SOLD Phoenix: 1995 KZJ78 Land Cruiser Prado - only 95K miles - $29K OBO (1 Viewer)

Year

1995

Vehicle Model

1. 70 Series

Mileage

94000

Color

green

1995 Land Cruiser Prado KZJ78 - only 95K miles in excellent condition

Main features/details:

• 154K km or 95K miles
• AT
• AC (works well)
• manually locking hubs
• new 3” exhaust including 3” dump pipe (straight pipe, no muffler)
• cloth seats
• both front seats have “suspension” seat mounts (first I’ve seen that in a Prado)
• lift kit (prior owner) approx 2-2.5”
• new stereo with 10” screen and wireless CarPlay / Android Auto
• all speakers have been replaced (prior owner) and car has Toyota “Premium Audio” package with a pair of amps in the left rear side panel
• keyless entry w/ two dongles

Maintenance status:

• No rust - extremely clean car underneath and in engine bay
• oil, oil filter, air filter, and fuel filter all just changed
• timing belt replaced at 140K km (prior owner)
• 33x12.5 BFG K02 tires with plenty of tread remaining (PO)
• new radiator and hoses (PO)
• One small crack in the dash - same spot in the depressed area in front of passenger where nearly all Prodo’s crack (I’lll upload a photo at some point... very tiny crack)
• Brake master cylinder recently replaced (preventative maintenance as original fluid reservoir showed cracks)
• New windshield and gasket just installed

Price: $29,000 OBO

This car is one of the cleanest Prado I’ve seen in person to date and was clearly owned by somebody in Japan that loved their car. There is barely a spec of rust anywhere on the car, so this would be super easy for the next owner to maintain going forward or to modify without snapping bolts or having to repair and replace every part they touch. The prior owner must have recently replaced the radiator and all cooling hoses, which is a big deal as the OEM radiators aren't available and there are no good aftermarket solutions. In addition, the PO replaced the electric hubs with Aisin manual locking hubs and did it with the knowledge of how to overcome the blinking dash indicator hub lock lights... this was clearly somebody who knew what they were doing.

I installed a 3” exhaust including a 3” dump pipe that should improve the performance (power, temperature control, and future performance tweaks if desired) and gives the 1KZ engine a very throaty sound. It’s a straight pipe system but doesn’t have that much drone on freeways. It would be very easy to cut a section underneath and slip in a small muffler if you prefer it quieter.

Both front seats have an OEM seat option that uses some kind of spring suspension to add extra comfort over bumps. Basically the seat is mounted on top of springs and you dial in your weight (in kg). From that point, the seat floats on the springs to reduce the impact of bumps. Kind of a cool setup that I haven't seen before. You can lock it into a fixed position if it makes you seasick or you want to feel the road better.

I replaced the Japanese stereo with a Boss 10" floating screen system that has wireless CarPlay and Android Auto as well as a microphone over the steering wheel for hands free calling. It also has two USB dongles - one for a wired connection and the other just for charging a USB device. This has the Premium Audio option, which includes a pair of amplifiers in the back (left rear side panel). All speakers have been replaced (PO).

Everything works - power windows, locks, sunroof, ac, 4wd system, etc. The only known item not functioning is the power antenna.

The car is registered and titled in Arizona and currently it splits time between Phoenix and Flagstaff. I will probably leave it in Phoenix now that I am done working on it so I can stop cleaning splattered bugs off the front. It drives great and performs well in both the city and highways. It's traveled a couple times between Phoenix and Flagstaff which includes some high altitude hills at freeway speeds, which it handled well - no overheating etc.

For those that need to know about me: I am not a dealer. I import roughly one Land Cruisers a year and use them as my daily driver while I fix them up as a hobby. This is I think my 4th Prado, plus I’ve imported and sold a few HDJ81s.

Let me know if you have any questions. I'll attach a few photos below. Over time I'll try to post a few more detailed photos to answer relevant questions and possibly some videos showing start up, engine performance, etc.

