70 series. What is the best engine to import?

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DanMedeiros

DanMedeiros

10 Year
Joined
Jun 4, 2015
Threads
42
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643
Location
Reno ,NV
Hi guys,

I am considering buying an imported short wheelbase 70 series. What are the best engine to look for in terms of drivability, reliability, and availability of parts?

Thanks!

Dan
 
AndrewHadji said:
1hz, its pretty much the newest legal import. I dont think the 1hdf* engines are legal yet.
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Thanks! In your opinion is it worth the price premium over the trucks for sale with a 13BT?
 
DanMedeiros said:
Thanks! In your opinion is it worth the price premium over the trucks for sale with a 13BT?
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well it depends what do you expect ..

B family engine it's not as " refined " as an H engine might be ( speaking about 1HZ and 1HD-T )

on a related note .. an KZJ70 would be a really nice truck
 
thats my personal opinion, there are many threads on 1hz vs 1hdt (di vs idi)

my reasons are
longevity
parts availability


lots of folks love the 1hdt for
better fuel economy
turbo
 
Tapage said:
well it depends what do you expect ..

B family engine it's not as " refined " as an H engine might be ( speaking about 1HZ and 1HD-T )

on a related note .. an KZJ70 would be a really nice truck
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I'm fine with a tractor feeling engine. I do need to be able to keep up on the highway. More worried about ease of service and reliability given that this is an "exotic" car for the states
 
some folks swear by the 12ht but its all second hand info, ive never owned/driven. I would be worried about getting parts in the US.
 
For parts availability alone your looking at the 1hz as the best. And from all other's accounts worth the premium in drivability also. Another thing you need to consider is what transmission you want. A 1HZ or 13BT is going to feel/drive way different with a H55f behind it compared to an auto box. Same goes for parts availability. I think my 13BT with an auto drives just fine, but from a parts availability perspective, may not have been the best budget minded choice.
 
NM Frontier said:
For parts availability alone your looking at the 1hz as the best. And from all other's accounts worth the premium in drivability also. Another thing you need to consider is what transmission you want. A 1HZ or 13BT is going to feel/drive way different with a H55f behind it compared to an auto box. Same goes for parts availability. I think my 13BT with an auto drives just fine, but from a parts availability perspective, may not have been the best budget minded choice.
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Definitely want a manual!
 
GAS OR DIESEL?
RHD OR LHD?

"I do need to be able to keep up on the highway.
More worried about ease of service and reliability given that this is an "exotic" car for the states"


Dan -
Based on this, let me offer an alternative. There are apparently nice 70 series coming in from South/Central America with 3F/3FE gasoline motors, manual transmissions and (wait for it......) LEFT HAND DRIVE, including fabric top rigs.

I currently own two 3F - powered rigs and both are sprightly drivers with 5 speed transmissions. See below for examples - no affiliation on my part, just a suggestion:

Toyota : Land Cruiser FJ73
For Sale: - 1987 FJ73 LHD FST 2.0 - Dallas, TX
For Sale: - 1987 FJ73 LHD Khaki - Dallas, TX

Yes, all the cool kids have diesels, but if you step back and think about it you might be pleasantly surprised (powerful, smooth engine - USA parts availability - cloth top - LHD). If you drive in traffic, a Righty can get kind of old - just my 2 cents. Ask a RHD owner how often the get in the wrong door, signal turns with their windshield wipers, etc. - and then there are the questions such as "is that legal?", "is it hard to drive?" "is it safe?"

Suggest you ask your wife (or co-pilot) how they like sitting in the front passenger seat next to the center line and oncoming traffic without steering wheel, pedals or other elements of control over their destiny.......no, my wife is not a fan.......:)

My personal driver is a gas 73 with LHD and I could not be happier with the choice.

Drive a few of each and have some fun - welcome to the th 7X madness!

-30-

:cheers:
 
wardharris said:
GAS OR DIESEL?
RHD OR LHD?

"I do need to be able to keep up on the highway.
More worried about ease of service and reliability given that this is an "exotic" car for the states"


Dan -
Based on this, let me offer an alternative. There are apparently nice 70 series coming in from South/Central America with 3F/3FE gasoline motors, manual transmissions and (wait for it......) LEFT HAND DRIVE, including fabric top rigs.

I currently own two 3F - powered rigs and both are sprightly drivers with 5 speed transmissions. See below for examples - no affiliation on my part, just a suggestion:

Toyota : Land Cruiser FJ73
For Sale: - 1987 FJ73 LHD FST 2.0 - Dallas, TX
For Sale: - 1987 FJ73 LHD Khaki - Dallas, TX

Yes, all the cool kids have diesels, but if you step back and think about it you might be pleasantly surprised (powerful, smooth engine - USA parts availability - cloth top - LHD). If you drive in traffic, a Righty can get kind of old - just my 2 cents. Ask a RHD owner how often the get in the wrong door, signal turns with their windshield wipers, etc. - and then there are the questions such as "is that legal?", "is it hard to drive?" "is it safe?"

Suggest you ask your wife (or co-pilot) how they like sitting in the front passenger seat next to the center line and oncoming traffic without steering wheel, pedals or other elements of control over their destiny.......no, my wife is not a fan.......:)

My personal driver is a gas 73 with LHD and I could not be happier with the choice.

Drive a few of each and have some fun - welcome to the th 7X madness!

-30-

:cheers:
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Very good points. My buddy has a LHD diesel troopy (from denmark) and i love driving that thing at the offroad park. The compression makes if feel way safer when going down steep hills. I'll def look into the gas version but 30K is about 90% over budget
 
It would be a bad idea to get any Non-US Land Cruiser without the newest engine possible that you can buy that conforms to the 25 yr rule.

Anything else is rolling dice.

Both the 13B-T and the 12H-T were bridge engines. They were stop gap measures by Toyota while their engineers squared away the industrial application engines and designed the necessary mechanical changes needed to conform to passenger vehicle applications.

Fact of the matter is that the 1HZ is now the longest running Toyota engine ever at 26 years.

That is mind boggling for an auto manufacturer.

Nuff said for me to recommend the newest 1HZ powered vehicle you can buy with the lowest miles available.

You are either going to pay on the front or back end; just depends on what you are most comfortable with.
 
DanMedeiros said:
Very good points. My buddy has a LHD diesel troopy (from denmark) and i love driving that thing at the offroad park. The compression makes if feel way safer when going down steep hills. I'll def look into the gas version but 30K is about 90% over budget
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Then my mission is accomplished - just wanted to raise up the topic.

Couple of related questions - who will service the truck and where will you buy parts?

As you noted, "exotic" in our market. Onur/Beno and others can speak to the issue much better than i, but 13BT parts are getting harder to find due to limited production run ending some 30 years ago. 1HZ are still in production (new rigs and replacement parts) but those motors wee not sold in North America except for specialty markets such as mining.

Our friendly, local Toyota dealer don't speak diesel or stock what you will need in most cases....

How long are you willing to wait for parts from Japan or Australia?

As for price - I am not suggesting a Colombian LHD gasser is (or isn't) worth $30k, but anything worth owning and maintaining is going to be most of half of that amount. These things are not cheap to buy or operate.
 
OGBeno said:
It would be a bad idea to get any Non-US Land Cruiser without the newest engine possible that you can buy that conforms to the 25 yr rule.

Anything else is rolling dice......

You are either going to pay on the front or back end; just depends on what you are most comfortable with.
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Cross post.....

What Onur said ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ :bounce::bounce2:
 
wardharris said:
Cross post.....

What Onur said ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ :bounce::bounce2:
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Seems wise. This is going to be more expensive than I thought. The truck is for my wife, since we all ready have an 80 I was trying to convince her to get a old Toyota truck. She isn't having it. I made the mistake of showing her a sweet 73 from LCD LOL!
 
wardharris said:
Then my mission is accomplished - just wanted to raise up the topic.

Couple of related questions - who will service the truck and where will you buy parts?

As you noted, "exotic" in our market. Onur/Beno and others can speak to the issue much better than i, but 13BT parts are getting harder to find due to limited production run ending some 30 years ago. 1HZ are still in production (new rigs and replacement parts) but those motors wee not sold in North America except for specialty markets such as mining.

Our friendly, local Toyota dealer don't speak diesel or stock what you will need in most cases....

How long are you willing to wait for parts from Japan or Australia?

As for price - I am not suggesting a Colombian LHD gasser is (or isn't) worth $30k, but anything worth owning and maintaining is going to be most of half of that amount. These things are not cheap to buy or operate.
Click to expand...

Our budget is somewhere between 15 and 20k
 
OGBeno said:
Add another $7-10k to that amount in the end.

I'm being serious.
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Having just purchased a 73, I can easily see this in my future to get it the way I want, and then some...
 
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