Thoughts on owning a HZJ 70 Series for 24 months.
I joined this forum in the first week of March 2024 and since then I’ve been out of town most of the time working and attending to necessary tasks. I’ve managed to take my Cruiser out on a few adventures and finally have the time to reflect on almost two years of ownership. This post is not aimed at long time members who know these vehicles inside and out and can recall the part numbers for a majority of the items that make up an entire vehicle. This post is for those who are contemplating a 70 Series purchase. More specifically, a 70 Series powered by an HZ motor. This is my first Toyota diesel but not my first Land Cruiser. These are my own observations and will be in conflict with what other members have experienced. I guess that is the way the world of subjective/objective perception goes. Also, this will serve as an introduction to other members and reveal a bit about myself.
First, a big thank you to the creators and keepers of this site. I have gained knowledge and mined resources here not available anywhere else on the internet. There is a wealth of info here for those who know how to properly utilize the search function. Those members who have shops and post their step-by-step repairs/modifications are providing a very valuable service to many people on this site. I will never be a prolific poster to the 70 Series forum due to my lack of knowledge about the 70 Series. If I feel I can contribute something useful I will chime in but will leave the more complex questions to those with more experience and knowledge. Over the years this will change as I gain more knowledge about my Cruiser. I will thoroughly search for an answer before asking a question on the forum. This is also my first membership to a social media platform.
A bit of background on myself to give some context to my later comments. I’m not a professional mechanic but have been around the maintenance and repair end of vehicle ownership for a while. My dad taught me to install points and condenser on a Plymouth 225 slant 6 and set them with a dwell meter (which I still have) when I was 7 years old. Those familiar with this engine know that smaller hands make this job a lot easier. This expanded to oil changes, brakes and other maintenance tasks. I still remember my dad laughing as I tried to take the lug nuts off the left front wheel of that old Plymouth Valiant without telling me what was up. It was our connection, our bond. Some kids played catch with their dad, I worked on cars with mine. Everyone in the family contacted my dad when their car broke down. I learned every curse word I know listening to dad react to busting his knuckles while working on cars. (Pardon me while I wipe a tear from my eye.) Those early lessons were very helpful when I owned my mid-70’s Cruisers and almost every car I’ve owned. I learned how to drive on a 1947 CJ2-A and I still have an affinity for those old CJ’s with the triple stick and split windshield that was easy to fold down. About a decade ago I purchased an 88’ Suzuki Samuri which is about as close to a CJ2 as you can get and still get parts for without much hassle. I still own this vehicle. I’ve owned several 4x4’s over the years. The biggest was an F600 (5 ton) Ford which spent the first part of its life as a seismic truck. It had 6.17 gears and you were wound out and going into overdrive at 35mph. There have been a variety of other 4x4’s over the years but none were superior to a Land Cruiser for durability. I’ve also owned a couple of souped-up Subaru WRX’s, they were very fun to drive! Other vehicles have included a 1973 Beetle, 1965 Nissan Patrol, 1972 Pontiac Catilina, 1978 Ford Courier (Worst POS ever), 1987 Mazda 626, 1995 Dodge Cummins 12v, 1988 Toyota pickup (22R), 2004 Tacoma, 1995 Jeep Wrangler. Currently own a 2005 Duramax, 1988 Samuri, 2005 Honda CRV and my HZJ77.
My obsession with Land Cruisers started in the mid-80’s during visits to Moab, UT from Western Colorado to mountain bike. In those days, motorcycles outnumbered bicycles on Slickrock and it was still primitive. No paved parking, bathrooms or trail maps. Just a sand parking lot and chaos. We used to eat at a place named the Taco Bender and across Main St. was Tag-A-Long Tours. For those that might remember Moab from that era, Tag-A Long in those days had fleet of FJ55 Wagons that were well used. You would see them everywhere taking tourists into the backcountry around Moab. I figured if they could survive the terrain around Moab, they must be tough vehicles. And so, my desire to own a Land Cruiser began on north Main St in Moab. Years later, a good friend who taught school in Moab and drove for Tag-A-Long in the summers, told me stories about going out in those Cruisers and how reliable they were if you didn’t abuse them too much. Stories ranged from being stuck in quicksand to climbing what seemed to be straight up in the air on slickrock and picking up hikers that were short on water and long on stupid.
