Land cruiser HZJ 75 - Talk To Me

Land cruiser HZJ 75 - Talk To Me

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Discussion

neutral 3

Original Poster:

6,504 posts

175 months

Thursday 13th February 2020
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Always loved these.......
But compared to a Discovery 1 or 2, although vastly more reliable, much more roomy and powerful, I imagine that they are a tad noisy and basic ( in OE spec )
Really want to build a camping car out of one.

Biggles111

461 posts

268 months

Friday 14th February 2020
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I have used these in a mining career spent in Australia, the Middle East, and Africa, in both pickup and troop carrier config. They are pretty bulletproof, the long wheelbase gives a surprisingly good ride, and they basically just go on and on.

Not something for long motorway cruises, so I would not convert one for driving to say S Europe, but if you wanted to overland across Africa then their simpleness to repair and ubiquity of parts makes them a good bet.

Test driver

348 posts

129 months

Thursday 20th February 2020
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Very poor value for money secondhand but decent enough motors. Overpriced in the market, you get much more for your money with Jeep and Land Rover.

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

195 months

Thursday 20th February 2020
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neutral 3 said:

Always loved these.......
But compared to a Discovery 1 or 2, although vastly more reliable, much more roomy and powerful, I imagine that they are a tad noisy and basic ( in OE spec )
Really want to build a camping car out of one.
A good Disco1 shouldn’t be unreliable.

Test driver

348 posts

129 months

Saturday 22nd February 2020
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300bhp/ton said:
neutral 3 said:

Always loved these.......
But compared to a Discovery 1 or 2, although vastly more reliable, much more roomy and powerful, I imagine that they are a tad noisy and basic ( in OE spec )
Really want to build a camping car out of one.
A good Disco1 shouldn’t be unreliable.
Are there any reliable Land Rovers? I think not.

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

195 months

Saturday 22nd February 2020
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Test driver said:
Are there any reliable Land Rovers? I think not.
I think maybe you have no clue.

Family has run Land Rover's since the 1970's and had in the region of 40-50 vehicles. By and large they have been pretty dependable. And certainly no worse than any other marque owned.

Nicks90

559 posts

59 months

Sunday 23rd February 2020
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300bhp/ton said:
Test driver said:
Are there any reliable Land Rovers? I think not.
I think maybe you have no clue.

Family has run Land Rover's since the 1970's and had in the region of 40-50 vehicles. By and large they have been pretty dependable. And certainly no worse than any other marque owned.
Now if you had said family has run LR's since the 70's and had in the region of 4-5 vehicles, then I would have agreed with your opinion.
Landrover are a great design, with parts chosen by accountants and built by commies. Shocking build quality, shocking materials and shocking reliability. And that's from a die hard LR fan that has owned a series, a defender and two types of disco.

anonymous-user

59 months

Sunday 23rd February 2020
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If you want to get there use a land rover,if you want to get back use a land cruiser.

Walter Sobchak

5,725 posts

229 months

Sunday 23rd February 2020
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Test driver said:
Are there any reliable Land Rovers? I think not.
To be fair the D1 and RRC aren’t unreliable, they’re pretty basic and tough, what kills them off is rusting away. I really like the early 3 door D1s with the blue interior, are they as durable as a Landcruiser?, no probably not but they’re far more durable and less likely to leave you at the side of the road than their newer offerings, anything P38 onwards really.

neutral 3

Original Poster:

6,504 posts

175 months

Monday 24th February 2020
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Thanks for the replies. The HZJ 75 Troopie or Pick up, was never imported here, so it’s tricky finding out much about them. It seems that 93 onwards models, got some engine improvements.
I’m wondering what their fuel economy is like, verses say a TD-5 manual Discovery, what they drive like and also cab comfort etc, on a journey. Replacement front seats seem to be a fairly common upgrade.

Edited by neutral 3 on Monday 24th February 12:03

neutral 3

Original Poster:

6,504 posts

175 months

Monday 24th February 2020
quotequote all
As for the reliability of Land Rovers.....
I’ve owned And worked many over the years, inc Series 11 and 111 and then 3 Discoveries.
My first Disco was a N reg 3 door 300Tdi manual and No sun roofs thank god, in Epsom Green. Loved it, it worked hard towing a wood chipper and carrying logs etc in my Tree surgery biz. It broke a front c / v joint, which £ cost a fair bit to get sorted @ an Indy, they did the cam belt at the same time. Very fond of that one, sadly wrote it off. My next 300 Tdi was a late 94 model 5 door, manual, bought in early 2011, again I love it ! No sun roofs and air con ( never had it working ) Worked hard as a tow car, very reliable, except it broke its clutch fork @ the Dartford x ing toll booths, which meant recovery and a complete new clutch. I think it was sold new to Japan. Still have it, but it now needs some welding to the body shel, but waxoyl has really helped preserve it.
Latest one is a late TD-5, manual, I’ve had to throw ££ lots at it since purchase for £2,000 last November. I hunted for ages for a clean, Non sunroof one with service history. It’s had 4 new Monroe gas magnums, 4 new h / duty plus 2 inch springs, complete new clutch ( knew it was going when I bought it ) inc dual mass flywheel, slave, master cyls, clutch fork and operating rod, a new fuel tank return pipe ( design fault, they chaffe on the chassis ) new front tires ( Cooper Discoveries) a full service, new de cat down pipe, replaced all 3 interior bulbs with Led ones ( huge improvement ) the £ expensive new steering box that was fitted about 60,000 miles ago, is now p out it’s fluid, so more ££ expense is looming, but I really like it. The extra rear interior boot length is Really desirable.

bramley

1,671 posts

213 months

Monday 13th April 2020
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LeftLake

75 posts

154 months

Wednesday 20th May 2020
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Awesome vehicles. Just wish Toyota sold them in the UK, rather than having to import...

It would be nice if we got the 4Runner, Fortuner, and LC200 too! There's a reason you'll find 70 series landcruisers in places across the world that are really remote. Think war zones / hostile environments, mining, humanitarian aid, through to the school bus in many areas. They are the UN vehicle of choice (I think Jankel has the largest collection of new ones in the UK fitted with armoured body panels, fuel tank upgrades etc). I've gotta say, the 'troopy' as per the original post is one of my favourites (matched to the 1HZ). Must admit, the 79 double cab with 6x6 conversion is also rather tempting!

Land Rovers in comparison are far too complex and prone to failure. They are fine for 4x4 and off-road, but for overlanding or heavy usage, just too big a risk!

neutral 3

Original Poster:

6,504 posts

175 months

Friday 25th September 2020
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Still on the lookout for one.