Wanted California HJ61 (1 Viewer)

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New member here searching for my first Land Cruiser. My wife is letting me buy the vehicle I've always wanted (she wants one also), a RHD diesel cruiser.

I've been researching and surfing ads on Craigslist and talked with Vintage Offroad and Yota Imports. If anyone knows of a solid HJ for sale could you point them my way? I'm in no hurry to purchase one, just waiting for the right one.

Thanks,

Tim
 
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I've got this one right now, and looking for trucks to buy daily.

Land Cruisers Direct - 1986 Toyota Land Cruiser HJ61 VX Sahara #2830

If you're in California, you will not be able to get a California registration without paying for CARB compliance and modifications. Recent changes to the registration process has made it impossible to avoid this. Your options are to pay ($3K-$5K) for the CARB compliance procedure, find one already registered in California (previous registration) or register in another state.
 
prosailortim said:
New member here searching for my first Land Cruiser. My wife is letting me buy the vehicle I've always wanted (she wants one also), a RHD diesel cruiser.

I've been researching and surfing ads on Craigslist and talked with Vintage Offroad and Yota Imports. If anyone knows of a solid HJ for sale could you point them my way? I'm in no hurry to purchase one, just waiting for the right one.

Thanks,

Tim
Click to expand...
Hello, brand new here. I am thinking of selling my HJ61. Great condition, 230,000km, 24 volt, 6 diesel turbo, old man emu 4inch lift but then stock. Its the grey blue one but I had all the stripes taken off. collector plates on it. Located on Vancouver island
 
I just finished talking with the California state referees & the State Lab that does conversions for emissions. Even though diesels below the age of 1998 are smog exempt here they still have to be converted since they are classified as a "Grey Market" vehicle. George at "California Environmental Engineering" (performs these conversions) said he has converted HJ61's in the past and the cost is approximately 10k for this certification. For those vehicles that slipped through the cracks at the DMV and were issued California registrations stand by, they are going back through and finding these vehicles to make them California emission compliant.
 
prosailortim said:
I just finished talking with the California state referees & the State Lab that does conversions for emissions. Even though diesels below the age of 1998 are smog exempt here they still have to be converted since they are classified as a "Grey Market" vehicle. George at "California Environmental Engineering" (performs these conversions) said he has converted HJ61's in the past and the cost is approximately 10k for this certification. For those vehicles that slipped through the cracks at the DMV and were issued California registrations stand by, they are going back through and finding these vehicles to make them California emission compliant.
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10k? sounds farfetched.
 
Talk with George at California Environmental Engineering @ 714.545.9822 if you don't believe me.
 
prosailortim said:
Talk with George at California Environmental Engineering @ 714.545.9822 if you don't believe me.
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if its not necessary to do since they are exempt, then why do it? Just cause you feel like it?
 
It's a imported Grey Market car.... doesn't matter if it's gas or diesel. If you're importing it or bringing it in from snother state and want to be legal in California this is the legal process you'll need to follow.
 
Call that number, evidently I'm not explaining it correctly.... basically it's the price you pay to live in California.
 
He always says $10K. It's a little less than that, but still expensive. Even though pre-98 diesels are exempt from annual smog testing, they were still meant to be built to CARB standards for the year of manufacture. The testing standards are for a new engine. A 25 year old engine will not test as a new engine would. Part of the expense is baselining the engine to "new" condition before adding DPF's or other emissions devices to meet the CARB standards.
 
Needless to say I won't be purchasing a HJ61 wihout the proper conversion paperwork while I reside in California. I could register one in Arizona where I own additional property. I would hate to get caught doing that, I have enough headaches in life without having to deal with court & the DMV.

Now I'm back shopping for a FJ60.
 
It is true that grey market diesels fall under their own set of mandates imposed by the CARB. Meaning that just because they are a pre-97 diesel, they aren't considered the same classification as American market cars for the reasons mentioned above. Primarily because they were never designed within CARB specifications and California considers this a problem for smog.

I was able to register my HJ61 because the importer had registered it out of state for a few months, then it was brought into California. This made it look like a out of state vehicle except for the short VIN on paper. Plus the wording of the laws regarding grey market diesels were a bit more confusing back in 2014 when I did the registration. I'm not certain they would catch it even now.

I'm even more glad now to have sold off my HJ61 having heard what prosailortim said about the DMV going back through the system to see which ones slipped through the cracks. I'm not sure where he gets his info, but it was always a fear in my mind they'd start doing that and can totally picture some bored DMV or CARB employee doing this on a power trip. Although I would argue that it's entirely the DMV's fault however for ever allowing this...it did go through 2 VIN verifications and they willingly processed all the paper work after all. I paid more than enough taxes on it when it was brought in from out of state. If it's still my fault after a dozen DMV employees and one CHP officer okayed it, that would be ridiculous. I thought I was just registering another car, albeit diesel, RHD, and born in Japan, because essentially I was except for some unfounded, greedy, and xenophobic law that said I couldn't (in very fine print).

However, apparently California is mandating that NO grey market diesels be registered even after conversion. Via the DMV website's page on direct import vehicles:
"Motorcycles, off-highway vehicles, and diesel-powered vehicles cannot be converted to California emissions standards at this time. Therefore, they cannot be registered in California unless they were originally manufactured to meet U.S. and California emissions standards."
source: HTVR 09A

So I'm not so sure that George at California Environmental Engineering is entirely up to speed on the bi-polar laws we have here. The only way I'd consider doing it now is if I had a home in Arizona or somewhere and could park it there every so often. Sounds like the loophole might be officially closed these days, and it would be risky to try registering any grey market diesel in California.
 
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