help with 70/75 series ute's (2 Viewers)

[jgallo1]

Hello 70 series ,
Long time toyota owner here. I have owned a few different toyota series trucks and LC's over the last 20 yrs. I have always lusted after a 70/75 series ute or the 90's hilux. I have driven them alot on trips in central america etc.. The driving down there is 90% off road which is fun but I always wandered how they would do back here with increased HWY speeds and more traffic.

I think the time has come for me to pull the trigger on one of these. I am interested in hearing some peoples opinions and what to look for. I run a small farm and speciality landscape design business. So the truck needs to do some city driving, but will also be used out in the fiields and on offroad trips, nothing to extreme, just your typical baja adventure, mountains out west, blm land.

The most important question is where is the best place to look for one.

Thanks

 

[coldtaco]

I use mine as a daily driver. My 2H is turbo'd which helps with acceleration and keeping speed at hwy speeds when hitting hills/mountains. The heavier loaded probably the slower the going. I can do 70mph but prefer sitting at 65mph. Mine is a bit stiff, so if you have yours loaded all the time the ride will be better. If you do a lot of hills then engine is very important. Hz engine would be best for parts availability, can be turbo'd but needs a lot of care if turbo'd. Best choice would be a 1HD which is factory turbo'd. This would require an engine swap. Install the following gauges; water/egt/psi at a minimum. Then there is the decision about RHD or LHD.

 

[roscoFJ73]

The most important question is where is the best place to look for one.

That's comes after you have decided on LHD or RHD.
A lot of landscapers and turf farmers in Australia use these in their business. You will be better off with a tray back than the factory tub which is fairly cramped.

 

[coldtaco]

That's comes after you have decided on LHD or RHD.
A lot of landscapers and turf farmers in Australia use these in their business. You will be better off with a tray back than the factory tub which is fairly cramped.

The tray back sits that much taller though, they do look pretty cool though.

 

[roscoFJ73]

The tray back sits that much taller though, they do look pretty cool though.

Yes, but it allows you to slide things off the tray off at waist height without bending over. If the tray is high enough, it allows for a cavity underneath for spare tyres or sometimes a slide out tray, useful for shovels etc

 

[jgallo1]

Thanks for all the pointers. I do like the tray backs. I am not to worried about the rough ride. I daily drove a an fj60, with ome heavy setup.
Does anybody know the best place to find them in the US. I seem them on BAT and few other sites from time to time but I am not about to pay 75-100k for one. I was hoping for a left hand drive. I can registrar it in montana so emissions is not a worry for me.
Thanks

 

[mohawk]

love mine with 15b power , but slow as hell with the old 3b .... in your line of work you will find dropping the sides makes a great work bench..there is no way id ever have a well side for your type of work ....i have a storage draw under the tray aswell

 

[roscoFJ73]

Does anybody know the best place to find them in the US. I seem them on BAT and few other sites from time to time but I am not about to pay 75-100k for one. I was hoping for a left hand drive. I can registrar it in montana so emissions is not a worry for me.

You do realise that these are scarcer than hens teeth. The best ones are the HZJ75 with the 1HZ engine. Because of the US import laws, it must be more than 25 years old. So this gives an age range of 1990 to 1994 approx. Then you will want one at least in reasonable condition.
Most of these around the world were sold for mining/petroleum/agriculture/ construction purposes and the biggest buyer was Australia/NZ which are both RHD. And the average klms is 400000.
Its all about budget , that's why they may go for 75+k on BAT. The only way to get it at a lower cost will be to look overseas. Your cheapest option would be to forget about one as a work vehicle and get a RHD 70/73/73 series from Japan. You have a huge list of options for use as a farm vehicle with parts back up among US made vehicles.

 

[gilmorneau]

LHD 75-series pickups were available to civilians in Europe, and there are probably a dozen for sale there on any given day. Most were used as farm trucks or tradesman's trucks, not necessarily in mining or industry as they are in many other parts of the world. The majority are going to be 3B powered, with some 1PZ and a very few 1HZ available. AFAIK the 1HZ was introduced in European models in late 1992, for the 1993 model year, so the first ones have only just become eligible to import to the USA under the 25 year rule.

Regardless of its origin point, importing a ute or pickup involves dealing with the "chicken tax", a 25% import tax levied on vehicles of this type by the US government. There's no strictly legal way around paying it, though I know not everyone does.

I've imported a couple of Troopies from Europe, so know the ropes. If you want to try it yourself, PM me and I can spell out how it all works.

 

[ca18sean]

RHD really isn't bad once you get used to it. I've owned RHD sports cars before and now I have a RHD troopy. No big deal and you can find relatively inexpensive ute's in Australia. I used austousa.com for my troopy and have nothing but good things to say about them. You can get a 75 ute delivered to the US for $15-20k in reasonable condition, especially if cosmetics aren't a huge deal to you. There's only two on there right now, a decent condition one for $16k and a nicely refurbished one for $25k. But check the site regularly, people list new trucks all the time.

AUStoUSA.com

AUStoUSA.com

 

[jgallo1]

Thanks again for all the help.. I hope to be posting up pics of the ute sooner than later.. If any one has any advice keep it coming. I appreciate it all .

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Thanks again for all the help.. I hope to be posting up pics of the ute sooner than later.. If any one has any advice keep it coming. I appreciate it all .

It may be obvious but buy the best your budget can stand.

 

[roscoFJ73]

Does anyone in the US do RHD to LHD conversions?

 

[coldtaco]

Does anyone in the US do RHD to LHD conversions?

buy a rusty canadian bj-70 for cheap, then do it yourself

 

[roscoFJ73]

Yes, but not everyone has the time ,space or know how. I was just wondering if someone does it. We have , or did have a few places in Australia that converted imported LHD Mustangs ,Corvettes etc

 

[AndrewHadji]

Does anyone in the US do RHD to LHD conversions?

if you have the cash sure, last time i even looked at this was close to 9 k back in 2001 for a nissan patrol

 

[coldtaco]

I would do it for someone, but you would need to get both rigs to AK

 

[OGBeno]

It may be obvious but buy the best your budget can stand.

Times a million.

 

[roscoFJ73]

if you have the cash sure, last time i even looked at this was close to 9 k back in 2001 for a nissan patrol

I know someone who did 5 LHD to RHD 75 series conversions one after the other. He said he didn't want to do any more. He bought them from an aid program in Laos when they had finished with them.

 

[SNLC]

Where I source trucks from there are tons and tons of 75-series pickups in LHD. As mentioned already these trucks are used for work so will be in condition you may expect for a 25+yr old work truck. And it will still cost ya $20-30k+ for one here in the USA in LHD that is an HZJ75 and legally imported.

Cheers