Bare Bones 200 Series V8 Diesel w/ manual box

[ryanCA]

I have a 2017 GXR. Mine comes with the factory intercooler and has cloth seats. I have the 60/40 split 2nd row as well as the 50/50 3rd row. I’ve second row A/C in the center console, no roof or rear A/C. I do have a cool factory mounted step on the right rear of the vehicle for accessing the OEM 3/4 aluminum roof rack. Steel 5 spoke wheels are my spec, and I like em. The stones chip the OEM wheel paint, but I get them redone from time to time in Namibia. They’re certainly tougher than the 18” aluminum ones.

When it comes to shocks, I went BP-51’s as the were OME’s top of the line suspension, and I didn’t want ruin the nice ride of the cruiser, but improve it. I’m kind of wishing I hadn’t. In the 5 1/2 yrs I’ve had it, I’ve replaced both front and rear shocks. One rear shock had the shock guard mounted poorly, and the shaft got pitted out cause the installers wouldn’t send me new clips nor warranty them after the fact. I live in Angola, so a week long drive, one way, paid for by me to South Africa wasn’t gonna work. Then, this year, I was a getting the upper spherical bushings replaced in Namibia, as they’re a PITA to swop. Guy pulled off those front shock and showed me where the coil spring broke near the top… OME wouldn’t warranty it even as strange as it is... So, 2 new front shocks it was, as I had 2 new rears… I’m now wishing I had just gone with some non bypass shocks from Bilstein or something. Can you get King’s rebuilt in Dubai or do they have to get sent abroad?

Given your experience, you think Bilsteins all around is the way to go?

 

[Climbingnut]

Given your experience, you think Bilsteins all around is the way to go?

Honestly, I’m not sure. I’ve never used them before, but I’ve heard a lot of good things about them here on MUD, and my colleagues in Zambia stopped using OME, tough dog and Ironman on their Hiluxes, Prados, and Cruisers cause the shocks would break or not last. They’ve done really well with the Bilstein’s though and use them almost exclusively. We’re talking a fleet of nearly 100 different Toyota’s spread across the country. If I lived in South Africa, N. America, Australia or somewhere where I could get easy warranty service, I’d stick with the BP-51’s. They have a great ride. Though to be honest, I set em and forget em. Adjustable isn’t needed for me and I tow a heavy caravan. The other problem I have with rebuildable shocks, is it takes some time. You have to plan for that. Who has 3 weeks plus to have their vehicle down if it’s a daily driver? If I cannot get a deal on rebuilding the broken set of BP-51’s that I have, I’ll likely use these current shocks until they’re finished, and then move on to Bilsteins.

 

[ryanCA]

Honestly, I’m not sure. I’ve never used them before, but I’ve heard a lot of good things about them here on MUD, and my colleagues in Zambia stopped using OME, tough dog and Ironman on their Hiluxes, Prados, and Cruisers cause the shocks would break or not last. They’ve done really well with the Bilstein’s though and use them almost exclusively. We’re talking a fleet of nearly 100 different Toyota’s spread across the country. If I lived in South Africa, N. America, Australia or somewhere where I could get easy warranty service, I’d stick with the BP-51’s. They have a great ride. Though to be honest, I set em and forget em. Adjustable isn’t needed for me and I tow a heavy caravan. The other problem I have with rebuildable shocks, is it takes some time. You have to plan for that. Who has 3 weeks plus to have their vehicle down if it’s a daily driver? If I cannot get a deal on rebuilding the broken set of BP-51’s that I have, I’ll likely use these current shocks until they’re finished, and then move on to Bilsteins.

Makes sense. Appreciate your post.

I spent 4 months in kenya and tanzania and Egypt last year. Interesting that there was a lot of Bilsteins there in many of the Toyotas.

