Builds Project F u k u s h i m a... my 1990 HZJ73 build thread

[Michael B]

Hey Ward,
Someone installed your steering wheel upside down!!

 

[wardharris]

Hey Ward,
Someone installed your steering wheel upside down!!

Yeah, gotta talk to the dealer about that!

 

[sbechtold]

I really like your Classic IIIs in black. I went with the polished aluminum and still not sure if I should've gone with the black.

A few questions:
-what size tires are you running?
-I never had issues with calipers but I also got the 16" version. What made you want 15" rims? One reason I wanted 16's was to get into E load rated tire which I find to be a nice upgrade
-did you have any troubles fitting over the front hub? I had to grind my rim down a touch, wondering if mines a one off on that issue.
-lastly, did the 1" spacers help with stability? Considering doing the same but unsure how much difference they really make

Thanks... I'm really digging these wheels. Very impressed with the quality and at 17lbs they are pretty light.

The tires are 33x10.5x15... I've always been a fan of 15's. More sidewall = more flex = better ride IMO. I have run "E" load rated tires on my Tacoma and my sons 4Runner in 255's and they are VERY stiff. The 10-ply on the "E" rated tires just doesn't flex enough for me on a light truck, so I went to the 15's and the "C" load rating... and they were really nice on the commute to work (even over inflated at 42 psi by the tire shop ).

The hub centers were tight on all 4 corners. After hitting the hubs with a wire brush to knock the rust off they fit just fine. No issues at all... I wonder if your hubs were painted a bit thicker than normal and that's what made them tight? If I were to put a nice heavy coat of paint on my hubs they would have been difficult to get the wheels seated.

WRT the spacers... I only have them on the front right now. The rear spacers should be here tomorrow. I'll let you know if I notice any difference with them on all 4 wheels.

 

[Delancy]

Gotta be comfy driving my import while drinking my latte.

Just be careful you don't burn the boys the first time you gotta downshift, signal, and swap lanes whilst trying to keep the Starbucks in the cup!!

Careful, Chris. REAL 70s have BMW seats, cup holders, LHD and a Chebby.....

I see no bow tie in Toyota.

100 and a 70, I like your style

I digress. :flippff2:

In 2002/3, when rumors swirled about the release of a vintage themed 'Cruiser', I was elated, thinking Toyota was gonna git 'er dun, with a 40 'replica', be it styling or simplicity.

At first sight of the FJ Cruiser, was heartbroken.....monstrous, ugly, dysfunctionally doored IFS bastard, with a kinda symbolic bezel and white roof.

Many years later, when interest increased in a rust free Cruiser, began searching the Internet for the latest and greatest on FJC and three or four of the baddest assed builds on earth resulted, one being "Miss FJ's"......(which I need say no more, since MRS. was titled....and because I'm on number 13 or 19 pina coladas, untold shots of unknown composition.....this afternoon) Air to Airs and Sol's 'build' topped the list. Bought a new FJC, immediately chopped the soccer mom front end from, and one of the first to SAC....like Mr. T shoulda dun it from the git go.

Fast forward a few years, when Metalangelo had his way with the FJC, and you're taking the baddest assed FJC that's graced planet earth, further solidifying Sol's legendary stature as the pioneer in polishing a Toyota turd into THE all out, fat ass, wheelin' demon it should've been from the onset.

Long way of saying, screw the 100.... It's the 120 that better highlights the resolve and indicative the epic thread of the baddest assed RHD 7X on earth, said only because I KNOW there's time scheduled at Metalangelo's..........and because I know top spot for LHD 7X über builds is already taken.

I've no doubt this will be EPIC and even less doubt the 33s will be in classifieds soon, so she'll have a real pair of shoes in the +39" variety, with links, COs......and hopefully aLHD conversion.

 

[sbechtold]

I'm pretty sure it will be a few years before this one gets to experience the artwork displayed on the FJC, if it ever does... as much as I would love to do it, his schedule is full and I already have the FJC for a dedicated trail rig. The 70 will have to suffice as my daily driver / weekend warrior / project for now.

