What do I need to know about the Toyota Blizzard?

[Lynn]

My dream (or one of them, anyway), is to have a truck camper for basecamp, towing a jeep-like vehicle for day excursions.

Originally I wanted a CJ-7 for the toad, then I thought maybe an older MB or LC to get the factory diesel...

Now I ran across an ad on eBay for a Toyota Blizzard Deluxe, purported to be

the equivalent of the 3B diesel engine in a much smaller package (1,000 lbs lighter) than the BJ40

For my dream application, it seems like a tough, light, stout Toyota would make a great toad, and a top speed of 55mph would be acceptable for running to the store, or possible even as a DD.

So, what do you know about these trucks?

One possible problem is that my wife and I like our elbow room, and we have two girls that will need to ride in the back. Comparatively speaking, is this Toy smaller than a Samurai? It looks like it might be.

 

[taco chaser]

That has to be one of the coolest toyotas I have never seen, just when I thought I had seen em all. Just as long as the rig shares common toyota parts than I could not see any reason to not own such a cool unique rig. Good times.:ylsmoke:

 

[Grim Reaper]

Wow I didn't know those even existed. I don't think Brian894x4 has it on his foreign toy page. Thats pretty cool!

Too bad we don't get the cool Toyota's in the US.

Looking at a few clues to size I would say its Sami size.

Here is the sami measurments. Its almost exactly same.
http://suzuki.off-road.com/suzuki/S...cations/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/277581

My fear is fixing it. Never sold here so finding parts for it would be hard.

If you are sold on a small diesel run about "toad" I think you might be better with a Sami and swapping in a TDI VW diesel. The support for the vehicle is better. Parts would be readily available without having to wait for parts from Canada or Japan and then getting nailes with taxes as it comes into the country.

 

[ChuckB]

I've never heard of one of those before. That is cool!

 

[Lynn]

Just as long as the rig shares common toyota parts than I could not see any reason to not own such a cool unique rig.

Strictly based on his ad, I would guess that the engine parts may be Toyota-compatible, but the rest is probably Daihatsu Taft/ Scat-compatible.

However, that’s the type of intel I hope to get from this thread.

 

[Lynn]

If you are sold on a small diesel run about "toad" I think you might be better with a Sami and swapping in a TDI VW diesel. The support for the vehicle is better. Parts would be readily available without having to wait for parts from Canada or Japan and then getting nailes with taxes as it comes into the country.

Yeah, I've thought about that. I don't know that I would want to invest the time in converting one, though. There's actually one on daBay right now that the seller say's was converted by AcmeAdapters. Something like that is still in the running.

Problem is that I'm not convinced on Suzy's quality. A lot of the used ones I've seen for sale are falling apart. I know that there are exceptions, but I just don't think that the quality is up there with Toyota.

On the other hand, this particular Toy could just be a re-badged Dihatsu, and have quality problems of its own.

 

[haven]

this vehicle appeared in a thread on IH8MUD starting last December. One point revealed in the thread is that the rear diff is welded, which I take to mean it's permanently locked. That will make it interesting to drive around on pavement.

Here's the link
http://forum.ih8mud.com/ma-nh-yankee-toys/191891-blizzard-coming-not-snow-related.html

 

[Lynn]

this vehicle appeared in a thread on IH8MUD starting last December...

Thanks, Haven, that thread was educational. Sounds like the engine used in these is one to avoid.

 

[Seth Kendall]

Yeah, I've thought about that. I don't know that I would want to invest the time in converting one, though. There's actually one on daBay right now that the seller say's was converted by AcmeAdapters. Something like that is still in the running.

Problem is that I'm not convinced on Suzy's quality. A lot of the used ones I've seen for sale are falling apart. I know that there are exceptions, but I just don't think that the quality is up there with Toyota.

On the other hand, this particular Toy could just be a re-badged Dihatsu, and have quality problems of its own.

I haven't had my Suzi very long, but the whole rig feels very stout and I have had no issues so far. The guy who owned it before me took really good care of it and put lots of work into making the mods work just right with the rig. The one upside to Zuks is that you can buy parts dirt cheap. Here is a link to my rig.

 

[edgear]

I thought I had a Toyota Blizzard, but it turned out to be just a Frozen Taco.

 

[RHINO]

Problem is that I'm not convinced on Suzy's quality. A lot of the used ones I've seen for sale are falling apart.

but an old rig that was never offered in this country is a better idea?

i suppose the most important thing you should know is just that, parts are not going to be on hand or readily available. and like the samurai they are getting old and starting to require the kind of maint that you prolly dont want for a dingy, specially if you'll be ordering every part and waiting a week or two for it.

but on the other hand,, for the application it wont be a main mode of transport, and really it will not be racking up a bunch of miles, so, even rare its not a bad choice if you want something unique and different.