Thinking of selling my 2017 2.7L manual for 60 or 80 series Landcruiser. Anyone have a LC here?

Even though I love the 80 series, I cannot see myself swapping out my DD Tacoma for one. I have thought about getting a 200 series as a DD instead of the Tacoma. Just need the used car pricing to drop down to more reasonable levels.

 

Don’t get me wrong, they’re sweet rigs. Maybe the best tourer/overland platform of all time. But they have their quirks and flaws to be aware of just like anything.

IMO the diesel/5 speed version is really the one to get if you have cash to burn though. Those are the coveted ones overseas.

 

Yeah. I just saw an American one that had swap to a 5 speed diesel. Really cool.

 

If you are comfortable doing your own maintenance an 80 is hard to beat. My DD is a 100 series and it's definitely more comfortable for me. A 95+ 80 for obd2

 

I’m leaning towards a 60 series for a beach cruiser. I see a few down here in siesta key and they’re really really nice.

 

I’m in the minority here and don’t love 60/62’s or FJ/FZJ80’s the way most seem to. 60 series driving position is awkward at best with the pedals, no OD on 60’s, autos that are are on borrowed time after 200k in the 62’s, and a churched up stovebolt 6 for a power plant.

80’s are not near as maintenance free as everyone loves to portray. In addition to the head gasket issues and PHH, pretty much every one I’ve ever touched has weak window motors that need help to get the windows up. The 1FZ’s seems to like to leak oil from the front main, need O2 sensor(s), and burn oil from valve seals that are now 30 years old. Birf soup is mandatory too.

I appreciate the engineering in the 80 after owning one and wheeling with multiple friends with them but I don’t love them

 

Watch out for rust on those, especially on the body and also inside the frame. They’re beautiful trucks but not known for their corrosion resistance. I’d be cautious of driving one in a salty environment.

 

80s are cool but completely overrated for their price. The people paying high prices don’t even know what they are buying.

I had a friend help me with buying an 80 and recommend talking with someone who knows everything about them.

 

The upper pan arch seal is also a very common issue on 95-97 Cruisers. That is a beast of a job to do without a lift. And yea, they’re known for needing a top end refresh eventually, but that can be anywhere from 100,000 to half a million miles depending on how it’s driven and maintained. Honestly the whole head gasket thing is overblown; they’re nothing like the 3.slow or EJ25.

The PHH can be done in under an hour, the birfs and axles in a day. O2 sensors and front main seals are one thing, but that’s not gonna keep it off the road, as long as you keep feeding it oil.

 

Honestly they’re not as expensive as people think, apart from the unicorn BAT examples.

Everyone sees those auctions and lists their old DD for 20 grand hoping to get rich quick, but those end up sitting most of the time. The ones threat actually sell are around 10k or under IME, again unless they’re in near-pristine condition.

For some reason 80 series buyers all seem to want a show truck. I guess they don’t look good with dents and blemishes, unlike a Tacoma.

 

Ya agreed $10-15k is reasonable under most conditions. Ih8mud has a really good “blue book” for 80s.

 

I agree but my casual observations of the typical LC guy are that they typically don’t do their own work. The Chicagoland clubhouse on mud gets constantly pestered with guys looking for a “Land Cruiser mechanic”. Then 80 ownership gets really expensive having that work done at shop rates.

 

Check out Blackhillsbuilds on Instagram. He's had both a 3rd gen tacoma and now has an 80 series he's done most of the work on.

 

He also works for a fab company

 

where's the fj40 thread

 

I have a customer with a 60s land cruiser. Its a little over 30 years old now and it runs great still

 

I considered an 80 series before the Tacoma, but decided I'd much rather wait a couple years to import a 1999 or newer 79 series troopy. I'd love to build out a camper in the back of a Troopy.

 

Land Cruiser?

Ew, who'd ever want to own one.

 

I agree. If you are the one turning the wrenches, the 80 is pretty easy and not too expensive to maintain. Watch out for NLA parts though. That list of discontinued parts keeps growing....

 

Had to jump on thread

I still own all three and Love
Cheers