Can the 90-96 70 series be an all around daily driver? (1 Viewer)

[bk928323]

The only thing holding me back is that there's a lot of 65mph hilly highways around here. Ofc, everyone goes 75 too.

I just can't tell if these should be used for daily driving or if it's one of those cars you only drive on sundays.

Is it possible to upgrade these rigs (e.g., engine)? I know they still make them in australia. Is it possible to do an engine swap or any other upgrades?

 

[SNLC]

Absolutely!

1HDFTE all the way. You will be zipping right along with traffic at 75mph in the mountains.

Cheers

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Will it be your sole means of transportation and if so do you have an Uber account?

 

[coldtaco]

Anything can be a daily driver, just adjust accordingly to the vehicles capabilities. Naturally some engines will perform better at the upper speeds most places seem to have, plus terrain. Most engines will most likely be at their max with lots of terrain and high speeds, unless you put in a gas V8 or one of the 1HD engines.

 

[flx]

Any petrol 70 will be fine at highway speed from stock.
All non-turbo diesel 70 will be sluggish and on the edge of a correct highway speed at cruise speed.

 

[coldtaco]

The 6cyl gassers would be alright, but probably not the 22R powered ones

 

[AirheadNut]

Definitely. I used a mostly stock LJ78 for my sole daily driver for about a year and enjoyed it a ton. 60-65mph seems to be the sweet spot for a lot of the diesel drivetrains in 70-series, naturally they will slow down some on steep hills. If my 78 with RTT can cruise at 70 with a 1.9L TDI under the hood I would imagine that a moderately turbo'd 1HZ with a manual transmission would do just fine.

 

[TonyP]

A wise man once said: Anything is a dildo if you try hard enough.

Align your expectations with reality and a 70 can easily be a daily.

 

[roscoFJ73]

I just can't tell if these should be used for daily driving

It depends. If you don't get embarrassed with traffic behind you or have one that can pull away, you are 40% of the way there. If you have a sensible lift(under 2 inch) without huge tyres (32inch or smaller) you are another 25%. And if you maintain the brakes, steering and suspension to a high degree, you are adding another 25%. Minor improvements from keeping it as light as possible you will give you another 10%
I think a 73/74 series will probably be the best to drive.

But other things are also in play. Are you driving on long straight routes or tight grid traffic? The 7* doesn't like cornering all that much or stop start driving . But if I had to drive 80klms each way to work on a bad dirt road, its hard to beat.
Having some extra weight on the rear suspension or removing a leaf tames them a little, especially the LWB models that usually have big leaf packs on the rear axle.
I almost forgot , good shocks and leaf packs make a big difference.

 

[Rigster]

This is a highly subjective question...

It is not as much about the vehicle as it is about you. It really depends on what you are like, what you prefer, what personality type you are, etc.

I for one, have loved driving all my land cruisers, in town, out of town on the highways... anywhere! The worse the conditions and challenging the roads, the more I loved my land cruisers. They spoke to my heart and reflected my personality. If that is who you are, then it is the perfect daily for you.

If I had to come up with a negative, the only time I was a little frustrated with the cruisers was on the highways with long hills... but, there is a remedy for that. You can turbo the motor (intelligently) or swap it for an HD-FT...

Worst case scenario, you try it... if you hate it, you will be able to get your money back out of a land cruiser selling it to someone that does love them and try something else.

 

[FJBen]

I've been daily driving a 1988 BJ74 for 2 years now. Some in country, some in city. I live outside the city currently I drive about 14 miles each way and also driving site to site at work some days. Mostly 55~60 and it makes me just smile and chill out driving. One office has about 15~20 mins of 65mph but it does that fine. I'm at 5000' altitude.

Really the only complaint I think some people have about me is I don't race off the line as fast as some people want. Whatever. If they keep pushing me, it's throttle down and give them some smoke, they usually back off. I have daily driven 40's, 55's, 80 series all modded and lifted.

Personally I wouldn't want a 3B or non-turbo 4cylinder.

as @Rigster put it, it's a lot about you and your expectations. I personally love driving my cruiser everywhere. Even days like today where it's 55 in the morning, and 93 in the evening. Top off and enjoying it. I have another vehicle or 2 to drive, but I always drive the cruiser.

