Is the FZJ80 worth it in today’s market?

[calicamper]

These all sound like you problems. Personal opinion if you aren't willing to do 90% of the work then any older vehicle isn't for you. Knuckles are messy but easy to do in an afternoon.

Oh I did some of it my self. Not everyone has the time to fool with old stuff. Pesky water hose was fun.
The interweb YouTubers blew up the LC into some kind of mythical beast. The US LC’s are a weird combination of compromises and sold as a premium vehicle which they aren’t. Also parts availability is a factor today for the J80. Was even a factor in 2011.

The difference between a fan boy and a vehicle gear head. The gear head likes a large range of vehicles and doesn’t put any on a mythical podium of perfection ?.

 

[HUMMER/Expeditions]

I enjoyed mine for 3 years,
before I got the Hummer,
It was very capable off road vehicle, triple locked,

Fuel economy was terrible, but that’s given, it was heavy and older vehicle.
6 cylinder had decent power very similar to its era SUVs
solid axle was pretty good,

I definitely don’t think it’s worth today’s asking prices
but why are the asking prices so high today? Because real SUVs are gone history or only few left, it’s not that land cruiser is superior.

all older real SUVs skyrocketed in price
And yes BRANDON is doing an amazing job destroying USA economy and devaluing USA dollar,

So that 20k land cruiser today will be 40 in 3 years because dollar inflation.

new Bronco is gonna be the next land cruiser in 10 years, mark my word.

smart ppl would take that 20 plus thousand dollars they were supposed to spend on the Fj80 and they would put that down for a brand new Bronco with triple lockers.

 

[calicamper]

I enjoyed mine for 3 years,
before I got the Hummer,
It was very capable off road vehicle, triple locked,

Fuel economy was terrible, but that’s given, it was heavy and older vehicle.
6 cylinder had decent power very similar to its era SUVs
solid axle was pretty good,

I definitely don’t think it’s worth today’s asking prices
but why are the asking prices so high today? Because real SUVs are gone history or only few left, it’s not that land cruiser is superior.

all older real SUVs skyrocketed in price
And yes BRANDON is doing an amazing job destroying USA economy and devaluing USA dollar,

So that 20k land cruiser today will be 40 in 3 years because dollar inflation.

new Bronco is gonna be the next land cruiser in 10 years, mark my word.

smart ppl would take that 20 plus thousand dollars they were supposed to spend on the Fj80 and they would put that down for a brand new Bronco with triple lockers.

I’ll add that the SUV suffered from epa fuel mileage requirements and stagnated design from 1990-2020.
Now that hybrid technology and better engine/transmission mileage has arrived, the SUV is again getting designed for utility/ ability vs just being a warmed over economy car platform with taller suspension.

The capability of the new small SUVs like the Passport and the little Bronco is a big step beyond the (suv) car junk built just 5 yrs ago.
The prior gen Rav4? Really? That thing has to be the shortest modern vehicle life between major redesign in Toyota history. That Corolla/ Eco abortion was a horrific small SUV effort for a well known/ respected model.?‍♂️
Same goes for the Escape

The Bronco’s 1000% was a massively needed divergence from the economy sedan on stilts detour. The Mavrick is brilliant I’d get a fwd hybrid one in a heart beat for my odd jobs and running about needs. Might even sell my hot rod convertible to get one? given it fits my needs near perfectly vs my hot rod convertible not do much.

 

[plainjaneFJC]

These all sound like you problems. Personal opinion if you aren't willing to do 90% of the work then any older vehicle isn't for you. Knuckles are messy but easy to do in an afternoon.

Time is worth more than money to a lot of folks. I can tackle some projects, but I only get 24 hours in a day, and my calendar is full.

 

[plainjaneFJC]

I enjoyed mine for 3 years,
before I got the Hummer,
It was very capable off road vehicle, triple locked,

Fuel economy was terrible, but that’s given, it was heavy and older vehicle.
6 cylinder had decent power very similar to its era SUVs
solid axle was pretty good,

I definitely don’t think it’s worth today’s asking prices
but why are the asking prices so high today? Because real SUVs are gone history or only few left, it’s not that land cruiser is superior.

all older real SUVs skyrocketed in price
And yes BRANDON is doing an amazing job destroying USA economy and devaluing USA dollar,

So that 20k land cruiser today will be 40 in 3 years because dollar inflation.

new Bronco is gonna be the next land cruiser in 10 years, mark my word.

smart ppl would take that 20 plus thousand dollars they were supposed to spend on the Fj80 and they would put that down for a brand new Bronco with triple lockers.

