A 1990 HZJ80 mini-refurb from Saudi Arabia

[boozewz]

@Pin_Head Yeah it was pretty bad. Some parts of Jeddah (newer neighborhoods) weren't affected nearly anywhere as bad as the older parts of the town. My normal 40min commute turned into a 1.30hr slugfest home, taking roads I'd never taken before, just to avoid the deeply flooded areas, and I still had water over my 33" tires. A couple of my colleagues weren't so lucky and it took them +6 hours to get home as they got bogged down behind drowned vehicles that blocked the road, causing several gridlocks.



And the next morning, after the municipality worked overnight to pump out all the water. These were abandoned cars that drowned. A scene from The Walking Dead!

 

[Pin_Head]

It looks pretty exciting. Apparently it was as bad as the flooding 6 years ago. I was talking to my friends at KAU and they didn't have any flooding this time. Last time caused hundreds of millions of riyals of damage.

 

[tgadd]

Just read through this thread. Great looking build and awesome adventures in Saudi.

 

[Aloha Jen]

Just finished looking at all nine pages....what a great story and photos! Thanks for sharing.

 

[TZ62]

Here's a video I put together

I love your setup on the 80. The simplicity of the lines - nothing extra, just super utilitarian. Exactly what the 80 is meant for!

And KSA looks like an awesome playground.

 

[bloc]

I love your setup on the 80. The simplicity of the lines - nothing extra, just super utilitarian. Exactly what the 80 is meant for!

X1000..

 

[PDoyle]

damn.

 

[gnarlynick2072]

Awesome vid! I was shocked you're running 4,000 RPMs on the highway!

Those flooding pictures remind me of Khobar during big rains.

 

[boozewz]

I love your setup on the 80. The simplicity of the lines - nothing extra, just super utilitarian. Exactly what the 80 is meant for!

And KSA looks like an awesome playground.

Thank you sir…KSA indeed has a lot to offer. I find that out every time I hit the road.

Awesome vid! I was shocked you're running 4,000 RPMs on the highway!

Those flooding pictures remind me of Khobar during big rains.

Yeah I thought 4K rpm is high, but EGT's are at 650F….My mileage surely takes a hit, but its a little trade off. Plus, no one drives here at 55mph (88km/h!!!), the speed limit is 75mph (120km/h). What RPM's do you run?

 

[gnarlynick2072]

Thank you sir…KSA indeed has a lot to offer. I find that out every time I hit the road.



Yeah I thought 4K rpm is high, but EGT's are at 650F….My mileage surely takes a hit, but its a little trade off. Plus, no one drives here at 55mph (88km/h!!!), the speed limit is 75mph (120km/h). What RPM's do you run?

So you do 4000 RPM at 120?

I'm at 2450 RPM at 100 km/h and around 3000 at 120. 33" tires, 4.11 gearing... Perhaps the H151 has different gearing vs. H150? Unless you don't have stock diff gearing?

 

[boozewz]

So you do 4000 RPM at 120?

I'm at 2450 RPM at 100 km/h and around 3000 at 120. 33" tires, 4.11 gearing... Perhaps the H151 has different gearing vs. H150? Unless you don't have stock diff gearing?

Wow, thats impressive!

Not sure what my gearing is. Its definitely stock though, but not sure what gears we got in the GCC. Running 33" skinnies.

 

[boozewz]

Just had a 30,000km service done. Had the brake pads changed as well, as they were down to about 10% left. I also added some Slee front coil spacers to level out the front, as it was always sitting a touch lower than the rear. Initially I thought to go with some heavier rated OME front coils as perhaps the diesel motor weighs more than the petrol, but in the end I didn't fancy stiffening the ride, as its super comfy nowadays.




Front coil spacers from Slee



Pretty straightforward to fit.



Next up, the DS floor mat was worn out. Good to know they last 30K. Chucked this one out and picked up a new one from the hardware store



The new one. I just love how they trap sand, never look dirty, and never slide around when I shuffle my feet.



Then I went to a tire shop to get my wheels balanced as I noticed a couple of wheel weights had come off. Over there I spotted some cool used OEM 70(?) series wheels on sale. The guy wanted SR 650 ($170) for a set of 4, mounted and balanced. So of course, I jumped at them.



As soon as he put them on, I was asking how soon he could get a 5th, for the spare.



Got that NGO look going. Seems a lot more factory looking now. Although I don't think I've seen 80 series' running this style rims before.



Happy new year to all our brothers and sisters on Mud!

 

[Wheelingnoob]

That looks great with thoes wheels!

 

[Honger]

Your 80 is one of my favorites here... so simple and understated. It makes me want to tear my down and remove all of the trim, flares, etc. =)

 

[Honger]

It also gives me bad thoughts of buying one of those 1HZ's with an H55 in Sharjah. =)

 

[boozewz]

Thank you @Wheelingnoob and @Honger

It also gives me bad thoughts of buying one of those 1HZ's with an H55 in Sharjah. =)

Do it!

Although probably better off trading your FZJ80 for a HZJ80….this way you can pick one up thats minimum 25 years old, ready for stateside deployment (and eventual retirment). Taking an engine from a junkyard is a bad idea. Ask me how I know. Also, the diesel 80s go for a lot cheaper than the petrols, so you could be in the money if you decide to go that route.


Food for thought

 

[decoco]

I've been keeping an eye on this thread; very well executed build, very big fan of the wheels.

Also, a big fan of the photography... one of the pictures is my desktop bakground image.

 

[boozewz]

I've been keeping an eye on this thread; very well executed build, very big fan of the wheels.

Also, a big fan of the photography... one of the pictures is my desktop bakground image.

Thank you sir! Some of the credit has to go to the iPhone filter app

 

[boozewz]

Upgraded to LED's as well. What a world of difference they made





Used these for the low beams, and inserted the bulbs



Standard low beams



LED low beams



Low beams



LED low beams

 

[decoco]

Is it my impression or the led low beam picture on the bottom makes it seem like the lights have a less broad and deep beam pattern?