I once heard a 70 Series described as a “TOOL” that was purpose built to work. My guess is that it’s the only Series of Land Cruiser (post 40 Series) to be described that way. 
Keep my 3x locked 80 or get a hzj7x?
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I'll throw my opinion out there because I don't want to work right now, haha. I've owned 40s, a 62, an 80 and now 3 different 73/74s as well as an LX470. I had to sell my BJ74 to buy a house and a downpayment on a new Jeep (which was a huge mistake that I have rectified), and I went and bought a 97 HZJ73 and am happy again.
As someone else said in the comments, 70 series are "peak" Toyota, everything that made 80s and 90s Toyotas awesome all in one place. But so is an 80 series, just in a more "normal" to us in the US packaging. Late 70 series and 80 series share a lot of the same gear and philosophies and do have a similar vibe when you get down to it. US spec 80s usually have all of the leather and luxury crap all over them which doesn't age super well, but if you keep up on it they're comfy. I personally could not stand the AWD with the auto and hilariously terrible fuel economy of my 80, which is why when some dude approached me in the parking lot and offered me $12K cash for it after buying it for $3K with a bad steering pump, I just said yes (this was 12 years ago now, how time flies!). It was a really excellent truck - 96 in black with decent paint and it had somehow escaped the dealer add ons and came with manual cloth seats and a blue interior, which aged really well.
I then bought my first HZJ73 which I couldn't get through CA emissions and sold it back (back when Land Cruisers Direct was still an upstanding company, I had a great experience with Steve Jackson before he got into all of his weird s***, but that's another story), but I was hooked. I bought my BJ74, which was awesome, got it all fixed up and we moved to Colorado where they didn't care about the emissions sticker and it passed emissions no problem. I sold it for the house and my misguided Jeep adventure, once I rid myself of the bad Jeep vibes, I bought my current forever HZJ73 and couldn't be happier.
I daily drive the HZJ73. I bought it sight unseen in Canada, imported it and drove it home. If you like the idea of an evolved, livable 40 series then grab one and make it everything you want and you won't be disappointed. Having been around them, look for a JDM Cruiser and accept RHD as your new life, JDM rigs tend to not be completely hammered and came with all the fancy options - reliable power windows, AC, ect. I really like Troopies but they tend to be a lot more hammered and expensive for what you get, usually from markets where they got used, so from what I've seen you either get a pretty wasted starter truck or a semi restored rig that costs double of a 73/74/77 that is in really good shape from Japan. Of course there will be exceptions if you get lucky. If you wanted more space I would actually set my sights on a JDM HZJ77. I have wanted one for a long time, but in the end I really dig the slightly extended wheel base 2 door of the 73/74s, sort of the perfect compromise. If you really like maximum Toyota stuff, the rear curved glass of the HZJ77 is worth the price of admission alone, so cool. I wish they had done that on a fixed top 2 door for a nod to 40 series trucks, but I digress...
The interior of my truck is still nice and tight, economics are good, the metal dash is fantastic. I'm in process of finishing a build out on it- 35s, 4:1 t case gears, upgraded axle shafts, ect. It came with a period correct ARB front bumper and a 4x4 Labs rear. I love old diesels and find them to be delightful and easy to work on, and they do get better fuel economy than their gas counterparts, even though the 1HZ's fuel economy is significantly lower than the 13BT. I get about 18mpg now on average, 16 with lots of stop and go, and if I keep the speed down about 20mpg on the highway. I live at altitude and the 1HZ struggles and is smokey and irritating when climbing into the mountains. I'll probably end up doing a mild turbo on it with an intercooler, which will get rid of the smoke, push loads of power into it and give me a noticeable fuel economy bump. The 1HZ at sea level is a totally different beast. Not fast, but enough oomph to do whatever. I've driven many 70 series and they really don't seem to care about mileage. Mine has 285K KMs on the clock and has like new compression, trans is like new, all is well, AC blows cold, windows work great, everything functions as the Toyota gods intended. They're old, but so are 80 series, they age about the same.
So, I guess it comes down to two sort of philosophies, neither of them bad and both kind of similar in theory. If you want awesome Toyota-ness in normal packaging, the 80 is the way to go. If you want to max out your experience you can manual swap a 1FZ gas engine (which I have driven), which would really put a smile on your face, or you could diesel or LS swap it if you want to get froggy. If you wanted to split the difference I had considered looking into a manual trans turbo JDM 80 series, but opted to go all in on what I knew I loved. If you want something kinda weird, more utilitarian, super heavy duty and awesome, then grab yourself a 70 series. You'll wait longer for parts (I'm a fan of preventative maintenance and upgrades when you know something is getting a little older), and if you get a 1HZ prepare for life in the slow lane. You'll definintely want a manual, I can imagine a 1HZ auto being dangerously slow on our roads and frustrating, never driven one. Toyota still makes the 1HZ and you can get parts from your dealer, which is really cool. The 1HZ is really smooth and drives like a gas motor, albeit lower power than the displacement might suggest. It's quiet and easy to drive, kinda wild how normal it feels. You can throw a mild turbo on it and wake it up, and from what I gather you do it right with low boost and it really won't effect longevity if you start with a good motor. That's probably what I'll do, but I initially wanted to just leave the 1HZ alone and put space shuttle miles on it, so I am still on the fence. I'll probably finish the build out and live with it for a year and see how I feel about it.
