"Merkin Muffley" (merkinftw)
04/15/2014 at 15:28 • Filed to: None
8
16|
"Merkin Muffley" (merkinftw)
04/15/2014 at 15:28 • Filed to: None | 8
| 16 |
Welcome to Below Average Cars, an occasional series about kickass cars you can buy for less than the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! *
For this special Tacoma Tuesday edition of Below Average Cars, We have an absolute beauty, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
No one on Oppo needs reminding of the legendary reputation of the Land Cruiser. They go anywhere, they do anything, and they don't break down. This one will certainly go anywhere, but it won't go anywhere fast. That is because instead of being one of the FJ series Land Cruisers we are used to in the states, this one is an HJ, which means there is a pulsing, throbbing (there is no other way to say this) diesel between those elegantly sculpted front fenders.
This particular cruiser has been imported from South America, and it isn't alone. South America has become the hot spot for TLC imports these days, for a couple reasons. First, unlike Aussie imports, they are LHD. Second, a couple of companies have popped up down there in recent years that are manufacturing new body panels for old cruisers, and from what I have read, they are using original Toyota tooling. Considering that there is not much space to hide shoddy work on a vehicle that shows more metal than OzzFest, this particular example looks to have been restored pretty well.
It isn't 100 percent perfect, however. The bumper is wrong, although that doesn't necessarily matter. The tires are too wide for my taste. This thing is begging for a set of 7.50r16 pizza cutters. The biggest flaw I see in it, though, are the split rim wheels, which can kill or seriously injure you if you aren't careful.
Swap for a set of non-split steelies, though, and you'd be good to go. Who needs a Tacoma?
Sure, a Taco is faster, and it has amenities, but Tacos don't look nearly this good. They also don't have that magical off-road combination of solid axles and a diesel motor.
Tacomas are known for holding value extremely well. When I bought my most recent vehicle, I set out to find a Taco. I bought a low mileage British luxury car because it was half the price of a Taco that had twice the miles. There is a very real chance, however, that an old TLC pickup like this one would be worth more than you paid for it when you get around to selling it. Prices for vintage off-roaders have been climbing significantly of late, and show no signs of abating.
All of this adds up to one simple Truth- the HJ45 is one hell of a Below Average Car.
*Following this advice will often make your SO hate you and your mechanic love you. You may end up broke, wrapped around a tree, or both. Just because you can buy a Below Average Car doesn't mean you should, except it obviously does. I'm not affiliated with any seller.
HammerheadFistpunch
> Merkin Muffley
04/15/2014 at 15:38 |
|
30 grand and rising, I would expect no less for a clean HJ45. Love it, but not THAT much, the H engine wasn't much fun. 95 hp and 159 ft-lbs from 3.6 liters.
jkm7680
> Merkin Muffley
04/15/2014 at 15:40 |
|
I know it's worth that much, but I'd take it for half the price.
JR1
> Merkin Muffley
04/15/2014 at 15:45 |
|
What exactly is the average price of a new car anyhow?
|
Merkin Muffley
> JR1
04/15/2014 at 15:48 |
|
a bit over 30 grand, 31 or 32 grand depending on the month and the source. The asking price for this one isn't below average by much, but I suspect there would be a bit of haggling room with it. You could get one for considerably less if you went to the trouble of importing one yourself.
Roundbadge
> Merkin Muffley
04/15/2014 at 15:53 |
|
Love my taco, but if it came down to this HJ45 and her, the taco is out the door.
I doubt this guy's gonna take $7K for it though...so she's not in any danger.
J. Walter Weatherman
> Merkin Muffley
04/15/2014 at 16:20 |
|
When I first read the title, I thought this post was going to be about how you think Land Cruisers are overrated or something like that, and I had already begun thinking of ways to bribe Gamecat into revoking your Oppo privileges. Thankfully I read the article and discovered that the outrage to be misplaced.
The 45s are absolutely epic. My father-in-law owns this FJ45 and I try to steal it every opportunity I get. They are getting a bit pricey these days, though. Hopefully he will be kind enough to leave his to me in his will :)
Gamecat235
> J. Walter Weatherman
04/15/2014 at 19:51 |
|
Beer. Always beer. =)
|
J. Walter Weatherman
> Gamecat235
04/15/2014 at 21:49 |
|
Well that was a given. The real question was just how big of a dent in my beer fridge it would cause :)
Jason Torchinsky
> Merkin Muffley
04/18/2014 at 14:57 |
|
I love that thing.
atfsgeoff
> Merkin Muffley
04/18/2014 at 16:15 |
|
There's not a lot of cars you CAN'T buy used for under $30k. You can get a C6 Corvette, a first-gen Viper, early NSX, pretty much any 10 year old or older BMW, Mercedes, Audi, etc.
|
Merkin Muffley
> atfsgeoff
04/18/2014 at 18:11 |
|
Sure, but I like writing about cool ones, and people seem to enjoy reading about them so far.
CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist)
> J. Walter Weatherman
04/18/2014 at 23:36 |
|
That is one of the most BADASS work trucks EVER. Second can be the abused Shelby Dodge Dakota I saw a few years ago..
Klevyn B.
> Merkin Muffley
04/19/2014 at 07:31 |
|
Such a majestic piece of workmanship; And that blue color makes it look so good that it deserves an article on it's own!
jdjonesdr
> atfsgeoff
04/19/2014 at 09:55 |
|
With one of these, you'll probably never have another one pull up next to you at a stoplight.
johncalvinyoung
> atfsgeoff
04/19/2014 at 10:33 |
|
Yeah. You can even (occasionally) get into an Aston Martin at $30k, or *slightly* below. Usually a V8 Vantage Volante, but still an Aston!
DanielC
> Merkin Muffley
04/28/2014 at 23:49 |
|
Sweet rig overall but kinda mehh on the bedliner overkill.