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Buying an 80 series

MGC

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great_britain
Hi all,

I’m starting to look at buying an 80 series. My hunt for a 60 series, for what I am looking for, is not bearing much fruit.

What is the 4.5l petrol engine like compared the the 1HDT? It’s just for fun weekends and green lane so not a daily.

I’m struggling to understand the current market. I thought I’d be lowering my budget a fair bit seeing that I used to see these going for £5-7k a couple of years ago. However looking at what’s advertised today they seem to vary from anything from £6k all the way up to £28k! Tidy looking examples are now around £12-16k. Is this what they are selling for? I appreciate the cost of fully restoring a truck adds up however most I am seeing still need a lot of work.

What are the main things to look out for? From what I’ve seen these suffer a bit or corrosion on the front arches, rear sills and boot lid.

Any advice greatly appreciated.
 
Some good advice about what to look out for here, and related threads (see the pinned post at the top of this forum). So, what does a decent 80 look like? Part 1. - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]

In terms of going rates, yes, you'll typically be north of £10k for something half decent, petrols tend to be cheaper than diesels. Lots and lots of discussion on this - see the "Really" thread also....

Good luck!
 
The petrols are real guzzlers.

I've had 2 LPG'd petrol 80's. During the warm up period they rarely achieve double figures, when running on gas the mpg was about 11 cost converted worked out about 20 . This was offset by the fact the gas ran out in no time so ran the rest of the journey on petrol anyway.
Smooth yes, torquey like a diesel, no.
 
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I bought the cleanest 80 1fz I could find last December and have been working though various issues.

As you say, I would get a good look at the underside, the boot around the rear glass, round the windscreen and the arches.

The 1fz is a fantastic engine but awful on fuel. It will still feel slow. You can get a supercharger kit from Australia though!

Parts are expensive. I've replaced a radiator, exhaust system, window rubbers and various hoses. Toyota can get you most things at a price!

LPG looks like it's finished in the UK unfortunately.
 
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Thanks for the info. Those threads are great for newbies like me. A few decent looking but pricey examples about at the moment. Leaning towards the diesel
 
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I’ve seen petrol 80’s with mot for less than 5k. I bought a breaker for £2500. All a bit ropey but unless you’re spending over 10k then they will all have some flaws.

Tbh prices are tumbling down from when everything was inflated during covid. Price of fuel, ulez zones and general economy is driving prices down. I’ve seen a could tidy enough diesels eventually “sell” on eBay for less than 8k.

Buying advice, check for rot on inner rear arches and behind bumpers, rear cross member, sill ends and inner sills. Check for diff whines. Check oil pressure and blow by.

Have a saved search on eBay and be ontop of all the other places, and Facebook marketplace. You’ve got to be quick if a well priced one comes up.
 
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I’ve seen petrol 80’s with mot for less than 5k. I bought a breaker for £2500. All a bit ropey but unless you’re spending over 10k then they will all have some flaws.

Tbh prices are tumbling down from when everything was inflated during covid. Price of fuel, ulez zones and general economy is driving prices down. I’ve seen a could tidy enough diesels eventually “sell” on eBay for less than 8k.

Buying advice, check for rot on inner rear arches and behind bumpers, rear cross member, sill ends and inner sills. Check for diff whines. Check oil pressure and blow by.

Have a saved search on eBay and be ontop of all the other places, and Facebook marketplace. You’ve got to be quick if a well priced one comes up.
Great info thank you. I’ve got my head around the key areas to look at for rust/rot. What’s blow by?
 
Great info thank you. I’ve got my head around the key areas to look at for rust/rot. What’s blow by?

Blow by is excessive crank case pressure usually caused by worn piston rings/ bores. Check by removing the oil filler cap while idling then lay it ontop if the hole. If it doesn’t sit still with minimal movement you’ve got a problem. Not a very scientific procedure but can be a tell tail sign.
 
Thanks for that. I thought I knew most tricks but that’s a new one on me. Every days a school day.
 
Yes you need to look in the places mentioned above. My old 24v TD has battle scars (mostly inflicted by me), sound chassis, tail gate, doors. Mechanically not too bad but the rear sill end are corroded, particularly the offside. Still goes through Mot.
 
Is the the side with the fuel drain access? I’m weary of the ones with no rust showing as could have just been painted over. You’d think they all rust in the UK. I’d rather sort it properly in the future than buy one that’s been tarted up
 
What’s the auto like on these? Most seem to be manual but seen a couple of autos recently. Are they easy to live with and reliable?
 
Also seen an 80 with these on the MOT history recently. All fails except for the monitor one. I guess the fails would have needed welding? Is this common or one to avoid as likely lots of corrosion underneath?
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Any info or advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
I can get the body sill affecting seat belt mounting or attachment of body to chassis. Don't get the suspension to sill?
 
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That makes sense. So corroded nearby the important bits. Easier to fix however if it’s that corroded there it’s likely to be a bad one. I’ll go have a look at the chassis and repairs done
 
I repaired my right hand rear arch with Rodger from BJ40 forum, it was not too bad and is easy to see and repair with pre cut angled sheeting shaped to the OE arch and welded in place as you can removed the fibre glass arch from the inside nuts, it was worse down at the sill/arch junction, removing the step and re-welding back in to place made it easier. The left hand side also needs doing but unsure about getting the arch off as I have not looked too deeply into it since not being able to drive since September last year, and the 80 may be up for sale anyway if I don't get my licence back on the 10th of this month. Fortunately mine is in pretty good condition rust wise, being in the Spain for the last 12 years or so undoubtedly has helped. I would check the areas of the chassis where the steering box and panhard rod mounts, these are known to crack on older vehicles or those with larger wheel/tyre combinations that have been used off road extensively.

Rust on the inner front wings in not uncommon, but way easier to repair once the outer wing is removed (nuts and bolts), and of course the sills, the drain holes in the seams block and they get filled with water, remove the plugs in the sills, I left mine outer on the basis that it allows not only drainage but free air to circulate.

I prefer the diesel, not only for the comfort but when off road and loaded up the torque is more than useful, they did have a big end bearing issue but by now I would have thought those that did fail and put a 'leg out of bed' have all but been replaced. Look for the ABS light when switching on the ignition, if the car has all round disc brakes I am sure the light should be there? If not then either the light is 'rigged' or the ABS system has been removed, savvy MOT testers may spot this and will fail the car. Problems are rare but repairs are expensive, so many remove it, and if you need to replace the entire system it could cost a small fortune, that's about the best I can think of at the moment.

Regards

Dave
 
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