Hi!
I am planning a trip around the world with a friend and we have decided on an 80 series Land Cruiser. We have narrowed it down to three cars, but none of us have any experience with 4WD's so we would appreciate your thoughts. Our main guide so far has been Chris Scott's Sahara Overland.

We will be crossing all the continents (except for Antarctica obv.), but our first goal will be to cross the deserts of Sahara and the Arabian Peninsula, which I also see as the toughest obstacles for the car. We have both recently returned from a 7-month tour to Afghanistan (business, not pleasure) so we know what the desert can do to a vehicle.

Our main concerns are the 1HZ diese engine vs petrol and auto vs manual transmission. Although the ad doesn't say it, I am pretty sure car no1 also has a 1HZ engine and not a TDI.

Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80 Special
Price: 3,500 EUR
Mileage: 1,980,000 km <-must be an error, perhaps a '0' too much
Cubic Capacity: 4164 cm³
Power: 118 kW (160 PS)
Fuel Type: Diesel
Number of Seats: 5
Door Count: 4/5 Doors
Gearbox: Manual gearbox
First Registration: 08/1995
Number of Vehicle Owners: 1
HU: 08/2011
AU: 08/2011
Climatisation: A/C (man.)
Colour: Blue metallic
ABS, 4x4, trailer, El. Windows, el. Mirrors, air conditioning, leather upholstery, alloy wheels, sunroof, ASR, airbags, radio / CD player, power steering, low mileage, gas installation, computer, cruise control, heated seats


Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80
Price: 4,500 EUR
Mileage: 185,000 km
Power: 96 kW (131 PS)
Fuel Type: Diesel (Biodiesel Suitable, Suitable for Vegetable Oil)
Number of Seats: 8
Door Count: 4/5 Doors
Gearbox: Automatic transmission
First Registration: 06/1992
Colour: Red metallic
Interior Type: Cloth
Interior Colour: Brown
HDJ 80 Automatic with good 1HZ naturally aspirated diesel, bumper, running boards, rear sliding doors, trailer hitch, aluminum wheels, RHD ,7-seats

Toyota Land Cruiser FZJ80 Special
Price 4,900 EUR
Mileage: 140,000 km
Cubic Capacity: 4477 cm³
Power: 151 kW (205 PS)
Fuel Type: Petrol
Number of Seats: 7
Door Count: 4/5 Doors
Gearbox: Automatic transmission
First Registration: 11/1996
Climatisation: A/C (man.)
ABS, Alloy wheels, Central locking, Cruise control, Electric heated seats, Electric windows, Four wheel drive, Immobilizer, Leather seats, Metallic, Power Assisted Steering, Sunroof
Full equipment, gas plant, 3 blocks, right hand drive



I concider myself pretty good at both English and German as long as it doesn't get too technical. The ads were all originally in German, so I used Google Translate. If something doesn't look right, I will try to correct it.

Hi,My choice would be an 80 series 1993 on with 4.2td,auto,AC & diff locks fitted & working.

Of those I'd say the first one.
But I think you should look for a 24 valve 4.2 TD manual with low miles.

Cheers,
Matt


Now it's coffee time!!

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VIAIR - 12 & 24 volt compressors and systems. Tyre levers, Land Rover parts, Sand Tracks, Allisport Intercoolers, Overland Prep, and much more...

thanks for the replies. I have found two KJ95's with manual gears. One is from 1997 and one from 1999. Both have run 135,000km. I believe they are 3.0 and they are both TD.

Are they better than the other ones?

@matt

Why is a manual transmission preferable? What I understand from Chris Scott's book, is that he prefers the automatic.. I might be wrong though..

Hi Chris,

I'd go for the 80 series rather than the 90; The 80 is stronger, has a bigger engine and is known around the world.

Happy trails,

Jojo

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Atlas Overland - Specialist adventure tour company providing off-road holidays for 4x4 enthusiasts in Europe and North Africa.
Tours to Morocco, Iceland, Arctic Circle, Portugal, Alps, Pyrenees, Eastern Europe, Corsica, and UK weekend tours.

We've settled on one of these two:

The first is car no2 in my original post (no1 has been removed from the site)
http://i.ebayimg.com/15/!!royb2Q!m0~$(KGrHqIOKjwEt7)utpD4BLknqElPL!~~_27.J PG
http://i.ebayimg.com/20/!!roydJ!B20~$(KGrHqMOKjkEtlK)45jTBLknr-CT!g~~_27.JPG

The second one is an automatic 1994 HDJ80 TD that has run 187,000km. At 7,900EUR it is considerably more expensive than the other, but it also has an extra 200l tank, a roof tent (don't think we'll be using that) and a winch. I also think it looks like it's in a slightly better condition.
http://i.ebayimg.com/06/!!rmC5LgCG0~$(KGrHqUH-DEEtgvoFbePBLh-j3(tLw~~_19.JPG
http://i.ebayimg.com/11/!!rmC5swCG0~$(KGrHqMH-DcEttnDBJuLBLh-k!C5sw~~_19.JPG
http://i.ebayimg.com/03/!!rmDMnQBm0~$(KGrHqYH-DYEttSivtrRBLh-tRIt7!~~_19.JPG
http://i.ebayimg.com/24/!!rmC5-g!m0~$(KGrHqQH-D!EtFGDUl+SBLh-kPOWI!~~_19.JPG

What would you choose?

Hi - I would also go for a manual. I did an overland trip in a 4.2 TD auto and don't regret the choice of vehicle but DO wish it had been manual. Why? Mainly because I prefer manual anyway, but I also found the auto would overheat in desert conditions especially when on sand. And yes, you can fit an oil cooler, but that's extra expense.

There are also situations where you need to be able to give it a bit of extra power when you're pulling away eg when you're stuck. In a manual, this is easily done by giving it a bit of extra welly just before/as you let the clutch in. But with an auto, if you have the engine going any faster than idle speed when you put it into drive you get a nasty jolt and risk shock-loading bits of the transmission into oblivion..

overlandcruiser.net

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www.overlandcruiser.wordpress.com

Thanks for the response.
It seems that we have misinterpreted som Danish car registration rules, so the purchase has been postponed for now.. DOH!