Hi Ladies & Gents

[whereisgibson]

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/list.asp?s=284
I've seen a £2k stock auto one of these raced across the worst bits of Mongolia. They're tough as nails.

 

[NMR]

Hi guys,

Well, i've had a really good look at and driven the 80 the 90 and the 100. One thing i will say for all of them is that they are all lovely to drive and they all seem to be built like absolute tanks! I only got to have a go on road but i still got a good feel for all of them i think.

A few more questions predictably?

What is the newest 80 i can get as the ones i can find are all more than 10 years old?

They all seem to be pretty tough cookies but is the 80 significantly tougher than the others???

Whats is the oldest 100 you can get? i found some that were T plates but looking at them they were pretty tired?

The 90 i drove was lovely and i'm 90% convinced thats what i want. any reason why i shouldn't? speak now or forever hold your....etc....


Nick

 

[Ecky Thump]

They stopped building the 80 and started on the 100 in about 1998. The 90 went on to 2002 I believe, then came the 120.

The 80 is a rock solid truck and if looked after can still be found in good order. I only just bought the wife a 200k 97 80 which is immaculate with a service history up to 178k or thereabouts. It is a petrol mind you and I have had it converted to LPG.

The 80 is still built under licence in South America and Tommo has a photo of 'something like a 05 plate' one in the UK.

If you like the 90 then also try the 120 as some of the older ones are becoming more affordable.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

An 80 series on standard suspension and in good order is IMO not really at much of a disadvantage to the IFS models for long distance travel especially on good roads. It's when you give them a suspension lift and big tyres they are a bit more of a handful and start getting less comfortable. You might have trouble finding one in good condition at a sensible price though, I don't think they were ever as popular as the 90 series.

I don't think a 90 series is any less reliable than an 80 for normal use and most hard use. The solid axle of the 80 and IFS of the 90 both have advantages and dissadvantages that affect reliability and your pocket! I think you will notice that you can fit a 90 into a narrower parking space though if that matters.

Except for very specific situations the 100 series IFS has the same mix of advantages vs dissadvantages compared to an 80 but much of the drive train of the 100 is stronger than an 80. It is wide like an 80 but the 100 body shape has a lot more internal space. It needs a wide parking space like an 80!

I would say pick the one you liked the most when you tried them

 

[Tommo&Claire]

As long as it says Land Cruiser on the back mate, it'll be fine no matter what you do with it If you're afraid of getting to that point where you think "s*it i wish i'd bought the other one as this can't do...." then relax, you wont find yourself in that situation because they can all do pretty much everything!

As for unsolicited advice, given the situation you have described i'd advise a 90 (or a 120 if you can get one), not because i own one, but because i honestly think that is the best truck for what you need. Others may disagree but i'll put it like this...

1. It's big enough to carry all your gear unless you end up with a car full of 5 people and all their gear! (but you said it was just you and yours)
2. It's as tough as an 80 or 100
3. It's as good off road as an 80 or 100 in most situations (you would have to be stuck in the depths of the meanest most horrible black run on a pay & play site before you find the point where the 80 starts to leave the 90 and 100 behind)
4. It's the most economical (particularly the d4d)
5. It's fast
6. They are cheap as chips at the moment

Obviously just my opinion but as Jon says, pick the one you like most.

 

[HauptRenate]

Defo an 80 then! AND comfort for us old cronies is paramount! Driving 1500 miles (no, not KMs!) at a stretch, and physical body, although a little stiff is fine, and being crotchety, I can always fallout of the seat to the ground...
Regards
Renate

 

[NMR]

Thank you all for your time and opinions. Before i decide i'm going to have a drive of a 120, just in the interests of thoroughness although with my 8k budget it may be tough to get a 120 or a 100 and to be perfectly honest i think a 100 is a bit too big for me!

The 80 was nice to drive, but that was at one end of a spectrum with the super smooth limo 100 series at the other. The 90 i drove was a D4D and that was lovely, really responsive and powerful but still with a reassuring feeling of mass and sheer solidness!

It's an interesting topic, i didn't realise how complicated it was! Many moons ago i used to work on a car production line at Ford and having had a good look over these Landcruisers the thing that stuck out to me is how well they are constructed. Compared to the vehicles i have constructed i can see the tolerances and workmanship is at a much higher level than Ford ever was. The other thing i noticed which sort of led the questions i asked is that across all series the level of workmanship and materials and quality is at the same high standard which was why i was asking if any one series was considered tougher? As far as i can tell they were all constructed using the same tolerances in their manufacture, you certainly can't say one was built tougher than another! The way that the bodies are built, attached to the chassis, the chassis itself, the suspension components, the mounting of the engine, the electrics, the general fixings used, the whole nine yards are all the same across the models as far as i can see.

