I am hoping to get the $.02 from USA 70 series owners! This is a long post, so I appreciate anyone's thoughts! Please chime in!
I'm about to pull the trigger on a JDM 1990 HZJ73 with 100k miles. I'm very excited, I've always wanted a diesel Cruiser. It seems like the right mix of family friendly and old school Land Cruiser awesomeness. I would be perfectly happy trundling around town in an FJ40, but life dictates I level up on the comfort/safety/reliability factory. I just parted with my FJ40 that I've had a 7 year long love/hate relationship with for top dollar which is going to give me the money purchase the new Cruiser with a slush fund leftover to throw a little into it to get it trail ready.
I am going to have to pick it up from out of state from a reputable dealer. I've had my fellow Cruiser nerds scour pictures and discuss, and the seller was gracious enough to Facetime with me for an hour and go over every single aspect of the truck in real time and has spend hours on the phone discussing the truck with me. All of the boxes are checked: no rust, no leaks, knuckles look good, good interior, clean engine bay, ect. This would be my 4th Cruiser, I've had two FJ40s and a clean 96 FZJ80 but this is my first 70 series and my first diesel Toyota. I've driven a couple of 70s, and a handful of diesel Cruisers and love em. I have had diesel cars, so I know the basic diesel rundown.
This truck needs to be what my last FJ40 wasn't: trail ready, daily driveable, reliable and relatively economical. I work from home, so a commute currently isn't an issue although I want it to be able to commute if the future calls for it. My wife has to be able to drive it. My daughter has to be comfortable in it, I plan on introducing her to some overlanding and to the Moabs and Rubicons of the world.
A little about the truck: RHD, 100k miles (whatever the KM equivilant is), e lockers, AC, H151 (right?), clean factory 1HZ, everything seems to be factory minus a small OME lift and shackles. The timing belt was just done. Injectors have not been serviced but by all accounts everything seems to be in order. The price is right! I couldn't get US spec 80 series or properly built FJ40 for this kind of money. Even a Rubicon Wrangler Unlimited in equivalent condition is untouchable at this price! Most importantly perhaps is that this plan is wife approved, she's actually excited about it!
Plans for the slush fund: make it badass but not super extreme. I want to do smart mods to make it what I want it to be, but I don't want to throw money away if I won't get anything out of it. After I drive it for a couple of weeks to make sure I don't have any gremlins rearing their ugly little heads I have the following plans:
-Gears, 30 spline fronts and possibly rear shafts
-A full suspension rehash by my good friend at Atlas Spring. He will make make some slick new leafs for it (we did this on my FJ40 and it was bitchin!) and we will throw the nice shocks I have leftover from my FJ40 at it. Planning on around 3" of lift.
-I have a set of new 37s I had planned for the FJ40, but I may trade them in for a set of 35s.
-I have a wicked stereo system leftover from the FJ40 that I plan on wiring in with voltage converters.
-Depending on where I end up with budget I may do a set of 4:1 gears in the t case instead of getting super nerdy on the suspension bits. If I can get away with it I may choose to run the 35's with the stock gears (4.11s I assume?) and go with the 4:1 gears for the right mix of highway manners and crawlability.
-I'll throw some sliders at it and I might try to do a winch bumper on there if budget allows on this first round.
-Future plans include a roof rack to haul my crap around and sport a roof top tent for family camping trips. I may decide to try and do a biodiesel/WVO conversion. I don't think I'll want to mess with a turbo set up as much as it's tempting. Reliability and fuel economy trump my need for speed.
I am really looking for feedback as I plan my budget. My questions for 70 series owners:
-Am I crazy or does this seems like a great candidate to finally fill my daily drive/trail machine desires? Am I missing something? This seems too easy.
-What gears am I likely to want with 35s? 37s? How will this thing drive day to day with the stock gears and 35s? I don't need this thing to be fast, I don't care. I just can't stand a truck that feels lethargic and can't drive up a hill or throw sand, I do like gears. But if I can roll with 35s on stock gears it frees up a lot of funds to do things like the transfer case gears and dial in other bits of the truck.
-It has the auto hubs on it. I'm debating on whether to convert them to a set of Aisins or Warns, or run them as is. Anyone have an opinion?
-Anyone stuck 37s on one of these? Should be pretty much the same mechanically as on my FJ40 and 80 series, pretty straightforward and robust. My question is the body. I do not want to chop it up. I also want to keep it as low as possible. Any thoughts?
-The engine seems strong. No smoke, ect. What kind of fuel system issues am I likely to run into? I know that at some point I'll have to do the injectors. How big of a project? Is this something I should factor into the cost, or am I likely to be able to run it for the foreseeable future? If it isn't broken I don't want to fix it.
-The 24 volt system seems like it is going to be a pain in the ass. I have a nice Warn 12V winch, stereo, lights, ect waiting in the garage. Am I going to be able to make this work with 24 to 12 volt converters? Looks like the stereo and interior accessories are doable with little additional work. Am I going to be able to run amps on those converters? What about the winch? I do not want to half ass it. Is there a way to run this winch properly?
If you made it to the end of this, you'll probably be willing to answer some of these questions and throw in your opinion! Please do! I will post pictures and do a build thread once triggers are pulled.
