[jamiec]

Hi all i bought an LJ80 stockman drove it from north of Brisbane to Tasmania last week its in fair condition but a little tired.
And now i am looking at a 2005 jlx jimny with 40000klm on it plus bull bar 2in lift diff breather extension under car bash plates ipf driving lights
towbar return to centre steering damper TJM snorkel etc. I took it for a drive today and it has the Jimny wobble but don't think you would call it the death wobble. It has a small oil leak somewhere from the engine and it wont go into 4wd and the clutch throw out bearing is niosey. The gearbox has a small wine sounds like input bearing? The seller said he had the gearbox removed and spent about $1600 on it and said it did not fix the niose would this just be a normal sound in the jimny? Also he had the transfer case removed and had a broken sincro ring and some other bits replaced so he said.

What one would be most capable off road? the most reliable etc?

I have had a good look over the stockman now and only found 2 rust holes the size of a 5c coin and i am thinking of doing a body off restore on it and forget about the jimny

O the choices

Any thoughts etc.

Thanks Jamie

[Fatzook]

No Contest. Not even a fair comparison.

LJ all day, every day.

[reeceh]

To drive an Lj that far is pure awsome. I'd be sticking to the Lj. The jimny just sounds like a box of problems.

[Highway-Star]

jamiec wrote:

What one would be most capable off road? the most reliable etc?

From the factory an LJ is a better 4wd. Both could be reliable or unreliable; LJ's are older and more likely to need maintenance due to age, but they are stupidly simple to work on and fix up.

Although both share the "lineage", most people would not really consider the 2 for the same intended use. LJ's are fantastic small light 4wd's, that ooze fun out of every rust hole and oil leak . Jimny's are somewhat 'larger', and allot more refined, though not in the same league as a totally factory offroad 4wd (though they have more bolt on aftermarket stuff available). Just for a stir, Sierra's are a half way in between confused compromise that are not better at anything

Really if you can live with the rugged and in your face simplicity of the LJ along with its tiny size and slowness (hell you drove it about 1300km, so I'm guessing you can), I see no advantage to a Jimny. Though If you like your mod cons: adjustable seats, multi-speed wipers, air con, water proofness, power steer, power windows and assorted bits, an LJ will probably drive you mad!

[jimny_timmy]

Fatzook wrote:

No Contest. Not even a fair comparison.

LJ all day, every day.

NoIdea.......



















Hey, if I did'nt.... Atari would

[jamiec]

I love the simplicity of the LJ as i have restoered a few cars in my time evan got a few troughies for them. So i am rather keen to do a resto on the LJ.

I and my mate drove it over 2000klm to get the LJ to Tas


The Jimnys seem to have a lot of problems from reading on here


Thanks jamie

[Shansh]

if you dont want the lj i do!!

[shlonga86]

jimny_timmy wrote:

Fatzook wrote:

No Contest. Not even a fair comparison.

LJ all day, every day.

NoIdea.......

Hey, if I did'nt.... Atari would

Well played Sir

[Highway-Star]

jamiec wrote:

I love the simplicity of the LJ as i have restoered a few cars in my time evan got a few troughies for them. So i am rather keen to do a resto on the LJ.

I and my mate drove it over 2000klm to get the LJ to Tas


The Jimnys seem to have a lot of problems from reading on here


Thanks jamie

That looks great!

[atari4x4]

fuck the jimny's, i'd rock that little jigger every day of the week

[jamiec]

And for your enjoyment a couple of pics from our trip back to Tas
This LJ was not a planed purchase but there you go hay
And no thats not me in the pic.



Cheers Jamie

[jimny_timmy]

Even though I own a jimny and would normally try to talk you into one... That thing looks sweet and I'd love to see it resto'd!

[weedkilla]

Fuck I miss Tassie, the only place in the world where driving any of that collection from Bris to Tas is a good idea, especially as the Ford has Tassie plates so you must have driven that up there first!

[Dr_Snapid]

I love that you put a van in the back of that little truck. This thread is pure win.

[jamiec]

Yep drove the Ford up to my Mums place north of Brizy to bring back the Carry van and thats when i came accross the LJ80. Lucky i had a mate that came with me on the trip and where able to drive the LJ80 back as well.

