To Land Cruiser 80 Or Not To Land Cruiser 80?

[86tuning]

How did this turn into a 100 vs 80 thread? If this guy is looking to spend 3 to 4k on an 80, what makes people think he's gonna double his budget to purchase a 100?

The 80 is a fine vehicle for hauling people around and off pavement travels. As long as the OP is prepared to deal with preventive maintenance and tow capacity he will be just fine.

Fwiw the "rest of the world" max towing capacity is 3500kg (7700 lbs) when "properly equipped" whatever that means. In North America our max capacity is 5000 lbs so legally you will be okay with 3-4k.

Fuel economy isn't all that great either when your truck weighs 5500 lbs empty.

But I love mine and drive it everywhere. All of our road trips are in this truck. Sooo comfy. And 35s work good off pavement.

A hundy with 35s will have a weak spot too: the front driveline can let go when you're out 4wheeling the thing. But the ac will be colder and you'll have more torque and hp. Plus the newer truck is nicer inside.

 

[MarcFJ60]

Oh thats convincing...

Even extremely high quality vehicles like Toyota have system repair cycles, when considering buying a 20 year old truck knowing its good to know when they are required. Like in any community tribal knowledge is paramount. If a would be buyer starts to add in upcoming repair cycles to the price of FZJ80, I think they could easily see double it in near term ownership cost. In the Northeast Land Cruiser & Toyota club, FZJ80s are pretty much considered parts or project only trucks once they breach 200K miles; worth about $2 to 4K depending on rust (sure full locker package retains more value). Why? Because the HG is at end of life and it a $3K fix. I've see A LOT of guys buy an 80 and join the club and gone in 18 months, all due to the cost of ownership. I currently own two 80s and one 100, all for different reasons; I know their strengths and weaknesses. For cost of ownership, comfort, and towing I own a 100.

Again, there is a lot I agree with here. But I don't consider a 200K FZJ 80 at the end of its life, and clearly many others agree. Like anything else, they will wear out, but there are many people driving FZJ80s with well north of 200 and 300K on them. I believe they were designed for a 250K service life, so the closer you get to that or exceed it, you are on borrowed time. But I think that is separate from the HG issue. The HG issue is more of a design or production issue that effects a small number of LCs. I don't believe it is inevitable, though the odds probably go up a bit as wear puts things out of tolerance. But if I had a 250K LC, I would be more worried the rings were wearing than I would the HG, which has lasted 250K, would go out.

I also don't disagree that you need to take costs of ownership into consideration as much as purchase price. Whether you get an 80 or a 100 series, if you aren't doing your own maintenance that purchase price will be nothing compared with the total cost. Whether it is knuckle rebuilds on a 80 or timing belts on a 100 series, both will be super expensive if you aren't doing it yourself.

As to the 80 versus 100, the 100 would certainly tow better and frankly is a better overall vehicle for 95% of people out there. But the initial purchase price puts it out of reach for many. And like the 80, if you aren't going to do the maintenance yourself, initial price probably doesn't matter. But if your budget is $3-4K, I think the 80 is a great choice given the OP's desires. Ideally, a 100 series may be better, but that isn't in the cards at $4k.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

I think you need to look at the bigger picture here. Nobody is trying to talk him out of the 80 and push him into a 100. We are simply pointing out that he needs to take things into consideration. My 80 pulled a 6000 lb trailer ok, but most people on here seem to think a truck isn't worth having unless it is in the nitro burning funny car type power to weight ratio. The OP has pointed out that he wants to tow 3000-4000 lbs regularly, and that the 80 he is looking at is at a dealership which claims it is "solid". That means to me that it may need all or most of the usual pm or baselining done. That equates to a bunch of cash. I think posters were merely pointing out that he should consider the costs of repairing an older rig to that of buying a newer one.

Your 80 is bad *****

I have been towing our 5000lb boat with our 99 100 series and just purchased an 06 100 series for the vvt motor because the 99 labors to pull 5K.

Fwiw - I would not consider pulling a 3-4K trailer with an 80

 

[jhanley]

"FZJ80s are pretty much considered parts or project only trucks once they breach 200K" - Post on that IH8mud.com, might earn you a lifetime ban.

Bottom line, if you're towing often, adding stress to all related parts, add 2k worth of DYI baselining to whatever LC you purchase. I've towed the same boat / trailer etc w/ both my 80 and 100.

Bottom line, with 4000lb's in tow, going uphill sucks in both.....

 

[REDrum]

Yet you also own two vintage Rover Series trucks? Those must be for reminding you why you own 3 TLCs?

LOL, no doubt.... The series truck are for coffee promotion. My father sold LR when I was kid so I wrenched on them like many kids wrench on the lawnmower. Land Rover & Land Cruiser:the ying and yang of truck ownership.

"FZJ80s are pretty much considered parts or project only trucks once they breach 200K" - Post on that IH8mud.com, might earn you a lifetime ban.

LOL Where do you think I learned it? But not all. The northeast and snow belt are lot harder on trucks than areas in US south of the 40th parallel.

Also, back to towing. The 80 certainly will tug around 3 to 4K reasonably well, occasionally. Weight distributing hitch and brake modulator will help a lot. The 80 was pretty scary to bring down from 60 to zero with a load >5000# I needed to haul >5000# monthly so thus the 100

 

[redthies]

Your 80 is bad *****

I have been towing our 5000lb boat with our 99 100 series and just purchased an 06 100 series for the vvt motor because the 99 labors to pull 5K.

