Hi all im new here i purchased a Toyota hilux 1981 ln40 diesel with 5 speed box registered for $1200 a few months ago and ive been reading up and looking at the forums on here for a while now trying to learn a bit about a few things, i love this forum, ive had many nights just looking at pics of other same model utes and they have grown on me since then, i hope to share with you all my mods ect. that i do with my ute, so far since ive had it all ive done is by a bullbar for $50 and stick that on , but i have acquired 3 old style spotlights for free one of wich is a fog light wich ill mount in the middle of the bullbar, im still yet to get 2 new mirrors but im scouting about looking for a very cheap set, as the only outside mirror atm is a cosmetic ladys pocket mirror taped on to the half busted housing with tape lol. but anyhow bit by bit it will come along nice, i will enjoy being a member of this forum and to learn new things cheers guys and girls, and jeff for sending me a welcome msg!

 

some pics of my old ute

just some pics of the beast! hope you like ,
when i bought the old girl she had a busted grill, but with some epoxy glue mixture and cable ties to hold it all in place i managed to get it prety much straight again then i used spray putty over plastic primer to fill in gaps, then i sanded it all back and used prep wash again before gloss black spray from Dulux! lol but it turned out nice once it was all dry and cable tied back in to place as most the holes and brackes didnt have the bolts there so i double cable tied each hole its never comming off unless you stand there for half hour with wire cutters lol, Australia day i got rather drunk and went to what we call down here as Chicken feed discount store, and i got my self some aussie flags and parked the beast up in the driveway for a day or 2 with the flags flying

 

Welcome, ln4081!!! Nice to see an LN40 come around. Some people here in the US are still unaware that Toyota imported the diesels to the states starting in 1981. I believe that stopped importing during the mid-80's or so. It's also nice to see your truck sporting the instrument panel under dash tray. That's something that was not available for the US trucks for both LHD & RHD.

Do you need any parts for your truck?

Rick

 

Hi there rick thanks for the reply yeh im not shure if the pressure guage and volt meter in the centerconsole is from this ute or not the center console is home made by the previous owner, im glad it does have the oil pressure gauge and volt meter those 2 gauges i always look at they mezmarize me lol, anyhow today i had some spare time so i took my welder from its shed and welded on a small bracket for a 27mhz cb radio on to the bull bar and stuck the antenna on it once i was done, just have to feed the wire into the cabin now and hook up the radio.
as for parts for the old beast the only things i can see i would like to eventually get is left hand front guard, 2x truck mirrors and an indicator lense for the right hand side where i ran into the fence one night lol, i could try beating the guard to get the dents out of it but i dont think i could make it look any better then the dent that is in it, also at some point in the near future id like to get an original steering wheel for it.

 

looks like aftermarket gauges to me, SR5s did have gauges in that spot though

 

That's cool that you mounted your CB radio today. I found a rare CB radio that was a Toyota Genuine Accessory item from the late 70's. Post a picture of your CB radio, please?

The truck mirrors are still available from Toyota:
Driver's side: 87940-89112
Passenger's side: 87910-89109

Keep in mind that these are the USA version. We never had the fender style or the other door style mirror available here.

left hand front guard - Are you referring to the fender?

an indicator lense for the right hand side - Are you referring to the lens on the side of the headlight/clearance lamp? If so, then that one is also still available through Toyota. Let me
know for sure and I'll give you the part number.

I may be able to help you with the steering wheel. I have a really good source down the street from where I live.

Cheers Mate!!!
Rick

 

yeh don't think those gauges are factory this is not a sr5 ute but a made up with with its 5 speed box and interior bits, but i love it today i have done some mods to the bull bar again, i joined 2 bits of flat metal together then welded it to the middle of the bull bar for a spotlight mount, 3 spotlights fit on it just right, all i have to do now when i find the right drill bit in my messy shed is drill the holes mount the lights and put a relay box/fuse thingy on it i parted out of my old ford xc, so they wont draw too many amps, and hook up the antennas that i have mounted on the front with another piece of scrap metal, going to stick 1 more antenna on the other side of the bar as i have a 3 antenna selector box for my multiband icom transceiver, as for the indicator yeh its the one on the grey shroud with the headlight it fell off when i hit a fence, and the left hand fender/guard ill source a second hand one if i can somewhere as i want to spend as little as possible on this ute so far bull bar $50, ute $1200, spotlights free, scrap metal used for making brackets free, the rest i already had, but the welding work/electrical work i can do my self, raising the height of the vehicle 1 inch and a half ill leave to the suspension place and get them to do a wheel alignment aswell, when i have some spare cash ill decide then weather i replace the damaged guard, but atm it is doing no harm thanks for your replys people