LHD 1990 PZJ70 & 1984 HJ47 pickup refurbish!

[RMP&O]

I have bought two Cruisers for a new venture I am pursuing. Both I am importing to the USA. First though I have been doing a lot of work to these trucks. Some people buy the best they can find just to flip them and turn a profit. I get it but I am not no used car salesman!!

Both trucks are in good condition for Latin America where I am at. Both trucks needed some work though and I am super anal. Not to mention, I like working on trucks. There is something about finding a good truck and making it better that gives me a huge feeling of reward. Like I say I am not no used car salesman!!

Both trucks seem very rare for the USA. There are a few PZJ70 in the states but I only know of one in LHD, all the rest are RHD. I can't find any HJ47 pickups in LHD in the USA. There must be a few but I can't find them anywhere on the internet.


Rather than do a bunch of typing, I am just going to spam the pictures.


The PZJ70 first! This truck was produced 04 of 1990 and it is an LX model, it has 210,000 miles on it. Factory AC in it, full float rear axle with LSD and 4.56 gears and more. In case you are not aware, the PZJ engine is a 5cyl, same engine as the 1HZ just one less cylinder. Toyota only made it from 1990-94 and as far as I am aware it is the only 5cyl diesel they made or put in a Land Cruiser. It is a pretty cool little engine! The trans is a 5spd and the exact same one put in USA turbo 4-Runners in 1984/85, it is an R151.












Cheers

 

[RMP&O]

So for the PZJ70 I did a bunch of work to it, not much left for me to do now. Here is the list,

-Fully rebuilt front outer axle using OEM Toyota parts, also rebuilt free wheeling hubs.
-New front leaf springs, bushings and rear pins.
-New timing belt, tensioner, water pump, timing gear case IP seal and front main seal, new o-ring for the vacuum pump.
-New shifter assembly with seat and bushing for the trans.
-New radiator, thermostat, both water outlets and upper and lower rad hoses.
-New power steering pump reservoir.
-New OEM front rubber brake lines.
-New fan belts.
-All new wheel studs on front axle.
-Had both front and rear seat bottoms re-stuffed and all new door cards made but saved the stock fasbrics for the door cards having it re-applied to the new cards.
-Changed and flushed most all the fluids.

I am probably going to tear into the rear axle for wheel bearings and seal before this is a done deal. Few other things as well but that is the bulk of it all. Here are some pics of the work,








Hmmnnnn, seems I didn't save that many pictures to my laptop of the work I did, all pics were on my phone. You get the idea anyways. I am real happy with the truck, it runs and drives awesome!

Cheers

 

[RMP&O]

So the HJ47, I was actually trying to find an HZJ75 Troopy instead and found a number of them but none of them really met my standards or were to new or sold to fast before I got to them. So along comes this HJ47 pickup. Now I check all my trucks with an electronic body filler detector. So when I go check out this HJ47 I check it over real good and to my surprise, no bondo! It has some rust, most notably the floor pans and some in the floor of the bed. To me rust is much better than body filler unless of course the body filler is used correctly which down here it is usually not! I decided to pull the trigger on
the HJ47, it has been mine now for a couple weeks. I been working on it a lot too.

This truck was produce in 05 of 1984, almost the end of production for HJ47 pickups. It has the 2H diesel, H41 4spd but for the most part it is pretty plain jane. No AC, no FF rear axle, no power steering. Still it is in fairly good condition and I think very cool. It has 145,000 miles on it.













Cheers

 

[RMP&O]

Here is the HJ47 in what I believe is it's original paint color.



So far I have done the following to the truck,

-rebuilt outer front axle including installing free wheeling hubs I rebuilt.
-rebuilt the front brakes, new pads, wheel cylinders and hardware plus turning down the original drums.
-install new clutch slave cylinder, push rod and rubber hose.

I am getting ready to install new front leaf springs, shackles, pins, u-bolts and bushings tomorrow. I am also going to rebuild the rear brakes and do the rear axle wheel bearings and seal. Beyond this, I am not so sure how much I will do. The wiring in the engine bay needs to be cleaned up, it could use a new radiator and fan shroud.

Cheers

 

[battleaxe]

Beauty! My dad had a PZJ70. I still give him a hard time about selling it.

