i recently purchased a Lexus LX450 which is just a rebadged Land Cruiser with leather seats. For years, I wanted one of these trucks, and after just a few weeks, I’m pretty smitten with it. It could just be the fact that I’ve never owned a truck that I can actually use, but I suspect it’s more to do with the fact this 80-series Land Cruiser feels incredibly well screwed together for having 250K miles. The seller’s truck is a generation older, otherwise known as a 60-series, and it’s from Costa Rica – which means it’s equipped with options we didn’t get stateside, notably a turbodiesel engine. Find the Toyota here on craigslist for $29,000 and located in Denver, and thanks to Barn Finds reader Mark K. for the find.

This is an interesting truck not only for the equipment but also because it doesn’t appear to be a recent import. As we well know, many “forbidden fruit” models have been brought into the states over the last few years, but this Land Cruiser came a different way by entering the U.S. by way of Costa Rica. This says to me it wasn’t necessarily brought in as a “quick flip” candidate but perhaps a service member’s personal vehicle that made the trek north when they returned home. It’s pretty much as good as it gets, combining a manual transmission with the 4.0L turbodiesel. Many of them came equipped with automatics, so the three-pedal option is a nice find.

The standard engine that came stateside was already quite robust; the 12HT turbodiesel even more so. The mileage is around 200,000, which isn’t much on a motor like this. The engine bay looks clean and the seller has addressed a variety of maintenance needs, including a refreshed cooling system, new master/slave cylinders, and cleaned injectors. When a foreign market vehicle is brought in as a potential flip car, you usually get zero insights into the history or when the last service was performed. Since this one looked like someone’s personal vehicle, we actually get some insights into how it was looked after which is a major bonus for anyone hunting for a JDM truck.

The rear driver’s side quarter panel shows some damage with surface rust underneath. The seller claims it hasn’t spread since he’s owned the truck, and given I have a few vehicles with similar cosmetic concerns, it’s entirely possible that you can continue to live with the same spots of rust for years to come. The wheel and tire package isn’t factory and while a wheel with a lower offset certainly looks good, I’m not sure these aftermarket rollers are an upgrade. The seller notes the front windows don’t go down and the dash is cracked, and the other flaws seem largely minimal. Overall, this looks like a solid rig with the right equipment, and no need to pay the fees if you were to import it yourself.