Come on. Come on, Harry.
[Mike] This time...
-Are you ready? -Yeah, go for it.
[Mike] ...we're tackling one of the greatest off-roaders ever built.
-Bring it back. -Let's see if it starts up.
[engine starts]
[laughs]
[Mike] But decades trundling through the wilderness...
-Look at that drip rail. -That will need a bit of attention.
[Mike] ...have left this Japanese four-by-four in rough shape.
There you go, that is one broken cable.
[Mike] We've got a once-in-a-lifetime chance to revive it...
I'll tell you what, I'm really happy with that.
Oh, yes. Here we go. [laughs] Here we go.
[Mike] ...and prove it can still tackle the toughest terrain.
-[engine revving] -It's like holding onto a wild beast.
I'm Mike Brewer...
Ohh.
...and I've been buying and selling cars for nearly 40 years.
It's rattly, smelly, and it's blooming brilliant.
Now I've set up shop in Britain's motoring heritage heartland...
Oh, yes!
...along with ex-Formula 1 mechanic, Marc "Elvis" Priestley.
So that engine management light never put you off, then?
[Mike] Together, we're going to buy...
What's up, man?
[Mike] ...and fix up...
Look at the state of it.
It's got the Spirit of Ecstasy and everything.
[Mike] ...the most iconic and exciting cars on the market.
Oh, mate, I love these things.
Bolt a supercharger to it,
-and you end up with a car that does this. -[engine revving]
[Mike] With Elvis's engineering skill...
And there it is, the offending article.
[Mike] ...and my car dealing clout...
He's gonna be over the moon, isn't he?
Elvis better get the posh tools ready.
[Mike] ...we should be able to make ourselves a tidy profit.
This is my job, and I bloomin' love it.
[theme music playing]
Now I've been thinking of the next car
for the Wheeler Dealer Workshop.
And I've been chasing a car for literally decades,
but I can't seem to find one in the UK that's any good.
The car in question is a Toyota Land Cruiser,
the early one, an FJ40.
If it's in diesel form, it's called a BJ40.
Now, because I can't find one here,
I thought, why don't I go to source? Japan.
Because Japan, they're right-hand drive,
they're generally in good order.
So, I found a company online that do it all for you,
and I've left them a bid of what I'm hoping is a really decent car.
Well, this is the vehicle. It's a 1979 BJ40,
the diesel variant. It's got a winch on the front,
it does need a little bit of work.
Right now, I left them a bid of £16,000 for the car and,
well, hey! I've won the auction!
But I don't think that's bad, you know,
for an original BJ40 like this one, I think that's pretty good money.
It will definitely leave us a bit of room
to fix the car up and to extract the profit out of it.
I just hope it arrives here safely.
The Toyota Land Cruiser
was the vehicle that made Toyota a household name.
Legend has it, in World War II,
Japanese forces found an abandoned US army jeep
left behind by retreating troops,
and this became the inspiration for the first Toyota Land Cruiser.
It was popular as a military vehicle,
but Toyota wanted to take on the civilian market
and the mighty Land Rover.
So, they adapted it into a four-wheel drive
and offered it for less money.
A shrewd move, as it became a huge hit
in the deserts of the Americas and Australia,
and became known as the Bush Taxi in Africa.
By 1980, it had hit a million sales worldwide.
There's no doubt in the Land Cruiser's pedigree,
and they're such a rarity here in the UK,
I'm hoping that by importing ours from Japan,
there could be a tiny profit in it for me and Elvis.
[phone rings]
Now, I've just got to sit back and wait for it to arrive.
Harry. Oh, yes, nice one. All right, see you in a sec.
Mate, I've just put the phone down to Harry, our transport guy.
-Looks like you had good news by the look on your face. -Yeah, I am quite happy.
Remember that Toyota Land Cruiser I bought in Japan?
Yeah, a couple of months back, that one?
Yeah, it was almost two months ago. Well, it's finally arrived.
I'm a little nervous 'cause I've never seen it.
Wow, yeah, well, you should be terrified, 'cause if it's no good,
-it's a long way to go back for a refund. -Very true.
-He's about to pull up. Shall we have a look? -All right. Exciting.
Come on. Come on, Harry. That'll do, yeah.
We'll unload from here.
-So I'm very excited. You ready? -Yeah, go for it.
Here we go. Ta-da!
[exclaims] Hey!
-Oh, yes. [laughs] I love it. -That is so good.
-Did you know it was gonna be yellow? -It's mustard.
-That's pretty yellow. -No. It was mustard on the sheet
when I bought it, that looks like mustard.
That is great. Should we get it off?
-Right. You ready? -Yeah, mate. Bring it back.
