored. It cost me just south of $600 in GA and you can not tell it is not OEM. Same specs and the truck now runs cool again. Do not mess with any of the aftermarket garbage.
 
I've been posting my little updates mainly in the "what did you do on your 70 series today" thread since I'm not really building out per se.

As far as the radiator goes.. turns out I was looking at a damaged A/C condenser instead- fins are falling out on the bottom.

I've sorted my cooling issues (wrong thermostat for the climate, new water pump, hoses/coolant changed as needed) for now. I'm going to pull/recore the condenser as a part of other work I need done on my HVAC system before next summer.

The only aftermarket radiator/heat exchanger I would ever consider is a Koyo Radiator just because I know 100% they make high quality and aluminum products. Otherwise new OEM or recore for sure.
 
badusmaximus said:
Either remove roof rack or figure out why it terminates halfway back
Click to expand...

You cant put much weight up there particularly when offroad. Im guessing the PO only put a bit of gear up front. Its good they didn't drill holes in the FRP top. The gutter mounts look sturdy and could be used again.
 
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