Well my odessesy to finally get to New Zealand is over! After some sightseeing I was able to locate two wrecking yards near Palmerston-North which is near the souther end of the North island. My g/f let me go and play so I had my basics with me, 8.10.12.14mm wrenches, phillips, flat tip screw drivers and a pair of pliers and diagonal cutters. Found some fabulous things but unfortunately I can't get them home, shipping will be just too much. But some things are the rear wing with movable backup mirror ($300), left fender rear view mirror ($135). I have noticed that the heater/A/C control unit is slightly different then the ones we have here in the states.

Found 2 Field Monitor units, one for sunroof and one without sunroof. There are definite differences between the two. I was able to get the entire unit, wire harness from the unit to the A pillar, as well as the sensors for both. I will have a look at what the differences are between the one I installed and the two I purchased. I will be bringing them back with me in late March. I will decide then if I will sell them. There is also a dash box that resides under the radio with a flip-up door. This will be a great addition. The speedo cluster also seems to be different but I have no idea if it would be a plug and play. Yeah I know why would you do that when it reads in kilometers and KPH, it seems the 4x4 indicator is different, but then again ... I also came across a complete digital display for a 2008 Toyota Prado. Thought about getting it but the expense, difficulty of removal and location and retriving the sensors that would most likely be needed along with trying to adapt it to an analog 4runner, I just did not have the time to devote to such a project right now.

I noticed most every gen 3 had the rear swingaway spare tire carrier. The lift gate seems to be the same but has the added attachment for the gate, but then has a cover that goes over it making for a nice clean finished lift gate. All have preset mounts and supports in the right side corners so it is an easy removal but then retrofitting one of our 3rd gens would be a tough go, but with all the necessary components would really be the answer to our searching for or making a swing away spare tire carrier. But then again shipping from here is just too prohibitive. Maybe next trip. Stay tuned as I will post some pics later when I get back.

 

I doubt you're still sitting in the wrecking yard but if you see any 1st gen 4Runners/Surfs you should try to grab all the emblems that say "Hilux Surf." There is one on the tailgate and one on each B pilar. They are small and lightweight and would probably bring good $$ on eBay or here.

 

Man I'd love to have a swing out factory spare tire carrier! Do you know how much they want for the parts??

 

Sounds like you should find a container shipping company and fill one up!


Andreas

 

Yeah I could probably do that but it takes "up front captial" LOL Maybe for another time. I did find one 1st gen and it did have the emblem on the B pillar ... I was way ahead of you on that but as I couldn't get at it di didn't want to damage it trying to get it off. The tail gate was gone and it was pretty much gutted.

I would love to have the carrier as well but the overall size and weight made it impossible on this trip to even think about trying to ship. I will have to look into what shipping options there are as no way you can ship this via postal system! 5 pound shoe box from US to NZ was $55, I kid you not and the postal from here is way more expensive (post card is $1.90 letter is around $3) I did pick up a couple of HiLux Surf badges one off a 2nd gen and one from a 3rd gen I got the FMU out of along with the number plate (licence plate). I really wanted that rear wing with the backup mirror. Believe it or not I only found a total of 10 4runners in two yards. If I was gonna fill up a shipping container, I think I would just ship a couple of the trucks. The 2nd gen is probably still the most popular model here, as they come with 3.0 engines ... but the're diesels! Lots and lots of diesels here and the price for fuel, $2.20 per LITRE for petrol (gas) and $1.49 per litre for diesel. Thing is here you have so many fees to pay. If you use diesel you have to pay a milage fee when you register your vehicle for the year and it includes posting milage beginning and end. Their government is just like ours, they want their $$$. Ok off to explore the streets of Wellington. Seeing some interesting Yota's here so smapping some pics for the folks back home, will post when I get back, internet is expensive, no free hot spots here! Any other suggestions and things to look for just shout out Kia Ora

 

That rear tire carrier is sweet but you would need the carrier itself, hatch, and there is a welded in reinforcement in the right 1/4. You'd need to either retrofit that or make your own which would be more work and if it gets welded to the 1/4 then you're talking about paint too. I was all gung-ho to get one of those but then the hassle of finding parts, shipping parts, and lots of fab and refinish time got me thinking I'd either build one on my rear bumper when I build one or just throw the spare in back or up top if I had to.

