Well well, here it finally is, the FJ75 exfiretruck

[crushers]

back to the beginning ...
here is what i bought in Japan:
Luxury Imports - Calgary, Alberta
pretty cool but i had no use for a firetruck but i had a vision of a low km 75 series pickup that i wouldn't need to sink a lot of money into. I contacted Yas and asked for an inspection before i bid on it. he traveled to the auction himself and did a once over and gave it a thumbs up. 8500 km original, not a roll back. so i told him to "buy it" and went to bed. now, the idea was to buy it for $2500, add $1000 for Yas fee, $1200 for shipping to Canada, $800 for customs and $2000 for a bed, $1000 for paint and $1000 for tires. done. $10K and i have a nice work truck.
i wake up in the morning and spot the email from Yas. bought for $9100 and $1000 for his fee. s***, there goes my budget.

 

[crushers]

then he tells me that it is oversize so it will cost another $350 to have it shipped... okay.
i contact Dave at Japan 4X4 and ask him what it will cost to have the box removed at his shop. "roughly $1000". well, i wanted the box off anyway and this will free up some of my time here.
"go for it".

well, it turns out all the box mounts were cut off, the fuel tank was removed and relocated. so new mounts are ordered, a new tank and hoses and straps are ordered but he runs into a snag. the firetruck has a unique H55F installed so a brand new replacement is ordered so the factory fuel tank can be installed.
another $5500 invested and it has not even left Japan yet.
this what it looks like now:
Luxury Imports - Calgary, Alberta

 

[crushers]

well. well, i need to make that bugger start to earn me money. a penny saved is a penny earned. i contact Dave again and order a HZ/H55F/T/case combo, a replacement engine for my Celica ragtop, 2 factory electric center units, shafts etc etc etc and get him to crate it all and fasten to the back of the cab and chassis.
it is now Dec of 2008 so i am now living in Ontario and shipping is $1200 to Vancouver and $1500 more to Ontario. i get Dave to grab me a quote to Ontario from Japan. $3500, beautiful. go for it.
but
what i did not realise is the time delay, to vancouver is 10 days, clear customs is 5 days and 2 weeks across canada. roughly a month.
direct to Ontario from Japan is 3 MONTHS!! darn.
add to that customs in Montreal inspect EVERY container which means $1050 extra charge to move the container, open it, inspect it, reseal and redeliver to port. plus with all the parts on the back i now had a LOT more customs to pay.

leason learned.

anyhow, eventually it arrives in Missassuga and i go get it.
this is what i find:

 

[crushers]

Dave didn't waste any space nor did he do a second rate job of attaching the load to the frame. steel welded and bolted.
a pair of lockers
2 complete sets of tires

 

[crushers]

celica engine
1 HZ and tranny t/case

 

[crushers]

the contrast between original faded red to cut and polished and waxed red.

 

[bkfj40]

I can't wait to see the final product...I was amazed when I got a crate from Dave - even the crate is an amazing work of art....

bk

 

[crushers]

showing the 4 steps (the original color is in the above post)

 

[crushers]

i was even able to capture the original signage on the door with carefull application of paint remover.

 

[crushers]

before and after hood shots
side shot.

 

[crushers]

fitting of the tray
i wanted a tight fit so i went with 4" I channel and the tongue and grove alloy planking. i also decided to bolt the tray together using 3X4 HEAVY alloy corner bracing.
i also wanted the rear to be safe from dropping stuff so i cut the factory lights into the rear.

 

[crushers]

the "finished" truck, but of course like anything, it never will be completed.
note the factory replaced roof, the black bumper, the white rims and 10 ply tires.

all in all i am happy but i will be installing (sometime in the future) 9" drop down sides and headache rack, stereo and winch.

cheers and thanks for following along.

 

[Joe Egolf]

Looks like your dog is gonna initiate and welcome your rim and tire to Canada. And oh yea , send that tub down to me ASAP

 

[roscoFJ73]

Talk about a test of patience
questions
1 what was so unique about the 3F H55F? Im sure someone with a FJ/HJ60 would have bought it
2 is the 1HZ 12v?

suggestions
1 lift the tray up 100mm to get rid of the "fruit and vege farmer" look
2 put another tank in the rear
3 fit some mud guards to stop rocks pounding the tray,something off a trailer will fit.
4 next time ,turn the tounge and groove around the other way and gear wont slide back and forth so easy
5 drill some holes in the tray so you can bolt the bench grinder,drill press,vice and take it with you to where the job is

comments
Looks great,good to see another cab chassis on mud
It takes some getting used to looking at a 75 with no 1/4 glass on the doors.
I like the idea of a "bolt together tray" The aussie jobs are made using bull rivets and are a pain to drill out when you want to do a repair.

 

[crushers]

this will not be a wheeling rig, it is a work truck so the deck stays low. i am tired of having to lift to load... getting old, or is it lazy? either way i like the low stance.

nothing great about the 3F / H55F combo, it is just what came in it. i put roughly 5000 km a year on each of my vehicles so a swap just doesn't make economical sense.

mud guards are in the works.

i will be installing a removable plywood base sheet for hauling stuff.

i have the hitch on the back so a slide in table is a good suggestion, i will look into it when i get some time.

yah, the old boy initiates everything that enters the yard...

test of patience and the wallet.
bought dec 06 arrives May 09
budgeted $10K complete and legal and now have broke the $30K

that bugger better earn me some money over the next few years...but i am happy now.

 

[lshobie]

I didn't bother with mud guards, the rocks can pound that decking all day long and they will not dent it. And, there is no need to cut and position the decking the other way, it is made like that so you can actually drag things off of it, if you had it the other way things would be more likely to slide off sideways. But, the thing is with aluminum - nothing slides on it, it is actually a pain in the ass to put things off and on it. MOst of the time you don't have to strap anything down - wait and see Wayne, if you try to put metal parts and pieces on it they will not slide on - you can always notch out the section by the tires to give it a tidier look.

BTW, I bid that truck up to 555,551

 

[crushers]

yah, it ended up a bidding war between Outback and Luxury.
in hindsight i should have put a limit on the bidding, problem was i did the research and the average selling price for a firetruck was $3000... never did i dream of it going to $9000.
Yas did what i told him to do so i can not fault him. my own stupidity.

Dad was mentioning that the alloy decks gouge easy when dragging steel on and off so the plywood decking will be installed when going to get steel supplies.

i was thinking of cutting the sides as i was assembling but decided against it for now. i want to see how it works over the next few months.

the mud flaps are for legalities, not for protection.

 

[lshobie]

You don't need mud flaps in ontario, I checked the highway traffic act and have asked several police officer friends of mine. If you look around you will notice that many vehicles don't have flaps new from the factory.

 

[crushers]

humm, i was informed i had to have mud flaps... i will think this through some more.

 

[Michael Hanson]

I thought you had over paid on the freight but the other guys did fantastic on the packaging and shipping prrotection. Nice truck. MIke