Diesel 5 speed (1 Viewer)

[DwardCompton]

Not mine, but replied to the ad...guy is relocating to UK. Low price low miles.
Truck is being stored in Nebraska at the moment. Clean title, everything, so says the owner.
He'd handle shipping the vehicle. Add was via a search in Charlotte, NC.
Real or not, not sure, but 113K on the odometer and 5 speed. Pretty unique to the states.

1997 Toyota Land Cruiser For Sale In Charlotte | Cars.com

 

[mct75]

That is more than unique, it is impossible.

 

[Douglas S]

That is more than unique, it is impossible.

How's that? You can swap a 1HD-T/H series manual trans into an FZJ80.

 

[mct75]

True. A 1997 HDJ81 in the states is impossible, but a FZJ80 with a swap is not.

That said, if someone were to pull it off that cleanly they should be charging $30,000 for it.

 

[Alaska ADV]

1997 Toyota Land Cruiser Base Sport Utility 4-Door | eBay

That thing seems to be showing up in a few places. The storage + shipping after down payment is a pretty common scam tactic. Most often, youd put down a down payment, and theyd just take that and youd never hear from them again; or theyd turn it into a classic scam, and keep hitting you up for more and more funds to release the truck, seeing how much they can get from you until they cut and run.

Form your own opinions on this particular truck, but definitely do your research before any payments are made.

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

True. A 1997 HDJ81 in the states is impossible, but a FZJ80 with a swap is not.

That said, if someone were to pull it off that cleanly they should be charging $30,000 for it.

Maybe if they were high and or had someone else do all the work with a completely rebuilt drivetrain. It's this mentality that drives me insane. No offense to you specifically, but this is the mindset that makes people think that $15k for a no frills rust free 80 series is a great deal....just sent another member over 6 here in Oregon for $3500-$12000... you don't add less than $10k in drivetrain and arrive at $30k unless you're a schmuck and way over paid to have the swap done. Heck, I see low miles LHD diesels coming out of Vancouver and Washington with 5 speeds for $13.5-15k at least a few times a year.

 

[mct75]

A no frills rust free 80 series for $15k isn't a great deal. But one that is impossible to import in the states being sold for $13.5k is a great deal to me. Assuming it is indeed a swap, a clean 97 FZJ80 is worth, what, $8000 maybe? Importing the engine and ALL the supporting parts would be at least 5 to 10 thousand for a halfcut and hundreds of hours of labor to make something that is registerable and identical to a 1997 HDJ81. If someone went to all that trouble they would not be selling it for that low. If you can source me a 1997 HDJ81 for $3500-$12000 I would like to buy two!

As much as it pains me, importing old Land Cruisers just does not seem to be a cheap endeavor. Importing new Land Cruisers is apparently impossible, as many here have tried. If it's now possible to import vehicles newer than that blasted 25-year cutoff, I'll take a VDJ79 please!

 

[ZeGerman]

I recently just imported a HDJ81. For the import to be legal in the US as a complete and driving vehicle it has to be at least 25 years or older. Verify the Vin# first. If indeed it is a HDJ, then run for the hills unless you are looking for a parts vehicle cause you will never be able to drive without doing some "funky" stuff

Looking at the pictures everything is where it should be in the engine bay so if it is a converted FZJ80, whoever installed this did a good job.

As for the 13+ grand price tag, I can't say if that is a great deal because I paid $7500 for mine. Thats almost half the price. Importing it cost me 172 dollars in total and it was easy as hell. I did a step by step with prices in the following thread:

Importing a car from Canada - A Definitive Guide

As much as it pains me, importing old Land Cruisers just does not seem to be a cheap endeavor. Importing new Land Cruisers is apparently impossible, as many here have tried. If it's now possible to import vehicles newer than that blasted 25-year cutoff, I'll take a VDJ79 please!

You can always import a half cut VDJ79 and cram that whole thing into an 80

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

I recently just imported a HDJ81. For the import to be legal in the US as a complete and driving vehicle it has to be at least 25 years or older. Verify the Vin# first. If indeed it is a HDJ, then run for the hills unless you are looking for a parts vehicle cause you will never be able to drive without doing some "funky" stuff

Looking at the pictures everything is where it should be in the engine bay so if it is a converted FZJ80, whoever installed this did a good job.

As for the 13+ grand price tag, I can't say if that is a great deal because I paid $7500 for mine. Thats almost half the price. Importing it cost me 172 dollars in total and it was easy as hell. I did a step by step with prices in the following thread:

Importing a car from Canada - A Definitive Guide



You can always import a half cut VDJ79 and cram that whole thing into an 80

Exactly what I'm saying, you can get an imported LHD diesel for $13.5k easy! That's why a converted cruiser for $30k is outrageous! People are far too proud of their junk on here and as a logical and rational human being I find it both amusing and frightening at the same time. We had a hzj80 complete swap on a pallet locally ready to go on Craigslist for $6k not long ago add a $5k cruiser...you're an idiot if you're paying the combined cost to have it installed and think your junk is worth $30k.