Now you just need to decide what you want. Short wheel base? troopy? Mid wheelbase? pickup? 4 door? diesel? gas?

 

[jmylie]

I have a 91 LJ77 and would consider it a good daily driver. However, being retired means no daily commute.

Of course, the hills in the Northeast are not like hills in the West.

Drive it home from St Louis to CT when I purchased it. No issues with highway speed.

 

[flx]

The 6cyl gassers would be alright, but probably not the 22R powered ones

I had more in mind the heavy duty variants but for sure a light duty would be appropriate for a DD.

RJ7* are not the most common, always wondered how they drive. On paper they have more power than a 2LT and similar to a 1KZT (but a lot less torque) but that does not say how it feels to drive. A RJ70 or RJ73 must be the lightest of all the 70 variants.

They exist in Switzerland and are passing the 30 years line (to be imported in France as a collector car) so I'm starting to have an eye for them but it's very hard to find anyone with experience with them or Youtube video about them, etc.
Too bad the 5VZ was never installed in the 70, that would have been fun.

 

[LeRoy Cordova]

I'm "that guy" and I'm OK with it. I absolutely love the 70 series, wanted one for a very long time. This 79 has a Cummins R2.8/NV4500/60 split case and 255/85/16 Toyo MTs. Currently having Georg build a new 10% overdrive 60 split case for a total of 32.8% overdrive. The R2.8 has a modest 161 HP and 310 LB FT TQ at 1800 RPM. What does this mean for driving experience? Well; at 1800 RPM on the highway in 5th the truck will cruise at 67 MPH up from 60 with the current Tcase containing stock gearing. This truck has been on several trips in excess of 1000 miles with the longest being 2400 miles. The experience is anything but exhausting, in fact, it drives very much like any small truck with the benefit of 310 ft lb TQ. To put this in perspective, a stock 350 4 bolt main with a 2 barrel produced 145 HP and 250 LB FT TQ at 2200 RPM and equipped with a 4 barrel Quadrajet produced 170 HP and 255 LB FT TQ at 2800 RPM. I'm guessing it's safe to say many of us here can appreciate the memories behind the wheel of a 350 powered chevy in our youth? Hell, many of us used those dismal numbers to entice a little honey on our stingers no? My 45/80 has a 383 Stroker and spun the dyno to 414 HP and 440 LB FT TQ, fun to drive but really needed the 46 GAL fuel cell I installed. I have enjoyed driving this 79 so much that I recently sold my 200 series as it lacked the "connected" feeling I get from this little truck. Did I do it correctly? For many I would say no but for me it is everything I wanted from a 70 series. If you'd like a video of the driving experience I can send on your way? I say go for it, I doubt you will have any regrets. Bon Apetit!

 

[roscoFJ73]

I'm starting to have an eye for them but it's very hard to find anyone with experience with them

I never had one or driven one. But I spoke to a few owners over the years. Most of them were RJ70 in Australia. For some reason Toyota Australia only imported a limited number of diesel LJ70s.
Most of them died young on beaches where they were quite good. But the salt rots the front spring tower and it was a difficult repair.
There couldnt be too many faults with them, all the components were used on other Toyotas.
A lot of them in Australia had awful V6 and V8 swaps done to them which further lowered the resale value. A lot were used in offroading events
Dobinsons Springs made the first aftermarket suspension kits for them here and it was considered a huge improvement.
My brother had a hard top as a company car, apart from being underpowered, he liked it as his fishing and camping vehicle. I saw it in 2006 after they had sold it off a decade before, it was still looking good at that point.

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

I had more in mind the heavy duty variants but for sure a light duty would be appropriate for a DD.

RJ7* are not the most common, always wondered how they drive. On paper they have more power than a 2LT and similar to a 1KZT (but a lot less torque) but that does not say how it feels to drive. A RJ70 or RJ73 must be the lightest of all the 70 variants.

They exist in Switzerland and are passing the 30 years line (to be imported in France as a collector car) so I'm starting to have an eye for them but it's very hard to find anyone with experience with them or Youtube video about them, etc.
Too bad the 5VZ was never installed in the 70, that would have been fun.

One thing to note about the light duty 70 series, is a number of changes happened in 1990, that effectively improved a number of components. Suspension is tougher, front axle tougher, and engines make more power.

