SOLD CO 1995 LHD HDJ80 Diesel 5-speed, A/C, lockers (1 Viewer)

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Year
1995
Vehicle Model
  1. 80 Series
Location
United States
Here's a left-hand drive HDJ80 I bought in Europe before COVID hit. Has the 24 valve 1HD-FT diesel, H151 5-speed manual transmission, front and rear electronic locking differentials, and Air Conditioning. About 226k miles on it. Needs some lovin' to get it optimized, or you could just buy it to swap the diesel drivetrain into your clean US-spec 80.

The Good:
--Left Hand Drive (like "normal" in the USA)
--1HD-FT 24 valve diesel 6 cylinder, 4.2 liter motor (arguably Toyota's best diesel powerplant)
--H151 5-speed manual transmission
--Electronic locking front and rear differentials
--Air Bags
--Anti lock Brakes
--4 wheel discs (with the "larger" rear discs of the later model 80's--requires 16" wheels)
--Motor starts on first revolution every time
--No blow-by evident
--Unique color = code 4M7 (never seen it on a US spec truck, but maybe...)
--Other than what's noted below, there's not much for rust

The Bad:
--Accelerator is stiff (presumably a throttle cable issue since the linkage on the motor works smoothly)
--Shock absorbers are totally shot (like, as in they don't absorb shocks, lol. You'd need to replace them pronto)
--Has some minor to middling collision damage here and there (see photos)
--Cracked windshield will need replaced if your state has inspections for such things
--Torn driver's seat (the others are in decent shape, again, see photos)
--power windows don't work
--Drop down rear tailgate has been damaged and "repaired" at some point and would likely need replaced
--Missing original fender flares
--Handbrake not working
--Has rust perforation behind the left rear wheel arch (there were rags stored in the compartment with the jack)
--Some rust starting around the rear side window rubbers and on the right front fender (where the flare was)

Between the stiff throttle and the shock absorbers, it's probably a "trailer it home" kind of purchase. Until you can sort it all out I can't recommend any long drives with it.

Asking $16,900. Message me if interested. Thanks!

LF quarter view.jpg
LR quarter view.jpg
RR quarter view.jpg
RF quarter view.jpg
L side view.jpg
 
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Color isn't super accurate in the photos, BTW. It looks kinda green in the pics, but it's more of a platinum-y silver kinda color. I think Toyota called it Flaxen.
 
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Original plan was to use parts from this one on another car, but the deal for the other one fell through.

No rust perforations on the chassis that I could find, but there’s some crusty surface rust under there as can be seen in the photos.
 
Being the shop that received this Cruiser for the buyer who is a very good customer of mine...

We are seriously disappointed.

Engine is toast, one cylinder just barely above minimum specs on compression. All the rest well below minimum compression specs.

Head is wasted, rocker arm caps are busted with s***ty repairs, welding, ect. Very janky.

Easily 300lbs of mud on, in and under this thing. From trans crossmember to floor is packed solid, barely even see the tcase it is so packed with mud. Frame half full of mud. Interior looks like it had been driven on dirt roads with the windows down for 350,000kms, there was that much dust in it.

Cool Euro cloth interior is wasted. Stinks like piss and mold. Door cards broken in half. Scratches and more on everything. It literally smells like a homeless persons sleeping bag, it’s very strong not a slight smell.

Body is scrap.

Wiring harnesses we hoped to use in the customers swap are trashed, busted pins and wires plus corrosion everywhere. Relay block is wasted and more.

Knuckles puking so bad they leave puddles on the shop floor in a half hour.

Birfieilds completely wasted, in fact worst noise I have ever heard coming from birfields and I been in Cruisers 20+yrs. Doesn’t even look like knuckles have ever been done, the back half of calipers are complete encased in grease.

Ebrake seized so rear tires were locked up.

Gauge cluster circuit board has broken ribbons in it.

And we haven’t even really dug into this Cruiser yet as far as trans or tcase condition, axle condition, frame condition, steering box condition, drivelines condition and so forth.

I get it, you probably bought this sight unseen and then imported it. I have imported a very poor condition Cruiser as well but the buyer paid cost on it and at least it was a desirable body worth restoring. Not to mention we were able to recoup a fair amount of money on it selling things. Hard to sell much off this HDJ80 in its current state. On top of that I have been 100% transparent on every Cruiser I have imported and sold. In fact I lost money on every one which is why I don’t do imports anymore.

