Hopefully a new owner! (1 Viewer)

[deanclean]

Hello all,
I just became a member yesterday. I didn’t see a place to introduce yourself so I figured this would be the best place as I’m hoping to be a 70 owner. My plan is to find the best HZJ73 I can afford and use it for my daily driver. My wife’s SUV we can use for any longer trips but I’d like to use the cruiser for my daily commute and most things around town as well as the odd road trip. I won’t be doing any off roading I don’t think. From what I’ve read the HZ motor is one of the best and should do the trick. @joekatana has already been helpful. One thing I can’t find is information about the rear seat in the hzj73. I will need to put a forward facing seat in it for my 2 year old and I can’t tell from photos if the rear seat has shoulder belts or just lap belts. In order for the seat to go in it needs shoulder belts. Thanks for having me and I’m looking forward to learning lots!

 

[Bblair]

Hello all,
I just became a member yesterday. I didn’t see a place to introduce yourself so I figured this would be the best place as I’m hoping to be a 70 owner. My plan is to find the best HZJ73 I can afford and use it for my daily driver. My wife’s SUV we can use for any longer trips but I’d like to use the cruiser for my daily commute and most things around town as well as the odd road trip. I won’t be doing any off roading I don’t think. From what I’ve read the HZ motor is one of the best and should do the trick. @joekatana has already been helpful. One thing I can’t find is information about the rear seat in the hzj73. I will need to put a forward facing seat in it for my 2 year old and I can’t tell from photos if the rear seat has shoulder belts or just lap belts. In order for the seat to go in it needs shoulder belts. Thanks for having me and I’m looking forward to learning lots!

My HZJ73 has rear shoulder belts. But it may depend on the area the truck is from, I have a Spanish (Canary Islands) market truck.

 

[ATL Cruiser]

Prados came with rear seatbelts on the 3rd row jumpseats. I don't know about your 73.

I added rear seatbelts to my truck. I have a 77, which is the 4 door version of your 73. Here's some more information for you:

70-series Seatbelt Help

I recall hunting the black receivers was a challenge...

forum.ih8mud.com

Adding a Rear Seatbelt to a 71?

The 71 never came with a rear seatbelt, but the 74 did. I'd like to know if the frame of the 71 lines up with where the rear seatbelt would be like the 74 does (and how it connects and all that jazz). Can anyone confirm that is definitely does it does not? Has anyone tried this before? Thanks!

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[deanclean]

Thanks @Bblair and @ATL Cruiser ill go over that post. In some photos of seats I can indeed now see shoulder belts. I’ll just have to make sure it will have them. Nice to know that they can be added as well.

 

[desmocruiser]

I have a 90’ HZJ73 from the Netherlands that Joe originally sourced and it does not have a rear seat.

My understanding that most, if not all?, European spec LHD 73’s did not have a rear seat from the factory. Some folks add jump seats to the rear and you can see in the parts schematics both were available in some markets/models. Also, the Japan spec rear facing seats have little leg room from my understanding, maybe not an issue for kids but due to limited legroom and challenging ingress and egress, I am not sure how functional a forward facing seat would be for adults.

Good luck in your search, I enjoy mine!

 

[jblueridge]

My BJ74 lacks rear seat belts because it is an '88.
Leg room back there is minimal.
The passenger seat does have a semi-auto sliding-folding feature which allows good access to the rear.
Should be able to get kids in and out just fine.

 

[FJBen]

Welcome!

I’ve daily driven my BJ74 for the past 4 years. I however have a couple other vehicles to drive in case I’m working on it or need to travel more. Up to me I’d always drive the bj74 I always suggest another stupid cheap parts runner car. Mines a $1200 98 tdi jetta. 45mpg and $14.00 a month to insure.


As for seat belts, try and find a rear roll cage. They are sometimes for sale and will bolt in and then you have your upper mounts. If not you could always build a custom full cage and out seatbelts to that.

 

[deanclean]

Thanks everyone for all this information. It’s sort of daunting trying to figure out all the different model numbers and years and what came with what in different markets. I clearly have lots more reading to do! The roll cage is a good idea. I’ll look for one with that if there are no seat belts. Hopefully I can find a new enough one that will have the belts.

 

[Guyute]

'97 JDM HZJ73 here. Had solid rear seatbelts and seat. Have since pulled them for permanent rear drawers, but if I had small size peoples still I'd have no worries strapping them back there. Good luck with your search.

 

[Tennessee Jed]

Good luck in your hunt. The big priority, whether you're thinking about it or not, is finding a rust-free truck in Canada. Also: my 1HZ is a strong runner, and it's comfotable up to around 100 km/hr. My BJ73 was comfortable up to around 80 km/hr. These aren't fast vehicles and if your drive involves a lot of highway, you may not be happy after the honeymoon is over.

Here is one of the best most detailed run-downs on the various 7x mutations. Type 1 Technical (Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Series) - Tank Encyclopedia - https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/type-1-technical/

 

[desmocruiser]

Agreed, it is confusing and I am no expert so I flirted with 70 series till I found the one that met all my needs!

