Toyota Landcruiser ??

billnoy06 · 10-23-2006, 07:14 PM

Has anyone owned in the past or do you presently own a mid 80'S Toyota Land cruiser ? If so what was your experience? (6 cyl/4 spd.)I am considering the purchase of one as a daily driver plus the occational pulling of a 2900lb boat. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks
Bill

troutski · 10-23-2006, 07:25 PM

Once you own one you will all ways own one. They can pull anything and go anywhere, that being said they do it with lousy fuel economy. I myself have never owned one, but I have two close friends that live and die by them. Both have multiple Cruisers, I make it a point to comment on their nice jeeps. Nothing rubs a Cruiser owner the wrong way better. Very sturdy vehicle. JMO

Tilla · 10-23-2006, 08:39 PM

I had a '77 FJ40 Landcruiser. I loved the vehicle and was very reliable. But I would not consider it a tow or commute vehicle.

burnsfactor · 10-24-2006, 07:59 AM

Troutski, you are so right! My good freind has several older cruiser's. They are great! I don't know about towing with an old 70's model. DON"T CALL THEM A JEEP! it's fun but DON'T.

Two Fister · 10-24-2006, 08:43 AM

I owned an 85 Landcruiser for a number of years. Great for pulling a drift boat loaded with gear as long as you weren't in a hurry to get anywhere. Driving through Cow Canyon (halfway between Maupin and Madras on HWY 97) reduced the speed loaded to about 40 MPH when loaded heavy. Around town mileage of about 12 MPG. Top speed (with a downhill tail wind) of about 75 MPH. Seemed like the end of the world was pretty close at hand when traveling that speed. They are made for crawling across the Gobi Desert and climbing trees. That's definitely what they are best at doing.
I never had any major problems with it during the 120,000 miles that I put on it. One thing to consider is that the inline 6 motor is very expensive to work on. If you do your own work you are going to need a lot of hoists and lifts as everything on the engine is made out of cast iron. It's bulletproof, but heavy. You can swap out the inline 6 for a Chevy 350 pretty easily as the bolt patterns match. You lose some of the low end grunt for a bit more top end.
If I bought another one it would definitely be a mid-70s FJ40. I just think it's a lot more fun to be able to take the roof off in the summer!
TF