Thanks guys!
I'm about to pull the trigger on a JDM 1990 HZJ73 with 100k miles. I'm very excited, I've always wanted a diesel Cruiser. It seems like the right mix of family friendly and old school Land Cruiser awesomeness. I would be perfectly happy trundling around town in an FJ40, but life dictates I level up on the comfort/safety/reliability factory. I just parted with my FJ40 that I've had a 7 year long love/hate relationship with for top dollar which is going to give me the money purchase the new Cruiser with a slush fund leftover to throw a little into it to get it trail ready.
I am going to have to pick it up from out of state from a reputable dealer. I've had my fellow Cruiser nerds scour pictures and discuss, and the seller was gracious enough to Facetime with me for an hour and go over every single aspect of the truck in real time and has spend hours on the phone discussing the truck with me. All of the boxes are checked: no rust, no leaks, knuckles look good, good interior, clean engine bay, ect. This would be my 4th Cruiser, I've had two FJ40s and a clean 96 FZJ80 but this is my first 70 series and my first diesel Toyota. I've driven a couple of 70s, and a handful of diesel Cruisers and love em. I have had diesel cars, so I know the basic diesel rundown.
This truck needs to be what my last FJ40 wasn't: trail ready, daily driveable, reliable and relatively economical. I work from home, so a commute currently isn't an issue although I want it to be able to commute if the future calls for it. My wife has to be able to drive it. My daughter has to be comfortable in it, I plan on introducing her to some overlanding and to the Moabs and Rubicons of the world.
A little about the truck: RHD, 100k miles (whatever the KM equivilant is), e lockers, AC, H151 (right?), clean factory 1HZ, everything seems to be factory minus a small OME lift and shackles. The timing belt was just done. Injectors have not been serviced but by all accounts everything seems to be in order. The price is right! I couldn't get US spec 80 series or properly built FJ40 for this kind of money. Even a Rubicon Wrangler Unlimited in equivalent condition is untouchable at this price! Most importantly perhaps is that this plan is wife approved, she's actually excited about it!
Plans for the slush fund: make it badass but not super extreme. I want to do smart mods to make it what I want it to be, but I don't want to throw money away if I won't get anything out of it. After I drive it for a couple of weeks to make sure I don't have any gremlins rearing their ugly little heads I have the following plans:
-Gears, 30 spline fronts and possibly rear shafts
-A full suspension rehash by my good friend at Atlas Spring. He will make make some slick new leafs for it (we did this on my FJ40 and it was bitchin!) and we will throw the nice shocks I have leftover from my FJ40 at it. Planning on around 3" of lift.
-I have a set of new 37s I had planned for the FJ40, but I may trade them in for a set of 35s.
-I have a wicked stereo system leftover from the FJ40 that I plan on wiring in with voltage converters.
-Depending on where I end up with budget I may do a set of 4:1 gears in the t case instead of getting super nerdy on the suspension bits. If I can get away with it I may choose to run the 35's with the stock gears (4.11s I assume?) and go with the 4:1 gears for the right mix of highway manners and crawlability.
-I'll throw some sliders at it and I might try to do a winch bumper on there if budget allows on this first round.
-Future plans include a roof rack to haul my crap around and sport a roof top tent for family camping trips. I may decide to try and do a biodiesel/WVO conversion. I don't think I'll want to mess with a turbo set up as much as it's tempting. Reliability and fuel economy trump my need for speed.
I am really looking for feedback as I plan my budget. My questions for 70 series owners:
-Am I crazy or does this seems like a great candidate to finally fill my daily drive/trail machine desires? Am I missing something? This seems too easy.
-What gears am I likely to want with 35s? 37s? How will this thing drive day to day with the stock gears and 35s? I don't need this thing to be fast, I don't care. I just can't stand a truck that feels lethargic and can't drive up a hill or throw sand, I do like gears. But if I can roll with 35s on stock gears it frees up a lot of funds to do things like the transfer case gears and dial in other bits of the truck.
-It has the auto hubs on it. I'm debating on whether to convert them to a set of Aisins or Warns, or run them as is. Anyone have an opinion?
-Anyone stuck 37s on one of these? Should be pretty much the same mechanically as on my FJ40 and 80 series, pretty straightforward and robust. My question is the body. I do not want to chop it up. I also want to keep it as low as possible. Any thoughts?
-The engine seems strong. No smoke, ect. What kind of fuel system issues am I likely to run into? I know that at some point I'll have to do the injectors. How big of a project? Is this something I should factor into the cost, or am I likely to be able to run it for the foreseeable future? If it isn't broken I don't want to fix it.
-The 24 volt system seems like it is going to be a pain in the ass. I have a nice Warn 12V winch, stereo, lights, ect waiting in the garage. Am I going to be able to make this work with 24 to 12 volt converters? Looks like the stereo and interior accessories are doable with little additional work. Am I going to be able to run amps on those converters? What about the winch? I do not want to half ass it. Is there a way to run this winch properly?
If you made it to the end of this, you'll probably be willing to answer some of these questions and throw in your opinion! Please do! I will post pictures and do a build thread once triggers are pulled.
Thanks guys!
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