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Exiled said:
Not to mention:

Vast Majority of JDM Cruisers --> Lightly driven DD's or poseur toys
Vast Majority of Aussie Cruisers --> Used hard, put away wet!

not to mention resale. japan doesn't trade in second hand cars like australia does, so you can pick them up cheap over there, where as here, a 10 year old cruiser is still worth 20 odd thousand
 
Exiled said:
Aussie brethren, if you can forgive my Canadian brother's coarse language, I'll step in to defend in. Aussie dismantlers have a horrible reputation in the US on account of the dozens of Cruiserheads that have been royally screwed from across the pond...

"..'Ello? Yes, mate, we have H55F transmissions! You need one? I can put one on a pallet and have it ready for pick up....oh, you're overseas? A Yank, eh? Hold on..."

PAUSE

"...Hey, Charlie, think you can get the transmission out of Nubby's trayback, the one he just drove through the Gunbarrel Highway for the 50th time? Yes, I know it's held together by banana peels, but I got a Yank on the line! Just hit it with a spot of steam, mate, it it clean up just right!...."

"..Ello? Yes, I'm back! I got one for you, we just took it out of a low-mileage wagon that used to belong to a grandmother in Sidney who never left the city, only used it to go to church on Sundays and buy food for her cat...and how would you like to pay for this? Credit Card? Fair Dinkum!"


Almost every Australian I've ever met has been a straightforward, friendly, good-hearted fellow, which is pretty much the reputation that Aussies have in the US (we don't forget your continued support, in good times and bad, and we appreciate it). It's just that your dismantlers, for the most part, seem to be a little less than scrupulous....just like most of ours.

G'night and fair 'Cruisin', we'll let you get back to your thousands of cool Land Cruisers and us Yanks and Canucks will get back to our envious thoughts! :)

As for the...ahem....sheep fornication, I thought everyone knew that's the realm of Appalachia, the Canadian Maritimes, and all of New Zealand?! Just kidding!

This is pretty much true. Occasionally Ive come across a wrecker with a faint streak of honesty and they will tell you that landcruiser parts and especially J7 are in constant demand and very hard to obtain.
I scour the classifieds every week for 70 series parts and there is rarely a complete vehicle.
Of course if you want 60 series parts thats much easier because the mining industry dont use them .
There are wreckers who do have nice clean low klm 70 series parts but they want big dollars and they do not negotiate.


I went into a wrecking yard that specialised in 75 series and even though he had 20 wrecks you would not have been able to make a complete running vehicle

There are still lots of nice 75 series cab chassis in oz ,mostly owned by tradespeople like BBD.
When they get traded in they are often repainted and sent underground or to northern cattle stations and driven to death.
 
Scoot Jockey said:
Thanks for the kind words folks. It is generally in really great shape, but it does have a few "bush mechanic" fixes that are scary. The worst of which is on the oil pan. Instead of undoing the bolts and pulling the oil pan, somebody, down under, cut a large access hole with an angle grinder, and when finished welded the hole back up! :eek: I have heard that welding is also a popular fix for leaky joints in your tranny, transfer case!

Regards,
Scoot

Nice troopy. :cheers:
I've seen a few 2H's sumps that have been patched up. The 2H's have IIRC a welded on "bash plate" on the bottom of the sump. The problem is they rust out in the join and leak oil. Finding a non leaky sump is like finding rocking horse manure so most chop out the "bash plate" and weld in a patch.
 
Mikldo,

Wow, that makes me feel a bit better! I was fearing the worst, but what you say makes sense.

Thanks,

Scoot
 
I am not familiar with the tax laws in the USA and Canada but for the tradies in Oz our vehicle insurance ,running costs, depreciation ,parts & repairs are all tax deductible. The secondhand parts from the wreckers and the 4wd specialist shops are more expensive here they claim thats because of freight,LOL, the rest of us think the lack of competition and the ready market to people who want to own something different and special. There are some big bucks spent on a lot of trucks. My mate at a local wrecker has been waiting for 3 months now to get me a good hzj steering wheel for my truck. cheers gazza.
 
Another West Aussie here.

I bought my Jap import for the same reason you guys do. Great body, low kims - 91k - lots of nice extras; it was a good way for me to get into a 4wd. I did pay a premium to many other 60's around, but commonly they had three times the kms travelled, rough around the edges, had someone else's mods on it, none of the factory extras, low roof, 2H etc etc. The imports are appreciated by us too - especially those without $60k to spend!.

