Guest Post: Prado On Parade

All subscribers welcome

Let’s all extend a warm welcome to Kamil, who did something that everybody says they are going to do — namely, buy the 25-year imported Japanese market car of their dreams, or at least immediate desires. It didn’t go quite the way he’d hoped! — jb

So you want a cool JDM car…

Living in the city with my wife and two kids, we always managed to be a single-car family. But as the kids got older, their activities required them to be in two different locations at the same time, frequently out of the city. We needed a second car, even if the actual need for it was twice a month.

Since our only car at the time, a ’22 Ford Bronco, was rather new and kind of cool, the second car needed to be only basic transportation. At this point, an intelligent adult would either lease something cheap and efficient, or buy something cheap and reliable. However, the good Lord did not bless me with intelligence, common sense, or the understanding of time and money.

Buying and Not Buying Local

For quite some time I had a desire for some kind of a Land Cruiser. Market search and knowledge took the 60-series out of contention; way too slow and old. 80-series are very cool but middle managers at Fortune 500 companies have developed quite an appetite for them, sending their prices to insanity. But the 100-series seemed pretty perfect, if perhaps under-appreciated by keyboard overlanders. It was bigger, had a V8 engine, and an independent front suspension. Additional space, power, and a comfortable ride might not be what most buyers of old Land Cruisers want, but that suited me quite well. So I started my search…

and ended it. Every reasonably priced 100-series Land Cruiser in the New England area was unreasonably rusted. I am too damned old to deal with rust. Been there, done that, no thanks. I set my goals on another rather under-appreciated vehicle: a ’14-plus Jeep Grand Cherokee. Every time I drove one of those, I thought of them as affordable Range Rovers. The 5.7-liter V8 and the eight-speed auto are quite a match. Air suspension makes for a comfy ride, empty or loaded. Summer days make good use of ventilated seats and the huge sunroof. The one-owner Overland model I found for a reasonable price was just perfect.

Except the owner could not sell it to me. The production of his loaded Silverado diesel kept getting delayed by GM. Something about supply chains. He could afford to wait, but I couldn’t. Back to square one.

What’s a Prado?

My car searching turned from therapeutic to stressful. At this point I just wanted a decent, reliable, and efficient vehicle… and that’s when I found it, casually posted on Facebook Marketplace, the one car that was everything but those things. A Land Cruiser, but unlike any I’ve ever seen in the United States. It was a 5-door 90-series Land Cruiser Prado, freshly imported from Japan.

The 90-series was the first generation of the “small” Land Cruisers, which later span off into the Toyota Fortuner and the Lexus GX. If the Prado name rings a recent bell, it’s because buff books will tell you that the just released 250-series Land Cruiser is a watered-down Prado, whereas the Lexus LX600 is a proper large 300-series Land Cruiser-based vehicle. Of course, they won’t tell you the exact differences. Because the press release does not mention them. Let’s just note that all current Toyota body-on-frame vehicles ride on the same architecture and share powertrain components.

The 90-series Prado, like the new 250-series, also has commonalities with existing products. My exhaustive (Kamil wrote “exhausting”, and he might have meant just that — jb) research showed that the front end was identical to the third generation 4Runner. The full-time 4WD transfercase and the rear axle were shared with the 80-series Land Cruiser. The Prado on Marketplace had the 3.4-liter V6 gasoline engine and not the supposedly brilliant four-cylinder turbo-diesel. This engine, and the accompanying four-speed automatic transmission, came in U.S. market in 4Runners and pickups. This meant that all parts would be readily available at the neighborhood Autozone. This engine is also simpler to service or repair, if needed. Lastly, it had the bonus of being easier to live with in the colder climate and driving in a city than the diesel.

This Prado was what kids call “very clean”. The frame, chassis, components, and the body underneath were a match for a new 4Runner. The interior was largely unworn and unmodified, showing that this Prado was strictly one-person car and not some work truck. The body wasn’t as good; the paint was badly faded on the roof and the hood, as it seemed to have never been waxed or polished. Mechanically, the vehicle was all factory original and maintained as the manufacturer required. JDM service and inspection receipts backed-up my findings.

Of Importers

One huge thing that really appealed to me about this JDM wonder was that it was already titled and registered in my home state. I wouldn’t have bought it without that, as I did not need the headache. However, that was literally the only thing that the importer did for it. They did not even wipe the auction numbers off the windshield. For a vast majority of importers, especially the ones new to the game, it’s all about flip-for-profit, with minimum financial or time investment.

Most of these recent importers/flippers have no clue about these cars and especially their condition. They all think the cars are special and somehow, in the case of the Land Cruiser, better than U.S. market vehicles. They are not – they are just different. But Japan does happen to have the right climate for preserving cars, strict inspections that keep those cars well maintained, and a culture of cleanliness.

