Wanted BJ73.... (1 Viewer)

Location

United States

Help me find a BJ73 or the HDJ73... must have removable top, upper doors and back glass.... and Clean! Having a soft top for it would be awesome.. Looking to have a nice DD.. Just tell me what's out there.. Been watching EBay and looking all over the Internet. There is a guy in North Carolina that seems to have Some.... He was telling me about one that's coming in February! Looking forward to talking with him again.... So if you know of one just let me know.... Thanks for your time!

And needs to be Left hand drive..

 

[mudandrock]

They do exist in Southern Europe with FRP top and a/c, there's just not a huge supply and therefore usually very expensive. You get what you pay for though.

 

[Letsgomoreplaces]

NITRO BJ73-74 LHD, removable top, door uppers, fully built, coilovers, 13bt, 37's, hutchinsons, custom 9.5 Toyota axles

 

[cns]

For me, the VM powered BJ73 (VM73), is a great truck IF you are able to swap out the engine. The VM engine is awful. They have individual cylinder heads that need to be regularly re-torqued. These motors ALL blow between 100,000 and 120,000 miles.
Couple of baseline points.
Toyota Japan sent metal bodies with H55F transmissions to a Toyota plant in Portugal. There, a 2.5 turbo 4 cylinder (1988-1989) and a 2.5 turbo intercooled 5 cylinder (1990-1993?) were fitted. A/C was installed in about 75% of the trucks (I'm making that number up based on my experience). This was a non-Toyota setup. I'm assuming all the parts were sourced from Portuguese suppliers. The systems are very simple, on/off switch, pressure cut-off and idle up. There are no amplifiers or other electronics involved. with an engine conversion, all you need to do is have two new hoses made to connect the new compressor with the existing system. VM fittings are not the same size as Toyota, but are standard sized metric and any good hose shop can make new hoses with the correct fittings.
All the glass, mirrors, interior cloth, front door door panels, carpet and headliner are non-Toyota parts. Sourced locally in Portugal. They are of fair to poor quality. Seats are easy enough to recover and other parts can be swapped with Japanese parts.
Differential gears are 4.56 with LSD. I've never seen these trucks with factory locking differentials.
Electrical system is 12 volt. Has two batteries but they are parallel. Cold start system is made up of Bosch parts. One wire system, very simple, very reliable. No EDIC system with computers, etc.
ALL VM73 came with front and rear removable door tops and hood blocks to secure the windshield.
Trucks in white were painted in Japan with toyota paint and Toyota quality. They also came in red, grey and maybe blue. These paints fade terribly. Quality is ok. I'm guessing that they were all sent in white and were painted the different colors in Portugal.
For me, others than the engine, this is the "perfect" 73 series. I have a 1HDT in mine and it is a MONSTER. It EFORTLESSLY cruises at 80/85 and I've had it up to.... speeds that aren't safe to drive a 70 series.
The transmission has an input shaft for the F/H motors, not B motors.
If you buy one with the VM motor, plan on an engine conversion. Anyone selling one of these and not disclosing that the engine will self destruct is either uninformed or not being truthful. You could easily ("easily") install a 3FE, a chevy motor or other motors that people commonly stick in these trucks. I would say that it comparable to an FJ40 engine conversion. These trucks are super simple and do not have any of the complicated electronics/systems of the newer trucks.
I will be offering these trucks with a 1HDT/H55F and a/c in the near future. That combo in this truck is well suited for everyday driving in the US. Plenty of power. Very comfortable. Easy to drive. If you have the ability to do your own engine conversion, I recommend you consider finding a VM73 as the starting platform.

Do you know whether or not the five speed in back of the VM motor is compatible with a 3FE?

 

[chrisspaulding]

Do you know whether or not the five speed in back of the VM motor is compatible with a 3FE?

I don’t remember which inputshaft and bellhousing combo they used on the VM trucks. I want to say it was for the 2H and not the 3B. If that is the case, that input shaft is the same 10 spline input shaft as the 2F/3F. You would then need to get a 2F/3F bellhousing. You’ll have to count the input shaft splines when you remove the transmission. It’s not too difficult to change the input shaft if it’s not the right one. Finding a used 2F bellhousing will be easy.

 

[cns]

I don’t remember which inputshaft and bellhousing combo they used on the VM trucks. I want to say it was for the 2H and not the 3B. If that is the case, that input shaft is the same 10 spline input shaft as the 2F/3F. You would then need to get a 2F/3F bellhousing. You’ll have to count the input shaft splines when you remove the transmission. It’s not too difficult to change the input shaft if it’s not the right one. Finding a used 2F bellhousing will be easy.

OK. It has that five cylinder VM thing engine in it now. I picked up that 3F that came out of a manual truck so the bell housing is coming with the engine so I’m in fat city there

 

[badzj999]

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[Stbolster]

got an rhd hzj73.. to my knowledge they never made a removable top with the 1hd engine let alone lhd.. I don't think the hzj73 came in lhd.. you can probably find a crumby B series that fits your parameters but once you feel the power of that 4.2 every other toyota diesel feels anemic (aside from the 1VD)... what's the problem with rhd? only thing that took some getting used to for me was the wipers/indicators Rare toyotas for sale hzj73 + 4runner - cars & trucks - by owner -... - https://bellingham.craigslist.org/cto/d/bellingham-rare-toyotas-for-sale-hzj73/7265747730.html

 

[coldtaco]

HZJ73 come in LHD, it's whats for sale in Europe