General Question about HJ61 (Japanese Import) (1 Viewer)

[FrenchWoodsman]

Hello Everyone,

I am new to ih8mud forum, but I thought there is no better place to pose this question. I am considering purchasing a 1987 HJ61 Automatic Turbo Diesel with 130K miles that was imported from Japan, but has not yet been registered in the states. The truck looks to be in great condition with no rust on the undercarriage. The body looks good, but it has been repainted which may be a point of concern. The interior is not the greatest shape, but I am okay with that.

Question 1.) Are there any issues (engine, body, frame, drivetrain, etc) that I need to know about with regards to the HJ61?

Question 2.) Any words of wisdom with regards to registering an imported truck?

Thanks for the help!

Cheers!

 

[Cruiser Jimmy]

Hummm....Well my thought on this thread would be as follows.

A. Who are you importing from and what is your feeling about them. I have personally meet Steve at Land Cruiser Direct in Ozark, MO and find him to be an outstanding importer and cruiserhead. He and his staff personally drive the cruiser for a couple months to look for problems before passing on to the customer. The other importers I know of haven't stated they do this.

B. Do you know Toyota and do you know turbo diesels? The trannys are the same in Japan as they are here. As for the frame, driveline and body they are relatively the same over here. The question might be do you know what to look for when you head dips below the rocker panel.

C. At 130k KM (roughly 80K miles) I don't think you have anything to worry about. Considering Japanese citizen (I assume it's from Japan) take really good care of their jidosha, you should be okay.

D. Hopefully others will chime in on their experience but rest assured you'll find an answer to a future questions here should you purchase that 61.

 

[DFXR]

You might get better feedback on the HJ61 specifically if you post this over in the diesel section: Diesel Tech / 24 volts - and you may also find more folks over there that have gone thru the import process from Japan or Canada to the US.

Good luck with it - if it all works out people here will be eager to see some pics.

 

[lovetoski]

It's not a rational purchase. Do you love it? Then buy it, and figure out the issues as them come to you. If you don't love it, don't buy it.

 

[drenmaster]

I found an 87 hj61 that i will be bringing back to the states when i leave JP. It took me a while to find one i felt good about.

Engines and drivetrains should be pretty solid on all these trucks. I did not see any with more that 230km on them and that still is pretty low.

You said the one your looking at was repainted. Alot of the dealers in japan will find a rusted out truck and repair and paint it. While alot of them do fantastic work, the rust that was on the vehicle previously is still a concern. They also like to do undercoating on the frames. So while the frame looks nice and painted there could still be rust under it eating away at the frame.

The nicer trucks with no rust are going for about 18k and up right now in japan. Trucks with rust are about 10 and up.

The big downside to these is the 24v system. That makes parts alot more difficult to find. But the HJ61 is a sweet truck. Cant wait to get it to the states.

 

[Colington]

Did you get it? I'm in the same situation as you. I pulled the trigger already so wish me luck. I'd like to hear your story if you've made the plunge as well.

 

[Tapage]

the only " concern " would be the availability for 12H-T parts .. since was a short production engine ..