Perhaps it was a Canada only thing, but it's the only LHD I've ever seen in Canada. It had the 3B diesel, and I think it was an '88?

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Your projects are always so interesting.

Good to hear from you again.

 

[1leglance]

Are either of these going to be for sale in the future? ....maybe a fly and drive home deal

 

[RMP&O]

Are either of these going to be for sale in the future? ....maybe a fly and drive home deal

Yes sir, I am shipping them up north in about three weeks.

Cheers

 

[zimm]

nice to see more LHD trucks. good show.

 

[RMP&O]

Beauty! My dad had a PZJ70. I still give him a hard time about selling it.

Perhaps it was a Canada only thing, but it's the only LHD I've ever seen in Canada. It had the 3B diesel, and I think it was an '88?

I don't think it is a PZJ70 if it has the 3B. It would be a BJ70. The PZJ like I say is a 5cyl engine and PZJ70's were only made from 1990-94.

Cheers

 

[RMP&O]

The HJ47 seats and interior are at the upholstery shop getting redone in the stock gray color and style. I am also taking the HJ47 to an injection shop on Monday to have the truck tuned and whatever else it needs. Front end is all done on the 47 with the new leaves and related hardware installed.

The PZJ70 got a new larger battery and the battery tray modified to accept this larger battery.

Cheers

 

[redthies]

I don't think it is a PZJ70 if it has the 3B. It would be a BJ70. The PZJ like I say is a 5cyl engine and PZJ70's were only made from 1990-94.

Cheers

You're absolutely right Ian. We got BJ70s here. No PZJs. They pop up here once in a blue moon, but usually have a lot of rust.

 

[battleaxe]

I don't think it is a PZJ70 if it has the 3B. It would be a BJ70. The PZJ like I say is a 5cyl engine and PZJ70's were only made from 1990-94.

Cheers

My bad! So really, all that's different is just the motor?

His was rusted out in the fenders to the body mounts. We did a bit of cancer fixing, but nothing permanent.

 

[redthies]

Yup. Pretty much just the motor. Toyota offered most of the 70 series rigs with a couple of engine options. BJ are either 3B or 13BT powered. In Canada we only got the 70 with a 3B which is a short wheelbase 3.4 liter non-turbo, while the 13BT is essential the same 3.4 liter with a few differences and a turbo. In the rest of the world there are 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78 and 79 models which are mid, long Troopcarrier and pickup versions. There were (are) a ton of other engines in these other trucks. We were lucky to get what we did.

 

[RMP&O]

So I sold the HJ47 back around Christmas. The PZJ70 I still have but it may be gone soon.

I didn't really do much to the HJ47 besides rebuilt the brakes, rebuilt the front outer axle and fixed the wiring.

The PZJ70 though has pretty much received a full go through. I decided to make it my DD when I bought it and also go through the whole truck. I have owned FJ60's, 80's and a 100. I have worked on 200's and 40's but I had little experience with 70-series. So I also used this truck to school me with the 70-series and man I have learned a ton since I bought it last July. I learned not just about this model of 70-series but all models of 70-series during this process. Here is what I did to the PZJ70 since last July.


ENGINE:

-New timing belt & tensioner. At the same time I replaced all the seals in the upper and lower timing gear case and resealed the case using Toyota FIPG sealant.
-New water pump & radiator, thermostat, upper & lower radiator hoses & clamps, radiator cap, water inlet and outlet on the engine as well. New Toyota RED coolant, tested and good to -30 below 0*.
-New power steering pump reservoir, new o-ring on p/s pump hard line at the pump, new low pressure rubber hose, new fluid.
-New air filter, stripped air filter housing and painted with POR15, new felt seals in housing, new wing nut with rubber seal for housing cap, new air intake hose with new clamps.
-Rebuilt A/C compressor using an OEM kit and installed a new A/C compressor clutch and magnet assembly.
-New valve cover gasket & intake manifold gasket.
-Fresh engine oil and filter, new oil pan drain plug & gasket. Dropped oil pan, cleaned it and resealed it to the block. New oil pressure relief valves in the engine's oiling system. New oil pressure sending unit. New oil filler cap.
-New crank pulley, new idler pulley, new fan belts.
-New check valve in vacuum system and a few new vacuum lines and clamps.
-New battery, upgraded larger than stock size. Customized the battery tray to fit it, POR15 on the new tray. New terminals.

