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Wow, what a cool trip. Really enjoyed following this thread.
Keep on posting your adventures, please.
Keep on posting your adventures, please.
Thanks for sharing your journey. It’s what it’s all about. Great rig! So glad you took that trip with your dad. That alone is priceless for him and you. These rigs are enablers for real living. I will follow on. Get yourself a factory service manual. Share some pics of the rig - engine, under carriage, inside.
This thread reminds me of my first Land Cruiser I bought when I was around 21. I took that thing EVERYWHERE.... lol. Spent a LOT of time exploring, camping, and just seeing where I could get with it. I am really happy for you, and the adventures this Land Cruiser will bring to you. Looks like a really nice specimen. Look after it, and it will look after you!
I am now on Land Cruiser #6, and beginning to think about getting a Land Cruiser for my son's. At least one of them that appears to have it in his blood already.
Thanks for the great thread, the pictures, and for bringing back some good memories. Makes me wish I took more pictures back then! But back then "digital" was a type of lettering and had nothing to do with memory storage. lol
I am now on Land Cruiser #6, and beginning to think about getting a Land Cruiser for my son's. At least one of them that appears to have it in his blood already.
Thanks for the great thread, the pictures, and for bringing back some good memories. Makes me wish I took more pictures back then! But back then "digital" was a type of lettering and had nothing to do with memory storage. lol
sark
42601-60262-03
- Thread starter
- #69
Nice! Glad to hear you got some enjoyment out of the thread! Once it warms up a bit I'll be back out there in the New England area exploring more, and in the meantime I have some maintenance stuff to add as well.This thread reminds me of my first Land Cruiser I bought when I was around 21. I took that thing EVERYWHERE.... lol. Spent a LOT of time exploring, camping, and just seeing where I could get with it. I am really happy for you, and the adventures this Land Cruiser will bring to you. Looks like a really nice specimen. Look after it, and it will look after you!
I am now on Land Cruiser #6, and beginning to think about getting a Land Cruiser for my son's. At least one of them that appears to have it in his blood already.
Thanks for the great thread, the pictures, and for bringing back some good memories. Makes me wish I took more pictures back then! But back then "digital" was a type of lettering and had nothing to do with memory storage. lol
What was your first cruiser? Which do you think you would consider for your son(s)?
My first Land Cruiser was sitting in the back yard of a place I would drive by on occasion and I finally stopped by and had the audacity to ask if they wanted to sell it since it was not being used. They had to think about it.
A couple of weeks later, and a little pestering by me they finally agreed to sell it to me for $5000. Everything worked fine on it to my surprise. He just wasn't using it.
It was a 1981 BJ42 with the 3B diesel and 4 speed transmission. It was slow, but it was solid and dependable, and time and time again, it would come through and save the day for several friends that needed "rescuing"
I wish I could drop a picture in here for you guys, as pictures speak a 1000 words, but like I said, there was no such thing as a digital camera back then and I would have to dig through photo's (heavy glossy paper printed images) and scan it into digital format. However, I am moving in a couple of weeks and that stuff is all packed!!
As far as what my son wants... he was wanting to look at an LJ78, but that might be because of my 76. When I told him how much they are going for now, he thought maybe he could get an LJ78 cheaper, but it sounds like he really wants what I have. That might just be because he can see it and sees how great it is. But he is definitely about a heavy duty land cruiser. Surprisingly, he wants a 4-door, because I suggested a 40 series or a 73/74 series, but he said he wanted the bigger one. Might be because you can camp in it if you want, not sure. Anyways, time will tell!
@Rigster ….
“As far as what my son wants... he was wanting to look at an LJ78, but that might be because of my 76. When I told him how much they are going for now, he thought maybe he could get an LJ78 cheaper, but it sounds like he really wants what I have. That might just be because he can see it and sees how great it is. But he is definitely about a heavy duty land cruiser. Surprisingly, he wants a 4-door, because I suggested a 40 series or a 73/74 series, but he said he wanted the bigger one. Might be because you can camp in it if you want, not sure. Anyways, time will tell!”
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I no longer follow the market so I’m not familiar with today’s price point but a 77 Series might be worth looking into.
(Think of it as a slightly less cool 76 Series).
“As far as what my son wants... he was wanting to look at an LJ78, but that might be because of my 76. When I told him how much they are going for now, he thought maybe he could get an LJ78 cheaper, but it sounds like he really wants what I have. That might just be because he can see it and sees how great it is. But he is definitely about a heavy duty land cruiser. Surprisingly, he wants a 4-door, because I suggested a 40 series or a 73/74 series, but he said he wanted the bigger one. Might be because you can camp in it if you want, not sure. Anyways, time will tell!”
