Hi All, long time lurker, semi-regular poster!
We're on lockdown for at least 4 weeks here in NZ, so thought it was a good time to finally post a thread to keep all of my Gretel-related adventures in one place!
Gretel is a 1994 HDJ81. Down here in NZ we are blessed with lots of JDM cars in general, but there are a lot of turbo diesel cruisers getting about. I brought Gretel after having a 40 series that I swapped a 1HZ into, then a KZJ78. The KZJ was great but they're tiring to drive long distance. I wanted some more capacity, something more comfortable, and I love the 1HD series motors. After i sold the KZJ i looked for ages to find an appropriate 80. The market here in NZ for 80s is really, really odd. The petrol trucks are worth nothing, maybe $4-5K NZ (i often consider getting one for an LS swap!). Then there's a lot of diesel trucks at around $10-12k, and they all need work. Then there's dreamers wanting $25k. Usually these trucks have rebuilt motors. People m,ust be paying this crazy money as they eventually seem to sell.
Anyway, eventually I settled on Gretel, a 1994. She's a 1HDT A442F truck. No lockers, and had done about 360,000 KM when i brought her. Like any 80 there was stuff that needed to be done, but she has great bones. I know she's had injectors and pump done recently, but other than that she was a bit unknown to me! Shes now at 389,000k and I've done quite a bit to get her close to where i want to be.
As soon as I got her, I did water pump, timing belt, all hoses, heater valve (crumbled in my hands) and a new radiator. Also added a catch can. Pretty soon after that both rear brake calipers seized so she got new rear calipers and rotors. The flares had lots of clear coat peel, so they got sanded back and painted black. I've also vinyled the roof white, and added a flat roof tray for our rooftop tent.
Most recently i swapped the 24v starter to 12v, so I can use one of the batteries as the house. this will be charged through a DC-DC charger. I've also added drawers and wiring to the rear.
To do list is currently
Finish Aux battery set up
Front axle rebuild and new brakes
Longer term i'm planning on swapping in a 1HDFT.
So, here's some random pics - and I'll keep updating this thread in the future!
We're on lockdown for at least 4 weeks here in NZ, so thought it was a good time to finally post a thread to keep all of my Gretel-related adventures in one place!
Gretel is a 1994 HDJ81. Down here in NZ we are blessed with lots of JDM cars in general, but there are a lot of turbo diesel cruisers getting about. I brought Gretel after having a 40 series that I swapped a 1HZ into, then a KZJ78. The KZJ was great but they're tiring to drive long distance. I wanted some more capacity, something more comfortable, and I love the 1HD series motors. After i sold the KZJ i looked for ages to find an appropriate 80. The market here in NZ for 80s is really, really odd. The petrol trucks are worth nothing, maybe $4-5K NZ (i often consider getting one for an LS swap!). Then there's a lot of diesel trucks at around $10-12k, and they all need work. Then there's dreamers wanting $25k. Usually these trucks have rebuilt motors. People m,ust be paying this crazy money as they eventually seem to sell.
Anyway, eventually I settled on Gretel, a 1994. She's a 1HDT A442F truck. No lockers, and had done about 360,000 KM when i brought her. Like any 80 there was stuff that needed to be done, but she has great bones. I know she's had injectors and pump done recently, but other than that she was a bit unknown to me! Shes now at 389,000k and I've done quite a bit to get her close to where i want to be.
As soon as I got her, I did water pump, timing belt, all hoses, heater valve (crumbled in my hands) and a new radiator. Also added a catch can. Pretty soon after that both rear brake calipers seized so she got new rear calipers and rotors. The flares had lots of clear coat peel, so they got sanded back and painted black. I've also vinyled the roof white, and added a flat roof tray for our rooftop tent.
Most recently i swapped the 24v starter to 12v, so I can use one of the batteries as the house. this will be charged through a DC-DC charger. I've also added drawers and wiring to the rear.
To do list is currently
Finish Aux battery set up
Front axle rebuild and new brakes
Longer term i'm planning on swapping in a 1HDFT.
So, here's some random pics - and I'll keep updating this thread in the future!