To be in NZ would be great, and picking through a foreign boneyard even better! Have fun.

 

Snap a pic of the interior of those 4runners if you can, I would love to see the differences between ours! Nice find on the FMU's, I'm sure you'll make a pretty penny on those once back in the states.

 

Yeah my thoughts exactly, as I did take a close look at how the back carrier is installed. It is similiar to how the rear carrier on the 2nd gen and there are reinforment plates in the corner. The 2nd gen has a different hatch for the swing out tire carrier as the 3rd gen JDM uses the same hatch for either, they just modify the attachment hardware and then have a fitted cover that goes over it. The hatch on the 3rd gen is not too different and getting the pieces for the attachment to the hatch is pretty straight forward, you really don't need the entire liftgate. There is a cover that goes over the attachment mechanism so you remove that and unbolt it. Still hugh amount of work. Retrofitting would not be very easy and cutting and welding the corner, if you did have to go to that extent, then you should do as Pattycakes said, just build one from scratch.

Wandering around the yard I got to "play" in was too unreal! So many choices and opportunites, I just did not have the time to really spend there that I wanted to.

Time table with visiting my g/f family members did somewhat dictate how long I had but she has been great and patiently waited in the car while "played". There still are not too many surfs in the two I got to wander around in and I know if I had access on an extended time frame I could find some fun things to retrofit, but again the shipping would be killer. I REALLY wanted one fo those rear wings with the pop out mirror. $300 just for the wing. I'm sure wiring would not be a big issue, just need to get the diagrams for applicable year Surf. You wonder why Toyota did not offer some of the options in the US, I know that there would have been enought buyers to either order them or as dealers normally do, load up the vehicles they get in as part of packages. And why they never allowed diesels here, geez. The 2nd gen with the diesel option over here, almost never see 2nd gen with 3.0 badging that isn't a diesel!

 

you can have the rear wing checked-in as extra size baggage

 

I have thought of that as I see people bring skis, snowboards and golf clubs on planes, only issue right now is A) finding one the right color B) determining what else I might need from the truck to make it work, how it is wired and to where c) the FREAKING cost! ($300+just for the wing) along with the cost of oversize/extra baggage which I think starts at $75 now and it also depends on the small puddle jumper airline that will fly me to Auckland airport to catch my Air New Zealand flight. Its still not out of the question, but I may just have to wait till next year.

 

Glad you enjoyed your time over here.
Stockwell- I think a major difference will be that we have our steering wheel on the correct side. ::
And I actually alway thought they can std with the back carriers. I actually don't think I've seen one without.

Parts yards are expensive (well compared to some of the prices y'all post) and I think the reason you saw so few surfs was the fact that every body runs them and fix's them rather that get a new vehicle. You are never more than 125km from the coast so there are a fair few 4WD's around.

Did you make it to the South Island at all?

Nick

 

Nick, g'day! I have seen alot more 2nd gens here in NZ but similiarly to what you said about run'um/fix'um does seem to be the case here but also you guys have ALOT more diesels which we can't even get! I can imagine there are alot of us, myself included who would love to have a turbo diesel 4runner/Surf.

I noticed that practically every 3rd gen Surf came with an OEM swing-away tire carrier which was mounted on the right rear corner. Also I found several that had the right rear quarter panel cut out. I noticed that the majority of "Tacoma" trucks which were mostly 80's and 90's were all 3.0 diesels and if they didn't have 4 doors they didn't have the traditional box but had a flat box with low sides. The 4door trucks would have a smaller pickup box but anot all were the smooth side that we are used to seeing. I am trying to take pictures of some different trucks and discovered a rather interesting little bit, if you see a truck or any vehicle that you were not sure of they have a little sticker on the left side windscreen (windshield) that is a "fitness for operation" which says what the vehicle is, model and year!

As for prices, I would agree that most are quite a bit higher but some are not too unreasonable. As with everything, it is supply and demand. Here where as Nick said, they fix'em and driv'em. Parts are gonna be more in demand and the we all know what a dealer is gonna charge you! I really want one of those rear wings with the mirror just becasue we can't get them in the States, but at around $400 ... I might have to wait. Now if I could find one that wasn't perfect and could snmag it for around $100 then I might give it a go!

As for getting to the South Island, I did get to Picton as my lady has a sister and brother-in-law who live there. We only had the weekend so went over on Saturday and had a fabulous time. The weather was spectacular on the ride over on the InterIslander so got a few pictures (like maybe 200) With only having the weekend, they decided it would be best with the weather forcast to take their boat out and went over to Mistletoe and checked out the camp site that is in trust and had a brilliant time. Stopped over at a small inlet that is called Lochmara in the Marlborough Sound off the Queen Charlotte Sound and did a mini tramp that they have set up in the hills which was brilliant as well well worth the price, saw Punga people, hammock heavena the gecko enclosure, they also have a working visible bee hive set up, Arapawa sheep, bird enclosure, fresh water water native eel pool as well as a small restaurant/pub. Sunday the weather took a bit of a turn and we went to Bleinheim and I was surprized with a visit to I would classify as one of the best aviation museum's of its king anywhere! Omaka Classic Aircraft Museum which is dedicated to WW1 aircraft and the men who flew them. There are full size diaorama's depicting some of the most prodigent moments in the aerial conflict along with some of the most amazing artifiacts , uniforms and memoribilia from some of the worlds most famous fliers of the Great War. There are uniforms of Eddie Rickenbacher, America's Ace of Aces, British and New Zealand fliers and many of the German aces as well. Also they had Goring's white dinner dress jacket. There so so much to see and so many different bits. The final center piece was the diaorama depicting the crash of the Red Baron Manfred von Richthofen showing what happened to him after his plane crashed near an Austrailian army emblacement. A bit sad but understandable considering who he was at the time. The amazing thing is how some of his personal artifacts and clothing that were taken then have managed to come full circle and are now on display. I would recommend this to any aviation buff, a truly MUST SEE. Attended a fabulous classic car show at a place in Bleinheim called "The Race Track" that had over 300 different classic cars. My favorite was a beautiful, all orginal, right hand drive 1957 Chevy Belair! Just so many I could not begin to list them here but a marvelous time. We had to take the Monday sailing back to Wellington and the crossing was NOT fun at all.

I still hope to check a few more yards up around Napier so more as I find them. Pictures will be posted in a new thread when I get back where I will have more time.

 

One thing that has always really bugged me about my FMU is the 2 unknown wires that are not used when we swap these into our 4runners. Since you have an FMU also, I'm sure you know the 2 that I am talking about. I refuse to believe that these don't have a use. If and when you grab some FMU's from the junkyard, is there any chance you can trace these wires and find their origin? It would be much appreciated on my part!

 

I know of the wires you speak of and that thought did occur to me. Went looking again today and I did manage to find two different FMU's, one is for the 4runner/Surf with a sunroof and one without. There are different numbers of wires between the two and I did notice that there is a sunroof control module in the overhead near the right side of the mounting location for the FMU when I removed it. To simplfy this very issue I decided to remove the entire harness, plugs and control module. Obviously the non-sunroof model did not have a control module. This may be where the "extra" wires ended up coming from. I plan of trying to find a wiring diagram for the Surf with sunroof and one without to see what wires are designated for what. I also snagged the sensors that went to each unit. The harness ends up going to the right side 'A' pillar but I could not get fully at them due to the fact I did not have an impact screwdriver to remove the grab handles. With that to deal with and limited time, I just removed as much of the harness as I could above the 'A' pillar on both harness. Once I get back , undo all the things I need to do and finish up stuff for work I will begin to post some pics and dive into this very issue. I know it has been a puzzlement for those of us who have installed this handy little toy in our trucks. Only wish I had more time and money to do more investigation and parts shopping!

also if there is a specific model of truck you would like me to keep an eye out for, I will try to get some pics. I have found some interesting trucks here already.

