@ybggziggy I can't think of a better vehicle to get your feet wet than a Land Cruiser. They tend to be simple-ish to repair with standard hand tools, and even some of the bigger items can be done at home with a shop manual and patience. 4x4s are bigger, you can get under them and reach everything with normal sized hands, and old Land Cruisers are designed to be able to be patched together with garbage you find in the middle of the African desert and some duct tape.
Perhaps the biggest thing about a Land Cruiser is that it still has a functioning community that hasn't been polluted by tribalism and mean spirited internet BS. (I work in the 4x4 vehicle aftermarket and there has been a real erosion in many parts of the community in the last few years). It's still a real community and members value being there for other members. If you ever break down in a Land Cruiser, it won't take too long before someone pulls over to help you who owns a Land Cruiser or has a story about one. Cops let you off for rolling stops because "my dad had a Land Cruiser" and you won't get speeding tickets because they're so damned slow.
I will say that while from technical standpoint a 70 series is a great start, here in the USA there aren't a lot of shops that are familiar with them, so with the help of the IH8MUD and TLCA you will need to be your own expert and advocate or else you'll be putting your rig on a trailer a lot and sending it to one of the handful of experts (all of whom reside here on 'mud) to fix things. I'm in Southern California and luckily many shop owners here are from other places that are familiar with them, so I've gotten lucky with a couple of weird diesel issues that I've needed to ferret out. That shouldn't dissuade you from getting a 70 series, in my opinion they are the best of the Land Cruisers if you want an old school hands on rig that is tolerable as a driver, but you should now what you're getting in to. If, after some research, you decide that a 70 series is too exotic for a starter rig, a fool proof idea would be to cut your teeth on a US spec 40, 55, 60 or 80 series. Chances are really good the 25 year import rule will always be there, and there is a steady drip of non-US Land Cruisers making their way to our shores so you should be able to find one later down the line.
Good luck on your search! Since you are new, I do recommend you go through one of the vetted importers that you can find here on 'Mud (just ask!) who bring them over and do a health check and a round of maintenance before setting them free into the wild, it's worth the additional cost. Buying one off of your local Craigslist is playing with fire if you're a new kid
