Rob's 1st gen Hilux Surf (1st gen 4runner) LN61 3.0 TD 1KZ/T

[Admin]

I keep getting questions about "how did you do X", or "where did you get Y", so I thought it'd be handy to document everything.

I bought this car Feb 2018, and am starting this topic June 2019, and the car is about 90% done.



ABOUT THE TRUCK

It is a 1st gen Toyota Hilux Surf 1989. They were sold in the USA as the 4runner, and they are essentially a mk2 hilux, with the bulkhead removed, seats in the back and a removable roof.

They were sold 1984-89.

They were not sold in the UK. This one is Japanese, and was imported to the UK when 10 years old at 1989. They are very rare in right hand drive (this is RHD as in Japan they drive on the same side as us in the UK)

This documents it from finding it dead in a field, to being pimped out and retrofitted with a 3.0 turbo diesel 1KZ/T engine.


CONTENTS

1) PICKING UP THE TRUCK
2) GETTING IT TO ROLL !!! + CLEANING IT ROUND 1 OF 9999!
3) WHEELS AND TYRES
4) SORTING OUT INTERIOR
5) WINDOW RUBBERS
6) ORIGINAL DECALS
7) FETCHING THE DONOR TRUCK
8) SORTING THE INTERIOR
9) DIAL
10) MORE CLEANING AND TIDYING UP
11) PREPARING FOR PAINT
12) GRAFFITI PAINT JOB
13) GETTING IT BACK HOME
14) INSULATION
15) SOUND SYSTEM
16) LUCKY COIN AND ORIGINAL JAP DETAILS
17) INTERIOR STARTING TO LOOK ALRIGHT
18) POR15
19) TOW HITCH AND WIRING SORTED
20) LIGHT BAR
21) TINTING THE WINDOWS
22) TRIP TO SWITZERLAND TO PICK UP PARTS!
23) ROLL CAGE!
24) CHECKERPLATE TAILGATE
25) WHEEL ARCHES
26) REAR BRAKES
27) CHARGING POINT
28) LEISURE BATTERY AND SPLIT CHARGER
29) FUEL CAP
30) SNORKEL
31) DOOR LOCKS, CENTRAL LOCKING, AND REMOTE REAR WINDOW
32) NOT MUCH LEFT OF THE DONOR TRUCK
33) TAKING THE 1ST GEN TO TONYS
34) TAKING THE OLD ENGINE OUT
35) 2 INCH BODY LIFT
36) STEERING SPACER
37) TEST FIT OF RAD
38) EVEN LESS OF THE DONOR TRUCK LEFT NOW!
39) 1KZ/T COMES OUT OF THE DONOR TRUCK
40) NEW ENGINE MOUNTS AND FITTING OF 1KZ/T IN 1ST GEN
41) CLUTCH AND FLYWHEEL
42) POR15 THE ENGINE BAY
43) CAM BELT AND WATER PUMP
44) STEERING DAMPER
45) ENGINE FITTED
46) FRONT BRAKES, STEERING SPACER AND WHEEL HUBS
47) TORSION BARS
48) IT’S ALIVE!!!
49) REAR SPRINGS AND SHOCKS - 2 INCH LIFT
50) EXHAUST
51) TEST RUN TO SIBBERTOFT YEARLY HILUX SURF MEET UP
52) SOFTTOP
53) BUMPERS
54) INTERCOOLER
55) LEATHER SEATS FROM AN AUDI TT MK1
56) FRIDGE
57) INTERIOR LED LIGHTS
58) FUEL LINES & AFTERMARKET FUEL FILTER
59) UNDERSEAL
60) IMMOBALIZER & TRACKER
61) RADIATOR GUARD
62) UNDER BONNET LIGHTS
63) WINCH
64) SIBBER 2020

... AND THE REST IS WORK IN PROGRESS!


You may also be interested in the build log for my 1UZ swop into my 2nd gen.

[Admin]

1) PICKING UP THE TRUCK

I bought the truck Feb 2018 after a tip off from David on here (thanks matey!).

It was owned by a farmer who used it until the cylinder head cracked (or head gasket cracked) which looking from it’s last MOT must have been in about 2010.

It then sat there in a field until I got it.

It looks like there had been some attempts to fix it, and someone took all the seats out, but any attempts look like they were abandoned, and when I came to it the truck had been used by birds to shit in, and there were dead mice in the back! I had to take the seats out of a stables where they had been stored, covered in crap!

The truck was very much in a sorry state!

The pictures shown here are from where I found it on the farmers field. The brakes were very badly seized; so much so that the farmer had to use a loader to get it onto the trailer.

[Admin]

2) GETTING IT TO ROLL !!!
+ CLEANING IT ROUND 1 OF 9999!

When we got it back to my friend Matt’s MOT & Servicing garage in Long Eaton (www.michaelkey.co.uk), the first thing we had to do was get it free wheeling again. We had to use another 4x4 to drag it (rear wheels still seized) off the back of the trailer.

Then came an hour of hammering and beating the crap out of the badly seized rear brakes so we could roll it.

My friend Matt (in his HiluxSurf.co.uk hat!) pictured.

I also cleaned it. Well, it took a million attempts of cleaning to actually get it clean, but this was a start at least!

