I'm amazed with the amount of ideas and support that's been offered! Thank y'all. Before I respond to it all, here's some eye candy as the thread has been photo-starved as of late.
I really need to get one of those
@cruiseroutfit "Jeeps are Sh!t" stickers and slap it on this. Just haven't had a reason to place an order in a while.
I'm in my 20's so of course I have to have a motorcycle in my room.
The 240d on a foggy day
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Sorry it didn't work out. Alot of companies have adds for things they don't have. If for nothing else to drag you in for clicks. This is one of the reasons you pay a premium for US and AU cruiser supply houses, they've done all that work already.
If I could not get another frame for my bj73 I would: grind out all the bubbling filler. Grind down the inside to include behind the dash. Weld some steel bar stock to the inside for strength all the way around the windshield. Weld in whatever new sheet metal I could and then shape/fill with a filler that doesn't absorb moisture. What you had lasted a number of years. Do it again but with some strength reinforcement inside. If you can make it 4 to 5 years into the future you will likely either have more money, or be ready to move on from the troopy.
You are hopefully correct about the more money thing haha, as for waiting to move on from the troopy, I hope to keep it for an extremely long time. I would 100% do what you said if it was the willys I just acquired or some other American sold 4wd that wasn't pristine. I'm just trying to do things as right as possible before I glue a poptop camper to the roof and god knows how difficult that would be to take off to do repairs in the future. The only thing making me want to move on from the troopy is all this damned rust
if you got buddies in Aus you need to tap that resource first, make some calls to auto wreckers, source the frame,
then send them to secure it for you, just some time and a sawsall or plasma cutter
then you gotta get it shipped.....
i have a feeling you could find one in north or south america.... just alotta phone work
You're 100% correct. I was trying to leave them at peace on the weekends to go explore and enjoy as they are working the rest of the time. They are great friends of mine and I was going to go over with them in November, just didn't have the money to do so. They would be very willing to help.
Wait....you have a place to stay...for free...in Australia? You gotta be kiddin' me.
It would be worth running the idea up the flagpole at work to see if it flies. Offer to do some extra projects or find someone to cover for you. If you're seriously considering it, give them an incentive to say yes. You'll never know if you don't ask.
75 series trucks are cool, no doubt (I loved mine--miss it every day), but what can you do with it, really, that you can't do with any old Toyota pickup? There's no space in a ute for taxiing around tipsy college girls by the dozen. I vote against it, for that reason if no other.
On the chance that you're serious and you decide to go to Australia, @bj70bc is right--do a lot of phone work ahead of time. Find the wreckers near where your friends are and call them. See if they have what you want, see if they'll let you cut it or at least direct their cutting while you're there. Make it clear to them that you're serious, and that you'll be there on such and such date. You'll be the crazy American. A celebrity.
Re: tools (wrenches or whatever), if you need any, you can probably just buy a cheap set at Bunnings or someplace while you're there if you don't want to haul your own. Pack them into the box when you ship it home, or donate them to a good cause before you leave Australia. Anything suitable for cutting a car body will need to be rented or borrowed while you're there.
Shipping large items from Australia can get expensive quickly. You could send it sea freight, but know that will take upwards of 8 weeks to arrive home and it won't be cheap. Another option might be to cut the sheet metal into smaller pieces (i.e. don't try to ship or carry a half-cut, instead slice it into usable sections). You could then box it and check it as "extra baggage" on your flight home. Might cost a couple hundred dollars depending on size/weight. Much cheaper than shipping and way faster. Check with the airlines for their limitations.
Finding what you need Stateside isn't impossible, but it's a much lower percentage play than Australia. Any Troopies that originated in Central or South America are likely to be as bad as what you have. Be particularly wary of any "restored" Landcruisers from south of the border. I know there's a parts-worthy red BJ75 troopy that used to live in Colorado, and was sold cheap a few years ago, but the trail has gone cold. I think I already PM'd you about it, but if not, message me and I'll tell you what I know.
And you could still pursue the new parts path, just find a better vendor and you may need to do more work finding part numbers. Just typing your VIN into Partsouq isn't going to get you there. Most parts for a car that old will show as NLA, but many parts for a newer Troopy will fit or can be adapted and are still available.
