Opinions on this HJ-45

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Sep 27, 2006
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Location
Venice Ca.
Looking at this 81 HJ-45 troopy. 117km on a original "H" diesel. LHD rust free. Not to excited about the "H" diesel. Pros and Cons?? Help me out guys on the fence.


Thanks

Mike
HJ-45t.webp
 
Better pics?

The H is supposed to be a dog. As in--seriously underpowered. That said, when it fails, you can put a 2H in place pretty easily. And to help it fail: bolt on an ebay or junkyard turbo and plan to replace the engine with a 2H sooner or later.

A factory LHD diesel is a rare breed, and if it's as clean as you describe it's uber rare. The only downside to the truck you are describing is the H motor, which can be remedied with a relatively easy engine swap when it croaks. (and you'd have the luxury of time to shop for a better deal on the new engine).

Note--you could also bolt a 12HT in place, if you found one.

I bought my HJ-45 with exactly that thought--to replace the H at some point with a newer and better motor. Rufusthedufus put a turbo on his HJ-45, so he can probably talk a bit about how it reacts with that change.

Dan
 
if you dont.....please pass it on......................TO ME !!!!!!
 
Never mind, just got off the phone with the exporter, there are issues bringing it to the US. It is originally from France so it is subject to some outrageous duty fees. The search continues.



Mike
 
That one is in Canada, right? Because of its age, I don't see why it would matter where it came from. I paid 2% I think at Customs from Australia. If you are serious, I'd look more carefully into that.

I seem to recall it was quite spendy, anyway. That H is a turd, but so is the 2H IMO (unless you add a turbo). As long as you are happy to drive slow, the H is fine.
 
Rufusthedufus put a turbo on his HJ-45, so he can probably talk a bit about how it reacts with that change.

I've got about 20k miles on my engine since installing the turbo and intercooler. I'm a happy camper. I have the turbo set to provide about 5-6 psi of boost under normal cruising conditions. Max boost hits about 10-11 psi when pulling hills or getting on the freeway.

Running on 33x9.5s with an H55 the truck easily cruises along on the highway at 65 MPH running 2350-ish RPMs.

If the H in that truck has good compression it might be cheaper to turbo it than to swap in a 2H. (I am not ware of any commercially available turbo kits for the H. You will need to fabricate one if you go this route.) However, it was a real pain in the butt to get the engine dialed in. I blew two head gaskets in the process. It turns out that the torque wrench I was using was way out of calibration. I was 20 to 25 lbs. of torque low on a few head bolts. I bought a new torque wrench when I installed the 3rd head gasket and haven't had any problems since.

I also have an 83 BJ42 with a turbo 3B. The turbo H feels like it has about the same power as the turbo 3B though the H accelerates better getting onto the highway.


FWIW, I've seen that red one on ebay a few times over the past 2 to 3 years.
 
I talked to Wayne Darby of Chevrolake Importer/Exporter in Richmond BC. He says because the Troopy originated in France that importing it from Canada to the US will be next to impossible and subject to 25-40% duty fees. Deal killer for me. As far as the "H" diesel, here in LA, there is so much traffic that anything over 30 mph is considered light traffic;).

Thanks for all the info!!


Mike
 
When did Toyota have a manufacturing plant in France? (WikiPedia indicates that Toyota's French manufacturing operations began in 2001. Prior to that vehicles where imported to France, not built there.)

Import taxes are based on the country where the item was produced/manufactured not the market it was sold to.
 
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