Import vs local 80 series

[nicbeer]

Hey,

I am thinking on long term here getting a 80 for the GF but has to be auto coz of disability.

so coming to this i was thinking auto TD.

is there much difference in the import vs local 80s in TD auto?

apart from the stupid lifted ones u can get.

[jsttry]

Imported saharas will have fixed rear glass

Also grey imports can cost more to insure

You can get locally made TD autos.

[nicbeer]

Mechanically is there any difference here?

Ie, motors, box and diffs, electronics

I think the jap ones have the factory lockers usually and the highroof.

[dow50r]

fellas, the jap 80 is identical to the aussie sahara, except it only came with 5 seats so fixed glass...it also has a cold climate pack, so the starting is 24 volt and it has 2 batteries, plus a switch that joins them for starting only....they are good cheap trucks....the motors in them dont seem to suffer big end issues because the oil used in Japan is jap spec CD not SAE spec CD which has way less calcium in it....whatever oil you run in the 1hdt motor, it needs to have high calcium like Castrol CXJ (now superceeded)
Andrew
ps...to change the 24 volt system to 12, you need a 12 volt starter and a few different wires, thats all, everything else on the car is 12 volt.

[Sixty's Guy]

Are you importing or buying one from here. I was under the impression that you can't buy a model that was available here unless it was built before 1989? I didn't realise that any came through.

[nicbeer]

not sure at moment 60 guy.

Just checking what is out there. seen heaps of 60s here but checking on the 80s too.

Nic

[80's_delirious]

you can no longer import them. there is no restriction on selling imports that are already here.

The Jap spec is basicaaly hte same as a Aussie Sahara, but there is a lot of subtle differences.


look here for a list

copied from link

lots of little differences in specs. the Jap market got different options to us.
VX are almost the same as aussie sahara, without the fridge in the console Crying or Very sad

A few things I think of, (they might not all be Jap specific)
no sub tank
often have rear mounted wheel carrier instead of underneath
no side intrusion bars in doors
one peice headlight assembly with fog lamp instead of second hi beam lamp
no inertia reel seat belts to back seats
fixed rear side glass
rope rails at rear side windows
japanese coins under the drivers seat Laughing
no third row seats
no child restraint anchor points
no trailer wiring harness plug in the rear harness
sun/moon roof
centre diff lock switch on dash
front and rear diff locks armsup armsup
rear passenger floor heater
push button heater aircon climate control
headlight washers
white front blinkers, with an extra lamp that comes on solid and lights up to the road sides when the blinkers are on (do aussie spec 80s do this too?never noticed it)
double lid on centre console
console extending around gearshift to dash
electric mirrors
electric aerial
chrome side mirrors
sahara velour interior trim
bucket seats
compass and altimetre in overhead gauge pod
24v starter motors on diesels (so dual batteries)
vaccum boosted clutch
instruction/info stickers in Jap. I have no idea how everything works Embarassed

mine also had some very . jap bling accessories on it,
nudge bar
very special wood grain steering wheel and gear knob
big chrome plated roof/luggage rack
twin bunny ear style TV aerials on the roof
TV and sat nav in dash (didnt work)
very bodgey 4"lift
16"x10" alloy rims and 5x 295/75r16 BFG ATs with 98% tread

Grey import wont neccessarily have a green aussie compliance tag.
If imported when more than 15 years old or built before a certain year, they dont have to meet ADRs to get rego

Im sure there are other differences. Mechanically mostly the same. I havent found anything that local parts didnt match.

[fester2au]

I thought once a car was older than 15 years they were open to importing regardless of whether they were available in aus or not. Has that changed or does it maybe only apply to private imports.

The jap spec autos have a slightly different lock up point for the torque converter but I don't think it's that different to actually worry about. Basically they are upspec'd compared to a GXL but slightly down spec'd compared to an Aussie Sahara.

Also no rear air con, not all have lockers, some have retracting side mirrors but fundamentally for your purpose they are the same. Only real hassle is probably if you need to start chasing interior trim because most of the interior is closer to Sahara than GXL and not many Saharas wrecked here compared to GXL's.

[Sixty's Guy]

I should have worder it better - you can't import a vehicle from overseas if the model was available in Australia - unless it was built prior to 1989. This rule came in in 2005, so I'm not sure how an 80 series could be imported, thats why I asked.

I don't think the 15 year rule applies anymore.

[Surfin Alec]

Imports only had 1 x main diesel tank, no sub tank.

[lwbmav]

I should have worder it better - you can't import a vehicle from overseas if the model was available in Australia - unless it was built prior to 1989. This rule came in in 2005, so I'm not sure how an 80 series could be imported, thats why I asked.

I don't think the 15 year rule applies anymore.

Your exactly right ,well that's what the local importer told me ,quite upset he was to, said it was a license to print money.

[g35me]

The 15 year rule has not applied since 2004. I believe they were worried that jap cars built after 1989 were still extremely competitive with the current australian car market. How many Jap cars are still daily drivers on the road now that are made in the early-mid 90's if we could suddenly import them all from Japan the used car market would crap itself which leads to the new car market crapping itself as well. Compare a Toyota Soarer with an EA/B falcon and that will tell you how far in front the Japs were at the time.

[thrashlux]

I should have worder it better - you can't import a vehicle from overseas if the model was available in Australia - unless it was built prior to 1989. This rule came in in 2005, so I'm not sure how an 80 series could be imported, thats why I asked.

You will find the odd import 80 as you can import any vehicle as long as you owned it over seas for one year this over rules all the other rules.

[hillbilliywheelchair]

early 80 import sahars 1hz motor came with a turbo and a 5 speed as thats what we ended up puting in me 75

[Sixty's Guy]

You will find the odd import 80 as you can import any vehicle as long as you owned it over seas for one year this over rules all the other rules.

Yeh right, I didn't realise that. All I have to do now is move to Japan for a year, buy 40 vehicles and import them when I get home