I've seen a few of those surplus firetrucks on the Japanese importer websites. They seem to not draw as much attention because of the unstylish appearence, but what a great starting point for your build. A well maintained, very low mile vehicle, garaged most of its life, and with heavy duty everything.
What did you do on your 70 series today? (26 Viewers)
- Thread starter IH8MUD
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Most often without power steering and never with A/C.
We made a simple, functional one for J's Troopy. Works just fine as he has limited $$$.
Rear door table for Red Rocket Troopy
I would carefully consider rerouting the exhaust such that it remains beneath the truck and travels all the way back, I did this to my lj78 and have decided it was a mistake. The exhaust is too intertwined with the driveshaft and etc.. there's just no good way to route it to provide proper movement of the suspension, and it raised the cabin noise significantly. They're meant to exit the frame, and it's on my list to change mine back that way
Thanks thats good to know. One of the reasons I would like it routed to the back is because it is a little too much noise right by the driver door. Its not unbearable but enough to get annoying. I wonder if I can get a muffler shop to get it maybe tucked under the truck a little better to at least hide the muffler a little. Idk I have time to think about it. I have lots of fixes and plans before I get to the exhaust.
I am currently focusing on finding a front right fender. I found a lot of Bondo in there and I feel I probably should just replace the whole fender. (if I can find one) additionally I am thinking about putting 16 inch stock steelies from a tacoma with 255 85 16 size tires. or 33x10.50s. I feel like the more narrow tires look better and would make it drive a little better because they will be lighter.
Lucky a lot of new things were done to keep the engine cool including an oversized radiator and I believe the head and thermostat were done already. I am going to purchase a new water pump and timing belt kit soon. ust as preventative matenence even though the t-belt was done 30k ago.
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Ya they do pop up from time to time. Advice that was given to me when I started looking was to wait for a 79 to pop up instead of the 75. My 79 has power steering and it’s easy to throw AC in. At the end of the day the ex-fire route was the most feasible and I’ll have a 4 dr with a 6ft tray come spring so win-win in my books. Plus like you mentioned the interior is literally new and the truck arrived with 13,000kms. Not bad for a 21yr old vehicle.
Ya your not wrong. 79s did come with power steering though. Just piecing together my AC kit!
My father bought a Daihatsu hijet fire truck (mini truck) and it was in like mint condition. has 9,000kms on it. The fire trucks seem to be a good deal in the jdm market.
I made a fold down table for my BJ73:
What did you do on your 70 series today?
forum.ih8mud.com
A board, 4 hinges, a few screws, some parachord and 6 M5 rivet nuts. I inserted rivet nuts in the holes where the fastner for the doorcards go. Its a direct fit. 3 of the fastner holes in the bottom are in line already. I just had to drill one additional hole on the left / inner side.
This also doesn't rattle as the parachord knots act as bumpstop on the door and the board being tied up by the chord doesn't give any hard structures that could rattle at all.
Cheers Ralf
It's been a while but it looks like the R2.8 is wrapped up! Stephen and the crew at Overland Cruisers in Belgrade, MT have done a great job on this one!
The car has had a rough life. In the process of doing the swap, they found one diff was geared to 4.1 and the other 3.7 which explains the horrible binding I was experiencing in 4Low.
. The T-case output shaft was shot and numerous other little big things. Many thanks to Georg from Cruiser Bros for the last-minute overnight parts!
What we ended up doing:
-new 3.7 gears front and rear
-3:1 gearing in the t-case
-front air locker
-custom airbox
-custom ARB bracket
-FMIC/Radiator combo from Australia
-custom fan shroud
-fan clutch (mech fans > e-fans)
-BlueTooth tuning module
What I have here at home waiting to get installed:
-FJCO wheels
-Long Range tank
-Cabin heater
-Explore Glazing Exped. Windows
I think I'm taking receipt of the Troopy next week, fingers crossed!
The car has had a rough life. In the process of doing the swap, they found one diff was geared to 4.1 and the other 3.7 which explains the horrible binding I was experiencing in 4Low.
