Whats so special??? (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Nov 23, 2005
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Here's a statement and my question.

I love my Landcruiser!

It's tough, relatively dependable, not too bad to work on and gets me "there and back" without issue:cheers:

However, as I search the net (and this site) I see various threads regarding changing engine/drive train over to domestic V-8's

By changing the running gear, you basically destroy what was Toyota:( You now have a Toyota box with American internals.

Why not just buy a domestic truck and be done with it?

This is in NO WAY intended to be a bash or negative toward anyone who has made the switch. If I ever get another 40, I'm going SBC:lol:

But I started wondering?

What made you decide on a Landcruiser in the first 10 places?

Was it the trucks ruggedness (Outback, jungle and desert proven)?

Was it the look?

Price?

What makes your/our Landcruisers so special?
In general and specifically to you?

Please share your thoughts. An inquiring mind really wants to know.:cheers:

Thanks
 
Rugged, reliable, easy to work on, can carry the number of people and amount of stuff I want to carry when I go play. Looks good.
 
All of the above reasons,after all it's "THE" most widely used 4wd unit on the PLANET!Enough said;)
 
I've had 2 toyota pickups (1IFS, 1SA), 2 Taco's, a 4Runner, and now I have Grean Bean. I love this truck more than any of them. It is not as capable as my 80 crawler was (for now :bounce: ), doesn't get as good of gas mileage as any of em, and needs to be fixed all the time. On the plus side, it is big enough to haul around my dogs in major comfort with a bunch of other crap in the truck, or haul a handful of my friends and all their snowboarding gear to the mountain, goes just as fast (slow) and handles just as well on dry pavement or in 10 inches of snow, I can fix pretty much anything thats wrong with it in my driveway with a basic socket set, hammers etc., the heater kicks ass, I can fit a massive stereo system in it, plenty of head/leg room, I can sleep in it comfortably, straight axles, 4wd with a shifter and not a stupid freaking button or knob, plenty of room for me and the lady :D , I paid 800 bucks for it and have put 10000 miles on it in about 6 months, and it's a Toyota. The reason I would (and am going to) do an sbc w/tbi is to have more power with fuel injection (for wheeling and large tires), and the fact that I can keep my stock tranny and do a Toy box. I pushed 35's around in my 80 pickup with a 4banger for a few years and I'm just sick of getting smoked all over the highway because of old underpowered Toyota engines. Not to mention the price of rebuilding a 2F just kills me, for that price you should end up with a truck that could atleast blow away an old dead subaru (which smoke me regularily). But overall I love it, even if it had all american drivetrain, it would still be toyotas overall design in wheelbase, chassis/frame design, and suspension technology, which in my opinion are the best out there.
 
I use to wonder what the deal was with people going "Chevy" with GM trannies et all. It did not make sense to me either.

However, I have always had low milage stoopidly clean Cruisers. Most of the engine swappers have high milage rigs or have had a engine go for one reason or another (Damn PO'S).

The reasons stated above for having the cruiser also make it a great foundation to build up with different power plants and other "stuff". There are no computers no air bag switches to deal with when you change suspensions and bumpers, A tough ladder frame that excepts many drive trains..

It's just a continuation of the American tradition ( and, i'd dare say Americans started it, as early on as there were used cars) started by the Hot Rodders in the twenties.

If my engine blows..I'm going to shop for power and economy, sure as hell not gonna let the Built up investment (suspension, bullbar, tires etc) go for ten cents on the dollar to some kid that will just drop the new engine in it ...
 
Quality vehicle, made of steel, not plastic. If something can be held on with one bolt, Toyota puts at least two. The most modern 4X4 that I can still comprehend (somewhat) to do mechanical work on. Nice looks but I don't become paronoid about the interior and paint job which would keep me from going somewhere that I wanted to go. Excellent enthusiast community. You can divide the population into two groups: (A) Cruiser Enthusiast and (B) Clueless
 
I can sleep in it, and it looks and drives like a beast. It gets me where I want to go without too many issues. I haven't been stuck anywhere with it (yet) and I've tried. I can drive into the woods, and stay there until I want to come back out, something I missed over the years after I got rid of my 3/4 ton Silverado (454c.i.) which got me stuck quite a bit, and if I slept in it, I got rained on, or had to sleep in the cab and get all cramped. I think it is just a good all around vehicle to let me escape the clutches of my 5-day soul-sucking corporate grind.
 
Man!! These are all great responses. Pleae keep the opinions coming:)

FWIW I just replaced the engine in mine with a low mileage 3fe.