I suppose it's just because the only guys i know with landcruisers have the 80 series and they told me that only an 80 will do and the rest were cheap and nasty crap!

Having heard the opinions of some clearly clued up guys on this site and done some useful research i can go back to them and invite them to shut it as the 80 series, good as it is, is not the be all and end all!

Now, need a 120 series to drive....

 

[Ecky Thump]

This is where we need Graham

The Highways Agency get rid of their 120s after three years with between 200k and 380k on the clock.
Even though they are very high mileage, they are serviced fastidiously and only ever do around 50 to 60 mph motorway driving.

If you can find one that has had the holes for lights etc sorted these can be a fantastic motor.
I think Graham said his was around 250k and still nigh on perfect.

 

[Tommo&Claire]

Where are you???

Maybe a generous 120 owner close by who may offer

 

[BIG clean GREEN]

Cracking topic & enjoyable read ! I love my 95 and would only swap it for any other landcruiser !!!!!! They're all great motors at the end of the day, I'd look at the practicality needs and not the off road capabilities due to what has been discribed previously

Nick.

 

[Graham]

Wow!

I've lost the wood in all the trees!

Comfort on the road is important, sometimes i go from Glen Coe to Southern Italy in one epic 3 day drive!

I suppose the question is, is there anything an 80 and a 100 can do with there solid axels that the 70 and 90 can't do with there Independent ones and is it likely to be relevent to moi?

.
.
Then you really don't want a massive 80 or 100 series.
That will cost you a packet in fuel.

If I were you, I would aim for the 2000 to 2002 95 series, which is a 5 door 90 series, longer wheelbase than a 90, with the D4-d engine.
The shorter 90 series may not be so comfortable on the longer roads.
And thats even before you start to mention Morocco

The newer 120 series, are still not quite in your price range.

Graham

 

[Graham]

This is where we need Graham

The Highways Agency get rid of their 120s after three years with between 200k and 380k on the clock.
Even though they are very high mileage, they are serviced fastidiously and only ever do around 50 to 60 mph motorway driving.

If you can find one that has had the holes for lights etc sorted these can be a fantastic motor.
I think Graham said his was around 250k and still nigh on perfect.

.
Sorry guys, I am on the other side of the world,
You know where.

Looked after, the Land Cruiser engine seems to know no boundaries.

Graham

 

[NMR]

Hi Guys,

As i'm near a computer for once i thought i'd post you an update.

After much toing and froing i picked up my new land cruiser on the 8th! A dark green 52 plate 90 series VX with the D4D engine in it. 133,000 miles, Genral Grabber AT2 tyres and everything works bar one of the foglights at the front, leather interior, heated seats, very plush! All for the princely some of £7300.

I finally had a drive of a 120 and despite how lovely it was, they were all a bit out of my budget. Besides, the difference between the 90 D4D and the 120 was negligible. The 90 feels a little more 'truck like' but i like that, reminds me of what a brute i am driving!

I flew in to Gatwick Friday night, test drove it saturday and gave the guy the cash then and there. Monday it went in for a full service and health check at a Toyota dealers near Portsmouth and then Tuesday we got on the ferry back over to France. After a 3 day roadtrip via my friend's house near Val D'isere to my current location in Cervinia in Italy my impressions are:

I'm pleased with my purchase

On the autoroutes it is smooth, quiet and powerful. It will sit at 85mph literally all day no sweat and still return around 30mpg. The first half of the trip i was only lightly loaded with what i flew in with but after Val d'isere i had all my climbing and mountaineering kit, diving gear, 3 sets of ski's and snowboard and the rest of my worldly goods!
It swallows all of this in the back, ski's on the roof bars and i don't even have to use the back seat for storage.

As i climbed into the Alps at the end of the first day i started to meet some horrendous weather and it was already dark. Within an hour i was driving in quite literally a blizzard, talk about a baptism of fire. However, it was all a bit of a non event, the Cruiser just plodded on like there was nothing going on at all, could have been a sunny day in London as far as it cared! Came to two road closures where the Gendarmes were turning people back, but i was pleased that when they stopped me they had a quick walk around at the vehicle and shone a torch on my tyres and the badge on the bonnet (!) and then waved me through. An hour later i rolled up on Henri's drive smug as you like!