-Let's see if it starts up. -[engine starts]
[laughs]
Oh, yeah!
-Mate, that is amazing. -[laughs]
-Yes. Yes. Yes. -[laughs] Mate, it's Brilliant. It is brilliant.
Seriously, I'm... I'm... Oh, I'm so happy.
This is original, and they're only original ones.
This car's come from the other side of the world.
-Look at that winch. -That is some proper old-school,
-heavy duty engineering there. -It's fantastic, isn't it?
The wheels could do with a bit of a paint up,
also that side step, but I did notice this drip rail.
Yeah, that will need a little bit of attention. It would cause problems
if we leave it. But I can take care of that.
Lovely. Okay, the one thing you didn't see,
but I did when I got it off the truck.
Look at that interior.
Well, it's right-hand drive, first of all, 'cause you got it from Japan.
But look at that.
-It's amazing. -It is fantastic. It's all period correct.
-It's even got the original plastic over the sun visors. -It has, yeah.
Never take those off. Leave them there.
-How good is it? -That's fantastic, mate. Really good. I love it.
Oh, I'm falling in love with it even more.
Little bit of paint on the bottom half.
Obviously, we need to do that.
Inside... [chuckles] ...little dickie seats.
It's got so much character in there, isn't it?
It's just brilliant.
-So why don't we take it for a quick spin? -Absolutely.
-Oh, yes! -[laughs]
Oh, that's it. I feel like... I feel like Carlos Sainz...
-[laughs] -...in his Toyota Celica, you know?
Back then, in those days.
Look at that, Scandi flick.
[Elvis] But I'll tell you what, mate,
even over the lumps and bumps of this mild terrain,
it's actually a nice place to be in.
It is a bit rally, you do get thrown around a bit,
but it's got so much charm and character.
It's lovely, isn't it? Simple, effective...
I love it. I absolutely love it.
[Elvis] It almost transports you straight back to the time and place
-where this originated from. -Yeah.
Well, mate, I got to tell you, we bought this for £15,000.
But then we had to pay some fees plus shipping,
and then we got to register it, so owes us just over £20,000.
Will you reckon even at 20 grand, there's still a profit in this car?
Yeah, because where you gonna find another one?
I mean, they're rare out of the box. If you wanted a classic car
-that you could be a little bit more adventurous... -Yeah.
...and go and see the scenery,
rather than just drive to a car park and put it on display,
what else could you go and buy these days?
Yeah. It's true. And what you're doing is,
you're buying into proper originality,
direct from source, straight from Japan.
This has not been moved around the world, modified, played with.
This is where it was born and it's come directly to us.
And it's not been touched since it left the factory in 1979.
-It is literally all original. -Yeah. Yes.
I mean, this is a vehicle that can climb, literally,
-to the top of a mountain, and it has done. -Yeah.
And if me and you can whet our appetite by taking it on, really,
just some long grass, and knowing full well it can cope with it,
can you imagine what it's gonna be like if we really challenged it?
Wouldn't it be great to throw some scenery at this car?
-Eh? -[Elvis] Yeah, it's nothing more than it deserves.
The mighty Land Cruiser has really stamped its mark
on the four-by-four world over 70 years.
I mean, back in its early prototype days,
it even reached the highest station on Mount Fuji.
And since then, well, it's scaled every single continent,
and netted Toyota sales of over ten million units.
But what does it mean to own one of these things
in the modern climate? This is a 1979 BJ40.
It's a great car, but can a 40-year-old off-roader
still tackle tough terrain,
or should it just be kept as a collectible?
One thing's for sure, though.
Getting it here all the way from Japan did not come cheap.
I need to go through it, give it a thorough assessment
and make sure every single element is working perfectly,
and maybe even add in a few enhancements along the way.
My first port of call will be one of the BJ40's key features.
Now, one of the great positives about our car
is that it comes with a rare factory-fitted winch.
They are, of course, integral to any good four-by-four,
so I need to make sure it's working well.
This particular winch takes its power directly from the engine
using a PTO shaft, or power take-off shaft.
So I need to fire it up to make sure it's working properly.
[engine cranks and starts]
Okay, now the engine's running,
I need to disconnect drive from the vehicle itself
by moving this high-low selector
into its neutral position. There we go.
Then, I select first gear on the main gear box.
Now, because we've got Drive disconnected from the car,
the car won't go anywhere.
But now what I can do, is I can select "unwind"
on the winch mechanism itself.
And then, if I lift the clutch, the winch should start turning.
Absolutely nothing at all. The PTO shaft isn't spinning,
and I've got to say, when I selected the winch lever positions,
it didn't feel positive, there was no resistance on it.
That was slightly strange.
