whats your opinion on the old toyotas

Used them for years in the 80s they were a good truck really quite tough but not up to Toyota advertising standards.
The 40 Series had a good body that didnt crack up too badly just deteriorated over a couple of hundred thousand Ks of rough stuff.
The suspension was lousy the transfer cases cracked the chassis would break after a while. The 2H cracked heads and unless you got a good one they were quite gutless. The front Diff housings would also bend quite easily.
But they were reliable I remember using Stage 1 V8s in the same era and they were as good but not quite as economical, although they were better performers off road.
I remember getting a HJ45 troopy bogged in quicksand with American tourists in the back the chassis twisted so badly that no one could get out causing much stress for the yanks lol

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Originally Posted by Rangier Rover

Interesting this. We have had land rovers here since 1949 and Toyatas since 1966. For some reason the Toyota's have been more durable than the series landy here:( They are bloody tough. They just seem to bend and twist with abuse. I guess the Landy is so well made there is no room for this so they break;)
Have had no dramas at all with the 2H engine and have had it since new.

I still like my Rovers but couldn't have them here in this fleet with out the Land Cruisers as they take the abuse better.

The Land Rover is way better off road but the Toyota is much stronger in many ways.

Hence I have both here;)

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When was the last time you saw a 60's or 70's vintage cruiser driving around?,2's,2a's and 3's are everywere.Having serviced-repaired both makes they both have there strenghs and weak points.The reason that tojo's took over is because of the bigger engine and higher road speed,nothing else.My defender has been the better vehicle by far compared to similar aged and abused tojo's that I have been around,none of my mates troopy's can touch it and neither can either of my last two work ones.When it comes to strengh the only part on a troopy that is stronger is the pinion in the diff's,the crown wheels are no better than LR's and the gearbox's are a complete POS, the 1HZ's have overheating trouble from new,LR's take years of non service before it happens to them. Pat

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Originally Posted by PAT303

When was the last time you saw a 60's or 70's vintage cruiser driving around?,2's,2a's and 3's are everywere.Having serviced-repaired both makes they both have there strenghs and weak points.The reason that tojo's took over is because of the bigger engine and higher road speed,nothing else.My defender has been the better vehicle by far compared to similar aged and abused tojo's that I have been around,none of my mates troopy's can touch it and neither can either of my last two work ones.When it comes to strengh the only part on a troopy that is stronger is the pinion in the diff's,the crown wheels are no better than LR's and the gearbox's are a complete POS, the 1HZ's have overheating trouble from new,LR's take years of non service before it happens to them. Pat

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I can't argue with any of the above on latter cruisers. The early five speed was a disaster.
We were talking about the earlier right, as in 40 series. I wouldn't **** on the later ones if they caught on fire although I have a 75 series with the 1HZ that's going fine so far.

The way I see it on most farms around here the old 40's are still being worked senseless wile the older landys are sitting in a shed or under a tree with something busted or missing. This includes some of mine. Through shear determination I have kept two of the series working here and recently acquired the 4BD1 120". It goes around the cruisers in many ways but still not in strength compared to a 40.
I'm not sure about a late Defender yet, although a 130" would be good here.


Anyway..... My fault here.... We should not be comparing the two rivals as are very different creatures.

My opinion is.... The later 40 was a good old truck in its day. Was basic, strong and very reliable. It was never anything more than a rough work horse as they were designed to be. I feel very fortunate to have a straight and Rust free 45 here as there is not many left with original body and paint.
Can't say the same for the 47 though:(

The 2a was 1961-71; I see some of these still in use round here, but I do not see any Landcruisers of similar age - you do see a few from the late 1970s, by which time Toyota had fixed a lot of the faults.

But it is worth noting that in the sixties, Landrovers probably sold a lot more than Toyota did - the real takeover of the market was not until seventies, so there may simply have been more Landrovers to start with in the sixties and more Landcruisers in the seventies.

As far as my memory goes the reasons for the takeover of the market by Toyota (and to a lesser extent Nissan) were (no particular order):-

1.More power giving a higher speed on the road. This appealed to individual buyers, but not fleet owners.

2. As Leyland's mass market products failed, so did their dealer network and distribution system.

3. Toyota responded more rapidly to owner experience - Rover was good at this in the fifties, but Leyland was quite unresponsive.

4. From 1948 to the early seventies, Rover was unable to meet demand for Landrovers. This meant that Landrover quantities were rationed to countries such as Australia, leading to long delivery times particularly when large batches were sold, for example to the army. This is how Thiess first got into importing Landcruisers - he could not buy Landrovers at the time.

5. As the "standard" four wheel drive changed in the late sixties from something similar to the original Jeep (e.g. FJ40, LR 88) to a trayback ute, the FJ45 with a 121" wheelbase had a big advantage over the Landrover's 109" wheelbase.

John

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Originally Posted by PAT303

The reason so many old blokes have back and kidney troubles is from SWB cruisers,I spent time in them when I was younger and thats why I have LR's,the reversed front springs that push the wheels harder into potholes is the dumbest idea ever invented. Pat

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Actually works better rock crawling than the hanger at the back as it increases traction.
Jeep used the same setup on almost all models and leaf sprung Wagoneers and Cherokees rode as well as Rangies.
I was going to do a hanger reverse on my old CJ, my very first car until I studied it further.

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Originally Posted by Rangier Rover

<snip>

The way I see it on most farms around here the old 40's are still being worked senseless wile the older landys are sitting in a shed or under a tree with something busted or missing. This includes some of mine. Through shear determination I have kept two of the series working here and recently acquired the 4BD1 120". It goes around the cruisers in many ways but still not in strength compared to a 40.
<snip>
Can't say the same for the 47 though:(

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Same here, there's still a stack of 47's running around in the hills here, only a few IIa's and III's left.

When I turn up in the Defender some of the old cockies get really nostalgic and tell me all about their old IIa or III they bought new.

When I did my clutch a few years back, I was running around in a friends 47 Troopy for a few weeks and had a ball, but geez it sucked the fuel, I'd forgotten how bad they were. :eek:
It's only life is to tow a horse float occasionally. They wanted to install a 5 speed for fuel economy, I keep suggesting a Holley or Weber and a set of extractors and a 2.5" exhaust would help it a lot, :twisted: but they aren't interested :(

It really took me back to years gone by,and the thing is totally rust free (ex Bushfire Brigade, re-painted thank God :D )

Mechanically, Ya just can't bust 'em, and even if you could, they can be fixed by the village blacksmith or a cocky with a pair of fencing pliers and a length of 8G. wire.:)

Akawa made bodies were rubbish.

I learned to drive in a SWB FJ45. That thing with L plates and a bullbar certainly made people look out.

Great fun truck.

:)