Don't like the adverts?  Click here to remove them

Challenge, Cruiser on the road for under a grand.

That looks so clean - what a bargain for £1k! :icon-cool:

...and yes, on the original rubber and suspension, it is a lovely car to waft around in. Once you start with mods such as a SL and AT tyres etc. you do lose that somewhat. However I still notice (and am annoyed by) the fan on the first setting..... :icon-wink:
 
Yes, waft, that's the word I'm looking for. You're right about it having a certain something when it's factory standard. The Bridgestone Duellers were a bit coincidental as they were what I had but they are very quiet on the road. I'm more planning on using it for longer journeys as I feel the short journey thing will have a detrimental effect on fuel economy ( with my experience with a petrol 80).
 
I always consistently got 22-23mpg and around 400 miles on a tankful on longer journeys - though you need to keep the speed to around 65-70mph. Once you're up around 80mph and above, you can literally watch the fuel gauge go down.

Works surprisingly well as a refined luxury car and a go anywhere robust 4x4 - a real jack of all trades IMHO.
 
Well fuel consumption wise I've just filled it up with £80's worth of Shells finest and its done 262 miles on that. Its been mixed driving with a couple of runs out and some town work. This works out at 19MPG which isn't good nor is it drastic. On where its been the D4D would have done 23MPG.
It really comes down to the experience of driving something with near electric motor smoothness or pay less and get something with a raspy vocal rattler ( which goes well but not like the petrol motor).
For now I'll take the V6, pay and enjoy.

Dropped the 1st lot of oil out today, considering it had only done 260 miles it came out a dark red colour indicating it was cleaning the gumminess out of the engine caused by very short journeys by the previous owner.
I'll run the next lot for 1000 miles this time, then 6000.
Up to now alls well although I can empathise with Shayne's sentiment about petrol 4X4's, they just seem to be, well, not quite right somehow.
 
That's not bad mpg. I'm getting between 15 and 20 mpg out of the 80 depending on journey type. Don't want to go back to an oil burner lol
 
Don't like the adverts?  Click here to remove them
Gary820 said:
That's not bad mpg. I'm getting between 15 and 20 mpg out of the 80 depending on journey type. Don't want to go back to an oil burner lol
Click to expand...

Thats about what I got out of my petrol 80's, I guess these days the lower purchase price softens the blow.
 
Round town used to be 10 to 12 mpg!! Since fitting the chip and advancing the timing it's improved things, not just the mpg but power delivery. More low end pull and mid range, revs up smoother and just wants to go. Don't have to give it loads to get the 35's rolling.
 
Your review somewhat surprises me Andy , smoother than diesel is to be expected of course but i thought a notable power increase might be a pro against the cons of using the wrong fuel ?

Is the V6 micromanaged like the D4D ?

It irks me something chronic that i know in my heart of hearts that my D4D is better than my 1KZ and so all the mods should be swapped over , but i just can't gel with the more refined and probably more powerful micromanaged D4D .

I wonder with that extra power already available taller tyres (not wider) might actually improve your mpg , my 33's actually put the speedo bang on accurate .
 
I'm not sure that there are many tuning options available for the 5VZ-FE in the UK. I looked into this early in my ownership but that was over 10 years ago and things may have changed....

However, I have always lusting after the (OEM) TRD supercharger option that is readily available in the States and down-under. :drool: :icon-cool:
 
Just a bump as I resurrect this thread as I've bought the truck back ( see thread in maintenance section)

I never did like the 3 spoke wheels so I tried some alternatives, 8 spokes I tried first with 275 tyres, only 7" and didn't look right. Then 80 wheels with 275's which I ran on the D4D one I had, they came fight to the edge and needed a 2" lift really to look right then I tried these six spoke 8" ones with 275's but these have a +8 offset so they worked better with standard suspension ( and I had 5 with matching BFG's). I think it looks the part pretty much.
Taxed it from yesterday and took it out and filled it up with premium today. It still drives a treat ( it had done 9K whilst it had been away) so I'm going to like it.

I must straighten that sidestep out though, my eye is drawn to it every time I walk up to it.







IMG_2520.JPG


IMG_2521.JPG
 
In the scale of things Andy, with some of the shite out there, that step is nothing.
Completely understand where your coming from though, a good truck deserves perfection.
 
Tractionman said:
In the scale of things Andy, with some of the shite out there, that step is nothing.
Click to expand...

TBH since I sold it I've looked at a few Collies ( D4D) which have been for sale around the area both for myself and others. None have been worth buying due to rust issues at any price. When I heard the owner was considering letting it go I couldn't pass on that one. At first I thought about turning it into a " Green Laner" but I thought its just too good to do that with it.
Its my intention to get it back to as original as possible with everything working as it should. I think as the poorer condition Collies succumb to the rust bug the better condition ones will turn price wise like 70 series have even though they are considered " Light Duty!.
 
Cracking motor, and i stil reckon the 95 is one of the best looking Cruisers ever made.
If its still in good condition underneath, and keeping in mind how good that 3.4 V6 lump is, i'd be inclined to get it LPG converted then coat the whole underside in as miuch grease and oily muck as you can find, and run it forever.
Don't forget the cambelt will need swapping at some point, it's not an easy DIY job like the 3.0 litre Diesel, so i entrusted it to a garage, of which all the quotes i had the Toyota dealer was the cheapest of the lot.

All this assuming you have good reliable cheap lpg in your area, worth checking out via this site AutogasApp: Find cheap LPG stations near you! - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]
 
I often chuckle at the notion of the 90 series and light duty being used in the same sentence.. of course it is the slightly lighter brother of the 100, but it's still a sizeable and very durable machine. It's taller than almost anything bar a defender, and I've pulled an articulated lorry out of a ditch with mine... light duty.. pah!

As it happens I have a similar, if smaller, ding in the driver side step of mine in almost the same place.. I'm almost certain it was done when the truck was put up on a lift, I reckon the plate wasn't screwed out enough and the arm came into contact with the side step.. let me know how you fix it if you do.. I don't want to butcher mine.
 
Juddian said:
and keeping in mind how good that 3.4 V6 lump is, i'd be inclined to get it LPG converted then coat the whole underside in as miuch grease and oily muck as you can find, and run it forever.
Click to expand...

TBH I'm not a fan of LPG, I've had 2 80 petrols with LPG and found it fractionally cheaper than running a diesel it ran out a ridiculous rate. To invest in an LPG system wouldn't be a good investment as I probably only do 2-3k a year in it.

Anyway I'm plugging away with it, doing little jobs to make it better. Today it went from this :-


IMG_2550.JPG


to this:-
IMG_2571.JPG


Also, one of the heater control bulbs was out, annoying when driving at night, mainly because it just wasn't right. Got a bulb out of an 80 ashtray illuminator and slipped the green sleeve over it and now they are both lit.

And, fitted a S/H DAB radio and aerial so we've got some decent sounds.

IMG_2575.JPG



Off to the paintshop tomorrow for some corrective paintwork on the bonnet and roof and we're getting there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Jack_Prado
90 Build
Replies
13
Views
387
Lancashire Cruiser
L
T
98' KZJ95 back on the road.
Replies
1
Views
203
VirginiaColorado
VirginiaColorado
L
Radiator overheating
Replies
14
Views
556
Tractionman
T
VirginiaColorado
97 Land Cruiser/Colorado TD - Ignition problem?
2
Replies
21
Views
838
VirginiaColorado
VirginiaColorado
stuzbot
Insurance - Add Additional Vehicle vs Take Out New Policy?
Replies
6
Views
504
stuzbot
stuzbot
Back
Top