Builds Poverty packin’: 1992 HZJ80 in Texas

[thetoyotaman]

Very nice cool truck!

 

[GetNRekt]

Love it!

 

[thatcabledude]

High beam indicator must be dependent on a certain amount of load. Kinda like the blinkers.

 

[bottombracket]

High beam indicator must be dependent on a certain amount of load. Kinda like the blinkers.

If the high beam circuit is the same for the 80 as the 62 series (which it appears to be), load is accommodated for by resistor choice. I used a 10ohm/25W resistor which is a good middle-of-the-road choice by my calculations. My high beam switch works just fine with this exact setup in my 62.

Maybe today I will have enough time to pull the LEDs and plug the original sealed beam headlights back in to see if my highbeam indicator even works to begin with.

 

[bottombracket]

High beam indicator: nope

I pulled off the LEDs from the high and low on one side and plugged the sealed high beam back in. Nothing on the dash.

I’m pretty sure my bulb is just burned out.

 

[plaidwagon]

Love it, I think your version of an 80 is the experience I crave. I saw a picture of the door cards in the old classified ad, is it just a plastic card with the hardware on them?

 

[bottombracket]

For the moment, yes, black plastic with armrest and door handle/window crank cutouts. Eventually I’ll make some thicker ones and recover them. These are just fine for now.

 

[thetoyotaman]

Please post pics of the engine, interior, and back. Thanks!

 

[bottombracket]

Engine bay for starters:

 

[thatcabledude]

High beam indicator: nope

I pulled off the LEDs from the high and low on one side and plugged the sealed high beam back in. Nothing on the dash.

View attachment 1921861

View attachment 1921860

I’m pretty sure my bulb is just burned out.

Yikes! Your tach is burned out too!

 

[EPIC Cruisers]

Ahhh this thing is so cool! (funny how we think a "poverty" pack 80 is cooler than the "upgraded" models we got in the states). I love my LX but I would trade it for one of these in a heartbeat. I look forward to new updates!

 

[bottombracket]

I relabeled some switches today.

 

[bottombracket]

Stickers. Which is really important.

 

[sunrk]

The ARB front bar looks to be a fairly new so wouldn't have been an original fitment. My 3/92 DX 80 is ex-Telstra (Aussie telco) and has an original factory-accessory ARB front bar but it's bent where a winch would go. The light assemblies in the ARB bar can be replaced with LED ones - An Aussie mob called LED Autolamps produces some that fit.

 

[bottombracket]

Interior color swap time?

So this truck is half gray/half brown. The dash, front seat belts, and front seats are brown. The rear bench seat and rear panels are gray. All four armrests, door latches, and armrests are brown. The door cards are black plastic, for the moment. The vinyl floor mats are brown and will need to be replaced.

It looks like the only 80 interior parts that available are gray. Looking forward, I’m wondering if it makes sense to collect all the small parts for a gray conversion.

@teleskier found an 80 at the local pick n’ pull. I found quite a bit of gray trim, and have a lead on a gray dash. I think I would only need gray armrests and a few door latches to complete the entire swap.

Even better, I have 20 yards of indestructible gray Schoeller Keptrotec Kevlar fabric but is just begging to be turned into some seat covers and door cards.

What says the MUD crowd?

 

[Dilspec]

Congrats, looking forward to seeing progress.

 

[jblaze]

How the heck did I end up in the 80 section of MUD?

For the past five years I’ve been a pretty stalwart 60 series fan. I have 3 60 series trucks and I thought that they fit me just right. I have an FJ40 that I love, and I’ve dabbled with the idea of getting into a 70 series now and again, but honestly, I hadn’t been interested in anything built past 1990...ever.

About every three months I just browse the 80 series classifieds, just seeing roughly what things go for. A couple of weeks ago I was just minding my own business, and I saw @joekatana ‘s ad for a left-hand drive, five speed poverty pack HZJ80.

Wait a minute.

Uh oh.

This ticked some serious boxes. Factory left-hand drive. 1HZ with 211,000 km. Air-conditioning. Part time t case. E-lockers with full float rear axle, just added by Joe. Manual windows. No flares. Barn doors. No rust...and also not fancy.

I called Joe on the spot and we talked for over half an hour. I had a short but difficult conversation with my wife and sent him a deposit. About a week later, Joe showed up with the 80 on a trailer and I have got to tell you that I really like this vehicle.

It is not fancy. It is...rough in a few places.

Buyer satisfaction is all about expectation management. I was definitely not looking for a factory showpiece, or a concours restoration. I wanted a tough, comfortable truck that I could throw my kids, dogs, and mountain bikes in and spray out with a hose when I was done. Done.

I have got a lot to learn, so I’ll be reading a lot and asking a bunch of questions as I build this beast up.

Galen

View attachment 1917903

I bought my 80 from Joe like 6 years ago. Nice guy, he even delivered to me as well, but I was on his way since he was on his way to pick up something and close anyway. Welcome.

 

[KiwiDingo]

Got a soft spot for the DX pov pack! Nice clean car, that paint job looks near showroom!

 

[OGBeno]

Interior color swap time?

So this truck is half gray/half brown. The dash, front seat belts, and front seats are brown. The rear bench seat and rear panels are gray. All four armrests, door latches, and armrests are brown. The door cards are black plastic, for the moment. The vinyl floor mats are brown and will need to be replaced.

It looks like the only 80 interior parts that available are gray. Looking forward, I’m wondering if it makes sense to collect all the small parts for a gray conversion.

@teleskier found an 80 at the local pick n’ pull. I found quite a bit of gray trim, and have a lead on a gray dash. I think I would only need gray armrests and a few door latches to complete the entire swap.

Even better, I have 20 yards of indestructible gray Schoeller Keptrotec Kevlar fabric but is just begging to be turned into some seat covers and door cards.

What says the MUD crowd?

View attachment 1924404

2 surgeons at the Pick and Pull. There has to be a meme there.

 

[bottombracket]

I mean, a gray seat belt for $7.36 with only a TINY amount of mold on it...meets all my criteria.