Euro Spec 70-series question (1 Viewer)

[Alpine4X4]

Excuse my ignorance, but trying to find the answer with searches just leads me down the rabbit hole to other things.

Attached pictures are of a supposed 1985 model, but I thought the 4.5L wasn't available until 1993? Really wanting one of these with the 1FZ, but not willing to pay BaT pricing for an import from South America.

This one is listed for around $12K, plus the cost to get it to the States. Has just 210K on the odometer.

Listed as a 1985, and the guy speaking English as a second language wants to argue with me about the information I want. I don't understand the European market, as they make it difficult to get basic information, and even additional pictures of the interior and underside.

 

[FJBen]

Unless they went back and updated things to to newer versions, this is a later model cruiser.

Grill is later and all the aftermarket racks/bumpers/rims scream South American cruiser. The 1FZ wasn’t available in 85.

At second look this is for sure South American. The top with the logo on the bottom back “fivers” is the company that made it in South America.


I wouldnt touch this cruiser especially with them being difficult, language barrier aside. It’s not difficult to send pictures. They are hiding something. No way I’d buy this with awful blurry pictures. Getting the VIN will tell you everything.

usually South American cruisers are complete nightmares. Proceed with caution. A few have come out OK, but usually with tons of photos and info.

 

[roma042987]

Is it just me or do all the body lines look a bit too smooth? Bondo queen perhaps?

 

[TonyP]

Those aren't EU license plates either. Maybe Costa Rica or Panama

 

[Alpine4X4]

It's not just this one company, but across Europe I'm finding that they act like they expect you to buy the vehicle no questions asked, and it's to o much trouble for them to provide additional pictures or information. Even asking if it's Carburated or EFI is an obstacle for them to answer.

So what was the 1st year for a 1FZ in a 70-series? I know the Diesel motors in them are more common in Europe.

 

[OGBeno]

It's not just this one company, but across Europe I'm finding that they act like they expect you to buy the vehicle no questions asked, and it's to o much trouble for them to provide additional pictures or information. Even asking if it's Carburated or EFI is an obstacle for them to answer.

So what was the 1st year for a 1FZ in a 70-series? I know the Diesel motors in them are more common in Europe.

The 1FZ-F was introduced into the 7x in 01/1992.

The 1FZ-FE was introduced into the 7x in 08/1992.

And that's definitely not a European truck. That's a sheeeeeeity South American hack job.

 

[flx]

I know the Diesel motors in them are more common in Europe.

70 series were not officially imported in Europe in petrol variant.
20 FJ73 were brought in for Dakar and some people may have done some isolated grey import but should be extremely rare.

Note that euro-spec Cruisers all have side blinkers on the front fenders... Very clear tell-tale that the one in picture here is not European.

 

[flx]

Actually I have found the classified for this Cruiser.
The company "selling" it is actually a company that tries to sell an import service to France, they don't own/have any vehicles. They are posting tone s***s classifieds of petrol cars located in Colombia to attract people. Currently more than half of the petrol Cruisers listed in Europe are by this company that simply spam all the used car websites...

I tried reporting their classifieds but those websites don't do s*** to remove this crap... Now I simply ignore any classified located in region or city Normandie / Rouen...

 

[FJBen]

Great info @flx

@Alpine4X4
If you want wanting a euro cruiser, just ask on here who’s good to import from and get feedback. There are a lot crAppy importers selling straight junk.
If it’s cheap…there’s a reason, ESPECIALLY from South America. Horror story threads on here. @2fpower has an excellent tale on a cruiser he knew more about than most when buying. It’s a great indicator of the crap that comes from South America and what it takes to fix it.
Builds - 75 Series Truck - VZ shade tree special - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/75-series-truck-vz-shade-tree-special.1144459/


If you are set on 1FZ powered you are basically limited to Middle East and South America. The majority you find will be disasters from SA.

People here can chime in importers they’ve used and how it went for them.

Good luck!

 

[2fpower]

RUN, don't walk... far away from any South American build.

 

[Alpine4X4]

Thank you Gentlemen, appreciate the education. I've heard the horror stories about South American LCs long ago. I was just looking for an easy and less expensive solution with the European market, but I am soon realizing my dreams and desires are far more reaching than what I think my bank account is worth.

The SWB 70's always intrigued me since seeing them in Saudi Arabia back in the early 90's. My only experience with the 70's was driving/riding in a longer wheelbase model back and forth between Bahrain and Riyadh. At the time, we were fighting a war, and thinking about owning a Land Cruiser was the least of my concerns.

 

[JuanJ]

Thank you Gentlemen, appreciate the education. I've heard the horror stories about South American LCs long ago. I was just looking for an easy and less expensive solution with the European market, but I am soon realizing my dreams and desires are far more reaching than what I think my bank account is worth.

The SWB 70's always intrigued me since seeing them in Saudi Arabia back in the early 90's. My only experience with the 70's was driving/riding in a longer wheelbase model back and forth between Bahrain and Riyadh. At the time, we were fighting a war, and thinking about owning a Land Cruiser was the least of my concerns.

Hello,

As mentioned above, the 1FZ engine was not available in 1985.

This truck is a Colombia-assembled 73 Series.

The license plate is yellow, the color of passenger car plates in Colombia.

The FRP top's upper corners are round. This is not the OEM top but one made locally in Colombia.

The top should be white. The paint fairy (and quite likely the bondo fairy) has visited this truck.

There should be a 4.5 badge in the front fender, close to the LAND CRUISER badge in the front fender. What else is missing? Hard to know.

The right fender looks bent downwards.

The front grill and indicators are from a post-1999 truck.

Quite possibly, the front bumper is welded to the frame.

I would run from this truck.







