jul/aug 2010

My VDJ79R Weekend….

by Jerod Knox 

My head turned slowly and followed the line of 70 Series Land Cruisers at a Toyota dealership outside Brisbane, Australia. I was riding with my brother, Daniel, and half jokingly said that we should try to take a new 70 Series for a test drive after the weekend. As it turned out, I would not have to wait that long—or dream that small.

We were on our way to a farm a few hours south of Brisbane that belongs to Bob and Mary Waldie. The idea was to spend the weekend out of the city and help with some chores around the farm. We parked my brother’s car before the first creek crossing and caught a ride in with Mary. The closer we got to the farm, the more the valley started to look like a backdrop from The Lost World. As we pulled into the farm, Bob and his son Pete were working on hanging some gates along a new fence. Parked next to them was a brand new VDJ79R Land Cruiser pickup. In the States, we would call it a tray back but they just call it, “The Ute.”

After a few minutes riding with Bob in the Cruiser, it was clear that it was a work truck and that he wasn’t afraid to use it as such. We took the scenic route around the farm on our way to fix some leaning fence posts and loose barbwire. After the chores were done, we took the Land Cruiser and the two farm motorcycles and went to explore some of the old roads in the hills on the south side of the property. The Cruiser performed flawlessly but Pete took a spill on a motorcycle and got a nice burn on his leg.

The VDJ79R Cruiser features a 1VD-FTV 4.4 liter V8 turbo diesel in front of an H150F 5-speed manual transmission with 4.56 differential gears. It has dual fuel tanks but no electric lockers, although the dash does have indicator lights for the lockers. This truck is stock except for the BFG AT tires and was built in October of 2009...

The VDJ79R’s dashboard layout harkens back to the simplicity of the Hilux days.

Jerod Knox looking just a tad smug—and for good reason—at the wheel of the exotic Land Cruiser.

The 79 series Land Cruiser provided the perfect platform for Rosie and Charlie Sanderson to take in the sights of Australia’s Kerry Valley.

The 1VD-FTV 4.4 liter V8 turbo diesel is mated to an H150F 5-speed manual transmission—we can only dream of this setup in the States.