| Series 70, 71, 73 and 74 |
| The Landcruiser 70 series and later slightly longer wheelbase, 71 through 74 series were the direct descendents of the famous jeep body style 40 series. These are some of the lesser known models of the current 70 series, since they were primarily sold in small numbers to private owners, but the short wheelbase made them highly capable off road and a worth replacement to the infamous 40 series. |
| In 1984/1985, Toyota introduced an entirely new design to replace the aging and now 25 year old 40 series Land Cruiser. What Toyota came up with was a most appropriate replacement. Although completely new in styling, every off road positive aspect of the original 40 series was retained. The all new 70 series was introduced. The 70 through 73 series is the short and medium wheelbase version of the long running Land Cruiser 70 series. Essentially, the direct replacement of the famous 40 series and what most Americans know of as the FJ40. These models were built in more variations than the longer wheelbase Land Cruisers. Some are still in production today for a select few markets. The suspension, interior and basic layout of these models are nearly identical to the more famous longer wheelbase 75 series Land Cruisers, but the frame and body is much shorter. This allows the Land Cruiser to be more nimble off road. This model was popular as a personal off road transport, but because the Land Cruiser was marketed almost exclusively as a commercial and government vehicle and because these were never sold in the largest auto market in the world, the US, few were built, compared to other Land Cruiser models. However, these models were sold all over the world, except North America, in the 1980s and early 1990s. They can be found in Japan, Asia and even South America. The short wheelbase models are not quite as common in Australia, but they are very popular in the homeland of Japan, where compactness and rugged 4X4 are a welcome combination. Today, few short wheelbase 70 series can be purchases new. I can only find them being sold in some select South American countries and possibly still in the Japanese homeland. |
| This is a left hand drive HJZ74 with the 4.5 liter petrol engine. A medium wheelbase Landcruiser from the mid 1990s. It's original country of destination is most likely Venezuela as the 4.5 liter petrol was available in this model in that market. However it now resides in Japan. |
| The Technical Section |
| These are pictures from an early model German Land Cruiser catalog. The catalog dates from the late 1980s. Note the pictures of the frames. The one of the left is of the Bundera, which uses Hilux type axles and coil springs. The one on the right is the standard leaf spring, heavier duty 70 series axles. |
| Front suspension |
| Above is an example of an earlier model frame and suspension of the LC70 short frame. The medium frame models were similier. Note the leafs springs front and rear. This was nearly indentical to the long wheelbase 75 series models from 1984 through 1998. The axles were typical stout Landcruiser, including offset pumkins front and rear and 9" ring gear. |
| 1999 and later model suspension |
| The Interior and Dash |
| A current generation Landcruiser 74 series from Japan. |
| The Engine Section |
| These Landcruisers used a variety of Diesel and Petrol engines. Much the same engines as it's longer wheel base counter parts, including the B series, 1HZ and 1HD series diesels and the 3F and later 1FZ series petrol engines. To see more, please visit my Toyota Landcruiser Engine Page |
| More Pictures Click on images for larger view |
| For those, unlike me, that can read French. |
| Proof that Landcruiser 70 series are driving around on American highways. This one is registered in California. I don't have any details on it, though. |
| In Iceland, they build Toyotas with super wide tires to be used on the artic tundra. One company, called Artic Trucks, which is based in Iceland builds such trucks. They are famous for building Landcruiser 80 series to cross Antartica. This model is called the Icelander. The tires are not as wide or tall as other models, but note the extremely wide fenders used to cover the tire. |
| 1985 Canadian BJ70 |
| South American Short/Medium wheelbase Land Cruisers |
| These pictures of these very cool Land Cruiser short wheelbase 70 series are from www.funrace4x4.com Please visit that site to see many more pictures and info. Most of these pictures were taken in South America. |
The above two pictures were sent in by Darryl Bragg (Sgt. USMC)
| Military Lancruiser 70/73 Pictures Click on images for larger view |
| The below models are short wheel base Landcruisers, probably based somewhere in South America. Military Landcruisers are common in places like South America and the Middle East, because they are a lower cost alternative to other vehicles specificly designed for military use. The Landcruisers were tough and well suited for military use. Note the permanant front hubs on the model to the right. |
| Other military Landcruisers can be found on my Military Toyota Page. |
| LANDCRUISER 70 SERIES |
| The short and medium wheelbase models |
| A medium wheelbase BJ73 model |
| Auto hubs found on the current generation Japanese 70 series |
| Transmission from the current generation Japanese 70 series |
| Later models of the short and medium wheelbase Landcruisers use the same coil front and rear leaf spring suspension as the 78/79 series. This is not to be confused with the light duty Landcruiser Bundera, which used coil springs both front and rear and used the smaller Hilux size axles. |
| Rear suspension |
| LC70 Braking and suspension systems |
| A very nice example of a partly restored 1985 Land Cruiser BJ70 from Canada. This example was recently for sale on Ebay. It was originally purchased new Canada where Toyota did sell 70 series Cruisers into the late 1980s. This is also a diesel model, but not to be confused with the similier looking Bundera, this example has the full size axles, suspension and motor/transmission. In the pictures, it currently has an ARB old man emu lift springs, 35" tires and ARB air lockers front and rear. A very nice Land Cruiser indeed. |