So it begins. I have always wanted a diesel Landcruiser 80 series. Why? I have no clue. I can't explain it. Started looking on here as well as craigslist. Then one day on vancouver craigslist, it showed up. It had all the right mods and no rust. It was a Japan import. The steering wheel is on the "wrong side"
Brian (previous owner) was just such an awesome person to deal with. I could not have asked for a better person to get the LC from. I landed in Vancouver quite late (11:40pm) and despite that he came to pick me up from the airport. We introduced ourselves as I was frantically searching for a place where I could suck down my first cigarette after the long ass flight then proceeded towards the parking garage.
Then my eyes locked on to what I knew instantly would lead to a love affair. There she sat under a dimly lit light. I immediately had a good feeling about this one. On the way to his place he gave me the run down on the temperature and boost gauges. She fired up instantly and we were on our way. I expected the diesel to be a lot louder and I expected smoke to be coming out. But nothing. She just purred along. She does not even rattle. How can there be no rattle???
The next morning in daylight I climbed all over the cruiser and everything seemed in order other than the AC which was mentioned in the ad. Brian obviously took great care of his ride. it had been maintained at ATEB and EBI which from my understanding are two very good locations to have work done on the ride.
We proceeded to a broker who took care of the paperwork as well as the temp plates and insurance and now I am a proud owner of an HDJ80!
So today after leaving Brians place with my new Toy, I just drove around Vancouver to get used to the RHD steering and surprisingly that took like 5 minutes. I am completely comfortable with it now.
Its still early in the day and I have nothing planned so I decided it was time to replace the ancient head unit with something that at least had bluetooth connectivity so I would have some decent tunes. I would hate to drive 4432km's just listening to radio. Got a little cheap JVC unit, took apart the dash and now I am ready for the drive.
Tomorrow morning it time for the border crossing. Apparently its quite a painless process of filling out some paperwork at the customs and border office.
Brian (previous owner) was just such an awesome person to deal with. I could not have asked for a better person to get the LC from. I landed in Vancouver quite late (11:40pm) and despite that he came to pick me up from the airport. We introduced ourselves as I was frantically searching for a place where I could suck down my first cigarette after the long ass flight then proceeded towards the parking garage.
Then my eyes locked on to what I knew instantly would lead to a love affair. There she sat under a dimly lit light. I immediately had a good feeling about this one. On the way to his place he gave me the run down on the temperature and boost gauges. She fired up instantly and we were on our way. I expected the diesel to be a lot louder and I expected smoke to be coming out. But nothing. She just purred along. She does not even rattle. How can there be no rattle???
The next morning in daylight I climbed all over the cruiser and everything seemed in order other than the AC which was mentioned in the ad. Brian obviously took great care of his ride. it had been maintained at ATEB and EBI which from my understanding are two very good locations to have work done on the ride.
We proceeded to a broker who took care of the paperwork as well as the temp plates and insurance and now I am a proud owner of an HDJ80!
So today after leaving Brians place with my new Toy, I just drove around Vancouver to get used to the RHD steering and surprisingly that took like 5 minutes. I am completely comfortable with it now.
Its still early in the day and I have nothing planned so I decided it was time to replace the ancient head unit with something that at least had bluetooth connectivity so I would have some decent tunes. I would hate to drive 4432km's just listening to radio. Got a little cheap JVC unit, took apart the dash and now I am ready for the drive.
Tomorrow morning it time for the border crossing. Apparently its quite a painless process of filling out some paperwork at the customs and border office.
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The final destination is Atlanta GA.
. Made it to Bend, OR. Had a good time there. I have a cousin who just opened a bar there. 
