Lovetheworld
Active member
The Toyota Hiace was actually produced with the Lexus V8, an even longer body and high roof and 4wd (permanent). These were the ambulance versions.
Is the FZJ80 worth it in today’s market?
- Thread starter Ozark_Prowler
- Start date
Tex68w
Beach Bum
Do you have the part number for that snorkel?
Lovetheworld
Active member
53980-95J01
But what I understood is that US dealers arent gonna do that. Anyway, you can find it online.
There is also a roof line clamp that goes with it, but it is easy to make some alternative yourself.
About the ambulances, the last ones had 300hp which is pretty nice, especially for the nineties.
They are rare and were reportedly made in the specialized production line. The same production lines that made the Lexus LFA and now Toyota Mirai.
You can't find them in the parts system though. And it would be horrible to work on, a v8 in that tiny space.
I have found this thread interesting, many seem to have a love or hate relationship with the 80 series Landcruiser. All vehicles have their flaws, and it depends on what you want them to do and where you want to go. I would never want to daily drive a 80 series. My FZJ80 is dedicated and purpose built for camping in remote areas. I could never see myself paying $60K+ for a new rig and taking it on the Rubicon, Death Valley or Baja for an "Overland Expedition"
. Most everyone I have traveled with that had new vehicles preferred Subaru friendly fire roads in popular California areas (Alabama Hills, Mojave road, etc.) to avoid potential scratches and damage. Again it depends on where you want to go and what you expect a vehicle to do.
The 80 series certainly appears overpriced today, but it seems people want them more then ever and are willing to pay for it. I still see people doing it, buying a rusted and damaged 1994 with 300K miles for $12K and immediately driving them into BAJA without a care. I bought my 1997 factory locked 80 for overpriced amount of $10K in 2007 with 103,000 miles and have put about $20K in upgrades and maintenance on it since. I could not, however see myself paying $25K + for an unknow high mileage clapped out 80 today. I can say the 80 has only let me down once, a fan into radiator in a deep water crossing, so hardly Toyotas fault. Other than that no major break downs, but I have focused on preventative maintenance.
Parts are becoming more difficult to source, but I have managed to get parts from overseas in a manner of days, when no US source was available. The aftermarket has also been picking up with creative or alternative solutions. The question is are they worth it at todays asking price, the answer to me is NO, BUT are you willing to bash a new rig in your travels, and pay the high price for comfort and worry about the cost of damage repairs, or take on older vehicle learn how to repair it and take it on a trip and worry endlessly of potential repairs. I will always lean on the latter and learn how to, and be able to trial fix my own vehicle. Maybe it comes down to youthful inexperience, verses the experienced traveler ideals of a refined overlander. A refined overlander I am not nor am I youthful, more of an IH8MUD camper that likes to explore. I do plan to keep and repair my 80 series for years to come.
. Most everyone I have traveled with that had new vehicles preferred Subaru friendly fire roads in popular California areas (Alabama Hills, Mojave road, etc.) to avoid potential scratches and damage. Again it depends on where you want to go and what you expect a vehicle to do.The 80 series certainly appears overpriced today, but it seems people want them more then ever and are willing to pay for it. I still see people doing it, buying a rusted and damaged 1994 with 300K miles for $12K and immediately driving them into BAJA without a care. I bought my 1997 factory locked 80 for overpriced amount of $10K in 2007 with 103,000 miles and have put about $20K in upgrades and maintenance on it since. I could not, however see myself paying $25K + for an unknow high mileage clapped out 80 today. I can say the 80 has only let me down once, a fan into radiator in a deep water crossing, so hardly Toyotas fault. Other than that no major break downs, but I have focused on preventative maintenance.
