comments on the old land cruisers

**me_jake13** · September 26th, 2004 02:12 PM

i just wanna hear comments on those old land cruisers, ung mukang Jeep...gusto ko talaga itsura e, just wanna know if ok ung performance, economy of fuel, value for money if bumili ng 2nd hand, etc....thanks

**calcite** · September 26th, 2004 03:37 PM

The old land cruiser BJ40 was very popular in the 1970's/1980's. Very tough, with a powerful diesel engine. It can withstand a lot of punishment and is still a favorite here in the hinterlands of Mindanao.

The only defect I can cite is the short wheel base. This helps give the vehicle a small turning radius - it helps maneuver in tight off-road spaces. The downside is that the vehicle has a very bouncy ride and is unstable on the highway.

I worked in a minng company back then and we had mostly BJ40's. I was still a junior engineer and often had to ride in the back seat. My head would often hit the roof on particularly rough roads. And the side facing seats were not very pleasant on long travel.

Because it is short and tall it can also easily spin out of control. I experienced a spin way back in 1986 or 1987. We were fully loaded and travelling on a sparsely travelled highway in Surigao del Norte (near the Lipata ferry site). We approached a wet (probably mossy) curved concrete part and we spun three times. Almost got killed that day because I was the middle passenger on the front seat - nothing to hold on to! Anyway, good thing the railing we hit did not give way because otherwise we hould have fallen about 30 feet off a cliff. For all it's worth, the BJ40 did not suffer much. Just a mis-aligned chasis which was repaired.

Later on the company got new Ford Ranger pick-ups (1987 models) and loaned the Land Cruiser to an army officer. A short time later, we learned that the vehicle again spun out of control somewhere on the road to Cagayan de Oro and the driver and a passenger were killed.

Maybe something for you to think about.

**pajerokid** · September 27th, 2004 08:50 AM

Get one in good condition and youll be impressing a lot of dieselclub peeps hehe

**kiper** · September 27th, 2004 09:23 AM

I like that one too.. You can easily transform it to a custom show-car or a monster off-roader!

**quindoyos** · September 27th, 2004 01:13 PM

i'm currently restoring one. bought one for 70k.
now it's been a year now and after 100k plus of repairs and mods
i hope that it'll be ready before october. the vehicle is now being fitted with saginaw power steering and having its front shackles reversed. (tama ba yun?) i'll post the pictures as soon as the project vehicle is finished.

if you plan to buy one, the easy way to go is look for a bj40 in good condition and start from there.

**niky** · September 27th, 2004 02:43 PM

Yup... very easy to find 70's land cruisers in decent running condition. My uncle's landcruiser (bought a year ago.) still passes emissions, and he fixes everything on it himself (replaced hoses and fittings), very easy to take care of.

**Bogeyman** · September 27th, 2004 02:58 PM

Gotta love the old Land Cruisers! Malakas ang makina nila, pang-offroad talaga (because in those days, environmental impact wasn't an issue on automotive engines, so people made them as powerful as they wanted). Tapos yung mga winches nila naka-connect sa driveline mismo, kaya malakas ang torque, unlike today's electric winches. :-)

If you do get the chance to buy one, lagyan mo na lang ng custom safety features for your peace of mind, taking note of what calcite said. Meron nga kaming nakita online, Land Cruiser na pick-up, khaki color with black hood. Asteeeg, tsong. Hanggang ngayon pinagkakaguluhan sa office namin yun. A manly man's ride, hehehehe.

EDIT: Yung Land Cruiser na yun, naka-display daw sa Kanzen (tindahan ng LC parts) sa may Banawe, katabi ng Pizza Hut. Owner is selling it for 400K+. You can check it out if you want.

**luckytruck** · September 27th, 2004 04:54 PM

I love them. to this day i feel bad that my parents sold ours when i was still going to school in manila.

the only downside to them are that because of its cult following, i think that they are severely overpriced (opinion lang, hwag kayong magalit

) but, i guess that is the economics of supply and demand, di naman kasalanan ng kotse yun

hehehehe

**ECG** · September 27th, 2004 05:00 PM

Originally posted by me_jake13
i just wanna hear comments on those old land cruisers, ung mukang Jeep...gusto ko talaga itsura e, just wanna know if ok ung performance, economy of fuel, value for money if bumili ng 2nd hand, etc....thanks

performance is great especially off the road.
fuel economy is average.
value for money... it depends..