Seeking help purchasing / importing an HZJ75 from Australia to the USA

[samuelashirley]

Hi Everyone,

I have decided its time to build something fun, and rare for a North / Central America road trip. Time and life are finally allowing such a thing.

I am wanting to import a pre-1995 HZJ75 flatbed from Australia and throw a flatbed rocky mountain four-wheel camper fleet on it.

Has anyone worked with an Australian exporter or US importer that will help find and import specific vehicles?

Example vehicle - https://www.autotrader.com.au/car/10954272/toyota/landcruiser/qld/macleay-island/single-cab

Needs some love, but id rather bring over a cheaper higher milage truck and replace a bunch of stuff than try to find something clean on the internet and hope its actually as clean as the photos are.

 

[Christian P.]

Samuel

That seems like a decent example for the price.

Just one note that you may or may not know - there are a couple countries in Central America that are not RHD friendly. The regulation seems to change weekly and probably depends on the mood of the custom guys...but you may want to check on that if your main goal is to explore Central America.

one example:

Overland Costa Rica Travel - WikiOverland

Overland Costa Rica travel information. Travel with a car or motorbike, borders, paperwork, gas and diesel price, camping, maps, buy car & more.

wikioverland.org

Right hand drive vehicles are not permitted.

A couple got refused at the Costa Rican border coming from Nicaragua in January 2016. They got told that RHD are no longer allowed in Costa Rica and that there is no such permission as in El Salvador. What the couple did, they slept at the border and tried it the next day in the morning again and then they could enter, only because the officer didn`t notice that it`s a RHD.

We crossed the Costa Rican borders 6 times in a RHD between August 2015 and February 2016. Five times out of six we had no issues whatsoever. Our last crossing turned into a major hassle. When we asked the officials how come we were able to cross the country 5 times and no one mentioned anything about RHD, all they could say that the system was malfunctioning.

 

[samuelashirley]

Samuel

That seems like a decent example for the price.

Just one note that you may or may not know - there are a couple countries in Central America that are not RHD friendly. The regulation seems to change weekly and probably depends on the mood of the custom guys...but you may want to check on that if your main goal is to explore Central America.

one example:

Overland Costa Rica Travel - WikiOverland

Overland Costa Rica travel information. Travel with a car or motorbike, borders, paperwork, gas and diesel price, camping, maps, buy car & more.

wikioverland.org

Right hand drive vehicles are not permitted.

A couple got refused at the Costa Rican border coming from Nicaragua in January 2016. They got told that RHD are no longer allowed in Costa Rica and that there is no such permission as in El Salvador. What the couple did, they slept at the border and tried it the next day in the morning again and then they could enter, only because the officer didn`t notice that it`s a RHD.

We crossed the Costa Rican borders 6 times in a RHD between August 2015 and February 2016. Five times out of six we had no issues whatsoever. Our last crossing turned into a major hassle. When we asked the officials how come we were able to cross the country 5 times and no one mentioned anything about RHD, all they could say that the system was malfunctioning.

Oh wow I was not aware of such stipulations. To be completely honest I think that 90% of my travels will be North America with some touring around Baja / Mexico. It is funny that they were allowed in later, and I think I would just hope for that sort of situation if that were to happen.

I'm not sure where diesel left had drive HZJ75s existed, or if they existed. I'm not entirely stuck on importing from Australia if there is a different place I could do so easier / left-hand drive.

 

[Paddler Ed]

That one in the link is a funny one, it says it's turbo, but a 1HZ isn't a turbo engine.

Also, very few people I know use Autotrader (I didn't even know it existed here, used to it in the UK), so have a look on Carsales.com.au as well as you might find more range.

 

[C p weinberger]

1HZ is not factory turbo charged, adding one is very problematic.. google 4xoverland Andrew bought a cruisr in South Africa and explains issues
With that said you can turbo 1HZ successfully, You just better budget for possible significant repairs if they did it wrong And have been overheating that engine.

 

[coloradocarlisle]

I used Austousa several years ago to import a HJ47
No issues at all and would recommend them

 

[samuelashirley]

That one in the link is a funny one, it says it's turbo, but a 1HZ isn't a turbo engine.

Also, very few people I know use Autotrader (I didn't even know it existed here, used to it in the UK), so have a look on Carsales.com.au as well as you might find more range.

Found so many more on carsale.com.au - Thanks!

 

[samuelashirley]

1HZ is not factory turbo charged, adding one is very problematic.. google 4xoverland Andrew bought a cruisr in South Africa and explains issues
With that said you can turbo 1HZ successfully, You just better budget for possible significant repairs if they did it wrong And have been overheating that engine.

Interesting, I'll do some more looking - I guess I didn't realize it was that different from the 1HD-T in the 80 series.

 

[samuelashirley]

Well I may be going a different direction with things, thanks for the help everyone.

 

[umpqua]

Might poke around on this site. https://www.autoscout24.de/

I'd look for something out of Europe if looking for a LHD. Also, check the classifieds on mud. Have you seen this?https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/denmark-bj75-fire-truck-28k-kms-cable-lockers.1185032/

 

[toastyjosh]

Also check https://www.gumtree.com.au/

 

[toastyjosh]

check this

SOLD - 1991 HZJ 75 dual cab turbo- new price

toying with the idea of selling my landcruiser 1991 hzj75 1HZ with safari turbo kit 426XXX kilometers 10k kilometers on a new h55 transmission that i bought new from toyota 1k kilometers on rebuilt swivel hubs new tie rod ends - 1k kilometers 285-75-16 falken AT tires detroit locker in...

forum.ih8mud.com

SOLD - !!PRICE DROP!! 1997 FZJ75 Pickup - LHD - AC - Power Everything

FZJ75 UTE LHD in Western Colorado This is a GCC market (there’s Arabic in the review mirrors) FZJ75 LX, 325,000kms. $25,000 FIRM. NO TRADES. Body shows some character from a life of camel hauling and stateside expeditions but the drivetrain purrs and the interior is clean with power...

forum.ih8mud.com

SOLD - Belgium 1994 LHD HZJ75 Pickup, 141k miles, Locking Diffs

Not mine, and no affiliation with the seller, but I know a guy who lives very close to this one and could easily check it out for you and get it to the port for shipment if you want. PM if interested. Looks like it could use a little love--maybe some windshield frame rust(?), but reasonably...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[wewillroam]

Hi mate - we'll be shipping our Troopy over from Melbourne or Brisbane towards December this year to continue our travels through the Americas. Might be a little way off for you but happy to share a container if moons align

Also, Simon Dangerfield and the team at CMS Maintenance Services in Bacchus Marsh are the Landcruiser whisperers and defacto mechanic of choice for a large portion of the Troopy community here, even those not based in Victoria. If you need a reliable and informed opinion on a potential purchase, could be worth giving them a call to inspect and sound it out. I'm also happy to help if we're anywhere near prospective purchases on our travels; i love a good look around older cruisers.

Hope this helps,
Ant