SOLD Boise, ID 1991 HDJ81 VX Limited 76.5k OG miles & 3x locked (1 Viewer)

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Year
1991
Vehicle Model
  1. 80 Series
Location
Boise, Idaho United States
Mileage
76500
Color
red
08/1991 JDM VX Limited HDJ81
*Color: 3H4 Red Pearl
*Trim code: FC40 - two tone brown cloth, early JDM spec "sable"
*1HDT 12v Turbo Diesel
*442 fully hydro 4spd automatic
*Axle code: K294
*Model code: S-HDJ81V-RNPEX
*Front, rear and center diff locks
*Full float rear axle and disc brakes all around, unlike an FJ80
*No ABS or Air bags.

The GOOD:
*I am a 100% full disclosure no BS seller, I don't flip Cruisers for a living or even to make side cash. I build them. This fell in my lap, I am fixing it to my shops standards and selling it.
*I am 99.9% sure this is the real deal no OD rollback 76,500 mile JDM Cruiser.
*100% rust free all over top and bottom.
*1HDT in excellent condition. Timing belt, tensioner, water pump and bottom end bearings done by my shop 18,000kms ago using OEM Toyota parts.
*OEM cruise control.
*Super cool JDM cloth interior with OEM "chocolate" shag carpet in absolutely mint condition. Seats are stunning for 32yrs old, drivers still good to go but I may put some covers on it soon.
*9.5 out of 10 OEM paint. No roof rack or rear spoiler. Maybe to you it is 8 or 8.5 out of 10 paint but to me for 32yrs old it is 9+.
*Triple locked!
*VX Limited trim which includes things like front seat heaters, seat lumbar adjustment, console cooler with ice maker, front seat heaters, retractable mirrors and more!
*Rear heater system not rotted or rusted out.
*Head lights have OEM fogs integrated, perfect with no chips or leaks. Head light washers as well.
*OEM radiator "shade" for winter months.
*8-9 out of 10 on ALL body rubber, stunning condition for weather stripping. None needs replaced!
*All OEM glass including windshield with no chips or cracks in the windshield, tested for leaks today and there are none!
*Headliner is an easy 10 out of 10, it is perfect. Interior plastic trim is a 9-9.5 out of 10. No cracks in dash pad or any dash pieces/parts, it's mint. Seat belts in amazing condition.
*OEM electric winch with bag, controls and cover.
*OME 3.5” (roughly) lift, 850J fronts and 864 rears.
*BFG 35x12.5R17's under 10,000 miles ago. On somewhat "cheapo" (4Wheel Parts) 17" steel wheels.
*Appears never smoked in, appears to have never raised kids or dogs. Again, interior is at the minimum, exceptional.
*If it is your "thing". OEM head unit.
*OEM rear tire carrier, usually they rattle, this one works like new.
*ZERO oil leaks on the engine, trans, tcase or axles.
*Full float rear and rear disc brakes on a 1991.
*New OME front & rear adjustable panhards.
*New SLEE HD tie rod + drag link and OEM tres.
*New Riged front LED pods on an OEM switch.

The BAD:
*It got jumped and I am fixing it over the next four weeks. See below for the backstory!!
*Typical JDM rust prevention coating on the chassis, not applied over rust. Not sure of the product but it is thick, waxy and not sticky or gooey. Nothing wrong with the coating I just don't like the look.
*No subtank!!


What is it getting done right now for repairs?
*New OEM front axle housing.
*Delta 3L radius arms.
*105-series brand new OEM RHD steering box with pitman arm.
*New OEM lower column u-joint and a good used USA spec lower column to match the 105 steering box.
*New OEM frame side front coil bucket and shock tower brackets.
*New OEM 105-series front spindles.
*New OEM drive flanges.
*New OEM front wheel & trunnion bearings, ie knuckle job using Toyota parts.
*New OME front coil springs and shocks.
*New Metal Tech front coil spacers, this to give the Cruiser a nearly perfect level rake.
*New OEM front bump stop assemblies. Both inside the coil spring and under the frame. Also new rear frame side bump stops.
*New OEM engine mounts & trans mount.
*New OEM fuel filter assembly.
*New OEM firewall column seal.
*New SLEE SS braided brake lines all around.
*Compression test pics on page five, 500psi across all cylinders! 🤩
*New Interstate 27 batteries.
*New Delta rear panhard elevation bracket.
*Clean front and rear axle breathers and extend hoses to suit the lift.
*New OEM turbo hoses, intake hoses, vent hoses, water bypass hoses.
*New OEM air filter.
*New OEM oil filter and fresh oil change.
*New OEM radiator cap, had aftermarket and that just won't do in my shop.
*New OEM (new style) bottom knuckle studs. New OEM drive flange studs, nuts & washers. Also new OEM drive flange caps.
*New OEM v-belts.
*Fix front RHS fenders (inner outer). We were able to massage it 90% straight fairly easily.
*Full clay bar and ceramic wax on the paint. No clear peal anywhere on this Cruiser!
*Front & rear sway bar spacers. All new OEM bushings on F&R sway bars.
*Interior detail although it is not going to need much, can't say it enough how mint this one is interior wise.