 

[ZeGerman]

Exactly what I'm saying, you can get an imported LHD diesel for $13.5k easy! That's why a converted cruiser for $30k is outrageous! People are far too proud of their junk on here and as a logical and rational human being I find it both amusing and frightening at the same time. We had a hzj80 complete swap on a pallet locally ready to go on Craigslist for $6k not long ago add a $5k cruiser...you're an idiot if you're paying the combined cost to have it installed and think your junk is worth $30k.

HA! I was offered to transplant all my running gear into a LHD Cruiser for about 5k. I said no thanks. Id rather buy other crap to put on the cruiser. I certainly would not pay 30k for a LHD Diesel. People keep going on about how difficult it would be at a drive through or a toll booth. Im 6'5" and have no problem reaching the other side. Besides, I use a drive through maybe 3 times a year.

But then again, we live in a world where people pay a s*** ton of money for bags filled with air from a Kanye West concert. I personally like to hunt for a bargain and fix it up myself.

 

[Rock40]

Hey Herman, If that is indeed legit it's probably a good deal. I have at least that much $ into the 1HD-FT swap in my 96' but again, it seems also "too good to be true". The 5 speed is pretty fun to drive, assuming the synchros aren't behaving badly. If the truck was a US model 97' to begin with, there would have been significant mods to get the Toyota 5 speed in place...

 

[Douglas S]

Exactly what I'm saying, you can get an imported LHD diesel for $13.5k easy! That's why a converted cruiser for $30k is outrageous! People are far too proud of their junk on here and as a logical and rational human being I find it both amusing and frightening at the same time. We had a hzj80 complete swap on a pallet locally ready to go on Craigslist for $6k not long ago add a $5k cruiser...you're an idiot if you're paying the combined cost to have it installed and think your junk is worth $30k.

Please show me an imported LHD factory turbo diesel 80-series for $13.5k. RHD sure. LHD not happening.

If it exists it's sure to be a POS.

 

[ZeGerman]

Hey Herman, If that is indeed legit it's probably a good deal. I have at least that much $ into the 1HD-FT swap in my 96' but again, it seems also "too good to be true". The 5 speed is pretty fun to drive, assuming the synchros aren't behaving badly. If the truck was a US model 97' to begin with, there would have been significant mods to get the Toyota 5 speed in place...

How are you man? If that was a truck built by you, I would buy it four times today and again twice tomorrow and kick my self in the ass for not having bought it five times yesterday. I see in your sig that your wife made that her DD? She drives a manlier truck than me and she looks better than me. When are you building your next one?

I live on to good to be true. Sometimes and very often the true actually happens.

 

[KiwiDan80]

It doesn't look like a factory diesel to me. The ac hose's and engine bay wiring along fire wall all look altered and the Tacho goes to 7krpm.

 

[Tugarin]

It is converted. No second battery - HDJ was only 24v starter. I do not see idle up button. It is usually located at the same place of the idle up knob. No tag plate on the firewall - which defines it as US market vehicle. Plus as KiwiDan said - tacho of the diesel should look like this

 

[mct75]

Cool! Now we know.

In regards to pricing, if people are "idiots" for paying $20,000 for a cruiser that really costs $5000, maybe someone should make a business importing these things and selling them stateside. If only someone had that idea...

 

[Douglas S]

If was a factory turbo diesel it would be an HD-FT not a HD-T. Definitely a conversion.

 

[AcuWiz]

If it truly is in Nebraska pm me I'll go check it out.

 

[HRTROB]

If was a factory turbo diesel it would be an HD-FT not a HD-T. Definitely a conversion.

That would depend on where the car was imported from. Here in the Philippines, we are LHD and the only engine offered was the 12 valve 1HDT in both the 80 and 100 series, and both with the 5 speed manual.

 

[Jan-78FJ40]

Exactly what I'm saying, you can get an imported LHD diesel for $13.5k easy! That's why a converted cruiser for $30k is outrageous! People are far too proud of their junk on here and as a logical and rational human being I find it both amusing and frightening at the same time. We had a hzj80 complete swap on a pallet locally ready to go on Craigslist for $6k not long ago add a $5k cruiser...you're an idiot if you're paying the combined cost to have it installed and think your junk is worth $30k.

You should sell low miles LHD HDT and HDFT powered 80 series for 13.5k in the States. They will sell like hot cakes.
Or just stop fantasizing.