I got my first Land Cruiser in 1989. It was a 1974 FJ40 and it was a beater but it ran and drove great. It was a good vehicle except for the wintertime when your front windshield became two portholes that got smaller and smaller the harder it snowed. The wipers being on the top of the windshield didn’t help either. In 1990 I got my wish and bought a 1974 FJ55 with a seized motor. While shopping for a motor, it was either Specter or Man-a-fre that was selling the diesel’s for around $5000 if I remember correctly. Too expensive for my budget. I modified my plan to just swap the motor out of the FJ40 and into the FJ55 but ended up finding a 2F engine out of a 1976 Cruiser that someone had dropped a 350 V8 into. The exhaust and intake manifolds were gone but the ones off the F motor bolted right up. I switched the motor and drove that FJ55 for 25 years. Those lessons my dad taught me about maintaining and working on vehicles paid off, allowing me to keep that Cruiser on the road for years. That Cruiser and I went all over Western Colorado, Eastern Utah and NW New Mexico and points beyond for a quarter century. During that entire time, I had few problems with the Cruiser, no major repairs or issues leaving me stranded 50+ miles off the pavement. The worst issue I ever encountered was coming back from a backpack trip and finding that marmots had eaten a hole in my radiator and lower radiator hose. I fixed the radiator with two part epoxy putty and the hose with shoe goo, duct tape and bailing wire. It’s a good thing this happened in the mountains where plenty of water was available. I sold the FJ40 years ago due to it literally rusting off the body mounts. From what I understand, its still running and being used as a ranch vehicle and has not seen pavement for years. My long-term friends still talk about how slow the FJ55 was going over the passes with all of our camping gear but how capable it was once on 4x4 terrain in the San Juan Mountains or deserts in Utah or New Mexico. I drove the FJ55 from 1990 to 2015 when I sold it to a good friend who wanted it as a project for him and his kids. It was like selling a family member but I figured after 25 years it was time to let it go. The 55mph top speed wasn’t safe on the roads anymore. I lost count of the single finger salutes I saw due to slow travel speeds and the number of times I nearly got rear ended. This is one of the few images I have of my old Land Cruisers from around 2001. I bought disposable cameras for years and it took me months to expose all the frames before I dropped it off to be developed. I was living in the mountains at this time and I don’t think I unlocked the hubs for a decade.
One of my clients sold me a 95 YJ Wrangler but I never connected with it like I did the Cruisers. The 4.0L inline six is a great motor and 95 was the last year for the leaf spring suspension, the end of the line for the original platform started in WWII. But YJ Wranglers aren’t very roomy, have weak axles and are incredibly loud with road noise with a soft top. It was like driving a refrigerator in the winter. Granted, the FJ55 sounded like a school bus when accelerating but at least it was warm in the winter and you could get four people and their gear inside! So, after 7 years of owning the YJ, I began snooping around for another Cruiser.
I was looking for a 60 or 80 Series at first and found a few but they were priced quite high. I happened to see my HZJ77 Cruiser for sale in Salt Lake City and inquired about its condition. I decided to take a trip and check it out in person. I had a bit of concern about possibly purchasing an imported 70 Series due to not knowing if a parts network existed. But as soon as I turned the corner and saw it in the driveway, I figured the odds were pretty good that it was going to be my next Cruiser. Only a lot of smoke on startup would have immediately changed my mind. It started at the bump of the key and no smoke. Oh baby! I drove it around the neighborhood to check out how it felt. It purred like a kitten after a warm up on a cold winter day and had 181,000 km. It was interesting driving a right-hand drive for the first time but got used to it quickly. I’m left-handed and used to adopting to a right-hand world where everything is backwards. I asked for 24 hours to think about the purchase and went on an info bender looking to see if an adequate parts network did exist. It was during my search that I found this website and other resources to support owning a 70 Series in the States. I was up all night gathering info about the Cruiser and the HZ engine. I liked what I read and agreed to buy the vehicle within the 24 hour window.
In SLC I crawled under the length of the Cruiser looking at the underside. Everything had been repainted but nowhere did I find paint over rust and after almost 2 years of ownership, no rust has bubbled from under the paint. I also did an extensive knock test along the body listening for thick Bondo and found none. I felt under the edges of the wheel wells and found no Bondo blobs. Everything under the dash was cleaned and redone, new cables for all the climate controls. I paid close attention to the wiring and no place seems have been hacked into for modifications. Looking at Cruisers online after my purchase, I’ve seen several painted the same color as mine. I’m sure someone on this forum knows the name of the shop in Japan where this Cruiser was refurbished. After I bought the Cruiser I paid for a Car VX report from Japan. Everything checked out with the mileage and it seemed like the vehicle sat for a while during the 2000’s. The auction images showed a two tone paint scheme, 26P, silver on top and dark blue beneath. The new paint is a little thin in spots. All the weather seals have been replaced. It also looks like it was frame off paint job as well. The body mounts look new along with the exhaust mounts. During the drive back to Moab from Salt Lake City it spewed black smoke going over Soldiers Summit. After a few rounds of injector cleaner in the fuel, the smoke has almost completely disappeared.
