Land Cruiser LJ70 from the the land of the rising sun

[Sabilco13]

Hi there,

My name is Ed.

It is great to see that I am not the only Land cruiser lover in the UK.

I am planning to buy a LJ70 from Japan they are not very popular in the UK (I don’t know why?)

Is there anyone here that has imported a car from japan?

I am planning to buy the HZJ71V SWB LX 4.2lts engine hopefully year 2000 (to avoid paying extortionate road tax)

I planning to buy one in a decent shape but surely it will need some sort of TLC. These car are very popular in Japan and to buy one in pristine condition with low mileage is very expensive even before adding UK taxes and shipment.

I found this website of a Dutch guy that does amazing restorations for Land Cruisers. I was wondering if it may be someone like him but in the UK.

Four wheeldrives for sale. - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]

I am based in Aberdeen – Scotland.

Thank you and all the best.

Ed

 

[SteveJB]

Hello Ed welcome to the club yes you could go the pro restoration route and pay a huge amount there are a few company's that import vehicles from Japan but you are paying quite a bit have seen one that does their own stuff but has an option of importing facilities for your choice of vehicle you will have trawl through the impoter sites unless a member can remember the àdvert of the really bad looking white cruiser with the big wheels and cow pat ugly body body kit last month hope someone can help you more than me

 

[Sabilco13]

Hi Steve,

Many thanks for your reply.

My idea is to do as much work as I can myself but I know that there may be certain things that I will not be able to do myself (lack of tools).

It would be nice to see how bad that white cruiser was.

All the best.

Ed

 

[Iwan]

You have to be carefull with imports with the age or choice of vehicle because back in the 90's from the factory they had minimal underbody coatings. This means that they can by now be rusty even though they don't salt the roads in Japan I believe.

This is because in Japan there was a rule that vehicles were to be moved on because of stringent emission rules.

The imports to the UK from the late 90's early 0's had no under body or minimal and now after the salt roads in the winter some are in a very heart beaking condition. If they weren't thoroughly treated to the underside when they arrived here.

Just to be aware! Good luck with your quest..

 

[Sabilco13]

Hi Iwan,

Many thanks for your tip. I will take it into consideration. As soon as the car get here it will get some underbody rust protection. I don’t want to end up like Fred Flintstone.

Thanks!!!

 

[Mike M]

Hi,

Give Paul a shout at japautoagent. I used him and his contacts to bring my 2015 76 series into the country and can't recommend them highly enough.
Worst bit is waiting for it to arrive haha.

Cheers

Mike

 

[Sabilco13]

Hi Mike,

Many thanks for the tip. Did you get what you were expecting? Was the inspection sheet accurate?

Many thanks

Ed

 

[Mike M]

Hi,

It was a very well setup process and all went smoothly. Paul explains the whole process and gives you access to 4wheelers auction site so you can search for your potential new car. Sam, originally from the UK visits the auction, sends lots of pics of the car, calls you from Japan before the auction starts and you agree a price limit for bidding. He will then hopefully win the auction and take the car back to his garage and convert the Speedo, install a fog light and prepare the car for shipping. Mine come into Southampton and a garage there then arranged the car for IVA, MOT and registration and I flew down to drive it back home.
That was over two years ago now and have zero regrets.

 

[Sabilco13]

Hi Mike,

Excellent purchase very nice land cruiser and practically brand new. Congratulations!!!!

Hopefully I will be showing mine in the near future.

Would you be happy to give some guide prices for importation from door to door?

Many thanks.

 

[Mike M]

Cheers,

It's difficult to price really as it all depends on the auction price in Japan and the exchange rate. Expect to pay 10% import duty then 20% vat to release the car from the port. I was around £800 for testing , conversion and registration and the agents fees were around 2k. I can't remember what shipping was, something around £1000 and you should get freight insurance in case the boat sinks or gets into trouble and requires a salvage company.

All in I had a 3 year old nearly new mileage cruiser for slightly more than an 08 plate 200 series with north of a 100k on the clock.

Paul's brought some cracking cruisers in over the years, all on YouTube. The white 100 series with low miles was absolutely stunning inside and out.

Worth giving him a shout if you have a spare hour or so haha, he has a wealth of knowledge on JDM cars.

 

[Sabilco13]

Hi Mike,

Thank you very much for sharing the video AMAZING!!! Land cruiser excellent buy.

I will definitely give them a call. I assumed you got the number plates after the car passed the MOT. How long did that take?

Where in Scotland are you? I am in Aberdeen.

Many thanks for your replies and sharing the info. Enjoy that beauty!!!!

 

[Mike M]

No worries, good luck in the search.

The guy in Southampton picked the car up from the port and took care of the IVA, MOT and registration. Unfortunately for me the IVA test took a few weeks because alot of the testers had walked out over some sort of dispute.

I live in Blairgowrie but work in in Aberdeen.

Cheers

Mike

 

[Sabilco13]

Hi Mike,

I haven’t been able to check the forum in a while too much work.

Wow you work in Aberdeen. You have to let me know next time you bring your car to check it out if that is OK.

By the way, is my understanding the car you bought bring a petrol engine? Do you know what the CO2 emission for this car is? I have been try to find this information everywhere but I can find it.

When you brought your car to the UK how did they determine what road tax you had to pay assuming they did not know the CO2 emission?

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Regards

Ed

 

[qbartx]

Hi there,

My name is Ed.

It is great to see that I am not the only Land cruiser lover in the UK.

I am planning to buy a LJ70 from Japan they are not very popular in the UK (I don’t know why?)

