Having owned two 80 series LC's, one of which was a '97 LX450 and both with lockers, I will tell you that from that era of vehicle, you will be hard pressed to find a better built vehicle. Just about everything about it is overbuilt. They were not designed for the NA market, they were designed for third world countries were pavement is unusual and they are the only vehicle the family has, so it will get used for everything.
Now having said that, it is not all sunshine and blue skies and don't let the cruiserheads tell you any different. You could not sell a brand new 80 series in today's world. The cooling system is marginal especially when operating the AC in stop and go traffic. The power to mileage ratio is abysmal. The motor was originally designed for forklift duty and Toyota should be ashamed of putting it in a road vehicle without modifying it for that use. It has all of the right ingredients to be a great motor, they just didn't finish the job. And because it should have had another 40-50 hp, the transmission ratios are a little off. One of the few vehicles I have owned (and I've gone through a few) that when you put your foot into it and the transmission downshifts and the revs increase...nothing happens other than it makes more noise and uses more fuel.
The Distibutor oil leak is common, but the one that is probably the spendy (time and effort) one is the upper oil pan arch seal. The motor has "two" oil pans, an upper and lower. Again very common on those motors and it requires lifting the motor to RR, you don't have to completely remove the motor, but there is a panhard bar support that prevents you from being able to just drop both pans to replace it. Parts can be a little more expensive because it was a $~60k when new and it doesn't know that it's not still. As suggested, Ih8mud is your complete resource for everything LC.
As noted, they are extremely well built and after you "fix" the things that need it and they all need it, it will be a great rig. I usually tell people that are looking at buying an 80 that unless you are buying it from a cruiserhead, expect to spend some coin doing all of the PM that the PO usually didn't do and now you get the joy of doing. The required PM is not cheap and it takes a while, but once you are done, you can usually go along time before you have to touch it again. I have taken them on long trips of 1500 miles or so, with a lot of highway and dirt road travels and they always impressed me from a comfort standpoint. The only low is that you have to flog the hell out of them to maintain highway speeds and that gets old.
Excellent platform let down by a marginal motor imho. I suggest you head over to the 80 forum on 'Mud and read up on 80 series before you commit to one. That way you will get an idea of what you are getting into.
Jack
