Headed to Germany; school me on 70 series (1 Viewer)

[daniel.watters]

So, I've received orders to Vilseck Germany. I'm putting my beloved 1971 FJ40 in storage and were shipping my wife's TDI Touareg.

Bottom line; we will need a second vehicle. I'm already combing through the advertisements in Germany (mobile.de). This will be my "beater" to get to and from work. And, it is my sick way of purchasing a Land Cruiser.

I might end end bring it back after my three year stint too. So, I know that 1993's should be good to go by 2018 when I head back. I see lots of BJ variants... 70, 73, 75. I know that BJ represents 4 cylinder diesel, but what about the LJ series that I see a lot of. I'd love to find a bj75 with diesel, h55, cable lockers, etc.

Anyway, input, guidance, votes will be greatly appreciated!
Daniel

 

[joekatana]

Most fun to drive and devil do it all to me is a KZJ73,coil springs,peppy 1kz engine,removable hardtop and they where available with electric lockers.Second choice would be HZJ 73 just for the smooth running 1HZ motor.

Joe

 

[roscoFJ73]

You can get a HZJ75 in Germany. LJ 7* are the light duty models ,replaced by the KZJ7*
For model info , look here . On this site, he lists the LJ/RJ7* as Bundeera's (Australian name)
Foreign Toyota 4x4s

 

[hj 60]

Congratulations for traveling for work, bringing a VW to Germany is quite special, might be better to sell it and import your Fj.
Germany is pretty strict with city entrance greenzone stickers, comes with the license plate for 5 euro at TUV (carcheck) station.

Prepere for red tape, Gründlichkeit

Germanien LC website I like:

http://forum.buschtaxi.org/land-cruiser-j6-f4.html

http://www.landcruiser-parts.de/


http://s354283439.e-shop.info/shop/category_3/Autoteile.html?sessid=6d1QzBb0imIXWogxQv6wjvameWap7E5HPVr6G9DnCoXbJLoTa9QmrSQf3CBE0kPG&shop_param=cid=&


But the old diesel will get a red sticker (why buy a red sticker) or if 30 years old and has "H"- red "07" licence.
So if you want to park an old diesel a the city border and continue with public transport

http://gis.uba.de/Website/umweltzonen/umweltzonen.php

And there is about to be a law for road tax via toll (maut) and electric cars and motorcycles are free, so buy a renault twizy !

 

[DamoPeru]

if you do go for another LC, forget about the smaller engines, just get a HZJ7# for sure!

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Funny thing, I've been traveling to Germany, some times on a weekly basis, for years and I have NEVER even seen a 70 Series while there.

 

[Chester]

Might be more to it than I'm aware, but a U.S. spec emissions vehicle imported to Germany is in command/demand, and has "green sticker" advantages, including smog day exceptions. Trade it out before PCOS with the best '93 you can find. willing wife required

 

[DamoPeru]

Funny thing, I've been traveling to Germany, some times on a weekly basis, for years and I have NEVER even seen a 70 Series while there.

i've only been a couple of times, but I reckon that's cause most who own one use them for offroading/touring and not as DD, different culture.

 

[BobBJ74]

Go for HZJ or diesel 80 series with manual box, two good reliable engines. They salt the roads in winter, so check underbody.
Or keep an eye out for a Spanish or French Cruiser.

 

[Tonito]

Greetings from germany

I use my BJ70 as a daily driver and i live in Cologne ... that green sticker thing is a PITA and i am not allowed to enter the smog-zone. Yes, the Cruiser is always parked outside the zone and i use public transportation to get to my apartment (i used to park in my street but i got a ticket for parking in the smog-zone twice = 2x108,50EUR)

Next thing with the bigger diesel engines is the tax ... you have to pay a tax based on your displacement. For the 3B with 3431ccm it is around 1300EUR per year. Now get yourself a 1HZ powered car
There are two ways to lower the tax ...

a) you get rid of the back seats, add a partition panel behind the drivers and codrivers seat (at least as high as the seat without headrest), maybe weld all the threads related to back seats and belts and maybe get rid of the rear sidewindows - this all depends on the TÜV-inspector you are dealing with - with this modifications this inspector can declare your cruiser from a passenger car to a light truck, afterwards you have to inform the custom office about this changes and hopefully they accept your car as a light truck (tax is fixed = 172EUR/year BUT your insurance climbs up) ... still no green sticker - i did this with my BJ70.

b) you can get a very expensive catalytic converter (and maybe a diesel particulate filter - which is even more expensive) for most of the cruisers, especially the 1KZ and 1HZ ones ... weld this crap in your exhaust and get a inspection at the TÜV ... they change the smog classification, your tax is lower and you can have a green sticker

To avoid all this you can buy an at least 30 years old cruiser (what about a HJ60) and register this beauty as historic (as mentioned above). Again you have to get the car inspected at the TÜV - if your car is a piece of junk or it is heavily/not period correct modified they refuse to accept it as a historic vehicle. With this H on your license plate you can enter every smog zone.

After all this overregulated bulls**t you are still not allowed to leave the tarmac ... we have some legal parks to drive offroad and that is it.

Btw. Heavy Duty Cruisers are often sold in the Netherlands (http://www.denbreems.nl/) ...

 

[muddpigg]

Chester is right. On PCS orders you'll get a green sticker and tax exempt on vehicles . I came back last July. I was in Illesheim about 2.5 - 3 hrs from Vilseck. I'm a mini guy but did see cruisers, in the town next to us was a park 40 I'd've liked to gotten. When you get there you'll have a choice of one or three year tags. If you get the three you don't have to deal with the inspection but once unless you get an extension taking you over three. You also are exempt from VAT (value added tax) with the puchase of a VAT form, $5 ours was at ACS bldg, not sure about Vilseck. So VAT helps with larger purchases. But VAT exemption is only good in country of assignment. I took a VW Passat over and stored the 4rnr. Most of our VWs are made in mexico so some parts had to be ordered from states.

