Hema Maps BJ74 Build Thread?

[Chris Cordes]

Hey guys, my name is Chris and I'm the guy driving the BJ74 for mapping as well as the person who did a lot of the modifications.

I'll work on getting a list of changes together for you but for now here is a brief overview of the truck.

Vehicle purchased from Land Cruiser Direct at a list price of 21K - Roughly 84,000 miles on it

The whole truck is 24v which makes things a little interesting for us here. Essentially any modification must be converted and run through a separate fuse block to prevent electrical issues. (We had someone accientally switch a wire and the switch started smoking in the cab. I thankfully knew where it went and ripped it out before it caught fire)

Converting the truck is time consuming but not difficult. The 24v system is more efficient and awesome to have when running your fridge and electrical equipment.

Modifications - ARB Winch Bumper
Warn 24v zeon winch
ARB LED lights
Old Man Emu Suspension kit. (springs and shocks)
Cooper Discoverer St Maxx
Safari Snorkel
ARB roller Drawers - one roll top one solid top
ARB Fridge
ARB Air compressor hard mounted under hood (MUST BE WIRED TO 12V)
Air locker to come soon
Brake Controller to come soon

Living with it day to day - This is a great little truck and a lot of fun to drive, it's not a race car though. Highway speeds top out between 65-70 mph and thats working hard. Maintenance is minimal but its still an old truck. Oil must be checked frequently and inspections every week are recommended, every day when offroad.

Parts are readily available and many of them cross over with other toyotas. I pick up most parts from Napa or oreily. What cant be found there can be found at cruiser outfitters and the toyota dealer

 

[fireball]

Is it an auto or a five speed? Mine is a five speed and with 33 rolls along just fine at 70 and will do 75+ if I push it. This was actually one of my biggest concerns about driving the truck if you read some of the stuff over on mud there is a contingent of folks who like to joke about how slow these diesels are. they certainly aren't sports cars but they are very drivable, akin to a first GEN four runner if you've driven one of those or a four-cylinder taco.

You will indeed need a 12 V subsystem for some items but I am running the LED light bar, fog lights, LED backup lights, fridge, and ARB compressor on 24 V.

 

[fireball]

Coincidentally, I bumped into Scott while he was driving this truck in Moab back in March. This was part of my cross-country journey home.

 

[Chris Cordes]

Is it an auto or a five speed? Mine is a five speed and with 33 rolls along just fine at 70 and will do 75+ if I push it. This was actually one of my biggest concerns about driving the truck if you read some of the stuff over on mud there is a contingent of folks who like to joke about how slow these diesels are. they certainly aren't sports cars but they are very drivable, akin to a first GEN four runner if you've driven one of those or a four-cylinder taco.

You will indeed need a 12 V subsystem for some items but I am running the LED light bar, fog lights, LED backup lights, fridge, and ARB compressor on 24 V.

Ya know I didn't think about this, but we're also at elevation with a lot of hills. We choose to keep it at lower speeds but it may be able to do 75+, I would just be concerned a bit. 65 is good though, 70 okay.

Also, yes some items CAN run on 24, like our winch and lights and fridge. It depends on the item though so you need to check. For example the arb switches started smoking when the guy i mentioned wired them 24 instead of 12

 

[fireball]

Here is another bonus of running 33s..... my conversion from Kph to Mph after converting for tire size is now .7 - I'm a lot better at my .7 times tables than my .62!

Elevation does make a big difference, not sure where the original poster is from. I didn't regear my 100 with 295/75/16s and when we spent 2 weeks out west including the CO high passes I had almost talked myself into regearing. Then I got back home where it's much flatter and close to sea level and forgot all about it.

 

[lndhark]

Here is another bonus of running 33s..... my conversion from Kph to Mph after converting for tire size is now .7 - I'm a lot better at my .7 times tables than my .62!

LOL! Yeah! That makes the math so much easier!

Elevation does make a big difference, not sure where the original poster is from. I didn't regear my 100 with 295/75/16s and when we spent 2 weeks out west including the CO high passes I had almost talked myself into regearing. Then I got back home where it's much flatter and close to sea level and forgot all about it.[/QUOTE]

I'll be living in the PNW (Seattle area) so with the exception of some trips into the Cascades, we'll be at sea level most of the time. If I were to consider any type of gear change it would likely be in the TC anyway. My first truck was an '86 short bed pick-up that was loaded with the entire Downey Off-Road catalog at the time: Con-Ferr skid plates, cab roof rack, etc. It also had a camper shell, ARB front bumper, rear tire carrier, sliders, etc, 33's. Even with 4.88's it was no car and that's not what I'm looking for. You truck looks great Fireball, and thanks for the info!

 

[hoser]

I love my 74, but yes the backseat is a bit cramped, however, Ive gone on 5 hour trips with my two boys in the back with zero issues from them.

The Japanese (JDM) BJ74 has less rear legroom than other 73/74 markets. Just FYI, in case, you hear conflicting opinions.

 

[NoahTheMod]

does that mean the other market 73s had less boot space? also, i was under the impression a BJ74 was only made for the Japanese market, the others were 73's. no power windows or locks and no turbo diesels.

 

[hoser]

Yes, less boot space. The BJ74 was also sold in Australia. I believe the 73 was available with power locks/windows in the LX trim level. They came with the 3b, 3BII or a VM 2.5 motor.

 

[lndhark]

Hi Chris, thanks for jumping in. What size are the Coopers, and is it an automatic or manual?

 

[Chris Cordes]

It's a manual and the coopers are 255/85/r16

 

[lndhark]

It's a manual and the coopers are 255/85/r16

Thanks!

 

[Deshet]

Also, at 6'5" you will need to modify the front seat bracket. I'm 6'2" and Jason from Cruisin Off Road, who also built the other armor, built some extensions for the seat to move it back about 2". You would definitely need to do that....especially with a JDM truck which is setup for very short people!

View attachment 298177

Can you tell me how much the seat extension was? I am 6'7" do you think the seat extension would still work? Did you have to do any welding or is it just a complete replacement?

Thanks,