“A kei-car 4x4 with a 359 cc two-stroke, built as a work tool for Japanese surveyors and foresters, that accidentally made Suzuki a global car company. It's tiny, crude and slow, and it will go almost anywhere a person can walk.”
Where it came from, why it matters, and how it changed year to year.
In April 1970 Suzuki launched the Jimny LJ10, the first four-wheel-drive kei car to go into series production. It had a ladder frame, leaf springs on rigid axles, 16-inch wheels and a two-speed transfer case, all powered by a 359 cc air-cooled two-stroke twin making 25 PS. Suzuki pitched it as a 'professional's tool' for surveyors, foresters and anyone hauling goods up mountain roads. Nearly 5,000 sold in Japan in the first year, outselling the Mitsubishi Jeep, and the line that runs through the Samurai to today's Jimny started here.
The design wasn't originally Suzuki's. Hope Motor Company built the HopeStar ON360, a doorless two-seater with a Mitsubishi two-stroke, a Mitsubishi Colt rear axle and Mitsubishi Jeep wheels. It went on sale in April 1968, but Hope sold only a handful, about 15 in Japan and 30 for export by Wikipedia's count, before passing the design to Suzuki that year.
Suzuki fitted its own engine and a new body, and it put the spare wheel inside the truck to keep the length under the 3-metre kei limit, which made the first Jimny a three-seater. As a kei car it got Japan's tax and registration breaks. Early trucks were largely hand-built by a subcontractor, but demand forced Suzuki to set up its own assembly line, and more than 6,000 sold in 1971.
The May 1972 LJ20 switched to the water-cooled L50 twin with 28 PS, a vertical-slat grille and a steel-roofed van body. Suzuki says it would climb a 35-degree slope, and that it finished the Mexican 1000 race against 3- to 7-litre foreign rivals after 34 hours without an accident. Left-hand drive signalled export plans. In the US, an importer called International Equipment Co. sold it as the Suzuki Brute.
Kei rules changed in 1976, so the home-market Jimny 55 (SJ10) got the 539 cc LJ50 two-stroke triple. That engine was first used in export trucks from September 1975 with 33 PS, and the export LJ50 went to Australia and, from late 1976, was assembled in New Zealand. Suzuki says the SJ10 could climb 39.7 degrees.
The 1977 Jimny 8, the LJ80 abroad, was Suzuki's first car with a four-stroke engine. Its 797 cc F8A four made 41 PS, which allowed taller gearing, and the track was about 100 mm wider. It was also the first Jimny registered in Japan as a small car rather than a kei car, and only 1,799 sold there, because it was really built for export. In Germany it was meant to be called the Eljot until Disney's Pete's Dragon got in the way. Australia called it the Stockman.
Metal doors arrived in 1979, along with the LJ81 pickup on a 2,200 mm wheelbase. The LJ80 was also assembled in New Zealand and Indonesia. Suzuki says it made the Suzuki name known around the world as a four-wheel-drive maker. It was replaced in 1981 by the SJ410, the first of the SJ and Samurai generation.
Hope Motor Company had built three-wheeled trucks before its ON360. The ON360 used a 359 cc Mitsubishi ME24 air-cooled two-stroke with 21 PS, Daihatsu brakes, a Mitsubishi Colt 1000 rear axle and Mitsubishi Jeep wheels. Top speed was 70 km/h, or 30 km/h in four-wheel drive.
Hope bought 100 engines from Mitsubishi but built very few trucks. When Mitsubishi declined to take over production, Hope sold the design to Suzuki in 1968. Two years later it became the LJ10.
What changed, model year by model year. Sweet spot Beware
How it’s built, what it can do, and what fits under it.
Every LJ uses the same basic truck. A ladder frame carries the body, and rigid axles hang on semi-elliptic leaf springs at both ends. A four-speed manual feeds a separate two-speed transfer case, and the brakes are drums all round. What changed was the engine: an air-cooled two-stroke twin, then water cooling, then a two-stroke triple, and finally a four-stroke four.
| YEARS | PLATFORM | ENGINE | OUTPUT | WORTH KNOWING |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970–1972 | LJ10 | FB 359 cc air-cooled 2-stroke I2 | 25 PS / 6,000 rpm | First series-production kei 4x4; spare inside, three seats; 600 kg. |
| 1972–1976 | LJ20 | L50 359 cc water-cooled 2-stroke I2 | 28 PS / 6,000 rpm | Vertical-slat grille, van body; LJ20F with outside spare for four seats; sold in the US as the Brute. |
| 1975–1981 | LJ50 / SJ10 Jimny 55 | LJ50 539 cc water-cooled 2-stroke I3 | 33 PS export · 26 PS Japan | Export from September 1975, Japan from June 1976; LJ51P long-wheelbase pickup for some markets. |
| 1977–1981 | LJ80 / SJ20 Jimny 8 | F8A 797 cc 4-stroke SOHC I4 | 41 PS / 5,500 rpm | First four-stroke Suzuki car; wider track, taller gearing; metal doors and LJ81 pickup from 1979. |
| LIFT | BIGGEST TIRE | WHAT IT TAKES |
|---|---|---|
| Stock | Stock size | We couldn't find a sourced owner consensus; stay close to the original size. |
Forum consensus, not a guarantee: wheel offset, tire brand and suspension wear all change clearance. Confirm before you buy.
A domestic hit that became Suzuki's first global car.
What to pay, what to check, and how to tell a good one from a clone.
LJs are rare in the US; restored LJ20s and early Jimnys bring the most.
Based on Bring a Trailer results 2018–2025: LJ10 $4,300 (2018) and $6,000 (2023); LJ20 $10,000–10,250; a 1972 Jimny $11,500 (2025); an LJ50 $11,050 (2018); SJ10s $7,700–10,500. Two LJ80s were bid to $10,250 and $18,003 without selling. Prices move; checked October 2026. See live listings below.
Engines, grilles and bodies were swapped over five decades, so check what you're actually looking at.
Baseline service, the repairs you’ll actually do, and where the manuals live.
These trucks are 45-plus years old, so rebuild the basics before you trust one. Factory capacities and specs weren't available in our sources; confirm them in a service manual. LJ80.de sells a complete LJ80 inspection kit.
There's also a kit for the SJ410.
Use a new drain-plug washer.
Find out how your engine gets its two-stroke oil before running it.
Check the rubber boot between the filter and the carburetor.
Old tanks shed rust, so check the filter again after a few tanks.
The LJ10 is air-cooled.
Replace the drain-plug seals.
Four-wheel drums; check the wheel cylinders.
The jobs owners actually end up doing, rated for a competent home mechanic with a decent tool kit. Always confirm torque figures, fluids and procedures against the factory service manual for your VIN, and work safely — support the truck on stands, never just a jack. You do this work at your own risk; see the disclaimer. Some parts links are affiliate links.
We couldn't find a reliable owner consensus. Suzuki fitted 16-inch wheels to the LJ10 and 15-inch wheels to the LJ20 van. With kei-sized wheel arches and tracks around 1,100–1,200 mm, staying close to the stock size is the safe choice.
SOURCE · SUZUKI · WIKIPEDIALJ stands for 'Light Jeep'. In Japan the trucks were also known by chassis codes: SJ10 (Jimny 55) and SJ20 (Jimny 8). Export markets mostly used the LJ names.
SOURCE · WIKIPEDIAThe LJ80. It has a four-stroke engine, it was the most widely exported, and specialists such as LJ80.de still stock much of it. Two-stroke LJ10, LJ20 and LJ50 trucks are rarer and more of a collector's project.
SOURCE · SUZUKI · LJ80.DENot very. Wikipedia gives the LJ10's top speed as 75 km/h, and about 97 km/h (60 mph) for the 539 cc Jimny 55.
SOURCE · WIKIPEDIANot by Suzuki. An importer, International Equipment Co., brought in LJ20s and sold them as the Suzuki Brute. The Samurai of late 1985 was the first four-wheeled vehicle Suzuki itself sold in the US.
SOURCE · WIKIPEDIA · MOTORTRENDSuzuki says the LJ20 would climb a 35-degree slope and the SJ10 39.7 degrees, and that an LJ20 finished the Mexican 1000 race after 34 hours. It's light, narrow and has low range, which counts for a lot.
SOURCE · SUZUKIWikipedia lists transfer case ratios of 2.57 low / 1.56 high or 3.01 low / 1.71 high depending on the year, and axle ratios of 4.55, 4.87 or 5.66 for the later trucks.
SOURCE · WIKIPEDIAFor the LJ80, LJ80.de in Germany stocks body repair panels, springs, bearings, brakes and service parts, and publishes a parts catalogue. Some parts are shared with the SJ410. Two-stroke engine parts are harder to find.
SOURCE · LJ80.DEBring a Trailer sales have mostly run from about $4,300 to $11,500, with restored LJ20s and early Jimnys at the top. An LJ80 bid to $18,003 in 2023 without selling.
SOURCE · BRING A TRAILERThe 359 cc and 539 cc trucks were. The 797 cc Jimny 8 (SJ20/LJ80) was the first Jimny registered as a small car rather than a kei car in Japan.
SOURCE · SUZUKIWho makes the good stuff, where owners gather, and who to watch.
From the wider Samurai & Jimny community: