FZJ73 Advice Needed (1 Viewer)

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Reedo311

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Dec 21, 2004
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Salt Lake City, UT
I'm doing some research for my dad who has a lead on this truck that sold on BaT in January. The guy who purchased the truck is a friend of my dad's and an auto-collector with some $$$ to spare. He visited the truck before purchasing, secured the winning bid on the truck, then upon further discussions with the seller (Cahaba Cruisers out of Alabama) decided he wanted to buy a Troopy that they have. I don't see the Troopy on their website. So now he has this FZJ73 out of Columbia and a Troopy from them. He's looking to offload the 73 for what he paid for it and it just happens to be around the corner from my dad. I know the 40 and 60 series well but really know nothing about the 70 series other than drooling over Nitro Gears 75 at Cruise Moab last year.

So a few questions for the Mud community:
  1. Anyone know anything about Cahaba Cruisers?
  2. Trucks from Columbia...what is the general thought on these, special things to watch out for?
  3. The top seems a bit off to me, is this original? Fivres?? FRP Top?? it looks like it might have been red at one point.
  4. What are the BFC 340 markings on all the glass?
  5. FZJ Engine. Is this the same engine as an FZJ80? It appears from a question on the BaT thread that it is carburated? This may be right but I'm familiar with the US FZJs are fuel injected.
  6. Based on past sales and some research the price $20k feels about right but I don't know much about these. What are your thoughts?
Any other general comments on the truck? What should we be looking for?


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Hello,

I have not heard about Cahaba Cruisers. Maybe someone else has. It may be a newcomer.

Trucks from Colombia are tricky. Some examples are good, most are bondo specials with dubious mechanical work. Some things to check, no particular order:
  1. Check the body for rust and bondo. There might be lots of both.
  2. Electrical system: quite likely it was hacked at some point. Check for non-factory wiring and ground connections.
  3. Engine and drive train: these trucks live a hard life down there, with minimum maintenance and creative (read very crude) repairs. Check for worn components and hack jobs.
73 Series had an FRP (fiber Reinforced Plastic) top, which is removable. Units sold in Colombia were assembled there from CKD kits. Fivres, a Colombian plastics company, made reproduction FRP tops for Colombian 73 Series, possibly a local components requirement. Most FRP tops are white.

BFC340 was the plate identification of that truck. It is customary in Colombia to etch the registration number in the glass (and elsewhere in the body) to deter thieves.

General markets' Land Cruisers, including Colombia, had the 1FZ-F engine, which is carbureted. It shares many components with its fuel injected counterpart; once properly tuned it is fun to drive.

Regarding price, it is more or less what 25 years old 70 Series cost in the US.

This truck was repainted sometime in the past. It is hard to tell from the pictures, but the body paint color seems a little different from the engine bay color. Same thing with the running boards.

The 1FZ-F engine had a very basic EGR system, essentially a dilution pipe that ran from the exhaust manifold to the airbox. This truck is missing that duct.

The High Altitude Compensator, a standard feature on 1FZ-F engines, is missing.

Battery terminals suggest the electrical system is modified, as does the gigantic speaker on the back.

Last but not least, apparently the black paint fairy visited part of the underside, namely the fuel tank and the suspension.





Juan
 
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Its been repainted, so you need to imagine what could be hiding underneath. Its the body that makes or breaks these deals.

The top seems a bit off? How so? Its the factory top and I found they were great, especially in summer. Most of them are white. Some of the Japanese models had FRP tops painted dark silver ect, but export models seem to be all white

The BFC markings look like some theft prevention idea

It will be the carburetted version available in South America, Middle East and African markets. It is still an FZJ7*. You cant practically convert it to 1FZ FE. Cheaper to buy a complete US 1FZ FE

The price for those in the know would be based mainly on body quality. Time to get out the magnet and look for filler.
They dont buy good ones in Columbia, paint them and send them overseas. They buy POS, paint them and send them overseas.
Look closely around the wheel arches, metal seams, lower doors and windscreen frame.
The good thing about this model is that many body part can be replaced with new if rusted.

The diffs are not Toyota, I think they are Danas often fitted to South American models.
 
Thanks for the replies. This is very helpful. Main thing is to give a good of the body to look for bondo/rust repair. Being recently painted and from Columbia, there's a chance they could be covering something up. If the body is good, the price seems reasonable and everything else seem to be inline with what would be expected of the truck.

The dana diffs is new to me. Is it the same Toyota axle for everything else?
 
The FJ73 I had from Colombia did not have Dana differentials but maybe that changed with the FZJ73 being CKD? I don't know.
 
The dana diffs is new to me. Is it the same Toyota axle for everything else

Maybe Im seeing things, could have sworn they were danas yesterday
Some of the guys who live in that part of the world will know better. The toyota's normally have Aisan brand diffs 9.5. Nothing wrong with the Danas

This is what the Toyota front diff looks like. This one is out of HZJ75 but year for year they are the same as the FZJ75
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