Builds spinning the roulette wheel (twice) on a 1996 Middle East HDJ81 at auction (1 Viewer)

[John Young]

I think what you have is a LHD conversion. See here,

Hmmm... Intresting theory, SNLC. Here's a couple of photos of the engine bay:

I don't see any evidence of things having been moved around. The wiper moter, for example. I don't have any photos of the driver's door jam at hand, but next time I will have a look and see what is there.

I've heard there is some company in Dubai that does conversions of more recent Land Cruisers. But I've also heard that it is possible to special order LHD in the Japanese Domestic Market--because for a time after WWII, again I am told, it was prestegious to do so in emulation of Amercian imports. No idea if this is true.

But this is all great fun, trying to figure this out!

 

[EvanD]

Cool thread! Subscribed...

 

[SNLC]

Well, the best conversions, you would be hard pressed to see anything that gives it away.

All they really had to do was have a LHD donor. If it was cut for the conversion it’s pretty likely that would have been done at the a-pillar and the floor where it meets the firewall. Also engine mounts may show signs of welding because as you say that is a rare engine for over there. And as you probably also know there are some high dollar shops over there that do crazy builds with no expense spared.

Toyodiy has always been spot on for me and the few dozen trucks I have decoded on there. I will say if anywhere in the world could have gotten special orders from Japan it would have been the Middle East.

Cheers

 

[John Young]

They have a unique distribution system over here. Each car manufacturer has one and only one local partner who enjoys a monopoly on imports. For Toyota it is Al Futtaim, which is highly regarded for its service. I will write to them and see if they have any records for this particular chassis.

All this convinces me I should try to maintain this truck as stock as possible (except for the correct winch and bumper which already is under way.

 

[Squash]

Great find!

 

[OGBeno]

I would check the frame number on the RH front frame rail behind the tire and see if it confirms the data plate.... If it confirms the data plate, then it would seem that you do have a LHD HDJ81.

 

[jjohnny]

Very cool, thanks for sharing

 

[hoser]

RHD wiper motor here... plugged with rubber cap. Normally, there would be no hole in a LHD 80.

 

[OGBeno]

RHD wiper motor here... plugged with rubber cap. Normally, there would be no hole in a LHD 80.

View attachment 2081020

 

[John Young]

That is a very interesting observation, Hoser. An old For Sale notice on this very site had a photo of a Swiss 1996 turbo diesel:

I will be looking very closely indeed when I next see the truck. I'm still trying to get information from Al Futtaim, the sole authorized importer of Toyota products to the UAE. So far, no luck. If my truck is a conversion, it is an amazing one.

 

[HRTROB]

Here’s a photo of the engine bay of my LHD ‘96 HDJ80 for comparison.

 

[HRTROB]

By the way, the dead giveaway that the OP’s was originally a RHD is the antenna placement. It should be on the passenger side fender.

 

[John Young]

By the way, the dead giveaway that the OP’s was originally a RHD is the antenna placement. It should be on the passenger side fender.

The only question remaining is where and when the conversion was done. Was it contemporaneous with the purchase as new, and was it done through the UAE's sole importer. Good thing I never listen to the radio and can keep it down. Otherwise it would bother me.

Incidentally, speaking of the radio, if anyone can identify this exact radio/cd I'd be very grateful. I'd like to try to keep it in the truck and modify to add bluetooth, which is possible with some of the radios where the CD was implemented as a separate deck, as this one seems to be from this bad photo.

I've seen a bunch of photos online that look similar, but none that are identical. From the small size of the displays I wonder if it is not from earlier on in the 90's.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

Did you try ToyoDIY.com?

ToyoDIY.com

 

[John Young]

Did you try ToyoDIY.com?

ToyoDIY.com

Yes--that's part of the source of puzzlement. It was just a hotlink on the first page of this thread. Here is a screenshot for everyone's convenience:

 

[WarDamnEagle]

My link will take you straight to the radio.

 

[John Young]

My link will take you straight to the radio.

I will be dipped in ....

 

[John Young]

Just to add to the mystery, after googling the parts numbers I found an ebay listing for this:

The CD player it the same, but the radio portion is pretty much the mirror of the one in my truck. And get this description from the ebay listing: "Removed from RHD 1992 Toyota Land Cruiser 80". Which suggests that this radio is for LHD. Which could suggest that the conversion was done in Japan. But thanks to WDE I'm much closer to figuring out how to add an aux input to this.

 

[HRTROB]

The radio was probably replaced because the Japanese radios can only tune up to 89.9Mhz in the FM band.

 

[Fattyeighty]

The UAE is quite well known for RHD->LHD conversions especially with Supras and Skylines
But would be the first time I have heard of a Landcruiser conversion. I think they would probably just take the engine and install it in an FZJ80 and be done with it since that is the unique aspect of this LC. Dont think they would go through the trouble of a full LHD conversion unless the previous owner LOVED diesels (and there are some diesel nuts over here)
There are some oddballs over here. Mine is a 97 FZJ80 automatic (now manual), H1FA transfer case and a PTO winch from the factory. Could not find any other FZJ80 similar to it but the VIN decodes to a GCC spec.
Good luck