The HZJ77 is a lot like my Ol’55 (Queue up the Tom Waits song) in exterior appearance, 4 door wagon, almost identical wheelbase, tread width and height. The steel wheels and hubcaps made the resemblance more pronounced but unlike the FJ55, has ambulance doors for rear access. However, the interior is another story. Comfortable suspension bucket seats, padding on the doors, electric locks and windows, sunroof and an air conditioner! It’s the most comfortable 4x4 I’ve ever owned. Anyone who has gotten western in their 40/45/55 knows the feeling when you bang your elbow on the door while cranking the big steering wheel around on rough terrain. The exterior color is a very nice metallic green which is easy on the eyes. This color is almost the same color as a 48 Dodge Coupe my dad restored when I was in grade school. It’s a very nice upgrade from my FJ55 and YJ Wrangler in terms of creature comforts and drivability. Power steering and disc brakes are a major plus. The Armstrong steering on the FJ55 created some long days on rough roads. The ability to make highway speeds is a huge bonus. No more watching in your rearview mirror as the nose of an approaching car drops in response to hitting the brakes hard to avoid running under the back of your vehicle.
At this point I will talk about my experience after 24 months of owning a Land Cruiser with an HZ motor plus a couple more observations on Land Cruiser ownership in general. The HZ engine when coupled with an automatic is not quick by any definition. But honestly, it’s not much slower than my former YJ with a 5 speed and like a jackrabbit compared to my Samuri. I live in rural SW Colorado at 7500ft (2300m) and slow is the word when accelerating. Merging into traffic on an Interstate in the city is not a pleasant experience. You have to count on the kindness of strangers to get into traffic. Jamming your foot to the floorboard doesn’t translate to the acceleration you’re hoping to experience. When climbing passes over 9000ft (2750m), if you’re in the front of a line of traffic on a two lane road, pulling over to let traffic pass is a necessary courtesy. None of the passes around here are over 5000ft (1500m) elevation gain so if you can just settle in behind a loaded semi or a tourists motor home pulling a car while climbing the grade, you won’t seem like the traffic plug and the climb is over soon. Once the Cruiser is up to speed it moves along quite well on rolling terrain. On the Interstate I have been traveling at 70 to 75mph with no issues at around 2300rpm which is no different than my Duramax. Long steady grades do tend to drag it down, US 50 through Nevada is a prime example, but for the majority of the time it motors right along. In short, the HZ does exactly what it was designed for, to be a durable and reliable powerplant for a vehicle designed to operate in remote locations.
Driving a right-hand drive version in the US has a few minor issues. The most annoying one is the wipers and turn signals are switched on the steering column. You have to remember that the side the door is on is the side the turn signal is on in whatever vehicle you’re driving at the time. The other is a safety issue concerning left turns and passing. When making a left turn and there is a large vehicle across the intersection turning left as well, you have no line of sight to see if the lane is clear to turn across. This is the most dangerous issue with driving right hand drives in the US because you will have to turn left at some point in your journey unless you plot your route to avoid left turns, good luck with that strategy. The other is passing on a two-lane road. Again, it’s a line-of-sight issue that hinders safely passing. However, the chances of passing another vehicle in a Land Cruiser powered by an HZ with an automatic transmission are slim due to the lack of rapid acceleration needed to instigate a successful pass on a two-lane highway. If you have a passenger along, they can be your eyes for turning and passing so good communication skills are necessary. In twenty four months of ownership, I’ve passed a total of six vehicles, if you include tractors, twenty. In all the years of Land Cruiser ownership I’ve never received a speeding ticket while driving one, a coincidence? Which brings me to another minor inconvenience, the speedometers are in kilometers per hour. This issue is easily solved if you know the multiplication tables for the number 6. Extra math bonus points if you’re running oversized tires.
Another observation is that Land Cruisers are very reliable when stock or moderately modified and well maintained. Toyota is a manufacturer of well-engineered vehicles and this observation could be applied to most of their models. Both of my previous Land Cruisers had over 200,000 miles when I sold them. Both are still running after 50 years of almost continuous use. My 1988 Toyota truck (22R) had 386,000 miles when I gave it away to a farm for a runabout vehicle. I just sold my 2004 Tacoma with 327,000 miles that didn’t burn a drop of oil to some good friends that needed a 4x4. I’ve known many Toyota and LC owners over the years that still have them after years and won’t give them up for another vehicle. My significant other was in Peace Corps in Tanzania and told me the majority of vehicles she saw while in remote areas of Africa were Toyotas. Her pictures show several 70 Series with what looks like dozens of people piled in and on the vehicle.
When I bought this 70 Series, I had no illusions surrounding its road performance. I knew it would be slow and not a powerhouse. After having owned an FJ55 and FJ40 I know that Land Cruisers aren’t built for speed, especially those two models. They were UV’s, not SUV’S. The 70 Series is still primarily a UV but a more comfortable version than the 40/45/55 Series they replaced. I plan to never install a turbo on this Cruiser. The HZ wasn’t designed for a turbo and I’m all about longevity and dependability. A turbo will make more power but at a cost to the life span of the motor. I know that turbos have been successfully installed on HZ’s and everyone has the right to modify their vehicle to whatever extent they wish. If you modify your vehicle and can integrate the systems well enough to create a stable, dependable vehicle, my hat is off to you. Only on a road trip of 4 hours or more on pavement, will the sluggishness of an HZ powered LC make a noticeable difference in travel time.
