Yeah a diesel land cruiser would be sweet, but doubt my wallet would like that.
I just see a Mercedes being on par with our VW as cost of parts go, I just like the idea of fixing it myself, and owning a vehicle that was designed to be fixed and meant to run forever vs a modern throw-away that is only meant to last 10-15 years before it goes to the crusher for recycling
I acctually have a landcruiser turbo diesel engine all tore apart on the shelf at work. A Yanmar 6-LP is a land cruiser engine they marinized, and stuck in boats, but has a Toyota emblem on the valve cover, a crank that accepts a clutch, basically just needs an automotive injector pump, exhaust manifold for headers and a radiator. Yanmar got the licences from Toyota, so, it is an authentic Toyota engine but with boat parts all over it. They put the wrong prop on a go-fast boat and burned out the #5 piston, so it got tore apart, but only needs one piston, the bores are fine, head ok, just needs a piston and some gaskets and a bunch of spare time...puts out about 300hp, and would easily fit in my Jeep......