Builds DUKE - 1993 HDJ80 / 1HD-T / 5-Speed / 3x Locked / LHD *A slow DIY build / resto* (2 Viewers)

[bryce0225]

I’ll start with the history of the truck and purchasing: The truck came from France and legend says it was used for a couple weeks every year to trip to Morocco and back. The owner in France was the original owner until he passed. His daughter sold it to the man which i bought it from in Montana. It had just about 275k KM on it and seemed to be beautifully maintained, yet used how a cruiser should be used. Small dings and scratches, dust everywhere, small signs of true adventure.

Once I drove it to my dad’s garage in CO from Montana, I had a small list of things to do before drib=vine it home to CA.

- Rebuild the Starter with new contacts
- Change Oil w/ OEM Filter
- CLEAN EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING was coated in fine Moroccan red dust... EVERYWHERE
- Repaint the window trim. It was very faded and that black window outline is one of my favorite features of the 80 series.
- Install my DIY rear drawer system from my old cruiser.
- Install the Rhino Rack from my old cruiser.
- Swap tires with what was on my old cruiser

Once all was well, My partner and I took the long way from CO to CA and had out first amazing adventure in our new second home!!!

You can follow our adventures and the build on our instagram accounts: @bryce_drobny & @la.cruiser

More to come:
*first night in the garage before the work commenced*

 

[bryce0225]

More detail shots of the cleaning and work before heading to our home in LA:

ALL CLEAN FOR THE FIRST TIME:

 

[Jroc561]

Awesome, look forward to the progress

 

[bryce0225]

Awesome, look forward to the progress

Loving your build as well. Very clean truck!

 

[bryce0225]

After driving to LA, more work began. Duke drove smoothly and beautifully. Couldn’t be more happy with my new daily driver And escape vehicle. Living the dream.

I ordered and rounded up as much as I could knowing the work I was planning on doing. The truck did not come with any documentation or maintenance records. Everything seemed clean but I had no dea what filters / fluids were used.

Over the course of the trip I used SeaFoam when I filled up. I ran two full tanks and two full cans of SeaFoam knowing i was planning on changing all the filters / fluids.

Over a few days I:

1. Changed the oil (Shell Rotella t4 10W30 + zinc additive)
2. Changed to an OEM oil filter
3. New Transmission oil (Royal Purple 75W90)
4. New Transfer case oil (Royal Purple 75W90)
5. New Front and read Diff oil (Castrol 80W90)
6. New OEM fuel Filter
7. New Resco .3 micron fuel filter (used in Resco fuel / water separator filter)
8. New FRAM air filter

I also installed a small oil catch can:

I repainted the grill to freshen it up:

Sloppy shot of the engine compartment:

More to come!

 

[bryce0225]

Next in line was the coolant flush:

It went smoothly. I ran prestone coolest flush additive and distilled water through the system 3 times before topping off with Prestone concentrate (60-70%) and distilled water.

We then took a trip to Alabama Hills in CA, camped, had a great time. When we parted back at home I noticed a somewhat major coolest leak... F@CK! After investigating, it seemed at thought water pump gasket had failed after the flush...

I ran to specter off-road which is luckily down the street from me and snagged a new water pump, seals, gaskets, and a new timing belt kit (Since i would have to remove it anyways to get to the water pump)

After a couple of days of work, all was well! I tore my hands and arms to shreds trying to get the tension spring back on... UGH.

Only picture I took during the process...

My workspace... No power tools. Simple simple.

New Stickers showing Duke’s past. The truck was imported from the original owner in France and was used to travel to Morocco.

Everything is running and working beautifully. Started right up with the new water pump and timing belt. YAY!

 

[BuckarooBanzai]

Cool cruiser! I’d like to have one just like it someday.

 

[bryce0225]

Cool cruiser! I’d like to have one just like it someday.

Thanks so much! It’s my dream car and only car. Wouldn’t trade it for the world. If you even can find one, do everything you can to snag it!

