The last pickup: a 2001 diesel HZJ79L

[John Young]

My time in Dubai is coming to an end over the next year or two. The last Land Cruiser on my bucket list was a big-cab 70 series diesel. Something promising came up on Emirates Auction which seemed to fit the bill. The uncertainty was that the photos really did not confirm anything about the status of the driveline. A lot of the surplus government pickups are picked over hulks. All I had to go on was the VIN and this photo:

There were several diesel pickups of varying years that came up over the holidays that had major pieces missing; things like front timing belt covers, radiators and diesel pumps. They all seemed to have been used for salvage to keep other trucks running. This one still looked like a gamble but it was of an age that it can be brought home to the US at the end of 2026 and I decided to take a chance and I bid on it and ended up being the high bidder in early January.

I got back to Dubai a couple of days ago and Emirates Auction came through with the paperwork. Despite being down with a bad case of the stomach flu I was very anxious to see what I had bought. I got in the troopy (now with turbo 1HZ diesel power!), which is my only operable vehicle at present, and drove to the municipal lot in Ajman:

And the engine was all there!

She is a little rough around the edges...

But unusually, the bed is in pretty good shape:

 

[John Young]

Sadly the troopy (now with turbo diesel power) overheated on the way home, which is another story.

I'm wondering if the shroud and radiator on the Troopy are the cause. They are legacy from the 1FZ-F that used to be in it. I think I will try swapping in the radiator and shroud from this beast and see if that fixes the troopy.

 

[John Young]

This morning I dropped by the shop to have a better look than out in the sun.

I have a flatbed 70 series, Iota, that I poured a lot of personal effort into but that really deserves more care on the welding/rust repair in the footwells. It is solid just not what I would like, and honestly, I don't have the heart to pour more effort into that truck. BUT, unlike most all 75 series pickups in the Middle East, this one has both heat and aircon (because I found boxes and added in the heater bits). I want a heater in all my vehicles, even in Florida. And I REALLY like the solid, old-school flatbed on it.

The new 79 has only aircon and aftermarket at that. I've seen this a lot with 75s from this timeframe. Not sure if the aftermarket was better or if industrial buyers just did it for cost savings. My cunning plan is this:

Step 1: pull the dashes on the 75 and 79.
Step 2: swap the HVAC systems between the trucks;
Step 3: ship the flatbed pickup to the US:
Step 4: swap the bed of the diesel pickup in Florida for the flatbed coming in on Iota from Dubai.
Step 5: sell the previously flatbed pickup to some nice person allowing them to carry on with it as a nice FZJ75/1FZ-F truck that is pretty solid

Steps 1 and 2 are underway:

79 series

75 series

I've asked my usual paint and body shop to evaluate whether they can save the existing paint on the 79 doing touch up and paint where necessary but saving the old muni livery. I think it would be very cool to drive around Daytona Beach in a Ajman Municipality truck. My son and I already get questions every time I drive the diesel 75.

 

[gilmorneau]

I think it would be very cool to drive around Daytona Beach in a Ajman Municipality truck

Definitely!

 

[John Young]

Definitely!

Just corrected the video of my first time spotting her.

And because I may not publish elsewhere today I went out on the sand and immediately got stuck in the troopy.

Buddies to the rescue!

Then I overheated on the way to the cookout

All's well that ends well.

 

[prwillard2]

Glad you are able to rescue another one John!

 

[Greek Cruiserhead]

"I think it would be very cool to drive around Daytona Beach in a Ajman Municipality truck".

I would do the same John!
IMHO Arab liveries/scripts/logos/stickers are kind of cult on Cruisers...

PS. A MENA Expat too, couple of years ago.

 

[John Young]

Big long day in the troopy. Hot too, with no AC and intermittent full heater going to cool engine. But no rest for the ....

My goal was to get to a salvage yard that sells dismantled new parts off of 70 series trucks destined for light armor. As usual it was difficult to stop buying things. But I more or less stuck to critical items.

I am told these are locally manufactured. Not too terribly heavy and they are wider than the 6 inch OEM steelies I typically see. Waiting for pricing on them.

Got a new rear mat for the troopy:

In that box is a new rear bumper. I also got a battery tray that turned not to be correct, but that happens.

Then I drove back down to Jebel Ali to deliver the items.

That is a new rear window.

 

[John Young]

The existing window is actually not in bad shape, but the gasket is a bit aged. And the complete window is not expensive from the salvage yards.

We suspect this was used for labor shift timing, but we are just guessing.

The firewall is pretty much stripped down now.