Parts are becoming more difficult to source, but I have managed to get parts from overseas in a manner of days, when no US source was available. The aftermarket has also been picking up with creative or alternative solutions. The question is are they worth it at todays asking price, the answer to me is NO, BUT are you willing to bash a new rig in your travels, and pay the high price for comfort and worry about the cost of damage repairs, or take on older vehicle learn how to repair it and take it on a trip and worry endlessly of potential repairs. I will always lean on the latter and learn how to, and be able to trial fix my own vehicle. Maybe it comes down to youthful inexperience, verses the experienced traveler ideals of a refined overlander. A refined overlander I am not nor am I youthful, more of an IH8MUD camper that likes to explore. I do plan to keep and repair my 80 series for years to come.
nickw
Adventurer
You took my comment out of context, the point I was making was here in the US they generally lead suburbanite lives (at least initially) where they rack up big miles whereas comparable HD pickups trucks of the same era generally don't lead easy lives with towing and HD work in the field....I was agreeing to a point @Ozark_Prowler was making, which I still think is spot on. Taking a overbuilt, underpowered simple vehicle design for tough conditions and driving it around on the street, it should last...in no way disparaging the 80, but giving a nod to the comparable 90's domestic rigs with HD FF axles & manual hubs, HD manual transmissions, HD manual gear driven t-cases and simple diesel/gas engines.
No vehicles are lasting 500k kilos in harsh conditions without extensive repairs & rebuilds, it's 310k miles....you can back into hours on that, it's easily 10,000 - 15,000 hours (20 - 30 mph, may even be lower which is more hours) which is typically beyond the service life of HD diesel engines and many tractors and heavy machines.
What keeps the 40's and 60's on the road in some of those countries is ease of repairs due to things like manual steering, carbs / mechanical injection, manual trans, etc....I'd say that is probably the most important aspect, unfortunately the 80's were the beginning to the end of that design philosophy....
Arktikos
Explorer
Wow! That makes a strong case for DIY.
T-Willy
Well-known member
I have found this thread interesting, many seem to have a love or hate relationship with the 80 series Landcruiser. All vehicles have their flaws, and it depends on what you want them to do and where you want to go. I would never want to daily drive a 80 series. My FZJ80 is dedicated and purpose built for camping in remote areas. I could never see myself paying $60K+ for a new rig and taking it on the Rubicon, Death Valley or Baja for an "Overland Expedition"
The 80 series certainly appears overpriced today, but it seems people want them more then ever and are willing to pay for it. I still see people doing it, buying a rusted and damaged 1994 with 300K miles for $12K and immediately driving them into BAJA without a care. I bought my 1997 factory locked 80 for overpriced amount of $10K in 2007 with 103,000 miles and have put about $20K in upgrades and maintenance on it since. I could not, however see myself paying $25K + for an unknow high mileage clapped out 80 today. I can say the 80 has only let me down once, a fan into radiator in a deep water crossing, so hardly Toyotas fault. Other than that no major break downs, but I have focused on preventative maintenance.
Parts are becoming more difficult to source, but I have managed to get parts from overseas in a manner of days, when no US source was available. The aftermarket has also been picking up with creative or alternative solutions. The question is are they worth it at todays asking price, the answer to me is NO, BUT are you willing to bash a new rig in your travels, and pay the high price for comfort and worry about the cost of damage repairs, or take on older vehicle learn how to repair it and take it on a trip and worry endlessly of potential repairs. I will always lean on the latter and learn how to, and be able to trial fix my own vehicle. Maybe it comes down to youthful inexperience, verses the experienced traveler ideals of a refined overlander. A refined overlander I am not nor am I youthful, more of an IH8MUD camper that likes to explore. I do plan to keep and repair my 80 series for years to come.
This is a fair assessment.
I have two 80s, a '92 and a triple-locked '94. The '92 has been in the family since new, which was shortly after I was old enough to drive, so I've driven 80s my entire driving life. They are, in my experience, capable, durable, reliable, and their size and payload are perfect for remote touring. They are overbuilt; the solid, planted ride feels very different than other vehicles, like driving a lead brick. Their major design failure, in my opinion, is lack of range--at least US spec models.
In my opinion they are overpriced. But there are few wagons that share the 80's combination of capability, size, and payload--perhaps only Defender and Grenadier. The price of a used 80 and deep baselining, even with engine rebuild and replacing all things rubber, still pales in comparison to the price of a new vehicle.