[jamiec]

(I love that you put a van in the back of that little truck. This thread is pure win)

So here is the other van its the bigger brother of the white one.


Cheers Jamie

[303zuke]

I think you ought to explain just what you need to "Restore" on that LJ80. It looks about as factory fresh and original as any LJ has been for the last 20 years. I really wouldn't be going and tearing it down just to repair two 5c piece sized rust holes. Pull the engine and give it a rebuild if it's a little tired, or even replace it with a F10A (but hang on to it if it is still the original eng no on the build plate!), but leave the thing as original as it is.

[DarkHorse]

That LJ is gorgeous! If you have the skillz, the motivation, and the time it will be a million times more rewarding (and cooler) than a Jimny. Sorry boys.

You got a thing for Carrys?

[jamiec]

Thanks peaple for the thoughts. The roof has had some damage someone must have droped something on to it. And the last owner has removed and thrown out the origanal seats and did a dodgy fitting of some honda ones Yep the motor needs some attention it still has the f8a in it and the rear door has been backed into something.

Now the vans bought the silver one first for something differant found out they are not very common so when the white one turned up i bought that for spare parts now i don't know if i could pull it appart for that as it is a good van and runs great.

Cheers Jamie

[zukmeista]

You would be nuts to get rid of that for a jimny!

[UBZ]

Nice LJ!

whille I'm completely LJ biased , what do you want to use it for?
The LJ is in great condition and it would be a shame to see it beaten to a pulp in the bush.
If your looking for a bush truck buy the jimny and save the LJ for light duties.

[2stroker]

It will take 30 years for the Jimny to be as cool as the LJ, ( if any Jimnys last that long).


What I cant believe is that LJ was here in Qld for sale and I missed it, good work mate.

[Jazzor]

Wow!, what an epic trip!! Cheers for the pics

[jamiec]

Thanks all. I just need a 4wd for getting through ice and snow over the winters as the roads i travell can often have ice and snow on them. And sometimes they close off the roads when its bad but most of the time they will let 4wds only through. As well i would like to get to areas for camping and fishing that need a 4wd so most use will be light duty off road at times.

Cheers Jamie

[DarkHorse]

LJ in ice and snow? At least it's a tintop!

[zukenutter]

LJ 2000km... epic!

[makes]

Congratulations on finding such a nice LJ80 and then driving it 2000kms back to Tasmania. That roadtrip is an impressive achievement in an original LJ80 !. Great pictures. Really like those carry vans also.

[squibby]

How about Daihatsu "Taft" vs and LJ?

I know where there is one sitting idle that I've seen near where I work. Is there any coolness asspociated with the Daihatsu? looks pretty similar to the LJ. It's a hardtop, I kinda like the look of it.

[zukenutter]

Never liked the Daihatsu ..

[sideways]

squibby wrote:

How about Daihatsu "Taft" vs and LJ?

I know where there is one sitting idle that I've seen near where I work. Is there any coolness asspociated with the Daihatsu? looks pretty similar to the LJ. It's a hardtop, I kinda like the look of it.

They're called Tafts over seas, here they're known as Scats, though only the later ones were called that.

They feel quite top heavy and have a deceptively poor departure angle (it's RARE to find one with an original rear bumper because they all got munched when someone tried to drive up something). They also flex like a Series Land Rover. They've got HUGE diffs (and rest of the driveline) for a small 4wd.

I consider them a super heavy duty but much less capable alternative to a Suzuki. Parked next to an LJ they look massive, but then so does anything else.

On the plus side the later ones were 2.8l diesels and the utes were one tonners! They sure look cool too. I've always wanted a Scat. A local guy has a 2.8l tray back that's like new(unrestored too), he's not an enthusiast or anything, it's just been his work car since for ever and he looks after it. I'd love to buy it off him but I doubt he would part with it.

As for the capability of an LJ, I have a very stock LJ81 on half worn bar treads (same size and tread pattern as it rolled out of he factory on!), the only "mod" is a set of super heavy duty standard height springs that basically mean it doesn't flex at all. I also have a Sierra on near new 30" KM2s with a few other mods. The LJ is massively better off road, especially in technical stuff. Comparing my Sierras offroad ability to the LJs is very "you brought a knife to a gun fight".

Of course, the Sierra is better on the road and on sand simply due to having more power.

Thanks

Hayden