Build Golden Boy / was 'an as-yet unnamed gulf spec diesel 1991 HZJ pickup'

[John Young]

Thank you Juan. I'm going to go take a look myself and see what actually is missing. The truck runs and 'drives' and the basics work. I'm thinking that with a wiring diagram I could cobble together something that would not be too bad. This is a pickup truck after all. Will update once I do that...

 

[JuanJ]

Thank you Juan. I'm going to go take a look myself and see what actually is missing. The truck runs and 'drives' and the basics work. I'm thinking that with a wiring diagram I could cobble together something that would not be too bad. This is a pickup truck after all. Will update once I do that...

Hello,

It is a pickup truck designed to be repaired. Every system is intended to be disassembled, repaired and reassembled using a few tools, namely 10/12/14/17 mm wrenches and a Phillips screwdriver.

As Rosco / @roscoFJ73 likes to point out, the 75 pickup is the most repairable of all 70 Series models.

As for wiring diagrams, they are available out there. Make sure you get them with the FSM. Otherwise, you cannot understand the color coding and other details.

Welcome to the madness.





Juan

 

[John Young]

As for wiring diagrams, they are available out there. Make sure you get them with the FSM. Otherwise, you cannot understand the color coding and other details.

Thanks for the reply Juan. I will do that. My worry is whether I can find correctly colored wiring in this market. I'm not even sure where to start to look. Alternatively, I could ask my mechanics to document what they do. Might try that. Still mulling this over. Thanks for the encouragement re the pickup being designed for maintenance--which makes sense.

 

[John Young]

Small update: the guys have cleaned up the replacement transmission and transfer case in preparation for going into Golden Boy:

I just did not like the way the old one was shifting and between that and the rebar linkage for the transfer case I decided it was better to replace the whole thing with something 'new' from Sharjah.

 

[John Young]

I went over to the garage today and took Golden Boy for a drive to see how things are progressing. There are a number of issues and need immediate attention. At full left turn lock there is a tick-tick sound coming from the left front axe. I assume this is something with the Birf joint. I could not communicate well with the mechanic who was working on the pickup, so I will take it up with the foreman/owner tomorrow.

Another problem is that the fuel gauge and speedometer do not work. The 2nd fuel tank switch at least lights up. Not sure if it actually works. Another thing to test. Because the fuel showed empty I decided to drive over to the gas station and put 30 bucks worth of diesel in the tank. The gas station attendant pointed out the sticker over each fueling point:

He had to be persuaded to put diesel in the tank. He told me that one of the other station attendants has put gas in a diesel BMW at the insistence of the customer and when the car keeled over the customer called the police and the guy lost his job--which means he likely had to leave the country. But eventually he was persuaded once I said that if there was any problem it was my responsibility.

The truck is freshly painted. I suppose it could have a donor cab and bed, but I think the simpler explanation is that the car painter put the labels on in error. I peeled both off. I've got to get some diesel stickers to put on there.

The new transmission and transfer case work well. The truck is really low geared. And when in low-4, its like a tractor. I took it off road a little. The shift lever on the new transmission is pointed a little more to the right hand side--I assume it came off of a RHD Australian truck. I'm going to see if the shift lever from the old transmission will fit as it would be a better driving position.

Here's Golden Boy back in the barn:

 

[roscoFJ73]

I'm going to see if the shift lever from the old transmission will fit as it would be a better driving position.

Cant see why not. And yes they are low geared. I usually take off in second gear. Getting rid of the big lip will make it easier to park.
You can get diesel stickers that go inside the fuel cap.

 

[FJ73Texas]

You are not allowed to pump your own fuel where you are currently at? I would make sure the cap says diesel fuel only as well.

 

[CharlesHS]

Here in the PI the fuel is ALWAYS pumped for you. They even frown when you get out of the truck to hand the attendant the keys.
I purchased one of the above decals for DIESEL since the attendants always ask before lifting the fuel nozzle.
I have all the factory service manuals in covered and PDF for my 93 PZJ75 pickup including the electrical.
If you have any questions; maybe I can assist you.

 

[John Young]

Thank you Charles, much appreciated. (I may well need your help!)

