Archives for posts with tag: 70-series

Spotted: Toyota Land Cruiser 70-Series Review

December 26, 2014 //

Toyota Landcruiser 70-series 30th Anniversary, via WCXC

You’ve probably heard that Toyota is rereleasing its iconic 70-Series Land Cruiser in Japan. Well, Motor Trend recently got its hands on one and published a “First Drive” article. Although they weren’t able to take it off-road, they do give readers a sense of what driving this reissued Landcruiser is like.

In case you’re fuzzy on the details, Toyota will be releasing the 70-Series as a pickup truck and an SUV—Toyota refers to the latter as a “van.” Power will come from a 4.0-liter V6. The sad news remains that this is a Japan-only release, and even that is said to be for one year only.

The price will be about $30,000. How I wish they would bring them to U.S. shores!

Link:
Motor Trend, Toyota Land Cruiser 70-Series First Drive

More pictures after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories - 4x4 / SUV, - Pictures, - Spotted:, FEATURES, MEDIA, VEHICLES

Spotted: Land Cruiser BJ74 Turbo Diesel

February 15, 2014 //

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Here’s an interesting find: a right-hand drive, short wheel base, 70-series, diesel Land Cruiser. Specifically, this is a 1988 BJ74 LX with a 3.4-liter, 13B-T (T for turbo) diesel engine and an automatic transmission. The 13B-T is good for 120 hp and 159 lb-ft of torque. Other highlights include a removable fiberglass top, a factory PTO winch, and a hand throttle (handy for operating the PTO).

This truck also sports a Safari Snorkel and a K&N filter. If you’re interested, double check that pairing. As far as I know, it’s one that Safari doesn’t recommend. The suspension is said to be an Old Man Emu system with a bit of lift. The BJ series was never sold new in North America, making this a relatively rare find, especially with the factory PTO setup.

While this Land Cruiser doesn’t look pristine — and the chrome bull bar is bit much for my taste — it does look presentable and clean underneath. The truck is located in Seattle, Washington, and is said to have 178k miles on the clock. $13,750 is the asking price. See the links for the original ad and some research reading.

Special thanks to our friend Josh in Portland for spotting this one.

More photos after the jump.

Links:
1988 Land Cruiser BJ74 Craigslist Ad
Toyota Vehicle Hertiage site: Land Cruiser 70-Series
More 70-Series Land Cruiser research
Wikipedia: Toyota 70-Series
Wikipedia: The Toyota B engine

Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories - 4x4 / SUV, - Pictures, - Spotted:, FEATURES, MEDIA, VEHICLES

Insidious Sands

February 8, 2014 //

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Just some guys in Saudi Arabia playing in the sand with their 70-series Land Cruisers. Looks like fun.

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Categories - 4x4 / SUV, - Videos, MEDIA, Middle East, PLACES, VEHICLES

Spotted: Land Cruiser BJ70 Diesel

April 24, 2013 //

BJ70_7
I spotted this rare, Land Cruiser BJ70 on the Expo forums the other day. It’s listed as having a turbocharged, 2.4-liter diesel and the photos show a manual transmission. It looks to be in great shape. The seller doesn’t list the build year or the mileage but does mention that it was legally imported from Japan in 2005. Other features that can be gleaned from the photos: snorkel, ARB bumper, winch, over-sized tires, roof rack and brush deflectors.

The word on the Expo forum is that this seller has sold other 70-series on occasion and so trading in rare Land Cruisers may be a business or hobby for him.

The asking price is $18,500 and the vehicle is located in Atlanta, GA. To contact the seller find his phone number on the Craigslist ad. More photos after the jump.

For more research on the 70-series Land Cruiser, check out the Toyota Vehicle Heritage site, Wikipedia, or this page.

Link trail: Expo > Craigslist Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories - 4x4 / SUV, - Pictures, - Spotted:, FEATURES, MEDIA, VEHICLES

Land Cruiser 70-Series Build from Toyota Gibraltar

February 27, 2013 //

Toyota Gibraltar Stockholdings, according to their website, provides Land Cruisers to agencies working in relief, emergency and development projects around the world. They import stock 70-Series pick-ups and modify them for field use with the addition of extras including bumpers, winches, bedliners, tires, radios, and canvas enclosures.

