Phoenix - An LC101 being restored (1 Viewer)

[epicenter]

Hello Folks,
This is Mandeep from India.
We have recently acquired an LC101 for a friend in a not so good condition except that it runs and drives albeit with a very s***ty Lexus LX470 kit (mostly chinese)
We are in the process of restoring it back to its original glory with a few enhancements, technical and cosmetic, wherever possible.
The huge resources of this forum are going to be our bible for the coming weeks as we tackle one part of the vehicle after the other.
Since there was no better platform to showcase the restoration/repair, here we are hoping that everybody here enjoys the photos and videos of the build as much as we do getting our hands dirty.
Thanks in advance and hoping for all the help that we will need in the days to come.
Some photos of the not so great specimen that we have. It is a 1HD FTE with a 4 speed TC. Thankfully the AHC works.

 

[nukegoat]

What's with the glovebox

 

[hickuptruck]

lol, what restoration? Looks restored to me.

 

[97 AZ LC]

Nice truck. If you really need to do a restoration I'd sell that one and buy one that needs a restoration.

 

[medtro]

Can't wait to see the restored pictures.

 

[hoser]

Well, if to restore is to return back to stock, there are at least a dozen mods that aren't stock on that 101. It might not even be a Cygnus. The front end looks a piecemealed together.

 

[medtro]

Hello Folks,
This is Mandeep from India.
We have recently acquired an LC101 for a friend in a not so good condition except that it runs and drives albeit with a very s***ty Lexus LX470 kit (mostly chinese)
We are in the process of restoring it back to its original glory with a few enhancements, technical and cosmetic, wherever possible.

Do you know if the seats have been replaced or swapped?

 

[epicenter]

What's with the glovebox

Didnt get you on that!

lol, what restoration? Looks restored to me.

Sure does but it needs work. There is a tonne of it required.

Nice truck. If you really need to do a restoration I'd sell that one and buy one that needs a restoration.

Unfortunately not many available in India. You have to take your pick from the bad ones and the worst ones. This fortunately is a bad one.

Can't wait to see the restored pictures.

Keep watching this space.

Well, if to restore is to return back to stock, there are at least a dozen mods that aren't stock on that 101. It might not even be a Cygnus. The front end looks a piecemealed together.

Would love to get pointers. We will have to make do with what is available at the breaker yard and what we can import. The import duties to India are astronomical at about 42% of the CIF value of the consignment.
Whether it is a 101 or not a Cygnus, the vin plate says it all. Amayama said it was an LC 101 and so do the registration papers, so that is what we will call it. Will put up a pic of the Vinplate soon.
The front sure is an eyesore. Plan is to shift back to the original headlights, bumper, bonnet and fenders.

Do you know if the seats have been replaced or swapped?

This is how the car came to me. Almost all that I have seen here are similar, a couple of them had grey trim and black seats.

 

[medtro]

This is how the car came to me. Almost all that I have seen here are similar, a couple of them had grey trim and black seats.

Those look like UZJ100 seats in USA.

 

[mvcruiser20]

Those look like UZJ100 seats in USA.

Yes they do minus the arm rests. Weird.

 

[medtro]

Yes they do minus the arm rests. Weird.

May be the icebox is too wide for arm rests.

 

[Exiled]

Welcome, Mandeep, we will help in any way we can!

If I got you correctly, the front clip has been replaced with the Cygnus trim (sold as the Lexus LX470 here in the US), and you are trying to take it back to the original LC spec?

This will be an interesting project as that is not a common retrofit among US Cruiserheads, it's more common here to consider converting the LX470 to a LC trim. I just recently saw a post on a Facebook Land Cruiser group about someone who completed that conversion. Copying @ginericLC who forwarded me the post and may be able to help.

Cheers and good luck, keep us posted on your progress!!

 

[Dwight S]

What's with the glovebox

It looks like someone may have missed the factory screw holes on the glove box hinge side. Mine looked similar and I was doing some work where I removed the glovebox door. There were extra holes through the lower edge of the crossbar, below the factory holes with inserts. I reattached my glovebox using the factory holes and the door lined up better with tight gaps.

