Help with build direction/switching to a HDJ81 (1 Viewer)

[DancesWithMutts]

I have had my 94' FZJ80 for about a year and a half. I have absolutely fallen in love with it and the 80 series in general. I have big plans for a South American expedition in 2018.

Currently I am sitting at 230k Miles, OME medium springs, 285 duratracs, ARB front bumper, Prinsu Rack and Tepui RTT. This in addition to the Factory lockers has made this thing more capable and functional than anything I have ever owned. However I have my doubts as to if this is the right cruiser for South America.

The lack of power and poor fuel economy are killing me, and are only going to get worse as I add a rear bumper, winch, ect. Part of my original build plan included a LS swap, but as the timeline creeps closer I am having my doubts about my ability to complete a project that big in a reasonable time.

I have been spending an unhealthy amount of time looking at the 81's on Cruisersdirect. For around 20k I could get a 100,000-ish miles HDJ81 in great shape, already baselined and ready to go. Maybe even a five speed.

So if you were me, what route would you take? I am very set on the 2018 south america trip, my girlfriend and I are childless but in our early 30's so the timing seems right.

I can keep my 80' and dump $10k+ and a bunch of time into a LS swap

I can keep my 80' and do a heavy refresh on the engine, hoping that the drivetrain holds out for the trip and just learn to deal with the lack of power/economy.

I can buy a clean HDJ81 and only have to worry about the "easy" mods for the trip.

I plan on keeping whatever vehicle I take to south America, it will probably be built for the harder rock crawling trails in Colorado once my "Expedition itch" is scratched.

 

[AussieHJCruza]

I vote for the HDJ81, but I'm totally biased in that direction. Just beware that a 1HD-T doesn't get spectacular fuel economy in the general scheme of things. (well, mine doesn't anyhow. The best I get is in the 12 litres/100 ks which is 19ish US MPG.)

 

[DancesWithMutts]

I vote for the HDJ81, but I'm totally biased in that direction. Just beware that a 1HD-T doesn't get spectacular fuel economy in the general scheme of things. (well, mine doesn't anyhow. The best I get is in the 12 litres/100 ks which is 19ish US MPG.)

From your sig it looks like your rig is pretty built, do you know what a stock 1HD-T gets for millage roughly? When my FZJ is fully loaded with gear I get about 11, so 19 is actually a pretty massive increase. My planned south america route is about 30,000 miles, at US fuel prices (even accounting for diesel being slightly more than gasoline here) the 1HD-T uses about $2k less in fuel on this trip. I know I am going to be paying fuel prices much higher in other countries, so the savings could be even more.

 

[canman]

$20K US seems very high. A buddy just picked one up for CAN$8.5K. Not sure about the import costs etc, but I would be looking on kijiji in the Western Canadian provinces.

 

[AussieHJCruza]

It's actually better than when I had it stock, but I don't know what it would be with new stock injector pump, injectors etc, my stock figures came from 300,000km components.

 

[FlyAddiction]

You will come into problems driving a RHD vehicle thru Costa Rica, El Salvador and Chile. Fly to Colombia buy a LHD HDJ81 travel South America with it and export it to the states on your way back.

 

[suadero]

Strictly from a cost perspective, the cost differential of fuel on that trip of FZJ vs HDJ is way less than you would spend on a new HDJ. Basically the cheapest way is to use what you have. Of course, I didn't do it with lifts or armor or whatever else, which may or may not make sense depending on the trip type.
It is absolutely true that in at least in Central America, most native 80s are HDJ. But that only really comes into play if your engine has issues.
If I was going to do just South America I would seriously consider the advice to buy a Colombian HDJ and export to USA upon return. Labor is a lot cheaper there if anything needs to be changed to your spec.

 

[danakittilsen]

I am biased also because I run an HDJ81 and have dreamed of an Alaska to Patagonia trip for a long time!
I say get the hdj81. The 1hd-t isn't for everyone for sure, but it ticks all the boxes for me. Good torque, can comfortably but slowly cruise highways. Can but tuned up to really pull if you want. Longevity, with PM is pretty good. Fuel economy is pretty good, especially if you have loaded up weight to haul around.
Check out land cruiser heaven
And My 80 parts search expedition thread.
Good info might help you make a decision in light of the advice above. Which I think might be more sound than the prices of Land Cruisers direct (doing that good work that they do to bring those diesels to you south of the 49).

 

[TZ62]

From your sig it looks like your rig is pretty built, do you know what a stock 1HD-T gets for millage roughly? When my FZJ is fully loaded with gear I get about 11, so 19 is actually a pretty massive increase. My planned south america route is about 30,000 miles, at US fuel prices (even accounting for diesel being slightly more than gasoline here) the 1HD-T uses about $2k less in fuel on this trip. I know I am going to be paying fuel prices much higher in other countries, so the savings could be even more.

