Builds HDJ80 Build (1 Viewer)

[Lo2aY]

Hello all,

One could spend endless hours on this very informative forum. I have learned a lot just from browsing through threads not looking for anything specific. So thanks to everyone for a great community.

I've been wanting a diesel powered 80 for a while now. Never thought the dealer (AJL) in Saudi would/did offer it for this market. But then I saw Hamza's thread. He picked up a cruiser with a 1HZ motor. I was inspired by his build, cleanness and simplicity. So the hunt started a few months ago and this is what I found.

1997 HZJ80 GX trim with 300,000KMs

Here we are getting the vehicle fully inspected (bumper to bumper) at a friend's inspection shop.

Here it is next to my millitary-spec 3 door J8

I had new rubicon BFG laying around. So I mounted those on the Patrol wheels that were on the cruiser when I bought it.

Full floater

New shoes installed

Drained all fluids. The axles had what looked like original fluid from when it rolled off the showroom. not good.

Next thing was to take it to the dunes and do some test driving. wasn't so sure about the diesel performance. And my concerns proved to be right. the motor lacks power big time.

The next day I stopped for refueling. Being that I live in a country that produces oil for a living, I'm frustrated at the stupid (no diesel inside the city law). This will cause a lot of problems down the road.

Same day, I decided that I've had enough of the stupid patrol wheels. They look good, but definitely out of place. So I picked up 5 new TLC steel wheels.

The next day, the AC quit working. So I took it in to have the AC flushed and replacing the tired compressor.

What came out of the hoses was really disgusting (probably explains the smell in the cabin)

Abdul is my AC man. give him any car with any cooling issues, he will make it work.

Abdul gave me the truck ICE cool. very happy with it

Took it in for a much needed cleanup, excuse the dirty car wash. regular scene in Saudi

AVM hubs have started to show signs of failure. I'm not a fan of these so I ordered Aisin hubs.

Fedex man called me and my hubs are available for pickup today.


What's the plan for the truck? no plan really. I'm going to beat on it. It will never be showroom quality as that defeats the point of having it. I will be upgrading equipment as needed. I see a bigger fridge/freezer going in. Bumpers and a winch. RTT is also a possibility.

The motor needs to be either rebuilt or replaced. and the cruiser needs a turbo very badly.

 

[Lo2aY]

Parts came in from the dealership

 

[Lo2aY]

Replaced all lights. Apparently the PO added some accessories to the taillights. Dont know what it it was. Luckily, the new lights came with all the wires needed to replace.
Front door stoper was missing, so I got that taken care of.

Both side view mirrors were falling apart. Replaced those as well.

 

[Lo2aY]

Headlights were replaced along with the body panel holding the bottom lights. I can see where I'm going now.

Pulled the air filter hose out. It had tape all over it. Thought it had a small hole. Man was I wrong! The intire thing was cut in half. And was tapped together. Took me a few minutes to remove the hose from the throttle body and air filter top section. And be hold, another surprise. There's oil inside the throttle body tube. This can't be good. Diesel die hards, is this a sign of a dying motor?


Today's project is getting rid of the AVMs and installing Aisins.

 

[Lo2aY]

Inside the old hub. That's nasty!!
Cleaning her up. And finishing the fronts today i hope.

Here's a picture of how ot stands right now.

 

[Lo2aY]

I'm looking for an INTI roof rack if anyone is interested in selling please contact me.

 

[Tapage]

some oil in the intake can be normal on a high mileage engine .. it caught my eye than been a new model 97 still have rear drums .. rear axle with disc brakes would be in my upgrades list ..

BTW there are plenty turbo bolt on kits in Australia .. but it's my advice to start here ..

http://gturbo.com.au/

no affiliation other than a happy customer

 

[half k cruiser]

I really like your friends inspection shop, the one where everybody dresses like Super Mario !

 

[Lo2aY]

some oil in the intake can be normal on a high mileage engine .. it caught my eye than been a new model 97 still have rear drums .. rear axle with disc brakes would be in my upgrades list ..

BTW there are plenty turbo bolt on kits in Australia .. but it's my advice to start here ..

http://gturbo.com.au/

no affiliation other than a happy customer

What makes the rear discs so special?

The GCC get's the weirdest specs from toyota. In Qatar, you could get a fender flareless VX 80. In Saudi, the Dealer had so many different configurations, it's almost impossible to trace.

I really like your friends inspection shop, the one where everybody dresses like Super Mario !

Funny, I asked for Mario on my way in haha

 

[Lo2aY]

So i'm thinking of swapping the rear barn doors on my 80 to clear the dual tire carrier that's on it's way.

It seems as if I need to get the trunk style lift gate over the barn doors. because the door handle on the barn door will not clear the tire carrier.

So I talked with the body shop. We went over the possibilities. It looks a go. On the body side of the 80, there are small groves, kinda like a marker for drilling the holes at the factory. those are for the hinges that hold each door. I was shocked!

I'm sure for you guys that want to go to barn doors, you will find the same thing on the sides.

Then I called the dealership. I asked them if there was any reinforcement plates both up top or bottom. The way I checked this was by crossing part numbers. If they matched, We are good to go. Sure enough, everything seems to be a go. So the hunt begins for a rear gate.

 

[Lo2aY]

Did some brake work last night. Man I don't know how the PO was driving this thing!

Old VS New

Old VS New

 

[94SRUNNER]

Nice rig! The steel wheels look great!

 

[half k cruiser]

I wish I could swap you my lift gate style for your barn door style. I used to have a trooper with the barn doors and it was way more practical for my use. I miss them.