 

[hoser]

Would love to get pointers. We will have to make do with what is available at the breaker yard and what we can import. The import duties to India are astronomical at about 42% of the CIF value of the consignment.
Whether it is a 101 or not a Cygnus, the vin plate says it all. Amayama said it was an LC 101 and so do the registration papers, so that is what we will call it. Will put up a pic of the Vinplate soon.
The front sure is an eyesore. Plan is to shift back to the original headlights, bumper, bonnet and fenders.

Yes, I also believe it to be a Non-cygnus spec. I think Cygnus's only came with the V8. Post up or PM me the data plate when you get a chance.

 

[epicenter]

Welcome, Mandeep, we will help in any way we can!

If I got you correctly, the front clip has been replaced with the Cygnus trim (sold as the Lexus LX470 here in the US), and you are trying to take it back to the original LC spec?

This will be an interesting project as that is not a common retrofit among US Cruiserheads, it's more common here to consider converting the LX470 to a LC trim. I just recently saw a post on a Facebook Land Cruiser group about someone who completed that conversion. Copying @ginericLC who forwarded me the post and may be able to help.

Cheers and good luck, keep us posted on your progress!!

Correct, when we finally got to open the bumper, we found that the car had met with an accident at some point of time. Not very serious but the front bumper reinforcement had been damaged and obviously the bumper, headlights and the front right fender might have had some damage. That must have been the time the earlier owner decided to dump the very expensive replacement parts and gone in for this cheap chinese makeover. Photos coming up. Thank you for the warm welcome.

It looks like someone may have missed the factory screw holes on the glove box hinge side. Mine looked similar and I was doing some work where I removed the glovebox door. There were extra holes through the lower edge of the crossbar, below the factory holes with inserts. I reattached my glovebox using the factory holes and the door lined up better with tight gaps.

It is a possibility, will get to it once we start stripping the interiors. The entire beige brown combo is being swapped for the black grey combo. The vehicle will also be completely re finished in black paint. Mostly the obsidian black from Mercedes or the 202 shade from the Toyota library itself.

Yes, I also believe it to be a Non-cygnus spec. I think Cygnus's only came with the V8. Post up or PM me the data plate when you get a chance.

India has its share of some not so spurious and some spurious imports. This falls in the former category I think. The only respite is that it holds a valid registration and insurance. Most of the later registered vehicles here (2004 onwards) have vinplates that say the vehicle was a 1998 or a 99 manufactured and not a later model as claimed by the sellers. Just goes on to say that not most buyers are interested in decoding the vinplates, they just want a big ass car for cheap. I'll share the vinplate with the other photos tonight. Thank you for the inputs.

 

[epicenter]

Some photos from the dismantling and cleanup processes.
Managed to get the entire front suspension out, minus the shock absorbers. Also the front diff is out and so are the radiator, condensor and intercooler after removing the front bumper and fender liners.
All this will be inspected and new parts ordered. While the front clip is almost out, I am planning to remove all the accessories on both the fenders, left and right of the engine, give the open space a good degrease spray and a wash and paint it black before fitting everything back in.
This will also give me a chance to check corrosion as I am sure there will be some at 20 years of use and 1 year of parking due to the covid 19 lockdown.
Will also be taking the sump out to clean the strainer, remove the manifolds, tappet cover and everything else related to it to give it a good parts cleaner wash before putting everything back together again.
One question that comes to mind is that if the AHC fluid is the only one that can be used for the shock absorbers. I was trawling Amazon and Mannol makes some LHM+ fluid. Just wondering if that can be used as a substitute for the AHC.
Enjoy the photos, some may not be too clear.

 

[hoser]

You have a January 1998 Land Cruiser VXL (trim).... perhaps the first batch of 100's built!

