Hey guys!

I've been a lurker here for a while, though the only Toyota models I'm into are trucks, Supra and 1980's Corolla (RWD rules!)

I started working for a UK Toyota dealership November 2013, and got into the trucking scene. Not planned, but fate was to wave her wand at me, and I ended up snagging a 2003 Toyota Hilux Single Cabin 4x4. It's a 2.5 D-4D 5 speed manual.

This truck had been stood out in the open for 14 months at the dealership. I'm not sure if this actually fits in this section, it's a KDN165 model, so a UK 5th generation truck.

 

It was towed into my dealership with a bust rear driveshaft coupling, a defective heater, seized parking brake cable, ripped front axle outer joint bellows, and a host of other minor issues.

I looked it over, asked my boss what was going to happen to it. It belonged to a construction firm, that had branches all over the UK. The truck had 251,000 miles on the odometer, but was structurally sound. As the driveshaft had been pulled, I engaged AWD, and fired her up. The engine ran great, even after being standing for over a year.

I drove her onto a vehicle hoist, and did a thorough inspection. A bit of surface rust, but otherwise in great shape.

The plan? What else other than a full build, and a 3UZ-FE bolted in front of the manual tranny! This was of course, subject to me getting hold of the truck.

Several phone calls and emails later, spanning 6 weeks, and the truck was mine, for the sum of $670. I was over the moon, what a steal!

 

This is the state she was in, before I threw on a couple of batteries, fired her up, and drove her onto a vehicle hoist for inspection:

 

A bit of history on this truck...

It was purchased brand new and registered 09/09/03, by a construction firm, Lefarge Tarmac. It was a base model, with the only extras a rear canopy, roll bar and tow bar.

It spent most of it's working life pounding along railway tracks, in all weathers, and had racked up 251,000 mile by the time I got hold of it.

And of course, being company owned, meant it had had all servicing done at Toyota dealerships.

 

Back tracking a bit here...

2 months before I had secured the truck, I picked up a 2001 Lexus LS430 for $1300. It was too good to pass up, and as I intend to use as much as possible for my build, I had held out for a well loaded car. This one had all the toys, including Navi.

The plan is to use the entire harness from the Lexus, including the dash chopped down to fit the narrower Hilux, using the climate control, ABS etc. The only Hilux harnesses I will graft in will be the differential lock harness and switch, and of course the 4WD warning light.

 

I put my truck on a lift, so I could assess what exactly is needed. Right now, the propshaft is bad, it's off the truck, so she can only drive if AWD is engaged. Meaning it's currently FWD. Some pictures - note the brown stuff underneath is not rust, it's dried mud. The company she previously belonged to used her extensively off road.

















All in, I'm pleased with the general condition. The bodywork is pretty solid. Not bad for a Toyota truck with over a quarter of a million miles on the odometer! 8)

 

After a period of inactivity, I was able to drive my Toyota Hilux home. I'd been pretty busy on my Toyota courses, so I'd been away from home.

The first thing I did was insure her. So at least in that respect, she's legal. The first thing I'll do is give her a thorough underbody wash, the chassis is absolutely caked with mud. Then of course, I'll start stock piling parts needed, as well as accessories to make her look good.

I'm also looking into a solid front axle swap. The rear is solid, while the front is independent. While independent gives more refinement on Tarmac, it seriously limits the truck's off-road capabilities. I'll be chatting with a buddy with regards that. The stock solid Toyota rear is okay, though it won't be too happy with the power and torque of a Lexus 3UZ-FE shoved through it.

 

The majority of UK-spec Toyota Hilux 4x4 Trucks left the factory pretty much as utility workhorses. So this meant no chrome, alloy wheels - those that were lucky enough to be specified with rear bumpers had the extremely ugly, droopy rear step, which actually sat lower than the truck's bodywork.

I opted to purchase the chrome rear bumper for the 2012 Toyota Hilux / Vigo, and modify it to fit. I also purchased the correct front bumper for my own truck, which has the model code KDN165, but in chrome too. Both front combined side lamps and indicators had seen better days, so I purchased a new set, as well as a replacement front grille, in chrome. I picked all these parts at ridiculously cheap prices. Working for Toyota has it's perks.

To get the truck roadworthy, I had to tackle the immediate items that were either not working properly, or broken. The parking brake didn't hold the truck on an incline, putting it on a 4 poster vehicle lift, I soon found out why - the rear section of the parking brake cable was seized solid, and at the same time, I observed both front CV joint rubber boots were split. So it made sense to purchase these too.

All that remains bodywise, before the truck can go into the Bodyshop for her transformation, is a set of genuine Toyota fender flares. I haven't decided on a colour scheme yet, but I have a couple of ideas. I'm replacing the tail lamps with LED items, the headlamps will either be brand new OEM replacements, or upgraded projector units, to enable HID bulbs to achieve the correct beam pattern.

Pictures to follow.

 

Some of the purchased items for my Toyota Hilux 4x4 Truck. I still need a set of fender flares, to give the truck a much more masculine, aggressive look. No Plain Jane here!

Front bumper:



Rear bumper, mounting brackets, nuts and bolts:



Chrome front VX grille:

 

To get the truck through its MOT inspection, I had to purchase some temporary stock combined front indicators and side lamps, as one was broken, and full of green mouldy water.

I say temporary, as I planned to upgrade the headlamps to twin-units, with projectors on dipped beam. And the headlamps came with matching combination side and indicator lamps.

