Importing to USA, best place to Exp. from?

[alkaline747trio]

I want a diesel 70 or 80 series, BAD..but I am having trouble finding info on where to Export one from to the US the easy and painless way. Japan seems to be dificult for an 80 to get here, but an older 70 series might be easier...but, if I were to do this, which country(ies) should I look in?

[cruisermantis]

Canada

[Dave]

Originally Posted by alkaline747trio

I want a diesel 70 or 80 series, BAD..but I am having trouble finding info on where to Export one from to the US the easy and painless way. Japan seems to be dificult for an 80 to get here, but an older 70 series might be easier...but, if I were to do this, which country(ies) should I look in?

I can send you anything you want to the USA, BUT if it is newer than 1980 it will have to arrive disassembled. You then put it back together and do the two step till you get plates on it. The band for the two step is hard to book.

If it ships in bits and pieces the cost of shipping will be MUCH greater than RORO. I would sugest the engine and tranny out adn stuff them in a crate, send the rolling body in a 20 foot container.

[Exiled]

If you have the money to do a legal importation of a 70 series into the US, then you don't have to worry about the location. Panama and Costa Rica in Central America, France, Germany or the Netherlands in Europe. You're looking at $15K-$40K, depending on the vintage, about $2,000 for the freight, and you *definitely* need to go the Registered Importer route, there's no way for an individual to do this without going gray market.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[alkaline747trio]

Well, I'm wanting to get out said and done for about 25-30K.. it WILL be a post 1980 Cruiser, more likely an '89 or better. I almost would prefer a RHD model, where should I look for those, and where are the LHD models found also?

[Red Herring]

Better familiarize yourself with your regulations regarding importation. You will NOT be able to legally import a complete unit into the US for those years. Sorry but you are stuck with much older imports... 25 years old AT LEAST (right fellas?)

[Landpimp]

not sure anymore after seeing the JDM hj61 sold(for 15K) in WA with a US title and reg, so it can be done.......just not sure how

Originally Posted by Red Herring

Better familiarize yourself with your regulations regarding importation. You will NOT be able to legally import a complete unit into the US for those years. Sorry but you are stuck with much older imports... 25 years old AT LEAST (right fellas?)

[Exiled]

Originally Posted by Landpimp

not sure anymore after seeing the JDM hj61 sold(for 15K) in WA with a US title and reg, so it can be done.......just not sure how

Light grey, my friend, light grey. Using state-specific regulation to bypass the Federal regulations.

Also, merely taking the drivetrain out to ship those won't work:

1. You'll need a higher degree of dissassembly (like splitting it into three shipments, I know of at least one case where Customs questioned a BJ42 that came in without engine/tranny/t-case but otherwise complete, and that's going to be even more obvious with a nice shiny 80 series)

2. There's no doubt that you can skirt regulations with the method above, but the registration will be full-blown gray market, I would not recommend this (not on the record, anyway)....

[Landpimp]

yeah but to me, a WA title and reg makes it all good

Originally Posted by Exiled

Light grey, my friend, light grey. Using state-specific regulation to bypass the Federal regulations.
record, anyway)....

[alkaline747trio]

So, other than dissassembling it, there is NO 100% legit way to get one?

[Ocelot]

not unless it is 25 yrs old... and even disassembling is still sort of grey market-ish I think

[Satamax]

Hi everybody!

Well, about which country to get it from, in europe, i'd say if you want cheap and rusted go north, and if you want better vehicules, Spain,Portugal, Italy and Greece are the places to look for one. They don't salt the roads, and theses have far less rust! LJ7 in italy and spain sometimes have non toyota engines.

[Exiled]

Originally Posted by alkaline747trio

So, other than dissassembling it, there is NO 100% legit way to get one?

Dissassembling is not 100% legit, it's far from it.

A 70 series *cannot* be 100% legally imported into the US unless it's a 1985-87 Canada-spec BJ70 and even then there are some questions.

You can definitely import a diesel 80 series into the US but it has to be done through a registered importer and it's going to cost you $10K-$20K depending on the original location/RI of choice.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[rick_d]

henry-

1985-7 CDN spec BJ70's can be 100% legally imported into US, I have some paperwork to prove this. This does not carry over to same vintage JDM trucks imported to canada.

piece by piece importation and reassembly is never going to be legal if registered as offshore market vehicle.

for an 80 series, best deal is to convert. Local DMV will inspect fuel type and change title/registration to match.

a 70 series with a fiberglass top or 4 door is tougher. Maybe one could rebuild a rotten canadian truck with replacement parts???

the hardest thing about owning a 70 series in the US is parts. Nearly every time I want a trim/body part, I must submit proof of current registation to the dealer to go along with order. So far, hood insulator (#1), windshield (#2)...

[HZJ60 Guy]

Originally Posted by Exiled

Dissassembling is not 100% legit, it's far from it.

A 70 series *cannot* be 100% legally imported into the US unless it's a 1985-87 Canada-spec BJ70 and even then there are some questions.

You can definitely import a diesel 80 series into the US but it has to be done through a registered importer and it's going to cost you $10K-$20K depending on the original location/RI of choice.

Good luck and keep us posted!

