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Two-Fer: 1978 Toyota Land Cruisers

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Barn Finds reader Jim S. sent us this pair of Toyota Land Cruisers. At least one of them is a 1978. They can be found in Greene, Rhode Island and are listed for sale here on eBay with a buy-it-now for only $2,500 for the pair.

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The enclosed model is deemed restorable by the seller, with the other one suggested for use as a parts vehicle. I know people love these Land Cruisers, and there’s certainly metal panels and entire bodies available for purchase. It would be nice to have the second vehicle for those little components that inevitably get lost during a restoration. As the seller describes them as the “honey hole” for Toyota Land Cruiser parts, perhaps they have some other components you could purchase as well.

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After looking at both, I’m not sure that if you find one restorable they both would be! There’s a lot of rust on both. One thing the seller doesn’t tell us is whether either or both have titles; depending on what state you live in that could be a severe problem. I live in North Carolina, and it’s a lot of trouble to deal with an out of state vehicle purchase with a clear title; I don’t want to tackle another one!

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I know these have a rather rudimentary interior, but this is even worse than I’d expect. Still, there are some good parts in here and who knows, maybe once you clean it out there’s something salvageable in there. The door panel doesn’t look too bad!

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Of course, you may be perfectly happy with the cosmetics as they are; these are off-road vehicles after all. Both come with complete drivetrains, although no details are given about either one. Front and rear axles are complete as well as transfer cases. Again, maybe the look works for you; if so, let us know in the comments below!

Comments

  1. Avatar Jeff Staff

    I’ve actually driven by these a few times. One has been sinking into the mud for years. Looks like way too much of a project to me…I’ve got no appetite for rust.

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  2. Avatar Gary I

    Have at it, plenty of parts and a rusty Land Cruiser when you are done picking through them. Toyota rat rod maybe?

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  3. Avatar duke

    typical jap rust issues, these are and always will be rust magnets
    ive owned 3 of these and i sure don’t understand the attraction-they are slow,noisey ,leak water when it rains plus the MPG is non existent
    never again…see you later toyota,i’ll buy a land rover or range rover before one of these ever again-

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  4. Avatar steven MacLeod

    Awesome trucks th 4.2 d that came in uk spec cruisers was a monster wen it came to pulling heavy trailers and it was a great driving well screwed togrthr work vehicle

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  5. Avatar Mike

    I always noticed that a lot of trucks from the mid to late 70’s seemed to rot more than rust. Is it just me or what!!! I always loved the Chevy trucks, but during the last part of the 70’s hey also would look like these Toys, rotted metal more than rust. Cheap metal those days I guess. My Dad always said it looked like they were building cars out of tin foil and not metal during these years.

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