I don't know much about the 2nd generation of 1HZ trucks. I know they came with coils, had EGR stuff, but are pretty much the same thing. I wouldn't let leaf springs scare you away. Stock suspension does ride kind of rough, but OME or Atlas springs can clean that right up. Mine has some sort of weird high end Japanese lift springs that ride pretty well, I threw some Fox 2.0s on it and it's pretty decent. I am going to link and coil over the front, but that's more of a "look what I can do" flex for my shop than a necessity. We do a lot of high end fab work here and I'm going to do it just because. It will ride really nice and give me some clearance up front by getting rid of shackles. At some point I will do a big build thread on the truck, just haven't had the time so far.
Hope you enjoyed my essay, now back to real life.
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Great response I appreciate it! You definitely have the same mindset as me. I want a 70/71 for the SWB goodness on our tight east coast trails, the 73 for the removable top, 76/77 for the near same space as my 80, and a troopy for a full livable cross country tourer. The only need when cross-shopping is its gotta be manual. I want them all haha but I suppose I'll be just looking for whichever model is the most clean. I appreciate all the info!
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Yeah man you got it. I love these things. If I had the money I really would start thinking about them like Pokémon. As it is I feel ridiculous having two around, haha.
You could do something similar to me and have the 80 stick around as your bug out, long haul family rig (I acquired my dad’s build LX470), then go buy yourself whatever 70 series strikes your fancy. The mid wheel base removable top rigs have always been the sweet spot for me. I did let a soft top BJ70 escape me a while ago which i still think about from time to time, but the reality is that would have been something fun for around town, too small for actual use.
The 73/74 is big enough to haul all of my dogs around, I can fit 2 teenagers in the back in a pinch, and after my build out is done my next project will be scoring some doors and that I will cut down to allow me to go properly topless during the summer with a bikini top. Might do a cage or augment the factory roll bar. If you were local I’d invite you to check mine out, it’s a great example of what to look for. Good luck on your search!
So very true! I can't tell you the time and money I spent just trying to diagnose. For some reason I don't understand, Toyota integrated the TPS into the glow plug circuit. Only time I can find that they did this. I was finally able to get a TPS direct from Denso so we will see how that goes, and the other 74 I bit the bullet on and swapping to a manual.
Another opinion here:
After a bunch of Land Cruisers starting in 1980, my forever truck and daily driver is a FZJ79 LHD from Saudi Arabia. Basically a new paint restoration (and new cargo bed) to 90% new condition including brand new cargo box.
Not locked, only two doors, does what I need and what I want. Real world price depending on KMs and condition, landed in US with all documents in good order, $$30k (solid driver, clean, serviced, nothing needed in stock form) to $60k (90-95% of new condition, 100k miles +/-).
If you want a 4-door, builders in Gulf region can swap a new take-off body to suit the 79 Series without frame chop.
My truck below in photo and rendering - it is getting a Go Fast Camper in December.
Below that is a friend's restomod project. A 1991 Japanese fire truck 4-door. These can be had with very low miles in good condition. This one has had some work done (new roof, new front end, new paint, etc.) but if you need 4 doors and are ok with RHD, an option.
Our FB group for 70 Series in North America is a great resource - you might consider joining.
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1098672820265091
After a bunch of Land Cruisers starting in 1980, my forever truck and daily driver is a FZJ79 LHD from Saudi Arabia. Basically a new paint restoration (and new cargo bed) to 90% new condition including brand new cargo box.
Not locked, only two doors, does what I need and what I want. Real world price depending on KMs and condition, landed in US with all documents in good order, $$30k (solid driver, clean, serviced, nothing needed in stock form) to $60k (90-95% of new condition, 100k miles +/-).
If you want a 4-door, builders in Gulf region can swap a new take-off body to suit the 79 Series without frame chop.
My truck below in photo and rendering - it is getting a Go Fast Camper in December.
Below that is a friend's restomod project. A 1991 Japanese fire truck 4-door. These can be had with very low miles in good condition. This one has had some work done (new roof, new front end, new paint, etc.) but if you need 4 doors and are ok with RHD, an option.
Our FB group for 70 Series in North America is a great resource - you might consider joining.
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1098672820265091