Amen

 

[Ozark_Prowler]

Just to do my j80 knuckles, valve cover and new brake lines was $4200. That was a Cherry one owner low mile J80. The junk I see out there today at todays prices easily have 5-10k of work needed just to be solid reliable. Even when mine was mint I didn’t take it on long trips due to its lousy range. Was basically just a fun local car “3rd” car. My current 3rd car fun car is Grandpa’s mint SLK350. Honestly its more fun and even a better road trip rig at 28mpg at 90+mph and 18 gallons of go juice. ?
The Sequoia I replaced the J80 with needed more space, better range and power was a nice improvement. The 2019 Platinum HD pack Expedition however is by far my top favorite SUV so far. Not a narrow trail rig but pretty dang good otherwise.
Would I get a J80 again? Nope an old beater 60’s Rover would see the same use, be more fun and be far far cheaper to get to 100%

Who's charging you 4200 for that? Parts should be like 1500 at the most and you can do the work in a weekend. A full baselining should be 5-10k unless you're dropping it off at a shop and/or having to rebuild the engine.

I agree they might be overvalued at the moment, but what car isn't? And what other 25-year old rig will have held up better, given the same abuse? Maybe an old HD pickup as we were discussing earlier, but those are pigs to drive on the trail.

Probably a minitruck or 4runner is a better bet for a tight budget. Idk about a 60s LR.

 

[Ozark_Prowler]

I enjoyed mine for 3 years,
before I got the Hummer,
It was very capable off road vehicle, triple locked,

Fuel economy was terrible, but that’s given, it was heavy and older vehicle.
6 cylinder had decent power very similar to its era SUVs
solid axle was pretty good,

I definitely don’t think it’s worth today’s asking prices
but why are the asking prices so high today? Because real SUVs are gone history or only few left, it’s not that land cruiser is superior.

all older real SUVs skyrocketed in price
And yes BRANDON is doing an amazing job destroying USA economy and devaluing USA dollar,

So that 20k land cruiser today will be 40 in 3 years because dollar inflation.

new Bronco is gonna be the next land cruiser in 10 years, mark my word.

smart ppl would take that 20 plus thousand dollars they were supposed to spend on the Fj80 and they would put that down for a brand new Bronco with triple lockers.

I like the new Bronco too, at least in theory. Especially with the 7 speed manual and short wheelbase. But they've been having a lot of issues with the electronics and off-road driver aids. Hopefully they'll work out the bugs in the later model years, but it's questionable whether new models like the Bronco will end up taking the same abuse as an older, more analogue and utilitarian rig like a Land Cruiser or Pajero.

 

[calicamper]

Track

Who's charging you 4200 for that? Parts should be like 1500 at the most and you can do the work in a weekend. A full baselining should be 5-10k unless you're dropping it off at a shop and/or having to rebuild the engine.

I agree they might be overvalued at the moment, but what car isn't? And what other 25-year old rig will have held up better, given the same abuse? Maybe an old HD pickup as we were discussing earlier, but those are pigs to drive on the trail.

Probably a minitruck or 4runner is a better bet for a tight budget. Idk about a 60s LR.

Tracking down the factory parts to replace the hard lines and various brake lines, sensor harnesses even in 2011 wasn’t easy, had a few wrong parts show up. BTW Toyota parts are more expensive than Domestic stuff. Labor here us $185 hr shop time. Dealers average $400 hr shop time. Oh and the dealer was the worst regarding skill to work on the LC.

ABS unit was ok unlike the V8 4runner my neighbor had. Total abs unit failure look it up. Same exact unit used in the SLK 500 same exact failure.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

My wife has a new Bronco on order... IMO they are OK at best.

Payload/towing/mpg/range are almost laughable and sadly it is hobbled by trying to make a 202x vehicle look like a 1960's car. I say sadly because I love old stuff but in this case it just came out sideways and is hard to see out of like most new vehicles.

Really the interior isn't bad it just feels like a guy is peering out a bunker. The windshield is tiny plus all the gobblygoop stuff for the top above the windshield doesn't help.

Gonna run a his and hers, there is a lot of things that mine can do that hers flat out can't but I don't have enough seats.

