HZJ76 Family Wagon

[creekfinder]

In the 10 years since I've had my 88 BJ74 I took it to Alaska and back, drove all over the country, ran into Onur in the middle of Death Valley, daily drove it for years, and had barely any issues with it. But with one young kid and a second one incoming, and no second-row seatbelts, it never gets driven anymore. Plus, I've always wanted a four door hardtop -- more space for camping, for the dogs, better for a roof rack. Delicas were appealing but it just felt wrong to replace the 74 with a minivan. And I couldn't justify keeping the 74 -- I just won't have time to maintain it, let alone drive it.

So after a fairly impulsive purchase, a long-desired 2000 HZJ76 is here. And now I get to enjoy it this summer with the first kid who's now old enough to go camping for a few nights while I work on prepping the 74 for sale.

Not a ton planned. Importer handled the basics, new tires, new mud flaps, some rust and paint repair, new coils and shocks in front, new speakers and head unit (although I want to revert to something more stock -- touch screen and no volume knob isn't right), new transfer case seals, new glow plugs. Engine tested 490-495 on all cylinders. 260k km, manual, no lockers but I never had lockers in the 74 and never got stuck. Planning to put in new leafs and rear shocks to level things out, add a hitch receiver, roof rack, add an inclinometer to the dash. But mostly planning to enjoy the summer with it.

 

[OGBeno]

Damn! Nice find. Now get out of Upstate NY!

 

[Tanner H]

great looking 4 door.

I feel you on the family size. we have 2 kids. i have a bj74 as well as a kzj78. any time the family is involved we take the 4 door. way more room. quieter, rear seats recline, etc...

 

[creekfinder]

Damn! Nice find. Now get out of Upstate NY!

I miss the desert and the west coast all the time but not enough to leave! Too much blood sweat and tears have gone into the farm here to leave unless we're forced to. But now I have something I can take the whole family in to go visit out west. Starting to plan a trip next summer out to Moab Canyonlands etc.

 

[wardharris]

View attachment 4109331

In the 10 years since I've had my 88 BJ74 I took it to Alaska and back, drove all over the country, ran into Onur in the middle of Death Valley, daily drove it for years, and had barely any issues with it. But with one young kid and a second one incoming, and no second-row seatbelts, it never gets driven anymore. Plus, I've always wanted a four door hardtop -- more space for camping, for the dogs, better for a roof rack. Delicas were appealing but it just felt wrong to replace the 74 with a minivan. And I couldn't justify keeping the 74 -- I just won't have time to maintain it, let alone drive it.

So after a fairly impulsive purchase, a long-desired 2000 HZJ76 is here. And now I get to enjoy it this summer with the first kid who's now old enough to go camping for a few nights while I work on prepping the 74 for sale.

Not a ton planned. Importer handled the basics, new tires, new mud flaps, some rust and paint repair, new coils and shocks in front, new speakers and head unit (although I want to revert to something more stock -- touch screen and no volume knob isn't right), new transfer case seals, new glow plugs. Engine tested 490-495 on all cylinders. 260k km, manual, no lockers but I never had lockers in the 74 and never got stuck. Planning to put in new leafs and rear shocks to level things out, add a hitch receiver, roof rack, add an inclinometer to the dash. But mostly planning to enjoy the summer with it.

CONGRATULATIONS! Just about perfect.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

I miss the desert and the west coast all the time but not enough to leave! Too much blood sweat and tears have gone into the farm here to leave unless we're forced to. But now I have something I can take the whole family in to go visit out west. Starting to plan a trip next summer out to Moab Canyonlands etc.

For us old guys with poor eyesight, what is that color? (Light tan?)

 

[creekfinder]

For us old guys with poor eyesight, what is that color? (Light tan?)

Silver! Not sure what the Toyota original paint code is though.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Silver! Not sure what the Toyota original paint code is though.

I obviously need to schedule an eye exam.

 

[creekfinder]

OK first 1HZ question. Starts up very smoothly, but the shutoff is a bit rough--noticeably rougher than the 13BT. Normal? This is the first 1HZ I've driven.

 

[creekfinder]

First project, an easy one. Swap out the head unit to something more appropriate, and put an altimeter / inclinometer on the dash. Need to know when I'm about to tip over.

Before

Trying not to forget where each screw goes

The dash pad with the cutout I was able to get was a little scuffed in spots, so I went the full masochistic route and decided to swap out the pad from the BJ74. I also wanted to verify hole placements for the meter and check the wiring harnesses in the 74 to compare to the 76.

Cowl connector on the 74

Accessory meter wire (referred to as Instrument Panel No. 2 Wire by Toyota) in the 74.

Cowl connector in the 76

 

[creekfinder]

Looking at the underside of the dash, where the meter mounts, in the 74. Two forward bolts, two rear screws inside plastic clips, and the wiring pass-through.

The 76 had holes for the two forward bolts, but not the rear or the wire pass-through. Marked them and drilled a few holes, easy.

The nice surprise was that the two plugs for the head unit are already a direct fit to the circa 2000 unit I got from ebay, so no wiring needed there.

As expected, no open connector for the accessory meter. Will have to tap into something else.

The meter came with a harness still attached, with six wires. After spending some time trying to get Claude to translate a Japanese wiring manual without much success, to figure out the wires in the main cowl, I looked again at the meter and realized it only needs ground and power.

Need to get some tap connectors and will then just tap into the head unit wires.

 

[creekfinder]

After.

Waiting on the cubby for the lower section and will wire the meter into power then.

(If anyone is looking for a basically brand new JBL 700 double DIN unit, send me a DM.)

With both meters out I realized that I think the unit in the 76 has a miscalibrated altimeter. Sitting side by side with the 74, they're reading differently.

74, looks correct, slightly above sea level.

76, looks off. Seems like if I take the faceplate off I'll be able to manually adjust the needle position. Project for another day, though.

 

[AirheadNut]

You can use the little adjustment knob to correct the altimeter reading some. It may not get it perfect but you should at least be able to get it closer to correct.

 

[creekfinder]

You can use the little adjustment knob to correct the altimeter reading some. It may not get it perfect but you should at least be able to get it closer to correct.

That will adjust the outer ring, but not the needle itself. In theory both needles on both altimeters should read the same (a little above m-bar, which the meter in the 74 is showing), since they're at the same barometric pressure.

 

[mjw4]

OK first 1HZ question. Starts up very smoothly, but the shutoff is a bit rough--noticeably rougher than the 13BT. Normal? This is the first 1HZ I've driven.

Curious about this as well.

 

[creekfinder]

Australian floor mats and rear cargo mat. PZQ20-60120 and PZQ20-60450 for the OEM mats, cargo mat is from here, not the best but the price was right and the fit is pretty good.

Used AUSFF for a consolidated shipment, not cheap but all-in was much less than it would have cost to get these through ebay or elsewhere with seller shipping to the US.