Vehicle "Build" Thread...

.....as some in the "What Are You Driving" thread may have seen, after 23yrs and several hundred thousand KMs I decided to "upgrade" Landcruisers. I say it as "upgrade" as there are certainly things on the new one that I like less than my old one. But that is always going to be the case. Given I am laid up at home post surgery for another week I have some time and am bored, so a good time to type....

On vehicle to vehicle let me start by acknowledging that the VDJ76R I have got is NOT (in Toyota's build type) the direct replacement for my old HZJ80. That replacement vehicle would be a VDJ200R. Both the 80 I have or 200 I would choose as a replacement for the 80 are the utility/bottom spec/barn door version of their Luxury Wagons. I looked at the 200 (and have several at work I can drive) and - besides the price over what I paid for the 76 - there remained several things that I din't like compared to my old 80 or the 76. The 200 only comes with an auto gear box for one and is also a twin turbo diesel engine (same power plant as the 76 I have with and extra turbo bolted on) and they are HUGE inside and out ! The other factor was that a 200 of similar age, condition, KMage etc would have set me back at least $20K more and still needed the work I will do on the 76 now.

On what I loose and which I struggle with most, SPACE (this is a pro and con) but the 80 is for me like a "Tardis" (for the Dr Who fans) and there is LOTS of space inside. The 200 has MOOOOOOORE space than the 80 but it is also significantly larger outside - the 80 and 100 series that replaced it, strike the BEST balance on this front to me. Space is followed by an easy to work on power plant, the 1HZ has been around since the late 80s and is still being built and sold by Totoya in 70 series trucks delivered to the Middle East and Africa. There is a reason for this, they go and go and go. But they are also slow and slow and under-powered (I can live with this). I can do most things on a 1HZ that fall in my wheelhouse (I am NOT a mechanic by ANY stretch of the imagination !!) and my final complaint alone is "RIDE" ! The 80 and 100 series are both live axles with coil springs all round. You can made that about perfect for any situation with the addition of a set of poly airbags and the right spring rate and shocks. The 70 is the same in the front (yay) but has big honking industrial leaf springs in the back. So the ride will NEVER match the 80/100 and that is a pill I am still working on swallowing.

On the 70Series.... well it has been in continuous production since @1985, it is the direct replacement for the almost religiously loved 40Series trucks (I had one of these as my first ever four wheeled vehicle - and would have another tomorrow if I were were wealthy and could have a "weekend toy"). In about every way however the 70Series is better. I had lots of exposure to these as a young'n given my best mate (he still is) bought a brand spanking new table top 75Series in 1989 and we added LOTS of distance to it in our travels !!

The 70 was designed to be "light industrial" from the get go, that you see so many OLD ones running around Africa and the Middle East tell you they probably got it right When I was in Mozambique we spent much time in a 1985 75Series and I didn't feel at all worried !!! I am no historian of the vehicle but they have been made in MWB with a Fibreglass Top, SWB with steel top, Table Top, Ute (Tub) Back, and LWB Troop Carrier till the late 90s. They then extended the cab a little on the single cab versions and called it a 78Series. Then in the @mid-2000s they had another revamp and added a dual cab version (calling the Cab Chassis versions 79Series and they updated Troop Carrier the 78Series) and in 2007 the 76Series (which is a shorter 4 door version of the Troop Carrier) was added. With the mid 2000s update they added the 4.5L V8Turbo Diesel to the entire range. The first time I saw a 76Series (almost had an accident weeing on at a car yeard as they had not really been announced, just delivered) I knew I would end up owning one at some point.

One of my Godsons drives a 2009 79Series Single Cab with a tray on the back, they thing just goes and goes and goes !!!

Now, let me clarify wht it is I want from a vehicle (as this defines what it is needs to be done and what "success" looks like at the end). For me it is pretty simple, something that can carry me (and maybe a single passenger) long distances, in reasonable comfort, carrying a significant load of gear depending on the needs of the trip. Given the remote locations out here, it needs to be highly reliable, built tough and with SIGNIFICANT range even when loaded up. I am NOT after a rock crawler or something that needs to climb un-climbable tracks just for fun etc. It does need to be able to get through some really bad spots (water, mud, rocks etc) capably. And yes U understand there is a fine line between playing offroad and essential offroading. Lets face it, we do the first to a degree so we can do the later when it matters !!!

 

Or a 1980 IH Scout Diesel with Turbo and 40 gallon fuel tank.

 

The US experience operating HMMWVs here in Aus was pretty poor, most "tracks" in and around the place were Lancruiser/Landrover width and those silly big things kept getting stuck and doing in tyres. That said...yes I would love one as a toy !

 

So the starting point...

Day we arrived home (a few weeks ago)....



And some I snapped today....











....since arriving and today about the only change I have made was swapping the Cooper tyres off my 80Series and onto this one.