The HZJ77 performs well in off-road conditions, very similar to the FJ55 with the added bonus of having factory lockers in both axles. Having owned manual transmissions for my entire life, it’s taken some time getting used to having an automatic and the way it feels. I’ve only slammed my forehead into the steering wheel twice while hitting the brake pedal instead of the nonexistent clutch pedal. My significant other lives in Moab and we go out often to hike in off-the-beaten path places to escape tourists. In the 1980’s and early 90’s most of the routes around Moab could be traveled by a stock 4x4. Now they are dug out by large tires and yahoos that don’t know how to drive. If you have been to Moab recently, you know what I’m talking about. Some of the huge downpours over the last few years have not helped routes and wash crossings either. It’s nice to have the lockers to still be able to access some of our favorite places in the back country on the now rougher roads. This same scenario also exists for many of the roads in Central, Eastern & Southern Utah, the Uncompahgre Plateau and the San Juan Mountains of SW Colorado. The primary use for this Cruiser is backcountry access, not four wheeling as an activity itself. This statement may seem puzzling to several readers of this post but all of my 4x4 vehicles over the years have been used for gaining access to the more remote places in the Southwest. This Cruiser will see plenty of action throughout the greater Southwest much like its predecessors.
Over the past 24 months I’ve managed to make some improvements to the Cruiser. I’ve had a Dobsons 2 inch lift installed by Metric Off-Road in Grand Junction, CO. It’s heavy in front, medium in the rear. I would recommend that anyone who is going to install a lift kit and has an HZ diesel to go with heavy springs up front to help carry the extra weight of the motor. I went with medium in back for when it’s stuffed with 10 days’ worth of water and food for two people and one dog, plus gear. I changed the hubs to manual hubs. When 50+ miles off the pavement, I want to have the knowledge that when I turn the hub, it’s locked. Next was an ARB bumper and Come Up winch plus the 33 x 10.50 BFG KO2 off my YJ. I plan to install a roof rack with a solar panel to run appliances but will keep the vehicle electrical system separate. Also, a rear bumper to move the tire off the rear door. I have a cousin who has built oilfield equipment for Halliburton for decades and we can build one from the scrap at his shop. A skid plate or two is on the list as well. After my current tires wear out I’m going to switch to 16 inch steel rims to have access to a wider range of tire sizes. I’m a pizza cutter kind of guy, wide tires suck on snowpack. I also removed the tinting that had bubbles the size of softballs off the rear and side windows. That was a nasty job but visibility is much better. I had to repaint the grill due to the poor job that was done when the vehicle was repainted. I was going to try to remove the paint and return the grill to its original appearance but enough of the paint stuck that I just sanded it down and repainted it matte black and painted the name badge red to match the hub color.
Back in March 2025 I spent 3 weeks working on my significant others place in Moab. We’re usually gone that time of year to avoid Easter Jeep Safari. However, this year we were around trying to get the house shipshape before I left to work out of town for the summer and she went on a trip to Canada. After a week of the Jeeps overrunning town, I started to notice a number of Land Cruisers in town and one morning while traveling to take the dog for a walk I saw two lineups of Cruisers. I asked a Cruiser owner at a gas station if there was an event in town and he told me Cruise Moab was going on. I went up to the fairgrounds on vendor night and saw all the Cruisers, mostly 80 Series, parked around the building with a few 40 & 60 Series here and there. It was great to see all the different set-ups and ways people have modified their vehicles. I got to meet Kurt of Cruiser Outfitters and thanked him for carrying a parts selection for 70 Series Cruisers. Cruiser Outfitters has been my main vendor for parts to upgrade and maintenance my HZJ77. They are the first call I make when I need something for my Cruiser. I’ve tried to order parts through my local Toyota Dealership but I give the parts manager a part number for an item and he then asks what it’s for and I get the “it’s no longer available” response for everything. Cruiser Outfitters is a top-notch vendor and are very helpful when placing an order. I hope within the next couple of years to have my Cruiser setup the way I envision.
My first 24 months have gone well with the HZJ77. That opinion will probably change when the first obscure out of production 24v electrical component goes out. There is usually a work around of some kind if a used working unit can’t be found. I feel I got lucky and purchased a vehicle that was taken care of by its previous owners. I’ve put 14,000km on the odometer and put it through some pretty tough terrain. Its done everything I’ve “asked” it to do without issue. I’ve got a bit of desert pinstriping that won’t buff out so it’s on its way to acquiring the look it should have as a 4x4 that is used as intended. While I can appreciate a pristine example of a Land Cruiser like some of those in the museum in Salt Lake City, it’s the well-worn examples that would have the more interesting stories to tell if they could talk. Just imagine what stories the Blue & White FJ55 owned by Tag-A-Long in the museum could tell!
If you’ve managed to read through this entire post, thank you for your time. I’ll post images over the next few days of some of the trips I’ve managed to take.