Having seen nothing happening with the shaft itself,
that could be a real big problem, you know.
If I've got to replace that entire winch,
that's a huge issue that we just hadn't accounted for.
Now, in more modern vehicles,
winch systems are often electrically or even hydraulically driven,
but here, we've got a proper old-school,
industrial, mechanical way of operating the winch.
And it uses this, a PTO or power take-off box
that takes its drive directly from the main shaft of the gearbox,
and then, in turn, operates on this,
a PTO shaft that spins and runs all the way
to the very front of the vehicle, turning the winch.
But that's not happening at the moment.
So that is where I'm going to start, because when I turn the lever
inside the cockpit, it pulls on a short cable,
only about that long, operating another lever just here.
If I move the lever manually at this end,
it should move that same cable
the same way at the other end, but it's not happening.
So it's moving at one end and not in the other.
Yeah, which almost 100% tells me that cable must be broken.
The only way to be sure is pulling the cable out to have a look.
[laughs] And there you go, that is one broken cable.
That should be about that long.
And the other half is still there.
But if that is the entirety of our problem,
well, that is a massive relief.
I'm gonna get the rest of that out
and just see exactly what I'm working with.
It's hardly surprising that metal fatigue
has worn the cable to breaking point,
'cause it's been getting the Land Cruiser
out of scrapes since 1979. But that's not the only problem.
I can also see that these little brass bushes here,
their alignment bushes are heavily worn to the point
where they got deep grooves in them. They'll need some attention.
What they do is control this cable through this tricky S-bend
as it sits in the car and keep everything in alignment
and operating smoothly.
Ultimately, all of this is going to need replacing.
So that sounds like a job for Mike.
-There is he. -Good to see you, mate.
How are you, bud?
-All right, you? -What's been happening?
I'll tell you what, been all over it, it all works.
It's a four-by-four, a proper off-road, rugged vehicle.
It's got a winch on the front. The winch doesn't work.
Ah. And I've done a little bit of investigation.
The cable, at some point in its life, has done that.
Wow. Okay, well, I'll tell you what I'll do.1
I'll just go down the local Toyota BJ40 shop
and just pick up another one, shall I?
-What time's that open? [laughs] -Yeah, exactly.
Where on Earth will I get one of them?
Yeah, I don't think you are. So you might have to get one made.
But can I leave that with you?
-Yes. You can. That's gonna be a nice, tricky problem. -Thank you.
Is there anything else I can do for you?
Well, I've taken the bracketry off and I was gonna give you these.
Look, these little spherical bearings,
they're made of brass and they should look like that all the way around.
But if you turn it over, it's heavily worn.
Don't tell me you want me to get them.
Well, I was gonna ask you to get me these,
but I had a look myself, you can't buy them either.
I think it's actually gonna be quicker for me
to just make some of these up on the lathe.
So if I take care of those, can you get me one of those?
Now, you found these problems out
before you tackled the big issue with the vehicle
which is the roof rail
that goes all the way around the gutter rail that's rotted out.
Yeah, don't remind me. I know. I mean...
you sort of could say I've been putting that job off.
It's not quite true, but nearly.
But I have been thinking about it, and look,
I've got a bit of a plan in place
so, once I've got this out of the way, that's my next challenge.
Okay. Well, good luck with that. And in the meantime,
-uh, leave me with this. -Good luck with that.
-Yeah. -[both laugh]
[Elvis] While I wait for Mike to source a new cable,
I'm gonna take a look at the Land Cruiser's deteriorated bodywork.
Now the roof on our BJ40 here is actually made of fiberglass,
but the gutter rail that runs right around the outside,
that's made of metal. Now, ours is heavily corroded here,
and unfortunately, you can't just buy a replacement part.
So I'm gonna have to manufacture my own replacement section,
and it is quite long, which could be tricky.
The nice thing, though, is the entire roof
does unbolt and can be taken off the car
so I can go and work on it on the bench.
To remove the roof, I just need to loosen off the bolts
holding it in place, and Bob's your uncle.
Now I can get to work on the corroded guttering.
First, cutting both ends of the rusted area,
and then prizing it free to check out the damage.
Ah, there we go.
All right, this is the offending article.
And you can see that it's rotten all the way along
from one end to the other. If it was a small area that had damage,
I could just do a localized repair.
But this is too big. So I'm gonna have to replace this entire section.
The next challenge is going to be,
first of all, remaking this in steel, but also,
you can see there's a little strengthening piece in here,
which, to me, looks like it's spot-welded in place.
So I'm gonna have to drill that out
and make sure it goes back in exactly the right position
because it also houses these little captive nuts.
So, I'm gonna clear this roof out of the way
to give me some space to work on the bench
and then figure out how to get that spock-welded strengthening piece
off here so I can reuse it.
[Mike] While Elvis cracks on in the workshop,
I'm off to see if I can sort out our winch cable problem.
Part of our Toyota BJ40's prowess
is the fact that it's a very capable off-roader.
And the fact that it's got a winch on it makes it even more capable,
it could literally tackle any terrain.
And having a winch that works could be a...
a matter of life or death.
It can really get you out of a tricky situation.
So me and Elvis really want to make sure that our winch performs well.
But unfortunately, the cable from the mechanism
that drives the winch, as we know, has failed.
So I've been scratching around on the Internet and I can't find one
but I found a company called Cable Tec.
And their expert is a guy called Chris,
and he said if I was to bring it along and show him,
hopefully, he might be able to rebuild me one.
What this company doesn't know about cables
isn't worth attaching the ratchet strap to.
So our winch cable should be in safe hands.
[exclaims] Look at this place. Proper engineering shop. I love it.
That man over there is the man I've come to see.
-Chris, how you doing, bud? -Yeah, all right.
-What you been up to? -We're making, uh...
-some push-pull control cables. -What's the biggest you go?
[laughs] Tanks.
-Cables for tanks? -Yeah.
Well, I'm definitely in the right place, if you can cover all that.
I'm hoping you can help me out.
Have you ever seen one of these before?
This is off my Toyota BJ40 1979.
Have a look at that, and if you pull one end...
-It's failed. -I can see what's happened.
So it can be repaired. But what can we do to our cable to repair it?
Right. We're gonna make a whole new one.
We'll use a conduit like this, slightly thicker.
It will make the conduit stronger.
This is a flexible push-pull core, it's stainless steel.
And over time, this one would be able to add a bit more flex.
Fantastic. Lovely. All right, so what's the first thing we need to do?
Right. We'll take it over to that bench and we start measuring this.
-Measuring? Let's go for it. -Yeah.
[Mike] The new cable will be made from a conduit or cable housing,
with the super-strong stainless steel cable running through it.
Everything has to be exactly the same size as the old one,
or it still won't make our winch work.
So these are the bits, they're overlength obviously at the moment.
-That's right. -So, what do we do with these, then?
-So I'm going to get the conduit to size first... -Yeah.
-And then we're going to do the inner cable. -Gotcha.
-So now that we've cut it all to size... -Yes.
...we need to see if this inner goes through the conduit first.
All right. Okay.
It looks like a good fit.
Next, Chris adds a metal eye to one end
which will connect our cable to the levers on the Toyota's winch.
-And so, we can actually go and crimp this side now. -All right. Good.
And then, we'll finish off for the other end.
The crimping machine squashes everything together,
locking it all in place and making
the inner cable and conduit one piece.
I love these machines. They're really good, aren't they?
-Yeah. -And then you stick it in from the bottom.
Get your setting correct for the right depth,
and then you hit the button.
-Can I do it? -Yeah, you can.
-Press start? -Go for it.
I feel like I've done something.
[machine whirring]
-Happy with that? -Yeah, yeah.
All crimped together?
Before any cable leaves the facility,
the team use a stress-testing machine
to ensure they're safe and fit for purpose.
-Right. Right. -So what is this machine, then?
So this machine is pre-set to test all of your,
um, ranges of the cables we do.
So, the light duty is set for a pull load of 80 kg.
So then, we'll put it in the machine like this.
We'll trap the back in there,
and then we'll just pull this lever back.
[Mike] If it survives the strain, Chris has solved our problem.
-So far, it's good. -Nice. Nothing's pulled apart.
-So that's it? -That's it. That's done.
How much is all this work going to cost me?
Well, with all of the machine parts we've made for you,
you're probably looking at about £120.
Which I think for a part that you can't buy, anywhere, it's...
-It's a handmade part, it's an absolute bargain. -Yeah.
So, thank you, mate.
-Let's get it back to the workshop, get it fitted. -No problem.
[Elvis] Back in the workshop, I've made progress on the roof
by sourcing some material to make a repair on the rotting rail.
My challenge now, though, is, as you can clearly see,
my replacement piece is one straight section,
and it needs to end up looking like that.
And to do that, I need to make a very specific V-shaped cut,
or miter cut in our new piece of metal.
Now you could use a series of protractors,
miter angle finders, miter saws to do that job,
or you can use this method, which I love,
which uses a bit of brown paper and some sticky tape.
I'm cutting two strips of stiff brown paper
to lay along the length of the old angled roof piece.
I join them together, then fold the template in half
to replicate the angle I need to cut at.