 

Yea my ute with the 22R is uncommon.

Omaka is well worth a visit. Until recently I was at the air force base in Blenheim and visited it a few times. If you are still over her iat easter you should make your way down to the warbirds over wanaka over wanaka airshow (Another thing that's common! Per capita we operate the most choppers and I think the most warbirds too.)

If anyone every gets down my way (Invercargill, at the bottom of the South Island) flick me a PM.

Quick thread hijack about NZ Hilux's and regulations sorry Ritzy

Re: Diesel popularity, I think it is because you pay road tax on petrol at the pump but not diesel. (Either way both are bloody expensive) As Ritzy said you purchase diesel kilometres (Officaly "Road User Charges")separately in 1000km blocks depending on the vehicle type (My old mans Surf has the 1KZ-TE in it and it would cost him $44 for a thousand while it would cost $430 for a 15 ton 18 wheeler-$180 for the truck and $250 for the trailer) This means that a cocky would only have to have 1 diesel tank and be able to fill the tractor, ute, truck, Silage chopper and whatever else and just have a small 44 gallon drum of petrol for farm bikes, chainsaws etc.
That and depending on how scrupulous you are it is possible to disconnect the odometer and avoid them altogether

If you said Tacoma over here I think most people would just give you a confused look. I don't actually think they are offered over here.

I assume you meatn something like this one?


If so that is what we would call a double cab or crew cab, well deck ute (no one will use the name pickup over here, but will understand it. Same with 4Runner. They are called Surf's over here but I have seen a few branded as 4Runner)

With regards to the 2 dr with flat box with low sides do you mean like this


That is a my 2WD single cab, flat deck ute (yes 2WD on an off road site)
You will see double cabs with flat decks and singles with wells as well though

As for the stickers the one upper left corner of the windscreen (looking at the vehicle front on) is the Warrant of Fitness. Basically "Yes the vehicle is road worthy." Basically a general check that all the bulbs and brakes work, there is at least 1/16" of tread on the tires, no rust Some (or all) of these can be overlooked depending on how well you know the inspector, where the garage is and/or if there is a dozen beer that were on the seat but mysteriously vanish during the check.. There is no Smog requirement like in the US although they can't blow visible smoke for more than 10 seconds. The vehicle must be checked every 6 months if older than 6 years.

The lower right has the RUC label and Rego (What you were talking about.)

Here's what mine looks like for anyone that is interested:



As Ritzy stated it has the make, model and year plus the year of first reg in NZ. (Here's another cool thing Ritzy. CarJam shows all info avaible about the vehicle plus reg hist and whether it is reported stolen. Once again, mine if anyone is curious and can't make up a rego. And yes I know my rego is expired!!)


If either WOF or Reg is expired it is a $200 fine each if the police ping you (although they do have the official discretion to log it and require you to fix it within 28 days and the fine is removed) and for expired RUC it is 3 times what it would have cost to get them up to date. Eg. Expired 1000km ago would be 3× what every the cost of 1000km of RUC is for your vehicle (not to bad for a ute but if you look at those 18 wheeler prices!

Most serious four wheel drivers (that I've met anyway) won't usually use the generation but the "N number" something that I haven't seen much of on here.
If you dont know what I'm talking about they are set out XNY where X is the engine series and Y is the vehicle series.
For example:-

• my 1994 2WD Hilux Ute with a 22R is an RN85
• my dads 1996 4WD Surf with a 1KZ-TE is a KZN185,
• First gen utes are 10's
• Second gen utes are 20's
• 1984-1985 Surfs are 60's,
• 1985 to 1989 Surfs are 61
• 130 - 1990 1995 Surf with 2 or 4 door depending.
• KZN185 - 1995/6 to 2000 3rd Generation Surf

Think it is generally the first part of your chassis or VIN (The above list is not gospel but to the best of my knowledge)

Right, now that I've throughly disrupted the thread Ritzy can have the reins back

 

LOL,well said Nick and now that we are all totally confused! Not really for me anyway it does help to sort out a few things.