If this one goes, it's probably going to be Chebby time!:lol:
 
i have to admit that i'm conflicted about the chevy transplant idea. on the one hand chevy makes great V8s and the fact that it's relatively easy to swap out the 2F for a chevy makes this idea somewhat alluring; not to mention the significant power upgrade. but on the other hand, in an ideal world, i'd much rather keep all of the running gear toyota, (how about a NASCAR Tundra V8 under the hood?) not likely to happen but it would be great if TRD offered a smog legal "tuner" V8 for older cruiser conversions.

as is, my 60 is pretty much bone stock and i've accepted the reality that i may not get to wherever it is i'm going first, but i know i'll get there. and therein lies part of the cruiser allure; if maintained, pretty much bombproof even in stock configuration.

the 60 is the last of the manual gearboxed cruisers which for me was a big selling point. i also love the fact that most things on the 60 are still mechanical in nature. i like the manual locking hubs. i like the manual windows. i like the fact that my 60 is late enough where a 5 speed will bolt right in. true, with all of the emissions stuff and 8 million vacuum lines getting things sorted out can often be daunting but i also think this is part of the allure, part of the landcruiser ownership experience.

then there's the emotional aspect of things. this defies all logical reason but i just won't part with my 60. i have two older mercedes benzes which i love but if i had to start paring down the number of cars i own, the cruiser would be the last man standing. can't really explain it...

the irony in all of this is i bought the 60 for my wife; she likes the "box on wheels" look and thinks they're cute. needless to say i've sort of claimed ownership of it and am now probably more attached to it than she is. go figure.
 
I have a bone stock 225K mi '83 with the 124K mi engine/trans out of my '84 which has a 5.7 FI Vortec & 4L60E. Love 'em both. I'd rather be in the '84 if we're talking lots of time on the freeway/city streets.
 
To sum it up in simplest of terms "It's a Land Cruiser" I ditto most of everything that has been said ,proven time and time again around the world etc.. which is so true. There is just something about them almost a presence about em. If you pulled up next to a beat up rusted blazer, jeep or bronco you wouldn't look twice except maybe to think what piece of !@#%$, but pull up next to a Cruiser in a similar situation, and you see possibilities,an old vet . That's my opinion anyways
 
i dont know if i could bring myself to do it:frown: maybe in a pinch but that would be it.im hooked on the old tractor motors:beer:
 
This thread might get long.
We all have our specific reasons and we all share a few of the same.
I have literally lived with a cruiser my whole life. When I was old enough to get my eyes over the window and see out of my dads 55 I knew there was something special about it. I allways felt like I was in an elite group of people every time I got in my dads cruiser and I still kind of feel like it today when I jump in mine. They say heep wrote the book on 4wd. I think Toyota must have done the editing. Simple answer on your chev ? they work good and they are a dime a dozen, easy to fix and fit with the American "more power" driving style.
dont shoot me just my 2cents
 
Well, I got my cruiser a couple of months ago, in an undeniably good trade up on my part. I love driving it... other 60 owners wave (like other bronco owners when I had my 71, or other riders do when I'm on my R1... and occasionally happens if I see another 2nd generation Ford lightning on the road).
I was out playing on a friend's property East of Superior, Montana, this afternoon. I put my neice and nephews into the back seat, and drove them around, up the hills, down the gulley, and all over. I even let my 12yr old nephew drive it around for a little while. It's easy to drive, slow enough to not require a constant high attention status, and carries most everything I need it to.
I've been contemplating the next engine/tranny combo "george" will have. I will likely go with a SBC for several reasons: ease of install, power/weight ratio, cost of parts, power output availability... but most of all it will be PARTS AVAILABILITY. You can almost guarantee that ANY small town parts store (in the USA) will have damn near anything you might need for a SBC. You *might* find a toyota rotor, or maybe a set of plugs and wires, but many parts will be " a couple of days" away... if they can find them at all.
Just my thoughts,
G'dood
 
I'm really enjoying the responses. As I mentioned before, I recently had to replace the engine in my 89 62:(

Thought about the chebby swap, then thought...if you take out the TOYOTA engine, then remove the TOYOTA tranny/drive train, you are no longer driving a TOYOTA:(

It's now a Blazer with a toyota body???

The other things that kept bugging me was...

1) Resale-Although I rarely ever sell a car. I wear it out, crash it:(, have it stolen:mad: or in some cases, pass it on to my kid...but resale was a thought.

2) Isn't it the low RPM torque and gearing of the Landcruiser that well, make it a Landcruiser?
People keep referring to it taking them anywhere they want to go and back generally without issue.
Looking a t a SBC, the torque (IIRC) was in the higher power bands?

3) The thought that this thing can go about 300k without a major rebuild using routine maintenance schedules:)

Anyway, those were the reasons I stayed Toyota and have the old motor in my garage awaiting a performance rebuild:)

Either way is cool and like I said before, If I ever get another 40, in goes the old school SBC.

Please keep the answers coming. This was started as a chance for everyone to tell us what makes it "special" to them:cheers:

Thanks
 
I think it has to be said a Toyota is a life style, I run a FJ40 which I am about to put a 2F-ETI into at great expence but it will still be all Toyota.

I can pull it apart blind fold and put it back together and best of all I don't need to plug my computer into it to find out what's wrong.

Reliable, dependable and faithfull, like a good gun dog and an old pair of slippers you can't go wrong.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=134529
 

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