Middy Makeover

TERRAIN TAMER DISCOVERS MYRIAD ISSUES WITH THE AILING CRUISER.

- Matt Raudonikis

IT SEEMS my quest to get my old Middy back on the tracks in 2018 has opened a giant can of worms. Every time the mechanics at Terrain Tamer pulled a component apart they found it worn beyond repair or something else that required attention. More than 400,000km of use will do that to a vehicle, and even things I thought ‘felt okay’ showed signs of wear and tear.

Sometime in the life of this 1985 BJ73 Cruiser, a previous owner has swapped out the standard naturally aspirated 3B diesel engine for a factory turbocharged 13B-t as was fitted to the BJ74 Cruiser. While the odometer shows more than 400,000km on the clock, it is unknown how many kays are on the engine or if the gearbox was also swapped out at some point.