Interested in opinions of pros and con of the fzj80 and a discovery

[jwright12]

Looking to start a new build. I figure the best advise comes from those who have already owned either of these rigs. I’ve narrowed it down to a fzj 80 or a Land Rover discovery 1. Seeing if anyone have and experience with them and some of the pros and cons of both.

 

[William C aka “The Claw”]

Howdy Neighbor

First a qualifier, I am biased towards the 80 series. I did my research in early 2000’s. I was driving a 1994 ford exploder as it had solid axels and had plans to convert it into an all around trail runner and rock crawler. Problem was all my friends and support crew drove jeeps and land cruisers. I was inexperienced at building a solid reliable platform. I had no extra money for expensive lessons. So for pure engineering, mistake proofing, maintenance and reliability I choose the Toyota platform. It is hard to believe that a top of the line vehicle like this in its day only had 1 cup holder and no heated seats! The stock leather seats are good up to about 5’ 10” tall and were rather cramped for 6’1. I resolved that issue with a set of Recaros. Other than that, I have assisted many folks on the trail. I and love my 80. I hope to keep it in the family when I can no longer wheel and Overland. I did have one break down that I found later was a known issue in the 80s that I missed in PMs. The plastic keepers that keep the main wire harness above and out of the way of hot things like gas recycle valves that melt injector wires in the middle of Utah on the back way into Capital Reef. That was a three day adventure getting strapped out to HW12 (yes it was a Jeep Rubicon and the weight difference challenged our skills in dragging the heavy 80 up hill. We finally would drag it till Jeep spun tires, chock tires winch, wash repeat till we got to top.) Then transported down to Loa in tow vehicle with marginal breaks and being a homeless camp in the U-haul parking lot across from the Napa dealer for two days trouble shooting. (I’m really good mechanically not so much electrically , but getting better).
I do have a disco cup holder though. Mounted PS near shifter. As a result of that purchase I started getting the monthly Land Rover magazine. Each month they featured articles of the trials and tribulations owners had on their adventures. Most included breakdown stories and how the owners Persevered . Some on their own and many with the help of others. So I think your choice really boils down to the types of adventures you want to have. Other than the one breakdown the LX450 has been bulletproof. Of course PM is very important and knowing yours and vehicle limitations plays part in that as well. I don’t baby it, but don’t thrash it either. She does well on the Rubicon, Deer Valley and Strawberry trails locally and eats Nevada,Utah and Arizona backroads up pulling a trailer. Rubicon is fun but hard on equipment and takes more maintenance. So where you intend to adventure and trail type factors in now also. These days trails rated 1-7 are more my speed. Regardless of which direction you go, get a factory service manual, read about your vehicle and do as much work as you are able to yourself. It will help you identify which tools to carry and you will learn your vehicle and hopefully prevent issues with PMs.

Another resource for 80 is 80 Series Newbie Guide - Slee Off Road

can’t wait to see which vehicle you go with to get out and explore!

 

[jwright12]

I really appreciate your reply. I have a long history with Toyota’s from building rock crawlers and have just always loved the reliability of them as well as simplicity. I guess when it comes down to it I would definitely prefer the 80 series but the price difference of a land rover is what drew me in as well as there history with camel trophy. I’ve heard the Land Rover tend to need a lot of maintenance but being a heavy diesel tech what’s one more thing to work on lol. Just trying to put some feelers out there of some maybe possible issues with the discovery’s. But like I said I think when it comes down to it the 80 series would probably the right choice for me

 

[William C aka “The Claw”]

So you be putting a diesel in the 80?. I dream of 25 mpg.....

 

[navydevildoc]

I guess I will be your Land Rover guide. Why a D1? Have you looked at a D2 or D3? For that matter, a Range Rover Classic is essentially a D1 in a different coat. What do you want them to do?

 

[Sparksalot]

You might want to talk with @Lanlubber , he’s a Land Rover guy.

 

[jwright12]

A diesel would be a fun swap. As far as wanting a d1 I’ve heard that the earlier defenders had less head gasket issues than the d2s. I’d like a ranger rover but then I’m getting up to the price of a 80 series. I don’t want a d3 due to the fact that I’m set on having a solid front axel.

 

[Ob1]

Not much experience with LandRovers, but we have 5 Landcruisers in the family. Two FJ40, one BJ40 and one 60 series both with 3.4L turbo diesel and one 80 series with a 4.2L 24 valve turbo diesel. They are unbreakable. The 80 series rode 31k miles in the last 16 months and gets 22-26 mpg without any issues. It has almost 300k on the frame. I wrote a blog on the build on this forum. If you can find one, you will never sell it.

 

[Alanymarce]

I've travelled in a lot of LRs and a lot of LCs as well as Mitsubishis and Nissans. In Africa in the 1970s and 1980s there were lots of LRs (80% of 4x4as), now they're 10% at best. There's a good reason for that.

In terms of Discoveries, the early ones had terrible brakes, and all of them are great if you want to spend your time maintaining them. Our Series 80 was far better than the equivalent LR, although we did have a few problems - blew the main radiator (as predicted a month earlier), replaced the A/C fan, and had to replace the front differential gears. This you have to expect from a 20 year old vehicle. The LC80 did a great job. I would not have considered a Discovery for one moment when we bought the Series 80.

So, of the two - a Series 80 LC.

Having said that, we now run a Montero - as good as the equivalent Land Cruiser, and half the price!

 

[Kent R]

From everything I have seen on the trail and here from our members, you can't beat the 80 over the LR. It all comes down to reliability.

Just my ten cents nothing more.