Juan

 

[Felde]

If you want a European used / vintage truck that is legal age for US import, you should visit the European classified apps and pages.
Good, unrestored trucks for reasonable price sit in France, Spain, Portugal (the VM engine is another story) and The Netherlands, Belgium.
Check on

https://www.leboncoin.fr/_vehicules_/offres

The parking - Search for used cars throughout the US and Europe. - https://www.theparking-cars.com/ the European counterparts like Das Parking - Suche von Gebrauchtwagen überall in Europa - https://www.dasparking.de/ offer a meta-search all over Europe.

② 2ememain - La bonne adresse pour acheter et vendre des objets neufs et d'occasion

Le plus grand site de petites annonces de Belgique. Sur 2ememain, vous pourrez acheter ou vendre des services et des biens neufs ou d'occasion.

www.2ememain.be

Speurders

Made with Betty Blocks

www.speurders.nl

≥ Occasions en nieuwe auto’s kopen en verkopen - Marktplaats.nl

Koop en verkoop je tweedehands, jong gebruikte of nieuwe auto gemakkelijk en snel op Marktplaats.nl: meer dan één miljoen unieke bezoekers per maand.

www.marktplaats.nl

Sorry, for ES and PT I don't know any specific good classified platforms.

Arrange the import / shipment separately. It's a different business and finding companies that are selling good vehicles and also do a good job on US-import will be hard.
Good luck
Ralf

 

[TonyP]

If you want a European used / vintage truck that is legal age for US import, you should visit the European classified apps and pages.
Good, unrestored trucks for reasonable price sit in France, Spain, Portugal (the VM engine is another story) and The Netherlands, Belgium.
Check on

https://www.leboncoin.fr/_vehicules_/offres

The parking - Search for used cars throughout the US and Europe. - https://www.theparking-cars.com/ the European counterparts like Das Parking - Suche von Gebrauchtwagen überall in Europa - https://www.dasparking.de/ offer a meta-search all over Europe.

② 2ememain - La bonne adresse pour acheter et vendre des objets neufs et d'occasion

Le plus grand site de petites annonces de Belgique. Sur 2ememain, vous pourrez acheter ou vendre des services et des biens neufs ou d'occasion.

www.2ememain.be

Speurders

Made with Betty Blocks

www.speurders.nl

≥ Occasions en nieuwe auto’s kopen en verkopen - Marktplaats.nl

Koop en verkoop je tweedehands, jong gebruikte of nieuwe auto gemakkelijk en snel op Marktplaats.nl: meer dan één miljoen unieke bezoekers per maand.

www.marktplaats.nl

Sorry, for ES and PT I don't know any specific good classified platforms.

Arrange the import / shipment separately. It's a different business and finding companies that are selling good vehicles and also do a good job on US-import will be hard.
Good luck
Ralf

Another is New and Used cars marketplace AutoScout24 - https://www.autoscout24.com/

Facebook Marketplace is still widely used in Italy as well, not sure about other countries.

 

[flx]

Leparking / Theparking is a very powerful aggregator for all European used car classifieds. They have done the work converting the research criteria for every source websites to get the matching cars, and you can select the countries/regions you want to search.
For example, all the Land Cruisers from EU countries (+ CH) that are >25yo: The parking - Search for used cars throughout the US and Europe. - https://www.theparking.eu/#!/used-cars/toyota-land-cruiser.html%3Fid_pays%3D1%7C5%7C6%7C11%7C12%7C14%7C17%7C18%7C19%7C24%7C28%7C31%7C32%7C33%7C40%7C41%26slider_millesime%3D1910%7C1998

 

[FJ73Texas]

Talk to @joekatana for European 70 series.

While I agree with not wanting a South American cruiser, I do wish I had the FJ73 back that was from Colombia. She was a little rougher than the two JDM cruisers I have experience with but still tough as nails and sexy.

 

[joekatana]

Sellers in Europe indeed are not going to send any additional pics or answer a dozen questions , they are used to deal with local people that just come look at it in person and don’t want to deal with a complicated out of country deal .

There are a few exceptions of sellers targeting the overseas market but they have adjusted their prices accordingly

If I didn’t speak 4 languages and had a second place in Europe and a cruiser with a trailer behind it there I wouldn’t even attempt getting cruisers there . The hard to find lhd HZJ73’s can only been found there but it is hard work for sure and they all need some sort of work and parts before they are ready for the american market , those parts can even be a bigger challenge, you get what you pay for has never been more true.

 

[Blunozr]

It's not just this one company, but across Europe I'm finding that they act like they expect you to buy the vehicle no questions asked, and it's to o much trouble for them to provide additional pictures or information. Even asking if it's Carburated or EFI is an obstacle for them to answer.

So what was the 1st year for a 1FZ in a 70-series? I know the Diesel motors in them are more common in Europe.

I bought my 2002 HZJ78 from Stefano at Grand ERG SRL in Milan, Italy in the fall of 2021. I located it on AutoScout24 and we spoke several times about the vehicle both over WhatsApp and Telegram. He sent ~20-30 photos and short videos when I asked.

I did fly over to see the Troopy and the vehicle was as he stated. He was professional and treated me honestly. I had to put a bit of faith in the transaction afterwards as we completed the deal after I returned to Canada. He could have taken my cash at any point but he was always up front. He arranged the shipping out of Genoa to Halifax (via several European and US ports like Baltimore and New York) and the price was better than I expected. He is a Toyota guy and spends vacations in north Africa driving vehicles similar to the ones he sells. He still answers questions for me more than a year after the sale.

If you are in the market for a particular Landcruiser I would suggest reaching out to him. He is running a business so he will likely be looking for his money in the deal but I suspect he will be straight with you about if he can source something and be upfront about the expected costs. That said shipping costs from Europe seem to change weekly.

PM me if you want to give him a call and I will pass along his contact information.

Len