[Nemesis Gnat]

Hi there everybody,

So I guess it’s my turn for a ROTM. Now I don’t have the gnarliest or most immaculate cruiser out there, but I do have a close personal history very much intertwined with my baby, so my write up will be mostly stories about my travels and experiences with my 60. Enjoy!

My story begins with the birth of a baby boy… me! At the time my parents were driving an old MG convertible that didn’t quite have the seating capacity or the safety that they needed for their new baby. My mom was a first generation American and had grown up with very Greek parents. My grandpa, a self taught engineer and former merchant marine, had instilled in my mom an appreciation for sturdy machines. As such, she’d always been a fan of land cruisers, and it was a natural choice to pick up an FJ60. After some tire kicking and frame inspecting, my grandpa concurred, and the decision was made to get shopping. Later in that same year, 1988, a loan was taken out for a Sept. 1985 FJ60 in metallic blue/grey. And the stage was set for future adventures.

A surprising 13 months after me, my brother was born. Together, we fell in love with the cruiser. My mom would strap us into our car seats and we’d take off on “Mommy’s Lil Adventures.” We’d drive for hours with no real destination in mind. Many a puddle was driven through. The goal was to get lost on the back roads of the San Francisco Bay area. I strongly believe that these drives continue to be a huge influence on the person I am today. I still wander aimlessly (sometime to my own detriment…). The signature gear whine and motor noise of the 2f and h42 still give me a deep inner calm. I’m most at home when I’m in my cruiser, whether I’m miles on the interstate or trying to find the most remote place I can.

Time continued to tick away, and my brother and I continued to grow up (sort of…). The adventures began to have more of a purpose. The cruiser became our Lake Tahoe ski trip car. It took us to and from sports practices and games, and eventually sailing practices and regattas. But, as my brother and I continued to grow up and become more mature (haha, mature?), my mom found herself wanting something a little more peppy and fun to drive around. She didn’t need to carry a couple of hell raising boys all over the place anymore. She bought herself a BMW M3 for a new daily driver. By this time, the cruiser had become a family member, no one even considered selling her, but she was retired to weekend duty.

About this time I was realizing something. I am fully addicted to dirt. I love anything off road, and if it has a motor it’s even better. I was 14 when I bought my first car. For 100 dollars I managed to get myself a ratty 1970 VW bug that I planned to turn into a Baja bug. Unfortunately, I had spent all of my money on the initial purchase, so that plan was put onto the back burner. It was tough for a bit, but I got over it fast. I was falling in love with another form of dirt shredding.

Mountain biking took my life by storm. One summer, my brother’s friends got some fancy looking bikes and starting building jumps to ride. I was getting tired of sailing (thanks in no small part to my coach) so I decided to hang out with them and see what I could do; I was hooked immediately. I spent every waking hour either building jumps, riding them, or thinking about being on two wheels. I started racing Downhill shortly thereafter. I had found true love in the form of a mostly unheard of and mentally and physically exhausting sport.

Now to get back on subject. I got my license and was given my dad’s old Volvo to drive… I was not satisfied. I wanted the cruiser and wouldn’t rest until I had it. I had always loved it, it was my sibling. I always knew it had to be mine. After a little more than a year of proving myself to not be an idiot behind the wheel, it was handed over to me. Along with the keys, I was given a folder with every piece of paperwork ever associated with the cruiser. I have the original dealership delivery papers, all the service receipts, the loan paperwork and transfer of ownership from the original owner to my parents, the gas tank recall, everything. The cruiser baby had grown up and become a cruiser owner.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m immature. When the cruiser was transferred to me, I was 17. The first thing I did was get stuck in every mud hole I could get to. I got myself pretty dirty, got myself a trespassing ticket, a made good use of my tow rope. Eventually I got tired of being stuck all the time, and wanted me some more rubber. I decided to try to fit the biggest tire under it that I could. I had a friend who managed to get himself a retail license so he could get parts at wholesale for his 4runner and Suzuki. He got me a set of 33x12.5 Baja Claws on 2.5 backspaced rims… they rubbed… bad. There was a fleeting moment where the angle grinder was plugged in and cut lines were drawn. Thank God my parents put a stop to that immediately. I found that, when mounted on the stock rims, the Baja Claws actually mostly fit without having to carve into virgin sheet metal.

The cruiser spent a while like that. It got wheeled hard, was loaded to the brim with bikes, saw its share of back roads and camping trips, and had way too many stickers on it. High school ended, a year off mostly goofing around and biking, then a decision to move to Colorado to try to learn stuff in a school or something. I’d spent a lot of my summers at our family ranch in southern Colorado and had come to love the mountains. Big mountains also meant big mountain biking. It was an easy decision. It was to be the cruisers longest trip so far, and it needed some mechanical help. It got a full run though of tune up items, new oils in everything, and new suspension. It was the perfect excuse to finally pick the frame up off the ground and get those fenders off the tires. I had just found ih8mud.com and it was a valuable resource to me in the research leading to new suspension. I decided that an OME kit was right for me, and that Cruiser Outfitters was the place to get it. So in the July before moving out to Colorado, I got a phone call from the local UPS Store that I had an oversize package that I need to come pick up. I was excited to say the least. A day and a half later (I was still a pretty inexperienced wrench) my sweet baby cruiser was sittin proud and riding like a Cadillac. Time to get on out to Colorado.