TRANSMISSION & TRANSFER CASE:

-Fresh gear oil in both.
-Rebuilt shifter on trans with a new seat and bushing plus inner boot and spring.
-New speedo cable.
-New fill plug and gasket in transmission.


AXLES, SUSPENSION & BRAKES:

-Fully rebuilt front outer axle, the knuckles and wheel bearings. Koyo bearings used and all Toyota parts. All new nuts & bolts in the knuckles and hubs, Toyota hardware. New OEM knuckles due to stripped out brake caliper mounting holes. Sixteen new OEM wheel studs pressed into the hubs.
-While front axle was torn down I stripped all parts and painted with POR15, axle housing got POR15 as well.
-New Terrain Tamer drilled and slotted front brake rotors and pads. Rebuilt front calipers using an OEM kit. New rear brake wheel cylinders. New steel brake lines at the calipers, new rubber lines at the knuckles. Fresh fluid.
-New rear axle seals.
-New Terrain Tamer shocks and steering damper. New front leaf springs, stock height springs. New OEM bushings in front leaf springs.
-New E-brake cable. New E-brake lever boot in "oak".
-Cleaned both front & rear axle breathers.
-New LSD gear oil in rear axle, new gear oil in front axle.


MISCELLANEOUS REPAIRS & PARTS:

-New BFG KO2's in 33x10.5R15 and Mickey Thompson Classic 2 wheels. All new lug nuts. The truck is not lifted and clears 33's no problem, it did rub on the front mud flaps but I used a heat gun to bend them back a little and the problem is no more.
-Rebuilt front seats. Stock coverings retained but new stuffings in the bottoms. New OEM seat back adjuster mechanism and new adjuster cables. Rear seat got new stuffing in the bottom.
-Door panels got new cards, stock coverings were saved rather than replaced.
-Fully rebuilt rear door latches & locks using OEM parts. Rear doors do not rattle on this truck!
-New headlight relay and flasher unit.
-Rebuilt one headlight mount with all new parts.
-New front turn signal assemblies in black.
-New outer mirrors in black.
-New late 1990's/early 2000's "three bar" grill in black.
-Rebuilt the windshield washer system with new washer nozzles, new pump and bushing in jar and a new cap.
-New turn signal - windshield wiper/washer switch on steering column.
-Multiple new trim pieces such as jack cover, console lid, steering wheel clam shell and rear washer bottle cover.
-New Wheelskin leather steering wheel cover in "brown".
-New OEM weatherstripping for the LHS rear door and for both front doors but those are just the window wiper seals inside and out.
-New OEM lock kit on the entire truck with new Toyota keys.
-New ignition switch with new Toyota keys.
-New "glass" (really plastic) cover on gauge cluster.
-New return spring on gas pedal, new rubber stops/bumps on brake & clutch pedals.
-New Pioneer speakers, 6x9's in the rear and 4" in the dash.
-Complete new OEM rear bumper with steps.
-New fuel cap and fuel door rubber bumps.
-New overhead dome light assembly and switches for the doors.
-LED interior & dash lights.

There has been even more! Like I went through all the wiring, cleaned it up and removed unwanted stuff. Here a bunch of recent pictures of the truck.











It has been great fun to work on this truck and refurbish it. A lot of people say they don't like the SWB 70-series because with the leaf springs and SWB the truck is bouncy and a harsh ride. Well, it is a little bouncy but really not that much more than a FJ60. Personally I love the SWB for around town. This truck has an awesome turning radius and it very easy to drive and park around town. I am in Boise, Idaho so it is not a HUGE city but it is not a small city either.


The term "flipper" gets thrown around a fair amount on iH8mud and on social media. I am importing trucks but from the get go never planned to be a flipper or just a used car salesman. I enjoy working on a building Cruisers so that is also a big part of what I do. Any ways, it looks like this truck is sold next week. I have already purchased another 70-series, it is an LJ79 Prado with the 3L diesel vs the 2LT. Nice one owner truck with original paint and interior. Here is a picture or two!






I also have a lot more in the works and builds coming. I will just give a hint for now, I have two locked 80-series Cruisers, both with bad engines!


Cheers