My almost-stock 1990 5-speed HDJ81 with the 1HDT gets about 15mpg in town and 19-20mpg on the road, fully loaded with gear and people, cruising at 105km/hr (65mph) with the AC running. It maxes out at 125km/hr (78mph) for passing, but I wouldn't drive it that fast for long distances. When I'm on dirt or gravel tracks averaging 40km/hr with no AC and the windows down, that increases to the point where I can get almost 700km (435mi) from a stock fuel tank. With a single jerry can of diesel, I've stretched that to almost 600mi through the bush. I have a heavy steel and aluminum rooftop sleeping platform, an Aisin winch, a custom steel bullbar, 275/70R16 BFG ATKOs, and heavy duty springs and shocks from Rob's Magic in Nairobi. FWIW, I've got 220,000km on the truck, about 137,000mi.

I think the HDJ81 is a fantastic truck. Refined enough to drive on city streets but capable as $@^&% off road and hauling a fishing boat to the beach. No idea how it would do as a rock-crawler though. If the wife let me, I wouldn't hesitate to drive it from east Africa to California as-is. I don't think heavy modification is necessary. As @suadero said earlier, local parts and mechanics can go a long way toward making the trip more enjoyable. Every mechanic in Africa knows how to work on my truck, and most have parts readily available, so no need to carry a lot of spares. I can't speak for South America, but fueling up was always more painful for my buddy driving his 4.5L petrol 80 than it was for me. Diesel is about 15% cheaper per liter than petrol here.

Finally, as demand for the diesel 80 grows in the States, importing a diesel might yield a halfway decent return on your investment without the hassle and time of the engine swap.

 

[DancesWithMutts]

20k is really high but I don't feel it's unreasonable for the condition of some of these Japanese cruisers. A FZJ in the states in great condition with 100,000 miles will often sell for $15k+. My reasoning is that for $20k, I won't have to worry about reliability for a long time.

$20K US seems very high. A buddy just picked one up for CAN$8.5K. Not sure about the import costs etc, but I would be looking on kijiji in the Western Canadian provinces.

 

[DancesWithMutts]

You will come into problems driving a RHD vehicle thru Costa Rica, El Salvador and Chile. Fly to Colombia buy a LHD HDJ81 travel South America with it and export it to the states on your way back.

I can't find any really solid information on the right hand drive issues. For every person who claims they were denied entry, there are 3 that say they had no issues. I need to research this further.

As far as purchasing a Colombian 81, that doesn't jive with my plans. I want a fully built expedition rig with a fridge, sleeping platform, water filtration ect.

 

[Douglas S]

Even though the trucks LCD brings in are very clean, I wouldn't consider them baselined for a trip like the one you are planning.

At a minimum I would replace all the rubber hoses, suspension bushings, radiator, front axle/rear axle hub service, big end bearings, timing belt, water pump, maybe even injector/IP service, starter motor service, add a trans cooler, etc.

 

[DancesWithMutts]

Even though the trucks LCD brings in are very clean, I wouldn't consider them baselined for a trip like the one you are planning.

At a minimum I would replace all the rubber hoses, suspension bushings, radiator, front axle/rear axle hub service, big end bearings, timing belt, water pump, maybe even injector/IP service, starter motor service, add a trans cooler, etc.

LCD Does a massive inspection on all the cruisers they sell. They do all belts, timing belt, BEB, pretty much all the big stuff. Like you said I might want to do hoses and trans cooler, but that stuff is beyond easy. The list of what I need to do to my FZJ is massive. I would do a HG, transfer case bearings, delete ABS and BLPV, new soft brake lines, all new belts and hoses, rebuild knuckles and 3rd members, the list goes on and on.

I guess the more I talk about this, I keep finding myself defending purchasing the HDJ. I just need to figure out this RHD issue in the few odd countries that it might be a issue.

 

[rauldupraz]

let me know when you're down here, i'm from Paraguay

 

[DancesWithMutts]

My almost-stock 1990 5-speed HDJ81 with the 1HDT gets about 15mpg in town and 19-20mpg on the road, fully loaded with gear and people, cruising at 105km/hr (65mph) with the AC running. It maxes out at 125km/hr (78mph) for passing, but I wouldn't drive it that fast for long distances. When I'm on dirt or gravel tracks averaging 40km/hr with no AC and the windows down, that increases to the point where I can get almost 700km (435mi) from a stock fuel tank. With a single jerry can of diesel, I've stretched that to almost 600mi through the bush. I have a heavy steel and aluminum rooftop sleeping platform, an Aisin winch, a custom steel bullbar, 275/70R16 BFG ATKOs, and heavy duty springs and shocks from Rob's Magic in Nairobi. FWIW, I've got 220,000km on the truck, about 137,000mi.