Yep, FJT, nope, it's not allowed to pump your own fuel here almost universally. There's kinda more to it too. There are only two service stations licensed here. ADNOC, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, and ENOC, the Emirates National Oil Company. Typically there are lines to get fuel. Not too long, but there definitely are fewer gas stations than would be the case in the US or even Europe. It's a duopoly here between the two petrol companies. And fuel prices are set by the government every month. Here was the blurb from Gulf News this month:

The Ministry of Energy and Industry announced fuel prices for September. The prices include VAT. The per-litre prices are Super 98 at Dh2.28, down from Dh2.37 last month and Special 95 at Dh2.16, a drop from Dh2.26 in August. E-Plus 91 will cost Dh2.08 in September (down from Dh2.18 in August). Diesel price has been fixed at Dh2.38, a decrease from Dh2.42 in August.​

(The AED is pegged to the USD at 3.6725 AED/USD.)

But the duopoly system means that profits for both companies are managed by the government and the service stations always are pretty nice. And always well-staffed. Mostly with guys from the Indian subcontinent and the Philippines. I was surprised a couple of months back near the border when I was asked for a service fee of 10 AED (about 2.5 USD) to have my gas pumped. It turns out that at least ADNOC is experimenting with this:

I don't know. I think it will take a long time before Emiraties will want to pump their own gas. Here's a write up. Interestingly, they are not trying this in Abu Dhabi or Dubai. At least not yet.

The station attendants have a miserable, miserable job, but you don't see frowns. The heat and the fumes are pretty intense in the summer. I try always to hand over 5 AED (about a buck and a half) as a tip. I don't think most people do. I will also admit that it is a real luxury to have someone else pump your fuel when it is hot out.

I don't think this is unique to the Middle East. It was like this in Malaysia and Singapore too. And Charles' confirmation of PH does not surprise me at all. I think this is the case wherever the cost of labor is cheap enough. By contrast at least twice in the US when my son and I were driving from Virginia to Utah we bought gas from stations that had NO attendants. Not even a cashier. You just drove up, put your card in, fueled and drove away again.

This is probably more than you asked for, but I do find this subject interesting.

 

[CharlesHS]

The lack of attendants or cashiers is getting more common where late night staffing is not maintained.
Drive thru with a credit card is common in the rural areas of San Diego County.

 

[hoser]

In much of Oregon, you can self-pump diesel but you can't pump gas.

 

[John Young]

In much of Oregon, you can self-pump diesel but you can't pump gas.

Why the distinction, I wonder?

 

[hoser]

It's a very old law and I believe it has to do with gas fumes. Given the choice, I'd rather pump gas than pump diesel. Gas evaporates, diesel oil doesn't!

 

[Honger]

Thank you Charles, much appreciated. (I may well need your help!)

Yep, FJT, nope, it's not allowed to pump your own fuel here almost universally. There's kinda more to it too. There are only two service stations licensed here. ADNOC, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, and ENOC, the Emirates National Oil Company. Typically there are lines to get fuel. Not too long, but there definitely are fewer gas stations than would be the case in the US or even Europe. It's a duopoly here between the two petrol companies. And fuel prices are set by the government every month. Here was the blurb from Gulf News this month:

The Ministry of Energy and Industry announced fuel prices for September. The prices include VAT. The per-litre prices are Super 98 at Dh2.28, down from Dh2.37 last month and Special 95 at Dh2.16, a drop from Dh2.26 in August. E-Plus 91 will cost Dh2.08 in September (down from Dh2.18 in August). Diesel price has been fixed at Dh2.38, a decrease from Dh2.42 in August.​

(The AED is pegged to the USD at 3.6725 AED/USD.)

But the duopoly system means that profits for both companies are managed by the government and the service stations always are pretty nice. And always well-staffed. Mostly with guys from the Indian subcontinent and the Philippines. I was surprised a couple of months back near the border when I was asked for a service fee of 10 AED (about 2.5 USD) to have my gas pumped. It turns out that at least ADNOC is experimenting with this:
View attachment 2090184
I don't know. I think it will take a long time before Emiraties will want to pump their own gas. Here's a write up. Interestingly, they are not trying this in Abu Dhabi or Dubai. At least not yet.

The station attendants have a miserable, miserable job, but you don't see frowns. The heat and the fumes are pretty intense in the summer. I try always to hand over 5 AED (about a buck and a half) as a tip. I don't think most people do. I will also admit that it is a real luxury to have someone else pump your fuel when it is hot out.

I don't think this is unique to the Middle East. It was like this in Malaysia and Singapore too. And Charles' confirmation of PH does not surprise me at all. I think this is the case wherever the cost of labor is cheap enough. By contrast at least twice in the US when my son and I were driving from Virginia to Utah we bought gas from stations that had NO attendants. Not even a cashier. You just drove up, put your card in, fueled and drove away again.

This is probably more than you asked for, but I do find this subject interesting.

