[GTO]

My gawd, you have brought home an icon, an SUV that's amongst the 5 best ever made. Lucky that you got the diesel and not the petrol. Congratulations Harjeev, I throughly enjoyed reading your buying experience, you got a way with story-telling. I especially liked how other BHPians helped you in the process. to the camaraderie of our community.

The LC80 is actually a better offroader than the LC100 series that replaced it in the late nineties. The Landcruiser has gotten bigger and bulkier with each new generation, seen the latest 200 series? 95,000 kms (if they are genuine) is nothing for a Toyota body-on-frame truck. These LC's are good for 300,000 kms, if not 400,000 kms. Best part is, there is tons of after-market support...both, for stock parts as well as modifications.

Tip : I was once considering a 100 series and spent a good amount of time surfing the ih8mud Landcruiser forum. Check it out, you will greatly benefit from their advice.

[DicKy]

That's one heck of a machine that you have bought @harjeev.
A Legend to say the least.
BTW, the headlights seem to be clear lens, thought the 100 had only the dull types.A mod here?

[harjeev]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

You will need an address proof in Mumbai for vehicle to be transferred in your name.
Regarding resale, remember, Punjab is the land of luxury vehicles. Its much easier to sell an import in PB, esp a well maintained import.
Since you intend to use it on trips to himachal etc., and you will be visiting punjab often, a PB-10 number will mean nobody harasses or stops you at the nakas. Even in HP there are PB number cars galore, ditto for Uttrakhand.

Yes Tanveer, I know that the vehicle would be easier to sell in Punjab later on, but I think that I would retain the mumbai number.
Reason:

• Save some money. If I get the Re-registration done in Ludhiana it would be a little expensive compared to just transfer of registration in Mumbai.
• Regarding address proof, I have neither in Ludhiana or in Mumbai, So I guess the groundwork that would be needed do be done in Ludhiana would suffice for Mumbai too.
• Later on whenever I want to transfer the state of registration I always have the window open and then as the vehicle would be in my name the issuance of NOC would be possible.
• Additionally I have a few friends who have been driving MH registered vehicles in NCR for quite a number of years. One of them has a Mumbai registered vehicle, with a Gujarat issued drivers license and stays in Delhi.

Originally Posted by GTO

My gawd, you have brought home an icon, an SUV that's amongst the 5 best ever made. Lucky that you got the diesel and not the petrol. Congratulations Harjeev, I throughly enjoyed reading your buying experience, you got a way with story-telling. I especially liked how other BHPians helped you in the process. to the camaraderie of our community.

Thanks a lot GTO. I would just say had it not been for the forum I would still have been driving my old vehicle which I had 3 years back(a 7 year old Hyundai Accent). Majority of the knowledge that I have gathered over the years, credit goes to this Forum and this forum only.
All the 5 people in the picture are members of teambhp and not only this, throughout my travel from Bangalore to Delhi I constantly relied on threads in the travel section especially from HV Kumar sir for hotels, tolls, routes to take, pitstops etc.

This is what I tell my friends who ask me what teambhp is

"TEAMBHP IS AN ENCYCLOPEDIA ON AUTOMOBILES, BUT NOT JUST AUTOMOBILES,
ITS A LOT MORE"

The LC80 is actually a better offroader than the LC100 series that replaced it in the late nineties. The Landcruiser has gotten bigger and bulkier with each new generation, seen the latest 200 series? 95,000 kms (if they are genuine) is nothing for a Toyota body-on-frame truck. These LC's are good for 300,000 kms, if not 400,000 kms. Best part is, there is tons of after-market support...both, for stock parts as well as modifications.

This is the reason I preferred and was actually hunting for an 80 series compared o the 100. The parts in the aftermarket segment are easily available and are cheap when compared to it successor. Secondly the engine is really simple to maintain and has quite less of electronic components compared to its successive models. Somewhat like the difference that lies in the Merc W124 and the successor's W210, 211 etc.

Tip : I was once considering a 100 series and spent a good amount of time surfing the ih8mud Landcruiser forum. Check it out, you will greatly benefit from their advice.

I too have bookmarked the site and would start visiting it.

Originally Posted by DicKy

That's one heck of a machine that you have bought @harjeev.
A Legend to say the least.
BTW, the headlights seem to be clear lens, thought the 100 had only the dull types.A mod here?

