BJ74 Engine Identification

[clydee 2000]

Hi everyone, new to the forum and have been looking at BJ73/74 and HZJ73 MWB’s for a while.

Long story but a BJ74 has come up for sale locally (Sydney Australia)and was actually for sale a year ago. I missed it last year just for to timing but am in a position to buy something now.

My key query is what engine is this? Both the owner a year ago, and now, both state it’s a 13B-T. The plate on the firewall says the car was a factory 13B-T, but I have searched for literally hours and the engine looks more like an aftermarket turbo on a 3B?

It’s a 1986 Australian delivered BJ74 and per above, fire wall plate notes engine 13B-T and H55F box.

I have not seen it in person, but am inspecting this weekend. Is this possibly an early version of the 13B-T or has a prior owner done an engine swap? Any place on the block that will have engine details or can someone point me to where I’ll find the engine number?

 

[FJBen]

Hi everyone, new to the forum and have been looking at BJ73/74 and HZJ73 MWB’s for a while.

Long story but a BJ74 has come up for sale locally (Sydney Australia)and was actually for sale a year ago. I missed it last year just for to timing but am in a position to buy something now.

My key query is what engine is this? Both the owner a year ago, and now, both state it’s a 13B-T. The plate on the firewall says the car was a factory 13B-T, but I have searched for literally hours and the engine looks more like an aftermarket turbo on a 3B?

It’s a 1986 Australian delivered BJ74 and per above, fire wall plate notes engine 13B-T and H55F box.

I have not seen it in person, but am inspecting this weekend. Is this possibly an early version of the 13B-T or has a prior owner done an engine swap? Any place on the block that will have engine details or can someone point me to where I’ll find the engine number?

View attachment 4049491

That 100% is a 3B with an aftermarket turbo.


Here’s my 13bt

 

[clydee 2000]

That 100% is a 3B with an aftermarket turbo.


Here’s my 13bt
View attachment 4049497

Thank you for the quick response. That what every photo of a 13B-T in my search has looked like, hence my confusion with two owners being adamant there has not been an engine swap. Don’t think they’re being dishonest, just not aware of what a PO has done.


So next question…. Aftermarket turbo 3B is going to be well down on power and reliability to a 13B-T?

 

[Hulsty]

That is a BJ73 thats been re-birthed as a BJ74. Missing firewall insulation, 3B, power steering reservoir is wrong, no brake/master heat shields, BJ74 also has clutch booster under dash etc etc. Check stamped in body/chassis numbers, somethings being re-birthed/stolen.

 

[clydee 2000]

That is a BJ73 thats been re-birthed as a BJ74. Missing firewall insulation, 3B, power steering reservoir is wrong, no brake/master heat shields, BJ74 also has clutch booster under dash etc etc. Check stamped in body/chassis numbers, somethings being re-birthed/stolen.

Well that’s an escalation! Here is the fire wall plate (crossed out some detail so I’m not publicly outing anyone).

Where would I be looking for stamped numbers and anything else that will definitely show if it’s an original BJ73?

 

[Hulsty]

Well its very easy to tell its not a BJ74, the firewall steel pressing is different (to suit the clutch booster). Also note the LHS ID plate is in the wrong location compared to mine and clydee 2000 cars. Its easy to remove/move the ID plates, only some basic rivets. I "believe" the drivers side chassis is stamped in the front wheel well, cant remember if there are body stampings somewhere.

You can also see its had lots of paint work in the engine bay (painted bolt heads, painted rad hoses clamps etc etc). If its mechanically sound, cheap (not stolen) why not, but its not a BJ74 and shouldnt command BJ74 $$$.

 

[AussieHJCruza]

Easy check - 12HT, 13BT, 1HD-T etc, all the mechanical direct injection engines have the injector feed in the side, and the return line on the top of the injector.
2H, 3B, 1HZ etc, the IDI engines have the feed in the top and the return lower on the injector.

In answer to your question about power/reliability, an Indirect Injection engine like a 3B turboed will always struggle with cooling when you work it hard - the IDI design puts a lot more heat into the cylinder head which ends up straight in the coolant.
There's a reason that (other than the 2L-T#, 1KZ-T# which battle cylinder head issues and overheating) basically all of Mr Yota's turbo diesels are Direct Injection engines.

I've had turboed 2H and 1HZ engines and whilst they were reliable, the coolant temperature rises as fast as EGT when you load it up, and that's challenging.

 

[Hulsty]

Here is another AUS BJ73 engine bay, from this thread

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/aus-bj73-turbo-arduino.1007744/

 

[clydee 2000]

Here is another AUS BJ73 engine bay, from this thread

Build Thread 'AUS BJ73 + turbo + arduino'

Sep 2, 2017

This is a short history and ongoing build thread of my BJ73.

It was first purchased as a shed toy/weekend fun thing as we had two other cars for daily purposes. Since one of those cars was written off I decided to make the cruiser my daily for work and currently it does about 500km per week and is used daily.

This is a photo of the first day I bought it.

• 350HJ75
• Replies: 101
• Forum: 70-Series Tech

• 

View attachment 4049562

Thank you very much everyone. Very, very helpful and that’s all very clear and the above photo of the BJ73 makes it all pretty obvious.