All right, there we go. That ingenious bit
of old-school origami
has now created what will be the perfect angle for me to cut out,
then bend the piece of metal and then weld it up again,
and that should give me an identical replica
of the one we've taken off.
Right. Let's see just how accurate this origami was
by offering it up next to the original piece,
putting this little bend in and see if they match.
[laughs] Oh, yes. I mean, it's perfect.
It couldn't be any better.
It's absolutely perfect. That's amazing.
I'm well pleased with that.
So all I've got to do now is weld that up,
and then we've got a perfect replica
of the piece we're trying to replace.
Once I've welded the joint together and tied it out with a grinder,
it just needs one final check.
That is absolutely brilliant.
Then it's time to fit my new piece into the existing roof.
I'll tell you what. I'm really happy with that.
Once that's drilled, and pop-riveted, and then painted,
I don't even think you'll tell the difference between the old and new.
And actually, if I'm going to repaint this,
I might even think about a total color change
before I put it back on the car. I'm well pleased.
[Mike] And I've just sorted a new cable for the winch,
which will help bring it back to full spec.
-Elvis, mate. -Yeah.
Come and have a look at this.
-Look how nice that is. -Oh, mate.
Remember that old push-pull cable?
That is precision engineering.
That's lovely. Good work, mate. Nice.
Right. What you been up to?
Well, I took the roof off. I've cut out all the corrosion that was in there,
remade a new panel for the sides,
and that's been painted. It's gonna look great.
Right. Before you think about fitting that, though,
let's think about, if you've sent the roof off,
-it's going to have a nice new paint job. -Yeah.
So why don't we get those bits painted,
get the car matched in, deeply polished,
make it look really nice, tie it all together?
Yeah, it's actually a good idea. And in the meantime,
I've got some little brass bushes to make
to get this installed in the car.
And now we need to think about
where we'll put it through its paces at the end.
Well, it's a proper off-roader, isn't it?
So it needs to be really stretched.
-What are you thinking? -Well, Britain.
-We are blessed with sunshine and beaches. -[laughs]
-Which bit of Britain? -Ah, yes.
What about what Britain has best to offer?
-Which is mud. Rain. -[laughs] Yeah.
-And terrain. -Yeah, perfect.
That is exactly what this car is all about.
So, why don't I find somewhere
-we can really, really get it off road? -Yeah.
Uh, and in the meantime, I'll talk to the paint shop.
-I'll get this together. Nice work. -Lovely.
[Elvis] While Mike hunts down some tough terrain,
I need to fabricate replacements for those worn-down brass bushes.
Now, perhaps unsurprisingly,
trying to replace this heavily-worn brass bush
from a 1979 Land Cruiser's winch mechanism
is not the easiest thing in the world.
I've searched online and I can't find one anywhere.
So, I've decided to make my own.
I'm going to be using something called phosphorus bronze,
which is actually very similar to brass,
but a little bit more hard wearing,
um, less prone to corrosion, but still easy to work with.
I've put some in the lathe already.
Now the challenge here is that this lathe is fairly basic,
it only works in two axes and only in a straight line,
and yet our bush, as you can see,
has a fairly heavily curved radius on it.
That's gonna be difficult. But I've taken as many accurate measurements
from that one as I can, and from the mechanism that it sits inside,
and so, going to give it a go.
Firstly, I need to shave the end of the piece of bronze
down to the correct width.
Just ever so gradually,
little bit by bit, like five thou at a time,
I'm just shaving this radius into the bush.
And eventually, I'll sort of join the two
by using a file to create a crown of that radius.
The file allows me to round off the edges,
recreating the same curve as the originals had.
Once I'm happy,
the last job is to bore a ten-mm hole into the middle.
Okay, so I've bored the hole now through the middle.
I'm really happy with the way the bush is looking,
and the only thing left is to use the parting tool
to finally remove it from the job piece.
[laughs] Look at that. That is a thing of beauty, I'm so happy with that.
Almost better than the original, isn't it?
And if I just slot it into the original bracket,
I'll see how it looks.
It looks perfect.
I'm so pleased. That, together with that new cable that Mike's had made,
is going to make our winch work again on this car,
and give it nice, smooth operation through its travel.
So all I need to do is get the other one made
and throw it back onto the vehicle.
While we wait for the roof to come back from the paint shop,
I'm giving our Land Cruiser some final checks,
and I've discovered a problem.
[switch clicking]
You know, ever since I first sat in this car,
I've been trying to figure out what this switch on the dashboard is
that's marked up "FD".
I actually had to go online to find out,
and I've discovered that it stands for "Front Drive".
But I've also discovered that, sadly, it doesn't work.
Now, by front drive, what it means is,
it takes the car from being two-wheel drive,
to being four-wheel drive by engaging a front-drive system
to add to the rear wheel drive at the back.
