Middle East 1996 Model 80 'body transplant' (1 Viewer)

[John Young]

So I guy I know from Dubai, Adil, has been lurking here for a long time, and he reached out privately to me here via PM seeking advice from me about his 1996 Model 80. (Yeah, I know, he should have picked someone MUCH more knowledgeable than me.) It was the same old story: he fell in love with the truck and bought it. Frame and drivetrain are really nice, but once he got into it he found bondo and rust problems in the sheet metal. Here is a photo of Adil's truck:

And here's a little rust porn:

But look at that undercarriage:

Adil reached out to me because I posted about my own rust woes related to my beer-fueled, late night balcony-and-laptop model 100 'ebay mistake' and because I have redone a Middle East model 80 myself and keep posting about it here

 

[Willie G]

And the question is: swap the body or not?

Look at the process here (body removal): First FZJ80, 97 40th Anniversary

As with most things, it will be expensive unless you do it yourself.

Edit: Nevermind. I got in the middle of your posting....

 

[John Young]

Anyways, Adil had the idea of doing a whole body transplant. My Middle East model 80 did not have significant rust issues, but I have another buddy in Abu Dhabi who has been re-doing his own 1993 model 80, which did have significant rust issues. I looped him in, and my younger son as well, just for good measure and we had a long discussion on whatsapp. Adil and my Abu Dhabi buddy in Dubai and AD respectively, and my son and I in Virginia, where I am for the duration of the pademic.

Adil had found a RHD Japanese import at a scrap yard that they would sell him the body off of for a little over 2K USD; a nice body with all the trimmings. At the end of the day Adil bought it and is off to the races. Here are a couple of photos:

And here is Adil's truck--the one getting the new body, being striped down:

My own 1993 model 80's state resembles Adil's:

(I'm in the middle of replacing the heater core in mind. What a PITA!)

 

[John Young]

And the question is: swap the body or not?

Look at the process here (body removal): First FZJ80, 97 40th Anniversary

As with most things, it will be expensive unless you do it yourself.

My friend in Abu Dhabi and I had a long, long chat with Adil about that. The good news is that labor rates in Dubai are really very reasonable (cheap if I'm honest), and the guys there work very hard. I, personally, would have swapped out individual body panels but this way he can get the frame really, really pristine while it is all apart. And it was Adil's decision. I'm really looking forward to the results!

 

[John Young]

I find this a very interesting project. And I don't mind serving as a 'Monday morning quarterback' particularly as my advice's value is questionable at best.

Here are two of my thoughts:

First, I would suggest that Adil tell his garage to pause when they have the existing body off. Then Adil should come by and ask them to clean everything so he can look at the frame and everything on it very carefully. Then be really, really picky about replacing all rubber bushings, gaskets, hoses, etc. Clean and repaint -everything-. Get that frame and driveline perfect before any attempt is made to put the replacement body on.

Second, I think he ought to be very careful and picky about the prep of the replacement body. Take the opportunity to consider a repaint inside and out; maybe in an interesting color. And also coat the underside in epoxy bedliner. Maybe even the interior floor and up 10 inches on the insides too.

What do you all think? What would you want done if you were doing this?

 

[Manuelsv]

Since he has the spare tire carrier.. Maybe add a little extra storage space one it is all apart and the welding and cutting + painting will be super easy. More cargo room

 

[John Young]

Since he has the spare tire carrier.. Maybe add a little extra storage space one it is all apart and the welding and cutting + painting will be super easy. More cargo room

Hi Manuel, I had not been aware of that mod, and it is killer!! Adil is watching this thread and I'm sure he appreciates the suggestion.

 

[John Young]

So I have some more photos from Adil to share:

That's the old body, and I think that is a Prado (model 90) up on the shelf.

Interesting location for the rust through. I'd not seen rust in this spot before.

The frame looks really good to me. Seems strange to have significant body rust but nothing obvious on the frame...

And just for fun, here is a few seconds of a video of a troopy in Oman sent to me by a friend. I want to go there!

 

[John Young]

Well its been a minute, and things have proceeded apace!

 

[John Young]

I asked the owner how it runs and drives and he reports that it does so very well indeed! After driving it for a while he decided to swap wheels and do a 5 inch lift with some new rubber:

 

[John Young]

Pretty nice, right?!

I asked the owner about the rear visor. He said that he found it at a wrecker yard in Sharjah (where many good things come from) on a JDM truck. Here' a photo as he found it:

Apparently he had to baring pretty hard to get the scrapper to sell it to him--sometimes the scrappers actually sell the trucks whole to a buyer in Africa where RHD trucks are allowed (you can't register a RHD vehicle in the UAE, with a few exceptions).

Now the owner is looking for a front air deflector, like this one on the same donor vehicle:

Hope you all enjoyed this!