Truckasaurus - an 80 series living in London

[oneafrikan]

Hi. I’m Gareth

This is me putting a line in the sand and committing to a build thread for my 80.

From this tired old girl found on eBay (on 163k miles):

Into what my sons affectionately call Truckasaurus, our family tourer:

(That’s them in the Spanish Pyrenees)

I’ve flip flopped so much between what I originally had in mind, to what I’m more and more comfortable about now, that I need a build thread to get it all out!!

More to follow.

 

[oneafrikan]

First photos after getting her back from the seller in Devon. Turns out the brakes were shot, but made it home ok. The rest I could see!

Bought March 2016 after spending a week debating Land Rover or Land Cruiser.

I came across the quote: if you want to go to hell take any car. If you want to come back, take a Land Cruiser.

The £2800 I paid was all i could afford then. Do I regret it? Not one bit.

 

[oneafrikan]

This is where we’re at now - after our 2nd longish family trip off-road, on the way back to London through the Chunnel, near Le Touqet.

First dusty trip was Portugal in 2017 & 2nd Spain this summer. 2nd Son in 2018 & then Covid borked all earlier plans. In between she’s done France, Wales, Scotland, England road trips & loads of weekend laning trips with Paul @ OneLife.

After a LOT of mechanical work over the last 6 yrs & more £££ than I’d like to admit, she’s mechanically in good shape, and now on 190k. Didn’t skip a beat in the Pyrenees. Next phase is body & interior.

 

[oneafrikan]

The rest will be the build itself, from the beginning to current state.

The question is: can I get her to 250K before the mechanics & parts disappear??

 

[Jacob100]

Welcome Gareth. Nice work. Did we meet outside Peterborough a few months ago?

 

[oneafrikan]

Quite possible!

 

[SeaJay]

Hello Gareth, good to see you enjoying the outdoors, and a great choice of vehicle

 

[nick_the_fish]

Welcome Gareth, Nice looking truck, and great thread.

Just to check re. sourcing parts etc, have you heard of Amayama.com

Genuine Japanese Car Part Imports - Amayama

Amayama Trading Co. specializes in new genuine parts for used & import Japanese cars. Full warranty. Fast delivery. Very low prices. Request a quote online now.

www.amayama.com

Its a great way of getting parts that aren't available elsewhere. Takes a while and allow for customer import costs etc. I think parts should be available for a good few years yet...

 

[oneafrikan]

Thanks @SeaJay - you’re in Oz right?

@nick_the_fish first I heard of it was on our recent Spain trip.

So far my experience has been:
- local Toyota dealer
- Garry the breaker (via eBay)
- roughtrax for a few bits
- I looked at MegaZip for windscreen washer parts but thought it looked too dodgy at the time

And then in Spain Amayama came up a few times but I couldn’t quite work out if it was a person or website. And then when I asked I was told it’s kinda like MegaZip. Now that you’ve reminded me - a quick look at their site looks like it’s JDM specific & probably better / easier than other sources??

And then I know about ToyoDIY for finding parts numbers… but find it difficult working it all out!

Still have to find a way to get a proper factory manual…

Thanks - much appreciated.

 

[oneafrikan]

Here she is parked up on our road - my biggest frustration with this whole process is I have to park her on the road, parking spots are unreliable, and we get constant bird crap / tree sap from above!

And every time I look I think I need bigger tyres!

 

[SeaJay]

yes I'm in Australia

ToyoDIY.com - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club] that's toyodiy for my '97 model, pm me your email address and ill send you an invite from them so you can register and then see the pictures with part numbers, once you find the part number on toyodiy you search for it on Amayama Genuine Japanese Car Part Imports - Amayama - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club] I have used them quite a few times without problems.

you can find manuals using the Resources tab at the top of the page, or I can email them all to you

bird shit and sap, perhaps some sort of car cover, or at least polish to make it clean off easier?

 

[GeekOKent]

I have to mention here that Simon Holten, parts manager at StevenEagle Milton Keynes has been really good at sourcing parts, and yes it is MrT prices, but for me 9 times out of 10 is been cheaper than amayama - and this is for parts on my 105 that are not in local supply in the UK.

Give him a call.

 

[frank rabbets]

My local Toyota gives me 10% and upwards when I ask for a discount. I suspect they will all do that but you will have to ask.

 

[hopeless wanderer]

Hi, Looks like a nice example you have there.

Just to add to the parts places try Partsouq based in the UAE.
You just add your chassis number to the site and all the relevant parts come up, It worked for my UK 80 and my Japanese 4x4 bus, so i think there's a good chance yours will be found.

 

[oneafrikan]

Ahem…. Feel stupid asking this, but where do you get the chassis number @hopeless wanderer ??
** ducks behind couch **

Thanks!!

 

[Andy]

Stamped on the chassis in front wheel arch, drivers side if I recall

 

[oneafrikan]

Thanks @Andy - probably the Dinitrol layer that’s covering it then. Gonna check today

 

[hopeless wanderer]

Exactly where Andy said, Sorry i'm on nights so i didn't get to your message straight away.
No need to hide I remember when i first got mine I asked a lot of questions some of them i chuckle about now its been a few years.

 

[oneafrikan]

Found this today when i got my head in the wheel arch when the tyres were being balanced…. So it’s WAR on the rust worm now…

 

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

Or you could just look on your V5c doc for the Vin no.