Thanks DicKy.
Mine is an 80 series and yes you're right there's a mod here. The previous owner changed the headlamps to projector lamps. I have though decided to revert back to the original but a little later. Currently I would be driving the vehicle in its stock condition.
The headlamps that i have in mind are exactly like its there in this picture


The vehicle in the above picture is owned by a friend of mine. Sanjay. Its a fully loaded FJ80 with front and rear diff locks, sunroof, dual battery setup automatic transmission, etc but shares the same heart with my cruiser, the 1HD T, 4200 cc Turbo Charged Diesel engine under the hood

[r_nairtvm]

Hrajeev,

Congratulations.

If the car has genuine 95K on the clock, you can look forward to another 95K atleast before you need to look at the engine.

In Dubai, I know TLCs used in Desert Safaris (where they literally rape the machine to thrill the tourists) usually comes to used market with about 150K behind it. If you are not careful and experienced you could get suckered with a doctored clock which would show about 40 K (usual for a two year old domestic TLC here) and you will never suspect anything. Such is the quality of build on TLCs.

Unless something drastic happens believe me you will not let this one go any time in near future

Enjoy your TLC, which can be your Playmate and Workhorse!

Best Regards and Drive/Ride Safe

Ram

[harjeev]

After the deal later that day, 28th August 2010
Continuing with my experience, after having purchased the vehicle we roamed around in Bangalore for sometime. We guys had lunch and then TRAMMWAY and RANBIR had to leave for Chennai and Housr so they bid farewell and I too was tired from the activities of the day decided to retire for the night at a hotel. Here again thank to Santosh, he was kind enough to help me checkin into a hotel. It was a basic hotel and as I just wanted a place to crash for the night I took it. Was in bed by 8pm but sleep came around only by 10ish.


Here I take a moment to judge and observe the human mind. Our minds are set at solving the immediate task at hand. Just 24 hours before on the night of 28th August 2010 I was wondering whether I would get the deal or not so all thoughts were geared towards that and today (29th August 2010) having secured the deal, now my mind is now totally focused on the big task ahead.

The long & solo drive from Bangalore to Delhi some 2500 odd KMS!!!

29th August 2010
I get up and am out of the hotel and on the road by 4AM. Here too Santosh had guided me to take the NICE Road out of Bangalore and in a little while I start the biggest and longest solo drive of my life. The start is good and in about 30-40 minutes or so I am on NICE road. Well lets say the NICE road is really nice.
I would also like to mention that as I was driving alone I have just approx timings and have just managed to note the start and end point, time, etc. Also as this is not a travelogue I only managed to take some pictures on the way.


Here are some pictures en-route


Stopped at a small roadside convenience store. Had to purchase some batteries for my GPS

Some more pics en route. I am not sure what place is this, but the roads were fantastic.



Here come the windmills, Now I wish that I should have stopped more at these locations and taken more pictures...


The following pit stop was 25kms after crossing Davangree towards Haveri



Now, when someone's traveling in a vehicle that is old by manufacturing year criteria but new by ownership standards, how would a travel be exciting and memorable without any hiccups on the way...

Till next time...


any guesses.....

[trammway]

I'm sure what has happen out there, but for the sake of keeping the suspense in the thread I will not reveal the information now... carry one let the story continued.

[svsantosh]

Make sure you carry a wooden stool for the mechs to c-l-i-m-b into the engine!!!

[trammway]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

Make sure you carry a wooden stool for the mechs to c-l-i-m-b into the engine!!!

No way, Aluminium ladder should serve that purpose.

[Champion]

I certainly don't wish to interrupt you Harjeev, but I had to say this despite the many you have already received, Congrats! The LC80 is a gem. And once a Land Cruiser, it always has to be another Land Cruiser. Atleast that is what we went through. Dada bought the LC100, and after 6 years I choose the LC200 as it's replacement. Albeit these vehicles have become more luxury-based as time passed, they kind of retain a little of the go-anywhere attitude that its predecessor (Harjeev's LC80) had. I personally know of my neighbour who has one and will never give up owning it, no matter what.

The Land Cruiser is an addiction for life.

Cheers
Champion!

[harjeev]

Originally Posted by trammway

I'm sure what has happen out there, but for the sake of keeping the suspense in the thread I will not reveal the information now... carry one let the story continued.

Thanks for no ruining the suspense!!!