 

[kgrove]

More photos:

 

[kgrove]

Here's a video - engine startup, revving, and exhaust sound (and lack of smoke)

 

[OGBeno]

Is this the truck you brought down to OLC?

These KZJs out of the islands all look the same.

 

[kgrove]

Is this the truck you brought down to OLC?

These KZJs out of the islands all look the same.

Different KZJ. The one I brought down a couple weeks ago is also a 1995, but has enough loose ends I need to tie up that I just keep using it as my long term driver. I’m sure I’ll eventually sell that one, but it will likely stick around for a couple more years - longer if my youngest son has his way as he keeps trying to steal it from me. This one I imported several months back and have run out of anything meaningful to fix.

 

[kgrove]

Here's a video somebody asked for showing then 4wd function and low/high transfer case lever. This one works differently than most Prados because the prior owner converted the electric front hubs to manual locking hubs (Aisin), and did it very well by also replacing the dual switches with a single 4wd switch. Here's a video demonstrating how it works:

 

[kgrove]

Here's a video with a brief driving demo. I'm not sure how to make a driving video without it being extremely boring so I cut this down to around 4 minutes.

 

[kgrove]

Somebody asked about swapping the tires and wheels, so I thought I'd answer here in case anyone else has the same question.

The tires are 33x12.5x15 on OEM wheels, except for the spare which is 31x10.5 (less stress on the door hinge and works to get you back home). IMO, the 33x10.5 looks better on the Prados without the fender flares and the 12.5 looks good with fender flares. I have not seen the 10.5 on a Prado with the fender flares, so I can't say if it looks good or if it looks like it doesn't fill the wheel well. I'm guessing it would look fine. The 10.5 is usually maybe +/-5 lbs lighter weight than the 12.5. The KO2s currently mounted were installed by the prior owner so I can't confirm their mileage, but they appear to have a ton of tread remaining.

That said, if you don't like the tires or wheels, there are options. For $1K I could swap all 5 for the Cooper w/ black wheels from my DD Prado. I'd have to check receipts, but I think they have about 5K km on them, so are still quite new. They also are 33x12.5x15, so no difference in size. The wheels I believe have slightly more offset and I think were a 7" wide rim vs the OEM 6" wide rim (going from memory... i can check if it becomes important). Th Cooper STT Pro is more purely off road oriented than the K02 and thus has a little more road noise. The main thing you'd get in the swap is a non-OEM look and a more aggressive appearing tread.

The other option is I can buy the tires and wheels from you and you can have a local shop install whatever new tires / wheels you buy before you pick up or ship the car. I did that with another car last year - you can pay Discount Tire directly and I'd take the car in to have the new shoes installed.

 

[kgrove]

Answering another question publicly in case somebody else is also wondering...

While this car did not come with a third row of seats, I have a spare set of third row seats I can include if desired. I have never taken the covers off the third row, but I can say with a fair amount of certainty the cloth pattern underneath will not match the front and rear seats (front and rear cloth is the two tone solid gray, the spare third row seats are likely the blue patterned cloth common to that generation). The black seat covers over the third row are in good condition and would blend fine with the first two rows, especially given that most people leave those seats in their upright storage positions, so you really never see them.

I personally prefer the Prado with the third row seats removed to gain the extra storage width, but I might feel differently if my kids weren't already out of the house. I don't have easy access to those seats at the moment - they are in storage a couple hour drive away - but I can get a photo later if it becomes important. They aren't super difficult to fully remove and re-install if you want a hybrid solution. It's I think 3 or 4 bolts per seat to install the actual seat plus two bolts per side and a couple trim screws for the seatbelts. There isn't a ton of storage behind the third row with the seats deployed, so camping for sure or maybe even road trips with the seats deployed might require adding a roof rack to fit more than a few suitcases. If you haven't personally been in a Prado yet, they're roughly the same interior size as a 4Runner... I'd guess a few inches shorter in the back.

 

[kgrove]

Bumping this one back to the top....

My schedule is finally free and I can start paying more attention to selling this. PM me if you have any questions I haven't answered in this thread already.

