Gojira the HZJ73

[FJhammer]

Imported another 70 back in the spring and thought I'd create a thread for all the various projects that are going to happen over the coming years as well as a log for whoever it eventually moves on to should that ever happen. It's undoubtedly the cleanest LC I've ever imported or seen imported. I named it Gojira.

Info:
Purchased out of auction in Kobe, Japan.
1998 HZJ73 ZX
H55 Manual
Triple locked
35K miles

 

[FJhammer]

After getting it home, first things first... it needs to get off the tiny street tires and into new shoes. I happen to love OEM wheels so I wanted to keep them and I just so happened to have a decent set of 33" KM3s for the 15" wheels.

 

[FJhammer]

After waffling a bit on how much to keep original, I decided to do some "tasteful" updates as I really like the look of the updated grill and turn signals. I also wanted to replace the old headlights and update to LEDs.
So I bought the facelift pieces and swapped in the 24v bulbs in the turn signals.

 

[FJhammer]

Next up, the suspension and bushings are tired. Shocks are shot and the springs are a bit saggy. I really prefer the look of smaller lifts 1.5"- 2" but with the sag of the originals it's probably going to end up pushing a bit closer to 3 inches. I look at the usual suspects from OME and Dobinsons but I've also heard really good things about Terrain Tamer and their parabolic setup. At 50mm of lift, it looks to fit the just what I'm looking for so I go for it.

 

[FJhammer]

I started with the front. I also noticed the sway bar bushings didn't have a lot of life left in them so I replace those as well. I addition, I wanted to preserve the perfect rust free frame and axles as much as possible and I didn't want to get the gunky buildup of surface shield which is what I normally use, so I decided to try Salt Shift.

 

[FJhammer]

Next came the rear end. Much a rinse and repeat of the front with the caveat that many others have come across in the the rear shackles are up against the fuel tank and need to be cut out in order to remove.

 

[EngineBlockEggs]

That looks insanely clean and a great place to start! I'm jealous but excited for you.

However I am always surprised to hear people say they prefer the newer Megazoid chrome grille over the simpler grilles. To each their own, I suppose.

 

[SNLC]

Never thought I would see a Cruiser named Gojira. Clearly you are a metalhead.

I found the parabolic leaves to be extremely stiff. They are spec’ed for carrying a lot of weight, something I foolishly overlooked.

Cheers