Originally Posted by svsantosh

Make sure you carry a wooden stool for the mechs to c-l-i-m-b into the engine!!!

Originally Posted by trammway

No way, Aluminium ladder should serve that purpose.

hehehe!! It sure is a monster and the mechanics actually sit inside the engine bay to work on it.

Originally Posted by Champion

I certainly don't wish to interrupt you Harjeev, but I had to say this despite the many you have already received, Congrats! The LC80 is a gem. And once a Land Cruiser, it always has to be another Land Cruiser. Atleast that is what we went through. Dada bought the LC100, and after 6 years I choose the LC200 as it's replacement. Albeit these vehicles have become more luxury-based as time passed, they kind of retain a little of the go-anywhere attitude that its predecessor (Harjeev's LC80) had. I personally know of my neighbour who has one and will never give up owning it, no matter what.

The Land Cruiser is an addiction for life.

Cheers
Champion!

Thanks a lot Champion. And you are right about this aspect

And once a Land Cruiser, it always has to be another Land Cruiser.

I have actually bought the vehicle for driving long distances and am eagerly waiting for the Teambhp sticker which is so apt "Live to Drive". It sure is an addiction, just judge by this fact, That a meeting has come up in Mumbai and instead of flying down I am actually contemplating driving down to Mumbai. There are 3 of us from my office so I seriously thinking that I would drive down the vehicle. Also if luck would have it Ijust might be able to sort out the registration too during my visit.

Continuing with my story of Day 1
Drive from Bangalore to Pune

This was the culprit for the breakdown and in the subsequent pictures the mechanic can be seen removing the fan belt from the engine bay.
As can be seen from the 1st picture 1 belt was in an ok condition but the second one was in a pretty bad shape and the 3rd one was broken in two


Anyways at first I had difficulty in finding a mechanic in the middle of no where but luckily there were a couple of truck repair shops in the near vicinity of the breakdown. I requested them to help and the plain reply was that "If its a Diesel I would help but I wouldn't touch a petrol" I din't understand the reasoning behind the logic, but dint ask and was thanking my stars that I'd bought a diesel vehicle. He also said that he would have to go to the nearby town some 20-25 kms away and scout for the the belts. I was worrying that he might not find the original sizes, but he was pretty confident that there would be belts of similar sizes available.

As I had to while away time I spent time befriending the locals, sipping tea and taking pictures.
Some pics




He came back in about 90 minutes and started the work back the engine. I was actually surprised that we found belts of similar sizes in, Hubli district, and can be seen in the following pictures fixing it back.



Finally after everything was successfully completed I thanked everyone and decided that it was time for a Kodak moment, or Ii should call it a CANON moment...


Having wasted close to 3 hours I started my travel, and having no intention making up the lost time as I was not following a time limit and had simply decided that I would stop after dusk and the next town that came my way.
But as they say once bitten twice shy. in 15-20mins I stopped again to check whether the fan belts were ok or not and took the following pics too




Some more pics on the way, do not remember the place but the scenery was wonderful



Then a little before 5ish I saw these huge corn fields and saw this guy selling corn on the side of the highway. Had to stop here and I should say that these were one of the most juiciest and tasty corn on coal that I'd ever had till date...


Some more pics enroute


By approx 630pm ish I reached neat Pune but by mistake took the road inside the town through the tunnel.
Having realised my mistake I decided to carry on and then after coming back in the main highway started to drive on the main highway towards mumbai and stopped at a hotel, thanks again to HVK sir for mentioning the name of the hotel in his posts.
After a long day, checked into a hotel around 8ish and called it a day around 11ish.

This brings us to the end of DAY 1.
The road stastics were were as follows

TOTAL Distance Travelled 888 kms
Max Speed: 123 kmph
Average Speed: 55kmph

Moving Average : 77.2 kmph
Moving time : 11hrs & 30 mins
Stop Time: 4hrs & 30min.
(The moving time and stop time are approx as I forgot to take the readings from my GPS that night)

Excluding the time that I wasted on the breakdown, I think that I stopped for about 90 mins for various pit stops, lunch and short photo stops.

[n.devdath]

Hi Harjeev,
Here is a question that most will scoff at. What FE did you get and at what speeds during your travel to Delhi?

Also, at what speeds did the LC feel the most comfortable on the highway? How would you rate the high speed handling when compared to, say, a Fortuner for example?