 

[Slickspawn]

I'm thinking of picking up an HZJ73 for a daily driver also, and would set it up similarly in tire size as you have done.

Have you tried figuring out your MPG yet? let me know...

 

[sbechtold]

Have you tried figuring out your MPG yet? let me know...

Last tank was 16 mpg, but I ran 50% or more of the tank with the old smaller tires. I also have noticed that my speedo is off (even before the 33's). The circumference difference between the stock tire size 265-75/15 and the 33's is 7.69%, so I'll have to see if my speedo is off by that much or more. Feels likes it's off by more. Good news is my commute is only 5 miles and I didn't buy this as a gas sipper.

 

[sbechtold]

I didn't get much done on the truck this weekend. Waiting for parts to arrive. When I installed the OME lift I noticed that the driveline slip joint wasn't moving easily. Not seeing much travel in the slip joint if you will. The underside of my 70 has a LOT of undercoating sprayed on it. It's almost like it has been driven through a spray online undercoating machine every year. The driveline has a ton of coating on it and I figured my driveline was either too short or had too much coating on it which was preventing it from moving. Today I pulled the driveline and cleaned the old grease out of the slip joint. Then used a wire brush to knock the undercoating off the slip joint area of the shaft. After getting it cleaned up I threw it back in the truck and I now have plenty of slip. I'll pull the driveline and clean up the whole thing once the new ujoints arrive.

Here's a shot of the slip joint after brushing off the undercoating. It can now travel all the way up to where the taper starts. Note the copious amount of undercoating on everything.

I also received the rear wheel spacers. Decided to toss them on there as well. I definitely like the stance better. We'll see if I notice any difference in the way it rides this week.

 

[NM Frontier]

Mine has tons of undercoat as well, but it hasn't interfered with anything.

Looking nice with the new wheels and tires!

 

[sbechtold]

Parts collection box is starting to overflow... lots of regular maintenance work ahead of me.

I spent a few minutes today getting her setup for front and rear axle rebuilds. Got the passenger front partially torn down... plan on tearing down the rest of the front tomorrow, then moving on to the rear.

I was amused by the electric locking hubs having never taken a set apart before. Interesting concept, but I'm switch to manual hubs. It funny that I already have a shelf full of original parts that I've taken off my HZJ. I'll add these hubs to it since they work just fine.

 

[fireball]

Cool build, looking forward to following along!

These are super cool, super fun little trucks!

 

[sbechtold]

Cool build, looking forward to following along!

These are super cool, super fun little trucks!

Thank you. I'm definitely have a lot of fun with it...

 

[AlbertoSD]

Welcome to the club!!!

I think you will love your 70-series. It looks like a very nice and clean unit.

One quick question, could you provide some information of that REDARC In-vehicle battery charger?

Thanks!!!

-Alberto

 

[sbechtold]

Thank you @AlbertoSD...! I'm really enjoying it. The 70 has ~200k KM on the clock and is really clean. Needs some basic maintenance, but what 25 year old car doesn't?

The REDARC is a BCDC1220. It's the 20amp model. Caveat... I've installed many dual battery systems and lots of electronics, but have not installed or used one of the REDARC units. My HZJ is 24v and the plan is to add a 12v house battery in order to power the 12v accessories that I plan to add. The REDARC will be hooked up similar to the diagram below. While researching 12v house battery setups I found a ton of information on solar converters and other configurations that would charge a 12v house battery. I came across the BCDC1220 and decided to give it a try.

I will be adding two fuse blocks to the 12v circuit. One will be switched via the ignition and the other will be constant power. The thing that I liked about the REDARC is that it is powered via the ignition, so if I turn the ignition off I will disconnect the 24v and 12v charging circuit. The BCDC1220 also has three charging modes that will help keep the 12v battery topped off. I'll make sure to post more information on it once I get to the installation.

Here are a couple of links to the REDARC website and more info on the unit...