You could have been at the least a bit more forthcoming on this Cruiser. You took the risk buying sight unseen and importing, I feel like you didn’t care once you got it and passed this off to the next guy who you sold it to. You could have at least washed the chassis or paid somebody to do that not to mention de-funkified the interior. We had hoped to recover a fair amount of the purchase price parting it out for the customer but we are having a hard time seeing value here in what we have.

Just a total bummer and I can not recommend you to a customer to buy from now. Which it was not my idea to buy this but still man, pretty lame.

To summarize my post, not a good Cruiser, not worth importing, not worth what was paid. Engine is a “core” and needs a head, Trans & tcase condition unknown, knuckles need major work and on and on. LHD wiring harnesses need more work than they are worth and than we have spent on them already, we had to clean them to even see what we were dealing with, they were nearly encased in mud. You slam a door on this truck and it drops dirt clods on the shop floor. How did you even import this Cruiser and pass inspection? A post on Instagram had some Cruiserhead all over the Euro side steps, once we pulled them, they are wasted. Cruiser is completely trashed and where is the value? It’s not a 70-series or a 40-series where at least the body is worth saving.

☹️

Cheers
 
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Where to begin? At the beginning, I guess....

The buyer of this truck asked exactly two questions before wiring funds: "Is the center shifter console broken?", and "What’s the bottom line cash price?" My answer to the first (regarding the shifter console) was: It's OK. The answer to the second was a chunk below my ask and less than I had into the truck. Seemingly aware that he was buying a truck in rough condition, when making arrangements for transport, the buyer asked his third and final question of the transaction: could it be loaded onto a car hauler OK?, which I wouldn't imagine is a question you ask if you think you're buying something in great condition.

From your initial description of the motor in the "parts for sale" thread:
You can see in the video above this FT runs good, smokes very little and starts super easy in below freezing temps.
Which is nothing more or less than I claimed in my "for sale" ad for the car. I didn't tear into the motor to inspect it, nor did I claim to, nor was I asked to. I didn't do a compression test, for the same reason you didn't initially--I don't have the equipment to do so. The motor is not "wasted", it needs work (granted, it needs more work than either of us would have anticipated considering how well it seemed to run). But really, not shocking that a 25 year old motor with 365000km on it might need work, or even to be rebuilt. It's not going to be like new. The welded rockers are a surprise, but again, I had no reason to take off the valve cover and didn't do so.

Easily 300lbs of mud on, in and under this thing.
Yes, it had lived on a farm. It was muddy and dusty. 300lbs seems an overestimation, but I didn't weigh it. I don't know how it got past US Customs, I didn't pick it up in person at the port, so I didn't have an opportunity to point it out to them.

Cool Euro cloth interior is wasted.
Tear on driver's seat is clearly visible in photos, as is the one at the top of the rear bench. I didn't dwell on the condition of the door cards, although the worst of them (right rear) is visibly damaged in the photo.

Wiring harnesses we hoped to use in the customers swap are trashed, busted pins and wires plus corrosion everywhere. Relay block is wasted and more.
Surely it's not incumbent on a seller to remove and inspect the wiring harness prior to sale.

Body is scrap.
It's exactly as shown in the photos. Collision damage mentioned in my description, as is rust.

Gauge cluster circuit board has broken ribbons in it.
Yes, I don't know how I missed that.

Man, I am not looking to start anything.
Nor am I, but I'm kinda losing track of how many threads you're bashing me in.

I have imported a very poor condition Cruiser as well but the buyer paid cost on it and at least it was a desirable body worth restoring.
As noted above, my buyer paid less than cost on this one. No idea what to say about the desirability of the body. It's an 80. It has dents and rust, just like I said to begin with and showed in the photos.
In fact I lost money on every one which is why I don’t do imports anymore.
Same here. I'm over it. I'm happy to help anyone navigate the process if they want to do it themselves, but, you're right, there's no money in it.
You could have been at the least a bit more forthcoming on this Cruiser.
I feel like you didn’t care once you got it and passed this off to the next guy who you sold it to.
The guy I sold it to showed zero interest in any aspect of the car except the center console. He knew the car couldn't be driven as-is. He knew the cosmetic condition of the body and interior. He knew everything I knew about the motor--we all know more now, but hindsight is 20/20.
We had hoped to recover a fair amount of the purchase price parting it out
The vast majority of which you were asking for the motor/trans. Up until you tore into it, we all thought that the motor would be most of the worth of the car. At the time of the sale, none of us knew the condition of the motor other than that it seemed to run well. It's not like you're going to throw it in the scrap pile. Everything necessary to rebuild that motor is still available. Sell it "as-is" and someone willing to do the work will get a heck of a deal, or rebuild it and sell it for more than you were asking. Do the math. Which option is more profitable?

