Snorkel-ized, RHD Diesel Land Cruiser Laughs At Denver Winter
In my first Denver winter after a driving lifetime in coastal California, I’m now experiencing my first real taste of driving in snow. My ’92 Civic is doing pretty well (i.e., I haven’t crashed or become stuck yet), but I’m starting to eyeball Craigslist listings for IHC Scouts and FJ40 Land Cruisers. After spotting this Toyota in my neighborhood, I may have to forget about the Scouts.
I know better than to attempt to specify an exact model year on one of these things, especially when it’s an visitor from some far-off land where drivers sit on the right and engines drink oil. Let’s say early 1980s and leave it at that.
Australia? Japan? The UK? Land Cruiser experts, what do you say?
Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.
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Um... That's a 1981 BJ44v from the Japanese Domestic Market (no Europe, no Australia, no US, no Canada) with a lift. The v designates hardtop. 3.2l "2B" diesel engine with 4sp manual transmission. No handmade sheetmetal -- all factory. Snorkel is aftermarket and the side mirrors are earlier Toyota; not original to this model. Toyota made them for Japan from 1979 to 1982; there were no rounded-bezel BJ44's. In 1983 and '84 the truck looked the same externally but the engine changed to a 3B and they came with five-speed manuals and were designated BJ46 models. Rust or not, its really, really rare in the US.
I would have guessed Aussie, between that 'roo bar and snorkel. You see the same mods everywhere here, even in metro Melbourne--only the model year is usually much newer and the driver is an accountant!