. The T-case output shaft was shot and numerous other little big things. Many thanks to Georg from Cruiser Bros for the last-minute overnight parts!What we ended up doing:
-new 3.7 gears front and rear
-3:1 gearing in the t-case
-front air locker
-custom airbox
-custom ARB bracket
-FMIC/Radiator combo from Australia
-custom fan shroud
-fan clutch (mech fans > e-fans)
-BlueTooth tuning module
What I have here at home waiting to get installed:
-FJCO wheels
-Long Range tank
-Cabin heater
-Explore Glazing Exped. Windows
I think I'm taking receipt of the Troopy next week, fingers crossed!
Interested to hear your impression on how it drives (power, fuel economy etc.) vs. the old power plant.
That's a Chinese block. I wonder how they are holding up. 
I had recently installed a rear bumper that came with built in tail lights, The standard type with red lens. One of them stopped working and I was able to get a replacement sent which didn't even work out of the box from the bumper vendor. So instead of dealing with the bumper vendor again, I just did a long search process of trying to find some lights of the same dimensions that are 24V. The only ones I could find of the same dimensions were on Japanese sites that come with smoked lens and are intended for industrial trucks....but at least they bolt right in. Generally I am not a fan of smoked tail lights but it actually looks good on a black bumper as it blends in when the lights are off. Hopefully these will last long enough until I get the Kaymar reworked/modified!
Non-functioning red lens type light in bumper and then removed next to smoked type for comparison.
New light installed and tested.
Brake.
Blinker
Non-functioning red lens type light in bumper and then removed next to smoked type for comparison.
New light installed and tested.
Brake.
Blinker
That's a Chinese block. I wonder how they are holding up.
Lots of people I know have these engines in their daily drivers (built 60 series rigs) and aren't having any issues with them with 25,000+ miles thus far. I'll keep everyone informed on the fuel economy/power. All reports on the R2.8 differ heaps from the reports on the old ISF2.8.
Toyota and Cummins are global companies and even Toyota produces some engines in China. Toyota Joint-venture Engine Plant in China Begins Production of New Four-Cylinder Engine | Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website - https://global.toyota/en/detail/209895
I drove a few rigs with this engine and was more than pleased with the power - even on a 60 that had a trailer on it. I think this swap will be more and more common.
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Will do! We geared it correctly and the rig weighs about the same as a built 60 the owner of the shop has. He's on 35" with armor, RTT, drawers, etc and our Troopy is on 255/85/16 with a lightweight interior build and a Hercules. I'm thinking highway at casual "cruising" speeds will get 25-30mpg. Our 12HT on a good day would get about the same, maybe slightly less, but I was always in 3rd gear in the slow lane going up passes and the EGT were always very warm. A guy in ABQ had a R2.8 Defender 110 with a buildout, pop-top and he said he got 28mpg consistently on our highways here in NM. Fingers crossed!
Overseas it is the ISF 2.8 made in China. Bought direct from China on Alibaba it's about 50% cheaper than the us marketed are 2.8 package. Rumor is the r 2.8 US marketed engines are assembled with a much higher standard of quality control then the typical ISF 2.8 sold overseas. Not sure if that means US assembly or not.That's a Chinese block. I wonder how they are holding up.
Very cool! I got to see the work in progress at their shop a couple of months ago, looks awesome! I think the little R2.8 should work really nicely, if my 1.9 powered Prado is anything to go on.It's been a while but it looks like the R2.8 is wrapped up! Stephen and the crew at Overland Cruisers in Belgrade, MT have done a great job on this one!
The car has had a rough life. In the process of doing the swap, they found one diff was geared to 4.1 and the other 3.7 which explains the horrible binding I was experiencing in 4Low.
What we ended up doing:
-new 3.7 gears front and rear
-3:1 gearing in the t-case
-front air locker
-custom airbox
-custom ARB bracket
-FMIC/Radiator combo from Australia
-custom fan shroud
-fan clutch (mech fans > e-fans)
-BlueTooth tuning module
What I have here at home waiting to get installed:
-FJCO wheels
-Long Range tank
-Cabin heater
-Explore Glazing Exped. Windows
I think I'm taking receipt of the Troopy next week, fingers crossed!
View attachment 2887606
In theory it was going to be a cool display. 
so far I have never gotten close to 25-30mpg with my 12HT, lucky if I get 20-22mpg.
