Greetings to the forum. I just registered after using this site for various research leading up to my purchase of a 1993 diesel Land Cruiser in Costa Rica. I have a house there and decided to go ahead and get a vehicle which will be used for both airport runs and for bashing about the jungle going on adventures around Costa Rica.
I had help of a local guy while shopping for a vehicle and I finally found a good one which we have affectionately named Burro del pantano (Swamp Donkey) but has to be said in Shrek Scottish accent. Some specs:
OEM
1993 Land Cruiser VX-R HDJ80L (I'm not sure what the VX-R gets you but assume a high trim level)
1HD-T 4.2l straight-6 turbo diesel
5-speed manual
K294 factory lockers front and rear
2nd diesel tank
3rd row seating (belts for 8 ppl)
factory rear air conditioning
factory "mechanical" winch (works via PTO shaft of some kind. Looking forward to trying it.)
4-wheel disc brakes
Center console refrigerator including original ice trays!
349,xxx original km when I bought it. Owned by one family since new.
Mods:
OME suspension
Offroad tires (off brand)
Snorkel
roof rack
three different security systems
trailer hitch (bolted to bumper?!?)
Tint, window deflectors, rubber mats, etc.
Bought the truck on June 19th after flying into San Jose and going to meet the seller (with my local agent helping me.) Here is the first time I saw the truck myself in person.
It took all afternoon to get the transaction done. In Costa Rica it requires a lawyer to transfer a car. Paid for the car, got the keys, loaded bags and off I went with my new 26 year old car. My house is 3 hours from San Jose and it started getting dark and they started POURING rain like you would not believe. The main road down the pacific coast has almost no street lights and large portions of it have not lines/marking/reflectors. I had a nice white knuckle bonding experience with my new rig but he did fine.
Spent 5 days on the Osa Penninsula which has very little pavement at all and during the rainy season it is advised not to attempt to drive many of the roads in Osa especially in the rental 4x4s they offer there which are generally just cute UTEs with highway tires. You often have to ford streams and rivers as part of the road. It turned out to not be especially challenging conditions but it always feels good to have more capability than you need rather than the other way around.
This thing is an absolute beast. With transfer in low and all three diffs locked it seems like you would need to hit a wall to stop the thing. The motor runs like a sewing machine. They recently did some kind of major Toyota recommended deep maintenance service which cost a couple thousand dollars and is said to greatly increase longevity of the motor. Starts instantly, no smoke, no smell.
After camping and exploring for a week in this thing I am in love. I was going to get a newer Prado or Fortuner but I am so glad I got something with more character and personality.
At home in the states I have a 997 Porsche GT3RS which turns heads and attracts "car guys" to come have a look and talk cars. In Costa Rica the Burro del pantano does almost the same thing. it is a great way to blend in as a "local" rather than look like a tourist.
I'm back home in the states now but am heading back down in a couple weeks. Certainly I will have some accessories in my bags para el Burro.
My new amigo in San Jose is going to store the vehicle for me in covered storage when I am not there. When I come he has the vehicle at the curb when I step out of the airport so I can load bags and drive away. When I leave Costa Rica same thing - I just pull put to curb and go into airport. He takes car, washes it, does any necessary repairs/maintenance and has it ready for my next trip. A great and valuable service.
He is also going to help me with some ugprades. He knows the ARB distributor for Costa Rica so we will start with an ARB bumper and I think an ARB roof rack to repalce the silver one that looks a little clunky and outdated. I'll add some lights to the bumper and rack as well. In Costa Rica it seems you can use any amount of lights you want on road which can be helpful in the remote areas like where my house is. I think ARB has their own set of lights. I should look into that.
Well, sorry for long message if you actually read this far. I am just very excited to join the series 80 club.
Pura Vida!
I had help of a local guy while shopping for a vehicle and I finally found a good one which we have affectionately named Burro del pantano (Swamp Donkey) but has to be said in Shrek Scottish accent. Some specs:
OEM
1993 Land Cruiser VX-R HDJ80L (I'm not sure what the VX-R gets you but assume a high trim level)
1HD-T 4.2l straight-6 turbo diesel
5-speed manual
K294 factory lockers front and rear
2nd diesel tank
3rd row seating (belts for 8 ppl)
factory rear air conditioning
factory "mechanical" winch (works via PTO shaft of some kind. Looking forward to trying it.)
4-wheel disc brakes
Center console refrigerator including original ice trays!
349,xxx original km when I bought it. Owned by one family since new.
Mods:
OME suspension
Offroad tires (off brand)
Snorkel
roof rack
three different security systems
trailer hitch (bolted to bumper?!?)
Tint, window deflectors, rubber mats, etc.
Bought the truck on June 19th after flying into San Jose and going to meet the seller (with my local agent helping me.) Here is the first time I saw the truck myself in person.
It took all afternoon to get the transaction done. In Costa Rica it requires a lawyer to transfer a car. Paid for the car, got the keys, loaded bags and off I went with my new 26 year old car. My house is 3 hours from San Jose and it started getting dark and they started POURING rain like you would not believe. The main road down the pacific coast has almost no street lights and large portions of it have not lines/marking/reflectors. I had a nice white knuckle bonding experience with my new rig but he did fine.
Spent 5 days on the Osa Penninsula which has very little pavement at all and during the rainy season it is advised not to attempt to drive many of the roads in Osa especially in the rental 4x4s they offer there which are generally just cute UTEs with highway tires. You often have to ford streams and rivers as part of the road. It turned out to not be especially challenging conditions but it always feels good to have more capability than you need rather than the other way around.
This thing is an absolute beast. With transfer in low and all three diffs locked it seems like you would need to hit a wall to stop the thing. The motor runs like a sewing machine. They recently did some kind of major Toyota recommended deep maintenance service which cost a couple thousand dollars and is said to greatly increase longevity of the motor. Starts instantly, no smoke, no smell.
After camping and exploring for a week in this thing I am in love. I was going to get a newer Prado or Fortuner but I am so glad I got something with more character and personality.
At home in the states I have a 997 Porsche GT3RS which turns heads and attracts "car guys" to come have a look and talk cars. In Costa Rica the Burro del pantano does almost the same thing. it is a great way to blend in as a "local" rather than look like a tourist.
I'm back home in the states now but am heading back down in a couple weeks. Certainly I will have some accessories in my bags para el Burro.
My new amigo in San Jose is going to store the vehicle for me in covered storage when I am not there. When I come he has the vehicle at the curb when I step out of the airport so I can load bags and drive away. When I leave Costa Rica same thing - I just pull put to curb and go into airport. He takes car, washes it, does any necessary repairs/maintenance and has it ready for my next trip. A great and valuable service.
He is also going to help me with some ugprades. He knows the ARB distributor for Costa Rica so we will start with an ARB bumper and I think an ARB roof rack to repalce the silver one that looks a little clunky and outdated. I'll add some lights to the bumper and rack as well. In Costa Rica it seems you can use any amount of lights you want on road which can be helpful in the remote areas like where my house is. I think ARB has their own set of lights. I should look into that.
Well, sorry for long message if you actually read this far. I am just very excited to join the series 80 club.
Pura Vida!
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