I joined this forum in the first week of March 2024 and since then I’ve been out of town most of the time working and attending to necessary tasks. I’ve managed to take my Cruiser out on a few adventures and finally have the time to reflect on almost two years of ownership. This post is not aimed at long time members who know these vehicles inside and out and can recall the part numbers for a majority of the items that make up an entire vehicle. This post is for those who are contemplating a 70 Series purchase. More specifically, a 70 Series powered by an HZ motor. This is my first Toyota diesel but not my first Land Cruiser. These are my own observations and will be in conflict with what other members have experienced. I guess that is the way the world of subjective/objective perception goes. Also, this will serve as an introduction to other members and reveal a bit about myself.
First, a big thank you to the creators and keepers of this site. I have gained knowledge and mined resources here not available anywhere else on the internet. There is a wealth of info here for those who know how to properly utilize the search function. Those members who have shops and post their step-by-step repairs/modifications are providing a very valuable service to many people on this site. I will never be a prolific poster to the 70 Series forum due to my lack of knowledge about the 70 Series. If I feel I can contribute something useful I will chime in but will leave the more complex questions to those with more experience and knowledge. Over the years this will change as I gain more knowledge about my Cruiser. I will thoroughly search for an answer before asking a question on the forum. This is also my first membership to a social media platform.
A bit of background on myself to give some context to my later comments. I’m not a professional mechanic but have been around the maintenance and repair end of vehicle ownership for a while. My dad taught me to install points and condenser on a Plymouth 225 slant 6 and set them with a dwell meter (which I still have) when I was 7 years old. Those familiar with this engine know that smaller hands make this job a lot easier. This expanded to oil changes, brakes and other maintenance tasks. I still remember my dad laughing as I tried to take the lug nuts off the left front wheel of that old Plymouth Valiant without telling me what was up. It was our connection, our bond. Some kids played catch with their dad, I worked on cars with mine. Everyone in the family contacted my dad when their car broke down. I learned every curse word I know listening to dad react to busting his knuckles while working on cars. (Pardon me while I wipe a tear from my eye.) Those early lessons were very helpful when I owned my mid-70’s Cruisers and almost every car I’ve owned. I learned how to drive on a 1947 CJ2-A and I still have an affinity for those old CJ’s with the triple stick and split windshield that was easy to fold down. About a decade ago I purchased an 88’ Suzuki Samuri which is about as close to a CJ2 as you can get and still get parts for without much hassle. I still own this vehicle. I’ve owned several 4x4’s over the years. The biggest was an F600 (5 ton) Ford which spent the first part of its life as a seismic truck. It had 6.17 gears and you were wound out and going into overdrive at 35mph. There have been a variety of other 4x4’s over the years but none were superior to a Land Cruiser for durability. I’ve also owned a couple of souped-up Subaru WRX’s, they were very fun to drive! Other vehicles have included a 1973 Beetle, 1965 Nissan Patrol, 1972 Pontiac Catilina, 1978 Ford Courier (Worst POS ever), 1987 Mazda 626, 1995 Dodge Cummins 12v, 1988 Toyota pickup (22R), 2004 Tacoma, 1995 Jeep Wrangler. Currently own a 2005 Duramax, 1988 Samuri, 2005 Honda CRV and my HZJ77.
My obsession with Land Cruisers started in the mid-80’s during visits to Moab, UT from Western Colorado to mountain bike. In those days, motorcycles outnumbered bicycles on Slickrock and it was still primitive. No paved parking, bathrooms or trail maps. Just a sand parking lot and chaos. We used to eat at a place named the Taco Bender and across Main St. was Tag-A-Long Tours. For those that might remember Moab from that era, Tag-A Long in those days had fleet of FJ55 Wagons that were well used. You would see them everywhere taking tourists into the backcountry around Moab. I figured if they could survive the terrain around Moab, they must be tough vehicles. And so, my desire to own a Land Cruiser began on north Main St in Moab. Years later, a good friend who taught school in Moab and drove for Tag-A-Long in the summers, told me stories about going out in those Cruisers and how reliable they were if you didn’t abuse them too much. Stories ranged from being stuck in quicksand to climbing what seemed to be straight up in the air on slickrock and picking up hikers that were short on water and long on stupid.