The next morning when i left, the little pod in the middle of the dash was telling me it was -14 when i got in the motor, despite this motor started in about 3 turns and i was off with my heated seat on high.

Rest of the journey was pretty un-eventful.

So, this far, i'm quite pleased with my purchase so thanks for all the advice and guidance, most gratefully received. I'll try and post some pictures soon but as i own neither a camera nor a computer, it may be a while!

Nick

 

[Graham]

Well done Nick,
Sounds like you picked your self a little beaut !

The D4-d engine you have will be having an easy time then?

Graham

 

[Tommo&Claire]

Well done Nick. Did i mention i want your job!!

 

[Andrew Prince]

Good stuff, Nick Looks like you've dived straight in and getting value from your new acquisition already

 

[Ecky Thump]

Well done Nick, glad to see you took the plunge.

It's an awesome motor as Tommo will testify. Duff fog lights seem to be a D4D 90 quirk.
Not sure how many pairs Tommo has had but they always fill up with water.
Oh well, never mind eh!! the rest of the truck is awesome.

Is it staying UK registered or are you changing the plates and lights

 

[NMR]

Guys,

Thought i'd post you a quick update on how i'm getting on with my new Land Cruiser.

Well, nearly 4 months into ownership and i have covered nearly 6000miles in it. I spent most of january and february in the alps of Switzerland/France/Italy for the ski season so i'd say i'm now fairly well versed in the cold weather and deep snow side of things. I also spent a couple of weeks in the Pyrenese for some climbing and so that ticks the very steep rough tracks side of things, i'm now in Italy about to start some diving and it's really quite warm here.

So far vehicle impressions:

On the road: very impressed, fast, quiet and comfortable and even though i'm carrying probably nearly a tonne of kit i'm still getting around 30mpg on a run and maybe 26 round the towns. One thing that this one doesn't have which i thought it would is cruise control, this would be nice but not essential, so a minor pain at most, but all in, a very comfortable place to eat up the miles. Another nice thing is that it eats up the miles with the same sense of relaxation and confidence regardless of the weather. I've seen numerous blizzard-like storms, horizontal rain, black ice, you name it this winter! But the LandCruiser just plods on regardless, in fact i almost look forward to bad weather now because i want to see if anything will bother this vehicle!

When i was buying i had received some dubious advice that i absolutely must have a truck with minimal electrics in it! Fortunately this was tempered by some quite sensible advice from guys on here and i have to say i have been feeling smug all winter. My smugness comes from the fact that pretty much all of my friends and colleagues wherever i go have had various problems this winter (no they weren't all LandRovers) particularly those in the older trucks where the cold/wet/damp has got to things in the engine causing them to be lying on their backs in the snow and ice, fiddling with spanners with blue fingers. They all assured me that they were fine and just needed 'adjusting' or 'fettling' but fact remains.....mine just works!

The other piece of advice i received was that i must have a live axle?? Whilst i can only give you my own experience on this, so far i haven't found the independent setup on mine lacking yet and in the Pyrenese we were on some tracks that were really badly rutted and washed out. i was having to lock my rear diff to keep moving forward and the defender 110 with me had to be winched through. The driver was telling me that it's okay because the Defender was much tougher so he can just use momentum to drag him through, but from what i've seen, that only holds true if you have enough room to build that momentum and some of these tracks had deep cross axle ruts for miles on end.... good luck getting a run up on these tracks!

The only problem i have suffered is a torn sidewall on a tyre, i ordered a new one but i wasn't sure if i can mix a tyre with all it's tread with a tyre with half it's tread on the same axle

So, loving it, long live the Land Cruiser.

 

[TonyP]

Great story and a nice update. Glad you are enjoying your cruiser.

As Tommo said, wish I had your job

 

[Graham]

Hi Nick,

Nice write up, and I am sure we are all happy you are enjoying your Land Cruiser.
You seem to be able to rack up the miles, will this be a regular thing, or will your distances deminish ?

Well good to here you find no problem keeping up (if thats the tense, as they needed a winching) with the opposition..
I think that although solid front axle's akin to the 70 series, and the 80 series, and the Defender, although praised highly, are no doubt good, it shows that the independant front axle, aka your 90 series, really need to have some challenging terrain, before the "solid front" axle vehicles will have any benefit of the "independant front " axle vehicles.

I feel the comfort you have experienced on the 6000 miles so far, by having a "independant front " outweigh the more rugged drive and feel of the "solid front" axle vehicles.

Graham