Previous Spot Revisited: 1984-85 Suzuki SJ410 Jimny

I first spotted this Suzuki here on April 4, 2013, but spotted it again in the same place. The racing stripes on the bonnet are gilding the lily a bit given that the 1000cc inline four is barely capable of normal freeway speeds, let alone racetrack speeds, and the J.C. Whitney Samurai hardtop looks out-of-place, but this would be an ideal restoration candidate between its condition and its rarity in the continental US. The outline of Hawaii on the back window may hint at where this came from, since unlike the LJ20 and Carry in the 1970s, they were only distributed on Hawaii and other US outlying islands.

Side Street Find: Datsun 510 Wagon and Suzuki SJ410 Jimny

I spotted this tatty but solid Datsun 510 station wagon whilst carspotting/old-iron hunting in an industrial area near me, it was in front of a warehouse, and appears to be a daily driver.

But what's that behind it? Surely it's a Suzuki Samurai! Still a worthy spotting in uncut condition like this.

Here we have an early 80s Suzuki SJ410 Jimny, a model not sold in the continental US, but distributed on outlying islands like Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Mariana Islands. It was the successor to the smaller, lighter-weight, less substantial LJ jeep of the 1970s and differs in numerous ways from the more familiar Samurai. This one is left-hand-drive, evidently has a few aftermarket Samurai bits on it, and appears to be owned by someone who knows what they have. The yellow Oregon plates indicate that it  has been on the mainland since at least 1986 (N numbers on Oregon plates were 1986-1987 only)

Parking Lot Sighting: Toyota J70 Land Cruiser

I know very little about the international incarnations of the Toyota Land Cruiser. Readers outside the United States will probably be amused that I got excited over an old Land Cruiser, but we Americans never got the 70 Series. To me the Land Cruiser has always been either the little FJ40 or the large four-door SUV that hardly anyone in this country bought - and which becomes increasingly rare every year as fewer people buy new ones or save the old ones.
The 70 Series Land Cruiser was introduced in 1984 and is still being made. That makes it a good candidate for importation into the States as early examples are old enough to comply with the 25 year rule and new parts are still available. I don't know the year of this truck, as the plate is not in California smog records - either making it a recent registration or a diesel engine. My best guess it it's an HJ75 "Troop Carrier" van made in the mid-1980s. The wheels look like they came off of a mid-2000s Toyota Sequoia SUV.
It's an interesting rig for sure, certainly not something I expected to see at a home improvement store in Northern California.

Parking Lot Photo Shoot: 1963 International Travelall 1000 Series