Very good point on the ute conversion, I really am only thinking that route out of desperation just so I can drive it again. As for work, I'll throw the idea out there and see how they react. This is the first job I have felt respected and treated well at which is honestly quite sad, but for once it's working against me haha, any other job I've had in the past I would have just up and gone regardless. However,. it's just me and 3 other guys running the show so I'm a pretty crucial component to the whole operation going smooth, that's why I'm hesitant.
If for some reason my friends over there arent willing or able to help with the troopy stuff and I'm able to squeeze myself out of work for a bit... then I'd love to go to Aus, cant thank you enough for the advice on everything. Bookmarking this post. You have PM'd me about that parts BJ75, I believe any lead that was chased ended up going to a dead end.
The problem with the newer troopy parts vs the older is even the brand new parts are out of stock everywhere! All the parts I had in my cart and have searched for on all other websites are for brand new 78 series troopcarriers. Still not available!
Hi
I would also try to leverage the friends already in AUS. Plus the phone campaign the others suggested, to arrange something the guys on site just need to execute. If well prepared, it should be a not too time consuming job for your friends to cut out a windshield frame.
For shipping: What about vehicle shipments of overlanders? A windshield frame is not that deep. It may fit at the side or under a rig, still. Overlanders are always looking for container buddies to bring down cost. Not sure how many vehicles get shipped AUS -USA, though.
Good Luck Ralf
The shipping idea is a good one, I might need to join a few Australian landcruiser/overland groups on facebook and see if anyone is willing. Thanks for the idea!
Hello,
Maybe this has been discussed before.
Sometime around 2010 Toyota modified the 78 Series' windshield pillars for increased structural strength. The new pillars have a reinforcement plate on the outside, near the windshield's upper corners.
Chances are pre-2010 parts are long gone, except for some secret stash out there. And, of course, wreckers.
A good thing about 70 Series is that newer parts still fit older trucks.
It may be possible to fill out Toyota's HS-something (I never get the exact name right) forms for parts import through Toyota US and order the windshield pillar parts for a, say, 2010 (or later) model year Troopy. It is not going to be cheap but it puts aside issues like availability, shipping and setting up camp overseas.
Furthermore, you have long-term ownership plans. That means time is not an issue. It also means you can get parts one or two at a time, as resources allow, and get to work once you have everything you need.
Getting parts through a vendor or a wrecker is a good option, and helps keep costs down. But sometimes it is practical to get them from the local dealer. Sometimes it is better to let someone else do the head scratching, calling and shipping.
Juan
Good idea with the US dealer, and thanks for the additional insight of the difference of the 78 series pillars vs the older ones. As I do have longterm ownership plans... I also hate to see this thing just sit. Winter will be coming to an end in a couple months where I live and the sun will be out for 3-4 hours once I get off work. Just trying to get a move on sooner than later to be able to tackle this all when the weather is right.
Jonathan,
You are welcome to the windshield frame off of the silver Troopy. (the one you took the 3B out of)
I'm not sure it's any better than the one you are trying to fix, but maybe the bad sections of each will be in different places.
And the price is right; free!...
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Thanks for the offer! However I feel like it wouldn't be worth the effort for me to come out there or the shipping to have it transported, once I start grinding on that windshield frame, I don't know how much would be left... just like mine
I honestly think this is the best way , I have used some parts of them before and no they are not like oem but they are manageable to work with .
There are probably several people dreaming about a troopy body on a 80 frame and this would be the perfect start . Maybe we need to take this idea serious , I am pretty sure I can provide the needed interior parts like pedal buckets , dash etc to make this work .
Even if the price doubles with shipping and import duty this is still a bargain compared to having rust reairs done at 150$ an hour . They also have the doors , fenders and other parts available to basically have a full body .
You got a good point! Can't hurt to put a post out there asking if anyone else is interested. Would hopefully solve my issues with rust for another 30 years or so. Even if that
alibaba body is made out of the worst chinesium they have to offer, it'd be better than what I have now!
Freinds are located in Batemans Bay. Not in the middle of nowhere but not exactly that close to any of the well-populated cities, I believe that Sydney is 4 hours away or so. I greatly appreciate the leads! I'll inquire and see how far I get.
Thank you everyone for your collective minds giving me many different routes than what I would have not thought of on my own! Y'all are the best.