Is there anyone here that has imported a car from japan?

I am planning to buy the HZJ71V SWB LX 4.2lts engine hopefully year 2000 (to avoid paying extortionate road tax)

I planning to buy one in a decent shape but surely it will need some sort of TLC. These car are very popular in Japan and to buy one in pristine condition with low mileage is very expensive even before adding UK taxes and shipment.

I found this website of a Dutch guy that does amazing restorations for Land Cruisers. I was wondering if it may be someone like him but in the UK.

Four wheeldrives for sale. - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]

I am based in Aberdeen – Scotland.

Thank you and all the best.

Ed

They are not as popular in uk as there isn't as many as on the continent, at some point they were so cheap you could get one for a grand...i know i've exported dozens of them lol Also uk didn't get any hd versions only light duty lj's and kzj's. I've had a lot of them throughout the years lj's kzj's hzj's bj's and currently own 6 myself. 89 lj70, 91 lj71 auto swapped 4.7v8, 92lj70, 94 kzj70, 94 kzj71 auto and my little project 78 chassis with single cab body in the making don't know the engine yet
I do specialize in 70 cruisers and currently got few restorations on the go i also like to mix some stuff up and make some custom stuff too.
As everyone says rust is the main issue and i would not assume that even an import will be immaculate. These days it's also good to look all around europe and there is a lot of these cruisers for sale in reasonable money.

 

[Sabilco13]

Hi qbartx,

Wow 6 that is a big number!!!! It would be nice to see some pictures.

Where are you located? Your knowledge and expertise will come handy once I get my HZj71V if do you do restorations as a business?

Can I ask you if you know how much is the road tax for a 1HZ Diesel for any year after 2001? Unfortunately, I can’t find it anywhere. What the CO2 emission is for this type of engine. I assumed it should be over 255 g/km for sure. However, I haven’t heard of people paying £570 on road tax.

I have seen great prices for Toyota 70 series in main land Europe the only problem is that they have the steering wheel in the wrong size. Do you know if it is too difficult to convert a LH to a RH?

 

[qbartx]

That's my never ending project that unfortunately don't have time for at the moment. 78 chassis and axles all blasted repainted rebulit. 70 cab shortened down with some added storage space behind seats

 

[qbartx]

I'm based around Bristol and yes i do it as a business.
To be honest i used to drive hd cruisers years ago ,way before i moved to uk so won't help you with tax i'm afraid For me they're not as usable as light duty especially kzj71. I've got couple of yanks too and wouldn't say having steering wheel on wrong side is a problem at least not for me. There is some rhd coming up every now and again and as with every car purchase it's better to be patient and wait for the right deal! I wouldn't attempt changing lhd to rhd it isn't as easy as some people may think. Doable but not worth it.

 

[Sabilco13]

Hi qbartx,

Great pictures thank you very much for sharing them. You have great examples of KZJ71 very nice….do you just collect them or you also sell them? Can I ask you what size of tires do you have in the blue one?

Actually I don’t have a problem driving LH cars. However, if I live here and is my everyday car I kind of prefer if it is RH. I understand your point of not trying to change the lhd to rhd I thought it may be a headache.

Do you have a website or any way of contact if I need some work done to my future land cruiser?

How difficult is to find spare parts for these cars in the UK?

When you mentioned that the hd cruisers are not as usable as light duty I guess you referred to comfort or what else?

 

[qbartx]

I do collect, sell, restore, you name it Actually the "blue" one is rather green but the tyres were 33x12.5x15. Although...BFG tyres are always way smaller than other makes, rather like 32x10.5x15. Now it sits on 32x11.5x15 GeneralGrabbers. Actually this land cruiser i've bought recently with alleged overheating problems as it has blown the rad hose off and it ended up being dodgy radiator cap so that was good news. Bought it off a guy that probably is on here and facebook groups....bought it without seeing as i've helped the guy to get it driving properly as gearbox was playing up and someone has changed the ecu to a wrong number from a surf. That was a mistake though as he forgot to mention all the other stuff wrong with it. Supposed to be resprayed 3 years ago and no rust...it arrives and there is rust on both rear quarter panels and o/s sill...nice start i thought. Rear springs sagged and banging on the bump stop on every small hole. Went off the road first time both rear springs completely fell out lol Both front springs were fractured so too short, if the shock wouldn't hold them they would fall out too. Rear diff leaking. All bushes on arms gone so when you brake and then take your foot off you can literally feel the axle dropping back down Tyres all cracked, one of them had a patch on the sidewall!!! You could get a vibration white finger if driving it over 50. How this thing passed a legit mot...don't know. When pointed all stuff out apparently it was all peachy and i was moaning. That's what you get these days for being nice and helping people out i suppose. Slowly sorting stuff out so changed tyres, done the diff seal, 4 new lift springs, all suspension bushes etc.
There is many parts easy to find, even more that are hard like sunroof, wheel arch extensions etc. There is a lot of stuff i just buy brand new from japan as it's cheap compared to aftermarket replacements that are not always up to scratch. I do have loads of parts for them you can contact me on 07716700262 or better on Cruiser Garage - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]

 

[Sabilco13]

Hi qbartx ,
I’m really sorry to hear that happened to you and more when you were trying to help, that is one of the reasons why I’m thinking to import the vehicle from Japan. At least in Japan the auctions have thorough vehicle checks and they provide you with that information. It is a shame you feel you have to leave the forum. If you don’t mind I would like to contact you on the number you gave to ask some questions.