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G’day Brenno,
Mate, I was having a look last night at your post about picking up a
1984 HJ47 ute in Brisbane last year, and it brought back some fond
memories of the 1984 HJ47 I owned some years ago.
Mine was an ex-station vehicle, so had seen some hard yards
before it came to me. The day I collected it from the dealer in Roma
(now Black Toyota) I thought it was the bee’s knees and set out for
Brisbane fairly late in the day. I got six km out of town before it broke
down and was towed back to the dealer.
A new heavy duty radiator later, I set out once more, but only made
it 20 km from town before breaking down completely with no
possibility of a restart. After being again towed back to the dealer
once more, I was offered a loan vehicle for a couple of weeks while
the motor (2H diesel) was pulled down and repaired. The problem
turned out to be a spun main bearing.
I remember the owner of the dealer trying to tell me that the
breakdowns were my fault, but I was quick to point out that after I
had taken possession of the vehicle, it had only done 52 km,
26 of which were under tow!
I was living and working in Longreach at the time, and
when I got the truck back, it ran like a beaut. I did a lot of
4WDing in it and crawling around the channels of the
Thomson River chasing the elusive feral hogs and goats.
Ultimately I sold it, but, even though it was armstrong
power steering and 2 by 100 air conditioning, it was one
tough truck. I kept it for (as I recall) five or six years and
then sold it for $250 less than I paid for it.
Since then, I have owned a HJ60, a HJ75, a HZJ80 and
my current drive is a HDJ100 series. I guess you could
call me a bit of a Toyota buff, as in 2013, my wife and I
owned four Toyotas at one time!
Nonetheless, I still miss my first ever Landcruiser and
real four wheel drive, the HJ47. What a truck and what
memories.RegardsDavid CarterG’day Dave, good to hear from you mate, and thanks for the email!
There really is something special about the old rigs hey? That
smell of hot vinyl and diesel smoke on a warm arvo can’t ever be
replicated by the new trucks. I was just looking at some photos of the
old ute the other day and wishing I never sold it, but I’ve got
automotive ADHD and can’t seem to hold onto a 4WD for more than a
year or two at the most.
Aside from a rough start, that sounds like a beast of a rig you had.
If anyone out there is contemplating selling their old truck, I tell ya
what, if you can afford it and have the space, do yourself a massive
favour and hold onto it. Hell, hand the plates in and park it behind the
shed on jack stands for a couple of years if you have to – cause I wish
I’d done that with mine.Onya mate, all the best.GOTTA LOVE AN OLD CRUISER