This time about my car Land Cruiser.
The photo above is the 1991 Land Cruiser, Troop Carrier (HZJ-75), commonly known as Trupy.
I started riding in 2003, and this year I have entered the 17th year.
At first glance, it is beautiful, but rust and cracks are growing all over the body, and it is deteriorating.
It seems that it was caused by the load of driving on rough roads for many years and the rain.
Years have passed since I was thinking of doing a body repair, leaving it alone without repairing it.
In this blog, I will talk about Land Cruiser, who finally decided to lift his heavy waist and perform a complete body repair.
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This year, my car, Land Cruiser, has entered the 17th year since I bought it.
Since the purchase, it has become a caretaker's hand and foot, and has been taken to everywhere in Kenya.
It has already been 12 years since it was manufactured in 2003 at the time of purchase, and the age of the car is 29 this year.
The 1991 Land Cruiser and computers are not used at all, the structure is simple and clear, and the durability is not comparable to today's cars.
Even after 29 years, the engine that feels better as you ride it is a model of a 4.2-liter naturally aspirated engine.
It is said that the engine will have enough power for 1 million kilometers if it is properly maintained, including oil management.
For a vehicle weight of over 2 tons, there is not enough power, but the abundant torque characteristics in the low speed range pull it even on rough roads, so I am not dissatisfied at all.
A car that is especially fun to drive on rough roads.
Structurally, there are very few plastic parts compared to recent cars, and there are a wide variety of metal parts. Therefore, even now, nearly 30 years after it was manufactured, it will regain its brilliance if it is polished. Therefore, the more you ride, the more you will love the car.
Spare parts are abundant, and basic ones are usually available in the countryside of Kenya.
Recently, some front and rear leaf springs have been replaced, and the vehicle height has increased by about 4 cm and the ride quality has improved.
Look at what you're curious about when the ride quality gets better.
As expected, in 17 years, the body started to show a lot of rags.
I've done some repairs, but I've never done it on the whole body since I bought it.
Corrosion on the left side is significant
There are many areas where corrosion is progressing, and the large areas have become quite severe.
In Kericho, where I was last year because of my work, it was raining, raining, raining, and my car, Land Cruiser, was wild in the rain every day.
Perhaps because of this rain, the rust on each part has progressed further.
In the photo above, hitting the rusty part with a flat-blade screwdriver makes it very fragile and easily makes a hole. When I hit the fragile part, the hole became bigger and bigger. Eventually the hole was so big.
A large hole is made in the ceiling and a hatch is attached so that the view can be effective on the safari.
Corrosion of that part has progressed considerably, probably due to the influence of rain.
Other than that, there are cracks in the lower part of the body and each part of the body caused by the vibration of running on rough roads.
Unload all your luggage and prepare to start work
The driver's seat has also been torn. As I recently learned, the cause of the torn seat was when my son climbed the car alone.
The cause was that he had been climbing on the torn part of the seat for many years. I didn't notice when the caretaker was with his son as he helped him climb.
He went crazy little by little, so he didn't really care about him as a rider all the time, but when I look at it again, it's tattered.
Tattered, at best I didn't repair it so far
So, at the end of February 2020, I decided to take the plunge and completely repair the body.
For the seats, I decided to replace the front two seat covers for the time being.
If you leave it to the garage, it will not be as you expected, so the manager is currently going to the garage every day and struggling to work.
Once the repairs are complete, this car will be available to customers as well.
However, there is still a long way to go before it is completed.
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to be continued
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