 

[kgrove]

Edit: price just reduced to $35K. I did finally get around to listing this on a couple other sites, so hopefully this starts getting more attention (I apologize for my schedule so far this summer for first posting this).

Fire away with questions. I know this one isn't one of the cheapest KZJ78 you'll see, but having owned four of these and sold two of them (this one still for sale and my other 1995 which is my daily driver), this one is among the better condition I've seen and is priced pretty fairly - zero rust, timing belt is current, all new cooling system, etc. This one is a great starting point to start adding fun stuff like bumpers, roof racks, or overloading gear - things you really care about beyond the purchase price.

PM me if you want more info, or let me know if you want videos of specific features / elements and I'll upload those to this listing.

 

[kgrove]

Answering a question publicly I was asked privately.

I have copies of the original import paperwork, but the originals are taken by the first state to issue a title, similar to how the state dmv takes the original title of any car you buy when you retitle it under your name as they can’t have multiple titles floating around for the same car. Most states will allow you to title this car (any import) using the Arizona title as proof the car was legally imported, but they may require copies of the forms from DHS and EPA that the car was originally imported legally, and I will provide those. Buyers are responsible for figuring out the title and maybe more importantly emissions requirements for their own state as I can’t possibly speak to all 50.

 

[kgrove]

bump...

My travel schedule is calming down now, so I should be able to respond on a more timely basis now. I know I nearly ignored a couple PMs. It's still for sale - no material changes as I only drive it every couple weeks.

 

[kgrove]

Price drop - It's now $34K OBO.

On two different occasions now I thought I had it sold - the first deal fell through as the buyer had other financial stuff going on, and the second I can't explain... the guy up and disappeared, surrendering his deposit and now not answering texts or emails. The good news is this is in the eventual buyers benefit as one of the conditions for the most recent buyer is that I replace the brake master cylinder as the reservoir on this one is showing its aged - not cracked to the point of leaking, but crazed plastic showing that it could crack given enough time or some brute force (this is the fourth Prado I've owned and every one of them had the same spider web of cracks on the brake fluid reservoir). The part is on order and I probably will have installed the new master cylinder by the time this sells.

 

[kgrove]

Status update: I'm dropping the price to $33K. The only other update is the mileage keeps increasing as I drive it around town. I think it's closing in on 152K km now or a little over 94K miles.

Let me know if you have questions.

 

[kgrove]

bump

 

[kgrove]

A couple updates:

I just dropped the price to $30K.

I finally got around to installing the new brake master cylinder. The old MC worked fine, but the reservoir had shown a spiderweb of cracking in the plastic (as has every KZJ78 and HDJ81 I've seen from that era that has not had the unit replaced). See the photo below for the new master cylinder.

I am in the process of replacing the front windshield as a truck flipped up a rock causing a chip which a couple days later turned into a crack going across about half of the windshield. If I have not replaced the windshield yet, I will drop the price for anyone wanting to tackle it themselves... it could take me a bit to get to it because my schedule is very busy the next couple months.

Let me know if you have questions!

 

[kgrove]

Finally! It took me awhile to get the time, but I got the windshield fixed. The mileage is up a bit as I've been driving it, so it's now just shy of 95K miles at 154,000km.

I'm also dropping the asking price to $29,000. Fire away if you have questions. I want to get rid of this soon so I can import something else.

 

[preveng]

Hello! Unsure if you have sold this yet, but I was just inquiring to see if you still had those 3rd row seats? I just bought a '93 KZJ78 here in AZ, and am searching to find a set of them, thanks! Good luck with the sale if you haven't found a buyer yet, the truck sounds GREAT and I plan to get mine straight piped with an EGR delete sometime in the near future!

 

[kgrove]

Hello! Unsure if you have sold this yet, but I was just inquiring to see if you still had those 3rd row seats? I just bought a '93 KZJ78 here in AZ, and am searching to find a set of them, thanks! Good luck with the sale if you haven't found a buyer yet, the truck sounds GREAT and I plan to get mine straight piped with an EGR delete sometime in the near future!

yes, it sold some months back. I do have a set of 3rd row seats I can part with. PM me and we can talk.