Saudi 75 Too - Tilda Bogue Service Station

[wngrog]

A year ago I was hitting my stride on rebuilding Rosie the 40 for my friend Brendan

The engine had barely stopped ticking from his first test drive a few weeks later when our next project together was hatched….

 

[wngrog]

75 Too will be my second foray into the FZJ75 world. The first one went off in a few directions of learning and now I feel better equipped to put this one on the right track

75-1 Build in case you missed it

Builds - Saudi 75 1 - Tilda Bogue Service Station

This one is fresh off the container. The second Saudi cruiser I’ve imported. 1992, first of the 1FZ trucks. Real.

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[wngrog]

Brendan had sent me a photo of one that was for sale in California that was surely South American or “blessed” to pass through a South American staffed shop and I was able to direct him to my buyer @Meshal in Saudi and we started working the deal

 

[wngrog]

He was all in so we started a group chat on What’s App and speced out a truck to be found and fixed up a bit in country before it shipped to the US.

It’s August 2023. The deal is done. We should have this thing by January at the latest.

Pics start to trickle in as the 75 arrives in Rhihayd in early September and the refresh begins.

September bleeds into October but the refresh pictures are steady

We are close now …..

Right?

 

[wngrog]

This one and another are stuffed into a container and scheduled to hit the high seas on October 10th with a 43 day cycle to the US. We are stoked.

And then…..well s***. The Middle East decided to blow up and our Houthi friends started lobbing rockets at innocent Land Cruiser carrying container ships

 

[wngrog]

Shipper contacts me.

Good news, We can get your container out of Damman to the east.

Bad news.

Send me more money.

Worse news.

It’s got to go around the Horn of Africa.

Transit time.

90 days.

 

[wngrog]

The day finally comes and our ship sets sail…….

North to Kuwait.

South to India.

And then slowly south after an additional 14 days delay on the ship

We watch in dismay as it finally rounds the horn

 

[wngrog]

Next stop is Spain the off to Houston ….. right?

Negative. Delay is up to 21 days on top of the 90 days

Fuggit. Go to Mexico for a week while you are at it.

Don’t fear. That 20 day delay make up of a day…. Can’t have that.

 

[wngrog]

The day finally comes. The trucks land in Houston on April 8th. My calendar is clear and I’m ready to go and I get notice that my container has been selected for Customs inspection.

Is this normal? Whats this mean? The last two came through without a hitch.

This was my answer.

 

[wngrog]

F it. What’s another week and a few more thousand dollars.

In Friday they released my container and my shipper said he would have the 70s ready for pickup on Monday.

I swung through Hattiesburg, had dinner with my daughter and crashed at her apartment. The Marine @68dirtypig and I left at 6 bells for Houston.

We arrived at the dusty lot where 99.9% of the cars and trucks were wrecks being loaded to go overseas. Hundreds.

My two were in a shed. The 75 fired right up and we loaded it on the trailer.

The 70s “Made in Egypt” battery was super dead. Took cables and a jump pack but we got it started.


We pulled out of the way and started getting ready for the 8 hour drive home.


We strapped the 75 down and swapped in some radials on the 70 and peeled out.

It was 3 pm

 

[wngrog]

Jerry drove the 200 and I jumped in the FZJ70 with the 285/75-16s.

This thing is a Rocketship. We ran 75 mph most of the way from Houston to Hammond Louisiana where we swapped and he took the 70 home to Hattiesburg and I pulled the 75 home. Got in at 11 pm.

 

[wngrog]

So that gets me up to current time. 9 months.

Thats a long time and I appreciate how patient Brendan has been. My next two were scheduled to leave the west coast of Saudi on the 15th but Iran decided to lob missles all over the Persian Gulf so they are pushed back into the 25th now.

Crazy.

So today I got the 75 unloaded and look it for a nice long drive. It pretty much needs nothing. Runs and drives great but, of course that’s not good enough.

Stay tuned for the upgrades. Gonna be fun.

 

[FJBen]

It’s no longer enough for you to drive fast over railroad tracks in your build…we need more. If it’s from the Middle East….

 

[wngrog]

What series is the proper battery for a FZJ75? This is obviously not the correct size.

 

[FJBen]

What series is the proper battery for a FZJ75? This is obviously not the correct size.

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Group 27 sticks in my head but that might just be the diesel specs.


When I win the lottery, I’ll need you to find me an FZJ74.

 

[wngrog]

Group 27 sticks in my head but that might just be the diesel specs.


When I win the lottery, I’ll need you to find me an FZJ74.

They are super rare in the Middle East from what I’m finding.

 

[wngrog]

Group 27 sticks in my head but that might just be the diesel specs.


When I win the lottery, I’ll need you to find me an FZJ74.

Those stats measure right for the box in this thing yes. Thanks.

Here are a couple of videos. They did some nice touch up work on the paint and actually put a 79 series bed on it because the original one was a bit too rough. Cheaper to replace than repair. New OEM decals.

Fun fact. The really only way to tell the years of these things from a glance is the stripes change year to years



Also, why Saudi trucks? They are most always rust free and not abused. Best part is they use Toyota OEM parts when they service them so there are no Auto zone hoses and clamps.

 

[BJEC69]

So that gets me up to current time. 9 months.

Thats a long time and I appreciate how patient Brendan has been. My next two were scheduled to leave the west coast of Saudi on the 15th but Iran decided to lob missles all over the Persian Gulf so they are pushed back into the 25th now.

Crazy.

So today I got the 75 unloaded and look it for a nice long drive. It pretty much needs nothing. Runs and drives great but, of course that’s not good enough.

Stay tuned for the upgrades. Gonna be fun.

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That has to be to BEST opening story for a Tilda Bogue Service Station build yet!!
Very exciting to have these trucks here in the USA (finally) and am looking forward to experiencing what mastery @wngrog comes back with!
Many thanks and much gratitude to @Meshal and @wngrog for sharing their time, expertise and willingness to put this all together! Certain to be a transformation worth the wait!!

 

[Meshal]

I did not sleep yet!

Nolen!! It is an absolute pleasure working with you in such projects, @BJEC69 Brendan Thank you so much for your trust and patience, it was a pleasure working with you getting your first 75. BTW, I have a new oem radiator that I couldn’t find before shipping. Also i found your shoe kit at my storage unit


such a start with this thread! The proper start for such an adventure!

the bodies of those trucks been treated pretty well with a big bill before shipping! I went with many new parts that some of them in fine condition but both parties agreed to go with refurbished some of the plastic parts. Then I included many OEM mechanical parts to play with.

 

[Combat Wombat]

So much epic.
1FZ-F builds are fairly hard to find too. Super excited to see what you have planned!