None of this should imply that any of these vehicles are perfect. They are twenty-five-year-old machines and should be treated as such. Some sellers won’t tell you if the windows work or if the jack is present. Many are unable to properly translate the service history or even the Japanese auction inspection report. These are not enthusiasts doing the importing, it’s used car salesmen.

Getting Going

While registration was easy, finding insurance was not, thanks to the short non-standard VIN. My agent did some homework and found another company who had no issues with it. I could not use a company such as Hagerty, because I lived in the city and street parked the Prado.

(And in any event, you’re always better off with American Collectors Insurance, wink wink — jb)

My second issue was a silly one: while Japanese license plates are similar in size to American, the mounting holes are in different locations. This seems trivial until you realize that you can’t attach your plates as easily as you thought. There are two solutions to this: drill a new hole in your US plates, or pick up a bracket from Auto Zone. I utilized both of those solutions: bracket in front and a hole in the rear.

After a quick check up, I brought the Prado in for a state inspection, which it easily passed. It should be noted that Massachusetts does not check for emissions on vehicles this old. Additionally, 1996 model year was the first year for the more standardized OBD2 system in the U.S. However, this standard didn’t make it to Japan until some years later. Please check your local regulations regarding this.

Next, I… started driving it. Like you would any other car. No other inspections, no trips to any shops. The best way to find out what’s broken in a car is to just drive it and observe things, with the knowledge that AAA might take the wheel if something goes wrong. I was pleasantly surprised that there was nothing inherently wrong with my Prado. It was a little slow, the factory shocks were worn, and the brakes felt spongy. I made a list of needs and wants, and then got to ordering things.

RHD in LHD World

The great news is that if you have mastered basic coordination skills, driving with the steering wheel on the right-hand side is not very difficult. The one thing to remember is to keep to the right side of the road, as you will intuitively want keep your driving position on the left side of the driving lane. I imagine that RHD driving with a manual transmission vehicle would be significantly more challenging, but I do not have that experience. The thing that took me the longest to get used to were mirror angles; I just couldn’t get them quite right for some time.

After about two months of ownership, I found myself very confident, managing to switch lanes and squeeze between traffic like a veteran cabbie. I often parked in city garages, but reaching the gate machines was nothing more than a stretch if I pulled up close enough. One day, my passenger was desperate for a Dairy Queen milkshake. We went to the drive-thru, he ordered and got his drink, and the worker who handed him the drink did not even notice the missing steering wheel. All those unfunny RHD drive-thru videos you’ve seen were just cheap entertainment.

At times, the wheel location did get annoying. I was asked if I was British at least once a month. People asked many stupid questions that I developed snarky responses to. One cop thought my eleven-year-old son was driving. Another cop said I ran a stop sign and then asked me ten questions, because he too wanted something JDM, y0! People with modified Toyotas either bowed before me or completely ignored me. And then there were the car bros, enthusiasts, and yes, a few haters. My goofy face is probably on hundreds of Instagram accounts.

Making it Reliable

Having grown up around crappy cars, reliably is key for me. First thing to change were all the fluids and filters. The belts, including the timing belt, were replaced not long ago. I changed the sparkplugs and learned that the left cylinder bank sparkplugs were different then the right – not just model number but manufacturer, too. I assume it’s because one side had coil-packs over each plug and the other had cables running to each of those three packs. With this, and a BG fuel injector cleaner, the old girl got some of her lost ponies back.

While the brakes were not totally worn, I found them annoying, especially in city driving. New OEM pads and rotors, along with a flush fixed that. Sourcing the rear brake pads was a bit of a challenge. I had to use a foreign website to get the OEM part number, and then cross-reference that to a U.S. model. Those pads came only on some obscure Tundra model in the U.S., and I found only one place that had them in stock.

Old Car Issues

On our first long-ish trip, I got my first CEL. With this being an OBD1 system, the codes were not stored anywhere, or if they were I did not have a way to scan for them. This CEL would consistently come on after about fifty miles of driving. The fault would go away with an engine restart, but there was a notable power loss with it on. Hours of research led me to believe that I had bad knock sensors, a relatively common issue on these V6 engines.

Generally, a knock sensor would be an easy replacement, but this was not the case here. Two knock sensors were inside the Vee of the engine, requiring the removal of the intake manifold. They fail because they cook themselves to death and the little wire harness melts. While I was in there, I replaced the manifold gaskets, then cleaned the throttle body and the idle control valve. All these things contributed to a much smoother idling and running engine.

One chilly night, weird electronic things began to happen. I lost some radio functions. Illumination was dimming. The gauge pod started displaying the wrong temperature. Soon after, the battery light came on. It was an obvious alternator failure, with each electrical component slowly going kaput. The old Toyota managed to get me home before finally draining the battery. AAA rescued me and a replacement rebuilt alternator was about $200.