Seller is asking $22k (Aus) which is pretty much what the seller a year ago wanted. It looks clean but that is what I see a number of clean 74’s go for. I’ve been driving a SWB Merc G Wagon Diesel. I love it but it is massively underpowered and I need to drop to third uphills on the highway. I think I’d be in for more grief here and be underwhelmed. Looks like I’ll be looking again at the JDM HZJ73 route.

 

[FJBen]

Thank you for the quick response. That what every photo of a 13B-T in my search has looked like, hence my confusion with two owners being adamant there has not been an engine swap. Don’t think they’re being dishonest, just not aware of what a PO has done.


So next question…. Aftermarket turbo 3B is going to be well down on power and reliability to a 13B-T?

Yeah a 3B with a turbo is a downgrade from a 13bt. The 13bt is direct injected and designed for a turbo, the 3B is indirect injected, not designed for a turbo being the main difference.

3Bs can do OK with lower boost, but most seem to end with cracked heads, precups and broken cranks and other issues if not done correctly (intercooler, timing, cooling sorted)

Performance wise stock 13bt vs turbo 3b, not a huge difference, start turning up fuel and boost and the 13bt performs better and safer.

As others have stated, this is repainted and pretty sloppily done, along with some questionable things like VIN tag placement.

The frame VIN will tell a lot if it matches.

 

[FJBen]

That is a BJ73 thats been re-birthed as a BJ74. Missing firewall insulation, 3B, power steering reservoir is wrong, no brake/master heat shields, BJ74 also has clutch booster under dash etc etc. Check stamped in body/chassis numbers, somethings being re-birthed/stolen.

I will say you are correct on the firewall different for the clutch booster inside on the Bj74, but I did find out that not all BJ74 have clutch boosters. Mine does not have one from the factory.

 

[Combat Wombat]

I recently inspected a 13bt powered 73/74. 1990 Toyota Landcruiser - https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1166721972312350

It has some significantly tasteful upgrades.
The Stratos seats are an absolute game changer.
What impressed me is the coil AND leaf spring combo (seems to be some sort of mod plated GVM upgrade?)

I may have another look eventually, to determine if its a 74 or 73. The build year is 1990 (pretty late for Australian delivered)
The 13bt engine had a "rollin imports" sticker, which I remember they used to import front cuts and engines into Aus 20 years ago or so.
The import engine usually was cheaper than a turbo kit from memory.

 

[FJBen]

I recently inspected a 13bt powered 73/74. 1990 Toyota Landcruiser - https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1166721972312350
View attachment 4057565
It has some significantly tasteful upgrades.
The Stratos seats are an absolute game changer.
What impressed me is the coil AND leaf spring combo (seems to be some sort of mod plated GVM upgrade?)View attachment 4057559
I may have another look eventually, to determine if its a 74 or 73. The build year is 1990 (pretty late for Australian delivered)
The 13bt engine had a "rollin imports" sticker, which I remember they used to import front cuts and engines into Aus 20 years ago or so.
The import engine usually was cheaper than a turbo kit from memory.

That looks like a 3B from like a dyna?

3b from dyna.

I’ve never seen that on the cruiser 3B but I’ve been wrong before.


The coils plus leaf are a choice

So seems like a BJ73 with a turbo, not a 13bt unless you have photos under the hood.

 

[Eurasiaoverland]

That looks like a 3B from like a dyna?


View attachment 4057621


3b from dyna.
View attachment 4057622


I’ve never seen that on the cruiser 3B but I’ve been wrong before.


The coils plus leaf are a choice

So seems like a BJ73 with a turbo, not a 13bt unless you have photos under the hood.

Good spot! I believe the 13Bs and 13B-Ts in Japanese Dynas had that sort of timing gear driven power steering pump.

The ad says turbo converted engine, so another option is that it's a 13B from an Aussie Coaster with onboard steering pump, with a subsequent turbo conversion.

But if the engine was imported and NA originally, it will be a red block 13B from Japan, so 1984-88.

Of course, the seller could be misinformed or otherwise claiming a 3B to be a 13B...

I expect they mean that the vehicle was first registered in 1990; last BJ73 production for Australia was 12/1989. They continued selling BJ73s in Europe but they had VM engines and the steering wheel on the wrong side.

It says BJ73 model code in the ad, so no reason to believe it could be a 74.

 

[FJBen]

Good spot! I believe the 13Bs and 13B-Ts in Japanese Dynas had that sort of timing gear driven power steering pump.

The ad says turbo converted engine, so another option is that it's a 13B from an Aussie Coaster with onboard steering pump, with a subsequent turbo conversion.

But if the engine was imported and NA originally, it will be a red block 13B from Japan, so 1984-88.

Of course, the seller could be misinformed or otherwise claiming a 3B to be a 13B...

I expect they mean that the vehicle was first registered in 1990; last BJ73 production for Australia was 12/1989. They continued selling BJ73s in Europe but they had VM engines and the steering wheel on the wrong side.

It says BJ73 model code in the ad, so no reason to believe it could be a 74.

Yeah it’s hard to tell without a photo whether it’s a 3B or 13B/13bt from a dyna, but it doesn’t look like a cruiser 13bt.

All I know is Toyota makes some random cruisers that shouldn’t exist, when they shouldn’t exist and where they shouldn’t exist

 

[coldtaco]

That coil spring mod was popular back in the day. I believe you set the correct coil spring and then removed most of the leafs. The leafs were there basically to locate the axle, where the coil would carry the weight. Tried searching for more info a while back but dropped the idea after a while, though the idea still intrigues me