This blog documents my search for and ownership of a Canadian Toyota Land Cruiser Model BJ60.
The first letter of the model designation indicates the engine type. My engine is a ‘B’ – the 4 cylinder diesel, F would mean 6 cylinder gas and H would mean the 6 cylinder diesel. The number indicates the body model. The 60 was made from 1980 until 1992. The USA didn’t recieve the BJ60 or the HJ60, only the gas guzzling FJ60.
CanadianBJ 
Actually B is for the 4 cylinder 3.4 liter diesels and H is for the 6 cylinder 4.0 liter diesels. You can have a factory turbocharged B diesel if you are so lucky, it is named the 13B-T, or a 6 cylinder turbocharged H diesel as a 12H-T.
Man, I’m glad I found this page. Tons of great info! I’ve been obsessively searching for a nice BJ60, so far without any luck.
One question I have (actually I could ask hundreds but I’ll spare you), it seems like you’ve done quite a few mechanical repairs, which I feel I could handle, but overall do you feel like it is a reliable vehicle? Have you ever broken down on the side of the road from something unexpected? Looks like you trust it enough to take some pretty long road trips.
Thanks for putting together this blog!
Sure thing! Glad you find it helpful.
Reliability: I might be irresponsible, or tolerant of breaking down.
So far the truck has never failed catastrophically for me. Always its been “hmm, something isn’t right” and then repairing at my leisure a few weeks down the road. I keep tools and belts in the truck with me, spare stuff. So far the only roadside repair was when I ran out of fuel (just a short way from the gas station) and had to bleed the fuel to get it started (super easy! the priming pump is built into the engine.)
I haven’t yet had a repeat failure so I think what I’ve been dealing with is due to age. My main concern is keeping up with rust prevention.
Hey there! Fellow canuck here.
I’ve been considering a purchase of a 1981 BJ60 for about a year. It’s been on Kijiji that long surprisingly, could be because most people don’t like to buy vehicles that have been sitting (but diesels are pretty reliable if you prime things and get oil everywhere before you crank them).
Anyway my main concerns have been these:
1. I’ve noticed these SUVs do not have power steering, they do however have a massive steering wheel. Do you fins that it gets hard on the arms on long trips?
2. I’ve also heard that these things are quite slow, only really designed to run at 80-90KMH. Is this really true? Or are these opinions likely coming from owners that need work done on their BJ?
3. I’ve heard the cabin noise is crazy loud on these. I know it’s not too hard to put some sound dampening in, but is the stock noise unbearable on longer trips? Can you have a conversation?
Anyway you have a sweet blog here. Nice to see some great Canadian BJ content.
Hey Pal! I’m not Canadian but grew up near bc (eh). I’ve seen strange brew many times.
Ok, I’ll share my biased yank opinion.
The earlier trucks like your 81 didn’t have power steering. I drove one while looking. I’m very glad to have power steering, especially when off road. The big wheel doesn’t make up for lack of power.
Your 81 has a 4 speed. It tops out at 50-55 mph. You could drive at higher rev but not pleasant. Agricultural. Noisy. I own 2 5 speeds and would never get a 4 speed for long trips. Maybe for a farm?
Both my trucks cruise happily at 65, 75 is noisy but possible in an emergency (like driving across Idaho before you’re too sleepy.)
The trucks are pretty loud. For long drives (like from Seattle to Utah) I wear ear protection, but shorter trips it’s fjne.
My blue truck has dynamat and it’s better but still noisy.
Good luck in your search!
My 1st two BJ60’s were 1981’s. I still drive one regularly esp winters. 3 years ago I bought another 1981 BJ60 and a lovely ’87 BJ60 with power steering! A brilliant machinist in Alberta, his business, Hilltop Cruisers,
https://www.hilltopcruisers.com/index.html
is a wonderful source for parts and accessories. This shop also does excellent complete restorations. I hope to drive a BJ60 to my grave knowing it will go on much much longer. BTW I am a licensed mechanic working in BC. 20 years ago I bought a Miller welder…David
Ya, pretty much everyone I meet has much more knowledge and experience than me… I sure do like these trucks though. My welder is really not working well. I’ve ordered a new sleeve, hopefully that fixes the jerky wire feed problems. If I’m still welding stuff in a year I’ll invest in a better one, probably a pulse mig. Cheers!