Just a total bummer
For all concerned. Look, I get it, too. You (and the buyer) didn't get everything you wanted out of this deal. Well, neither did I. Everyone involved made too many assumptions.
 
You really don’t want me to put this up on the lift and start posting pics and video of it.

You for sale thread above is totally misleading as are your pics. This Cruiser is wasted.

Cheers
 
Also, you are often quoting import laws and posting 10,000 word posts on it.

Yet you ignored the law here in terms of cleaning the vehicle before import.

You flat out admit above that you did know it is a pile of crap and passed that on to the next guy.

To all who read this, buyer beware of this guy.

Cheers
 
Sounds like really poor due-diligence on the buyer's side. The pictures look rough already, and any engine is an unknown unless you do the same work. A simple tow to a mechanic for a 3rd party opinion would have solved a lot of your issues. I've been on the same side as the buyer, but that's what you get when you don't think....
 
Sounds like really poor due-diligence on the buyer's side. The pictures look rough already, and any engine is an unknown unless you do the same work. A simple tow to a mechanic for a 3rd party opinion would have solved a lot of your issues. I've been on the same side as the buyer, but that's what you get when you don't think....
So I don’t know you but let me set the record very clear on this issue as I’m the buyer. First, I did absolutely zero due diligence on this truck. Second, I have not complained to the seller about this deal. Third, Ian (@SNLC) brought this issue to light because he feels very strongly the truck wasn’t worth it. He is a shop owner and deals in this stuff so he is entitled to his opinion.

I bought the truck solely for the center console and the frame. Everything else was to be sold. Looks like there isn’t much value there and I think that goes to Ian’s point. He brought these issues to light because he wants to look out for me and other buyers who go down this road. I’m fine with that because there are a lot of lessons to be learned. Just not for me because I did not care to begin with.

I do know how to conduct due diligence on a truck - contrary to your assertion @Bisonthecruiser. But a $16,000 truck doesn’t move the needle in my book so it wasn’t worth my time.

I’m not upset with @gilmorneau over this transaction as I got the center console I wanted and a frame.

Maybe other buyers would be upset but I haven’t lost any sleep.
 
Cheers, thanks for the response. Makes more sense. I wasn't trying to to imply you can't do due diligence, just that you didn't, which is fairly obvious and not the seller's problem, though SNLC seems hell bent to destroy the seller's credibility. As an uninterested party, that's a bummer. I've bought vehicles where I didn't due any due diligence, and I either got what I expected or got what I deserved. Good luck with your project!
 
Sounds like really poor due-diligence on the buyer's side. The pictures look rough already, and any engine is an unknown unless you do the same work. A simple tow to a mechanic for a 3rd party opinion would have solved a lot of your issues. I've been on the same side as the buyer, but that's what you get when you don't think....

Sure but you can find hundreds of horror stories right here on mud of people buying a Cruiser and getting screwed. It is exactly why the Latin Cruisers have such a bad repu

I don’t think it is good for the community or anyone involved.

You can also find threads here on mud where things like this happened and the seller made good on it. Or guys who import, buy sight unseen, get the Cruiser and realize it was not a good buy. They then either sink their own time and money into the Cruiser to fit their price or they take a loss.

I can’t think of anyone who would buy a $15+k Cruiser and be happy to find out it is wasted.

Can you imagine if you saved up your cash for a year wanting to do a swap, bought this and then found out it is so trashed?

Cheers
 
I just thought I would post in here as I am a Shop owner and I bought a HDJ81 off @gilmorneau and it was exactly as described and he did everything as he said on time and on budget. Like this 80 it wasn't perfect and wasn't described as perfect. I had it shipped across country and was more than happy with the deal. Like this buyer I asked a few questions, asked his best price and wired him the cash and get the truck.

The value in the truck was having a Left Hand rive HDJ81 which made the perfect donor for a LHD FJZ80 at a portion of the price of buying parts one at a time.

As for @SNLC to jump in and start throwing comments out when he wasn't the one who bought it .... maybe he should list some of the billing he has done to guys over the years and pull his head in instead of trying to start a s*** fight on behalf of a customer who seems to have no issue. If he really gave a toss about his customer he should have gotten involved before his guy bought the truck not after.
 
We took the trans crossmember out of this truck the other day. Had to chip all this away first.

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And you are seriously going to bust my balls for telling/showing the community this Cruiser? 🤷🏼‍♂️🙄

Cheers
 

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