most of these trucks are rare, prado not so much. seems like everybody and their brother has a Oregon license of import and dealer lic.

prado uncommon but there are 4-5 for sale right now

there is one or 2 HZJ77HV for sale right now for ridiculous prices. so these are very uncommon.

finding a decent running 79 pickup is like finding the alpha unicorn

I think just the other day a pair of legally imported 79's showed up on where else ebay!

1980 Toyota hzj79 land cruiser hilux pickup hilux | eBay

1980 Toyota hzj79 hilux landcruiser pickup truck hilux | eBay

so if you really wanted to have one? you probably could build one out of these 2 hulks. would be a butt ton of work but... hey why not?


I submit the double cab as proof that a god does exist and he made this, but you can't have it.

Woooow, stock lhd and diesel? Pretty sick! Wonder what's up with the second engine in the back of the one, can't be just to run that scissor lift. Check out those spring packs, talk about a rough ride

That is a perfect example of what I want. I would gladly sell some body parts for one of those in good condition. All it’s missing is a dshk in the bed!

My friend had a 78 troopy he obtained from a guy in Arizona back in 2010. Before he moved for law school, he asked me if I wanted it and I couldn’t at the time. It had a 12hz turbocharged and with the 5spd. Cable locked front and back. It was a right hand drive and fun to drive. A lot of torque in the Washington back country.


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The prado is not the same as a 4runner of that era. The closest thing to a 4runner overseas (other than the now discontinued surf) is the Fortuner.

Any reason that your only considering stuff from Toyota? Nissan had a bunch of vehicles similar to the Prado and 70 series. Might be easier to find too. These were made when Nissan was still rivaling Toyota for reliability.

The Nissan GQ made from 1987-1997. Neat vehicle, in rare cases you can find them with stock locking rear diffs

Nissan Patrol 160 made from 1980-1989. A lot like a first gen t4r, with options for removable soft top, hard top, or even pickup.

really 4 reasons

#0 I'm not looking for a like to like t4r

#1 I have had 2 friends who have had Nissan pathfinders and one with rouge. nothing but problems with them. the rouge had a bad transmission with like 40K miles.

#2 too small

#3 I like the look but I don't like like the look of them. talking 25+ year old trucks your going to have to like like that truck because it will need to be looked after. when you park it and walk away you look back at it and smile. you need to have that kind of love for your older stuff IMO.

I actually really like the patrols great looking trucks, I just don't know about parts. I'm sure Nissan has great stuff I just don't know what years had what problems.

Just throwing out a state side reputable importer with some cool options and regular stock updates Inventory – Japanese Classics

Right now they have a few four door Hiluxs with awesome graphics:

1991 Toyota Hilux Truck – Japanese Classics

1990 Toyota Hilux LN106 – Japanese Classics

Aaaaaand also an awesome turbo diesel AWD HiAce 1995 Toyota HiAce SCMM – Japanese Classics

yes they are on my daily check scan this site list. that was a pending sale this morning... so maybe something happened? I will go take another look.

Land Cruisers Direct - Vehicle Inventory
https://www.yotaimports.com
https://www.jdmcarandmotorcycle.com/
https://www.vansfromjapan.com/
https://northeastautoimports.com/
https://jdmsportclassics.com
https://www.duncanimports.com/
https://www.rightdrive.ca/
https://www.carcaveusa.com/inventory/
http://avljdmimports.com/index.html
https://www.milfordautoclinic.com/
http://www.garanincorp.com/about-idm-imports
https://www.theimportguys.com/
https://www.jccjapan.com/
https://www.seldenmotors.com/ -- has a prado
https://www.cascadeoverlandimports.com/
https://www.speedworksnw.com
https://www.javan-imports.com/

why not a USDM LC80 or LC100? Parts and service would not be an issue, especially since you will using them for a DD.
Or are you specifically looking for a RHD unit and/or something unique?

Superior 70 Series Landcruiser Coil Conversions | Superior Landcruiser Coil & Leaf Kits
This company converts leaf sprung 70’s to a factory 4 link like the rear of a 80 series LC.

70 Series LandCruiser - Portal Axles | Marks4WD
This is a company that makes portal axles for 70 series landcruisers. Blokes in Australia got it all for the Landcruisers.


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I had this conversation with my wife over dinner yesterday evening... I also love the 80,100 and even the 200.

she even went shopping for a couple of hours and presented me a couple dozen 100 series she considered excellent value for the money. and I agree they are excellent value for the money right now.

but the heart wants what the heart wants.

waiting for the HZJ76K platform that came out in 99 would be an option, they have coils up front solid axle and floater in the rear. super cool truck.

there's nothing you can do if the heart wants what it wants

I think he wants something that’s a bit rare stateside and unique.

