LJ70,LJ71,L73 question

[Terrax]

My in-laws live in Southern France and I'm thinking of buying a SWB cruiser to use when I visit every year instead of leasing a vehicle every time I visit. I have noticed that there are a lot of these models LJ70,LJ71,L73 available, also BJ70,BJ73. My question is if you had a choice of the LJ series listed, which one would you choose and why. I plan on using as a DD and for some occasional wheeling trips.

Prices range anywhere from 4-8K Euros depending on mileage and condition.

 

[roscoFJ73]

My in-laws live in Southern France and I'm thinking of buying a SWB cruiser to use when I visit every year instead of leasing a vehicle every time I visit. I have noticed that there are a lot of these models LJ70,LJ71,L73 available, also BJ70,BJ73. My question is if you had a choice of the LJ series listed, which one would you choose and why. I plan on using as a DD and for some occasional wheeling trips.

Prices range anywhere from 4-8K Euros depending on mileage and condition.

The BJ73
After all the 2LT heartaches on this site ,the last thing I would want on my holiday in South France is to have to rebuild/replace a head.

The 73 series in either model will have a FRP top which is rust resistant. The 73 series are longer and ride nicer on the road and obviously have more room.

 

[Terrax]

Rosco,

Thanks for the response, I guess the answer is BJ instead of LJ. What Year LJ's have problems with the heads?

 

[lowenbrau]

What he said /\

 

[roscoFJ73]

Rosco,

Thanks for the response, I guess the answer is BJ instead of LJ. What Year LJ's have problems with the heads?

The engine had no dramas until they turboed them. The cyl head coolant flow just couldn't handle the extra heat.
But the 2L was probably the slowest in its class without a turbo.

The BJ isnt gonna break any speed records either but it will always get you there(and you will have a special kind of coolness amongst French cruiserheads ).

 

[clintnz]

The BJ73
After all the 2LT heartaches on this site ,the last thing I would want on my holiday in South France is to have to rebuild/replace a head.

Dead right there. Stay away from the 2.4 turbo. Do they have any of the '93 on (KZJ70?) 3 litre turbo SWB cruisers there? - they're a lot nicer & much more reliable.

The 73 series in either model will have a FRP top which is rust resistant. The 73 series are longer and ride nicer on the road and obviously have more room.

I wouldn't say all BJ7x are nicer riding. Some older ones I've been in were wallowing pigs compared to the coil sprung LJ/KZJ cruisers, later model BJs are good though.

Cheers
Clint

 

[roscoFJ73]

Dead right there. Stay away from the 2.4 turbo. Do they have any of the '93 on (KZJ70?) 3 litre turbo SWB cruisers there? - they're a lot nicer & much more reliable.



I wouldn't say all BJ7x are nicer riding. Some older ones I've been in were wallowing pigs compared to the coil sprung LJ/KZJ cruisers, later model BJs are good though.

Cheers
Clint

Anything with worn out suspension will wallow like a pig. The coil sprung 70s bottom out on the smallest bump and jar your back when their springs are fawked

 

[denis]

Anything with worn out suspension will wallow like a pig. The coil sprung 70s bottom out on the smallest bump and jar your back when their springs are fawked

If you compare good springs and good springs the LJ is an overall much better, more refined, more comfortable, less noisy vehicle than the BJ7 "boat anchor" series.
The 2LT drama is quite overrated around here, there are thousands of LJs driving around that had little problems. A head should be good for 200,000kms under normal driving and maintenance conditions.

 

[Arjun75]

If you compare good springs and good springs the LJ is an overall much better, more refined, more comfortable, less noisy vehicle than the BJ7 "boat anchor" series.
The 2LT drama is quite overrated around here, there are thousands of LJs driving around that had little problems. A head should be good for 200,000kms under normal driving and maintenance conditions.

i drove a friends all leaf hi-lux king cab and have to say the on road ride was awful.It was so stiff(guess it was more for heavy duty loads).Do the leaf 70 series ride anything like that.

The all round coils on my car(LJ79 Prado) feel just great...dont know how much load they would take but otherwise for my use they are fabulous.Would be nice if they had stiffer damping though ...planning on a set of Rancho 9000's next.

 

[roscoFJ73]

i drove a friends all leaf hi-lux king cab and have to say the on road ride was awful.It was so stiff(guess it was more for heavy duty loads).Do the leaf 70 series ride anything like that.

.

The heavy duty are ,well ,heavy duty and thus designed for load carrying on bad roads.
Yes,they have a fairly tight ride but you can take leaves out or try the standard spring over the heavy duty leaves.
My 75 is much nicer with 1/2 ton in the back.

The light duty suspension is not renowned for being long lived or carrying full loads.
Aftermarket suspension companies know this and make a spring that rides better and carries a load better over the OEM coil.

 

[clintnz]

Anything with worn out suspension will wallow like a pig. The coil sprung 70s bottom out on the smallest bump and jar your back when their springs are fawked

Indeed, but I've owned an 87 FRP top 73, & driven a 92 (IIRC) version also, both with similar miles & the later one was definitely much better suspended & nicer to drive - the much beefier anti-roll bars front (& back unlike early ones IIRC) made a big difference too.

Personally I'd rate my (much higher miles) LJ71 as being better on the road in terms of ride & handling than either of them, but only by a slim margin compared to the later model BJ73.

Of course these are all JDM models, suspension spec is very likely different in other markets.

Cheers
Clint