Hey all:
This thread will document the refurbishment and renewal of "The Survivor" as my client @Chilly038 likes to call his 1991 HZJ77.
Mike (the owner) and I got to know each other a few years ago when he was looking for a mechanic to do some work on his HZJ77. We instantly hit if off and came up with a punch list for our first go around back in 2018. The key to this project has always been to make the truck 100% solid mechanically, functionally, while at the same time leaving the "patina" of the past 30 years completely alone. So, we wanted the little dents, scratches, dings, discolorations, and patina of the its life prior to coming to the US.
Thinking about working on a truck like this and keeping the goals in mind is way different than say doing a full restoration, or even just a paint job. Knowing when to say "ok, we need to stop here." is a bit more tricky when dealing with a truck that has to remain, visually, a "survivor" of its time period. Mike and I became fast friends as he understood my mentality to do things right, correctly and to do it using OEM parts always. He believed in the Toyota worldview. It helped that he has driven Land Cruisers and Hiluxes all throughout his deployments abroad with the US military.
The first go around in 2018, we did some critical mechanical things first:
1. Front axle rebuild including a manual hub conversion from the crappy "power hubs" the truck came with.
2. Complete brake overhaul with new calipers, pads, hardware etc.
3. Fluids and filter baselined.
The 77 already had a lift and some 40 series look-alike rims.
This is how the 77 showed up back in 2018. You can see that the truck was originally an automatic truck with the A440F transmission. This had been swapped out to an H55F by the importer before it arrive to me.
A lot of things were in really bad shape then... trunnion bearings here.... Toasted....
And a really damaged knuckle ball.....
This thread will document the refurbishment and renewal of "The Survivor" as my client @Chilly038 likes to call his 1991 HZJ77.
Mike (the owner) and I got to know each other a few years ago when he was looking for a mechanic to do some work on his HZJ77. We instantly hit if off and came up with a punch list for our first go around back in 2018. The key to this project has always been to make the truck 100% solid mechanically, functionally, while at the same time leaving the "patina" of the past 30 years completely alone. So, we wanted the little dents, scratches, dings, discolorations, and patina of the its life prior to coming to the US.
Thinking about working on a truck like this and keeping the goals in mind is way different than say doing a full restoration, or even just a paint job. Knowing when to say "ok, we need to stop here." is a bit more tricky when dealing with a truck that has to remain, visually, a "survivor" of its time period. Mike and I became fast friends as he understood my mentality to do things right, correctly and to do it using OEM parts always. He believed in the Toyota worldview. It helped that he has driven Land Cruisers and Hiluxes all throughout his deployments abroad with the US military.
The first go around in 2018, we did some critical mechanical things first:
1. Front axle rebuild including a manual hub conversion from the crappy "power hubs" the truck came with.
2. Complete brake overhaul with new calipers, pads, hardware etc.
3. Fluids and filter baselined.
The 77 already had a lift and some 40 series look-alike rims.
This is how the 77 showed up back in 2018. You can see that the truck was originally an automatic truck with the A440F transmission. This had been swapped out to an H55F by the importer before it arrive to me.
A lot of things were in really bad shape then... trunnion bearings here.... Toasted....
And a really damaged knuckle ball.....
