Ok, Nolen asked about european cruisers, so here we go...
I hope you'll enjoy this.
http://www.gadoueweb.com/toyserie7/bj71-denis2.jpg not very difficult here, but hey, I thought the landscape was nice. The truck is a BJ71 (13BT) btw.

You all know the way you build your cruiser depends on the terrain you are wheeling on.

Here in the north of France, we have no rocks, but have quite a lot of mud, because it is a woodden area, and rain doesn't have a long way from the sea...
http://landcruiser.free.fr/souvenir.jpg
My little BJ40

http://www.gadoueweb.com/toyserie7/KZJ_riviere.jpg
Here is a KZJ73

Believe me or not, you can enjoy muddin'
http://www.gadoueweb.com/toyserie7/betisier11.JPG
...
http://www.gadoueweb.com/toyserie7/betisier10.JPG

We don't have to do a lot of mods to our truck for this. All we need is (relatively) big, skinny tires with an aggressive pattern. (Here in Europe, 750X16 is a BIG tire and 35x12.5 is really a monster...)

http://landcruiser.free.fr/mimoy6.jpg

Some just don't have no time for working on their trucks. Eating, drinking, wheeling then you're done, just go sleeping.

http://landcruiser.free.fr/mimoy65.jpg
This BJ42 is super-clean, which does not stop his belgian owner to wheel it.

Some drink too much, though.
http://www.gadoueweb.com/toyserie7/betisier8.jpg
As you can see, this one is a LJ73
http://www.gadoueweb.com/toyserie7/betisier9.jpg

Some (belgian guys) build them the american way, but don't have much of a first hand experience...

http://landcruiser.free.fr/vil47.jpg

So you here you won't have lotsa 38" tires, or 2ft lifts with SO or such things.
http://landcruiser.free.fr/acc19.jpg
OK, this one's exaggerating now !



http://landcruiser.free.fr/mimoy26.jpg
That is almost as big as we can go. Do anybody have a spare set of fender flares ?

http://www.gadoueweb.com/toyserie7/Acceuil_22.jpg
This last one (from Belgium) is too much "americanized just for looks" for looking real good.
Too many chrome items, too IMNSHO

We even do have models you Americans will never see in real.

http://www.gadoueweb.com/toyserie7/ljlioetherve.jpg

Along with mudding, desert cruising is another great tradition in western Europe


http://www.gadoueweb.com/toyserie7/hzj78marc.jpg
a late model HZJ78, somewhere in Africa, probably...

http://www.gadoueweb.com/toyserie7/betisier7.jpg

but Africa is not just about sand, man ! (HZJ75)

http://landcruiser.free.fr/acerf.jpg

ometimes sh*t just happens, this time in Libya. There were 4 people aboard, but luckily none got seriously injured. The HJ61 though will need some work, this is why I'm buying it for a half decent price. When it comes back from africa, it will be high time for the angle grinder, and then sheet metal forming, sawzall, welder etc. etc.
What do you suggest as a new body ? Right here J60 bodies are RARE...

http://www.ifrance.com/denis-d/images/toy90.jpg

Who would have thought, some TOYOTA happen to fail ? This one suffered of critiacal overheating, which forced the official KZJ95s to give up during Paris-Dakar rally 1998(?)
The engine (3 litre diesel) was 245hp if I remember well, so you're only half surprised, aren't you ?

And while we're on sad stories, here's how the owner found back his KZJ73 which had been stolen...

http://www.gadoueweb.com/toyserie7/betisier2.jpg

http://landcruiser.free.fr/lastone.jpg

(yes it's me driving)

That's all for now. I don't want to scan some pics, or search harder. The ones you saw here come from my personnal collection (many of them taken at the Landcruiser meeting in May last year), and the rest is taken from a very good friend's website about 70 series landcruisers www.toyserie7.fr.st
Let me tell you I'm not gonna post pics for a long time, now..

Bye,

Lots of good pics!!!