But interestingly, it doesn't do that
through a simple mechanical linkage through a lever from the cockpit.
It uses the power of a vacuum coming off the engine.
And it takes a vacuum from a pump
mounted onto the back of the alternator here.
Everything's pointing towards the vacuum side
of this system as being the problem.
So that's where I'm going to go next.
The FD switch in the cockpit opens a valve,
forcing the vacuum to pull on a diaphragm,
which in turn engages the front prop shaft.
Okay, so this is where the mechanical magic happens.
This is the transfer box,
the big lump in between the rear-wheel drive system
and the front-wheel drive system.
And on the side here, well, this is what translates
our vacuum power into mechanical movement.
Inside here is a diaphragm that moves under vacuum pressure,
and that gives us the mechanical movement that then engages front-drive
through the prop shaft and onto the front wheels.
Of course, all of that takes its power
from the vacuum coming from the engine,
which passes down these solid pipes here
into these flexi hoses here and into the unit.
And I've got to say, those two flexi hoses
are not in the best of condition. In fact...
I think I might have just found the problem.
There's a split in one of those rubber hoses,
Now, if we've got a split in the system,
we are not gonna maintain the negative vacuum pressure
that the system needs, and it won't work.
But it might also mean that the fix is as quick and simple
as just replacing that short section of rubber hose.
And just to be safe, while I'm at it,
it makes sense to switch out the other hose, too.
Okay, as you can clearly see... [chuckles]
...that one has seen better days and will never do.
So, I've got some vacuum hose,
a pair of cutters and some new clips.
I'm gonna take a length off these,
cut a new piece of pipe and put it back in the car.
If this solves the problem, then, when the car's in two-wheel drive,
I should just see the rear wheel spinning.
And, when I pull the switch to activate the FD mode,
all four should turn at once.
All right, let's give it a test.
-Let's fire it up. -[engine cranks and starts]
All right, I'm going to stick it in gear...
and lift the clutch, and we should just get two-wheel drive operation.
Okay, that's two-wheel drive.
Yes! [laughs] Look at that.
Amazing. That's it.
This car is now transformed back into being
a full four-wheel drive off-roader, just as it should have been.
Now I know Mike wants to test this.
I've got no idea what he wants to do with it,
but I'm waiting for this roof to come back painted,
that will transform the look of it.
I'll give it a spruce up all around the rest of the car.
Then, I'm ready to take it wherever Mike wants to go,
and prove that this 1979 Japanese import,
the Land Cruiser, is still the top of the pile
when it comes to proper off-roading.
[Elvis] The body work's been touched up and polished,
and the renovated roof is back from the paint shop.
So, I just need Mike to help me lift it into place.
-[Mike chuckles] Oh. Wow! -[laughs]
Wow, Elvis. That looks amazing, son.
-Look at that. Eh? -I know. It does look good.
I'm just wiping off the last remnants of its journey from Japan.
Look at it. Oh, I love the fact that you've tied in the grill
-and the bumper, oh, and the wheels... -Yeah.
-...with what is, no doubt, the roof. -Yeah. Doesn't it look good?
And I've set some new tires on it as well. Because if we're gonna go off-roading,
we gotta have some proper grip down there.
Is the winch now working now we've got that push-pull cable?
It is. He did a lovely job on that.
That's now working exactly as it should.
But we have now got a proper four-by-four that looks good
and is capable of taking on any terrain.
-And I've got the perfect place to take it. -Yeah? Go on.
Uh, we're going to go and see my mate, Duncan.
-All right. -The name should give it away, "Duncan".
It's a good Scottish name, isn't it?
-We're going to Scotland? -We're going to Scotland.
When we get there, Duncan's gonna give us a proper off-road experience.
Love it. Yeah. Well, it's cold up there, so I need to get some cold gear on.
And can you give us a hand to get this roof on?
Because the last thing we need in Scotland
-is a convertible. -Exactly.
[Mike] When I imported our Land Cruiser all the way from Japan,
it looked like a bargain buy.
[exclaims] Hey!
But 40 years of off-roading meant not everything was shipshape.
And there you go, that is one broken cable.
[Mike] I went on a mission to help get the winch working again...
-Happy with that? -Yeah, yeah.
All crimped together?
[Mike] ...whilst Elvis freshened up the exterior...
I'll tell you what. I'm really happy with that.
...and worked some of his mechanical wizardry...
Okay, that's two-wheel drive.
Yes! [laughs] Look at that!
...to get this incredible four-by-four back in peak condition
and ready to tackle even the toughest terrain.
We paid £20,400 for the car after shipping and taxes.