Brochure - https://www.redarc.com.au/images/up...220_20A_in-vehicle_battery_charger_130408.pdf

Install guide - https://www.redarc.com.au/images/uploads/images/BCDC1220_Instruction_Manual.pdf

 

[sbechtold]

Found a few minutes to tear the axles down a little more. It's going to take a while at this pace.

Poor little trunnion bearing...

My wire wheel got a workout cleaning parts... going to have to get another wire wheel this weekend. Thank goodness for compressed air tools... couldn't live without them.

All in all everything was in good condition. A little water got into the knuckle on the left side and killed the trunnions, but the seals were in fair condition. Doesn't look like anyone had been in the knuckles for many many years. It looks like the wheel bearings we just done. They were perfect. Still replacing them with the Timkens I just ordered.

Hope to make a little more progress this weekend... if I can find the time.

 

[sbechtold]

Multi-tasking today... building shelves with my son and working on the 70... made a small amount of progress. Got the knuckle preload where I like it. I actually would have preferred a little more knuckle preload given the 33's, but this will do.

Got both fronts partially back together. Waiting for some hub spacers to show up so I can finish the front conversion to manual hubs.

The right front was in pretty rough shape... water did a number on the poor little trunnion bearing that decided to come apart. Funny thing is the truck drove fine even with the bearing like this... When I pulled the races they were Japanese Koyo bearings. Made me wonder if they were original.

Wire wheel cleaned up the knuckle balls really nice.

I ended up ordering all new tie rod and drag link ends. Figured since I have it all apart I may as well change the joints. They don't feel too bad, probably some life left in them, but this way I'll know everything was changed at the same time. I started tearing down the rear. Hope to sneak into the garage tomorrow.

 

[sbechtold]

More progress today... got the rears completed. The rear bearings and seals were in great shape. No water infiltration like the fronts. Even the e-brake was in great shape with no reason to change it out. Pretty simple change out of bearings and seals in the rear axle. Only issue I had was no SST to remove/tighten the lock ring in these trucks. I have the 54mm socket used on other Toyota axles and that's all I thought I would need... I ended up making a tool in order to r&r the lock rings. Here's my garage tool... worked like a champ! I should probably should either weld it together or order the real deal from Mr. T.

Rear end all buttoned up... I installed the tires as well.

Here is how she'll sit until the rest of the parts show up... hopefully this week.

 

[sbechtold]

In case anyone reading this has thoughts on part numbers. I've done a little research on replacement brake rotors front and rear. ToyoDIY has the following part numbers.

Front Brake Rotors (original # 43512-60041) cross references to part number 43512-60100 (looks to be available in the US)
Rear Brake Rotors (original # 42431-60090) cross references to part number 42431-60171 (looks to be available in the US)

I put the original part numbers into InfoPart.org: Car Parts, then clicked on the Toyota part number. Then went through putting each cross referenced number into my favorite online Toyota parts site until I found parts that were still in circulation. The numbers above are the ones I came up with.

I believe the fronts are correct based on other threads. The rears are a crap shoot as there isn't much info on rear rotors. I did find the rear part number on Amazon (with Prime), so might just order the rears and take a chance, can always send them back.

Any chance someone knows the part numbers or can validate them for me? Thank you!

 

[AlbertoSD]

Your truck seems SUPER clean!

Also, I feel bad for your garage working conditions....must suck to work like that in the garage (hehehe). What kind of lift is that on the last photo?

Keep up the good work, the trunion bearings needed some love for sure!

-Alberto

 

[77cruiser77]

I did my rear pads, calipers, and rotors recently. If you go with the parts for your model they will be very expensive. There is a work around however that US model toyota has essentially the identical part with a slight variation giving it a different part number. This will speed up the process and save mountains of cash. The clever guys at Radd Cruisers discovered this and for this reason I don't feel comfortable giving their trade secrets away without their knowing so give them a call and they will certainly help you out.

Coming along nicely. How's your e-brake? I think mines pooched and there's no cheap way around it. These 70 series with the disk rear can call for some specialty parts