 

[TheComedian]

(UwU) now the other „Africa Edition“ owners show up hehe.
Gibraltar one with oem intercooler, rear difflock and winch, the awesome steel rims and the deep missing of the cruise control (still working on get some used box for the fancy stuff where sadly also the controller for the cc sits to see if I can work it out. The steering wheel have definitely temhe cables and plugs for cc… I tried it…)

Felt a bit alone with all the automatic fellas here…

So what’s the deal with this changed 5th gear? Woud I get higher speeds on the 5th? (Right now I don’t know what is the max speed since over 175kmph the BF Goodrich ATs feeling like the whole car starts to fly) or is it more to have the engine turning lower while beeing on highway speeds with 130-150?

/edit
oh and fore sure riding on OMEs that the car has already since 220k kilometers. The first set was blown by a friend (and first owner) I think in 2010 in Algeria close to the boarder of Mali.

 

[adashoe]

I have a 2017 GXR. Mine comes with the factory intercooler and has cloth seats. I have the 60/40 split 2nd row as well as the 50/50 3rd row. I’ve second row A/C in the center console, no roof or rear A/C. I do have a cool factory mounted step on the right rear of the vehicle for accessing the OEM 3/4 aluminum roof rack. Steel 5 spoke wheels are my spec, and I like em. The stones chip the OEM wheel paint, but I get them redone from time to time in Namibia. They’re certainly tougher than the 18” aluminum ones.

When it comes to shocks, I went BP-51’s as the were OME’s top of the line suspension, and I didn’t want ruin the nice ride of the cruiser, but improve it. I’m kind of wishing I hadn’t. In the 5 1/2 yrs I’ve had it, I’ve replaced both front and rear shocks. One rear shock had the shock guard mounted poorly, and the shaft got pitted out cause the installers wouldn’t send me new clips nor warranty them after the fact. I live in Angola, so a week long drive, one way, paid for by me to South Africa wasn’t gonna work. Then, this year, I was a getting the upper spherical bushings replaced in Namibia, as they’re a PITA to swop. Guy pulled off those front shock and showed me where the coil spring broke near the top… OME wouldn’t warranty it even as strange as it is... So, 2 new front shocks it was, as I had 2 new rears… I’m now wishing I had just gone with some non bypass shocks from Bilstein or something. Can you get King’s rebuilt in Dubai or do they have to get sent abroad?

I've not had a great experience with my BP-51s either.

I got the Kings 3.0 for my land cruiser with the total chaos fron UCAs. Butter! Loads of rebuild /tuning options here in Dubai.

 

[mbusa1]

Yup. I did the black mirrors. Ripped off my roofrack. No tint. I did the GCC spec base grille. I am doing to do the black handles next, and then hopefully some steelies which are harder to find than one can imagine. Might give up and get some chinese wheels.

All our life tried to make money not to have to buy base cars. Now we buy nice cars and make them base looking.

Can you share the PN for the black mirrors?

 

[Climbingnut]

We should start a thread just for manual gearboxed foreign 200’s!

I’ll double check on what my gearbox is, but I think it’s the same as what my VDJ79 has. I just did the 2nd/5th swop on that gearbox, and love the change in the 79. If 200’s manual doesn’t have the updated 2nd/5th, I’ll do the swop it too.

 

[goexplore]

Catching up.

Picked the car up from Muscat yesterday and covered 550km bringing it back to Dubai. Drove very well with no issues, no concerns, no alarm bells ringing, which was nice in an unknown car in 44º c heat.

I’ll get a full baseline done. Although it drives nice, I’m replacing all suspension bushes with OEM, UCA, rear links, etc. Full fluids change and all filters. Then at least I know what I’m starting with and can repair/replace as needed going forward.

I am planning suspension. I have the Kono Raid 80’s on my 78 along with parabolic springs and it’s good. I love the fact they’re analogue. I cannot see people, unless they’re sending their car regularly, messing with suspension settings on each drive.

That said, I do like the idea of King’s. They’re common here and pretty much a go-to for most off-road trucks. Very well supported by both the dealer and a few solo specialists who can rebuild and valve depending on usage. If I can find a decent second hand set, that’s the route I‘ll go down.

