Hello from Romania (1 Viewer)

[RaduTudoroiu]

Hello there,

My name is Radu and i am from Bucharest, Romania. I am planning to buy a 3400 Diesel 1984 BJ45 in a couple of weeks time and i would very much like to know what exactly it is that i'm getting into. the truck has lived up north in Finland, rust-free and with 128.000 km from new, fully serviced. The biggest downside is a horrific paintjob that makes it look like a russian war wagon. I have been offroading since 2005 doing both extreme challenges and 10-15k overland trips in LC70/120, Pajero MK IV and Defender 110 SW.

The time has come to fulfill a lifelong dream of owning a J4 and, planning on using it as a daily driver/overlander. As with any oldtimer i know there's things i need to watch out for.

I guess the LC120 is no comparison so there's very little experience to be had from a decade of ownership. Most of my internet research has led me to you guys and i was hoping i could get some first hand feedback.

I haven't posted any images yet as i don't own it and it doesn't exactly seem fair. But i will the second i sing the papers

 

[gator25]

Welcome from Louisiana, sounds like a cool ride.

 

[JohnnyC]

Welcome to mud ... you came to the right place

Post up pics when you get them... most guys post up pics before purchase and ask "what does mud this is wrong with this cruiser?" ... to be sure they know what they are getting into .... not all people like to hear the truth however lol

 

[RaduTudoroiu]

Welcome to mud ... you came to the right place

Post up pics when you get them... most guys post up pics before purchase and ask "what does mud this is wrong with this cruiser?" ... to be sure they know what they are getting into .... not all people like to hear the truth however lol

I concur Here are the preliminary images

 

[gator25]

That looks to be a nice truck, I'm sure one the guys here that know way more then me will chime in.

 

[White Stripe]

I've never seen seat belt strap used on a winch.

 

[RaduTudoroiu]

I've never seen seat belt strap used on a winch.

When you gotta find a solution fast, you work with what you've got. Gotta give credit to the guy, it does have a hook at the end of the seatbelt. I really hope it's not of of the car's belts ))))

 

[FJ404345]

Welcome to the madness Radu,

Very nice truck, thank you for sharing the pics, but do yourself a favor and buy it today !

 

[RaduTudoroiu]

That good? I admit it has had one previous owner and the service has only been done by Toyota Finland. Save for the seatbelt of course. Is it such a good find?

 

[JohnnyC]

Looks great as well to me

A few bubbles coming through... looks possibly to be an exfire service truck

Some things I knotice... extra two brackets in front ... changed seat ... seat belt winch cable ... antenna mount on roof ... missing front license plate mount ... drilled holes in headlight bezel to hold plate... reflective tape on front bumper ... sticker glue on rear door ... sticker on heater says? ... cb mic holder drilled into dash... doo hickey behind winch (presumably to hold wires from front lights that used to be mounted on front extra brackets)

Extra spot lights in rear... drop down hitchball mount with integrated step and light ... Pintle may be the oem one (looks it to me)

Can't tell about rear mud flaps ... bracketry looks a bit off... may have been replaced

Looks to have a bit of respray here and there

Missing door pillar plate

The headlight squirters are stock ... stock 16" split ring rims ... full floater rear axle... 3B engine and 4 speed

Suspension is a bit flat

Those are the quick things I note right now ... overall a great looking truck!!!

A great find

Get it in your hands before somebody else lol

 

[roma042987]

jealous that's a very nice cruiser

 

[RaduTudoroiu]

Oh now i feel a lot better. It is an ex-firetruck, hence the relatively small no of kms.

I have two items on my immediate agenda: The Red bus has no power steering or AC. I have searched the forum and came up with some rebuild threads that i read up on. However, i couldn't find anyone mounting it from scratch.

Also, this comes with the tiny 3.4 Diesel engine and it feels well underpowered, having driven a short one (and coming from the 200hp Pajero MK4). People seemed biased concerning this type of engine. Any clues as of to why?

Thank you,
R.