Fwiw - I would not consider pulling a 3-4K trailer with an 80

My LX450 seemed to be a bit of an anomaly. I only drove a couple of 80s and I let a few people drive mine, and all seemed to think mine had more power than average for some reason. That said, the 6000 lb tow was when I was moving and I HAD to bring my 31' Airtream along (we lived in it!). I only did it once, and was a bit nervous the whole 150 miles!

OP: An 80 will do you well. They are incredibly well designed and built trucks. Possibly the best ever when fitted with the multivalve turbo diesel. If you have a bit of mechanical skill, and can follow step by step instructions, you can do 99% of maintenance on them at home. They are a bit thirsty though, and I would use that as ammo at the car lot. I bet you could drive away with it for under $3k if they are asking $4k.

 

[haven]

The OP said, "I would prefer something that call pull a 3k to 4k pound trailer anywhere, as well transport a lot of people when needed."

Without knowing what "a lot of people" means, I'd say a Suburban would be a better choice. I owned an LX450 for a while, and wouldn't dream of towing that much weight, or forcing adults to ride in the jump seats for more than a couple of blocks.

Check out these articles about restoring Suburbans for off-road use. Budget is a bit beyond the OP's, however!
http://www.fourwheeler.com/features/129-1306-1972-gmc-2500-suburban-sir-burban/
http://www.fourwheeler.com/project-vehicles/129-0507-1989-chevrolet-suburban-2500

And see this ExPo thread that has 51 pages of photos of off-road prepared Suburbans
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/66899-post-your-Suburban-pics

 

[MarcFJ60]

Without knowing what "a lot of people" means, I'd say a Suburban would be a better choice. I owned an LX450 for a while, and wouldn't dream of towing that much weight, or forcing adults to ride in the jump seats for more than a couple of blocks.

While I don't think the quality or wheeling prowess of a Suburban can compare to an 80/100, they are quite possibly the ideal vehicle for hauling people and towing. As Haven said, the rear seats on an 80 are really just for kids and when the third row is in use, there is very little room left for cargo. A suburban still has decent storage when it is full of people. Older ones certainly have acool factor too!

 

[foeix]

These were $50K trucks when new. The parts don't depreciate like the vehicles. Read this: http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/should-i-buy-an-80-costs-of-ownership.124556/

 

[REDrum]

These were $50K trucks when new. The parts don't depreciate like the vehicles. Read this: http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/should-i-buy-an-80-costs-of-ownership.124556/

Cruiser Dan's post is gold! He is in the 1 percenters club of Land Cruiser knowledge and transacts more FZJ80 parts than anyone else in the US. If the OP buys that truck, get to know Dan.

 

[jhanley]

While cruiserdan might be the "expert" on 80 series parts, his opinions aren't the end-all be-all.... I'm going on 15 years of 80 ownership, and, by no means have my trucks been expensive to maintain (aside from fuel). My former E36 M3 on the other hand? I curse BMW.

Back to the task at hand. If the OP is consistently towing 4k pounds, an 80 isn't the right vehicle. If he really want a cruiser, save a few bucks and get a 100.

Your mission objective is vast, and finding one vehicle to "do-it-all" on a budget isn't easy.

 

[NCFJ]

I think that something that must be addressed when looking at any vehicle that is in the 20 plus year old range is just that, age. Even if the proper routine work has been done to the rig it's entire life it will more than likely need more "heavy" work done to it along the lines of axle bearings, brake components, tie rod ends etc etc etc. To think that you are going to buy a 15-20 year old SUV for $4K and it is going to serve you without fail is a dream at best. It does not matter what type vehicle you are buying, $4K is not going to get you much.

The up side is, an 80 series is a very well built platform that is worth investment. That's right I said investment. You are going to have to put some money into everything from suspension bushings to window regulators and door and hatch seals. God knows the sun roof is going to leak. If you put $10K worth of care into an 80 you generally will have a very dependable vehicle that can take you almost anywhere.

The next big step for the 80 series that is becoming more popular daily is a re-power with either a diesel or a V8. I make my living putting GM Vortec motors in 60 and 80 series Land Cruisers. Installing a diesel or V8 will in most cases extend the running life of the vehicle another 10-15 years if all the accompanying components are also refreshed. This is a major commitment to any vehicle, most certainly, but if you compare these costs to the purchase of a new vehicle for the same use it seems like a bargain.

Given these kinds of repairs and upgrades to an 80 series it is far more capable to tow the kinds of loads the OP mentions. In stock trim I would not feel comfortable towing much more than 3-4K lbs. THe bottom line for all of this is that doing it on a slim budget will only net you disillusion down the road. Consider the vehicle purchase you make as a "tool". You can surely go and buy a 4" grinder at Harbor freight for $19 and it may serve you well a few times, but if you plan on using it often you are better off to pony up and buy a quality tool.

Good luck with whtaever vehicle you purchase

 

[shellb]

Hi Stan!
Nice to see you over here. :victory:

 

[NCFJ]

Hey Brett!!

It's been a while. I hope that CO is treating you well.

Stan