Mine has been an awesome rig, I typically drive slow Land Cruisers, so the 1HZ wasn’t a big adjustment.

Plus my kids are now teenagers, so I finally figured out I no longer really needed a rear seat so it made my choice easier.

That is great information on the Roll Bar attached seat belts, makes adding them more straightforward!

The 70 Series section is full of knowledgeable and helpful folks, you are in good company!

 

[joekatana]

The one I just took to SCC actually has the forward facing seat and still has the oem seatbelts and that is very uncommon for lhd HZJ73’s

 

[deanclean]

Thanks again everyone. Going high speed is not an issue for me. I owned a defender and a little Japanese mini truck. I won’t be lifting it or adding any extras. Won’t be off roading so just the bare minimum is all I need. I honestly have just always loved that boxy look and the TOYOTA across the grill. Yes rust free or as close to it is key. I’ll be getting it Krown treated as well. I’ll hopefully be able to spend a good amount of money for something decent. With a 2 year old I don’t have tons of time to be making repairs. Especially in a cold garage in February!

 

[LDRF]

My ‘92 JDM HZJ73 has shoulder belts

 

[deanclean]

Awesome. Good to know thank you. A forward facing baby seat should fit. I guess if I need a tether point that could be added to the floor behind the seat or something.

 

[deanclean]

Well it looks like the dream might be over for a while (at least until my kid is out of a car seat) I legally have to have the seat tethered as well as secured in place by the seat belt. Darn.

 

[FJBen]

Well it looks like the dream might be over for a while (at least until my kid is out of a car seat) I legally have to have the seat tethered as well as secured in place by the seat belt. Darn.

My Australian BJ74 rollbar has the child tether built in. I’ll try to get a better picture of the owners manual describing that later

 

[Sundowner]

Yes rust free or as close to it is key. I’ll be getting it Krown treated as well. I’ll hopefully be able to spend a good amount of money for something decent.

Memorize these four words: Do. Not. Cheap. Out.

Seriously; buy the absolute best one that you can afford. It will save you money in the long run.

With a 2 year old I don’t have tons of time to be making repairs. Especially in a cold garage in February!

Even if you have one that's nearly perfect, you're going to spend time on repairs; don't make the mistake of thinking that you'll avoid most of the wrenching time just because you have a clean rig. They're all older; they all have parts that are on borrowed time or which have already exceeded life expectancy.

Also - not to dissuade you, but just to put the reality out there - a car seat in the rear is going to be a pain; yes, the front seats can slide forward a bit, but the rear seat in the 73/74 is an overflow area for the occasional third passenger. If you're used to something that allows better access to the back, this is gonna be a BIG adjustment.

All that being said: you won't regret having one. They're fun; mine is my daily and I wouldn't have it any other way...and I have a 3-year old livestock dog that I carry around, so I have no room to talk on the awkwardness of toddler transport.

Also, @FJBen, I am seriously digging that roll bar. It seems like that would be an excellent base for a center-mounted, under-the-top roof rack support.

Lastly, @desmocruiser, you might have just altered my front bumper plans; that looks killer on your rig. Dobinsons, yes?

So many nice rigs out there! Forget all those warnings I gave you, Dean; just hurry up and get one.

 

[desmocruiser]

Memorize these four words: Do. Not. Cheap. Out.

Seriously; buy the absolute best one that you can afford. It will save you money in the long run.



Even if you have one that's nearly perfect, you're going to spend time on repairs; don't make the mistake of thinking that you'll avoid most of the wrenching time just because you have a clean rig. They're all older; they all have parts that are on borrowed time or which have already exceeded life expectancy.

Also - not to dissuade you, but just to put the reality out there - a car seat in the rear is going to be a pain; yes, the front seats can slide forward a bit, but the rear seat in the 73/74 is an overflow area for the occasional third passenger. If you're used to something that allows better access to the back, this is gonna be a BIG adjustment.

All that being said: you won't regret having one. They're fun; mine is my daily and I wouldn't have it any other way...and I have a 3-year old livestock dog that I carry around, so I have no room to talk on the awkwardness of toddler transport.

Also, @FJBen, I am seriously digging that roll bar. It seems like that would be an excellent base for a center-mounted, under-the-top roof rack support.

Lastly, @desmocruiser, you might have just altered my front bumper plans; that looks killer on your rig. Dobinsons, yes?

So many nice rigs out there! Forget all those warnings I gave you, Dean; just hurry up and get one.

Yes Thank you!

It is the Dobinsons, there are days I love it, others, the 2 I have been trail riding, I plan on making a change!

It has a pretty low overhang and approach, but I agree, it looks great and the quality is excellent !

 

[LDRF]

Well it looks like the dream might be over for a while (at least until my kid is out of a car seat) I legally have to have the seat tethered as well as secured in place by the seat belt. Darn.

A tether point looks like an easy thing to add. Use factory points and hardware like @FJBen pointed out, or, build your own.