I got my first Land Cruiser in 1989. It was a 1974 FJ40 and it was a beater but it ran and drove great. It was a good vehicle except for the wintertime when your front windshield became two portholes that got smaller and smaller the harder it snowed. The wipers being on the top of the windshield didn’t help either. In 1990 I got my wish and bought a 1974 FJ55 with a seized motor. While shopping for a motor, it was either Specter or Man-a-fre that was selling the diesel’s for around $5000 if I remember correctly. Too expensive for my budget. I modified my plan to just swap the motor out of the FJ40 and into the FJ55 but ended up finding a 2F engine out of a 1976 Cruiser that someone had dropped a 350 V8 into. The exhaust and intake manifolds were gone but the ones off the F motor bolted right up. I switched the motor and drove that FJ55 for 25 years. Those lessons my dad taught me about maintaining and working on vehicles paid off, allowing me to keep that Cruiser on the road for years. That Cruiser and I went all over Western Colorado, Eastern Utah and NW New Mexico and points beyond for a quarter century. During that entire time, I had few problems with the Cruiser, no major repairs or issues leaving me stranded 50+ miles off the pavement. The worst issue I ever encountered was coming back from a backpack trip and finding that marmots had eaten a hole in my radiator and lower radiator hose. I fixed the radiator with two part epoxy putty and the hose with shoe goo, duct tape and bailing wire. It’s a good thing this happened in the mountains where plenty of water was available. I sold the FJ40 years ago due to it literally rusting off the body mounts. From what I understand, its still running and being used as a ranch vehicle and has not seen pavement for years. My long-term friends still talk about how slow the FJ55 was going over the passes with all of our camping gear but how capable it was once on 4x4 terrain in the San Juan Mountains or deserts in Utah or New Mexico. I drove the FJ55 from 1990 to 2015 when I sold it to a good friend who wanted it as a project for him and his kids. It was like selling a family member but I figured after 25 years it was time to let it go. The 55mph top speed wasn’t safe on the roads anymore. I lost count of the single finger salutes I saw due to slow travel speeds and the number of times I nearly got rear ended. This is one of the few images I have of my old Land Cruisers from around 2001. I bought disposable cameras for years and it took me months to expose all the frames before I dropped it off to be developed. I was living in the mountains at this time and I don’t think I unlocked the hubs for a decade.
One of my clients sold me a 95 YJ Wrangler but I never connected with it like I did the Cruisers. The 4.0L inline six is a great motor and 95 was the last year for the leaf spring suspension, the end of the line for the original platform started in WWII. But YJ Wranglers aren’t very roomy, have weak axles and are incredibly loud with road noise with a soft top. It was like driving a refrigerator in the winter. Granted, the FJ55 sounded like a school bus when accelerating but at least it was warm in the winter and you could get four people and their gear inside! So, after 7 years of owning the YJ, I began snooping around for another Cruiser.
I was looking for a 60 or 80 Series at first and found a few but they were priced quite high. I happened to see my HZJ77 Cruiser for sale in Salt Lake City and inquired about its condition. I decided to take a trip and check it out in person. I had a bit of concern about possibly purchasing an imported 70 Series due to not knowing if a parts network existed. But as soon as I turned the corner and saw it in the driveway, I figured the odds were pretty good that it was going to be my next Cruiser. Only a lot of smoke on startup would have immediately changed my mind. It started at the bump of the key and no smoke. Oh baby! I drove it around the neighborhood to check out how it felt. It purred like a kitten after a warm up on a cold winter day and had 181,000 km. It was interesting driving a right-hand drive for the first time but got used to it quickly. I’m left-handed and used to adopting to a right-hand world where everything is backwards. I asked for 24 hours to think about the purchase and went on an info bender looking to see if an adequate parts network did exist. It was during my search that I found this website and other resources to support owning a 70 Series in the States. I was up all night gathering info about the Cruiser and the HZ engine. I liked what I read and agreed to buy the vehicle within the 24 hour window.
In SLC I crawled under the length of the Cruiser looking at the underside. Everything had been repainted but nowhere did I find paint over rust and after almost 2 years of ownership, no rust has bubbled from under the paint. I also did an extensive knock test along the body listening for thick Bondo and found none. I felt under the edges of the wheel wells and found no Bondo blobs. Everything under the dash was cleaned and redone, new cables for all the climate controls. I paid close attention to the wiring and no place seems have been hacked into for modifications. Looking at Cruisers online after my purchase, I’ve seen several painted the same color as mine. I’m sure someone on this forum knows the name of the shop in Japan where this Cruiser was refurbished. After I bought the Cruiser I paid for a Car VX report from Japan. Everything checked out with the mileage and it seemed like the vehicle sat for a while during the 2000’s. The auction images showed a two tone paint scheme, 26P, silver on top and dark blue beneath. The new paint is a little thin in spots. All the weather seals have been replaced. It also looks like it was frame off paint job as well. The body mounts look new along with the exhaust mounts. During the drive back to Moab from Salt Lake City it spewed black smoke going over Soldiers Summit. After a few rounds of injector cleaner in the fuel, the smoke has almost completely disappeared.