A doctor I know bought an old FJ. They’re cool, but they are what the are. He told me he wanted that as a daily……. I said keep it for you sundaes on sunday ride, and maybe let the kids drive it in the high school homecoming parade or something. What it came down to was he just wanted something he could flex with around his other buddies that own more patigonia than they should. He had a guy fix it all up. It was nice I’ll say that.

That whole situation lasted about a summer. They’re fun, no doubt, but a daily family car commuter? No. They’re rough, noisy, kinda slow, and don’t have power steering, at least his anyway.

Last I talked to him he quizzed me about the new bronco. He was thinking about selling the FJ and going with a bronco 4 door. I told him for what he’s after, that’s probably perfect really. His infatuation with kitchy cool didn’t last very long.

Dailying something that’s not necessarily easy to own is a real labor of love. It’s hard to buy parts for things that get sold here these days, I can’t even appreciate how difficult it would be to get something that was never really sold here with the current state of affairs.

You guys are right, the heart wants what the heart wants and you’ll have to scratch that itch eventually otherwise you’re going to sit someday in your rocking chair and have regrets.

I think where the doctor I am speaking of went wrong though is that he had a lot of great ideas, to him at least. He was a money guy that can’t hardly fill his own washer fluid, so it wasn’t about the tinkering. The wife didn’t care about it. She was too busy with her gig, and like many wives, well, just people anymore really, their free time is spent on social media staring at the rest of the world on the book face….. Top off is only fun on a nice day. On a cold day it’s miserable. He wasn’t into Off-roading or expedition. Literally took the FJ off the payment one time. I feel like he fell in love with the thought and the romance of the idea, but once the practicality and reality sets in, the romance of it went away for him.

I know my post does read a bit preachy. Identify what it is you’re really after. Is it flexing on your buddies? Strangers? Infatuation? Doe the obscureness of offshore Toyotas make you feel tingly inside? Does it make the wife feel tingly (that’s and entirely appropriate reason by itself right there!) Just the thought of what if? Is it going to be just jewelry for you?

I’m not nay saying, quite the opposite. I’m a who needs an excuse when you have a reason kinda of guy. All I’m saying is find what is really motivating you to want to go down this path. Once you really have identified that, then you can hopefully execute this properly to accomplish all of your goals. And not just be yet another individual thats had the obscure kitchy cool thing that lasted only so long once bored of it.

I have loved the 70's series from afar for 25 years or more now. I have always been peeved that we can't get them here. I love things that are simple and rugged.

I have done engine replacements, a frame replacement I like to think I'm relatively handy and practical, I get a lot of satisfaction from doing my own maintenance. I have owned my share of $500 keep it running for as long as I can trucks.

I don't think I need or want to impress people, I mostly post what I do because I hope somebody else might find it helpful. or in the rare case spur an idea that might aid them to overcome their own struggle.

and I appreciate those who are willing to share alternate opinions or insight in a constructive manner, regardless if I agree with them I almost always "thank" somebody for posting or responding. I don't understand why it's so hard for some people to give out free internet points and click the like/thank button?

I welcome constructive criticism and always say thank you.

I'm not always sure why I do the things I do, and in this case I want to trust my gut, I want a 70 series land cruiser and I'm actually looking forward to be able to maintain and drive it on a regular basis.

Well, if this has been in your mind since the last millennium, then I’d say you need to make it happen.

I call it rocking chair theory. You won’t sit in the rocking chair thinking about all the TPS reports you did. You won’t remember the emails. You won’t remember a lot of things. Your kids won’t remember how much money you made either. They’ll remember the times you weren’t there, and the experiences you gave or had with them. But……you’ll remember the regrets and things you didn’t do.

My infatuation is a diesel 105. Obviously It’d need a turbo, but that one for me is the one I think about. New enough to be nice and actually enjoy putting real time in, but simple enough to survive.

Newer vehicles are getting so complex. I’m a trained diesel tech, and some of this stuff is hard for me to even deal with, I have the tools and the knowledge and it’s still a tremendous hassle. That’s what draws me to the 90s in early 2000s vehicles. I feel like it’s almost a pinnacle really. That’s as good as they got before they went stupid with electronics and nanny’s.

Fun fact, if you have an abs code on a 17’ tundra, 4wd doesn’t work. Brilliant huh. So safe with the FMVSS jazz the they created a legitimate safety issue…..I guess old stuff it is for me.

Amazing vehicles bring amazing experiences. Experiences are the greatest memories of all.