The new push-pull winch control cable was £120.
We also fitted a new synthetic winch line for £114.
Elvis's replacement brass bushes were 15 quid.
A new set of tires, £641,
and the painting and polishing was £1,500.
Which means the Land Cruiser owes us a total of £22,790.
It's a lot of money, but I'm still confident of making a profit.
But first, Elvis and I want to put it to the test
in the wilds of Scotland's Cairngorms.
This is epic.
Mate, how stunning is this, eh? It doesn't get much better, does it?
Cruising along in what is the most stunning scenery.
[Elvis] It's unbelievable. I mean, this is...
This is literally the perfect Landcruiser territory, isn't it?
And I got to say, it feels great.
It doesn't feel like a car of its age.
Engine feels strong, suspension feels strong.
I know we're not properly off-road yet,
this is still relatively smooth,
but it's just eating it up like it's absolutely nothing.
Oh, mate, you don't even know what's in store for you.
We're on a private estate in the Cairngorms.
We've got some really hairy stuff coming up,
-so I hope you're in for a bumpy ride. -[laughs] Mate, I can't wait.
-This is unbelievable. Look at it. -Wow.
Right. Here we go. Look, that's Duncan.
Duncan is a three-time Camel Trophy finalist
with over 30 years' experience in off-road driving.
He's organized extreme expeditions
for the likes of Land Rover, Jeep and Mercedes,
so I can't wait to see what he's got up his sleeve for our Toyota.
Duncan! How are you, buddy?
-I'm fine. How about you? -I'm fine.
-What a place to meet. Look at this. This is Elvis. -Hi.
Elvis, how do you do? Pleased to meet you.
Uh... Whoa! I've got to say,
I've been to some amazing scenery before, Duncan,
but this is really special. What have we got here?
Well, basically, 100,000 acres of, uh,
-a whole variety of tracks and trails. -Amazing.
Duncan, that looks a bit tasty, doesn't it?
Yeah, Jeep Wrangler. Nice piece of kit.
Very nice, but look at this.
So I have to say, that is a sweet-looking vehicle.
Absolutely beautiful. Thank you very much.
-Looks in great condition. -It is in great condition.
-How's she driving on these tracks? -So far, really good.
If we can keep up with that, it will prove that it still got what it takes.
-We follow you up the hill? -Yeah, absolutely.
We're gonna head this way down the glen.
And then we're gonna drop down towards the river
we've got on the right side there.
-Shall we go? -Yeah.
[Mike] Duncan knows these roads like the back of his hand,
so he'll take the lead.
Oh, yes. Here we go. Here we go. Oh, yes.
Immediately, I'm in my happy place again.
This is just fantastic.
This does feel completely capable
of anything that we're gonna throw at it.
I mean, we've got some amazing scenery,
-but we've also got an amazing car. -[radio beeps]
[Duncan] Mike, as you can see, the road's getting a bit narrower here.
We've got a bit of exposure on the right-hand side.
We're also about to take a right-hand fork up here.
Um, and it's a descent, it'll probably be pretty icy.
Okay. Yeah. Copy that, Duncan. Thanks, mate.
I don't like this.
-Wait, that's... This is... -It's a fine job.
[Duncan] You should feel the vehicle beginning to slide,
just accelerate into it on the slope.
All right. So when it slides,
-accelerate is what he's saying. -[laughs] Yeah.
Actually, I'm gonna say, mate, this is just pounding through it.
It's like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah."
-Easy. I mean, just easy. -Whoo-hoo!
-It's lovely, isn't it? -Yeah, it feels great.
[Duncan] Icy section downhill your, um,
Mike, so I've dropped her into first.
I'm just taking it gently down here,
it's a bit of a drop on the right-hand side,
so be cautious there.
Right. So, first gear, this is all about engine braking...
-Yeah. Yeah. -...letting that do the work.
So basically, get in first gear,
take your feet off of every, oh, the engine braking is so good.
-It won't even go. Yeah. -It's literally ice. That's amazing.
[Duncan] Okay, guys, well done for getting down that slope there.
Um, that's a bit narrow and treacherous.
Duncan, that was good, but I reckon we can push this a little bit further.
We should get properly off road here and test it for real
[Duncan] Yeah, for sure, guys. Listen,
there's a wee patch of peat bog ahead of us.
Let's, uh, let's meander our way around here.
[Elvis] Bring it on.
Oh, mate, that is cool.
You're covering our nice clean car in mud.
Watch out, just that water.
-Don't get in too deep. -No, we'll be fine.
Mate, that is... [laughs] What a mess we're making here.
[radio beeps] All right, mate, you're getting there.
There's a bit of a wobble on your front wheels.