Thanks a ton for all this info, this is really helpful. I have a couple questions if you've got the time.
When you say it tops out at 125km/hr, do you mean you are at redline or just higher rpm's than you want to push it?
Have you driven a petrol 80? If so how does the power compare?
How much do you like the 5-speed? I am torn on that issue, I prefer sticks for everyday driving as well as mechanical simplicity, but automatics are so nice in technical offroad situations.

 

[AussieHJCruza]

It probably runs out of puff, mine is still pulling at over 140, runs out of revs somewhere around the 160 mark.

RE the auto vs manual, if I was doing it again I'd get an auto, especially now most of my travel is on road because the auto has more overdrive which would be nice for longer distance cruising IMHO.

 

[TZ62]

Thanks a ton for all this info, this is really helpful. I have a couple questions if you've got the time.
When you say it tops out at 125km/hr, do you mean you are at redline or just higher rpm's than you want to push it?
Have you driven a petrol 80? If so how does the power compare?
How much do you like the 5-speed? I am torn on that issue, I prefer sticks for everyday driving as well as mechanical simplicity, but automatics are so nice in technical offroad situations.

At 125km/hr, it's at about 3700rpm. Engine seems happy and shows no sign of any problems, but that's only 400rpm from redline, which is why I'm not comfortable pushing it past that. I did a 6-hour stretch once at about 115km/hr and 3,400rpm, and got some of the best mileage ever from the truck. It was hard to relax though, as I kept a constant eye on temp and oil gauges, but it ran beautifully.

I've driven an 80 with the 1FZ-FE before, set up almost identically to my diesel except no winch. It was definitely faster off the line and capable of passing more quickly than the 1HDT, but at a significant difference in fuel costs, both in volume used and the per-liter price.

I choose to drive a manual because I once had a dead battery in an automatic while traveling solo in a remote area with my kids, and I didn't enjoy that experience. I love the 5-speed with the exception of a synchro issue that means it only wants to go into 1st at a dead stop or after a quick double-clutch. That's maybe unique to my truck though and not universal. My friends petrol 80 is auto, and it was super easy to drive on the steep little mountain roads we have here.

 

[Tapage]

I had the pleasure to own at the same time very similar FZJ80 and HDJ80 in terms of suspension, tires and mods in general.

And for HW driving the gasser hands down .. even with 315 and stock gearing ( 4.10 ) my HDJ80 seems to be ( to me at least ) out of it's comfort zone doing over 2.5K rpm ..

I had it at first stock A442F and now H150 and still .. surely I can push her over 3K rpm and nothing it's going to bomb, but it just does not seems to be right / happy for my 1HD-T .. instead 1FZ-FE 3K rpm .. no problem, give me more .. that goes to your fuel economy to.

BTW don't expect to see many HDJ80 in Colombia, Venezuela or even Costa Rica .. all those are gasser countries ..

to the OP .. I would like to own at least a year the vehicle I select for that journey before start that trip .. knowing the vehicle and replacing, preventive maintenance over the time frame would be very valuable.

 

[DancesWithMutts]

I had the pleasure to own at the same time very similar FZJ80 and HDJ80 in terms of suspension, tires and mods in general.

And for HW driving the gasser hands down .. even with 315 and stock gearing ( 4.10 ) my HDJ80 seems to be ( to me at least ) out of it's comfort zone doing over 2.5K rpm ..

I had it at first stock A442F and now H150 and still .. surely I can push her over 3K rpm and nothing it's going to bomb, but it just does not seems to be right / happy for my 1HD-T .. instead 1FZ-FE 3K rpm .. no problem, give me more .. that goes to your fuel economy to.

BTW don't expect to see many HDJ80 in Colombia, Venezuela or even Costa Rica .. all those are gasser countries ..

to the OP .. I would like to own at least a year the vehicle I select for that journey before start that trip .. knowing the vehicle and replacing, preventive maintenance over the time frame would be very valuable.

According to my math, a HDJ with stock gearing, a A442F and a 285/75/16 tire (which I plan on running) would be at 78 MPH (124KM/H) at 2500 RPM. That doesn't seem to jive with what you guys are saying, I am curious if there is a error in my math somewhere.

 

[rauldupraz]

My 1991 HDJ80 with 285/75/16, 150 km/h at 3000 rpm, stock gearing, automatic transmission