IMO the only thing she really has over me aside from seating is efi but the Bronco is rated the same mpg I get fully loaded and I get to listen to a V8... so meh. Efi is in the works.

She wants it and I am tired of dragging her edge out of the mud and snow so more power to her. I am not trading my jy dog for one though.

 

[tacollie]

While you can't go to the dealership and buy parts for a FJ80 there are ton of specialty shops you can call up and get parts that still exist. I can't get half the parts I've needed for my 2019 F250 from the dealership as fast as I can get them from online sources. A lot of them are on indefinite back order through the dealership. JDM parts are more expensive though.

FJ80s are stupid simple. Any mechanic who can read a metric wrench can work on them. That's part of the reason they are good enthusiast vehicles. Most people can work on them at home if they so choose. You need to be an 80 enthusiast to justify one in my opinion.

 

[billiebob]

Time is worth more than money to a lot of folks. I can tackle some projects, but I only get 24 hours in a day, and my calendar is full.

yep, 100%

If you track the hours spent under the car in the driveway, suddenly $100 an hour in a shop where they get it right the first time is a bargain. I do lots of small stuff like off road lights, trailer wiring, roof racks but I pay a mechanic for anything mechanical.

Beyond the time is the peace of mind knowing it was done correctly. I have not needed a tow or field repair in 20 years.

I wheel mostly alone now, I'm tired of guys who do all their own work breaking down.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Not everybody should so I won't say everybody should... but I enjoy doing my own work.

I don't do alignments or bend exhaust because I don't have the tools. Everything else is fair game.

I probably know more about my truck than most techs do, one of the joys of an older rig.

 

[HUMMER/Expeditions]

I test drove the badlands edition few weeks ago, I really liked it,
full boxed frame,
3x lockers
Decent power
Very nice interior
And basically zero modification needed to be amazing off road truck.

those pictures are from last week at Ford owned test track in Nevada
It’s just lovely to see in person what this vehicle is capable of doing.

I think if land cruiser 80 series was available as new today it would of been worth in upper 80s range

but today’s asking prices for a vehicle that has at least 250.000 miles and 25 years old, is definitely not for everyone.

 

[Ozark_Prowler]

I test drove the badlands edition few weeks ago, I really liked it,
full boxed frame,
3x lockers
Decent power
Very nice interior
And basically zero modification needed to be amazing off road truck.

those pictures are from last week and Ford owned test track in Nevada
It’s just lovely to see in person what this vehicle is capable of doing.

I think if land cruiser 80 series was available as new today it would of been worth in upper 80s range

but today’s asking prices for a vehicle that has at least 250.000 miles and 25 years old, is definitely not for everyone.
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My qualms with it would be the poor visibility as mentioned earlier, and also the over-reliance on computerized systems for off roading etc. Te turbo engines are nice for power, but they're not as under-stressed as an old NA 6 or 8 cylinder mill. Certainly not as tolerant of neglected maintenance, and the jury's out on longevity of all this stuff.

On top of that, they're just so big and heavy! Why can't anyoine make a light 4x4 anymore, like the OG Tacomas? Too bad we don't get the Jimny here either!

yep, 100%

If you track the hours spent under the car in the driveway, suddenly $100 an hour in a shop where they get it right the first time is a bargain. I do lots of small stuff like off road lights, trailer wiring, roof racks but I pay a mechanic for anything mechanical.

Beyond the time is the peace of mind knowing it was done correctly. I have not needed a tow or field repair in 20 years.

I wheel mostly alone now, I'm tired of guys who do all their own work breaking down.

I get where you're coming from but an old LC is a pretty good rig to cut your teeth on. Pretty simple for the most part as was mentioned earlier. As long as the FSM is followed you shouldn't have issues with it.

 

[HUMMER/Expeditions]

Hahaha you call Bronco big and heavy ?

have you been next to 80 series with 35 inch tires and 3 inch lift,

let’s see
Fzj80 weight is 4982 stock add 35s and lift, it will be over. 5500lb ( Bronco 5300lb including all metal bumpers and rock guards and 35s

Cruiser is 74.8 inches wide without mirrors (Bronco is 71 )
Cruiser is Near 82 inches tall with 35 tires and lift

( Bronco is 73 tall with 35 tires)

I won’t even mention Broncos amazing approach and departure angles, cruiser doesn’t even stand the chance against that.

I love the 80 series, but let’s not make it a gods masterpiece.
It has tons of shortcomings,