Sayin' hi from Japan (1 Viewer)

[Maglight]

Hey gents,
Just thought I would say howdy from here in Japan my new duty station. I have seen a good amount of "authentic" Japanese landcruisers and wish I would have had the FJ shipped over, but these people can't drive too well and the roads are too skinny.

 

[dbenke]

Pat, it's good to hear from you. I knew you were going overseas, how did you manage to stay out of the sandbox?
Keep in touch, and look us up when you get stateside, maybe we can go wheeling again together.

 

[charlestonfj60]

Are you able to get some TEQ goodies to ship back over?

 

[greenseaman]

Good to hear from you! Hope all goes well over there! Send some pictures!!

 

[IndianDoc]

Stay out of the radiation zone but otherwise have a great time a great time a wonderful place to be stationed.

 

[Maglight]

dbenke- Looks like I will stay in the asian pacific region for training exercises.
charlestonfj60- I will look for TEQ goodies. I have only been in town once so far and didn't see too many toyota dealers, but I am sure they are here and have stuff.
greenseaman- I will definitely get some picks, if I had my camera yesterday I would have posted one of a mitsubishi jeep. That's right it was a jeep, but the grill had the three diamonds and mitsubishi stamped on it. It also had a turbo.
indiandoc- I already glow at night and have only been here a week, the kids are growing at exponential rates and spew fire, but really it has only been a week and seems pretty nice, can't wait to venture into town and really see what this side of the world has to offer.

I have already seen some cool cars. Lots of Toyotas that in the states would be Lexi (plural of Lexus??) but here are just Toyotas. Some Mazda luxury sedans that would be Mercury/Ford in the states. There are some cool looking 4x4's but all are small, suzuki sidekick sized. If I can swing it I will get some kind of offroading vehicle and find some folks on base or off to wheel with. That way I can get stuck, high centered, or dents in another part of the world.

 

[Maglight]

Look closely and you can see the Mitsubishi diamonds

 

[dbenke]

I saw the Mitsu Jeep in a JP mag before. IIRC they bought the tooling and were going to start production, but it didn't happen for some reason.
They are rare, at best. Still cool, though.
Send us some pics, and keep us updated.

 

[Maglight]

Merry Christmas!
Guess who got a 4WD Dump truck? Yeah my new rig not only drives off road it is a dump truck. Here is the kicker it has a 660 CC engine. woo hoo!!!!

 

[greenseaman]

Too cool!

 

[dbenke]

That is cool...Is that yours, or what you get to drive?

 

[Maglight]

That is mine! It is getting the Japanese Compulsory Insurance right now so I have to wait a few days. Plus I have to wait until the 28th for the MP's to be back at work to get the registration processed on station and then get the pass to come and go from the station as I please. I think I am going to paint it olive drab and leave a big white star on the doors, I just need to see what colors of spray paint the PX sells.

 

[dbenke]

I like it!!!

 

[IndianDoc]

So how much ground clearance? can you find a bumper to mount a winch ?inquiring minds want to know!!!!. I like it a lot, even with a 660 cc engine that thing will be a blast if you can find anywhere to run the 4X4. I don't think that any open areas will be readily avilable, but I could be wrong. Great hearing from you again. Going to miss you at the hammon next week. Keep your head down even if it isn't a combat area. Best wishes for a happy new Year!!!

 

[Maglight]

Doc, the nice thing about around here is there isn't as much urban sprawl and more of nature. That being said I don't know how much wheeling they will let anyone do around here, but I will find out. I am thinking about a 2" lift, it is the largest available without jacking up CV angles etc, and some beefier tires. other performance parts have proven to be impossible to find on the internet, but once I have the truck I can look at it and see what will fit. Sadly the Japanese will not pass it for inspection because it was not a dump truck when it left the factory so I am waiting on the dealer to fix the bed and make it a reg truck.
On another note, I thought I would give you all a glimpse of McDonald's. You can have a cup of corn instead of fries, but the pic is of the Grand Canyon burger. It is pretty much a quarter pounder with cheese with an egg mcmuffin on top. It was ok, but I probably won't have it again.

 

[IndianDoc]

Doc, the nice thing about around here is there isn't as much urban sprawl and more of nature. That being said I don't know how much wheeling they will let anyone do around here, but I will find out. I am thinking about a 2" lift, it is the largest available without jacking up CV angles etc, and some beefier tires. other performance parts have proven to be impossible to find on the internet, but once I have the truck I can look at it and see what will fit. Sadly the Japanese will not pass it for inspection because it was not a dump truck when it left the factory so I am waiting on the dealer to fix the bed and make it a reg truck.
On another note, I thought I would give you all a glimpse of McDonald's. You can have a cup of corn instead of fries, but the pic is of the Grand Canyon burger. It is pretty much a quarter pounder with cheese with an egg mcmuffin on top. It was ok, but I probably won't have it again.

Wow half way around the world in an exotic location and he send''s a picture of a macdonalds freaky creation, got to love this man. Good luck on the truck I am sure there are some locations to give the truck a try, but I bet it's going to be mud and not mountain trails The nipponese are funny about there mountains. The hammon was not the same without you no body even fired up the plasma cutter. You keep safe we want to see your smilling face again here in the lowcountry. Doc

 

[Maglight]

The build so far

Alright here is the build as it stands. I added about 24 inches of blue LEDs to the over head light. I have added a tachometer, why does a 3 cylinder engine need a tach, because I can, but just because I could I added a vacuum gauge as well. I also put a skull shift knob on that has a blue light on the inside.

Upcoming additions:
All LED exterior lights, except the head lights, and a new relay to ensure the flashers work right. Al LED dash and gauge cluster lights. Supposedly you can get a smoother idle out of these with all LEDs because the power wheel battery isn't trying to squeeze out so much juice and the alternator can recharge it with ease. I may lift it, I just want to ensure it will still pass the Japanese Compulsory Insurance inspection, and then I will paint it. That will have to wait until it gets warmer though.

 

[Maglight]

more photos

 

[dbenke]

Have you found any trails over there yet (with all your spare time).
Looking good. Any chance bringing it back stateside when your tour is over?

 

[Maglight]

I have not found anywhere to get off the pavement, but I haven't looked real hard either. We are going to the mountains in a few weeks to take the boys sledding and to play in the snow so I will look up there and see if there is anything worth while. I have to find some folks to go with since I am prone to getting stuck. I probably could lift this truck out of almost any situation with my bare hands, but better safe than sorry. I have thought of bring it back, but there are a lot of rules, one of which is getting this little truck governed at 25 MPH. It may not be old enough to bring over either. I think vehicles have to be more than 25 years old to bring in to the states and this thing will be 24 when I am done here. It would be an awesome daily driver on base to save money on gas and tootle around in.