Here’s how they do it.

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Categories - 4x4 / SUV, - Trucks, - Videos, MEDIA, VEHICLES

Spotted: Australian Dad’s Mini 70-Series Build

February 16, 2013 //

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This photo showed up on Facebook a few days ago, apparently. An Australian dad built his son a scaled-down 70-series Land Cruiser, complete with Lightforce spotlight and bull bar. I wonder if the antenna means it has a radio as well.

It occurred to me that a truck like this could totally go on the trail with an adult convoy since trail speeds average about 10 mph. How amazing would that be for a kid out in the wide open country with their own truck and their family there for backup?

In a related story, this was told to me the other day. A guy went out with his kids in his FJ80. They were in a big, dry river bed, so he put the truck in low range, got out and let his kids drive it around. They were nine and twelve. “They’ve been driving go-karts for years, so they know how to drive pretty well.” Then after a bit he saw his kids stop the truck. “What are they doing?” he thought. Two seconds later they were barreling across the wash.

They had shifted the truck back into four-wheel-high and were giving it the boot. “Hey get back here!” he yelled. “I gotta make sure they’re not watching me next time when I put it into kid-mode,” he told me.

Maybe it’s time to build your kids their own rig. 🙂

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Categories - ATV / Side-by-side, - Pictures, - Spotted:, FEATURES, MEDIA, VEHICLES

Spotted: 2-Door Land Cruiser 70-series Diesel

February 13, 2013 //

LX
Here’s a rare, and last minute, Spotted post. I just came across this ebay. It’s a 1987 Toyota Land Cruiser 70-series, 2-door, diesel in LX trim.

The 70-series was, and is, a highly capable branch of the Land Cruiser family tree that was never imported into the US. It was so capable, in fact, that Scott Brady chose the 4-door 70-series for his Expeditions 7 around the world trip. The seller doesn’t state where this one started it’s life. Canada is my guess, given that the mileage is in kilometers but the steering is on the left.

The mileage is getting up there at about 272k kms (169k miles), and there is a bit of rust and the odd tear in the seat. But for someone interested in a rare, diesel, Land Cruiser, I imagine this would be quite a find.

The vehicle is listed on ebay in South Carolina with a current bid of only $8,700. If you’re interested, jump on it. There are only four hours left in the auction, which currently has 32 bids.

Update 2/13/2013: Bidding for this rare Land Cruiser topped out at $11,600.

Links: ebay . Wikipedia 70-series article . Expo Expedition 7 article

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Categories - 4x4 / SUV, - Pictures, - Spotted:, FEATURES, MEDIA, VEHICLES

Andrew St. Pierre White Land Crusier 70-Series Build

January 16, 2013 //

In these two videos, South African 4×4 expert Andrew St. Pierre White puts 30 years of off-road experience into building a Land Cruiser 70-Series. He aims to create the most robust and simple-to-operate rig he can.

The first video shows the build, which includes a custom interior, roof-top tent, and suspension modifications.

In second video, he and his daughter take the new Land Cruiser out into the bush where Andrew goes into further detail about the trucks features, including the newly fitted turbo-charger.

Find the second video after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories Uncategorized

Toyota Land Cruiser 70-Series

March 1, 2012 //

Scott Brady, the publisher of Overland Journal, wrote an interesting piece on Expedition Portal a few weeks ago revealing that the 200-series Land Cruiser is now the worst selling SUV in America. He wrote that the Land Cruiser has gone from being one of the greatest off-road vehicles in the world to being a soft, round appliance that can no longer carry its weight on an expedition.

He advocates for Toyota bringing the more purposeful, outback-proven 70-series Land Cruiser to North America. I agree. The above video shows what we’re missing.

Can’t wait for Toyota to make up its mind? Neither could Scott. He imported one through Luxury Imports in Canada. Here’s the Expedition Portal article on their new (to them) 1991 78-series Land Cruiser Prado.

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Categories - 4x4 / SUV, - Videos, MEDIA, VEHICLES