 

[bryce0225]

Next Job - Replace the intake Manifold Gaskets and bolts:

Job was fairly straight forward. I replaced everything with OEM, which was not what was in the truck.

everything torqued to spec and ready to roll! This project are such a life saver while locked inside avoiding COVID-19

 

[bryce0225]

I finally got around to deleting the ACSD... what a headache. I heard it was a super simple job but... not for me. It was damn near impossible to get access in the LHD model. The steering pump blocks everything, PLUS I have an additional fuel filter that takes up even more space.

The 5mm Allen bolts round off soooooo easily... I spent two days trying to get the bolt underneath the ACSD with no avail... I eventually just cut my losses and pried it off. Luckily there were enough threads saved, I could use a longer bolt.

I had the plate my up in Aluminum by a buddy of mine. I used the original O-ring, because it seemed fairly new and fresh.


The rounded bolt... -_-

Green = Good / Red = Ripped threads

Access was tight...

Got it on, adjusted the idle and everything works great! WHJAT A HEADACHE!

Feels good to check this one off of the list.

 

[bryce0225]

Had to recover with a fun easy job... organizing the tool drawer! We don’t have a garage or any storage for that matter, so I store most of my tools in the truck:

Easy access to everything... ahhhhhhh

 

[bryce0225]

Got around to replacing the old fender flare seals. Passengers side had its fair share of damage and repair... Did the best i could. I think i would love to pull them off and got the truck a more ‘poverty pack’ look in the future.

The Old:

Found standing water and clogged drain plugs in the rear quarters:

The New:

All cleaned up and dry... Already feeling the need for a new project. Quarantine is gonna be the death of me.

 

[Dilspec]

Nice rig and good work base lining it.

I'm sure Prestone coolant is fine, but you may want to consider Toyota coolant. Buy only the best for your HDJ!

 

[bryce0225]

Nice rig and good work base lining it.

I'm sure Prestone coolant is fine, but you may want to consider Toyota coolant. Buy only the best for your HDJ!

I hear ya. it wasn’t as quickly available for me and I was kinda in a pinch. It seemed like what was in it before I got to it was just water... Definitely was not red or green. I do plan on keeping up with maintaining and changing, so maybe next flush!

 

[JeepinPete]

Just curious, what kind of MPG's do the diesel's pull?

 

[Workhorse]

you may want to consider Toyota coolant. Buy only the best for your HDJ!

Only buy the best for your HDJ are words to live by. Factory only filters and parts and Toyota Red Coolant.

Cool truck, good for you!

 

[Workhorse]

Not to hijack from the OP, answering diesel fuel mileage question above from @JeepinPete

Why I love my 80 HDFT turbo diesel

Here is my best tank of diesel (Factory main only) ever (so far), 556.2 miles and when filled up (to the filler cap) took 22.52 gallons (US) which is roughly 24.7MPG (US). I'm glad I went Factory HDFT turbo diesel ten years ago and will never ever look back. I love my manual 80 HDFT. I wonder if...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[SNLC]

Great Cruiser! Was this the one on CL for like a year?

You can still get that o-ring for the ACSD, we just blocked one off the other day.

I have some 81 parts laying around, new OEM, let me know if you need anything. I got a few used parts as well. Also got a really nice intercooler for that truck.

Cheers

 

[bryce0225]

Great Cruiser! Was this the one on CL for like a year?

You can still get that o-ring for the ACSD, we just blocked one off the other day.

I have some 81 parts laying around, new OEM, let me know if you need anything. I got a few used parts as well. Also got a really nice intercooler for that truck.

Cheers

Great to know! The list will continue to grow as I’m sure you know. My obsession with this truck is ever-growing.

Intercooler is definitely on the list in the future. Along with boost and EGT Gauges. Everything is on hold right now because work for me has completely disappeared with covid. I work in film and everything is on hold.

 

[bryce0225]

Great Cruiser! Was this the one on CL for like a year?

You can still get that o-ring for the ACSD, we just blocked one off the other day.

I have some 81 parts laying around, new OEM, let me know if you need anything. I got a few used parts as well. Also got a really nice intercooler for that truck.

Cheers

And I’m not sure it may have been? I found it in Bozeman, MT