 

[Lo2aY]

Nice rig! The steel wheels look great!

Yes they do. I'm going back on forth on the size. Not sure the 17s are the way to go. but the tire industry is shifting gears to 17" rim sizes. I think this is the way to go. Going to paint them white or black. not really sure.

I wish I could swap you my lift gate style for your barn door style. I used to have a trooper with the barn doors and it was way more practical for my use. I miss them.

I feel that the barn doors are easy access. But I can't take the rattles. It just drives me nuts. the pillar in the middle is also distracting. On the other side, the lift up gate also has it's share of things I don't like. For example the drop down gate will always be in the way. I will miss having the choice of adding tables in the back of the swing-out/barn doors, but I'm probably never going to install one.

Today I spent sometime shopping in Junk yards. Started looking at 10pm and left at 1am. It's too hot for day shopping, and this month is also Ramadan. Most businesses shift operations to afternoon/night-time. It's truly a beautiful experience.

So I found this 91 80 series. Correct color. No damage to tailgate. The holes you see on the gate are for the factory swing-out tire carrier.

I took these photos as a reference for the body shop. Who i'm sure don't need it, since so many people interchange different rear gates, they probably memorized the thing. They also do this to the 100 series.

I'm documenting this here for anyone who wants to see what the differences are. Swapping from a trunk gate to swingouts should be similar.

Here are the holes. These are on the bottom pillar of the body side. As you can see, The top hole acts as a guide for the threaded bottom two. These holes are accessed from under the vehicle, close to where the spare tire goes on most 80 series. if you plan to go to barn doors aka swingouts, you don't need to tap in this area (you already have it on both sides).

Here are the holes that are on the sides of the body, by the taillights. You should also have these if you have a trunk style gate. If going to swingouts, you will need to drill new holes. There is no reinforcement plates anywhere, I read many discussions on different forums. Many people claimed that this is a headache job and near impossible to tackle. I don't think so. I'll document the process. From what I removed, everything was nuts and bolts. So I'll have to drill new ones on my vehicle to make it work. Should be easy. And should be easier to swap doors later. Even the wiring was identical. I did unclip the upper wires going into the upper half. The same was done for the lower half.

In short, it could be done. It's nothing crazy. I'll show you some pics

View of my way out.

Here are the doors in the back of my trusted landy. Score at $400

Dropping the cruiser at the body shop soon. If anyone wants any pics of anything specific, please let me know. I took over 100 pics of removing the rear gate. I'll do the same when taking the swing outs off.

Cheers habibis

 

[Tapage]

What makes the rear discs so special?

not need to deal with wet drums, loosing adjust, more small pieces to take care .. etc ..

 

[Lo2aY]

not need to deal with wet drums, loosing adjust, more small pieces to take care .. etc ..

To be honest, I hate working on drum brakes. Like you said, there's so many moving parts.

Will the master cylinder need to be replaced as well?

are both axles the same width?

Should I assume that both axles will have the same output shaft?

Thanks for the comment! The 80 series is what Saudi's call the "Golden Era" of cruisers. Everything after that was not so rugged. I tend to agree

 

[RhinoFZJ80]

Mashallah! Lo2ay. Your FJ is awesome. Ramadan Kareem! If you need hrlp with anything from the US just ask. Mine is in Yemen and I can't wait to get back with goodies! I just picked mine up here in the states!

 

[Tapage]

MC it's different from rear drums to rear disc .. so I would said yes ..

Are both same with .. ( e brake cable it's different tho )

same Drive shafts ..

 

[Lo2aY]

Mashallah! Lo2ay. Your FJ is awesome. Ramadan Kareem! If you need hrlp with anything from the US just ask. Mine is in Yemen and I can't wait to get back with goodies! I just picked mine up here in the states!

Ramadan Kareem to you as well. Appreciate the offer. Show us some pics

MC it's different from rear drums to rear disc .. so I would said yes ..

Are both same with .. ( e brake cable it's different tho )

same Drive shafts ..

Roger that, thank you for the heads up. Im returning the rear brake kit to the dealership. I'm going to keep looking for a rear axle with discs.



I've been reading some info on diesel engines and swaps. It's seems most are in favor of the 1HD-FT platform. Since its all mechanical and strong motos.

The 1HZ that came in my 80, is dying rather quickly. I can't bring myself to overhaul or swap it for another. This is a good excuse to upgrade to a more modern platform.

Although my questions could be answered by searching this rich wealth of information (IH8MUD). I couldn't find someone that's tackling the same swap (1HZ to 1HD-FT). If there are any pointers of someone who did the same project, I would really appreciate it.

From what I read and understood, the engine mounts should remain the same. But there could be bellhousing/clutch/flywheel incompatibility. Let alone transmission crossmember and the custom driveshafts that have to be made, if the overall tcase location changes.

It also seems that the GCC never received the 1HD-FT. So importing this is best seems the only option. Still keeping my eyes pealed for it here locally. But everyone keeps scratching their heads when I mention it's a 24 valve motor (they go by specs and not names here).

Does the HZJ platforms share the same trans with the HDJs?

On the bright side, my lift, winch, bumpers, and other stuff are on their way from the good'ol USA. I can't wait to get them.


Sorry for all the newb questions.

 

[Tapage]

Does the HZJ platforms share the same trans with the HDJs?

the main difference clutch wise it's your 1HZ have a 275mm clutch vs 300mm clutch in HD engine .. so you can keep your 275mm clutch or swap for the 300mm one .. or do a hybrid like I did in Marilu .. ( take a look on my sign )