For Sale Nice 85 BJ70 in PA

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Location
United States
Selling my BJ70. I originally bought this truck with intentions of using it for my annual Colorado vacation vehicle. I found that it's a bit too small for that. I believe this truck was sold new in the Toronto area and was owned by a doctor in that area for most of its life. The stack of receipts for work done for the doctor pretty much verify my thoughts.

The truck was listed for sale on Mud, I was close to making a deal for it and was going to just have the PO meet me in NY state without doing the import thing. I got cold feet and backed out. The PO then lowered his price and I decided to buy it legally. I chose a registered broker in Champlain NY to handle the importation, and after paying for the truck had it picked up and trucked to Champlain. It sat there in impound for three weeks until all the paperwork and stuff went through. Once I got the green light from the impoter I had it picked up and transported down here to NE PA. The truck arrived with the "certification" stickers affixed to the driver door jamb and the truck was titled and licensed legally in PA. Insurance was never a problem after I told State Farm the truck was originally sold in Canada- they needed ony to expand their database to verify the VIN.

I was pleasantly surprised at the condition of the truck when it arrived, I had seen only pictures prior to making a commitment to buy. I have owned the truck for two years now. Just dusted it off this week, reinstated insurance coverage and have been giving it some exercise. Mileage on the truck is appx 285,000 kilometers- converts to roughly 176K in miles. The best gas mileage I got was 25MPG, worst was 21MPG.

This 70 is very clean and straight. Was professionally repainted at some point in time and the silver paint is smooth and for the most part darn near perfect. The front bumper is amazing, straight as an arrow and smooth finish. Rear bumper is stock and in my opinion the worst looking part of the truck. All lights and stuff look fine. Doors close and latch proprerly and there is NO wind noise when driving this truck. The hood closes perfectly, too, and opens properly- I replaced the release cable last year. I will say this is the cleanest BJ70 I've ever seen (have only seen three!!). All glass is excellent. It is 12 volt but does have two batteries under the hood.

The interior is excellent. Dash pad perfect, seats perfect, dash itself very very clean. The console is unmolested and clean. Carpets nice. Seats fold and adjust as they should. Yes this has the weight adjustment air ride front seats and they work fine. Has a very good Kenwood CD stereo, I have speakers in the front doors and in boxes on the back seat. Sounds good, and has a remote control and the operating instructions are in the glove box. Headliner is not quite as clean as the rest of the interior but is in excellent condition.

Lights, washers, and wipers work fine, as does the cigarette lighter. Horn works. Heaters work (yes it has a rear heater). I believe the rear wiper works too but haven't tried it since I bought the truck. Interior lights work fine, as do the dash lights. Turn signals, emergency flashers, running lights and headlights hi/lo all work fine. All gauges work great with the exception of the oil pressure gauge- its' needle is missing. There really are no rattles anywhere in the truck, either, and I believe the jack and tool kit are in the truck.

Mechanically it is excellent. Starts right up no matter what the temp[erature and it has been outside for the past winter. Always starts right up. Engine smokes some blue at startup after it's been sitting awhile but never smokes any other time. I've put about 2400KM on it and haven't added oil. I did replace the diaphragm right after buying the truck to cure an intermittent idle speed problem. Idles perfectly now and the hand throttle works perfectly. Transmission is the H55 5 speed and works very well. Clutch is strong and smooth in operation. Transfer case works as it should and amazingly is the easiest shifting transfer case I have ever owned- and I've owned a lot of land cruisers. Axles front and back are trouble free. Brake pedal is high and strong and the brakes work well. Emergency brake works very well. Has the original Aisin gold hubs up front although they have been treated with some kind of black anti-rust coating. This coating is all over the underside of the truck and also under the hood. I've cleaned it off in a lot of places as it gets on you very easily. Cooling system works fine never an issue.

I did some upgrades to the truck. Installed a complete OME suspension system which I bought from Ironpig Offroad (good people!!!). The new suspension lifted the truck approximately four inches it sits neat now and handles fine. I also bought five brand new 16 x 7 inch Cragar wheels and center caps, and had brand new Goodyear MTR tires size 235/85 mounted. The tires balanced easily and are great on the road with no vibration at any speed. I haven't had the truck offroad at all since buying the new tires and wheels. The relativey "skinny' tires give the truck a really neat look in my opinion.

Issues, or to be more accurate, things to note. There is some rust starting to show, most noticeably along the drip rail at the passenger rear corner. Some minor bubbling starting under the paint in a few areas like the rear wheel wells. The EDIC has been removed- it was like this when I bought the truck. The function normally controlled electrically by the EDIC is now operated with a simple cable arrangement. Works fine and and has been glitch free. I do have a good EDIC complete with linkage, and a used control relay that will go with the truck if a new owner would want to install it. The missing oil pressure needle was mentioned earlier. I will also toss in a used home made rear bumper with the truck- I got it in a deal but never cleaned or installed it.

What else....the owners manual is there as is a large folder with receipts from the previous owner(s). You'll be amazed at the money the doctor poured into this truck. The truck has a clean PA title in my name and is licensed (DSL CRZR) and insured here in PA. Has a current inspection sticker of course. It's a turn key truck for someone to buy without having to go through any importation effort.

I have a good job, plenty of cruisers and am not financially pressured to sell this truck; please, no low ballers. I am going to replace it with a larger vehicle (4Runner, 80, maybe an HJ61) for the Colorado vacation trip made in September. The pics are a year old but i think the truck actually looks better now- I just waxed it and cleaned everything and it looks sharp. Price $10,900 located in northeast PA not too far from Rausch Creek or the old Paragon off road park. While I would much prefer to sell the 70 to someone close enough to come see and drive it, I would be willing to cooperate with getting the truck loaded onto a transporter for a buyer.

Best way to reach me is email here at home shmukter@pa.metrocast.net or at work GSCHMAUCH@cartech.com. I am not on Mud everyday so email is best for contacting me. I will call anyone who seems to be seriously interested if they email me and include their phone number. I can take additional photos if requested by seemingly serious buyers. Quite a few guys in the land cruiser community here in the northeast have seen and driven this 70 and I'd like to think all have been positively impressed. Take a look at the photos and email if interested. Thanks, Gary S
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Also saw this truck in person shortly after Gary got it. I swore I would try to buy it if he ever sold.. but being unemployed won't allow that to happen. This thing is ridiculously nice and will put a smile on any Cruiser head's face. Super unique in the US and already imported!
 
Bump for price drop $12,500 down to $11,500

Wow I thought this truck would sell immediately. I was wrong. Price lowered to $11,500 let's see if anyone gets serious about owning a very nice very solid and great running legal in the states BJ70. Thanks, Gary S
 
No A/C on these. Looks amazingly good, considering it spend so long in Canada. Don't they salt the roads in Quebec? These are really nice units. Under carriage shots might be helpful.
 
Free bump for a sweet looking 70. My oil pressure gauge has the needle missing/stuck down also, I wonder if this was a weak point with these trucks. Aftermarket gauges are the answer I guess.......
 
Hello, Can you give me some idea what kind of road speed the 3B diesel and 5 speed gearbox can yield? I have only had experience with the "H", "2B" and "2L-TE". Thanks....1978HJ45
 
Speeda

I can get an actual comfortable 70MPH out of it although the speedo reads less due to the taller tires. Long hills usually slow you down and require downshifting into fourth. This an't a speeder (neither are any of my other cruisers, though!!!!) but does have wonderful road manners with the OME suspension.

I'll have either the 70 or my Aussie pig at Coal Mine for running around during the event. Gary S
 
Thanks for the information. ............................1978HJ45
 
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