 

[epicenter]

Hello,
Here is an update to how far we have gotten on the build!
The front suspension (except the shock absorbers) is completely out and so is the front diff, axles, knuckles, steering rack, radiator, condensor, intercooler, etc.
Strangely all the bushes were in excellent condition for a 20 year old car. Earlier owner claimed to have no knowledge of them or the ball joints, rack ends ever being changed. The upper and lower arms and whatever else was sheet metal has been degreased and powder coated black before it was sent for new bushes and joints.

The axles are busted and the steering rack boots have perished.

The radiator looks usable and so does the condenser and intercooler. All the oils and coolant that was drained out was pretty much some of the cheaper stuff used.

Everything will be flushed and refilled to OE spec in some days.
The oil pan was pulled off to check on the strainer and some Einstein had put a jack under it earlier which had dented the sump a bit. Took it to a friendly press brake guy and using a bit of 12 mm flat plates on both the sides and gently pressing it got it back to near new like. Cleaned it up, degreased it, scraped the gasket off and gave it a lick of rust converter followed by satin black high temp paint. Strainer was cleaned up as it had some shady stuff sticking to it.

While at this, also pulled out both the manifolds and turbocharger and the tappet cover. The gasket on the tappet cover was leaking and so was the exhaust manifold packing.

Everything is now cleaned and shiny and waiting to be assembled tomorrow.
Since the timing cover was open, decided to do up all the valve clearances. Took the mechanic a good part of about 3 hours, but yes it is done.
Work is proceeding as planned, well almost and we are hoping that the front end will be back in the car by Friday. That is the day the rear diff, the propshafts and suspension will be taken off and redone as required.

All in all if everything goes according to the plan the car should be out on an alignment and then a test drive by Tuesday. Post that, we will start stripping it for paint.
The only constant or bottle neck there is the bonnet which is a rare one and quite difficult to find in India. Also the exorbitant duties coupled with the large size of the bonnet means prohibitive shipping from anywhere and hence is a big cause of concern right now.

Hoping to sort it out somehow in the next couple of days.

Some photos from what's being done for your viewing pleasure, if any!​

 

[epicenter]

Hey guys!
A lot of updates pending on the restoration. A tonne of stuff has been completed on the car and it is now ready for the paintjob.
Will be sharing the photos and progress later on.
Right now, stuck with a very peculiar issue on the LC.
We got the truck up and running and did a couple of long runs, with the AHC working happily at N.
Once the truck was back in the garage, we got the torsion bars done up and tried to lift and lower the vehicle.
Initially the H and L light kept blinking but with some fiddling with the steering (something to do with steering angle sensor and ride height?) it started working.
Since the camber, caster and toe was out of whack, decided to get the alignment done and do a trial run once again.
While traveling back from the alignment shop, the rear started bouncing uncontrollably. Stopping on the road side to check what was wrong, we found the rear had sagged to the end of its limit and no amount of toggling the height adjustment switch could get it up.. The front worked perfectly.
Took the car to the garage again, disconnected the battery for an entire day (classic reset tactic) but nothing happened. The electrician checked the entire wiring and found a couple of breaks which were rectified immediately but to no effect again. Then the pump motor started tripping and it would run for a while and stop.
Ordered a new pressure sensor thinking it could be the culprit and fitted it but again, nothing moved.
I am almost at my wits end trying to figure out what is wrong. Any pointers to get this rectified will be most welcome.
Waiting to hear from the experts.

 

[Moridinbg]

You can't diagnose and adjust AHC without Techstream and a cable. From the sounds of it, the rear sensor is playing up and giving wrong readings - probably too high and the systems tries to fix this by going to the lowest possible position.
Just dealt with similar symptoms. Try to unplug the sensor - it's on the left upper control arm, next to the tank. Unplugging it should put the AHC in safe mode with the OFF light blinking on the instruments cluster, but the rear should lift up from the lowest position. When AHC is off and/or sensors are disconnected, it tries to control via pressures (if pressure sensor and pump are OK) and pumps until front & rear are ath 6.5MPa.