96 Hilux Surf

[ASUMTNEER]

Hello 3rd gen forum. I've been a member on here for a long time and have had many different 4runners over those years. I have been looking for a few years at the Hilux Surfs and thinking it would be fun to own one, and finally decided to pull the trigger. I bought a 96 model from Japanese Classics out of Richmond VA. It's a RHD, auto with the 3rz engine. I'm excited to get it (hopefully in a couple of weeks) and daily drive it. Does anyone else have the surf? Too late to tell me it's a bad idea...

 

[brillo_76]

Cool.. I am glad you got a hold of one... Auto or manual?

Sent from my SM-A536V using Tapatalk

 

[ASUMTNEER]

Cool.. I am glad you got a hold of one... Auto or manual?

Sent from my SM-A536V using Tapatalk

It is an auto. I would like to have a manual, but was looking for a less expensive option to start with. There may be a day where I splurge for a manual diesel model.

 

[aatheiss]

Fantastic, welcome to the RHD Club! I'm stationed in Japan and picked up essentially the same thing you did about a year ago, and absolutely love it! Let me know if you have any questions, I've spent a LOT of time figuring out some of the differences from LHD Runners.
[MENTION=148218]JZiggy[/MENTION] has a 3RZ 4Runner, and his writeups have been wonderful for basic maintenance and some minor mod inspirations, definitely check out his build thread

 

[blarchitect]

I also have the same model and a '99 3.0l diesel w/intercooler.
One thing to check for is rusty roof rail fixings.

 

[Wolfhound_Actual]

I just bought a 1997 RHD, AWD Hilux Surf with the 3.0L Turbo Diesel (1KZ-TE). I get so many awesome comments about it.

Driving a RHD drive car takes more concentration that I thought. And drive throughs are rough, haha. Other than that I absolutely love it and so do most people that actually reazlize what's different about it.

 

[ASUMTNEER]

I also have the same model and a '99 3.0l diesel w/intercooler.
One thing to check for is rusty roof rail fixings.

Any more info on this? pictures of where to look?
We were just in Nassau a few weeks back and had a great time!

 

[Ryan and Jerri]

Awesome. Got a 99 Surf here. Any pics of yours yet?

 

[ASUMTNEER]

Awesome. Got a 99 Surf here. Any pics of yours yet?

Not yet. I'm anxiously awaiting for a truck to bring it down to me.

 

[blarchitect]

The runner is bolted to the roof and corrosion begins around where the fastener penetrates the painted sheet metal. On both mine it was the passenger side front. Look for staining/discolouration on the headlining or do a water drip test with a garden hose.

 

[ASUMTNEER]

Got it Saturday. Still learning to drive on the wrong side of the road, but it's a fun car for sure!

 

[blarchitect]

Oh, it's had a respray. The rust holes I mentioned at the roof rack I'm sure will have been addressed if it was an issue. Have fun.

 

[ASUMTNEER]

Oh, it's had a respray. The rust holes I mentioned at the roof rack I'm sure will have been addressed if it was an issue. Have fun.

Yes, it has been resprayed. I removed the roof rails Sunday and the holes looked to be in good shape. There is some staining on the headliner due to water, but I found that one of the mounting bolts was gone on that side. I replaced the bolt and should be in business now.

 

[nissanh]

Looks good with the spare in the back.
I always wonder about converting it to left hand drive: You'll need complete dash, dash mount cross pole, steering rack, paddle mounts and wire the door wires. It is always a good practice to buy JDM vehicles that are also sold in the US. You can source all body panels, windshield from home.

 

[Devbot]

Looks good with the spare in the back.
I always wonder about converting it to left hand drive: You'll need complete dash, dash mount cross pole, steering rack, paddle mounts and wire the door wires. It is always a good practice to buy JDM vehicles that are also sold in the US. You can source all body panels, windshield from home.

I remember a while back some member either converted from LHD to RHD, might have been the other way around, but regardless it seemed like total hell for next to no gain. If I'm not wrong there was a LOT more than you'd think that needs swapped, and there's quite a bit of trouble sourcing a bunch of the components. I can only imagine what it would cost to ship one of those dashes anywhere
It'd be interesting but the way i see it if you're gonna put in that level of effort towards such a major project, it would be better spent on something like a SAS. At least it'll be fairly useful and you'll turn heads all the time instead of once in a blue moon :lol: