Wanted Toyota Land Cruiser 78/75 (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

I hate to be "Mr Buzzkill", but unless you enjoy one of a vrey few qualified special status's as a resident of the USA (for instance, you're a citizen of another country but are a diplomat living here or something), you won't be able to legally import or own a 78-series until 2024, if I've done my math right. If you find one here, it's here illegally and subject to US Gov't seizure and destruction. No sh*t, no exceptions.

78-series Landcruisers were introduced by Toyota in 1999 (someone please correct me if I have the date wrong), and the US Government requires a vehicle to be over 25 years old to legally import. There are exceptions to the 25-year rule, but they are not even remotely practical--at all. As of today, you could legally import (or buy, if it's already in the USA) a February 1994 or older FJ75, BJ75, PZJ75, or HZJ75 and swap in a 1HD-T once you have it. There are members here who have done so. If you want the coil spring front end of the '78, you'd need to swap that in, too. If you did all that, you'd effectively have an HDJ78, and the Feds would leave you alone.

That said, LHD most commonly means sourcing a truck from either Europe or the Middle East. Not as many pop tops there as in Australia, but there are some. Caveat emptor, as most 25+ year old Landcruisers have been "rode hard and put away wet". There are good ones available every now and then, just be sure to look with eyes wide open when you find one you're interested in.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom