Hey guys. I've built a few Land Rovers in the past and about 6 or 7 months ago I had to sell my most recent one. Back in March I decided to get another 4x4 but at the time I couldn't find a good Discovery 1 for the right price. One day I found this Land Cruiser FJ80 by accident and I decided to get it.

Since I almost constantly compare the two, I thought maybe you guys might be curious too. It's pretty crazy how similar these trucks are to each other. To be honest I don't know who designed what first but they are very very similar at least underneath.

First my most recent Rover :
Terrafirma HD lift.
Mikes list complete and then some
Axle rebuild
Swivel ball reseal.
New brakes bearings etc etc
E load tires 245/75/16 General Grabber At2




Now my Toyota. This is a 91 FJ80. Power windows power locks. No sun roof. Cruise control.
A/C. No lift. Stock springs. At some point some one has put no name shocks on it.
33x10.5x15 BFG All Terrain tires. I wanted to keep the factory wheels on this and the Grabber At2 isn't available in this size. I wanted a tall narrow tire. BTW in this first picture it's riding on the old 31x10.5x15 tires




I feel the Fj80 and the Disco 1 is a fair comparison. They are similar in size weight and suspension. No real bells and whistles on this until you get to later models similar to that of a Discovery 2. Both are full time 4wd. Both are solid axle coil spring front and rear.Full boxed frame.



As you can see the front suspension is nearly identical. Some definite differences but it's pretty damn close





Off road they are pretty similar in abilities. My truck has no lift and worn out springs. It is equipped w an automatic locking transfer case. When you put it in 4 low it automatically locks. You also have the option to lock it in 4 hi via a push button on the dash.
I have been quite impressed by both trucks over and over again. I have taken this truck to the same places I took the Land Rover just to see how it would stack up. Aside from the obvious ground clearance issues it does excellent. The stock gearing in my truck seems perfect. 4 lo is a great crawling speed for what I do.

On road is a bit different. I have to say I really prefer the Land Rover on road. It's smoother. It's more quiet. It has more usable power.
Something I love about the Toyota is its reliability. The electronics are all in working order on this truck and thy don't seem to have a poor reputation for failure like a lot of Lucas parts do.
Power wise hands down the Rover wins. Even though it's V8 is small it easily out powers the 4.0 straight 6 this truck has in stock form. On the flip side this motor has great reputation for reliability. It's not as sensitive as the Rover V8 to overheating. They do require valves to be adjusted every 30k or so. One huge idiotic design is the timing marks on the flywheel in the BACK of the motor via a view port. It's almost impossible to see. Toyota however is more easily converted to different drive trains. Lots of guys convert to the 6BT or the 6.2 diesels. Lots of SBC swaps and even some Toyota V8 swaps using the later model parts.

One distinct difference that I never counted on was parts and availability of them. Believe it or not it's much easier to get replacement parts for the Rover than this Toyota. Since it shares almost nothing w other Toyotas it's hard and expensive to get parts. There is some aftermarket support but less than Rover. There are several forums dedicated to both trucks so finding info isn't hard.

So overall I have to say even with its flaws I prefer the Land Rover over The Land Cruiser. Looks, and ride quality and road feel are probably the most determining factors for this choice. Although the added reliability is very nice. Simplicity of design is great too.

 

interesting about the parts availability. i was cross shopping FZJ80s to the disco. you have the 3FE motor which is more of an old school yota straight 6, the 1FZ that came a year or so later has something like 50 more horsepower. i too felt the rover is more "refined" than even a loaded luxo-barge 80 series. the interior materials are also MUCH nicer in the rover. i might try and grab a LC100 after my disco is done.

 

I really like those FJ80's. It just looks a bit too dated for my tastes. The has a cooler safari look to it.

That being said if they were both the same price I'd hop all over a FJ80 for the same reasons.

 

Yea I have the 3FE. You're right it has a lot in common w the early six. Believe me it's slow. I've spent a fair amount of time tuning and making sure it's running just as it should. Still a dog. I've never driven one w the later model DOHC. The 100 series is a lot more refined. I did drive one w the 4.7 (I think V8) and it was way more powerful but the truck as whole I think way less off road and more soccer mom.

I think it's look is dated too. A Large ARB style bumper and a rack will help.I was debating painting this stock metal bumper black just to get rid of the monochrome look it has. I still like the Discovery look better. I like the kicked up roof line.