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by harjeev

...how would a travel be exciting and memorable without any hiccups on the way...

just out of curiosity, what exactly was the first symptoms (of the problem) that you noticed? Glad if you can give some more details on that.

[amrisharm]

Woow harjeev , what a great story, really enjoyed it. I too was very very surprised to see you found a perfectly matching fan belt in the middle of nowhere. I am very much looking forward to the ownership report on your new purchase. I would love to know how hard/easy it is to find parts for a used toyota here in India and also the servicing costs and all. Do let us know once u start an ownership review thread harjeev.

Happy motoring

[mura]

A few suggestions:

1.The brake booster looks rusted in one of your pics, Check if it is rusted on the inside, they usually start to rust from the inside causing Vac leaks and poor brakes.

2.Check the Prop shafts for correct amount of grease, usually negleted in service and known to wear out the slip joints mainly in the rear prop. New shafts are expensive.

3.Check if the water pump has plastic vanes, if it has, get one with steel vanes. The plastic ones are known to slip on the shaft and cause overheating.

4.Cheap insurence - Change the Timing belt.

[harjeev]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Hi Harjeev,
Here is a question that most will scoff at. What FE did you get and at what speeds during your travel to Delhi?

Buddy I would complete the travelogue and then give the final total for everything. Distance Traveled, FE, Costs, etc. please bear with me till then...

Also, at what speeds did the LC feel the most comfortable on the highway? How would you rate the high speed handling when compared to, say, a Fortuner for example?

I felt really comfortable at speeds of 130 kmph and I am sure the vehicle could have gone higher had I tried, but I dint push it further as I didn't know the boundaries of the cruiser, breaking distances, breaking response, etc. Another reason was that whenever I tried to push it beyond 3000 RPM the check air filter light was glowing, which later on during my normal service I discovered that was due to a severely choked air filter.
Regarding the handling compared to the Fortuner, I cannot say as I have never driven nor ever ridden in it. Plus a Fortuner is a 2009 model and this is a 1996 vintage. he he he
So this can be answered by only that person who has driven and or tested both of them extensively.

Originally Posted by Blue Thunder

just out of curiosity, what exactly was the first symptoms (of the problem) that you noticed? Glad if you can give some more details on that.

Gladly!!!
The temperature needle which generally stayed, i'd say at about 1/8th or 1/6th (will try to post a pics) shot up to around a little less than 1/2. This is when I was a little alarmed. Also as this was my first drive on this vehicle on the highway I called up a friend of mine (anoter TLC owner, though petrol) who said that though not normal but still 1/2 is OK. But later whenever I was doing around 100/110kmph the temp started dropping and on slower speeds 60-70 or so it again started climbing. So finally I paid toll at some place, about 400-450 kms from Bangalore I decided to check it out and the moment I opened the door I could sense that the sound of the engine wasn't normal. There was some kat kat kat sound.
Expecting the worse I popped the hood and to my horror the fan though was rotating but not with the normal speeds.
The rest I've already explained in the above posts

Originally Posted by amrisharm

Woow harjeev , what a great story, really enjoyed it. I too was very very surprised to see you found a perfectly matching fan belt in the middle of nowhere. I am very much looking forward to the ownership report on your new purchase. I would love to know how hard/easy it is to find parts for a used toyota here in India and also the servicing costs and all. Do let us know once u start an ownership review thread harjeev.

Happy motoring

Thanks. I too would try to keep this thread and update as possible. Another lesson learnt from this experience is that from now on I would be keeping a set of Fan Belts, Hose pipes and other small consumables in the vehicle at all times, especially on out of station travels, Just in case...

Originally Posted by mura

A few suggestions:

1.The brake booster looks rusted in one of your pics, Check if it is rusted on the inside, they usually start to rust from the inside causing Vac leaks and poor brakes.
Already checked at the last services. Pics coming up when I finish the travel experience and start with the ownership experience.
2.Check the Prop shafts for correct amount of grease, usually negleted in service and known to wear out the slip joints mainly in the rear prop. New shafts are expensive.
Will do, Thanks
3.Check if the water pump has plastic vanes, if it has, get one with steel vanes. The plastic ones are known to slip on the shaft and cause overheating.
Would really appreciate if you could point me in the right direction. And are these easily available. Can you give me a link as I would try to source something like this at the earliest
4.Cheap insurence - Change the Timing belt.
Done