Lovetheworld
Active member
T-Willy
Well-known member
I’m sorry—I meant and should have specified new vehicles available (or soon to be) in the US market. There aren’t many off road capable wagons with payloads approaching one ton.
Ozark_Prowler
Active member
That’s not always the case. I know at least one guy over on Mud who’s $100k into his 80, including restoration and mods.
tacollie
Glamper
That's an outlier. I have a buddy with a Tacoma that we call the $100k Tacoma because I'm pretty sure he has a $100k into it?.
You could buy, baseline, and build an 80 for less than a new 4Runner if you do the with yourself.
nickw
Adventurer
Now you have a $40-50k rig with 250k miles vs a brand new vehicle.....per the original OP, is that worth it? Hard to imagine for most. One could also argue that since you are going to be using non-OEM or rebuilt parts to do any major work (depending on what needs done), reliability moving forward will never be what it was originally.
I'd pick a 4runner 10/10 times.....solid build and it uses the 4.0 engine (and maybe trans?) that Toyota uses in overseas Land Cruisers like the 70 series.....that says a lot about it.
I kinda went through this with my FJ40 - really wanted a good rig to do some backcountry exploring....but since many components are NLA I'd have to use used parts or aftermarket stuff, I honestly didn't trust that approach long term. I bought a Toyota for a reason, they are well built from the factory.....most of the aftermarket stuff is not going to be built to that same standard and parts were only getting harder to find....swapping modern running gear into it was an approach for parts availability, but that is a whole nother' level of $$ and complications on it's own.
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Lovetheworld
Active member
What kind of parts couldn't you get?
Obiously the body and interior parts.
But mechanically you might be able to get more than expected, and there is Nipparts or Denso, which is basically the same thing and often also sold by the Toyota dealership. That would not harm reliability or future buyers.
It is also a great car to have stuff actually repaired instead of replaced.
We hade a BJ45 (long body diesel version of the FJ40) in Europe and I was surprised that I could just get the last 2 meters of the exhaust pipe in 2 days at the dealership.
I also had parts like starter/alternator and windscreen wiper motor actually repaired/refurbished.
All the rest was often Nipparts or Denso, which I see as the same.
I do agree that is not exactly the same as from factory, but it comes close.
However, if people are dumping so much money into it, yes it makes much more sense to get a new 4 Runner. I think we all still prefer the consistent work of a Toyota factory.
Obiously the body and interior parts.
But mechanically you might be able to get more than expected, and there is Nipparts or Denso, which is basically the same thing and often also sold by the Toyota dealership. That would not harm reliability or future buyers.
It is also a great car to have stuff actually repaired instead of replaced.
We hade a BJ45 (long body diesel version of the FJ40) in Europe and I was surprised that I could just get the last 2 meters of the exhaust pipe in 2 days at the dealership.
I also had parts like starter/alternator and windscreen wiper motor actually repaired/refurbished.
All the rest was often Nipparts or Denso, which I see as the same.
I do agree that is not exactly the same as from factory, but it comes close.
However, if people are dumping so much money into it, yes it makes much more sense to get a new 4 Runner. I think we all still prefer the consistent work of a Toyota factory.
nickw
Adventurer
Assuming this is aimed at me? For the FJ40 pretty much all major components were NLA, stupid stuff like the parking brake drums on the output shaft of the t-case....there were aftermarket kits but I was not impressed with the quality.
I had a sim problem with my 1996 F150, wiper solenoid went out and was a PITA to find a replacement.
The 80 series NLA parts list is well documented over on IH8mud....long blocks, transmissions, transmission rebuild kits, several major engine components, interior wiring, etc.....depends on what you need to repair:
The Ultimate 80 Series Parts Discontinued Thread
Which is cool, but easily circumvented stuff And?
forum.ih8mud.com
Of course some of it can be rebuilt, some can be had used, maybe some aftermarket items....but those options generally will never give the same reliability as original.....
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plh
Explorer
$400 / hr!!! I assume that is somewhere in a metro California location?
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