—————————————————————————————————————
—————————————————————————————————————
I no longer follow the market so I’m not familiar with today’s price point but a 77 Series might be worth looking into.
(Think of it as a slightly less cool 76 Series).
sark
42601-60262-03
- Thread starter
- #73
RE: The BJ42, pics or it didn't happen!!
I would see if he's interested in the 60/62 or 80 series then. I personally would take either of those over the LJ/KZJ78's, but that's just like, my opinion man.
I plan on selling my 2019 SR5 Taco and getting an HDJ81 or an HZJ77 in the next year or so.
Having had two FJ62's, two LJ78's a BJ73 and an HDJ81 I can say that the 81 is by far the best all-rounder, daily driver 4x4. It is the most comfortable, most powerful, best riding and best performer off road. That said, the 70-series holds a place in my heart that the 80-series just can't compete with. The LJ78 is a great budget option (though they're getting expensive too) but very much a DIY vehicle that requires plenty of work to make it reliable and a good performer. A KZJ78 would be better, but is probably pretty close in price to what an HZJ77 would cost at this point.
FJBen
SILVER Star
Great trip! What a blast! That is great to have with your dad. Enjoy that time for sure!
We've had Land Cruisers pretty much my whole life back to our 77 FJ40 around 1979~80 to my current BJ74.
It will be cool to see what you do with this one. Get rig!
We've had Land Cruisers pretty much my whole life back to our 77 FJ40 around 1979~80 to my current BJ74.
It will be cool to see what you do with this one. Get rig!
I'm not particularly fond of chrome, but this combo with the blue is quite sexy
.And the paintwork was apparently nicely done.
sark
42601-60262-03
- Thread starter
- #77
Something I forgot to mention, maintenance-wise, was that the exhaust was replaced in MA this past fall. The original muffler had a fairly large hole in it, and there was rust around the resonator. It was chopped and swapped with a tacoma muffler and resonator!
Good for now. Would love to eventually restore as much as I can, I love this thing. @lowtideride 's 73 restoration thread had me drooling when I saw that
Good for now. Would love to eventually restore as much as I can, I love this thing. @lowtideride 's 73 restoration thread had me drooling when I saw that
Next time lets make sure it happens. I always forget to snap a pic too!
sark
42601-60262-03
- Thread starter
- #80
Alright, it's been long overdue for some maintenance. I'm pretty "green" when it comes to auto maintenance, which I'm sure is not common on this forum, for obvious reasons. I've been taking the cruiser to a local shop in MA, who have a Land Rover 101 Forward Control as their shop vehicle. They always have Defenders and series II Land Rovers in their shop, and the guys are honestly just awesome all around. I decided this time, I would do some of the routine maintenance myself, in order to get my feet wet, so to speak.
First up, I did an oil change (I have been using Chevron Delo 15w-40 religiously). The oil filter (90915-30002) was a pain in the ass - I thought someone had welded the thing on since last change. Eventually got it off, and with my OEM filter already on hand, I completed my first real maintenance job with the cruiser... yay... 
Next, I had the much easier job of replacing the air filter (17801-68020).
Finally, I wanted to replace the fuel filter (23303-64010). This hadn't been changed since I got the cruiser, and I've put about 17,000kms on it so far. From what I read, these really should be replaced at 10,000kms, so this was an overdue task. Thankfully the fuel filter wasn't "welded on", and ironically, the band-wrench I bought for the oil filter was used to efficiently loosen the fuel filter, instead. It didn't even fit the oil filter...
So, first round of the "routine" maintenance done - this time by myself, which feels much better than dropping the cruiser off at the shop. I plan on continuing to do this myself from now on, if possible.
First up, I did an oil change (I have been using Chevron Delo 15w-40 religiously). The oil filter (90915-30002) was a pain in the ass - I thought someone had welded the thing on since last change.
Eventually got it off, and with my OEM filter already on hand, I completed my first real maintenance job with the cruiser... yay... Next, I had the much easier job of replacing the air filter (17801-68020).
Finally, I wanted to replace the fuel filter (23303-64010). This hadn't been changed since I got the cruiser, and I've put about 17,000kms on it so far. From what I read, these really should be replaced at 10,000kms, so this was an overdue task. Thankfully the fuel filter wasn't "welded on", and ironically, the band-wrench I bought for the oil filter was used to efficiently loosen the fuel filter, instead. It didn't even fit the oil filter...
So, first round of the "routine" maintenance done - this time by myself, which feels much better than dropping the cruiser off at the shop. I plan on continuing to do this myself from now on, if possible.
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