ADNOC's in Abu Dhabi now ALL have self-serve or full-serve... and full serve costs more. By the time we left Abu Dhabi I was pumping my own gas again. But it wasn't summer... =)

 

[John Young]

ADNOC's in Abu Dhabi now ALL have self-serve or full-serve... and full serve costs more. By the time we left Abu Dhabi I was pumping my own gas again. But it wasn't summer... =)

Well Abu Dhabi is a little more 'down home' than Dubai.

 

[John Young]

It's a very old law and I believe it has to do with gas fumes. Given the choice, I'd rather pump gas than pump diesel. Gas evaporates, diesel oil doesn't!

Hi had no idea.... Here's a writeup in Forbes.

"Oregon and New Jersey are the only two states that ban self-service gas stations. But thanks to a new law that went into effect on January 1, customers can now pump their own gas in Oregon, though only at stand-alone gas stations in counties with fewer than 40,000 residents. Elsewhere, the ban still holds."​

 

[John Young]

Small update: I really want to install air conditioning and get the heater working before sending the truck back to the US. Unfortunately while RHD parts are readily available from AUS trucks coming in for stripping, LHD parts seem to be harder to find, but I'm continuing to look. In the meantime I'm having the guys strip the aircon from my troopy, refurbishing the parts and putting them into Golden Boy. I have more time to fool with the troopy.

Here is the present state of Golden Boy:

(Yes, I am asking them to clean as they go.)

 

[John Young]

By way of a little update, the pickup dash is back together with heat and aircon now. What I did was tell the guys to strip what they needed off my troopy, because I want to get this pickup shipped back to my son as soon as possible. I also found new old stock floor mats, both front and back and paid a little over 100 USD per set. They are not perfect because they are off new pickups and some of the holes are different on the transmission tunnel, but that can be fixed. The important point is that they are in good shape unlike what was on there.

And just last weekend I found a 'half-cut' up in Sharjah of a 1994 diesel that said 180K km.

My son, who is the intended user, really wants a bull bar and winch, and I had not been having any luck until I saw this. And what I love about it is that it is OEM, solid looking, in good shape. And as a bonus, it has a mechanical winch, which I've always wanted to fool with.

I had intended to buy the whole half-cut. I have a friend in the same business around the corner and he was kind enough to send his brother for an expert look. His brother concluded that the 180K was not accurate, and when I got up to Sharjah yesterday the seller wanted 24K AED for it--about 6500 USD, which seemed a bit much. When my friend and I looked it over he pointed out the service mileage marked on the radiator shroud, and sure enough, 450K or thereabouts. Not huge for a diesel, but still, quite a bit.

I did come to a quick conclusion with the seller, who turned out to be a nice guy, for 2100 AED for bumper, bull bar, winch, power take off and all the bolts and washers, delivered 45 minutes away. That's about 575 USD, which I consider to be a very good deal!

 

[Honger]

By way of a little update, the pickup dash is back together with heat and aircon now. What I did was tell the guys to strip what they needed off my troopy, because I want to get this pickup shipped back to my son as soon as possible. I also found new old stock floor mats, both front and back and paid a little over 100 USD per set. They are not perfect because they are off new pickups and some of the holes are different on the transmission tunnel, but that can be fixed. The important point is that they are in good shape unlike what was on there.

And just last weekend I found a 'half-cut' up in Sharjah of a 1994 diesel that said 180K km.
View attachment 2154754
My son, who is the intended user, really wants a bull bar and winch, and I had not been having any luck until I saw this. And what I love about it is that it is OEM, solid looking, in good shape. And as a bonus, it has a mechanical winch, which I've always wanted to fool with.
View attachment 2154758
I had intended to buy the whole half-cut. I have a friend in the same business around the corner and he was kind enough to send his brother for an expert look. His brother concluded that the 180K was not accurate, and when I got up to Sharjah yesterday the seller wanted 24K AED for it--about 6500 USD, which seemed a bit much. When my friend and I looked it over he pointed out the service mileage marked on the radiator shroud, and sure enough, 450K or thereabouts. Not huge for a diesel, but still, quite a bit.

I did come to a quick conclusion with the seller, who turned out to be a nice guy, for 2100 AED for bumper, bull bar, winch, power take off and all the bolts and washers, delivered 45 minutes away. That's about 575 USD, which I consider to be a very good deal!
View attachment 2154759

That's an amazing deal!

 

[TonyP]

Do you know of any good junk yards near Abu Dhabi? I'm in the "mysterious area" just south of the city for a few months.
Are they conventional, US style, yards where you can walk around or only with a front desk where you can ask for parts.