7x series cost of ownership in USA

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:lol: $15K or less will let you put a foot at the door. Then you have to open it, and then get through the door.

You can probably get a rust bucket old BJ70 or LJ7x something. Which puts you with at least $10K in maintenance to get it reliable.

Cost of ownership will increase exponentially once you get your hands on one.
 
CGreene said:
Wow. Let me crunch some numbers and I’ll get ahold of the owner. Thank you!
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Yeah it would be extremely hard to find that again as built as it is. You can’t even import stock light duty land cruisers for $11,000 US. Turnkey and worked on by mud people and vendors not a flipper looking to make a quick buck
The 13BT is fantastic, factory turbo diesel, better than the 2LTs and such, you get a removable top, medium wheelbase,
My leaf Springs ride pretty decent true not as good as an 80 series but it’s pretty damn comfortable to me for a nicely built cruiser.

About the only negative to me is the automatic. I’m just not a fan of the automatic in these years they tend to rob power. They are very reliable though They are very reliable though But with that valve body I bet you it runs quite a bit better along with the 529 years this thing probably feels pretty dang Peppy.
You would be so far ahead of the game with this BJ 74. You can look through all the past classifieds here and see what sells or doesn’t sell and look on bring a trailer and you’ll see just how great a deal this is. By the way I don’t have affiliation with the seller at all. Just passing on a good deal.
 
FJBen said:
Yeah it would be extremely hard to find that again as built as it is. You can’t even import stock light duty land cruisers for $11,000 US. Turnkey and worked on by mud people and vendors not a flipper looking to make a quick buck
The 13BT is fantastic, factory turbo diesel, better than the 2LTs and such, you get a removable top, medium wheelbase,
My leaf Springs ride pretty decent true not as good as an 80 series but it’s pretty damn comfortable to me for a nicely built cruiser.

About the only negative to me is the automatic. I’m just not a fan of the automatic in these years they tend to rob power. They are very reliable though They are very reliable though But with that valve body I bet you it runs quite a bit better along with the 529 years this thing probably feels pretty dang Peppy.
You would be so far ahead of the game with this BJ 74. You can look through all the past classifieds here and see what sells or doesn’t sell and look on bring a trailer and you’ll see just how great a deal this is. By the way I don’t have affiliation with the seller at all. Just passing on a good deal.
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Of course, I appreciate that!

Only thing really holding me back is the location. I don’t have time through the week to drive up there to get it, I’d have to have it shipped back which opens up another couple problems.

Finding a reliable company to ship it.

Making sure though pictures/video that it’s EXACTLY what I’d be looking for. Browsing through the pictures it seems like something I’d buy, but buying a vehicle based off of pictures is always a gamble of course.
 
steve729 said:
If you're really serious about buying a 70 why don't you come up for a couple of days and you can drive a heavy-duty and a light-duty in the woods and on the highway and know for sure what you really want before throwing 20 grand down the tube. We have a cabin here you can stay in and all you'll be out is your travel expenses and in the long run it might save you from making some of the huge expensive mistakes I'v made over the years. Offer stands.
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This might be the coolest thing I've read on this forum.
 
CGreene said:
Of course, I appreciate that!

Only thing really holding me back is the location. I don’t have time through the week to drive up there to get it, I’d have to have it shipped back which opens up another couple problems.

Finding a reliable company to ship it.

Making sure though pictures/video that it’s EXACTLY what I’d be looking for. Browsing through the pictures it seems like something I’d buy, but buying a vehicle based off of pictures is always a gamble of course.
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I get it, the only thing I caution is if you are limiting 70 series to the ones you can personally see, you are really limiting the available pool of cruisers.

there is a super reliable cruiser head vehicle shipping guy, notnsure if he does Canada or not, but he is as reliable as they get and been here quite a while. . @Riverrunner

Not that I condone flipping, but if you didn’t like it, you could sell instantly in the US.
Good luck!
 
I would also give heavy thought to manual vs auto transmission. And if you wanted to convert to the manual transmission (H55), that 5.29 gearing is too high for 33's, IMO. Add the cost of going to 37"+ :lol:
 
Welcome to the on your future membership to the club!

Insurance is easy, it’s just like any other vehicle. I have Progressive on mine. It’s cheap.

Cost of ownership is like any other older Land Cruiser. Maintenance is easy, most maintenance items are cheap, upgrades are expensive. It’s best to be able to do your own work on the basics because it is a crusty old vehicle. If you buy a well sorted example and keep it stock it’s really not a big thing. The key, just like any other Land Cruiser, is to get a good one from the get go. There are a few really awesome importers here. Stay away from the used market unless you know what you’re looking for.

I daily drive a BJ74 in Los Angeles. It’s loads of fun. I wouldn’t let RHD scare you, you get a lot more truck for your money, pricing is actually “reasonable.” I’ve owned a couple. I prefer the heavy duty models. I don’t care that they’re slow, although if you live in the city I’d recommend at least a 13b-t or 1PZ powered rig, with 1HZ power being the best choice. Non turbo 3b is just too slow for merging onto the freeway. My 13B-T is stock and does everything I need it to and Iget liveable fuel economy in the low 20s with city driving.


Good luck on your search!

CGreene said:
Hello all,

I’ve worked towards the opportunity to buy a 70 series in the next few months, and I have a few questions that I’m hoping somebody here can answer!

1. if I pick up one from a RHD/JDM vehicle dealership and end up paying on it for a while, how hard is insurance to get for vehicles like this? I’d imagine since it’s being paid on monthly, it could make this a difficult (expensive?) task. This is my main question, and what will ultimately make my decision to buy one soon, or to wait a while.

