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From: Chris Yates-Smith [mailto:[Email address removed]]
Sent: 06 July 2006 18:54
To: '[Email address removed]'
Subject: LJ78
Hi, All,
some may remember about four months ago the long and sorry tale of my
91LJ78, Julian was most helpfull as were some others when having blown the
head on a trip to the UK and having it repaired in Southampton at a cost of
=A31500, it blew again just as we got off the ferry in Spain. After a week
while we stayed in a hotel in the middle of nowhere, the local garage had
"fixed" the the range of problems and off we went for the Portuguese border
just 300 miles away, on reaching the border the engine blew just about
everything and anything to do with overheating and water, and no I am not a
complete moron!, I nursed that vehicle as best I could.
Well we all know the problem with the 2.4 diesel, I had the vehicle put on a
truck and taken to my local garage here in mid Portugal, these people used
to be a Toyota dealer, a long established family business but serving a very
sparse rural community.After a month of searching ebay and just about
everywhere else in the world for a reasonably priced second-hand engine or
similar all I could find were clapped out old units or used ones without a
real history at ridiculous money, as a not very technical chap I thought
about just scrapping the thing, but "her indoors" loves that old LC.
My local garage then said they could rebuild it!, as an old fashioned garage
they have a machine shop and lots of old parts from their dealership days,
having absolutely "cooked" the engine, ( due circumstances where I had to
keep driving or die!), it had a cracked block and head plus burst radiator,
fan housing, cooked the turbo and much more.
Well a couple of days ago I picked up the old beast,they had rebuilt the
engine with Toyota parts, new water pump and fan housing, had custom built a
much larger radiator, flushed and re-filled the auto box and had custom made
a new ATF cooler,along with this they had steam cleaned the entire under
body and the engine and had re-undersealed the vehicle, they had even picked
up some other minor faults and done the work, all for just 2000 Euros, it
drives far better than ever, stays cool and is very smooth, we will see if
it lasts but it's doing well so far, these people do a lot of classic car
restoration for local people and 4x4 work for the locals who drive mostly 20
year old vehicles, they can even make body parts!,( for cars that is!), at
just 12 Euros an hour labour cost it makes a 4x4 affordable.
 
Chris,

I am on my way down to your garage with an old FJ45, just needs an engine
rebuild and the pickup bed and doors repaired, would be nice to have a long
range fuel tank as well though and a bigger rad sounds good.

12 Euros per hour, I wish that was how things were here, only way a 4x4 like
mine is affordable here for me is if I do the work myself !!

Glad to hear all is well.

Malcolm Bagley
Stafford, UK
1975 FJ45 Pickup (In Work)
_______________________________


_____
From: Chris Yates-Smith [mailto:[Email address removed]]
Sent: 06 July 2006 18:54
To: '[Email address removed]'
Subject: LJ78
Hi, All,
some may remember about four months ago the long and sorry tale of my
91LJ78, Julian was most helpfull as were some others when having blown the
head on a trip to the UK and having it repaired in Southampton at a cost of
=A31500, it blew again just as we got off the ferry in Spain. After a week
while we stayed in a hotel in the middle of nowhere, the local garage had
"fixed" the the range of problems and off we went for the Portuguese border
just 300 miles away, on reaching the border the engine blew just about
everything and anything to do with overheating and water, and no I am not a
complete moron!, I nursed that vehicle as best I could.
Well we all know the problem with the 2.4 diesel, I had the vehicle put on a
truck and taken to my local garage here in mid Portugal, these people used
to be a Toyota dealer, a long established family business but serving a very
sparse rural community.After a month of searching ebay and just about
everywhere else in the world for a reasonably priced second-hand engine or
similar all I could find were clapped out old units or used ones without a
real history at ridiculous money, as a not very technical chap I thought
about just scrapping the thing, but "her indoors" loves that old LC.
My local garage then said they could rebuild it!, as an old fashioned garage
they have a machine shop and lots of old parts from their dealership days,
having absolutely "cooked" the engine, ( due circumstances where I had to
keep driving or die!), it had a cracked block and head plus burst radiator,
fan housing, cooked the turbo and much more.
Well a couple of days ago I picked up the old beast,they had rebuilt the
engine with Toyota parts, new water pump and fan housing, had custom built a
much larger radiator, flushed and re-filled the auto box and had custom made
a new ATF cooler,along with this they had steam cleaned the entire under
body and the engine and had re-undersealed the vehicle, they had even picked
up some other minor faults and done the work, all for just 2000 Euros, it
drives far better than ever, stays cool and is very smooth, we will see if
it lasts but it's doing well so far, these people do a lot of classic car
restoration for local people and 4x4 work for the locals who drive mostly 20
year old vehicles, they can even make body parts!,( for cars that is!), at
just 12 Euros an hour labour cost it makes a 4x4 affordable.
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Hi Chris,
2k euro for a virtually new engine?
Bugger, can you find me a place to live in Portugal? I am not joking -
I spent lst weekend in North Wales - 12 deg. C and raining all day!
--
Rgds,
Roman (London, UK)
'92 HDJ80
On 7/8/06, Chris Yates-Smith <[Email address removed]> wrote:
 
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