A 1990+ 2LT(E) with emissions removed, intercooler added and a tune has a lot more power than a 22RE. Much better fuel economy moving a heavy vehicle like a landcruiser also (I've heard the RJ7x vehicles are terrible on fuel as the engine is always working so hard).

My 2LTE makes 220ft/lb@2800rpm and 120hp@3400rpm at the rear wheels. Stock 22RE makes about 115ft/lb@3600rpm and 85hp@4600rpm at the rear wheels (from a typical dyno plot). I pass 22RE 4Runners all the time on steep highway hills even though my vehicle is much heavier. I know 22RE's can be upgraded with cams/headers etc, but you'll never get the torque (without a turbo anyhow).

I love my 1990 LJ78 as a daily driver. It's very comfortable with the coil suspension. With intercooler/tune it has plenty of power in all situations. The visibility sitting higher is excellent. Parking is easy. It's great off road with some suspension upgrades. Etc. I've been daily driving mine for 10 years now.

The LJ78/LJ77 is not for everyone though. 2LTE requires some specific attention to setup for long term reliability. I would not recommend the vehicles to someone who is not experienced with working on their own engines/vehicles.

A KZJ78 would be much better in this regard, and they have even more power potential when intercooled/tuned. I suppose a LHD KZJ77 might be the most desirable comfortable and powerful early 70 series option.

 

[flx]

Most of them died young on beaches where they were quite good. But the salt rots the front spring tower and it was a difficult repair.

For some reason most of the non-restored one I see in Switzerland have a snow plough blade in front and a lot of rust holes x)
Seems it was the service vehicle of choice for ski stations.

Restored / good condition ones are not cheap.

My 2LTE makes 225ft/lb@2800rpm and 125hp@3400rpm at the rear wheels. Stock 22RE makes about 115ft/lb@3600rpm and 85hp@4600rpm at the rear wheels (from a typical dyno plot). I pass 22RE 4Runners all the time on steep highway hills even though my vehicle is much heavier.

Comparing a tuned engine with a stock and old engine is not very fair.

Official numbers give the 2LT for 84HP and the 2LT-E(II) for 96HP, 22R or 22RE after 1990 are given for 105-113HP. For sure the 2LT has a bit more low end torque but the 22R can rev and RJ70 is lighter that a 4Runner (and diesel variants are a good bit heavier for both).

Over here in France all LJ7* are very cheap (they are the most price accessible TLC), no one want them, they are considered sluggish and not adapted to modern roads.
(on the other hand KZJ7* are expensive and everyone want them)



The best combo for sportiness would probably be a FZJ71 but that would need to wait a good bit more, spend more money and have to deal with sourcing/shipping from oversea.

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

Comparing a tuned engine with a stock and old engine is not very fair.

Official numbers give the 2LT for 84HP and the 2LT-E(II) for 96HP, 22R or 22RE after 1990 are given for 105-113HP. For sure the 2LT has a bit more low end torque but the 22R can rev and RJ70 is lighter that a 4Runner (and diesel variants are a good bit heavier for both).

Over here in France all LJ7* are very cheap (they are the most price accessible TLC), no one want them, they are considered sluggish and not adapted to modern roads.
(on the other hand KZJ7* are expensive and everyone want them)

The best combo for sportiness would probably be a FZJ71 but that would need to wait a good bit more, spend more money and have to deal with sourcing/shipping from oversea.

OK, fair enough. The same 22RE dyno plot also shows the engine upgraded with cams and a header. It then made 125ft/lb and 98hp at the wheels. The modifications I did to my 2LTE are probably about the same cost; so it is a fair comparison. They are both the same age engines; both old!!

Only significant difference between LJ7x and KZJ7x is the engine. So if the LJ7x is much cheaper, that is the way I'd go! But I understand not everyone wants to sort out the 2LT/2LT-II/2LTE.

If you have a link for a cheap manual transmission LJ77 in France, please let me know!

 

[flx]

We never got the 5 doors 70 series in western Europe ! So only LJ70 or LJ73 with a 2LT x)
(same for the KZJ7* and for HD we got 70, 73, 75, 78 and 79)

Swapping engine or adding a turbo is illegal in most of Europe so slow trucks stay slow forever x)

 

[Gun Runner 5]

I daily drive a 70 Series but I’m retired so if it has mechanical issues I can just sit around the house and pout.