Builds Land Cruiser ALHj73

[2gbFlashDrive]

Hi all.

I've been encouraged to start a thread, but I wanted to wait until the "point of no return". I purchased a 1990 LHD lj73 from a member here on mud last July. I have been dreaming of owning a cruiser for years now, and this one ticked many boxes. This lil guy has all of the options: removable rear windows and front door window frames, swiveling windshield wipers, headlight sprayers and more! The story is, this thing was bought new in Austria and then sometime made its way to Vancouver. It moved its way to Eastern Canada at some point, before being imported to Vermont in 2014. The importer owned it until 2024, when I shipped it over to Montana hopefully for a good long time.

I bought it knowing this: it burned oil like crazy. That was an understatement. Turns out the thing leaked/burned oil at a rate of 1 jug per month. This is something that I worked around until I could carry out the ultimate goal: to swap the anemic 2l-T engine with a WV 1.9l TDI engine. I was inspired by @AirheadNut in this endeavor, his rig is awesome, you should check it out. Here are some additional pictures:

 

[2gbFlashDrive]

First thing i did was to install a km/h to mph sticker from ebay. It looks like the seller doesn't sell it anymore, too bad. Here it is installed:

The install was simple: pull the dash apart, loosen the speedo cable from inside the engine bay, and then unplug the gauge cluster. To remove the speedometer needle, I carefully pried it off with a spoons on opposite sides of the shaft. The needle was so fragile, I tried straitening its slight curl and it just snapped. From there the sticker went on, and no one can tell its not original!

 

[LJRay]

Welcome to the madness…

… fellow LJ73 1/2 door south-west of you…

… I take mine out at 65mph for an hour at a time (GPS Speedo), doesn’t drink as much oil as yours does though, and mine is missing the oil level needle …

 

[2gbFlashDrive]

Welcome to the madness…

… fellow LJ73 1/2 door south-west of you…

… I take mine out at 65mph for an hour at a time (GPS Speedo), doesn’t drink as much oil as yours does though, and mine is missing the oil level needle …

Thank you for the warm welcome. I don't think I've taken the poor thing over 55mph yet. That's going to change hopefully. With the new engine I aim x2 the horsepower and increase the mpg. I also plan to go 70mph at ~2800 rpm. It has an r151f transmission with 4.88 diffs, and with 33in tires I should hit that.

 

[2gbFlashDrive]

I wanted to protect my new investment, so it seemed the next obvious thing to do was to install a EGT sensor. @AirheadNut suggested using an Auber instruments combo gauge that showed boost and EGT. I like it a lot, the whole process of install and programming really hit the spot in my engineer brain. I think I'll install another of the same gauge, maybe with coolant temp and oil pressure, or air temp.

There's part of the oil leak. The vertical picture is of the hole @AirheadNut drilled to install the EGT sensor. After the install I learned 3 things: the boost light comes on at 2psi, the overboost light comes on at 10psi, and I cannot stomp on the pedal without going over 1200F EGT. That is also what kept me from crossing 55mph, the exhaust temp.

 

[LJRay]

… hmmm, maybe I should Auber up. 3000 rpm on 29” tires has me cruising at 65mph, and my OEM gauge sits right on medium-well…

 

[LJRay]

…are your steelies the 17” Tacoma ones with spacers, or some other voodoo?

…I’m looking to upgrade…

 

[2gbFlashDrive]

…are your steelies the 17” Tacoma ones with spacers, or some other voodoo?

…I’m looking to upgrade…

These are 1st gen tundra steelies, NO spacers. 16x7, ~4.6 backspace, I could measure that if you want. I did need to put a spacer on the spare holder for it to clear. I'm also still shopping around for wheels, I cannot decide what I want for the long run.

 

[LJRay]

… appreciate the info. 1/2 the price of OEM …

 

[coldtaco]

Welcome, interesting history.

 

[AirheadNut]

Looking forward to seeing the second* TDI-powered 70-Series in North America come to fruition! Already I think you're well on your way to avoiding several of the pitfalls I encountered and should end up with a much cleaner, more reliable swap. With the 73 being nearly 1000lbs lighter than a 78 the ALH should really make it scoot, too!

*I can't confirm this claim for sure, but I have only seen or heard of one other TDI swapped 70-Series: an LJ73 with a VW Pumpe-Deuse TDI somewhere in Eastern Europe.

 

[2gbFlashDrive]

After the temperature gauge, I wanted to install a radio in the cruiser. The one that it came with didn't fit the retro vibe of the car. I've always appreciated that 90s and 2000s Subaru chose to go the extra mile and include emergency weather band in their radios. So I dug up wiring diagrams and bought an old Subaru radio to install.

+1 for aesthetics
+1 for the matching green backlight

The radio is from a '99 legacy. I also got an external matching 6 cd changer that I will put in the glove box. Wiring it was relatively easy, just matching wire colors in this case. The additional bands are picked up fine by my antenna.

Harness:

IMC Audio OEM-8901 Wire Harness for the Factory OEM Radio | eBay

The IMC Audio OEM-8901 radio wiring harness allows you to Re-install a factory stereo without having to cut the existing cable and hard splicing the wires. IMC Audio uses the EIA color codes in all their wire harnesses.

www.ebay.com

Wiring Diagrams:

Subaru Forester XS, LL Bean, XT (2004-2006) P-130 Car Stereo pinout signals @ PinoutGuide.com

TOYOTA Car Radio Stereo Audio Wiring Diagram Autoradio connector wire installation schematic schema esquema de conexiones stecker konektor connecteur cable shema

 

[2gbFlashDrive]

I also replaced all the locks in the car. I bought part # 690056B612C0 which I believe is for a current model troopy.

It came with
-ignition key
-valet key
-driver passenger and rear door locks
-2x fuel door lock
-glove box lock
-wheel lock

The wheel lock was the wrong thread size, and I didn't need the second fuel door lock. Install was easy, aside from the ignition cylinder. You have to take off the steering column cover, jam a screwdriver in a detente, turn the key and yank out the cylinder. The new one was TIGHT, you gotta put your weight into overcoming the o-ring setting it into column. I got the new key copied at my local dealership and now I'm all set. It feels like a new car now!

I also installed a hood strut kit from @c2dfj45

It holds the hood a few inches higher than the stock prop. I love em.