Got a long list of bits with the parts guy to replace. Mainly trim that’s either been cut for the roll cage, switches etc, or just worn out, like the AC controls (all the black has rubbed off) or the air vents, two of which have lost their adjusters.

The workshop the car is in has a friends 78 parked up so they’re going to compare the boxes and, in particular, the transfer case and shifter position to see if the H152 can be easily swapped in before I drop a load of money.

Next up, a trip to the local scrap yards to find some 60/40 rear seats, see if the needed interior parts are available secondhand, just in case my parts guy doesn’t come through, plus any other bits I deem necessary at the time.

I think I’ll do front Recaro’s sooner rather than later also after that drive. I also need to look at what CarPlay stereo fits in the OEM hole on the dash and desperately need to upgrade the speakers.

 

[ryanCA]

Catching up.

Picked the car up from Muscat yesterday and covered 550km bringing it back to Dubai. Drove very well with no issues, no concerns, no alarm bells ringing, which was nice in an unknown car in 44º c heat.

I’ll get a full baseline done. Although it drives nice, I’m replacing all suspension bushes with OEM, UCA, rear links, etc. Full fluids change and all filters. Then at least I know what I’m starting with and can repair/replace as needed going forward.

I am planning suspension. I have the Kono Raid 80’s on my 78 along with parabolic springs and it’s good. I love the fact they’re analogue. I cannot see people, unless they’re sending their car regularly, messing with suspension settings on each drive.

That said, I do like the idea of King’s. They’re common here and pretty much a go-to for most off-road trucks. Very well supported by both the dealer and a few solo specialists who can rebuild and valve depending on usage. If I can find a decent second hand set, that’s the route I‘ll go down.

Got a long list of bits with the parts guy to replace. Mainly trim that’s either been cut for the roll cage, switches etc, or just worn out, like the AC controls (all the black has rubbed off) or the air vents, two of which have lost their adjusters.

The workshop the car is in has a friends 78 parked up so they’re going to compare the boxes and, in particular, the transfer case and shifter position to see if the H152 can be easily swapped in before I drop a load of money.

Next up, a trip to the local scrap yards to find some 60/40 rear seats, see if the needed interior parts are available secondhand, just in case my parts guy doesn’t come through, plus any other bits I deem necessary at the time.

I think I’ll do front Recaro’s sooner rather than later also after that drive. I also need to look at what CarPlay stereo fits in the OEM hole on the dash and desperately need to upgrade the speakers.

View attachment 3453884View attachment 3453885

stunning

i would give a left nut for those wheels and the barn door. too bad my nuts are not worth anything

 

[TheComedian]

Catching up.

Picked the car up from Muscat yesterday and covered 550km bringing it back to Dubai. Drove very well with no issues, no concerns, no alarm bells ringing, which was nice in an unknown car in 44º c heat.

I’ll get a full baseline done. Although it drives nice, I’m replacing all suspension bushes with OEM, UCA, rear links, etc. Full fluids change and all filters. Then at least I know what I’m starting with and can repair/replace as needed going forward.

I am planning suspension. I have the Kono Raid 80’s on my 78 along with parabolic springs and it’s good. I love the fact they’re analogue. I cannot see people, unless they’re sending their car regularly, messing with suspension settings on each drive.

That said, I do like the idea of King’s. They’re common here and pretty much a go-to for most off-road trucks. Very well supported by both the dealer and a few solo specialists who can rebuild and valve depending on usage. If I can find a decent second hand set, that’s the route I‘ll go down.

Got a long list of bits with the parts guy to replace. Mainly trim that’s either been cut for the roll cage, switches etc, or just worn out, like the AC controls (all the black has rubbed off) or the air vents, two of which have lost their adjusters.

The workshop the car is in has a friends 78 parked up so they’re going to compare the boxes and, in particular, the transfer case and shifter position to see if the H152 can be easily swapped in before I drop a load of money.

