Howdy From Down Under (KZJ78G)

[Jern]

Hi guys,

Been reading on this forum for about two years and I finally got my KZJ78! Looking forward to getting involved in the community here, it's an awesome resource, so hoping to add to that.

1994 KZJ78G (non wide version from factory)
160xxx kms
OG Colour Silver / Resprayed in what I think is Sandy Taupe but I haven't been able to park next to a new 70 yet to compare

It's a real gem, took almost a year to find it in the auctions, almost gave up!

Starting on the maintenance now and will be doing new exhaust and intercooler for it.

Cheers,
Jern

 

[DLC]

Hey Jern - love your KZJ78! She's a beaut. I'm on the lookout for one too - I love all things LC70. I was surprised to hear how long the auction search took!
How are you using yours? Daily driver? Weekends only? What made you choose this model vs another? I'm jealous of your options in Aus. The US sucks for choice. Most of the Toyota 4x4s here look and function more like minivans :| Take the "Grand Highlander" for example. (if you could see me my eyes are rolling out of their sockets.)

I'd be curious to hear about your experience so far and what are your first priorities when it comes to mods or maintenance jobs!

 

[ShineKNEE]

Hello, congratulations on the truck, she's a beaut! Unrelated question, I watch that 4WD 24/7 youtube channel and I was wondering. Is that XXXX beer real popular in Australia? Or just more of a marketing thing?

 

[Jern]

Hey @ShineKNEE thanks Mate! Great channel, depends on where You live, Australia is Massive, so the climates dictate the type of beer we drink, XXXX is a northern beer so its only 3.5% abv. Mostly meaning You can drink a lot of them in hot weather and not fall over, whereas southern beer is typically 4-5%abv.

But in short yes its very popular in Queensland and its sh*t haha

 

[Jern]

Hey Jern - love your KZJ78! She's a beaut. I'm on the lookout for one too - I love all things LC70. I was surprised to hear how long the auction search took!
How are you using yours? Daily driver? Weekends only? What made you choose this model vs another? I'm jealous of your options in Aus. The US sucks for choice. Most of the Toyota 4x4s here look and function more like minivans :| Take the "Grand Highlander" for example. (if you could see me my eyes are rolling out of their sockets.)

I'd be curious to hear about your experience so far and what are your first priorities when it comes to mods or maintenance jobs!

Hey @DLC thanks! I'm really enjoying it, she's a little underpowered, hopefully after some maintenance, intercooler and exhaust I can get a little more from it, but I never expected it to be a rocket ship its a 4x4 afterall. Luckily I work from home a lot so I don't daily drive it, but we also have a reliable car in the family so that was part of the decision making process. I liked this model because of the 'car like' face and interior comforts and I don't plan on towing anything. Check your import laws pretty sure you can import these in to the States too!

 

[Combat Wombat]

Congrats on your new (and comfy) crusier!
I can comment on the following:
1kz has a limit to how much heat it can deal with. If you increase load/performance/duration under stress, you really need to increase cooling capacity.
Look at upgraded or rebuilt factory radiators, 10 blade fan, new/refilled viscous hub, GAUGES. (coolant temp/intake air temp/exhaust gas temp)
JRP Gauges (Diesel Kit Australia)
3" dump pipe and exhaust makes a huge improvement. The extra size allows for heat to be purged out at a much quicker rate than factory.
I had an off the shelf kit from PPD and it was pretty decent in my old vehicle. If I was to do it again (KZJ120 Prado) I would add an extra oval profile muffler with offset inlet/outlet for extra stealth and retaining maximum flow/heat dispersion.
You may be able to order a dump pipe and then get the rest of the system custom made

One intercooler setup I utilised removed the throttle butterfly, and was very quick, but the piping I used I would consider slightly oversized (2.75 inch)
I would stick to 2.5 inch max intercooler pipe.
3 inch max intake pipe.
I had a used intercooler from an XR6 turbo falcon, installed as a top mount, with a 12 inch thermo fan underneath (rigged to a temp controller and two speed relay system and speed controller) It automatically came on at a designated temp, then increased to high speed (like industrial sounding speed) under high boost or prolonged heat. This also helped purge the engine bay of excess heat when in traffic too.
Front mount is going to be simpler but can require a bit of cutting and long pipe routes.
Water to air setup would be worth looking into, if you can stand reading a 25 year old website: ARE Cooling - https://www.are.com.au/feat/techt/airwaterinter.htm
They made a 1KZTE option back then, with data to back up the claims.

Tyre Size:
The retro cheese cutters look the part, but those extra inches in size are the difference between reaching 100km/h on the highway today, or some time later.
Hills and long 80km to 100km transitions up a gradient, you will feel right at home in the left lane. I would look at a 2nd set of alloys for daily duties. Even some mint 3 piece JDM period correct (SSR, BBS, Enekei,) with max 31" tyres (Kumho RoadVenture are awesome for the price)

The more involved mods involve turbo replacement, injector pump tweaking (Unichip X, or swap to mechanical) and actual injector replacements.
These options are serious $$$,

If you are really keen,,,, all of the above can be solved with a 1KDftv replacement. Nearly double the power and much better economy. Just fix the s*** injector issue which once sorted, a 1KD 78 series would be going up the hills at 150km/h if you wind it up. (plus you could run the retro wheels with ease)
THis level of conversion, may have been documented and done before here in Aus too

 

[Jern]

Hey @Combat Wombat, thanks for the info, I've bought the 10 blade fan and plan on doing that this weekend as a first cooling mod.
I also ordered a EGT gauge to put on it but hasn't arrived, the one you sent looks ace though.

I ordered (& received) a 3" dump pipe and 2.75 intake manifold from KRAE 4x4 in NZ, they do great stuff for the KZJ78.

So I'll slowly build it up and document the intercooler process here from everything I've gather around the web - that XR6 setup sounds like a perfect solution, especially if it could cool down a Barra! I'll be doing FMIC though so there's no body work.

Tyres are only 31.7 or 32" and they are narrow so it actually goes alright on the highway, I just do 100kph, there's a slight wobble I need to address before doing any long trips or highway driving time though.

Last but not least, YES I have seen that 1KD conversion! great job from the bloke, but realistically its a 12-15k job and I'd rather explore the 1KZ options first

Cheers,
J

 

[WTK KZJ78]

Hey @Jern, fellow aussie here - interested to hear your experience with the 10 blade and KRAE dump pipe, i'm looking to do the same on mine but have been advised the fan could run loud in summer?

FMIC is also on my list, just wanting to hear more from others before I pull the pin!