If you're after some of the tray backs etc., Milo from Kambalda could supply heaps. But he's 600km inland, and they'd be ex mine vehicles that locals shy away from because of their rough life, and you wouldn't want either I'd be guessing.

One of the other things about cruisers that have been off road in Oz is the red dust that gets in everywhere when you've gone offroad anywhere in the north. Looks tough, but really ages a vehicle and is nigh impossible to clean off - it stains.

Not saying bigbrowndog, Milo and I are going to be the next big thing in auto exporters, but what are you after?

Tim
HJ61 - 12HT
 
Apologies to Mickldo, roscoFJ73, Bad religion, bj42turbo and any other Aussies I left out of the new international exporting company board of directors.... I posted before reading through page 2 of the posting. Like my label tells - IH8MUD Rookie :-\

Tim
 
Tim-HJ61 said:
Apologies to Mickldo, roscoFJ73, Bad religion, bj42turbo and any other Aussies I left out of the new international exporting company board of directors.... I posted before reading through page 2 of the posting. Like my label tells - IH8MUD Rookie :-\

Tim

funny that, my mate just started a 4x4 dismantler and got me to pull em to bits for him :D

he picked up a GQ diesel wagon, twin airlockers for 3000.... and i drove it melbourne - adelaide, and it didn't skip a beat... he also picked up a hj75 ute for less than that as a work ute....
 
Tim-HJ61 said:
Apologies to Mickldo, roscoFJ73, Bad religion, bj42turbo and any other Aussies I left out of the new international exporting company board of directors.... I posted before reading through page 2 of the posting. Like my label tells - IH8MUD Rookie :-\

Tim

I can get heaps rolled over, rusted out ex-backpacker Fraser Is hire 4x4s. Whoops, did I say that out loud, I meant to say original one owner, only driven by a little old lady on sundays, logbooks and no beach work!:flipoff2:

Scoot Jockey- my condolences on the 58 LR series I 109":flipoff2:
 
Damn this ones up for auction this week and I got to work:mad:.
Supposed to be a stat write-off but it looks as if just needs some doors and a windscreen:D
http://www.pickles.com.au/servlet/Auction/SaleList.html?sale=552000052
Item.jpg
 
I'm jumping in a bit late here but I can add that Landcruisers hold their value down here much better than they do in the States. The market is much broader down here - they are not just status symbols - so the price dropoff once a car is driven off the lot is not as steep as in the States.

Also you rarely see an Australian 80 equipped with as many features as a US model. The stock US 80 has a sunroof, cruise control, rear heat, factory air, power antenna and a couple of other things I can't think of right now. None of that down here.

Of course, the OZ model typically has a duel fuel tank, a hand throttle and the CDL button.

These are just my observations after owning several 80s on both sides of the Pacific.

Anyway my point is that used trucks cost more down here, and aren't as well endowed as US models in some regards, more so in others.

Give me a holler if I can throw an old Landcruiser in a shipping container for you!

David
 
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David,
i will argue your statement about old land cruisers loosing their value in the North Americas.
Cruisers are a rare breed here and due to their popularity they do hold their value. even rusted out hulks get bought by unwary first time buyers.
the units in Oz hold their value, this is true but they do here as well...
now if you want to talk 80 series gassers and 100 series gasser mall queens then that is a totally different story. they depreciate dramatically here but if the states were allowed the diesel then i feel the story would be different.
we never got the cool 75/79 series workhorses, or even a diesel after 87 so for decades we were stuck with the gas guzzling, gutless FJ62, FJ80 till 93 and even then they were adequate in fuel consumption although the power was much better.
it is only recently (the last 4 years) that the diesel 7*, 8* series arrived at Canadian shores so the resale value is yet to be determined. i have seen 3rd generation Canadian JDM owners now and the units do seem to hold their value so far even with the market flooded with importers.

this is just my take on your statement.

cheers and peace
 
Shipping Company

Hello,
Do you folks have any recommended shipping companies for shipping 40-foot containers from overseas? Thanks,
Chuck
 
this might be a stupid question but when i lived in samoa all that i saw was land cruisers. it's half the distance of Oz why doesn't anyone import from there? i know the moisture probably has something to do with it? what else?:confused:
 
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