 

[rrv333]

Great looking 45

 

[RaduTudoroiu]

Has anyone used it as a daily driver? Is that too insane to be done? That is actually my plan since we camp out probably a month out of the year it makes sense. But one of my mechanic friends recommended that i should have my head examined as that is an excruciating activity.

Also, how is the heating in the winter? Romania gets some nasty -20 degrees celsius

 

[JohnnyC]

I've been running mine as my DD for 25+ years

I lived in VT and NY and upper north east USA for its entirety... I am use to -20 ... it sucks lol... I have a petrol engine and for cold weather I added a block warmer as well as dual batteries (electric winch mainly for) starts without issue

Lighter oil helps and change over to heavier for summers

 

[Rock40]

The 3B is a solid little engine. It is however, quite prone to having some head issues, especially cracking of the pre-cups in the combustion chambers. Check out the Diesel forum, there's a ton of information there on the ol' 3B. If you're considering doing an engine swap, I probably wouldn't. If properly maintained and cared for, the 3B will literally last you forever. It'll make plenty of heat too, or you could look at a Webasto install or similar.

 

[Racer65]

Has anyone used it as a daily driver? Is that too insane to be done? That is actually my plan since we camp out probably a month out of the year it makes sense. But one of my mechanic friends recommended that i should have my head examined as that is an excruciating activity.

Also, how is the heating in the winter? Romania gets some nasty -20 degrees celsius

Since the truck comes from Finland, it must have heaters both front and back. The heaters are quite effective if it's in good condition, but I don't know about -20... These trucks aren't insulated much.

That winch is a highly desirable option and worth a lot of money if you can fix the cable and get it back to working condition.

The truck looks great. LHD is relatively rare and also highly desirable in LHD countries. I would go for it.

As for power steering, I would recommend installing electric power steering. It'll be your least painful way to gain power steering, especially if you're in a country without a lot of parts support.

 

[Living in the Past]

Looks great as well to me

A few bubbles coming through... looks possibly to be an exfire service truck

Some things I knotice... extra two brackets in front ... changed seat ... seat belt winch cable ... antenna mount on roof ... missing front license plate mount ... drilled holes in headlight bezel to hold plate... reflective tape on front bumper ... sticker glue on rear door ... sticker on heater says? ... cb mic holder drilled into dash... doo hickey behind winch (presumably to hold wires from front lights that used to be mounted on front extra brackets)

Extra spot lights in rear... drop down hitchball mount with integrated step and light ... Pintle may be the oem one (looks it to me)

Can't tell about rear mud flaps ... bracketry looks a bit off... may have been replaced

Looks to have a bit of respray here and there

Missing door pillar plate

The headlight squirters are stock ... stock 16" split ring rims ... full floater rear axle... 3B engine and 4 speed

Suspension is a bit flat

Those are the quick things I note right now ... overall a great looking truck!!!

A great find

Get it in your hands before somebody else lol

The A pillar plaque was not in all markets. US required it 3/69 just like Australia had it own second plaque on the firewall.

Since the truck comes from Finland, it must have heaters both front and back. The heaters are quite effective if it's in good condition, but I don't know about -20... These trucks aren't insulated much.

That winch is a highly desirable option and worth a lot of money if you can fix the cable and get it back to working condition.

The truck looks great. LHD is relatively rare and also highly desirable in LHD countries. I would go for it.

As for power steering, I would recommend installing electric power steering. It'll be your least painful way to gain power steering, especially if you're in a country without a lot of parts support.

I picked up a rear heater from a 84 HJ47RV. That thing is larger than any one used in a short wheel base 40 series. Never powered it up but guessing it can move some hot air.

 

[JohnnyC]

I had recalled a similar 45 fire service from Finland... seems several pop up here and there ... thought another had a plate ... but it could be the other way around and they didn't have the plate lol

I think it is plenty warm with the dual heaters (my 74') I have it plumbed to go direct and not a t-in like the oem lines for the rear

 

[spotcruiser]

I've seen the straps used on boat trailer winches. They only need to be a little longer than the trailer.

I've never seen seat belt strap used on a winch.