My 02 76 does not... but that is why I am looking for the sideways facing seat that the newer ones come with. They just have a folding leg that rests on the floor. Plus they take up way less space when folded up.
Which 70 series for family hauler?
- Thread starter HueyDriver
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hoser
SILVER Star
The 5-door Hi-Aces are out there. Unfortunately, if you choose gas, it would have to be the 2.0 liter and 2wd.... and pretty much has lost all it's charm.
But for anybody else, choose the Diesel and it is available in 4wd and 5-doors...
(This one is LHD but you get the picture...)
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I would prefer the side facing seats but if I was hauling kids I would want them facing forward and wearing a seatbelt. 
The side facing seats on a 70 series also need brackets to be installed and those brackets are only present in vehicles originally equipped with the side bench seats.
I think it's @gilmorneau that installed benches in his 75 that was not equipped from stock. He had to source the brackets from another truck that had them and solder them on his truck. It's definitely not bolt-on.
Woo first time I see one in French plate, definitely a rare bird over here.
Same for Delica 4wd, they exist in Europe in LHD but are very rare.
I believe that much like the 76 Series, the 77 Series has the same “flat spots” where the side facing seats attach. What I’m not sure of, is if the backing nuts (probably not the correct term) are installed in the 77 Series or if the seat brackets will require welding.
@flx and @Gun Runner 5 :
This is the seat I am specifically looking for, it came with the 76 series from about 2007 on. My 2002 is not likely to have the captive nuts in place already. However, based on the diargram, it looks like the seats bolt to the horizontal subframe on the body, which is accessible so I should be able to drill and mount. However, until I have some seats in hand and line things up and physically investigate this, all I have is conjecture.
It is so human to always want what we do not have....
This is the seat I am specifically looking for, it came with the 76 series from about 2007 on. My 2002 is not likely to have the captive nuts in place already. However, based on the diargram, it looks like the seats bolt to the horizontal subframe on the body, which is accessible so I should be able to drill and mount. However, until I have some seats in hand and line things up and physically investigate this, all I have is conjecture.
It is so human to always want what we do not have....
gilmorneau
SILVER Star
The brackets that hold the side facing seats to the wheel well were not present in my Troopy, so I sourced some from a wrecker in Australia. Originally these are spot welded in place, but I drilled out the welds and bolted them into my truck. Worked fine.
The attachment points on the interior walls of the Troopy had to be located and rivnuts installed. The “flat spots” are there, but the captured nuts are not.
The captured nut for the floor mounting point was there, but the floor needed to be drilled through to access it.
None of the seatbelt mounting points/brackets/nuts were present. I wasn’t using the seats for carrying passengers, so opted for no safety belts, but obviously if you’re going to be hauling kids around, you’d need them. (Though I have questions re: the crashworthiness of side facing seats generally)
The only cut out I recall is the one for the 2nd row seat latch/anchor in my 77.
You're right, there is a blank space where there leg attachment anchor well would be. My guess is that many other toyota models with folding seats would have the same size anchor, so it would need to be cut and welded into that space. Probably a bit of bracing too. Which is my plan in the future LOL
The trouble y'all go through for children......
A prophylactic is so much cheaper
Anyways, I know a few folks over in Japan still. From what I hear the prices on popular vehicles like the GT-R, Laurel, Silvia, ect... that are close to 25 years old are skyrocketing. Tack on the "overland" tax and I'm guessing Land Cruisers prices are a bit nuts over there.
That said, I totally support getting an HZJ77 and putting 3rd row in. However, if you keep having kids, you might as well just get a troopy, they seat 13.
View attachment 2768861
I'm all for team troopy. Definitely not the safest with the whole facing sideways thing but ehhhhhhhh. I'll admit with all the 13 seats taken up it isn't the most comfortable, even more so when 20 people are fighting for those 13 seats... but I would go as far to say that with that many people in it, it rides just about as well as it's coiled sprung counterparts ride, such as an 80 or Prado. In all seriousness, the troopy has been absolutely amazing when it comes to driving 10 or so of my buddies a couple of hours away but we are young, dumb, and not fully concerned with our safety. Whatever you end up getting I vote to put a bullbar on it. When I had a 62, a fellow teen was on his phone and ran a red light, I turned into him right as he was about to T bone me. His new Acura was totalled and he was kinda beat up, meanwhile, my bumper had a bit of paint scratched off it and it felt like I was playing bumper cars during the crash. Best of luck finding the right cruiser to suit your family!Troopy for the win, and you can field a little league soccer team too
FJ40 that green thing
1996 KZJ78 Prado
@HueyDriver don't let anyone belittle you for having a family of 4 kids, you don't need to get a Camry wagon if you love Land Cruisers, I say go for it. Just have realistic expectations. I think an 80 or 78 Prado or the 90 Prado would all have 3rd row and be cool to own. If you could see yourself being a vanlifer, those Delica vans are pretty cool too and are getting to be quite popular here. I recently purchased a 78 Prado for my family off-road adventures. I wouldn't use it for freeway travel or a sole mode of transportation due to its age and lack of traction control and airbags but you better believe I load up all 4 of my kids to head to the mountains for some outdoor fun. Some of our favorite memories together have been in a Land Cruiser, you can't put a price on that. I also daily drive it in my little town quite a bit. So far it has been very reliable and fun to drive. Diesel variants will be more in your court for maintenance and repairs unless you can find someone willing to work on them in the states. This is probably the part you'll need to be most real with yourself about. There seem to be plenty gas 80 series coming from Japan, that could make it easier? Just an observation, historically JDM imports have been much less expensive and better condition than something similar you can find in the states. That seems to be changing, prices are going up on import off-roaders due to their popularity worldwide. Having just gone through it, JDM 80 series are priced in the mid to high $20's Prados can be found in the $18-25k range. Im sure you can do better than that buying in Japan and bringing one to US but just some reference. Almost any 4runner, 80 series or 100 series in the under $25k range have at least 150-200k miles on them and are starting to show some age and are gonna need some love. Super clean, low mileage 80's and 100's are going for a mint. You can come out ahead with a JDM, something unique and likely much less used but the long term compromise for getting one in the states is the RHD and sourcing parts/repairs. Good luck!Copy all! Guess I shoulda stopped at 2 kids
A quick search of auction prices does indeed show they still are not “cheap”. Even those which are not eligible for export yet.
