Build spinning the roulette wheel (twice) on a 1996 Middle East HDJ81 at auction

[John Young]

The guys are still working on it. From the damage I think most of the force came down on the panhard rod, etc, not the differential housing itself, but I really don't know. I could not find a diagram in the FSM that shows the differences between the LHD and RHD version of the differential assembly. I wish I could...

Hope to know more from my mechanics tomorrow.

 

[hoser]

The RHD and LHD axle is near identical except the panhard bracket (circled) is on the opposite side. Notice how your bracket was flipped and reused on the RH side. The steering arm (red arrow) is also positioned on the RH side. It is not swappable left to right but is a bolt-on affair. The brake lines might be run differently but I don't know.

 

[John Young]

The RHD and LHD axle is near identical except the panhard bracket (circled) is on the opposite side. Notice how your bracket was flipped and reused on the RH side. The steering arm (red arrow) is also positioned on the RH side. It is not swappable left to right but is a bolt-on affair. The brake lines might be run differently but I don't know.

Thank you Hoser. That is very helpful. I see what you mean about the panhard bracket being flipped. Is that welded onto the differential housing? I take it this would be the thing that would have to be modified if I were to try to use a RHD front axel from, for example, the fire truck. Is that right? Here is another shot of the panhard bracket:

 

[hoser]

Yes, that would be the thing to modify if buying the fire truck axle. But I'm not sure why you would buy that. Easier to fix the control arm bracket.... or buy the correct axle. The price you quoted earlier for an unlocked axle is roughly the same as US prices. Even though it has low mileage... firetruck mileage is probably equivalent of 3:1!

 

[portcruiser]

You are correct, 1HZ. Thanks for pointing it out. It is a 1HD-FT. I'm still getting familiar with this new world of Toyota diesel... Here's the data plate.
View attachment 2080472
On another thread I'm trying to figure out what makes this an 81 instead of an 80. ToyoDIY decodes this as a JDM model, but it really looks like it has been in the UAE since new--and it is LHD. Maybe a special order? It has coil springs and single headlight, and another poster suggested the 81 reflects these updates. As I said, still learning. All I can say definitely is that this is only the second diesel Land Cruiser I've seen here in the UAE older than 2000. They are not common. Big part of why I jumped on it with both feet.

Congratulations on this 80 . 1HD-FT engine with A442F is a sweet combo ! It is fantastic . There are two things that puzzles me (and others for sure) on your ID plate .
First is the RC letters , before the HDJ81 . I can't find anything on that , but other people must surely know what it means . The second is the 4163 cubic centimetres ! 1HZ , 1HD-T , 1HD-FT and 1HD-FTE engines are 4164 cubic centimetres ! Every ID plate present in my European spec 1994 HZJ80 ,1994 HDJ80 , 1998 HDJ100 and 1999 HZJ75 , and every Land Cruiser 7# , 8# and 10# I know , say 4164 CC . This is small mystery at least for me !

Portcruiser

 

[John Young]

Thank you PC. I can shed no light on the KC- prefix on the model. I do note that some of the model HDJ81V's on sale from Japan seem to have this prefix. For example: Japan used Toyota Land Cruiser 80 KC-HDJ81V Suv 1995 for Sale-2953806

Re engine displacement. A mystery to me as well...

 

[John Young]

Well, I have some answers now. I went over to the garage and had a look with the truck up on the lift. What I saw needs attention badly . This was a RHD axel/differential that has been modified, very poorly, for LHD. Here are a few photos.

This is the RH side of the axel. The black discoloration is not from new welding--the guys were heating it up to see if they could bend it so it would work. The quality of the original modification takes your breath away--and not in a good way.

This is a view from the front. You can see that the panhard link is rubbing on the differential. This is because the bracket holding the end should be further forward by at least a couple of cm or an inch or so. What appears to have happened is that when they cut the bracket off the LH side they did it with a cut off torch rather than a saw so the bracket ended up being quite a bit shorter (i.e., closer to the axel tube) than it is supposed to be when the welded it on to the other end of the axel.

Here is a view of the LH side of the axel, where they cut the bracket off of for re-use on the RH side. They just failed to take into account that it will be much shorter given they cut it off with a torch.

Finally, here is a view of a cross-brace rod which seems to go to the steering box. This at least looks pretty sturdy, although they did not bother to paint it afterwards it seems.

Bottom line: At least this part of the conversion was done poorly. I've asked my mechanics to cut off the bracket and start over, and lengthen it by 2 cm or so further forward so that the panhard link does not rub against the differential housing. If they run into trouble I will buy a low-mileage RHD axel and ask them to modify it, starting from scratch. I'd really like to do the welding myself on all this, but that just is not in the cards here in Dubai.

They have a welding shop behind them that does pretty good work. I have confidence they can do a quality job. I also asked the owner to just keep an eye out for other substandard work and if they spot it, just redo it. And when all this is done, I'm asking them to wire wheel everything, prime and paint with quality anti-rust undercoating. The owner suggested a 3M product, which I will be happy with.

The immediate goal is to get the things that need immediate attention done first so the truck can go for inspection and title transfer. We are then going to backtrack and go more slowly through everything. Even with what I see so far I really like this truck. I think this is one of the trucks I will keep for life and pass on to another.

Thanks again to all for the input so far it was immensely helpful.

 

[alia176]

John - I enjoyed reading the entire saga so far and intrigued by how things work "over there". Do you speak the local language or do they speak English in most places, as a general rule?

 

[John Young]

John - I enjoyed reading the entire saga so far and intrigued by how things work "over there". Do you speak the local language or do they speak English in most places, as a general rule?

My pleasure, Alia.

No, I do not speak Arabic, or Pashtu or Hindi or any of the other myriad languages used here. Mostly the guys in the biz speak at least some English--some completely fluent--I have a buddy raised in the UK, for example, now in the salvage business in Sharjah. Speaks better English than me. I do find that whatsapp is very useful. I send photos whenever I can. Mostly I find it is a matter of being pleasant and keeping in mind that I am a guest in this country and region.

Arabic hospitality is a real thing. I went down to Abu Dhabi one afternoon to look at an old pickup at a police impound yard. I got there at 5:30 and inspection was supposed to be until 6. The police guard said no, come back tomorrow. (I used google's Arabic translator.) But I just kept chatting and asking and calling the auction site and eventually a senior official came out all the way from headquarters just to show e around which was very, very nice. The key is, I believe, not to demand. And be pleasant. And I never bargain to the last $. The guys in this business here work hard and times are not easy in the region. And they remember. Besides, this is a hobby for me and the last thing I need is stress or bad karma to be part of it.

There are some fun trucks to be found. For example, here is a 1995 Japanese diesel fire truck with under 30K km on the odometer:

They wanted about 12K USD, and it is really cool. But it is RHD and I'm not ready to tackle a conversion. These typically are in transit to Africa where they live a second life. I do enjoy being here and seeing some of these interesting varients.

 

[John Young]

I visited the garage today to see how things were going. They had not gotten any further on the panhard rod attachment point. Perhaps tomorrow. At the moment they were putting in new brake pads and replacing a broken lug stud on the front left hand axel. The brake pads were mighty thin.

I did notice a couple more things--the LH side running board has gotten pushed up a bit but there does not seem to be any meaningful damage to the body.

Here's a comparison from the right side:

The right side also has a bit of damage just to the aluminum part of the running board.

I think I'm probably in the minority here, but I actually like the stock running boards. The aluminum ones, not the painted or plastic coated ones. I'm pretty sure I can find a replacement set in Sharjah. I may have to fiddle a bit with the left hand side, but I'd like to get the running board back into proper position. It is a minor thing I know.

I'm really looking forward to the first drive of this old truck. The foreman/owner of the shop thinks we may be able to get the panhard rod fixed by Monday, in which case we could go for the inspection, which must take place in Sharjah because this truck was put on auction by the Sharjah police department. Kind of inconvenient as it is 45 minutes to an hour away.

 

[majelan]

Mabrook (congratulation in arabic)
very nice especially being 24 valve and turbo and NOT electronic injectors
Im sure you will straighten it up , part of the fun

 

[John Young]

Shukraan jazilaan [thank you], Majelan!

I am really looking forward to driving this truck. Last evening the foreman/owner at the shop indicated it would be ready today, but it was not. Perhaps tomorrow, Thursday, which is the last work day of the week here.

The seller at auction was the Sharjah Police GHQ. This requires that I go to Sharjah for the inspection and title transfer, then I've got to transfer title from Sharjah to Dubai, where I live. Hopefully this all will take place tomorrow late afternoon.

The guys have been through the truck and replaced all the fluids, done a brake job, replaced a wheel stud or two and so on. One of the other things they are doing is cleaning the underside and applying some rustproofing. I'd prefer to do this myself, but cannot as I have only my apartment parking space to work from here. The inspections here can be tough. They even say that the vehicle has to be clean for the inspection. We will see...

Inshalah [God willing], we will go for inspection tomorrow and then I will have the weekend to see how things are at present. At this stage it is all about getting title transfer and a license plate. Then we will get busy on all the things I'd like to do.

 

[D21FJ60]

By the time you move stateside you'll have to move out of Arlington because you're going to need a full barn to store all your cruisers!

 

[majelan]

Hope all goes well
A word of advice there should be NO welding on the chassis
for the car to pass for registration
As for RHD to LHD Iam not sure about that
ONLY classic cars can register converted cars

 

[John Young]

By the time you move stateside you'll have to move out of Arlington because you're going to need a full barn to store all your cruisers!

