New to the 70 Series.. Questions for you Pros

[haydenwyatt]

I have a wonderful opportunity to spend time stationed at Kadena AB in Japan.
I remembered that Japan was running a special production of the 70.

See here http://www.autoblog.com/2014/08/26/toyota-land-cruiser-70-anniversary-japan-relaunch/#image-22

However, in terms of bringing this back, what kind of hoops will I have to jump through?
The 70 was never sold in the US, so I can't easily import it.

However, can I avoid those protocols since it would be shipped through the military?
Also, will aftermarket parts for the 70 series here in the US be compatible? I assume yes, but it is a new production of an old vehicle, so I thought I'd ask.

I'm hoping I could learn something from you all!

 

[cruiserdan]

It can't come over here until it is 25 years old. That's a long deployment.

 

[haydenwyatt]

Maybe they'd assume its old enough based on the body styling and let it go without questioning.
We can dream right?

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Question For The Pros......
Well that eliminates me.

Fortunately Dan provided you an answer.

 

[cruiserdan]

Damn...I thought he meant prose.....

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Damn...I thought he meant prose.....

That would have eliminated me also.
Being the product of a Southern rural education, I'm only fluent at " Gooberish".

 

[cruiserdan]

Well put...

 

[HaySeed]

The only benefits being in the military affords you in regards to importing vehicles are free transport to the States (as long as you don't have one in storage on the government dime) and they waive the importation tax (unless you sell it within a year of importing it). You must still comply with the NHSTA 25 year rule and EPA 21 year rule. The Kadena transportation management office can get further in the weeds if you want, but I can assure you they can not miracle a non-compliant vehicle back for you. pcsmypov.com also has a lot of good information as well.
On a different note, be careful what you buy in Oki. The island environment can rot a vehicle surprisingly bad, no matter what the age. In addition to island rot, the majority of vehicles are abused and neglected by owners for the 2 or 3 years they own them. Your best bet is to find one you like on mainland and have it shipped to you. I can offer a little more help in that regard if that is the route you choose.
Enjoy the island, soak up the culture, and happy hunting for a Cruiser.

 

[B Point]

Go up to f***uoka for a weekend. There are a lot of nice, well kept early to mid 90's 70 Series trucks. Drive it around Okinawa for your deployment duration and by that time you might be within the 25 year time frame. Warning though....the 70 is really holding it's value.

 

[divemedic]

And I may be going to f***uoka.

 

[B Point]

Take a look through the Carsensor site. Goo as well. Market prices...but good places to start at least.

This a list of 70's nationwide. Narrowing the search to Kyushu and Shikoku lists about 100 or so vehicles. Many others aren't advertised..you just have to find them.

http://www.carsensor.net/usedcar/index.html?STID=CS210610&AR=0&BRDC=&CARC=TO_S149&NINTEI=&CSHOSHO=

 

[jblueridge]

Even the little old lady at the out-of-the-way DMV location I tried first here in Virginia knew enough to look for the EPA and NHSTA waiver documents. The BJ74 was also plainly printed on her Gray Market List.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Even the little old lady at the out-of-the-way DMV location I tried first here in Virginia knew enough to look for the EPA and NHSTA waiver documents. The BJ74 was also plainly printed on her Gray Market List.

Interesting..... I didn't realize a Gray Market List existed outside of the Land Rover Defender world.

 

[JTarnow]

I'm probably wrong but I remember reading on VW diesel board somewhere that members of the military could import non us vehicles that wouldn't normally meet the criteria (25 years old, etc) IF they'd owned it for over a year while they were overseas.

 

[NanaMaru]

I will second the go to f***uoka to buy. I got super lucked and my truck was only on island about 1 week before I bought it . Plus f***uoka is one of my favorite cities in Japan.

 

[B Point]

Wha....I just found a very, very clean '96 HZJ76. 190K kms, auto, gun metal gray, shaken to July, ... 1,500,000 yen everything included. Pretty good deal. But alas,,, I have one of the nicer HDJ81's around and I'm just not ready to let go of it yet. It doesn't help when so many members of our club are former 70 series to 80 series converts. For all of them it came down to the fact that the 70 is just too damned underpowered.

 

[jblueridge]

But surely, power corrupts.....

 

[77cruiser77]

I know the HZJ77 has the H55F manual and the HZJ76 has an R series manual. That there would be enough for me to stay with a 77 despite the front coils on the 76.

On the other hand the 77 has a terrible automatic but did they change it for the 76?

 

[divemedic]

I'm probably wrong but I remember reading on VW diesel board somewhere that members of the military could import non us vehicles that wouldn't normally meet the criteria (25 years old, etc) IF they'd owned it for over a year while they were overseas.

Maybe it was like that back in the good old days. If we want to bring a car back it has to meet us standards. A lot depends on the market as well. For example I could not bring back a Japanese spec Audi less then 25 years old (production date). But I could bring back a German spec Audi less then 25 years of age.

The Japanese market is very different. Their cars are not designed to last a very long time, and the safety standards are low. Where I live, the fastest legal speed limit is 80km/hr. The average I would guess is 40km/hr. They just don't drive fast, there fore the additional frame construction isn't necessary. Also It is very expensive to own a car here. The cost to buy the car is cheap, however keeping it legal is expensive. Every year a road tax must be paid which is dependent on the engine size of the vehicle. Additionally, every two years a safety inspection, weight tax, and compulsory insurance must be paid/completed. Often a vehicle may fail the safety inspection and it is cheaper for the owner to buy a new car then make required repairs. So the car gets scrapped. This is also why many Japanese drive around in little bento box cars.