Toyota Blizzard Diesel 4X4 Soft Top Land Cruiser Jeep

Up for your consideration is my right hand drive. 1984 Toyota Blizzard LD20 Soft Top Diesel. I imported this Blizzard from Japan. It is legally titled and registered in Colorado. There are only a hand full of these in the country and are getting rare even in countries where they were originally sold. The Toyota Blizzard was the product of a joint venture by Toyota and Daihatsu in the 80s. While not a Land Cruiser or a Toyota mini-truck. this vehicle still has the 80s Toyota DNA and feel that we all love.  
I just returned from a 1000 mile plus trip to Moab in this Blizzard and I'm happy to report that it made the journey with zero mechanical problems. The trip consisted of highway. dirt road. and 4X4 trail driving. I've driven many different rigs in Moab and the Blizzard is definitely one of my favorites. It's light. nbsp;maneuverable. and a total blast to drive.  It's small. about the size as a Suzuki Samurai. This vehicle would make an excellent trail rig. town run-about. or hunting vehicle.   Please read on.
Drive Train - This Blizzard is powered by a 2. 2l Toyota Diesel (2L). It is the same diesel offered in mid 80s Toyota Pick-ups. as well as L series Land Cruisers. It is a naturally aspirated diesel coupled to a 5 speed manual transmission and cast iron. gear drive transfer case. The power generated by this engine is respectable for it's size. and the Blizzard cruises along nicely at 60 MPH. Higher speeds are possible. but economy drops as the RPMs increase. Off road. the torque of this engine. with the transfer in low range four wheel drive. is the perfect balance for the rig. I drove the Blizzard almost 250 miles off road. and the four wheel drive works excellent. The Blizzard has an adjustable suspension providing soft. medium. and hard ride qualities and I was very pleased to learn just how well this system works. The bumpy roads of Beef Basin in Southern Utah were made much more comfortable on the "soft" setting. Before my trip. I performed a complete vehicle inspection. Everything checked out good. The undercarriage of this vehicle is extremely clean and their are no leaks.  The only thing that didn't work is the AC. which probably just needs charged. I outfitted the Blizzard with 5 new Goodyear Wrangler 235 75 R 15s for this trip and they also performed well.  
Before the end of this auction. I will perform a full service of the engine with new oil and filter. air filter. and another inspection of the rest of the drivetrain. Parts for service of this vehicle are easy to find from Toyota and some are available from other parts stores like NAPA.
Interior - The interior of this Blizzard is all original and in very good condition. There is only one flaw in the upholstery. a small area on the driver seat back where the welting is broken. The front seats slide way back and even though I'm 6' tall. I have to move the driver seat 2 clicks forward from the rearmost position to drive. There is definitely plenty of room for someone bigger than me to drive the rig comfortably. The passenger seat slides. and then jumps forward to allow easy access to the fold and tumble rear seat.  
Exterior - I had a lot of fun discovering all of the different top design features the Blizzard has to offer. It is configureable into at least 5 different styles: Canvas on. Canvas on / sides and rear windows rolled up. Canvas off. Door tops and headers off. Roll protection off and windshield down. Each of these configurations gives the rig a unique look. If you haven't been 4 wheeling in a vehicle that has a fold down windshield. you've been missing out. It's a blast.
The body of this Blizzard is in good shape overall but does have some areas of rust. Most of it is confined to the back and top of the passenger side wheel. Both of these areas need new metal patched in to get rid of the rust for good. I have a lot of experience with this. and both areas can be done fairly easily. There is some surface rust in the cargo area and here and there on the floorboards. but the floors are all solid. The worst damage is on the rear gate. which suffered some damage when someone backed the spare tire into something. Other than the gate. the only dent on the vehicle is on the passenger side front fender down by the mudflap.  The canvas top is original and in pretty good shape. I hand stitched a little where one of the rear zippers had begun to loose it's stitching. The vinyl windows are clear and soft.
 
FeaturesReliable. economical DIESEL engine5 spd transmission4X4 high and low rangeAir Conditioning5 NEW tires (purchased 4/29/13)Adjustable suspensionPower steeringPower disc brakesGood Interior with lots of front leg/head room Fold and tumble rear seatHighly configureable top designFreshly ServicedRuns and Drives GreatLegally imported. titled. and registeredThis Toyota Blizzard is reliable and fun to drive. I would not hesitate to drive it anywhere in the US. I can also help with arranging shipping to the buyer. Feel free to ask any questions you may have. and good luck bidding.  

 

On May-05-13 at 16:28:41 PDT. seller added the following information:

To answer the gentleman's question. I did see the hard top LD20 on Ebay a week or so ago and considered getting this one listed before that one ended. however I hadn't inspected or tested this one enough to feel comfortable doing so. I have been watching. and have seen 4 Blizzards for sale in the US in the last 15 years. I have personally imported 5 Blizzards and I can definitely say that they are getting hard to find.  

Also published at eBay.com

Want to buy this car?