Watch this thread, I will post pics of the work I do to fix it top quality standards.


Backstory: This Cruiser came to us in early 2020. The owner had recently acquired it and wanted us to check it out and look it over. It was not lifted and stock at this time. His girlfriend at the time via her Japanese friend bought this for him as a birthday present in 2019. I believe he stopped by in late 2019 and we laid eyes on it and usually we do a 150-point inspection. I don't think we did one on this Cruiser ( I don't have one in my files and I keep copies of them all) rather he got the freebie 50-point outside walk around inspection. We knew right away this one was nice! I still suspected at that time of a rollback simply because this Cruiser is 32yrs old and only has 76,500 miles, 123,000kms and roll backs are common in Japan. However, in the pics below you can see timing belt date, that was done by me in my Land Cruiser shop. We also did bottom end bearings and a water pump at the same time. After looking it over at this time in the shop I am convinced this is no way a roll back JDM HDJ81. I think that shows, such as; wear on steering wheel, wear on drivers seat and the rest of the seats, wear on the HVAC control buttons, paint, engine condition and ect ect ect. We inspected the top and bottom end on this 1HDT when we did this first round of work. It looked brand new inside, BEB didn't even need to be done but we did them anyways. I myself put my eyes on the bores from the bottom and they are gorgeous, as good as new. At the same time the Cruiser got an OME lift, about 3", 850J front and 864 rear coils.

About a month later (3/31/2020) the Cruiser came back in for an ACSD (Automatic cold start device) delete. These can destroy injection pumps when they fail, it's long gone from this 1HDT.

The Cruiser came back almost one year later on 3/19/2021. The owner has four brothers, story I got is one likes to steal his chit when he leaves town for work. This time he took is mint HDJ81 for a joy ride and bent the tie rod. We replace both the tie rod and drag link with SLEE HD ones and new Triple5 tie rod ends. That was the only damage the Cruiser had at this time.

Around June 2021 I got a call from the customer/owner. He says he just got home from travel/work and his brother had stole the Cruiser again and this time jumped it!!! It is all F*CKED UP! He sends me a 20sec or so video of the carnage. Basically jumped it out of a ditch on the "farm" and landed on flat ground. Rear axle only got a foot or two air born but front got 10+ft air born and came down hard on flat ground. I still have the video.

He gets it down to the shop and we look it over. I explain first of all now our schedule is super busy with no spare spots to fix all this, it looks to me right away to be $10+k in damage and that was just looking it over quick outside the shop. I tell the customer we got to find out first if the frame is toast, I suspect it is! So he leaves it with us and I get it towed over to my frame shop. They get it up on their frame rack and I can't believe it but it is true and not bent or f*cked. I do believe I still have the invoice and perhaps print out from them on the specs in a file. The Cruiser comes back to my shop, we look it over closer and can see the obvious stuff, bent front axle housing, busted steering box, tweaked coil buckets and shock towers on the frame, coils and shocks toast in front. Front axle bottomed out hard so it tweaked the RHS inner fender which can be seen in the pics I posted below. It busted the bottom off the fuel filter and made a big diesel mess since the filter is mounted to the shock tower. Besides this there is no obvious damage.

We formulate a plan and we start ordering parts. Our schedule is really booked up at this point in the shop, like we are not even booking new jobs but we feel bad for him and he is our customer. We decided to go with a Diamond front housing vs ordering a new RHD one out of Japan. We have a new RHD 105-series steering box in hand, 105 spindles, frame side coil buckets & shock towers and parts to rebuild the front axle. We also have new engine mounts (although they don't look busted when I was under it this evening taking pics) and a new OEM fuel filter. Plan is to just put it back on coil springs and radius arms using the Diamond housing.

Finally after two years his spot opened up in the shop. That was a week or so ago. He tells me he has bought some King 2.5's with bumps as well. I am like, oh ya! He brings the Cruiser down to the shop and drops it off, plans to bring the Kings down in a week or so. We got $7,000+ in parts sitting here now for the build. Cruiser comes in the shop this morning. I tear off the front wheels after getting it up on the lift. He said he bought Kings so before I get started I give him a call to see if he wants any more bling. He says no, in fact he had to sell the Kings in the last few days. I am like ok no problem, are you ready for this though? We got 75-100hrs of work to do (we are $105/hr) and at least another $500 in parts needed depending what we find inside the front axle. He says man I got to keep it on the cheap now, some personal things have come up since I dropped it off, costing me A LOT of cash. I had offered 2yrs ago when we got it back from the frame shop to take it off his hands, at that time he declined and we rounded up parts. I offered him the same deal this morning and he said, **** it, it is better for me if I let it go and get out of it now. Sounds good to me I say, except when I woke up this morning I didn't plan to buy his HDJ81!!

I paid him cash today from my companies "nest egg". I am not keeping this Cruiser. I am now fixing it on my time and my dime and selling it. This is one of the nicest original 80/81-series I have ever seen. The customer spent $11.5k in my shop since early 2020 on this Cruiser. No probs to show you the invoices. We are looking at $15-20k all up to fix it after the jump. I am not hurting to sell it but the whole point was to take it off his hands, fix it since it is on my lift and ready to go and sell it to someone.

What am I selling? I am selling an HDJ81 that is running, driving and ready to go as seen here in these first pics in this first post *EDIT* 7-26-23: Pictures posted here in this first post are now current as of today 7-26-23. The Cruiser is back on the road and has been properly cleaned so updated this first post with current pics.


I can help arrange shipping or you can fly in and drive it home!

$35,000. Not interested in trades unless it is something special and Land Cruiser. Firm on my price at this time.

Message me here on iH8mud, email me through my website or call/text me on my cell which is 2zero8-9seven1-two6two5.

Watch this for sale thread over the next four weeks as I fix the Cruiser and put it back on the road! :grinpimp:

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Cheers
 
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Loving the details of the build, great thread! I had never wanted a JDM 80 but this is stirring up some dangerous thoughts... Thanks for sharing!
Ha, Me too I’ve got the barrels loaded!
Not to mention, it would be super special to own a truck sorted by Ian. I do my own wrenching; Ian is one of the few people I would let work on my truck.
 
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There is so much to like on this truck!

If it was a 5 Speed it would seriously compromise my statement
“The next Land Cruiser I own will
be a 70 Series!”

Of course, it is at the right spot to get the conversion done!
 
There is so much to like on this truck!

If it was a 5 Speed it would seriously compromise my statement
“The next Land Cruiser I own will
be a 70 Series!”

Of course, it is at the right spot to get the conversion done!

Trade me a built 80 for the 73 and then trade it to Ian for this!

That way you get the 70 series first, true to your statement 🤣🤣
 
Ha! That’s a good idea, but also how I would somehow end up with both!!!!!
 
Totally! Love that.

Sorry Ian for clogging up your thread, while we play Land Cruiser roulette!

Wished I was a RHD guys too.
 
Totally! Love that.

Sorry Ian for clogging up your thread, while we play Land Cruiser roulette!

Wished I was a RHD guys too.


All good and no worries.

Cheers
 
So an update on where the Cruiser is at and what needs to be done before I say, it's READY!

-AC is not working, I am pretty sure it just needs a recharge and haven't trouble shot it at all yet. It is R12 (IMHO I would not change that as R12 is super cold) and we only have one shop around here that can do R12. It is scheduled for the 8th on the recharge.

-Front sway bar parts are coming and should be here Monday. Just need to install the parts.

-Body man straighten up RHS fender. Cut & polish whole Cruiser and ceramic wax as well.

-I have some remaining hoses coming from Japan. Such as the vac system hoses. There is nothing wrong with them they are just old and hard.

-Adjust E-brake, it works but could be tighter.

-Replace heater valve and hoses with OEM parts. Coming from Japan as well. Again, nothing wrong with what is on the Cruiser but I can tell they are original, IE roll pin clamps.

-Do some rust proofing coatings on the chassis.

I think that is about it.

Cheers
 
Bah!! 🙄

I am too OCD!!!

Compression test, clean axle breathers and put in longer hoses on them suited for the lift.

Cheers
 
For those who don’t know, you can just flip this around. The front side is a bit sun baked so we cleaned it up, flipped it around and installed new hardware.

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Cheers
 

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