I've been a member of this site since 2010 but never introduced myself. I've owned a couple of FJ40's since 1988, a 1980 and a 1970. Today I only have the ’70 left but I enjoyed them both. The LJ70 is a different animal however. Unlike the FJ40, there were a lot of unknowns with the LJ70 model for me at least. Where do I get parts, repair manuals, what are the upgrades, do's and don’ts? I have learned much from the members of this forum and have had a very positive experience as a result of that, so thank you forum members!
I have wanted a more economical / practical version of my FJ40 for years but only found what I wanted over- seas. For years I checked out these cool rigs that people in other parts of the world were driving. Why didn’t we get any of these cool versions of the Land Cruiser here?? I wanted rubber floor mats, roll up windows, manual locking hubs, limited electronics, no CD player needed, no cruise control, didn’t want leather seats and NO power locks! My wife said there must be something wrong with me… and I guess there was / is. I did find a few RHD 70 series I liked for sale that had been imported but this needed to be something my wife could drive too and I wanted a manual transmission and that may be asking too much for her to be comfortable with. Down the road a few years I got a call from a "car buddy" who said he was going to sell his cherished LJ70 soft top to pursue another vehicle. An LJ… I ran that through my mind and recalled reading about one in the Specter catalog. I needed pictures, even though it was going to be more than I was willing to spend I wanted to see it. My buddy had imported this LJ and it was a very nice example. Too nice for me really and more than I wanted / needed to spend. As we all do when such opportunities arise, I couldn’t get this LJ out of my head. I looked at the pictures over and over. Then my thoughts advanced to how I would fix this or that. Or how I would add this accessory, or modify something. No harm in just thinking about these things, I mean… I wasn’t going to be buying it! The turning point came when I was discussing the LJ with its current owner. Again, since I wasn’t going to be buying then it wouldn’t hurt to ask a few questions. Turns out the LJ had 13K documented kilometers (8000 miles) on it from new. I asked… how can this be? The LJ had spent it’s life on the island of Corsica in the French Mediterranean Sea. The island is 114 miles long and 52 miles wide and roughly half of the island is a dedicated nature reserve. As the story goes, the gentleman who owned the LJ from new kept the vehicle at his second home which was on the island. He drove it when he visited there and used it for some off- road exploring. The yearly French inspection papers tell the story of the low mileage and I can find no evidence to suggest otherwise.
With that, I struck a deal for the 70 and my education regarding this model really started. I hope to describe over the next few posts my experience and points of interest while driving my new 70. So far it has been a blast…albeit a slow blast.
Leonard
I have wanted a more economical / practical version of my FJ40 for years but only found what I wanted over- seas. For years I checked out these cool rigs that people in other parts of the world were driving. Why didn’t we get any of these cool versions of the Land Cruiser here?? I wanted rubber floor mats, roll up windows, manual locking hubs, limited electronics, no CD player needed, no cruise control, didn’t want leather seats and NO power locks! My wife said there must be something wrong with me… and I guess there was / is. I did find a few RHD 70 series I liked for sale that had been imported but this needed to be something my wife could drive too and I wanted a manual transmission and that may be asking too much for her to be comfortable with. Down the road a few years I got a call from a "car buddy" who said he was going to sell his cherished LJ70 soft top to pursue another vehicle. An LJ… I ran that through my mind and recalled reading about one in the Specter catalog. I needed pictures, even though it was going to be more than I was willing to spend I wanted to see it. My buddy had imported this LJ and it was a very nice example. Too nice for me really and more than I wanted / needed to spend. As we all do when such opportunities arise, I couldn’t get this LJ out of my head. I looked at the pictures over and over. Then my thoughts advanced to how I would fix this or that. Or how I would add this accessory, or modify something. No harm in just thinking about these things, I mean… I wasn’t going to be buying it! The turning point came when I was discussing the LJ with its current owner. Again, since I wasn’t going to be buying then it wouldn’t hurt to ask a few questions. Turns out the LJ had 13K documented kilometers (8000 miles) on it from new. I asked… how can this be? The LJ had spent it’s life on the island of Corsica in the French Mediterranean Sea. The island is 114 miles long and 52 miles wide and roughly half of the island is a dedicated nature reserve. As the story goes, the gentleman who owned the LJ from new kept the vehicle at his second home which was on the island. He drove it when he visited there and used it for some off- road exploring. The yearly French inspection papers tell the story of the low mileage and I can find no evidence to suggest otherwise.
With that, I struck a deal for the 70 and my education regarding this model really started. I hope to describe over the next few posts my experience and points of interest while driving my new 70. So far it has been a blast…albeit a slow blast.
Leonard
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