Wish I was going to be here longer and I will have to remember you next trip. I was only able to get as far as Bleinheim this trip. If things work out I may be making this trip once a year. It is really fun to see so many different vehicles and the car show is fabulous.

As for Wings over Wanaka, yeah have been wanting to go to that for years. Won't be here till easter thought have to be back before end of March, and the RNZAF is celebrating their 75th birthday on the 31st literally right down the road from my lady friends sister who lives in Marton. Going over to Bulls today so the air base is right on the way there. I saw an ad for it in the local paper and it is going to be HUGE, but will miss that as well, next time!

I do plan on posting some pics of the trucks and such I have seen so now I also have a resident expert to help describe them correctly, Thanks Nick and no you didn't hijack the thread, LOL. you gave it added value!

 

Just to update I was able to locate another small wrecking yard not too far from my lady friend's home in Dannevirke. I was able to locate and obtain two sets of 1st gen B pillars covers that have the HiLux Surf logo and one tail gate Surf logo. Located a couple of 2nd gen Surf tail gate logos, SS-X and one other. They were not real cheap but the guys were pretty helpful as I relayed to them I was a collector of sorts and my accent kinda gave away where I was from! The logos will be fun to have so depending on the offers I get and my trying to decide which ones I want to keep, I will let you guys know. So if interested just shoot me a message and I will reply as I get access to check my email and YotaTech.

I will be investigating the mystery wire issue when I return home as well and will entertain offers for the two FMU's. Both will have the sensors. Remeber I have one each of the types that were on 3rd gens, one with the sunroof controls and one without. I was not able to get the small mirror cover plate on the one with the sunroof controls as it was missing when I removed it from the Surf. Both are the gray/blue color but they can be painted with vinyl spray paint as I did with the auto dimming mirror I installed on my truck.

Still looking for different Toyota trucks and Surfs during my last few days here. So let me know of anything else to watch out for.

 

In North America, the VIN is different from the vehicle code. I've seen 3rd gen 4Runner B-pillar stickers indicating both the VIN and the vehicle code.

3rd gen 4Runners only: For the 4WD 4Runner with the 5VZ-FE engine, the vehicle code is VZN185L, while the 2WD is VZN180L. For those with the 2.7L 3RZ-FE engine, the vehicle codes are RZN185L & RZN180L.

There are some numbers and letters after the vehicle code. these numbers are known as the option code. It indicates the model grade and factory-installed options. Ritzy, I noticed that you have the JDM tail lights. you'll need the matching reflectors attached to the rear bumper because the JDM tail light don't have the reflector.

 

Thanks again for all the help Ritzy!

I've considered swapping a Surf license plate holder and the above plastic piece that provides light to the plate over to my 4Runner, but without seeing one in person I have no idea how hard this task will be. Any chance you can just see how this part is held on?

 

Gr8 info and I have noticed the differences with the coding as well. Makes for some interesting discussions. As for my JDM rear lenses, I purchased those that are on my truck right now from a guy in Southern California las summer as he had the pair and was only asking $15 ... for the pair! so no hesitation and when I got them home to install them I started to pull the bulbs and guess what? They were LED bulbs as well> Can you BONUS WINNER?! I was pretty excited . I will take a look for those reflectors you mentioned but I found a way around that as well. RCW here requires red rear reflectors so I had some of that industrial 3M red reflective tape and cut 1/4" strips that wrap around the base of the lenses. Meets the requirements, looks very clean and not overly obvious. If I think to do it I'll take a closeup of mine when I get

I will take a look at the holders, not too sure just exactly what you are specifically referring to, but I will check it out. The plates here are longer and narrower then ours. I have managed to squirrel away a couple of the current plates and one chap let me have the lone one off the yards old and I mean OLD Suzuki samari, it is the previous black and white one. So I guess what I am asking you is it for a 3rd gen or 2nd gen rear holder? Swing-a-way spare tire carrier or standard rear liftgate? either way I plan on getting out to take a few more truck pics over the next few days. More as it happens.