See that's the strange thing. There are a few guys on THIS board with BJ-73/4 in their driveway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !

Questions?

[Man Jerk]

I have heard that if you remove a 1' section of frame than it is considered inoperable and for parts. At least I know someone who brought a 70 series over the border this way from Canada. Come to think of it it did not have motor/tranny/tcase but I don't know if that matters.

[Landpimp]

Well I am glad to hear that I am not the only one. I had the part # for some Euro spec fj40 side mirrors, Toyota USA said yes we have them(or can get) but you must show a reg of a euro spec 40 registered in the USA......

Originally Posted by rick_d

the hardest thing about owning a 70 series in the US is parts. Nearly every time I want a trim/body part, I must submit proof of current registation to the dealer to go along with order. So far, hood insulator (#1), windshield (#2)...

[j7addict]

Originally Posted by alkaline747trio

I want a diesel 70 or 80 series, BAD..but I am having trouble finding info on where to Export one from to the US the easy and painless way. Japan seems to be dificult for an 80 to get here, but an older 70 series might be easier...but, if I were to do this, which country(ies) should I look in?

alkaline747trio, I spent sometime researching this issue ‘cause I also wanted to get me a diesel 70 or 80 (manual). I just got frustrated in the way and dropped the project. This is as far as I got. Maybe, you can take it form here it and get further.

Here’s the "LIST OF NONCONFORMING VEHICLES CAPABLE OF BEING MODIFIED BY A REGISTERED IMPORTER"

As you can see, 1990-1996 Land Cruisers can be imported, DOT wise, with minor modifications.

Since the associated document could not be found on line, I guess it’s too old (1997),
I checked with a local registered importer and it corresponded to the 80 series.

Everything was going well until I told them it was a diesel, and they said that passing EPA emissions was going to be too hard and expensive, that I should estimate $8,000 just for the tests, plus necessary modifications and that there was no guaranty that it should pass the test.

Here’s a site where you can find hundreds of European used cars.


Auto Scout 24


Good luck and keep me posted, if you get further than I did, maybe I’ll give it another shot.

[rutbeer]

Forget bringing in the whole 80, you should just buck up and do the conversion. Not necessarily the best motor for your current 80, but I have a 1HZ and 5spd/tranfer coming soon and I live just down the road from you in NC. Since you have an auto, you would need a pedal assembly as well as more misc. parts...but it has been done. You could also turbo it if you wanted. If you want a different motor, let me know soon, I might be able to find one and get it in on the shipment before I'm done, but I'm pretty close to shipping now and would rather not delay it.

[rutbeer]

Oh, you may also want to think about the 80 series for sale in Atlanta. I know this truck and it was a sweet diesel conversion. I'm not sure if it's still for sale, but you should check.

[POS VETT]

All,

I'm new to this board and I have a rather big problem about importing into USA my 1982 Indonesian-specs FJ40. I went to the NHTSA site indicated in a previous post but, alas, I can't understand completely. FWIW, Indonesian-spec FJ40 does not have any emission equipments nor the defogger/defroster that was mentioned in the docket NHTSA-98-3715 and that's just one of the many items mentioned in there.

Could anyone shed a light on this ? Maybe someone who has done all the conversion/upgrade necessary to make it street legal in the US can chime in ? Also, it's RHD.

Any help is appreciated.

[StanCruiserMan]

Originally Posted by POS VETT

I'm new to this board and I have a rather big problem about importing into USA my 1982 Indonesian-specs FJ40.

The easiest thing is simply to wait it out. Once it is 25 years old there will be little problem in bringing it over.

[POS VETT]

Originally Posted by StanCruiserMan

The easiest thing is simply to wait it out. Once it is 25 years old there will be little problem in bringing it over.

That is one possibility. Is it possible to bring it here sometime this year but wait a couple of years before having it registered ? Do you happen to know the differences between having it road legal now or in two years in the future ?

Thanks for the help, sorry for the many questions.

[alkaline747trio]

Conversion is stuck in my brain, but I kinda want a LHD 80 w/ all the goodies other countries got that we didn't without having to do it myself (lazy man's way out). What if I moved to Canada for a year, bought an imported 80 and then moved back here? Or had someone moving from there to buy and bring with, then buy from them here...hmm...?

[j7addict]

Canadians are only allowed to sell to relatives here, so you better find a Canadian relative. My sister was planning on moving to Canada, but she quit the idea

[rutbeer]

Moving to Canada won't get you an 80. They didn't get them originally and the one's they have are Japanese imports...which can't come here easily. If you want a left hand drive with all the goodies, you probably need to be looking at Ozzy land.

[rick_d]

rutbeer-

uhhh, Ozzy you mean Australia?

that would be a British Colony, right-hand-drive vehicles only

or is this somewhere where Ozzy Osbourne lives?

[rutbeer]

You are correct sir....my bad. New Zealand is RHD as well, isn't it? How about Venezuela then? Africa?

[roscoFJ73]

Originally Posted by rick_d

rutbeer-

uhhh, Ozzy you mean Australia?

that would be a British Colony, right-hand-drive vehicles only

or is this somewhere where Ozzy Osbourne lives?

Austria