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What LC to buy? 40; 70 or other?

redmelon

New Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2015
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12
Hello gents,

I am longing for a decent 4x4 for some time now and started looking for an older LC with a diesel. Which type would you recommend in terms of reliability, repair cost, fun etc. I really love the looks of the bj40 but do not want to get lured. Hence the question - might an 70s series or other be the better choice?

Thanks for the help!
 
Welcome to the club. :thumbup:

What country are you in?

40's, 60's and 70's are all awesome trucks. :clap:

A lot will depend on what you want to use the truck for, big trips or just weekend toy, off road weapon or just a cool road car? :think:
 
Hi and welcome it can be just one bj40 from Tony good look with it :thumbup:
 
Thanks Tony!

2Ben: Thanks for the reply. I am a Czech currently in the Netherlands where there is quite a choice on LCs around. The LC will be moved to Czech Republic in the future though where it will be much more fun to drive!
Due to my time constraints it would be a weekend car at first and maybe used for some longer trips after. Should be eliable. It should be good off road but it has not to be an extreme mud car :)
I am ok if its not the most comfy road car since i am not looking for that. I like to take it easy. There are other cars for the highways than the LC.
 
Hi redmelon,
If you plan to do longer trips, then a HZJ75 or HZJ78 will be very nice. A big 6 cylinder engine and lots of space.
for offroading, I think that a short 70 with a 13BT engine will be fantastic.
when the weather is fine like the last week, I enjoy driving my BJ46 without the hardtop. A real cool and simple truck but with a bonejarring suspension. Not my choice for the long stretches but fantastic in the forestlanes and to use as a workhorse.
if you want a comfy ride and good offroad capabilities, you can look for a 80 series with the powerful 4.2 turbodiesel.
 
Hi Firewout!

I have to admit that i like more the looks of the shorter versions such as the bj40/42 or the j73.
Is there nothing to be afraid of with the 13bt? I heard they might cause more issues than the 13b engine.
I think the harder suspension would not bother and i usually would not do longer trips than 200km.
Is there any difference in the quality of the bj40 with the classic back doors and the bj42 with the interchangeable roof?
What country is a good source? I am currently looking around in BNL. Germany was too expensive and Italy though the offer is good is quite far away to just go see a car.
 
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40 or 70

Hi Firewout!

I have to admit that i like more the looks of the shorter versions such as the bj40/42 or the j73.
Is there nothing to be afraid of with the 13bt? I heard they might cause more issues than the 13b engine.
I think the harder suspension would not bother and i usually would not do longer trips than 200km.
Is there any difference in the quality of the bj40 with the classic back doors and the bj42 with the interchangeable roof?
What country is a good source? I am currently looking around in BNL. Germany was too expensive and Italy though the offer is good is quite far away to just go see a car.


Hi, i have an FJ40, fantastic piece of kit but like was said earlier bone jarring and really noisy but great fun none the least, i recently bought a 70 SWB 2.4LT and its a very capable truck in standard guise, economical (compared to the 5.7 Chevy in the 40) and parts are much easier to come by (in UK anyway) if i were you, buy a 70 (much cheaper than 40) use it and then buy the 40 later, don't think of either, think both, be greedy, it a disease, one i happily infected with, (PS also got a 100 for Daily drive)

whatever you buy it will be fun,, but a good call is to start with the 70 SWB or 73 with the biggest diesel you can find, people moan about the 2LT being slow (compared to the 3.0) but its more than capable and virtually indestructible as long as you look after her.

PS 200 KM,s or 120 miles in a 40 is a long trip at 55 mph anything above that kidney failure and tinitus set in quick, in a 70 its a nice peaceful drive and it will do about 70 mph (off a cliff or downhill with big wind behind you)

cheers Jon
 
Hi Jon!
Thanks for the message!
I have to say I am quite attracted to the BJ40 as a daily driver youngtimer.
On the other hand I give you right with the fact that the J73 is much cheaper and will be probably more comfy. Also the offer below 5000Eur looks decent.
If buying a J70 series in diesel is there something to bear in mind when buying and some big nono’s? Some typical “illnesses” etc? I am not an engineer but still can manage to check down a list that I would set up myself as a buying manual..
Also I realized that most are sold without rear seats – is there any chance to buy these aftermarket and install them in/take out on an ad hoc basis?

Thanks a lot!

Redmelon
 
40 or 70

Hi Jon!
Thanks for the message!
I have to say I am quite attracted to the BJ40 as a daily driver youngtimer.
On the other hand I give you right with the fact that the J73 is much cheaper and will be probably more comfy. Also the offer below 5000Eur looks decent.
If buying a J70 series in diesel is there something to bear in mind when buying and some big nono’s? Some typical “illnessesâ€￾ etc? I am not an engineer but still can manage to check down a list that I would set up myself as a buying manual..
Also I realized that most are sold without rear seats – is there any chance to buy these aftermarket and install them in/take out on an ad hoc basis?

Thanks a lot!