Front side lamps / indicators:

 

Parking brake cable (rear):



Front CV joint gaiters, and installation cone:

 

I'd decided to go with LED rear lamp clusters, and as I intended to install HID headlamps, I purchased projector headlamps. Besides having twin bulbs in each unit, the projectors on dipped beam will allow HID installation to work without blinding other road users, and of course remain street legal.

The factory single rear foglamp on the driver's side will be deleted, and the foglamp transferred to the reverse lamp, with a red 21W bulb.

Picture updates will follow.

 

One thing which is not easy to choose, when doing a project car, is a colour, and it's no different with my Toyota Hilux 4x4.

I originally looked at other colours in the Toyota range, as well as Audi and other car manufacturers. I'm after a unique, vibrant colour, and it soon became pretty clear to me I was not going to find it where I was looking. Sure, I could go with a special, one-off mix, but decided against that from the onset. A scratch would mean it would be difficult to match the paint, meaning the whole car would need paint. So that idea was scrapped.

Now, when it comes to bold colours, cruise and power bikes are where it's at - Ducati, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Harley Davidson. Which is where I found my dream colour. I went to look at some paint chips today, and it looks terrific in the sun. It's all too easy to procrastinate, and keep changing one's mind. So I purchased all I need:

2 litres of xxxx base coat.
2 litres of xxxx pearl.
5 litres of 2-pack lacquer.
2 litres of activator / hardener.
3 litres of xxxx primer.

At least, now I can't change my mind, unless I'm prepared to lose money. Once paint materials are mixed, there are no refunds possible.

 

I had a bodyshop guy down to have a look at my Toyota Hilux. He was able to give me a quotation for the work. I can certainly paint the truck myself, but I would need to hire a spray booth, with an oven. I would actualy end up paying more, than if I got a shop to do it.

Naturally, I'll be stripping the truck down completely, (the only correct way to paint an automobile) so the paint gets to every corner, with the minimum amount of masking. That means removing:

01) Doors.
02) Doors, including front and rear screens
03) Door and tailgate handles
04) All lights.
05) Front grille.
06) Front bumper.
07) Front wings.
08) Rear tub (the cargo area).
09) Badges and associated trim.
10) Door mirrors.
11) Wheel arch plastic liners.

The bodywork is pretty sound, so it'll need minimal preparation for paint. I will do all the sanding down, and any exposed metal will be primered by myself too.

I am looking to build a custom rear deck lid, so will be mocking up a template for the frame. The rear deck lid will utilise Toyota Avensis hinges, from a 2004 car. It will also use active hydraulic rams, have a genuine Toyota lock, and feature an electronic release button on the dash.

So much to do, between work, family commitments, and my Audi A4 Quattro DTM project. Strangely, the Toyota project is getting me more excited than the Audi one. Not because I prefer the Toyota Brand to the Audi one, but because this is the first time I've handled a Toyota project, and the first time I've based a project on a truck. It will also be the most expensive, largest-scale project I've tackled till date.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all pans out. The usual picture updates will follow, and thanks for keeping up this far.

 

I got home from work sometime in April, to find a package had arrived for me, via DHL. I opened it up, to find my projector headlamps, and matching crystal indicators / side lamps. It's quite well made too, with a built wiring harness and a pair of relays, making the headlamps plug 'n play in my Hilux.

Remember, the OEM Toyota Hilux has just single headlamps, with a common bulb for dipped and main beams. The new set up has separate bulbs for dipped and main, with the outer projectors dedicated to dipped beams. Just needs a nice HID kit and it's good to go. Being used to my Audi's with their factory HID headlamps, I find the stock Toyota halogens way too yellow to live with.

Still waiting for my LED rear lamps to arrive. I DID pick up a set of stock Toyota clear side repeaters, to replace the rather boring amber units. They look good, but seeing them against the nice fresh crystal front lights, they lack sparkle. So of course, a set of crystals has been ordered. Can't wait to get my hands on those sweet li'l suckers.

 

By Monday the 05th May 2014, my Toyota Hilux 4x4 was declared road legal.

Having been laid up for a while, it was inevitable things would have degraded. Both front CV gaiters were shot, and the parking brake cable had seized solid.

Replacing the CV gaiters was not easy, very different from the procedure used on a regular FWD car, or indeed the Toyota Hilux 7, which is similar to a Toyota Camry, as far as the front driveshafts are concerned. Not a job to do on your driveway.

The handbrake cable replacement was another ball ache. The fuel tank needed to be pulled, to gain access.

All these were done on a Saturday, and the MOT carried out the following Monday. So for the next 12 months, she's road legal.

Things are looking great.

 

My crystal side repeaters have since arrived, the LED rear lamp clusters had been out of stock, I received an email letting me know they were back in stock. I snagged a set, they were dispatched same day, and should be with me within 24 hours.

I definitely need to get cracking with my custom solid rear tonneau cover, so it can be painted the same time as the rest of the truck. I've also ordered some chassis black paint, so I'm going to be pretty tied up. This weekend however, I'm giving some time to my Audi A4 Quattro DTM V8 Competition car.

 

My new LED rear lamps arrived 24 after ordering, as promised, they'll freshen up the rear of my truck real good:

 

I had the rear of my truck measured up to get the frame of my custom, hydraulically-operated rear lid / tonneau built. Of course, my truck had the optional Toyota rear roll bar fitted, so that had to go:

 

So out came the cage, and I ended up with a clean bed: