Nitro Gear & Axle 1987 BJ73 Diesel Spanish Import, LHD

"Inigo Montoya" Nitro Gear & Axle's 1987 Toyota Landcruiser BJ73 lived the good life in Spain, and made the journey to the USA in original rust free form. Pretty impressive OEM stats: 13B Turbo-Diesel, H55 5 speed MT, split t-case, 9.5" full floating rear axle, 9.5" front axle, fully boxed frame, Removable FRP top, mid wheelbase, Left Hand Drive, Hand throttle, Snorkel, 24v electrical system. With the help of Hazzard Fabworx, ICON Vehicle Dynamics, ARB 4x4 Accessories, Torfab, Safari Ltd.., Rigid Industries - LED Lighting, WARN, Factor 55, Synergy Manufacturing, RuffStuff Specialties, Nitro Gear, Machinehead Racing, PSC Motorsports, Nitto Tire, Hutchinson Wheels and others we hopefully did not forget, We ended up with a Coilover'd, Link'd Super built Ultimate Adventure and Daily driver on 37's. Engine, Trans, Tcase, Axles are essentially based on stock Toyota, but with lots of goodies. A 10+ year quest for a clean, rust free, removeable top, mid wheelbase, left handdrive, 70 series Landcruiser finally yielded us this fine beauty. We had the unicorn vehicle to start this long awaited project. Spain must be a great place to live if you are a BJ73, as this arrived nearly rust free, and even the silver paint looked good.
Coined “Inigo” after Inigo Montoya another famed Spaniard from the 1980’s film 'Princess Bride' and the name Montoya. As is its owner’s last name.

This 1987 Toyota Land Cruiser BJ73 LX, Japanese built for the Spain domestic market was legally imported by JDMLandcruisers in TN. Left hand drive, original grey interior in great condition and without AC this 73 has the rare removable upper doors on the rear which makes it look good when top is removed. The windshield can fold down as well and the factory overhead hoop and supports are removable.

This really is a unique and highly sought after model. Unlike Japanese domestic models this BJ is LEFT HAND DRIVE with the most desired mid-wheelbase, and a removable FRP top. The truck originally had a 3B Diesel, but was swapped to a 13BT which is direct injected and factory turbo. This made a huge improvement in drivability, smoothness, and MPG. The truck averages 16-18 around town and can get over 20 MPG on flat highway. Not bad with 37” Nittos on Hutchinson double beadlock wheels! This Toyota starts easily every time, even in single digit temps and the OEM hand throttle is nice for warming the engine in cold weather or when winching.

Ride quality is great with the con coilovers Compared to the original leaf sprung setup and the entire build has proven very reliable. Parts are pretty easy to get. Most are available from the local Toyota dealer or from the numerous Landcruiser specialty shops in the US and Canada that stock them. It's also quite easy to work on and simple. Performance wise it's zippy around town, decent on the highway and pulls our WA mountain passes better than 1980’s gasser Toyotas. Low Range is amazing, You can idle over most anything with the 4.0:1 low range and engine braking works very well. The rear seat has ample space and folds down and the rear cargo area features custom drawers to house all of our recovery gear, spares, etc..,and is wired for a an ARB fridge. The Hutchinson double beadlocks allow you to air down to very low air pressures in nasty situations.