Looking to learn more before buying a '94 KZJ78

[Plabz]

Hi Everyone,

I am a mobile swim instructor in the Cayman Islands and am looking to buy a repainted 1994 KZJ78 with a rebuilt engine as a work vehicle.

Having "sorted" a 1992 LHD Miata before, I am naturally concerned about this Japan-only vehicle having parts that are no longer made / hard to obtain.
I would welcome any advice from people that have "sorted" 78 series. I am especially concerned with finding tie rods as the seller mentioned it needs some.
Cheers,

JP

 

[coldtaco]

Most if not all parts are still available. There’s some US retailers, there’s on line retailers like mega zip and partsouq, and also Dave at japan4x4

 

[Bad Mojo]

I suspect @cruiseroutfit can take care of you on the tie rod ends if they ship internationally.

For sorted I would be thinking about all the major service items that these trucks would of required plus items that are worn out with just age. IE weatherstripping and seals. Below is the work that has been done or about to be done on ours in the last six months. To be clear the truck ran fine and rode reasonably well, but this is the work that it has been done to keep it in the daily driver category. To be fair most of this peace is find stuff, but I prefer working on trucks in the garage and not on the side of the road. The suspension work and anti-rattle stuff is for quality of life, but it is really nice being able to have a conversation with others in the truck.

Now will I drive this truck currently across state lines? No. I need to get a couple gauges installed first to make sure I have good understanding of the health of the engine. After that and maybe some new tires then yes. With that said I am also building out the spares that live in the truck and will also live at the house, so if I run into a snag it no big deal. Now is the below a bit extreme in some peoples mind yes and in others no. For me if I own a truck it is expected that truck can go cross country at a moments notice minus topping off the fuel tank.

Brake Rotors x4
Brake Caliper x 4
Brake Soft Lines x 8
Brake Pads x4
Brake Fluid Flush

Every coolant hose.
Every coolant hose clamp
Coolant flush
Heater Valve
Thermostat
Thermostat gasket
Radiator Cap

Timing Belt
Water Pump
Time Belt Tensioner
Oil seals near that work.

Rebuilt Alternator
New Glow plugs x4
New fuel filter
Valve Cover Gasket
Rear main seal
Turbo to cross over hose.
Any hose clamp or bolt I took off was replaced with new if possible.

New Shocks
New coils
New bushings control arms
New sway bar bushings
New panhard bushing

New LED interior lights
Cupholders
New Sun visors
New grab handle
Fix Sunroof

New rear door hinges
New rubber stoppers
New anti-rattle pads

Future Semi-Planned Work
Rebuilt Starter
New engine isolators
New transmission isolator
Convert to manual hubs
New injectors
Rebuilt IP pump
Valve job
Flush and replace remaining fluids
Rebuild steering box
Tie-rod ends
Replace all soft fuel lines
Replace all soft vacuum lines
Upgrade or move back driver and and passenger seats.
Upgrade stereo
Full weatherstripping overhaul
Rebuilt power steering pump
Replace mud flaps
Add heated seats with Toyota switches

 

[cruiseroutfit]

We (Cruiser Outfitters aka CruiserTeq.com) absolutely ship internationally and stock a great deal of parts for that model. Let us know if we can help!

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[kgrove]

+1 on Cruiser Outfitters / Cruiserteq. They have or at least can get many of the parts for a Prado. They're one of my go-to suppliers. Partsouq is my primary other option. Pricing often ends up very similar with Partsouq being cheaper on the actual part but Cruiserteq having much much lower shipping costs... plus Cruiserteq has more 'kitted' solutions where you can buy a kit with multiple parts for a specific job rather than having to chase individual parts to create your own kit. Case in point - as of last week they had a kit with all 4 tie rod ends you mentioned in one package. I know this because I've been debating whether I should replace the tie rod ends on mine.

That said, there are some parts that just flat out are not available anywhere in the world, at least as new parts, and some of them have a high likelihood of eventual failure. Two examples: radiator and AC condenser. Ebay will list some radiators that claim to be drop-in replacements, but my understanding is most are poor quality and/or require modification to correctly mount them. AC condensers just can't be sourced at all, so you'd need to mount a generic condenser and have custom hoses fabricated to connect to the existing AC system... I learned this the hard way.

So... a KZJ78 is great fun as a hobby car and I can picture it being an effective 'mobile billboard' for a business as they have a character that draws positive attention, but I wouldn't want my economic livelihood tied to the car's functionality. They are much more reliable than nearly any other 30 yr old car, but let's not kid ourselves... they're still 30 yrs old. Sooner or later something *will* break that puts the car down for a week or more plus takes your time and focus to figure out a solution or source parts.