Next up, a trip to the local scrap yards to find some 60/40 rear seats, see if the needed interior parts are available secondhand, just in case my parts guy doesn’t come through, plus any other bits I deem necessary at the time.

I think I’ll do front Recaro’s sooner rather than later also after that drive. I also need to look at what CarPlay stereo fits in the OEM hole on the dash and desperately need to upgrade the speakers.

View attachment 3453884View attachment 3453885

you can get pretty easily double din frames to replace the one that is holding the oem radio to put a car play radio in it. If I could even got one here in Europe it should be a no brainer over there where Land Cruisers drive around like 911s here in Munich….
Mine looks 1:1 from the plastics like the original.

 

[Climbingnut]

Catching up.

Picked the car up from Muscat yesterday and covered 550km bringing it back to Dubai. Drove very well with no issues, no concerns, no alarm bells ringing, which was nice in an unknown car in 44º c heat.

I’ll get a full baseline done. Although it drives nice, I’m replacing all suspension bushes with OEM, UCA, rear links, etc. Full fluids change and all filters. Then at least I know what I’m starting with and can repair/replace as needed going forward.

I am planning suspension. I have the Kono Raid 80’s on my 78 along with parabolic springs and it’s good. I love the fact they’re analogue. I cannot see people, unless they’re sending their car regularly, messing with suspension settings on each drive.

That said, I do like the idea of King’s. They’re common here and pretty much a go-to for most off-road trucks. Very well supported by both the dealer and a few solo specialists who can rebuild and valve depending on usage. If I can find a decent second hand set, that’s the route I‘ll go down.

Got a long list of bits with the parts guy to replace. Mainly trim that’s either been cut for the roll cage, switches etc, or just worn out, like the AC controls (all the black has rubbed off) or the air vents, two of which have lost their adjusters.

The workshop the car is in has a friends 78 parked up so they’re going to compare the boxes and, in particular, the transfer case and shifter position to see if the H152 can be easily swapped in before I drop a load of money.

Next up, a trip to the local scrap yards to find some 60/40 rear seats, see if the needed interior parts are available secondhand, just in case my parts guy doesn’t come through, plus any other bits I deem necessary at the time.

I think I’ll do front Recaro’s sooner rather than later also after that drive. I also need to look at what CarPlay stereo fits in the OEM hole on the dash and desperately need to upgrade the speakers.

View attachment 3453884View attachment 3453885

Are you using the Terrain Tamer parabolics and smart coils on you your 78? I’m looking at moving to those with a 700kg parabolic set for my 79 and going to bilstein shocks. Same as you. I don’t adjust shocks. Just give me a big shock with lots of oil so it doesn’t fade, and make it to last.

 

[goexplore]

Are you using the Terrain Tamer parabolics and smart coils on you your 78? I’m looking at moving to those with a 700kg parabolic set for my 79 and going to bilstein shocks. Same as you. I don’t adjust shocks. Just give me a big shock with lots of oil so it doesn’t fade, and make it to last.

Currently being upgraded to smart coils (been running dobinson coils until now) and from 300-500kg parabolic up to 500-700kg.

From what I’ve heard, the 700+ are overkill for anything other than armoured.

 

[Climbingnut]

Currently being upgraded to smart coils (been running dobinson coils until now) and from 300-500kg parabolic up to 500-700kg.

From what I’ve heard, the 700+ are overkill for anything other than armoured.

As this is a 200 thread, I’ll cease the 7x series talk, but if you don’t mind, I’d love to pick your brain on a DM about your setup moving forward and what you’re experience with them is like.

 

[goexplore]

As this is a 200 thread, I’ll cease the 7x series talk, but if you don’t mind, I’d love to pick your brain on a DM about your setup moving forward and what you’re experience with them is like.

Happy to talk 70 series, where I have far more experience than these 200’s, however the suspension isn’t fitted yet and first chance I’ll get to drive it will likely be March, at the earliest.