However, is the steering on this one American????:eek:

i saw that too jason...lol:rolleyes:

---but the rest are cool. its so fun to see what other countries find bad ass...:rasta:

how bout that red one w/ the aluminum tube bumper and thos ebig ass flares on the back?!:flipoff2:

those big ass flares look cool....
denis is starting to use slang ;)
"not gonna post pics for a long time" ;)
GOOD WORK, the complete aussie lingo is made up of slang....very difficult to interepret.... :beer:

the hj61, needs tube body, or what i'd do, is try and fit a different body to it

you get 2 more cylinders for a diesel in the 2H, keep the grill 4 inch wider diffs, and better steering, so try and put a 45 or 47 series ute tub on it and a tray, hack the back off behind the spring hangers, and GET IT

i like the KJZ75 or whatever it is....what is the K series diesel? a european only one? maybe mercedes style?

we have only a few diesel types
B
2B
3B
13BT
14BT
h
2H
12HT
1HZ
1HD-t
1HD-ft
1PZ (5 cylinder diesel, pretty rare, and often swapped out, cause of parts availability)

or something like that

go the 4 cylinder cruisers though
get a turbo

any Z links really look SCARY :eek:
i dont think i could use one for street, but offroad itd be okay!!

I'll take the one on the left.

http://www.gadoueweb.com/toyserie7/ljlioetherve.jpg

Damn it! Didn't work!

Let's try this.

I'll take the one on the left

Well I for one have to say that Denis is a great addition to the board and thanks for the great Euro wheelin pics. I sure does put things into perspective for those that have never left the N. American continent.

Jason, Dcruiser,

That exactly what I meant with "don't have much of a irst habd experience":D
I find those european SO interesting, but I wouldn't want them for me. I think the American guys are a lot better at SOing :beer:

BJ42,

that's indeed the kind of stuff I thought about. But the body'd be troopie rather than ute style. I want the thing be usable for DDing, and thus have 4 passengers, and keep luggage locked. That one will be going to Africa as well, so sleeping inside would be useful...

I'll probably keep the board update if you ask gently...:flipoff2:

Btw, you missed the L series in your diesel lineup
2L-T and 2L were found in LJ7x here. It's a 4cyl. 2.4 L ...
now there are some 3L, 4L... that we don't have...


The K series is a 4cyl 3 L turbo, found in 70 and 90 series

1KZ-T 125hp :emb:
1KZ-TE ( same as above, but electronic fuel control)
1KD-FTV 163 hp (direct injection, HP common rail system, intercooler...)

Bye

Guangie,

This one's already been bought by a french guy coming back from MI where he used to work for Ford. And he's going to do severe trails with it, he told me.

Btw, his name is Lionel H and he used to drive an FJ62
Now it's a LJ73 (90hp) with 235/85R16 BFM tires (not pictured)

Keith,

Thanks for the "great addition to this board". :beer:
Very soon I'll be posting about a custom powersteering setup, with absolutely no PS box of any style...:eek:

Bye,

Some pics I took at the annual Belgian Land Cruiser Club meeting, the trucks you see here are about as "extreme" as you can get out here in Belgium and still keep it street legal. Spring over, engine conversions, body lift, custom suspensions and other big modifications are illegal in Belgium. When you go to the annual automobile inspection the tires that are on your truck have to be of the same specs and size as the tyres it had when it left the factory!
Then there is also the much feared "black smoke test", they put this little thingie in the exhaust pipe and then revv the engine to the maxx, then they measure if there are excesses in the smoke. Last year i had a score of 3.5, when the maximum was 2.5!!
Failed big time, strangely enough the problem was solved when i added 10% gas my diesel feul.

Next time I'll go to the automobile inspection my truck will have shackle reversal, body lift, 32" All terrains, homemade rollcage...

I better bring awhole lot of :beer: to keep the guy who tests my car happy!:D

Christof

" living in a country ruled by idiots"

Bj42

last one

Man I love this international flair. Americans live in a Polly Anna world where they think they are the center of the universe. In times like we are living it's nice to see that there are guys just like us on the other side of the planet. Now we need some contributors in Asia, since we have the other continents covered (except Anartica and I doubt we'll get contri's from there)

denis, thanks for the pics real nice man, i love seeing other countries wheels, i especially like the desert "safari" type setups.


the complete aussie lingo is made up of slang....very difficult to interepret....

haha true it is, took me forever to figure out,
"can i bot a chewie"

Hi, good to see you all appreciate the pics...

