KZJ78 2" Lift / Tire and Wheel Offset questions (1 Viewer)

[OHnative7210]

Well, this may all be for naught. Talking to a friend who's done a few exports to the US...he advised me to keep my cruiser as stock as possible. Reason being, if I modify the suspension I'll have to get a "modified" title here in Japan as the overall dimensions (height mostly) will be different and may impact my ability to import the vehicle into the US as it will no longer be a stock vehicle. So, I might wait until I am back in the states next summer to begin the suspension and wheel/tire work. Anyone have thoughts on this? Or should I move this to another sub-forum. Thanks for the input so far though!

 

[OHnative7210]

Here are some pics of my 78...just waiting for the inspections to be completed so I can take possession. Found her with only 93,000km! Bone stock and with a full maintenance record!

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

Well, this may all be for naught. Talking to a friend who's done a few exports to the US...he advised me to keep my cruiser as stock as possible. Reason being, if I modify the suspension I'll have to get a "modified" title here in Japan as the overall dimensions (height mostly) will be different and may impact my ability to import the vehicle into the US as it will no longer be a stock vehicle. So, I might wait until I am back in the states next summer to begin the suspension and wheel/tire work. Anyone have thoughts on this? Or should I move this to another sub-forum. Thanks for the input so far though!

Here are some pics of my 78...just waiting for the inspections to be completed so I can take possession. Found her with only 93,000km! Bone stock and with a full maintenance record!

That is a sweet looking truck! KZJ78's are one of my favorite cruisers. Is it manual or auto? Rear diff lock? Do you mind sharing how much that sort of truck costs there?

Regarding the importing after modification, there are a number of guys on this forum who have been stationed in Japan also, bought trucks, and then imported to the US when they returned. If I were you, I'd ask those guys for some of the details of how they did it.

 

[Nas90tdi]

I can answer part of the question.
US Customs does not care if the suspension has been replaced. They are interested in body configuration and drivetrain.
However, I am not sure how you would be affected by the title change there in Japan. That might need some looking into as I have no actual experience in that particular area. Customs has no real interest in the title per se. They want the VIN to decode to the configuration and drivetrain as it left the factory. IE. Motor,trans,4 door hardtop. You might get into a bit of trouble if you ,for instance, swapped from auto to manual trans. Almost certainly would get into issues if you swapped engine types. However, they don't care if you change colors, seats, added bumpers ect.

 

[OHnative7210]

That is a sweet looking truck! KZJ78's are one of my favorite cruisers. Is it manual or auto? Rear diff lock? Do you mind sharing how much that sort of truck costs there?

Regarding the importing after modification, there are a number of guys on this forum who have been stationed in Japan also, bought trucks, and then imported to the US when they returned. If I were you, I'd ask those guys for some of the details of how they did it.

GTS, no problem. It's got an auto transmission, no rear diff lock unfortunately, and it was about $10,400 US with the exchange rate. I really wanted one with the diff lock but this one was too hard to pass up because of the super low kilometers and the maintenance record. I also had to pay another $1000 for shipping and transport from the dealer in mainland to my mechanic's shop down here in Okinawa.

 

[OHnative7210]

I can answer part of the question.
US Customs does not care if the suspension has been replaced. They are interested in body configuration and drivetrain.
However, I am not sure how you would be affected by the title change there in Japan. That might need some looking into as I have no actual experience in that particular area. Customs has no real interest in the title per se. They want the VIN to decode to the configuration and drivetrain as it left the factory. IE. Motor,trans,4 door hardtop. You might get into a bit of trouble if you ,for instance, swapped from auto to manual trans. Almost certainly would get into issues if you swapped engine types. However, they don't care if you change colors, seats, added bumpers ect.

Nas, thanks for the input. The Japanese title includes height, width, and weight data so I would have to get a new title to reflect the new dimensions post-suspension lift. The vehicle itself is all original...engine, trans, chassis, body. I see what you're saying about swapping out core components like transmission or engine but I need to do some research to make sure I wouldn't run into any problems with a modified title just for the new dimensions of the vehicle. I am leaning towards waiting until I am back to the states just so I don't have to go through the hassle of getting a new title and all. Japanese gov't paperwork is a royal pain over here...there's a document and a tax for everything under the sun.