 

[goexplore]

It’s registered and finally on the road.

Changed all filters, fluids and driveline rubber components.

New wheel bearings, ball joints and removed all the Omani company speed limiters and wiring.

Now the fun starts.

Picked up some Recaro experts for the front and a 60/40 split rear seat (currently a fixed bench) that needs retrimming to match the half leather and alcantara of the Recaros.

Then it’s roof rack, tent, exhaust and suspension before starting to explore over the winter again.

 

[ryanCA]

View attachment 3461272

It’s registered and finally on the road.

Changed all filters, fluids and driveline rubber components.

New wheel bearings, ball joints and removed all the Omani company speed limiters and wiring.

Now the fun starts.

Picked up some Recaro experts for the front and a 60/40 split rear seat (currently a fixed bench) that needs retrimming to match the half leather and alcantara of the Recaros.

Then it’s roof rack, tent, exhaust and suspension before starting to explore over the winter again.

gorg

interesting to see the door frame outlines being white

 

[goexplore]

Progress is being made on the 200 to make it more comfortable and slightly more capable as a daily and weekend weapon.

Upgraded to Recaro Specialist front seats and installed some new 60/40 split rear seats in the back with ISOFIX (original was a single bench) Had the rear seats retrimmed to match the recaros and, even though the upholsterer ignored the request to not stitch recaro in to them, they came out nicely.

I’ve installed an Alpine Halo 9” head unit with Wireless CarPlay. This is the same HU as I have in my Troopy and I love it. Really helps to modernise the interior without looking massively out of place. Also upgraded the speakers all round as most of them didn’t work. Next job will be changing the clockspring and installing a 2016+ wheel (a spare from my Troopy) with OEM steering controls.

The biggest upgrade has been underneath. I bit the bullet and did a Kings install. Expensive and definitely way over the top for my usage, but they’re the go-to here with what seems like excellent after-support. Currently installed blue Kings Australia comfort springs in the rear with 30mm lift and the standard 600lbs front springs, however they will be upgraded to a 700lb considering the weight of the V8 diesel lump over the petrol motors. I won’t be doing a steel bar, so think the 700lbs should be sufficient.

With the additional ground clearance, I went for a Kumho AT52 in 285/70R17 on the OEM 7.5” steelies to fill the arches better. Massive difference in drivability and has helped to reduce the revs when driving from an unbearable 2,450rpm at 100kph

The next job on the list, and probably last of the big mechanical jobs, will be the upgraded gearbox. I’ve picked up a brand new Aussie spec H152 box and now looking at how we make it work in the 200. I’m hoping it’s just a case of changing the bell housing and shifter location, which seem to be bolt on/bolt off parts, but time will tell. I like a challenge.

Pics to follow.

 

[TheComedian]

Oh wow I wish I could afford the fitted Alpine Halo for my 200 but 2k+ is way out of everything I am willing to pay….

 

[goexplore]

Oh wow I wish I could afford the fitted Alpine Halo for my 200 but 2k+ is way out of everything I am willing to pay….

Maybe they’re more expensive in the US? This was just over $1,000 here, which seems cheaper than most of the alternatives on offer from Australia specifically for the 200 (which also have questionable quality).

 

[TheComedian]

Maybe they’re more expensive in the US? This was just over $1,000 here, which seems cheaper than most of the alternatives on offer from Australia specifically for the 200 (which also have questionable quality).

No idea of the prices in the US. Just took a google search und found this. But I realized it is AUD so it still will be like 1600€…9″ Toyota LandCruiser 200 (2008-2015) Series Integrated Hi-Res Audio Receiver with Wireless Apple CarPlay / Android Auto - https://progressivecarsound.com.au/products/coming-soon-9-landcruiser-200-2008-2015-series-integrated-hi-res-audio-receiver-with-wireless-apple-carplay-android-auto

or did you installed the normal version of that radio with the single DIN slot and the pancake display?