For the past several years my ex and sons had been bugging me to buy a house in the same zip code. I still had a little 1100 square foot house there but it was not really suitable as it had no garage and space for one was quite limited. I started looking on Zillow and one day last summer, just before I was to fly back to Dubai, I found a really strange listing. 1 bedroom with a six car garage and space to park several more outside on concrete apron. I did not like the look of it but houses with garages in Arlington, because of when they were built, tended either to have no garage space or they were very large houses with space that I didn't need. So, reluctantly, I went over to look at it. It had been built by a guy who had his own ideas. Picture two 2-story shoeboxes, side by side. Each had 200 amp electrical services and a bunch of other unusual industrial-style upgrades like a 2-inch water main. He had intended to run his business out of the garage and rent out the living space.

I can clearly recall being in the dining area and there were to real estate agents there looking it over, and the owner typing away on his laptop. The real estate agents were both car guys and we chatted about the garage for a bit. Then one of them said that the best use of the property was to tear it down and put up a couple of townhouses--which is happening a lot in Arlington these last few years. The owner did not say anything, but you could tell he tensed up and was very unhappy to hear such comments. My son, Jonathan was with me and I made a point of stressing that I was looking for something to keep and to live in and that the garage was the big attraction. That seemed to mollify him a bit. Eventually we came to a number we both could live with and I ended up buying it.

The outside dimensions of the garage are 24 feet by 60 feet by 20 feet high. I even had an industrial roll-up door he had salvaged somewhere I am sure. It even has heating and air conditioning of a sort. The PO had salvaged a central HVAC somewhere and put it in. The aircon works ok, but it is ancient, and the gas heat vents the stack -inside- the garage, which is insane. I'm going to trash it and put in a split heat pump which are getting pretty affordable. Currently the garage has Crusty the ebay mistake, my 98, my son's Middle East spec 93 model 80, and my son's daily driver Ford in it. If I put in some racks I'm pretty sure it could fit 6-8 Land Cruisers. And Crusty is going to be donated to charity or perhaps I can find someone who needs a good Model 100 drivetrain. (It's really a shame about the frame.) But I also want a machine shop. I have a bridgeport mill out in California I'd like to bring, and I really want a decent lathe and a welder. Might have to make an extension out the back eventually, finances permitting.

The house is completely impractical, and I still don't like the way it looks outside, but it is pretty unique in Arlington. It's also across the street, literally, from a major hospital, so that if I manage to do something unfortunate, there is a trauma center across the street. And my wonderful family even set up a little area in the back with an easy chair, a rug and a table so I can enjoy a cigar out there. I think I got lucky. Long term, in retirement (whatever that means) I'd like to move to someplace that has nicer winters and more space but for now it's pretty great.

But yes, I'm about at the limit now. Certainly I am at the limit in Dubai, with the troopy, the LX470, the diesel pickup, a Merc SL500 (I got really cheap because of problems with the top, now fixed after much effort and shlepping parts in my luggage) and now this interesting turbo diesel Model 81--all with exactly one parking space at my apartment.

Unfortunately, I keep seeing interesting vehicles....

 

[John Young]

Hope all goes well
A word of advice there should be NO welding on the chassis
for the car to pass for registration
As for RHD to LHD Iam not sure about that
ONLY classic cars can register converted cars

Thanks Majelan!
I'm pretty sure the guys will slap some paint on the welding that they have to do for the panhard rod bracket. They are putting on the 3M rust proofing before we go for inspection partly I am sure because they know that sometimes the inspectors are sticky about even surface rust here. I'm also hopeful that because this is a vehicle owned by the Sharjah police maybe it would be awkward for the Sharjah authorities to say that it cannot be registered. If I really can't register it here I will just warehouse it here for a year and then ship it to the US when it hits 25 years old. But that's good information. And a little concerning. I guess we will find out...

 

[D21FJ60]

The fact you found a set up like that in Arlington that hadn't already been demolished and replaced per that realtors suggestion is a miracle in itself. Used to work for a utility company about 5 years ago and that was my assigned area, so I know what you mean re: tear down and rebuild.

Regarding Crusty, I am a charity , i've always wanted to learn how to weld...

edit: sorry, didn't mean to threadjack.

 

[John Young]

The fact you found a set up like that in Arlington that hadn't already been demolished and replaced per that realtors suggestion is a miracle in itself. Used to work for a utility company about 5 years ago and that was my assigned area, so I know what you mean re: tear down and rebuild.

Regarding Crusty, I am a charity , i've always wanted to learn how to weld...

edit: sorry, didn't mean to threadjack.

LOL. Yes it was something of a miracle. You will appreciate that the Dominion Power guys came over and found that one of the two power meters had been installed upside down--because of the way the wiring had been done.

I will be back in VA between 10-19 of October if you'd like to come over and have a look. I'd really like it to go to someone who will put it into use. But fair warning, the frame is toast, and we've been swapping its nice interior into my 98. PM me if you'd like to drop by.

 

[D21FJ60]

PM sent

 

[PDoyle]

Hope all goes well
A word of advice there should be NO welding on the chassis
for the car to pass for registration
As for RHD to LHD Iam not sure about that
ONLY classic cars can register converted cars

Just an internet observation, but if the frame has been primed and painted that may not even be an issue.