The HZJ77 is a lot like my Ol’55 (Queue up the Tom Waits song) in exterior appearance, 4 door wagon, almost identical wheelbase, tread width and height. The steel wheels and hubcaps made the resemblance more pronounced but unlike the FJ55, has ambulance doors for rear access. However, the interior is another story. Comfortable suspension bucket seats, padding on the doors, electric locks and windows, sunroof and an air conditioner! It’s the most comfortable 4x4 I’ve ever owned. Anyone who has gotten western in their 40/45/55 knows the feeling when you bang your elbow on the door while cranking the big steering wheel around on rough terrain. The exterior color is a very nice metallic green which is easy on the eyes. This color is almost the same color as a 48 Dodge Coupe my dad restored when I was in grade school. It’s a very nice upgrade from my FJ55 and YJ Wrangler in terms of creature comforts and drivability. Power steering and disc brakes are a major plus. The Armstrong steering on the FJ55 created some long days on rough roads. The ability to make highway speeds is a huge bonus. No more watching in your rearview mirror as the nose of an approaching car drops in response to hitting the brakes hard to avoid running under the back of your vehicle.
At this point I will talk about my experience after 24 months of owning a Land Cruiser with an HZ motor plus a couple more observations on Land Cruiser ownership in general. The HZ engine when coupled with an automatic is not quick by any definition. But honestly, it’s not much slower than my former YJ with a 5 speed and like a jackrabbit compared to my Samuri. I live in rural SW Colorado at 7500ft (2300m) and slow is the word when accelerating. Merging into traffic on an Interstate in the city is not a pleasant experience. You have to count on the kindness of strangers to get into traffic. Jamming your foot to the floorboard doesn’t translate to the acceleration you’re hoping to experience. When climbing passes over 9000ft (2750m), if you’re in the front of a line of traffic on a two lane road, pulling over to let traffic pass is a necessary courtesy. None of the passes around here are over 5000ft (1500m) elevation gain so if you can just settle in behind a loaded semi or a tourists motor home pulling a car while climbing the grade, you won’t seem like the traffic plug and the climb is over soon. Once the Cruiser is up to speed it moves along quite well on rolling terrain. On the Interstate I have been traveling at 70 to 75mph with no issues at around 2300rpm which is no different than my Duramax. Long steady grades do tend to drag it down, US 50 through Nevada is a prime example, but for the majority of the time it motors right along. In short, the HZ does exactly what it was designed for, to be a durable and reliable powerplant for a vehicle designed to operate in remote locations.
Driving a right-hand drive version in the US has a few minor issues. The most annoying one is the wipers and turn signals are switched on the steering column. You have to remember that the side the door is on is the side the turn signal is on in whatever vehicle you’re driving at the time. The other is a safety issue concerning left turns and passing. When making a left turn and there is a large vehicle across the intersection turning left as well, you have no line of sight to see if the lane is clear to turn across. This is the most dangerous issue with driving right hand drives in the US because you will have to turn left at some point in your journey unless you plot your route to avoid left turns, good luck with that strategy. The other is passing on a two-lane road. Again, it’s a line-of-sight issue that hinders safely passing. However, the chances of passing another vehicle in a Land Cruiser powered by an HZ with an automatic transmission are slim due to the lack of rapid acceleration needed to instigate a successful pass on a two-lane highway. If you have a passenger along, they can be your eyes for turning and passing so good communication skills are necessary. In twenty four months of ownership, I’ve passed a total of six vehicles, if you include tractors, twenty. In all the years of Land Cruiser ownership I’ve never received a speeding ticket while driving one, a coincidence? Which brings me to another minor inconvenience, the speedometers are in kilometers per hour. This issue is easily solved if you know the multiplication tables for the number 6. Extra math bonus points if you’re running oversized tires.
Another observation is that Land Cruisers are very reliable when stock or moderately modified and well maintained. Toyota is a manufacturer of well-engineered vehicles and this observation could be applied to most of their models. Both of my previous Land Cruisers had over 200,000 miles when I sold them. Both are still running after 50 years of almost continuous use. My 1988 Toyota truck (22R) had 386,000 miles when I gave it away to a farm for a runabout vehicle. I just sold my 2004 Tacoma with 327,000 miles that didn’t burn a drop of oil to some good friends that needed a 4x4. I’ve known many Toyota and LC owners over the years that still have them after years and won’t give them up for another vehicle. My significant other was in Peace Corps in Tanzania and told me the majority of vehicles she saw while in remote areas of Africa were Toyotas. Her pictures show several 70 Series with what looks like dozens of people piled in and on the vehicle.
When I bought this 70 Series, I had no illusions surrounding its road performance. I knew it would be slow and not a powerhouse. After having owned an FJ55 and FJ40 I know that Land Cruisers aren’t built for speed, especially those two models. They were UV’s, not SUV’S. The 70 Series is still primarily a UV but a more comfortable version than the 40/45/55 Series they replaced. I plan to never install a turbo on this Cruiser. The HZ wasn’t designed for a turbo and I’m all about longevity and dependability. A turbo will make more power but at a cost to the life span of the motor. I know that turbos have been successfully installed on HZ’s and everyone has the right to modify their vehicle to whatever extent they wish. If you modify your vehicle and can integrate the systems well enough to create a stable, dependable vehicle, my hat is off to you. Only on a road trip of 4 hours or more on pavement, will the sluggishness of an HZ powered LC make a noticeable difference in travel time.
