Chris has asked me to pass on his thanks for all the kind words, on his and the FNB 4WD teams hard work. He would register, but doesn't feel that he could devote the time required whilst juggling the business, social media and forums that FNB are already involved with. Plus I keep him pretty busy with emails!!!
I'm interested why you went petrol rather than diesel? I know what you mean about LPG... with my 4Runner I was only looking for a petrol or diesel one, not interested in an LPG one, as I find they're so infrequently set up right in terms of timing etc.
Auto vs manual is a personal choice, and some people have other reasons for needing an auto so that is understandable.
When I first started looking the diesels were all quite expensive for what they were, and if you wanted a nice one you had to stump up a lot of money. I also prefer an auto, so finding diesel autos in good nick were not as common, or expensive. Like here, but worse, the diesels have been bought by people expecting to utilise the economy so they often have quite a few km's on the clock and have commiserate wear and tear.
So I consulted TonyS after his experience buying and using Betsy, and Chris at FNB 4WD (who Tony put me in touch with). Tony said that you get a far better condition petrol Land Cruiser for your money, with lesser km's compared to a diesel. The diesel would need more repair work to get it up to standard, and at the end of it, it would still be a big km truck. As I intend to only use the truck for 2 months out of 12, the increased fuel consumption of a petrol could be lived with, and the money that you saved buying the truck and not having to shell out in repairs, goes towards the fuel bills.
When I spoke with Chris he agreed with Tony's advice and as it turns out Chris' own vehicle is a FZJ80 (supercharged

). This was enough to convince me to narrow the search to a petrol Land Cruiser. As mentioned earlier, my preference is an auto, so I narrowed the search to a petrol auto Land Cruiser. Which as it happens was a wise move, due to a back condition that has decided to give me some problems this year, affecting my left leg. If I'd have bought a manual I might not have been able to go ahead with the trip.
With regard to the LPG, Chris advised me to steer clear of an LPG'd vehicle, or budget $5,000 for a replacement head, as it'll need one at some point. It would seem that the lack of lubrication when running on LPG causes valve recession, and they end up needing a new head. As I looked at the ad's you'd often find LPG'd 80s boosting replacement heads, so they were struck off the list. Unless the vehicle had a lubrication system as well as the LPG it wasn't worth taking the chance. Plus I was worried about the availability of LPG in remote areas, and you can't have long range fuel tanks as well as LPG tanks, so I'd probably end up removing the LPG tanks on anything that I bought anyway.
So a petrol, auto Land Cruiser in the best condition possible for the money, was the order of the day. Many were discounted after careful review of the ad, Chris inspected an 80 and it needed $10,000 spending to make it right before any mods. So the decision was made to add a bit more to the fund and buy a newer vehicle, a 105. I didn't start out thinking I'd end up with a 105, I thought I'd have a 60. A decent looking 105 appeared, Chris inspected it and it was the perfect base vehicle for the project.
I am glad that I didn't end up with a petrol version of my 80 that I have over here, instead we have a vehicle that is a bit different and not common to us, as it was never sold in Europe. I've seen 105s in the flesh but never thought I'd own one.
Roll on December when we'll be behind the wheel


