Interesting 80 spotted in Sharjah in the UAE

[John Young]

I was up in Sharjah yesterday initially hunting for 70-series parts but that turned into a search for an alternator (they call it a dynamo) for the LX470 which died. Anyways, everything shuts down in Sharjah from about 1 to 4 pm for mid-day break. So I was just wandering around in some yards I'd never visited and I saw this fun truck. Thought you all might get a kick.

I thought it was kind of a snazzy idea for a safari-type vehicle. The fabrication was not too bad, but its obviously suffered quite a bit in the sun. It was located about here if that's relevant to anyone. 25°18'14.0"N 55°23'29.9"E

 

[John Young]

And just for yucks, here's what initially drew me to the yard: a mountain with a short wheel base land cruiser tray back (I think) perched on top>

And, I think, the truck it came off of:

Then I went and got some soup.

 

[John Young]

BTW, the cutaway Model 80 had a standard transmission, not an automatic.

 

[thatcabledude]

Looks like a 100 series tail light

 

[greentruck]

The water tank is interesting. Looks like the drain line/output goes to the fitting on the left rear side of the rear bumper. The Austrailians often have a similar arrangement for tapping water on the rear of their trucks.

My thinking on this truck is that is it's set-up for falconry.

 

[John Young]

GT, I think you are right. When I saw the tank I was assuming it was a fuel tank, but the fitting look more like something you would use for water, and the pipe is headed to the rear of the truck. Never seen a tank like this before. And this truck would be ideal for falconry with completely unobstructed views of the sky.

 

[gsi18867]

Whoah! Flip down windshield mod. The jeep lovers would be proud. Windshield almost looks armored. Like that spare tire swing away.

 

[John Young]

Whoah! Flip down windshield mod. The jeep lovers would be proud. Windshield almost looks armored. Like that spare tire swing away.

Hi GSI!

I had not even noticed the hinges on the windshield of this truck! Next time I go up there I will take a closer look at everything.

Leaving aside the Jeep contingent, our own 70 and 40 Series friends also would be right at home. My own Golden Boy has that feature.

 

[gsi18867]

I like that grey truck. So much potential. Are ya'll getting ready for the F1 race next month?

 

[John Young]

I like that grey truck. So much potential. Are ya'll getting ready for the F1 race next month?

You mean the HDJ81? Thank you. I need to come up with a name.... Grey Goose? The Silver Surfer? Or just 'Silver' as in Hi Ho Silver, Away!

I'm really looking forward to using it as a daily driver. The turbine on it is not of particularly high compression, and it did not function when I got it from the auction. I'm told it is working now but there was a miss during acceleration so its taken apart at the moment:

Each time I go over to the garage I ask them to clean, clean, clean, but sometimes the message does not get through. I say that the next guy taking it apart will be me and I really don't like dirt, grime and grease. I'm worried about dirt getting in there...

But in all candor, I don't think she is ever going to scare anyone with acceleration, based on what other in the diesel thread say.

On the other hand, after the fall of civilization it will be very handy indeed to have a diesel-powered 4x4. And I think the 80 Series platform would be pretty ideal for a zombie apocalypse.

Oh, and just for fun, something else I saw when just burning time waiting for the yards to open in Sharjah last weekend was this shelf-o-turbochargers:

I don't think they were for Toyota engines, I just thought it was kind of cool.

 

[gsi18867]

Well, the 81 is pretty great but the crew cab 70 series in your second post would be an interesting project.

 

[John Young]

Well, the 81 is pretty great but the crew cab 70 series in your second post would be an interesting project.

Sadly, that's not an option. It was maybe 10 years old and thus cannot be imported to the US. Also it had had an accident and there was some damage on the far side. It was just sitting there in the salvage yard. A group of Africans was checking it over as I recall. A lot of the old AUS trucks make their way to Africa via Dubai.

Edit: Oh, and you can't register RHD vehicles in Dubai so getting one to use it here also is not an option.

 

[Broski]

Looks like a 100 series tail light

And a fold down windshield