EDIT: My LJ78W Journey (1 Viewer)

[unclebresk]

Hey all,

I've recently purchased a 1991 LandCruiser II/LJ78 that needs a good clean up and I intend on restoring it as best I can. I'm well aware that the 2LT-E is a pretty weak engine, and I'll look at engine swaps if anything major goes wrong with this, but for now I'd like to set the vehicle up as best I can.

I've found an EFS 2" Lift Kit at a good price. Or would I be better off spending an additional $500 for ironman or dobinsons?

I have read that there's not a massive issue going for 33s or 285/75R16 with a 2" lift as this keeps the RPM lower and therefore reduces the risk of destroying the head.

I have found a good priced set of 225/95R16 tyres that I am hoping can help keep fuel efficiency in check while also keeping the RPM down? I'm a little uneducated on all of this so please forgive me as I'm trying to pick up as much as I can.

Also I was hoping for advice on wheel offset for this wagon? Any wheels you'd recommend? Do I need 1½" Wheel spacers?

Please post any and all pictures of KZJ71/73/78 LJ70/78 wheel options!

If anybody has a picture of one of these on 225/95R16s, I'd really appreciate it!

Here's the new bus, I hope to post regular updates of our journey.

 

[unclebresk]

I didn't get any replies and I worried that I'd miss out or something if I didn't buy the lift kit quickly, so I did some general research on EFS and they seem to be pretty good, which gave me the confidence to bite the bullet and just get the kit. Ended up paying $730 AUD including shipping for this kit:

EFS 2" Lift Kit

Which seems ridiculously cheap, and I think for that price it's hard to resist the temptation.

This brings me to the wheels and tyres, I am struggling to find examples of 225 95 16s on these wagons (76,77,78) but surely they'd look okay? I'm convinced that they'll perform better than most and I managed to find 5x Bridgestone Dueler AT697 for $800 including fitting and alignment. This again seems like a deal too good to pass up and the tyres are well reviewed. Most of the time the car will be on the road, so it makes sense in all ways I look at it.

These wheels caught my eye, cheap, simple, dare I say a little classy even?

King Terra 16x7

Unfortunately i haven't found a ridiculous price for wheels yet, but I'll keep hunting.

To be perfectly honest I am not even sure what size wheels are on it now. I think they're 31x?x15? I guess I could paint them black and find other tyres but I feel like overall that will end up costing more anyway. I would check, but it's at the mechanic waiting to be worked on.

Food for thought, I guess.

At this stage I'd be very appreciative of any and all advice, I'm trying to find all sorts of old threads to better educate myself, but even if the post doesn't get any engagement, I think I will keep posting and use it as a journal of sorts.

I would like to keep the bar work stock, I think tyres, wheels, lift and a good clean up, plus whatever mechanical attention it requires are the first things in order and I look forward to providing more updates along the way.

 

[AirheadNut]

Looks nice! With regards to tire sizes, in my opinion tall skinny tires are better for these underpowered Cruisers. 225/95R16 is not available here in the US, (I wish it was!) but I run 235/85R16 and have been very happy with them. Too tall of a tire will negatively affect your performance just like a huge wide one, I wouldn't go any taller than the 225/95.

The difficulty with finding wheels for these LJ78's is that they need a 0 offset wheel, which is hard to find in 16" variety for some reason. If you're looking at 225 section tires then you'll need to stick with a 16x6 ET0 wheel.

Here is mine with stock 16x6 wheels and 235/85R16 tires:

 

[unclebresk]

Looks nice! With regards to tire sizes, in my opinion tall skinny tires are better for these underpowered Cruisers. 225/95R16 is not available here in the US, (I wish it was!) but I run 235/85R16 and have been very happy with them. Too tall of a tire will negatively affect your performance just like a huge wide one, I wouldn't go any taller than the 225/95.

The difficulty with finding wheels for these LJ78's is that they need a 0 offset wheel, which is hard to find in 16" variety for some reason. If you're looking at 225 section tires then you'll need to stick with a 16x6 ET0 wheel.

Here is mine with stock 16x6 wheels and 235/85R16 tires:
View attachment 3750829

Thank you for your reply. I had seen this online so I assumed -13 would be okay:

I am yet to purchase wheels or tyres but I want to make absolutely sure I do it right!

I am excited to try the 225 95 16s, I may even put some on my 150 series.

Your LJ looks great

 

[jmylie]

I have the 2" Dobinson on my LJ77 with 255/85/16 MT's

I added A/C and have not had any issues with overheating. Drove it down to Windrock and back doing 70 mph.

 

[unclebresk]

Unfortunately the mechanic has stated the LJ needs more work than I'd expected, quite an expensive little undertaking..

 

[EngineBlockEggs]

Yikes, that's not cheap. You're about a few thousand dollars short of simply swapping the engine, which might be a good idea. Having said that, some of that labor is pretty easy to do yourself. It might be worth looking at this as a project to learn this stuff. Either way, you're going to be spending money on it regardless while having fun. It's a sweet looking land cruiser. That paint scheme is my favorite.

 

[unclebresk]

I have decided to skip the transfer case rebuild for now and just get it roadworthy and running in 2wd.

Got compression test results finally:

1. 422psi
2. 410psi
3. 405psi
4. 398psi

I guess that's not too bad all things considered.