The 90-series, as well as the third-generation 4Runners have two weak points. One is the lower ball joints, which were very healthy on my car. The other is the less frequent steering rack failure, which of course happened to me. The issue with the steering rack for the JDM Prado is that it is very difficult to source a replacement for one locally due to the RHD configuration. The ones from Australia or Japan were pricey and took a long time to ship. More hours of research led to the fact that the rack might be rebuildable. I found one company who was willing to take on the challenge, using a rebuild kit from the 4Runner, assuming that the RHD rack was a mirror image of the LHD rack. I got lucky and managed to have the rack rebuilt for around $500, over a week.

Making it Mine

The first thing that I needed was an audio upgrade. The factory radio featured a cassette, CD player, DVD-based navigational system, TV player, and must have been amazing for Japan in 1996, but it was useless to me in United States in 2023. I replaced it with a double-DIN Sony unit. This radio had such amazing features as Apple CarPlay, satellite radio, and a reverse camera input. It worked almost great – the problem was me. After decades of using my right hand for various vehicle controls, I had serious trouble using my left hand for them. The solution to this was a wireless remote controller.

Those worn shocks really got to me. Replacement shocks were easily obtainable, but I decided to do this right. I ordered a whole suspension kit, a mild two-inch lift, from Ironman4x4. This transformed the ride and the look of the truck. The relatively low lift negated the need for a differential drop, longer brake lines, or the many other issues that can come from longer lift. But it created a new, if predictable, “problem”…

The new large gap between the factory tires and fender needed filling. The wheels had some peeling and discoloration on them. Seeing that I would be using this rig in the winter months, I opted for a fancy set of wheels and tires. Way too much research went into my tire choice and size. I decided to go with a 32-inch BFGoodrich KO2 tires. Those were wrapped around 17x8.5-inch Motegi Racing wheels. In my opinion, this was a perfect combination, giving the Prado a proper stance with an increased sense of period correct JDM-ness.

The new wheel/tire combo was heavier than the stock setup. The overall diameter was obviously taller, too. Not surprisingly, the truck got slower and thirstier. Where I made my mistake was in the tire choice. The KO2s are amazing tires, however, in the 275/70-17 size it was only available in load E. Load E tires are 10-ply tires, with thicker side walls. They can be inflated up to 80psi. They’re also much heavier than load C tires. The added weight and stiffer sidewalls make for a less comfortable ride, along with the other mentioned side effects. In hindside, I would have chosen the same KO2s but in a slightly smaller 265/70-17 Load C size.

The faded roof and hood made the Prado look like an old, worn vehicle. Repainting it properly was out of my budget and I did not want a crap Macco job. In the ended, I had the hood, windshield cowl, grill, mirrors, and the roof vinyl wrapped in matte black. This absolutely transformed the look of the truck. It was now clean, modern, and original. I happened to have the wheels and tires mounted the same day. My friends, and especially my kids, could not believe the instant transformation. It went from being weird to being ridiculously cool.

The JDM Experience, and the end of it

There is no magical place on the other side of the world where time stands still. The vehicles in that non-magical JDMlandia are not superior in any way to their counterparts sold in Europe, Middle East, or North America*. But Japanese vehicles are typically cleaner, as the kids say, and well maintained. Despite that, they are still machines made almost three decades ago and should be treated as such.

Decades of generational exposure to Gran Turismo, Option magazine, and the Fast & Furious series, make JDM anything very appealing to many of us — but buyer knowledge and experience are still pivotal. A quick search of JDM Facebook groups will show many buyers asking some seriously basic or dumb questions about their awesome new old cars. If you don’t know how to adjust valves or where the distributor rotor is, you may want to consider something else. If you think you can just buy a random JDM car and start doing mad mods to it, it won’t end well for you.

It may get worse than that. Any accident with your JDM baby will leave it sidelined for quite some time. Body panels will need to be sourced from the other side of the world. Good luck negotiating those repair costs with your American insurance company. Winter driving had me stressed over potential windshield cracks. I owned my Prado for over a year, and I loved it. But it wasn’t really the Toyota I needed.

So I sold it, for another Prado, of a sort — this one a USDM Lexus GX 470. Don’t tell the car bros or the Internet, but it is everything the Prado was. Only better. Faster, bigger, more comfortable. And if my newly licensed daughter crinkles a body panel on the GX, I won’t have to ship it from Australia. Sorry if you don’t like it as much; I like it just fine.

*It should be noted that vehicles sold in other parts of Asia, Africa, and South America may be very different; depopulated, produced locally of different materials, of lower build quality, and intentionally designed to be cheap. Buyer beware.