 

Nice ride, you do understand these are seldom seen in the US.

 

So this one looks about stock but the prior owner spent some $$s on it to make it suit his needs. He and his wife are retired and this has been used solely to pull their caravan north a couple of times a year. Pretty much all his modifications were with this in mind. Being a factory GXL package it comes standard with front and rear Diff Locks (switch operated from the dash) and (a negative to me) carpet ! He added a reversing camera (aimed to use hooking up his van one out), a UHF radio, windows are tinted, several power outlets inside and out (for both fridges and running the van electricals from the truck), an engine monitoring system (the ECS type that plugs into the factory diagnostic port) and a temp gauge for the fridge about round out the internal changes (oh and about $600 in canvas seat covers).

He spent more $s elsewhere. Under the front there is a dual battery system with a management unit (allowing it to charge from the alternator, solar or any combination of these), fuel pre-filtering system and an electric brake controller (won't ever need that). He also added a three plus inch stainless exhaust system from engine to tail and has it all sitting up on a set of HEEEEEAAAAAVY Ironman springs and Foam Pro Shocks. Above the back springs he has also added a set of airbags to take up/level any extra load. The back springs are perhaps my biggest issue, they are designed to hold up a freaking big caravan when hitched, so even dropping the airbags down to a 3psi holding pressure it is still harsh in the back !!!! I will bide my time before and decisions of changing these springs and see how they go when I sling some of the weight off the back I have in mind.

 

Very sweet ride indeed! Somewhat along the lines of the Toyota Sequoia here in the US.

 

Some new additions are already in the garage awaiting fitting when I am off Doctor's restrictions and some more are inbound.

Currently there is a set of 9inch LED driving lights and loom, some LED replacement kits for the terrible internal lighting units, some custom lit LED internal switches (for the fridge, lights, winch etc), a swing up mounting bracket so the front registration plate can be swung up and away from the winch fairlead and a 12,000lb winch.

I got a GREAT deal on a full height cargo barrier that should arrive by Tuesday.

On Thursday I had all the seats and carpets steam cleaned (they were really not dirty but had that "other person smell") as I will put the canvas seat covers back on and I have found a place that services mostly the taxi industry here that makes vinyl flooring that is moulded to the layout of this vehicle and fits over the carpets front to back.

..... yes, I have seen very few 70Series Landcruisers in the US most are older models (pre-emission laws) than this. I don't believe many diesel TLCs (especially the later V8 Trubo models) have made it there.

....from what I have read a Sequoia is a lighter duty version than the 200 Series which is in turn a lighter duty (though much larger) vehicle than these. We don't get Sequoias here so I have no personal experience to go on.

 

I work for Goodyear and see quite a few. I'm happy with my Mercury Mountaineer!

 

Feeling like garbage....so going for a lay down and to research some rear bars and long range fuel tanks....

Oh and one mongrel act on Toyota's part.....after about 5 decades of use, around 2000 and something early, they went from 6 stud to 5 stud rims...!!! Given I have three sets of rims for the old truck this is a bitch...oh and my trailer is built around (literally) using the same size tyres/wheels as my 80Series. So I need a new par of hubs and rims for that as well !!

 

I gotta go Old School with my Off Road Rigs! 1942 Dodge PowerWagon WC-22
( Not Mine)

 

I’m normally not a jealous man...

 

Old 80 has a steel rear bar with a swing out wheel carrier and jerry carrier (plus a mounted led light worklight on extending pole) It also had duel fuel tanks. This one will get the same brand of bar but with dual wheel carriers (my old one also had a second spare under the back). The long range tank is a replacement for the factory jobby where my old one had two separate tanks (I like two tanks as you can hole/damage one and still be mobile, not an option on this model though).

Hardest thing will be building the cargo deck in the back (as I need to do that as opposed to throwing $s at a professional). It was one of the single best things I did to the old truck !!! I still have the old girl here for another week or two so will take it to the engineering place that build the deck frame for me 10yrs ago so he knows what I am babbling about when I arrive with the new one .

 

Just looked in the "received pile"...there is also a set of LED lights to replace the original "fog lights" that come on the ARB bar. They are "OK" but the LEDs throw a much better light and more me they are about assessing a track (where the normal head and driving lights are hitting too high) in the dark more so than running in fog. Kit comes with a set of LED indicators that can be swapped out while I am in doing that job..!

Replacement driver's seat is next cab off the rank

 

It irks me that no one manufactures vehicles such as that any more. A diesel with a 40 gallon tank could have considerable range.

 

I really miss those Scouts, build quality was not their strong suit, but damn, they were tough and reliable, and not too bad looking ether! My Brother had a 68 Scout I-800 with the 345 V-8 and that thing was a beast! If you got that stuck, you deserved it!
I missed out on a 76 Scout II with a 392 in it ( probably out of a travall) it was just leaving as I pulled up to have a look at it!