Rhino, is it this kind of stuff you said you like ?

http://www.paisible.org/desert2/bestof/action7.jpg

Tunisia. (HZJ, I bet) taken from www.paisible.org

http://www.paisible.org/desert2/bestof/action9.jpg


http://www.chaleil.com/photos/200045/200045-037.jpg

This last one is taken from www.chaleil.com

Tell me if you want more...:D

Bye,

Smokin pics!!! Thanks!!!

Denny,
I gotta say that I do like the French approach to trail food. It sure beats peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with sand.
Anybody who has to pay 1 Euro per liter of fuel and still drives a BJ40 has my respect.

<img src="http://landcruiser.free.fr/mimoy6.jpg">

If everybody appeciates so much the :smokin: pics, I could look for and post another batch, and try to find some more extreme stuff for the :skull: guys.

Btw, Pinhead, I'm not currently driving a BJ40, my DD being a VW passat :emb:, but heck this one drinks more fuel than my BJs at the speed I drive it. And this time it's some1EURO/L unleaded, whereas diesel is *only* 0.75... But man that the kind of thing we get used to (especially if we did not ever know something else... lucky :usa: bastards...)

One is being stripped down for a complete frame-off (the body should be ready to unmount tomorrow...) and then wheeled in the toy4x4 meeting in May, then sold away to get the money for the future bad-ass kindaHJ61, kinda alu.tub bobbed 45 troopie. And then I might put a 1HZ in the '75BJ, and SO it...
Afterwards, I think I'll try to build a TOYOBEX (Ibex with TOY parts...)

My (bones stock except for the tub) BJ40's articulation :

http://www.ifrance.com/denis-d/bj40/xgauche.jpg

http://www.ifrance.com/denis-d/bj40/xdroit.jpg

Bye,

Denis

Damn, forgot to say what I first thought :D

Pinhead, thoses guys with the yellow 42 are belgian, but french people share the same approach... Yeah I live in the part of the world (north of France and Belgium) where the best :beer: in the world is brewed...:flipoff2: Man it's not :rainbow: for the :rainbow:s ... Kinda hazardous to store the food and drink in the bed that way, though:flipoff2:

Sorry for the possible typos, but that keyboard and I seem will have to fight for real in the near future....:mad2:

Now I have to stop with the :cow:, sorry it's just that I can't help it :D
Bye,

Excellent! Thank You.

Denis,

On the tire sizes, do you have annual inspections checking every detail? When I lived in Germany (DD was my bicycle!!! BMW for weekends), we had the dreaded annual TuV... if you got caught with the wrong size tires... you had to get the correct ones fitted to pass inspection. Things like "spring overs" were not allowed.

One of my favorite "camp food" was a German tradition of baked banana. Wrap in foil, dropped in hot cools for up to an hour. Hot steaming banana pudding. Must admit it was good. Funny, but I had an Austrian coworker who loved GARLIC in his sausages, and would bring me a few extra. Our German coworkers hated Garlic... boy did we know when they got one of "our" wurst! :D

Loved the :beer:

Tom :usa:

Tom,

Yes we do have an inspection , just the same as Christof talked about, but every 2nd year only. Wrong tire size (namely more than 2.5% different from factory, which would be 205R16 for the BJ40) are theorically forbidden, just as SO or any big mod.
But I never had a problem with my 7.50X16s pictured here

http://www.ifrance.com/denis-d/bj40/bj6l.jpg
( http://www.ifrance.com/denis-d/bj40/ )


and I think other mods could be accepted, provided it does not obviously look as a big mod. did you get me ? I have no experience about this so I couldn't swear.

I happen to love experimental food, too... sometimes !

Bye,

Originally posted by denis
Pinhead, thoses guys with the yellow 42 are belgian, but french people share the same approach... Bye,

Oh Yea :beer:
I have been to both the French- and Flemish-speaking parts of Belgium, but I never made it to N. France. When I was in Liege, I ordered a glass of "vin rouge, sil vous plait" in my best French and they answered me back in German. It's bad enough to have my attempt at French go unappreciated, but to be mistaken for a German....scheiss... :flipoff2:

Denis,

Thanks for the great pics!

In the '70s, after driving an FJ40 for a year, I moved to New Zealand. It was eye-opening to see what the Kiwi's did to their cruisers ... huge bush guards, etc. So it's nice to see what our european brothers are doing with theirs.

Thanks again.

- Jake