Redmelon

Hi Redmelon, on the LJ70, they all rot on the rear arches / rear body mounts, on the 2LT engine look for rusty water, they do tend to overheat, so check for any head work that has been done. the one i have when i got it needed all welding on rear end, new arches etc, i took off the plastic arches as they just help it rust and i think it look better without, the LJ70 has coil sprung suspension and i think the LJ73 is leaf sprung, the coil is more comfortable but leaf spring are more Heavy Duty, i have added some pedders coils to lift it and it looks great and handles much better, all the brakes needed changing but it was sat for about a year when i bought it. i also added a defender front bumper with kingcone winch and it didn't take too much modding to make it fit. (LR parts are much easier to get over here and a lot less expensive) also adding some 16" wheels with 255 85 16 MT tyres. we took it to the landrover show in billing aqua drome a couple of weeks ago and it did get stuck in the mud run which ended up snapping the timing belt / filling the alternator, removing the PAS belt. but in typical toyota fashion it didn't F everything up, we actually put a new belt on and it fired straight back up but i think we were really lucky, PS wife was driving it at the time but in her defence we only saw three get through it all day. next job will be a snorkel as the air filter was full of mud!

IMG_1674.JPG

in saying all that at some point soon i will be adding either the BJ73/74/75 to my stable when funds permit.

good luck and for less 5000 euros i think the 70 is the best bet.

added a nice piccy of the 70, my 40 with my friends 55 and 40

cheers

Jon
 
on the rear seats, would worry to much about those, there are plenty of breakers and contacts on here where these can be found.
 
I think a KZJ73 would be perfect! :icon-biggrin:

Slightly longer wheel base than the normal LJ70/KZJ70 but still with coil suspension all round!

I also love how you can remove the FRP roof in summer! :icon-cool:

Sure the HZJ73 has the bigger engine and bigger stronger diffs but it also has leaf spring suspension so wouldn't be as comfy on road. :think:

Theres a few KZJ73's in Europe but look out for rust below the windscreen in the windscreen frame as they seem to rust badly here, but this section does bolt on so can be replaced. :thumbup:
 

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Hi Gents! Thanks for the quick replies!
Really appreciate all the input.
I am currently searching the market for the HZJ73.
I really like the looks and it will still be probably more useable for me.
The leafsprings are ok to me - had a an L200 Mitsubishi in the past for forest work at my dads hut and it was probably my most beloved car that i drove back than.
As I am in moving to Rotterdam in the comming weeks I will look around in the BNL for a nice one for a decent price.
Will have to think though on whether I will put it on my name here or just buy some transfer plates (is it similar to how it works in Germany here?) and then drive it to Prague once I am sure it is ok for the trip.
Or is it better to have it on plates here?
 
yep, and fitting the new wing can't be too difficult.
 
thats what I thought - but if the front wing is rusted like that not sure how the rest looks - I really liked the one you sent as well..but the price is indeed a bit to high
 
thats nice, fitting a wing shouldnt be too difficult but like you say its what you cant see. like Ben said around the screen is usually also bad, either way fixing and running this will be less work and expensive than owning the 40. let us know if you go see it, cheers Jon
 
I will probably go see that one. Gents any idea on how difficult the buying process in Belgium is?
Cheers, redmelon
 
Hi Redmelon, on the LJ70, they all rot on the rear arches / rear body mounts, on the 2LT engine look for rusty water, they do tend to overheat, so check for any head work that has been done. the one i have when i got it needed all welding on rear end, new arches etc, i took off the plastic arches as they just help it rust and i think it look better without, the LJ70 has coil sprung suspension and i think the LJ73 is leaf sprung, the coil is more comfortable but leaf spring are more Heavy Duty, i have added some pedders coils to lift it and it looks great and handles much better, all the brakes needed changing but it was sat for about a year when i bought it. i also added a defender front bumper with kingcone winch and it didn't take too much modding to make it fit. (LR parts are much easier to get over here and a lot less expensive) also adding some 16" wheels with 255 85 16 MT tyres. we took it to the landrover show in billing aqua drome a couple of weeks ago and it did get stuck in the mud run which ended up snapping the timing belt / filling the alternator, removing the PAS belt. but in typical toyota fashion it didn't F everything up, we actually put a new belt on and it fired straight back up but i think we were really lucky, PS wife was driving it at the time but in her defence we only saw three get through it all day. next job will be a snorkel as the air filter was full of mud!

View attachment 20618

in saying all that at some point soon i will be adding either the BJ73/74/75 to my stable when funds permit.

good luck and for less 5000 euros i think the 70 is the best bet.

added a nice piccy of the 70, my 40 with my friends 55 and 40

cheers

Jon

Hi Jon,

I keep looking at the pic all the time. The cars are simply splendid!
One question here, how did you make your wife love the car? I am getting some internal resistance from my girlfriend as she is the more reasonable one..
And as I am the passionate one and need my toys there is a point of conflict here :)

Even though it is not the most important thing - is there a bigger difference in the consumption btw the 2.4 diesel or the 4.2?
I read through some statistics and it seemed pretty similar to me..
The L200 pickup we had usually did like 10-11ltrs/100km so I assume here it might be around 12?

Cheers,

Michal
 
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