Putfoot cruiser

[dyladams]

All

Looks like I ended having a share in a cruiser located in South Africa.

It’s an 80 series GX with the 4500cc carb petrol engine so a bit of a thirsty beast.

I found the truck, my other friend arranged collection and the 3rd member of the group has been putting some hours into fixing it up.

The intention is to do a 6000 mike trip through 7 southern african countries. Along the way we will be stopping off at schools and distributing shoes for children who can’t afford them. Will also try and through in a couple of foot balls.

We bought the truck on a bit of a gamble with the intention of putting some work into it. It’s been a journey so far with us using the knowledge found on forms like this one and putting eveything together. But it’s coming along.

We also have a massive advantage in that a friend works for an engineering shop in Cape Town and has been designing a new rear bumper with swing out arms. Ok so we need to still fabricate the end product but think it’s coming along nicely.

Spec of the cruiser:
1992 GX 4500 petrol
EFS suspension
Front runner roof rack
Front bullbar
12k winch (still to be installed)
60 litre aux tank
Packing system
New rear carrier

 

[dyladams]

Plus here are 3D scans that was done of the back end of the car. And the current design for the bumper.

 

[Michael Montgomery]

Nice truck there and interesting custom bumper design with laser pinpoint measurements...I like that.

Drove a petrol version today although mildly down the road certainly has a different personality to the diesel versions. Smooth and less noisy was my initial liking.
Yes firsty perhaps but thats relative to how much is the fuel prices where you are?

 

[dyladams]

A turbo diesel 80 series in South Africa is a rare occurrence as Toyota SA did not sell them and thus the ones running around were privately imported.

The petrol price is not the cheapest - about 80p a litre but its almost half price compared to how much I filled up on the weekend just outside London.

The great thing about this trip is that I think the cruiser bug is starting to bite my mates....

 

[dyladams]

Evening Gents,

I just got back from a 3 week road trip in Southern Africa where we did about 5500 miles over 3 weeks in the cruiser pictured above.

We went to South Africa; Namibia; Botswana; Zambia; Zimbabwe; back to Zambia; Malawi and Mozambique.

It was one hell of a great adventure with over teams entering the PUTFOOT Rally (google / Facebook / Instagram it).

We looked at renting a 70 series double cab for the trip but in the end decided to do a bit of a gamble and by a used 80 series. It needed a bit of work and tires but nothing too bad.

All I can say is what a machine..... It did not let us down and the minor issues that came up was nothing compared to what the other teams experienced.

For me one of the best bits was we kept bumping into 4 friends in their 60 series cruiser where we had a few beers and notes to compare. These boys decided to take their beast to places most would not dare. All this in a truck that has over 300 000 miles. It was always funny to hear how their trip was going:
Day 2:
Me - So boys, hows the trip going:
60 Series - Ah great, no problem. Cruiser is running great. We did have a little issue with the read brakes leaking, but we have just disconnected that and now no issues. Anyway - the back right brake was never that good.
Day 4
Me - So boys hows the trip.
60 Series boys - Amazing. Truck is going amazing, no problems. We just need to remember that every morning we need to drain the excess oil out of the transfer box and put it back in the gear box because of that slight leak but otherwise its perfect.
Day 6 - SO boys hows the trip
60 Series boys - We found the most amazing road today. Thick sand requiring 4 Low. Took us 9 hrs to do 30 mile. Was epic. This is what the cruiser was built for. We did have to go find some fence wire when the split pin for the gear selector broke but its working 100% now.

If anyone wants to do a Rally through southern Africa - I would highly recommend looking at doing this. You will see a lot but you might not be able to stop chill for a long time - but after all it was a Rally.

 

[nick_the_fish]

Looks like a fun trip - thanks for posting.

How was the truck with 2 roof tents on top? Was there much swaying?

 

[dyladams]

There was a bit of swaying and when my friend in the other tent rolled over the truck would rock. But after a couple of days you got used to it.

The truck did wallow a bit more than my 80 but put it done to the different suspension and fully loaded. The truck did seam to behave better on the rougher roads / dirt roads.

I am not sure I would do the roof top tents for a trip like that again.

 

[nick_the_fish]

I am not sure I would do the roof top tents for a trip like that again.

Thats interesting, why not (other than the afore mentioned)? I ask because I am thinking about a similar set-up for an upcoming trip

(sorry for the thread jack)

 

[stumog]

Nice trip thanks for sharing.

What you doing with the cruiser now?

It's it a rental?

 

[dyladams]

Thats interesting, why not (other than the afore mentioned)? I ask because I am thinking about a similar set-up for an upcoming trip

(sorry for the thread jack)

We were always on the road and took a couple of pop up tents. The pop up tents went up quicker and packed away quicker. However the main advantage of the roof tops is that they were more comfortable.

I think the cruiser has a 4inch lift on 285 tires. If I was to do the 2 roof tents option I would consider making a single cover for both tents.

 

[dyladams]

Nice trip thanks for sharing.

What you doing with the cruiser now?

It's it a rental?

We are still to decide. At the moment there is talk about keeping it between the three of us as a bush truck. Or maybe one of the guys keeps it for the family.

For me it’s great as I should be able to use it when in SA as I am normally there once a year.