Vilseck is close to Czeck and that is a whole different ball game. There is a guy on Yotatech that is a toyota guy in Czeck.

We loved it there. I wanted to go back but no openings after this school. If you got any question feel free to PM me.

 

[roscoFJ73]

I don't know if the 1PZ was offered over there but that to me has always seemed a great option for a cruiser. Especially the SWB variants like the 70-74 types.

I dont know why anyone would get 1PZ when they can get a 1HZ

 

[divemedic]

^ gas mileage and powerband.

 

[TemboTusk]

I thought the smog tyrants were bad in California ... Wow!

 

[roscoFJ73]

^ gas mileage and powerband.

The 1PZ gets little better fuel consumption with a corresponding drop in power. Why would a 5 cyl have a better power band over a 6 cyl?

On top of that the 1PZ has the troublesome twin piece flywheel and light duty gearbox
There is infinitely more parts availability for a 1HZ.

 

[divemedic]

To be honest I have zero hands on experience with the 1pz (and 1hz). I only chimed in because I have recently been doing a lot of reading on the pz because I'm buying a 70 with one.

That being said (sorry for the thread jack) please elaborate on this clutch/tranny issue. I haven't seen anything else which says similar. As far as parts availability, the two motors share much of the same.

 

[roscoFJ73]

Ok ,1st off Ill say you would not be disappointed with the 1PZ reliability ,nor its driving characteristics.
I called the flywheel a two piece flywheel ,the correct name is dual mass flywheel. Its there to absorb some vibration from the engine pulses.
As it is the only Landcruiser diesel with an odd amount of cylinders, I can only assume it is there because of that.
A 4cyl 4 stroke is as balanced as an internal combustion engine can be and a 6 cyl comes a close 2nd. 5 cyls can be made smoother by angling the crank at 144 degrees so the extra combustion stroke is , I guess muffled.
I have a 3 cyl motorcycle, at low rpms you can hear the odd combustion stroke. At higher rpms it as smooth as can be.
A lot of ship engines have 9,11,13,15 cyls. I guess the more cyls you have the smoother it gets

The gearbox is the R150 or R151 ,I forget which.Its probably ok behind a 1PZ but its not the nicest gear change. With hard work ,it doesnt last a long time behind a 1HZ. Basically because it is too small and has a 3 piece main shaft that doesn't want to stay together.
Its is the downside to the 78/79/105 series with the 1HZ

There are a lot of parts that swap over but the expensive ones do not. And in many cases you pay more for them. For example I was inquiring about a gasket kit for a 1PZ for someone else and the cost was 2 1/2 times that of a 1HZ . The seller said that he had to get 50 at a time made up and then they sat on his shelf for years waiting to be sold ,where as ,the 1HZ kits moved at the rate of a hundred a month.
So ,for a lot of 1PZ parts you will pay for storage space in someones warehouse.
Or if they dont move enough 1PZ parts, they wont stock them.

The benefits of a PZJ7* is still there. Having a lighter engine and drive train will give you a lighter vehicle overall and when off roading in lower gears it will still be perky enough to take you anywhere a larger engine will go.
I would probably prefer a 1PZ with a good body over a 1HZ in a less than good body

 

[divemedic]

Very cool thank you for the input.

 

[ozcrusier]

Daniel shame you didn't come downunder for a cruiser but its never to late.

 

[DamoPeru]

G

Greetings from germany

I use my BJ70 as a daily driver and i live in Cologne ... that green sticker thing is a PITA and i am not allowed to enter the smog-zone. Yes, the Cruiser is always parked outside the zone and i use public transportation to get to my apartment (i used to park in my street but i got a ticket for parking in the smog-zone twice = 2x108,50EUR)

Next thing with the bigger diesel engines is the tax ... you have to pay a tax based on your displacement. For the 3B with 3431ccm it is around 1300EUR per year. Now get yourself a 1HZ powered car
There are two ways to lower the tax ...

a) you get rid of the back seats, add a partition panel behind the drivers and codrivers seat (at least as high as the seat without headrest), maybe weld all the threads related to back seats and belts and maybe get rid of the rear sidewindows - this all depends on the TÜV-inspector you are dealing with - with this modifications this inspector can declare your cruiser from a passenger car to a light truck, afterwards you have to inform the custom office about this changes and hopefully they accept your car as a light truck (tax is fixed = 172EUR/year BUT your insurance climbs up) ... still no green sticker - i did this with my BJ70.

b) you can get a very expensive catalytic converter (and maybe a diesel particulate filter - which is even more expensive) for most of the cruisers, especially the 1KZ and 1HZ ones ... weld this crap in your exhaust and get a inspection at the TÜV ... they change the smog classification, your tax is lower and you can have a green sticker

To avoid all this you can buy an at least 30 years old cruiser (what about a HJ60) and register this beauty as historic (as mentioned above). Again you have to get the car inspected at the TÜV - if your car is a piece of junk or it is heavily/not period correct modified they refuse to accept it as a historic vehicle. With this H on your license plate you can enter every smog zone.

After all this overregulated bulls**t you are still not allowed to leave the tarmac ... we have some legal parks to drive offroad and that is it.

Btw. Heavy Duty Cruisers are often sold in the Netherlands (http://www.denbreems.nl/) ...

Great info! So I guess I can scratch living in Germany from my list of things to do!