Crazy idea - love some input - importing diesel Land Cruisers
 

So I have a contact in a Left hand drive part of the world that has a line on some old Land Cruisers. And, he is suddenly needing an income. (I know what you are thinking! Not Russian and completely legit. He is a long term friend) I actually pitched this idea to him. He isn’t a car guy. Which is somewhat problematic.

While I drive a 2001 100 series Cruiser as my daily, I really have no idea about what models are most desirable or US values. 60 series? 80 series? Something else?

I also see my rig being worth as much as $20-25k in today’s weird market. I bought it for $14 about five years ago. Yes. The market is goofy now.

Anyone have any insight on diesel Cruisers in the US? I get that this is a super narrow niche.

But let me ask. If you could drive a diesel, bad-ass SUV that gets 20mpg and has international parts support wouldn’t you be tempted to do so? I sure would.

I know imports must be 25 years old. What else? Might be a fun little side gig.

Please feel free to scare me off. Give me horror stories and similar. This is a departure from anything I have ever done. It would be great to have my eyes wide open early.

TIA!

Cannot offer any advice, but I love my 200 series LC so I want to see the responses. I think it’s a cool idea.

I'm all in! I've been dreaming of this for quite some time. 80 series is the best cruiser by far. I have owned three 40's still have a 69 with 23000 miles on it, i have a 89 fj62 and am currently doing a resto on my lx450. I love all of the models but the 80 series is most popular. If you find a nice 80 with a diesel, stick and LHD send it to NH!

I’m sure you know the site, but I would post over here:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/

The market is goofy now!

Talk to these guys:

https://landcruisersdirect.com/

The reason for getting rid of em is that diesel costs more then gasoline now , in Europe.
And they are getting banned from most major cities on emission standards


I would think most end up in Africa, they always have been rare in Europe on second hand market because they are so popular down south

Where previously hardly any older ones (20+) were available, suddenly a lot of them are up for sale , especially diesels.

https://www.2dehands.be/l/auto-s/#q:landcruiser|Language:all-languages|constructionYearTo:2000|postcode:8904|se archInTitleAndDescription:true

My stepsister and her husband have a low-spec 100-series with solid axles, a diesel and a 5-speed and damn, that thing is awesome. 10/10 would own.

If it ain't Cummins, I ain't going.

Have you done the math?

^^^
Big part being the shipping math and the time it will take to get them shipped.

Yes. The math. I just started conversations yesterday. The links / info above was very useful. I learned a bunch. I have not calculated shipping cost. It will certainly take a while. Also, where the heck do I store a Cruiser before shipping? There is also a theft risk during storage.

Lots of variables.

So far, this is a fun distraction. Thanks all!

I have two 84 bj60s. I found them on vancouver craigslist and imported them myself. One was 6000 cad and the other was 4500 cad. Had them now for 7+ years.

4 cylinder hino diesel with 5 speed. Gets about 22mpg on stock factory wheels.

One we use as a trash hauler (yard waste, etc), the other I use for trips. They're both very simple to work on. Downside is they have about 100hp and geared really low so they're slow. On flat highway I stay below 65 for engine rpm.

I'd say the most desirable land cruisers are the bj70s they still sell in Australia.

I couldn't care less about the "land cruisers" that the moms drive to the mall. Friend had an fj80 and it was gas sucking pig that he said was surprisingly expensive to maintain (and his previous car was a bmw with endless problems with coolant.)

Used to be that parts were cheap. Could order them from any dealer. The hino parts you can still get from diesel shops because they're used as freezer compressors for big rigs. But... those glory days are gone and parts are big bucks now which sort of takes the fun out of it.

At some point I'll get some electric thing.

Count me in. I have been thinking about getting a 100 now that gas has gone through the roof but I suspect it will come back down again and people should be dumping them soon. I love my 5 gen 4 runner, but it aint no LC. Don't need one but sure want one.

To answer your question, hell yeah, I love to own a diesel LC. I think they are imported into Canada but not the US. I know a young man who stuffed a diesel surplus diesel motor into his FJ65. He loves across the hill from me with his parents and they take it to Baja all the time and tells me it gets upward of 20 mph all day long. I love diesels. Had Cummins and now Duramax. Would mind a Toyota diesel.

Your friend must have had a bad one that was never taking care of. I had two 80s, they they were damn good and extremely reliable vehicles. I off road my first out in our desert all the time beating the heck out of it and still ran reliability until I mangled the suspension on a jump.

Don't forget the 25% duty now on the imports like this. Was bringing in Unimogs, but now with the extra 25% it gets a bit pricey. Also best to hire a experienced importer so you don't lose your shirt!

Oh I’m wrong it was a 100. Willowy top heavy thing.

I was surprised too by reliability. I think he kept having trouble with the brake rotors warping. Tires didn’t last. He’s a pretty adept guy and was surprised by the problems. He had it maintained by dealer. Sold it back to them when automatic transmission started having problems. He did no off-road just lots of freeway miles and commuting.

Was clear as day that it was a giant heavy decked out luxo barge. I only rode in it once.

You should watch this video as they have Landcruisers in their collection that will never be legal in the USA.
I had three Landcruisers in my life. An OK vehicle with cool looks.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o9B-Lq2NT9M" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

You know what they say about opinions and *******s, everyone has one.

All new stuff must suck, I’d say bj70’s suck, but I’d be just relating what a friend said about his cousins uncles one.

Agreed. Lots of complaints about the smaller diesels they put in the canadian prados.

Best is ask on ih8mud.

I’d personally love to have another fj60