2. I’ve read quite a bit about all of the engine offerings in the 70’s, and I’m not sure which engine I’d enjoy most. I’ve never owned a diesel before, but I’ve owned a dozen turbocharged cars. I think it would be really neat to hear a turbo spooling under the hood of a cruiser.

that’s all for now, if I think of more I’ll be sure to put them down!
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For being in my early 20’s I can say that after having my BJ74 for a couple years it’s not as bad as I thought it would be.

If this is your first cruiser I might recommend maybe getting a 60/80/100 to become suited in the cruiser world, experiencing the cost of ownership with something that may be easier to maintain stateside and then deciding if you want to come over to the dark side.
 
saltycoconuts said:
For being in my early 20’s I can say that after having my BJ74 for a couple years it’s not as bad as I thought it would be.

If this is your first cruiser I might recommend maybe getting a 60/80/100 to become suited in the cruiser world, experiencing the cost of ownership with something that may be easier to maintain stateside and then deciding if you want to come over to the dark side.
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I’ve owned a 1fz 80 series before my FJ. That’s what made me love these rigs!
 
This subject was broached in post #21. There seems to always be two options when it comes to buying a 25 year old 70 Series. Option 1 is to go ahead and spend the money up front and buy basically a “turn key” Cruiser which in my opinion will require a higher budget than you’ve stated. Option 2 is to buy a cheaper one with some issues and make the necessary repairs yourself assuming you have time, tools & talent (and a desire to do your own work). In the end, the cost of ownership may be equal but with option 2 the cost is somewhat spread out over time.
 
As a US 70 series owner for nearly 20 years I have a few comments. 70's, should be cheap. You can essentially buy new doors any day of the week anywhere in the world. Many aftermarket (and OEM) sheet metal panels can be found. UAE sources make maintenance easy. Even James at Cruiserparts has plenty of take off parts. There is no fight to get sun visors as they "fall off" mine trucks daily (at ENS shop, as new). So much stuff interchanges from years (plural) to years. Drive train crossover to 60 series for many parts. Under $20K should be a starting point.

Body, J70's are too short IMHO. Thence J73/4, troopie, J76/7, or J75/9 are best starter vehicles.

In Arizona, 4 cylinder diesels and the 2H are not options for daily driving on Interstate 10 or 17. Think about your area. I would only consider 1990+ 1HZ as a starting point or 6 cylinder gas.

I drove RHD for 10 years and drive thru's were only issue. The biggest PITA is fielding questions about where it came from which my default was "ex mail truck". Passing (even driving in Sonora Mexico) was never an issue. Putting your left foot somewhere was minor inconvenience.

In sum, 1990 or later, under $20K, you may need to source some new/used parts but easy with a little sweat, and 6 cylinder.
 
RHD will be a bit less expensive than LHD.

However, finding a decent 70 series for under $15k will be difficult.

After you get one, most likely you will want to get a lift. Figure $1500 for springs plus installation if you don't do it yourself. Now that your vehicle is lifted, some new 33" tires, another $1k plus.

Are you going to wheel it? Skid plates, sliders etc.

Worth every penny.

Insurance, shop around. Hagerty Ins is good but there are restrictions. When I said I wheel my 55 they would not insure it.

Eastern TN, come on out to the 70 series meet and greet in Sept
 
I got my BJ74 from Alberta Canada. Some kind Canadians I found through MUD checked it out for me and I bought it without seeing it.
I had it shipped by train and truck to Virginia. I could dig out the name of the Qubecois shippers and the import brokers if you want.
It was not a nightmare at all and it let me get the vehicle with my limited budget of $15,000 or less.
 
I own a RHD 75 series dual cab, diesel with an aftermarket turbo on it. I'm in Boone, NC about 40 minutes from Johnson City, and I'm in the Tri-Cities area about once a month (I own a couple of rental houses in the area). If you ever want to see it and look around, feel free to reach out.
 
I have a LJ78 with a 2LTE turbo diesel engine. It was very well maintained in Japan, and I have made some improvements to make it even better. In theory, the RHD was fearful, but the minute I started the engine, it felt as if I have driven a RHD my entire life. Yes, on occasion, I confuse the wiper/signal switches because I switch between LHD/RHD, but its not an issue at all. My 2LTE (with clutch pedal) starts and runs, I believe, how it was designed. But it is very slow to get going, especially when the AC is blasting like now (mid 90F temps). It takes a while to get to 60km/h, but the 4th and 5th gears are fine. Driving at 110km/h is okay, but I'd rather not do it for more than 30 mins. It revs too high and the EGT seem to hang around 600-650C. I would avoid a 2LTE next time around. I love the 70 series.
 
Dari Desilva said:
I have a LJ78 with a 2LTE turbo diesel engine. It was very well maintained in Japan, and I have made some improvements to make it even better. In theory, the RHD was fearful, but the minute I started the engine, it felt as if I have driven a RHD my entire life. Yes, on occasion, I confuse the wiper/signal switches because I switch between LHD/RHD, but its not an issue at all. My 2LTE (with clutch pedal) starts and runs, I believe, how it was designed. But it is very slow to get going, especially when the AC is blasting like now (mid 90F temps). It takes a while to get to 60km/h, but the 4th and 5th gears are fine. Driving at 110km/h is okay, but I'd rather not do it for more than 30 mins. It revs too high and the EGT seem to hang around 600-650C. I would avoid a 2LTE next time around. I love the 70 series.
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Stock 2LTE's are painful, but once intercooled/tuned they are worlds better; like a whole different engine in fact. You can double the wheel hp and have it run much cooler EGTs. Mine is quicker than my friend's tuned HDJ81 for example. High revs are corrected by larger tires; see it as a positive not a negative. Some people pay a lot for 4.88 gears!
 
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