One thing I have learned (as many out there know) is that buying a used Cruiser from another country can be risky. In my case the HZJ75 itself was in pretty good shape, I few dings and scraps but the body is in pretty good shape, the engine and drivetrain was also ok, but the more you work on it the more you decide to replace a few worn out parts as well as a few upgrades along the way. Here is a list of everything that I have replaced/upgrded on the HZJ75 so far. Keep in mind that I found out the engine is not the original one that came in the truck, I know this because the Truck came with a factory heater (optional in ME) however the engine did not have the inlet/outlet on the block for the heater lines, a dead giveaway. So of course as I worked on it I replaced the outlet, still need to do the inlet as some point, until then I get inlet off of the Radiator hose (inline).
HZJ75 - new/replaced parts list
Locking hubs
Front gears
Front rotors
Balanced driveshafts new u joints
New rear axle hub
Replaced rear brake drums
New rear wheel cylinders
New clutch/disc
New rear fuel tank
Powder coated wheels
Powder caosted frame (all if it including mounts and brackets)
Replaced front bumper
Replace rear bumper
New front grill
New marker lights
New side view mirrors
New fuel caps
New headlights and harness
New a/c compressor
New evaporator
New battery trays
New radiator
New water pump
New fan clutch
New injectors
New glow plugs
Rebuilt injector pump
New ci head
New valves
Added turbo charger
New custom exhaust/muffler
New Brake booster
New brake master
New clutch master
New drivers seat
New drivers window crank
New batteries
Added dual charging system
Added turbo gauges
New power steering box
As you can see there is not much left that is used on this cruiser. I am still planing on rebuilding the H55F and splitcase - they work fine, however a little sweating from the front seal on the transmssion and a lttle sweating from the splitcase as well.
On this project I got to a point that I had so many hours and so much time had past and so many new parts that I just stopped keeping track of all the money into, I just came the realization that I will never get the cash back out of it, so I will keep it and enjoy it for a very long time.
I do really love driving this truck especially with the turbo on it, the more I drive it the more I have a list of little improvements and changes.
By Far the biggest PINA was getting the drivers door adjusted correctly. You would think that is a small thing to do but not on a 7X especially if you break the golden rule, never ever under and circumstances when putting a 7x back together should you put the doors on after you have put the fenders on, that is a huge no no. Now some of you have no idea what I am talking about, however other of you out there are laughing right now because you have done this before or know the issues. For those who don't the tolerences on teh 7x are very small so not much in the way of adjustability on the door or the fender, you pretty much have to start with the door and work your way forward. Keep in mind the 75 Series PU has a removable top and fold down windsheild so not with movement to start with. Needless to say after having made this mistake, this time I decided to fix all of the little things that bug me on the Cruiser, so in order to do the job right I had to pull the front fender off. I have to thank Steve and Mike who happend to be at the shop and decided they would stay and help. We got is pulled and adjusted and put back on, but it was still not quite right so the afterwards I ended up pulling it off yet again and making more adjustments to get it perfect. This surprisingly was my biggest PINA yet with the HZJ75.
Here are some pics of the CI Head replacement:
The Old one, all valves made contact, got lucky and only two bent and stuck open, none broke and trashed the CI or the piston.
Notice the addition of heater return hard line, had one lying around, now was the time to replace it.
I had another CI head in the shop from a part 1HZ I have so I was able to get new valves/springs etc. and have that head done before pulling the bad one from the HZJ, which was a good idea because if a 1HZ was sitting around outside my shop without a head on it for a year, I am sure I would have had more work than replacing the head.
Notice the Turbo just waiting to be put back in action.
Cheers,
Michael
Although they do look awesome with the tops off and windscreen down.
Turned out great.
