2005 Fuso FG140 4x4 Intro and Build Chronical

[MSGGrunt]

Well, here I go. Not new to off-road vehicles or adventure with past vehicle being Landcruisers, a Range Rover Classic, Land Rover Discovery, and a VW Vanagon Westfalia Syncro, but this is a big step up.

The Fuso is a 2005 FG140 with 195,000 miles. New clutch and resurfaced flywheel 45,000 miles ago. Asking price was $10,500.00 and we settled on $8,500.00 and the seller kept the plow, I had no need. A bit dirty inside and out, but surprisingly solid underneath, which had me worried when I saw a plow on it and in New Hampshire. Frame looked good, brake and fuel lines not all rotted, etc. Ran and drove and shifted as it should. I feel $8,500.00 was a great deal. This will be a learning as I go build, but have already decided the truck will get the super single mod, better springs and I hear a suspension seat is an added bonus. I will go through the truck and give it all new fluids, new filters and new belts. The dump bed and toolbox will find a new home and for now just a flat bed that will get a habitat in the future.

More pictures to follow once in my possession.

 

[SkiFreak]

Sounds like a good starting point.

 

[MSGGrunt]

First order of business will be all new fluids, filters, belts and any hoses that may or may not look suspect. Then the chassis will get steam cleaned and any rust taken care of. Any surface rust will be treated with Mar-Hyde rust converter and then painted. Because the truck was used to plow I want to pay very close attention to all of the brake and fuel lines. I didn't see anything sinister on my initial inspection, buy once in my possession and the bed removed, I will have a better look.

Forgive the newbie question, where does one go to buy parts on-line like hoses, accessory belts, filters, etc... I see Napa sells an oil filter, which the price was an initial shock at $62.00.

 

[SkiFreak]

As much as I like my FG84 (FG140 equivalent), one major down side with Fuso trucks is the price of spare parts.
I cannot speak to the parts pricing outside of Australia, but here my experience has been that Isuzu parts are around half the price of similar Fuso items, which sucks!

 

[MSGGrunt]

And in the US I have the same issue with ordering Range Rover, Volkswagen and Mercedes parts that have to come from the UK, Germany or even Australia, just part of life when dealing with foreign vehicles I guess. The one thing I have found about aftermarket parts from Australia is they seem to be built to a very high standard. Old Man Emu, Lightforce lights, ARB bull bars, etc... are a few that come to mind. Even the super single wheels come from AU.

 

[MSGGrunt]

I know for certain I just paid the most I have ever spent for wheels. Just purchased 4 super single wheels from Fuso Offroad. $3,909.00 for 4, I know, I need 5, but for now 4 will have to do. This includes the lug nuts, shipping to the east coast and $1,000.00 was just for the tariffs alone. Oh well, if you want big boy toys sometimes that comes at a price.

4 tires on their way too. These are the Tesche I posted a separated thread about. I can't wait to see how the wheels and tires transform the truck. Next will be new leaf springs, bushings and shocks, once my bank account recovers from the tires and wheels.

 

[gator70]

The trick here is to build something with a lower budget. Many parts are too high priced. And with your foundation you must be careful that a bigger investment will be over the resale value by alot.

Previously I found a 14ft refer box in good condition for $3000. It was at a wrecking yard for commercial vehicles. Another place you could look is copart for wrecked box trucks with good short boxes. They can sell for $1800.

A refer box is insulated and has a good roof.

 

[SkiFreak]

$3,643.00 for 4

Wowza!

 

[MSGGrunt]

It is kind of expected given these wheels are very limited production parts made for a very limited market and they need to come from Australia and are heavy, so shipping isn't cheap. Consider they were shipped from Australia to Alberta Canada and then all the way from Alberta to me on the other side of the US in Massachusetts. Not saying these and the suspension will be the most expensive items, but they certainly will be tops on the list, I am sure. The bed will just be a nice flat, probably oak, bed for now. I have a large Cascadia rooftop tent, Iceco Fridge/freezer, portable toilet, solar, stove, portable Joolca hot water shower/sink that will do for now. Yes, a more permanent habitat would be nice and probably where this build will go, but with the setup I have now I can remove everything from the flat bed and use the truck as a truck when I need to haul things.

 

[MSGGrunt]

Gator70, I was also thinking about going with an insulated refrigerated truck box, but I read these can have issues with inside condensation when in a hot climate and using AC. Not sure why this would be the case if proper ventilation was incorporated, but definitely an inexpensive way to get a prebuilt box. Then just add some double pain windows, a quality door, diesel heater, AC unit, solar, etc, etc.

 

[MSGGrunt]

Surprised after 20 years these were still in the glovebox.

 

[gator70]

Gator70, I was also thinking about going with an insulated refrigerated truck box, but I read these can have issues with inside condensation when in a hot climate and using AC. Not sure why this would be the case if proper ventilation was incorporated, but definitely an inexpensive way to get a prebuilt box. Then just add some double pain windows, a quality door, diesel heater, AC unit, solar, etc, etc.

A refer box does not have windows or vents by design. A habitation box does.

 

[MSGGrunt]

What I meant to say was I thought I read that when a refer box was used for a habit, presumably with vents, windows, doors, AC, heat, etc, that their were condensation issues. I don't know why this would be the case or maybe I was misunderstanding. To me an insulated box is an insulated box, unless what the box is made out of or what the interior walls are makes a difference.