The HZJ77 performs well in off-road conditions, very similar to the FJ55 with the added bonus of having factory lockers in both axles. Having owned manual transmissions for my entire life, it’s taken some time getting used to having an automatic and the way it feels. I’ve only slammed my forehead into the steering wheel twice while hitting the brake pedal instead of the nonexistent clutch pedal. My significant other lives in Moab and we go out often to hike in off-the-beaten path places to escape tourists. In the 1980’s and early 90’s most of the routes around Moab could be traveled by a stock 4x4. Now they are dug out by large tires and yahoos that don’t know how to drive. If you have been to Moab recently, you know what I’m talking about. Some of the huge downpours over the last few years have not helped routes and wash crossings either. It’s nice to have the lockers to still be able to access some of our favorite places in the back country on the now rougher roads. This same scenario also exists for many of the roads in Central, Eastern & Southern Utah, the Uncompahgre Plateau and the San Juan Mountains of SW Colorado. The primary use for this Cruiser is backcountry access, not four wheeling as an activity itself. This statement may seem puzzling to several readers of this post but all of my 4x4 vehicles over the years have been used for gaining access to the more remote places in the Southwest. This Cruiser will see plenty of action throughout the greater Southwest much like its predecessors.
Over the past 24 months I’ve managed to make some improvements to the Cruiser. I’ve had a Dobsons 2 inch lift installed by Metric Off-Road in Grand Junction, CO. It’s heavy in front, medium in the rear. I would recommend that anyone who is going to install a lift kit and has an HZ diesel to go with heavy springs up front to help carry the extra weight of the motor. I went with medium in back for when it’s stuffed with 10 days’ worth of water and food for two people and one dog, plus gear. I changed the hubs to manual hubs. When 50+ miles off the pavement, I want to have the knowledge that when I turn the hub, it’s locked. Next was an ARB bumper and Come Up winch plus the 33 x 10.50 BFG KO2 off my YJ. I plan to install a roof rack with a solar panel to run appliances but will keep the vehicle electrical system separate. Also, a rear bumper to move the tire off the rear door. I have a cousin who has built oilfield equipment for Halliburton for decades and we can build one from the scrap at his shop. A skid plate or two is on the list as well. After my current tires wear out I’m going to switch to 16 inch steel rims to have access to a wider range of tire sizes. I’m a pizza cutter kind of guy, wide tires suck on snowpack. I also removed the tinting that had bubbles the size of softballs off the rear and side windows. That was a nasty job but visibility is much better. I had to repaint the grill due to the poor job that was done when the vehicle was repainted. I was going to try to remove the paint and return the grill to its original appearance but enough of the paint stuck that I just sanded it down and repainted it matte black and painted the name badge red to match the hub color.
Back in March 2025 I spent 3 weeks working on my significant others place in Moab. We’re usually gone that time of year to avoid Easter Jeep Safari. However, this year we were around trying to get the house shipshape before I left to work out of town for the summer and she went on a trip to Canada. After a week of the Jeeps overrunning town, I started to notice a number of Land Cruisers in town and one morning while traveling to take the dog for a walk I saw two lineups of Cruisers. I asked a Cruiser owner at a gas station if there was an event in town and he told me Cruise Moab was going on. I went up to the fairgrounds on vendor night and saw all the Cruisers, mostly 80 Series, parked around the building with a few 40 & 60 Series here and there. It was great to see all the different set-ups and ways people have modified their vehicles. I got to meet Kurt of Cruiser Outfitters and thanked him for carrying a parts selection for 70 Series Cruisers. Cruiser Outfitters has been my main vendor for parts to upgrade and maintenance my HZJ77. They are the first call I make when I need something for my Cruiser. I’ve tried to order parts through my local Toyota Dealership but I give the parts manager a part number for an item and he then asks what it’s for and I get the “it’s no longer available” response for everything. Cruiser Outfitters is a top-notch vendor and are very helpful when placing an order. I hope within the next couple of years to have my Cruiser setup the way I envision.
My first 24 months have gone well with the HZJ77. That opinion will probably change when the first obscure out of production 24v electrical component goes out. There is usually a work around of some kind if a used working unit can’t be found. I feel I got lucky and purchased a vehicle that was taken care of by its previous owners. I’ve put 14,000km on the odometer and put it through some pretty tough terrain. Its done everything I’ve “asked” it to do without issue. I’ve got a bit of desert pinstriping that won’t buff out so it’s on its way to acquiring the look it should have as a 4x4 that is used as intended. While I can appreciate a pristine example of a Land Cruiser like some of those in the museum in Salt Lake City, it’s the well-worn examples that would have the more interesting stories to tell if they could talk. Just imagine what stories the Blue & White FJ55 owned by Tag-A-Long in the museum could tell!
If you’ve managed to read through this entire post, thank you for your time. I’ll post images over the next few days of some of the trips I’ve managed to take.