[Admin]

3) WHEELS AND TYRES

I decided to treat myself to some new wheels and tyres.

33x12.5

Steel wheels which I've been told are better for off roading than alloys because if you damage them you can hammer them back into shape.

These came from Charles at JCS 4x4 Wheels and Tyres which is at Bardills Garden Centre near J25 of the M1.

Charles was very helpful (once I’d waited in line for the customers in front) and gave me plenty of his time and advice. I’d recommend.

The wheels and tyres cost £699 inc VAT and inclusive of new black wheel nuts.

https://www.4site4x4tyres.co.uk/tyre...e-maintenance-

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/JCS-4x4-Wheels-and-Tyres

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jcs-4...72189032989899

Pictured you can see what the new wheels and tyres look like compared to the old ones. Obviously this is going to need some lift! (more on that later)

[Admin]

Having a good look over the car and there’s a few bits missing or broken that I’ll need to find… together with a new tow hitch and connector

[Admin]

4) SORTING OUT INTERIOR

Starting to get the interior sorted. Dead mice removed, and plenty of bird shit! It still looks like a mess in these pictures, but you should have seen it before!

All the interior was removed so it could be tidied up and repainted (more on that later)

[Admin]

5) WINDOW RUBBERS

The window rubbers have all shrunk over time and no longer fit properly.

I couldn’t find replacements, so in the end (several months later) I took them all out as well as the windows, and left them in hot water for hours on end, and used a heat gun to stretch them back out.

You can see how they turned out in the section "21) TINTING THE WINDOWS"

[Admin]

6) ORIGINAL DECALS

Before removing them, I took some pics of the original decals.

On close up the paint is ok, but does need sorting. My original plan was to repaint it with bed liner paint, but in the end I did something more adventurous.

[Admin]

7) FETCHING THE DONOR TRUCK

2ND GEN TOYOTA 4RUNNER (UK SPEC) 3.0 TD WITH 1KZ/T ENGINE

The original engine in the truck was a 2.4td. This is the biggest diesel engine you could get in a 1st gen, but a few people before me had transplanted 3.0 1KZ/T (or 1KZ/TE) engines and fitted a mechanical fuel pump (to save having to also transplant all the sensors and ECU required for EFI).

Tony from 4x4 Toys (TonyN on here / www.4x4toys.co.uk) was roped in to do the engine conversion, as it was too technical for me. Our original plan was to take a 2nd or 3rd gen 1KZ/TE engine and put on a mechanical fuel pump. It turned out however that getting a mechanical fuel pump was tricky, as they're very hard to find!

I was lucky enough however to find a 2nd gen (UK spec) Toyota 4Runner. This is basically a 2nd gen surf, but slightly lower spec, and branded as 4runner. It was the only time Toyota sold these domestically in the UK. It has the same 1KZ engine but with a mechanical fuel pump, so perfect as a donor vehicle.

I managed to get it, with a valid MOT, for the bargain price of £500. The only con was that it was in Scotland!

So myself and my friend Matt went to fetch it from Scotland.

Con was that the brake lines (where they go into the bulk head) rusted away just outside of Edinburgh, so we ended up having to get it towed back home to the midlands!

[Admin]

8) SORTING THE INTERIOR

With all the interior removed, I cleaned it and repainted it all black.

[Admin]

9) DIAL

The original dial was in km/hour (being a japanese import / JDM car). So I managed to get a dial from Lockwood International Dials.

It was very expensive though (£55), and the colour doesn’t quite match.

I called to check up on this, and I was told it’s this or nothing, and they wouldn’t give me part of my money back. So had to settle in the end.

[Admin]

10) MORE CLEANING AND TIDYING UP

Back at Matt’s yard doing some more cleaning, tidying up, and tinkering…

[Admin]

11) PREPARING FOR PAINT

Myself and my friend Jim started sanding down and doing some base coats ready for the paint job. And my friend Adam who runs a bodyshop helped mask it all up.

[Admin]

12) GRAFFITI PAINT JOB

Seeing as I'm going to be using this truck for off roading, and that it already has a few dents in it, I'm not looking for a shiny paint job (which would be a bit pointless). I already have a shiny 2nd gen I don't like getting scratched, so to make this a shiny truck wouldn't make sense.

Having recently got a local Graffiti artist in to do some work in my offices, I thought "why not!" and got him back to do my truck. He charged £200 inc paint.
877899
The wording on the side is www.hiluxjunkie.com which is my website which sells Toyota Hilux Surf clothing, t-shirts, hoodies etc.

I've then got the Japanese rising sun (as it's a JDM truck) and the British flag (seeing as this is where it lives and where it's being re-invented!). I also got the old school Toyota logo on the back. The current Toyota logo most people are familiar with wasn't invented or being used when this truck was made.

[Admin]

13) GETTING IT BACK HOME

Since I got the truck it's been living in my friend Matt's yard. So I could get work done on it a bit quicker, I wanted to get it home so I could work on it whenever (evenings and weekends etc).

We initially tried to transport it there with a trailer, but with the big wheels on it it was slightly too wide to fit on!

In the end I towed it home with my A frame. It's only a few miles, so not too far.

Pictured is it on my driveway next to the gen 2, after I finally managed to drag it up the hill into my driveway! Exhausting!