[engine revs]
-Oh, mate... -Yeah, no.
-You've got it stuck? -I think I have got us...
-Yeah. No, it's... -Why don't you just follow him?
-[groans] -Nicely stuck there, mate.
Oh, mate, I'm...
-[laughs] Nature wins again. -Oh, mate.
It's happy to be buried up to its axles.
-Protect me here, Duncan. -Yeah, no. You know, it's soft ground.
-Had you kept a bit higher... -There you go. But listen,
-that's why we have a winch. -Yeah.
It's a natural way of doing it.
Let's give it a test, mate.
-Let's give it a go. -Yeah, test it.
-Yes? All right. Nice one. -Okay.
The traditional way to winch yourself out of trouble is to use a land anchor.
You want to be able to drive out past them.
-All right, mate. -Okay.
Which can literally be a lifesaving bit of kit.
Once the anchor's positioned, it's time to unspool
the brand new winch cable for its first pull.
Okay, mate, I'm just gonna wind it in a bit.
Just gently.
With everything in position, it's the moment of truth.
-Right, Duncan? -That's good.
-I'll keep an eye on it here. -Okay, mate.
Come on. Come on. Come on.
-It's working, it's working! -[laughs] Oh, I love it.
-I absolutely love it. We're coming out of the mud. -Amazing.
Oh, that is just... [laughs] That is fantastic.
Here it comes. [laughs]
-All right, mate. -Oh, yes! Right.
-[cheering] -How good is that?
Oh, yes. That is fantastic. Let me have a look.
Mate, that was amazing. That was so easy.
-We were really stuck. -It worked like a dream.
Oh, I love it, I love it, I love it.
See, didn't I tell you we could take it absolutely anywhere?
-What a bit of kit. -Impressed, Duncan?
Very impressed. Great piece of kit.
-Thanks, Duncan. -You're welcome, guys.
-We've come a long way. -When you think about it,
-This has come a long way. -It's come all the way from Japan.
Right, it goes to the wilderness of our workshop,
and then it comes to the wilds of the Scottish Cairngorms.
-Yeah. -And it absolutely smashes
over anything we throw in front of it.
And we've tested every bit of it today.
-I absolutely love it. -What a great little vehicle.
This seems like the perfect spot, actually,
for me and you to sort of just stop,
take a breath in the peace and quiet,
have a cup of tea. How'd you fancy that?
I knew you were gonna say a cup of tea. Yes.
Don't worry, I've got the flask in the car. Nice work.
But sadly, we have to say goodbye to our BJ40.
I've listed it online at a very reasonable £27,500.
Well, I took a risk when I clicked that mouse button
and bought this Land Cruiser BJ40 thousands of miles away
with never clapping eyes on it,
and it's a risk I'm really pleased that I took.
Because not only have we turned out an amazing vehicle,
but we've also turned out a vehicle that can, literally,
conquer the world after that amazing test drive.
Now, one little advert out there has got the phone rattling.
I had a chap called Ed who's very serious about buying the car.
He can't make it, but he sent this young lady down called Chloe
on his behalf. Let's see if I can put a deal together.
So then, Chloe, eh, what do you think of our Land Cruiser?
-You like it? -Yeah, I really like it.
So in terms of Ed not being here,
no doubt he's giving you a budget that you can work to.
He has given me a budget. £27,500?
-It's not £27,500. [laughs] -Ah. Right. Well, that hurts.
-What is it? -Um...
-I feel like we could probably stretch to 25. -What?
Twenty five grand?
-Yeah. I can't give you two-and-a -half grand off for the car.
I can let it go for £27,000 pound. How about that?
I could add 500 to my budget.
-So... -So, twenty... £25,500.
-Still a long way off, aren't we? -We're nearly there.
No, we're not nearly there. We're miles off.
This is such a good car. I'd reckon I could sell it.
I've actually got other people that want to buy it,
only difference is, they're not here and you are.
£26,500, I think that's a bit of a bargain.
I could meet you in the middle at 26. Um...
-Hold out your hand. You've got a deal. -Brilliant.
I don't want to argue with you, you're here,
-you'll enjoy the vehicle, thank you very much. -Thank you.
Do you know, me and Elvis have grown really fond of this Toyota Land Cruiser.
It brought us across rugged terrain,
and more importantly, it brought us a profit.
Now, it goes to prove that the global car market
is still alive and thriving.
You can buy a vehicle from somewhere else in the world,
bring it to a destination,
as long as you do your research, buy the right car
at the right price and do the right jobs,
you can end up with a car like this. And I hope you do.
If you want to see more iconic vehicles
like this being turned around by me and Elvis,
then join us again soon on Wheeler Dealers. Ta-la!