 

[Nas90tdi]

I suspect that wouldn't be an issue, but I can't speak from any experience. Us Land Rover lunatics bring in vehicles all the time with ton of new components because so much stuff is cheaper to source in Europe. But, I have no experience with the Japanese version of the titling process,so do not want to steer you wrong. Typically, customs never even sees the title. They want export docs, EPA 3520-1 and HS-7 and they run it through based on what the VIN decodes to for body configuration and drive train. And, that's really just the engine and trans. Not really gear ratios things like that.
I typically have the V-5(which is the English equivalent of ownership proof) sent directly to me. You would already have possession of the title in your case. So, it being changed to reflect new dimensions would never even be known.

Hopefully someone with a little knowledge of this exact process can chime in. My LC came with the Japanese title and translation and that was sent directly to me. But, my truck was unmodified. Make sure you get a certified translation. Pretty easy to do and doesn't cost much. But, I know our DMV wouldn't accept the translation that I originally received as it wasn't certified. You can do it online fairly simply and quick.

 

[OHnative7210]

I suspect that wouldn't be an issue, but I can't speak from any experience. Us Land Rover lunatics bring in vehicles all the time with ton of new components because so much stuff is cheaper to source in Europe. But, I have no experience with the Japanese version of the titling process,so do not want to steer you wrong. Typically, customs never even sees the title. They want export docs, EPA 3520-1 and HS-7 and they run it through based on what the VIN decodes to for body configuration and drive train. And, that's really just the engine and trans. Not really gear ratios things like that.
I typically have the V-5(which is the English equivalent of ownership proof) sent directly to me. You would already have possession of the title in your case. So, it being changed to reflect new dimensions would never even be known.

Hopefully someone with a little knowledge of this exact process can chime in. My LC came with the Japanese title and translation and that was sent directly to me. But, my truck was unmodified. Make sure you get a certified translation. Pretty easy to do and doesn't cost much. But, I know our DMV wouldn't accept the translation that I originally received as it wasn't certified. You can do it online fairly simply and quick.

That's great info. Thanks again Nas! I think I am in a good spot being that I have a little over one year left in Japan with my cruiser, so I have plenty of time to get all of my ducks in a row before getting her put on a boat for the states. I definitely appreciate all of the input so far though.

 

[40SeriesBen]

So I put a 2.5 inch front and 3 inch rear Dobinson Lift with their upgraded shocks and heavy duty steering damper. At 2 inches you should definitely put in castor correction bushings as your castor will pretty much be at 0 degrees with a 2 inch lift. It will feel super skatey on the highway with any sort of road deviations or wind. In terms of the lift, I ended up getting about 4 inches due to very tired and worn shocks and ride quality was substantially improved. Granted you do get some body lean when cornering hard due to the extra height. Looks great and rides great and the Guys at Dobinson were excellent dealing with a warranty issue (broken spring) I would highly recommend.

I had to get Sway bar extenders for the front and rear as my sway bars hit my shocks at full travel in the rear and I also had to get longer brake hose due to the hoses being guitar string tight at full extension.

I'm curious why you want such big tires if you plan on never offroading? Is it purely a looks thing? I have 31's on my truck and have considered 32's but I think the power loss would be substantial and personally not worth it for me for the "look". I have a 1kz-te motor in mine and it already feels moderately under powered and not fantastic fuel mileage.

I also adjusted my LSPV due to it only being front brakes in the snow (canadian in alberta) so by adjusting the valve down on the frame it added rear brakes again. If you don't adjust the valve, the LSPV assumes the truck is very light and puts all the braking to the front brakes and you have very little if any rear braking. Super dangerous in high speed braking situations. Easy to do, I can help out with anything mentioned above as I did all the work my self.

Cheers!

Lomo

 

[40SeriesBen]

Do you have a picture of your truck with the lift. Wanting to do the same lift on my 91’ LJ78. Would love to see some pics!!!