Builds LHD HZJ73 Refresh

[wngrog]

This guy showed up today. Normally a Cruiser getting dropped off at the shop is pretty normal around here but today was on day after me buying a 200 series and my wife thought I had completely lost my mind.

Luckily the new owner, @Kaderabek is family and it was quickly confirmed that I had not just bought a second Land Cruiser in 24 hours.

 

[wngrog]

This one came from LHD import guru @joekatana

He received the Cruiser about a month ago and got busy baselining the motor and adding a very nice AC kit.

LHD HZJ73 aftermarket ac kit installation

It has taken me a long time but I finally installed one of the aftermarket ac kits that I have been importing for some time now .Having been around cruisers and mainly diesel version 40/61/70 series I think it is safe to say that no 2 cruisers are exactly the same and toyota changes details on...

forum.ih8mud.com

I did two Land Cruiser firsts this week. I drove a 200 series (after I bought it) and I drove a LHD diesel 70 series

First drive was good. The truck was peppier than I was expecting, tighter and amazingly rattle free. Not something I would expect from what was essentially a panel van work truck in Belgium.

It’s sitting on some 31” rollers right now but the plan is some 285/75-17s so these Highway RPMs are going to go way down with the bigger meats.

Hopefully Joe can jump in here and give a little history on this super clean HZJ73. In the mean time I have a weekends worth of parts to bolt on and an inventory for axle parts to order from @Onur to assemble. Progress report tomorrow.

 

[Kaderabek]

Giddy up, my friend! This is going to be fun.

 

[joekatana]

This one came from LHD import guru @joekatana

He received the Cruiser about a month ago and got busy baselining the motor and adding a very nice AC kit.

LHD HZJ73 aftermarket ac kit installation

It has taken me a long time but I finally installed one of the aftermarket ac kits that I have been importing for some time now .Having been around cruisers and mainly diesel version 40/61/70 series I think it is safe to say that no 2 cruisers are exactly the same and toyota changes details on...

forum.ih8mud.com

View attachment 2694683


I did two Land Cruiser firsts this week. I drove a 200 series (after I bought it) and I drove a LHD diesel 70 seriesView attachment 2694685


First drive was good. The truck was peppier than I was expecting, tighter and amazingly rattle free. Not something I would expect from what was essentially a panel van work truck in Belgium.

It’s sitting on some 31” rollers right now but the plan is some 285/75-17s so these Highway RPMs are going to go way down with the bigger meats.
View attachment 2694686
Hopefully Joe can jump in here and give a little history on this super clean HZJ73. In the mean time I have a weekends worth of parts to bolt on and an inventory for axle parts to order from @Onur to assemble. Progress report tomorrow.
View attachment 2694687

I wish I could write here a nice story about where the cruiser came from and who the previous owner was and what it got used for but alas , I have bought it from a dealer I have a long lasting relationship with and I learned not to ask about the history if I didn’t want to be fed any bs
After buying and selling so many of them I could see that whoever owned it in the past did use it for work but also cared for it and maintaned it the correct way .

I am surprised that you feel that it is peppy as the IP has not been tampered with and no extra fuel has been given which is rare as most have the IP’s fuel setting turned up a few turns

looking forward to see the results when it leaves Tilda Boden .

 

[OGBeno]

Giddy up, my friend! This is going to be fun.

I think the last time Todd posted was in 2005.

 

[Kaderabek]

Longest lurk ever.

 

[FJBen]

Nice! @wngrog playing with the stinky diesels now. Glad to see a 70 series hit your shop.

 

[wngrog]

Nice! @wngrog playing with the stinky diesels now. Glad to see a 70 series hit your shop.

Thank goodness Jeori had time to do the 1HZ part of the refresh. That thing scares me.

 

[wngrog]

Fun first day with the Lil Stinky.
First things first. I put it up on the rack and came up with a list of axle parts for @Onur to get started on. Todd is doing this truck right and we are going all OEM where we can. More on that later as parts start rolling in.

I grabbed the ARB rear bumper first because I knew that would be the easiest thing to get started with. Instructions said 30 minute install. Heck yes. That’s a quickie.

Of course it took longer than that to get the damn thing unboxed and unwrapped.

Also, they did not account for frozen Toyota bolts in the frame to get the trailer hitch free and all the OEM bumper hardware

This truck is not rusty at all but the bolts were rusted into the frame. I got most out but some critical ones snapped making a “30 minute” install much longer

 

[wngrog]

The ARB is a nice simple upgrade to the stock bumper and since the spare goes nicely on the door there is just no reason to have a big complicated swing out.

The bumper is for all 70 series but there was a decorative plate that was for the 76 series that I could not make work as designed but after a few cuts was able to get it on the 73.

Super clean little bumper from @cruiseroutfit with a OEM style pintle via @Racer65

 

[wngrog]

I’m waiting on a 24v winch to ship but I wanted to get the bumper set on the truck and off my trailer today.

I can honestly say I’d rather scrape OEM stickers for 2 hours than unpack another Dobinsons front bumper. Holy hell the tape and packaging. Unreal. I know that’s a good thing but man.

Off to haul off 3 bumpers full of packing materials.

 

[OGBeno]

Great start, Nolen.

Stoked you are doing a proper build in the 70 section.

Get sum….

 

[joekatana]

The bolts in the frame are best approached with some soaking of WD40 and then removing them with a wrench rather then impact to avoid breaking them , the slow way is the faster way here.

 

[wngrog]

The bolts in the frame are best approached with some soaking of WD40 and then removing them with a wrench rather then impact to avoid breaking them , the slow way is the faster way here.

Oh yeah. I stripped those things off so fast.

 

[bottombracket]

@wngrog I thought you went to the oil burner side. Excellent. Can't wait to see what you do with this 73.

I'm taking notes for my HDJ74.

 

[FJBen]

@wngrog I thought you went to the oil burner side. Excellent. Can't wait to see what you do with this 73.

I'm taking notes for my HDJ74.

wait...what?

 

[bottombracket]

A *slightly* modified BJ74...but that’s a story for another time and place, not here in Nolen’s thread.

 

[wngrog]

@WharfRat, my local Smokey Land Cruiser HJ60 owner took the 73 out for a spin today and gave it a thumbs up. One smelly Cruiser owner to another…..

 

[wngrog]

Although the love for the 1984 Camero slot mags is great, we decided that 17” wheels gives us a better choice of tire for the little smoker.

Hard to beat FJ Cruiser take offs. They are nice and round and the base paint is great. We went with the 70 series silver.

Tires will go on them Wednesday after they have time to cure

 

[joekatana]

The wheels on it now are actually Australian made Delta wheels and they costed a small fortune back in the day, the Germans loved those wheels and one day these will be collector items again