One smog pump and about 1,200 miles later, I arrived in my new home. A house way up in the hills above Boulder with 4 strangers. That whole year was an experience I’ll never forget, but that’s a whole nother story and this story is already getting long, so I’ll sum it up. Snow is really fun to drive in, but the Baja Claws were getting a little worn down and really aren’t the best tire when you live in a place that’s icy half the year. So I got my some 33x12.5 BFG ATs on some nice new black steel wheels. I also found out after some close calls with foxes, a mother mountain lion with her cubs, and a black bear, that the stock cruiser headlights leave something to be desired. I picked up a pair of Hella Rallye 4000 lights and mounted them to the Thule bar I had on the roof. Now I could steer and see. Shortly thereafter though I got tired of hitting things with the lights, so now they live on the front bumper. I’ve got some other goodies… cb radio with the antenna mounted opposite the radio antenna, power inverter, K&N, etc.

Another perk of being a Colorado vehicle, no smog test! Now, there is smog testing up in Boulder, but I’m registered down at our ranch where the only check they ever did was to make sure it was actually a Toyota Land Cruiser when I switched the registration. I replaced and rerouted a lot of vacuum lines and blocked off some egr ports, then made a cat delete pipe from scratch and mated it to a Borla straight through muffler. Voila, smog junk free!

More wheeling, more biking, lots of drives to and from California, lots of drives to and from bike races, and I develop an idle issue. I try everything… ignition tune up, carb tune up, leak tune ups, then a dreaded compression test. #2 comes up way short… damn…

Which brings us to more or less current times. I’m a professional mountain biker now (read: professional bum) trying to save up enough money to eat for the rest of the month, and then maybe do something about this compression problem. Thanks for reading along and let me know if there’s anything more you want to know about. Now for some pictures in the next post...

[Nemesis Gnat]

First heres some stuff from the folder i got with all the paper work when my momma gave me the cruiser




1000 mile service


and some early shots




the baja bug



the only picture i have of installing the suspension


and with the ome suspension installed




more pictures in a second

[Nemesis Gnat]

aaaaand havin a lil fun at Hollister









and then colorado!
this is at my house last year



some of the ranch






porch shootin


and my sassy puppy turns into a scared puppy at the sound of gunshots


but, like me, hes calm and comfortable when in the cruiser

[Nemesis Gnat]

meet my codrivers



mountains eye view of the ranch


its actually served as a ranch truck... here posing as a gate

[Nemesis Gnat]

a little more around the front range

[Nemesis Gnat]

and i just gotta include some biking photos...

[Nemesis Gnat]

found a couple more recent photos, and one more of my puppy

[Lost]

good story, i wish i knew of land cruiser earlier in my life. nice pictures too. i like to see a cruiser being used for what its good for. how much mileage on her?

[Butt Ugly Chuck]

Great Cruiser story. Sounds like you've got an awesome mom!

Butt

[arnott1t]

all I get is red x's

[Fedyschyn]

great ROTM. What did you use to mount the hi-lift to the cross bars? Do you like that set up?

[smkymntn]

Great writeup- love the cruiser. I just hope your mom doesnt ask for it back after reading this.

[Drofen]

Man, your story reads with the nostalgia of someone much older. I had to keep reminding my self that you weren't talking about the long and distance past.

It's not a common thing to see someone so young have such an excellent grasp and appreciation for history. That's pretty cool.

Nice cruiser!

[kling-on]

GREAT story and even better pics

[goodol84]

Awesome story! I wish I was introduced to my 60 about ten years ago.

[Dirtgypsy]

great story. I love the note from mom! I have a feeling she would dis-own you if you ever parted ways with the cruiser!

Turner bike? Looks like it though no stickers. Looks squishy. Enjoy the ride.

clint

[Nemesis Gnat]

Thanks everyone!

She's only 180,000 miles old, so this compression issue it a lil out of the ordinary... but I'll figure it out

Yes, I am lucky to have the parents I do. I feel like i may have sold my dad short in this write up. They are both extremely supportive of the professional bum i have become, and both have worked very hard to give me that appreciation for things. I would definitely be disowned if not killed if I sold this thing... my mom even claims that she wants to be buried in it. Hell... I'd probably kill me, too.

I dunno what to do about the x's... The pictures are linked through another site (Facebook...), maybe I'll try to pick a few of the best and post um through mud... anyone got any suggestions for the best pictures to repost?

And finally... yup it's a turner! 2006 DHR drilled and slammed
heres how the turner looked when it was in a lil better condition




and yes, its very squishy...

[Nemesis Gnat]

oh and the hi lift was just up there with a tie down and a bike lock to keep it form being stolen... i just tied it down like this kayak friend of mine ties his kayaks. it slid around some if i was playing Colin McCrae, but it worked alright and was pretty easy to get to.

i have a better plan in the works using some bolts, fender washers, rubber bits, wing nuts, and cotter pins

[Dirtgypsy]

sweet. If you ever make it out to Portland Oregon hit me up I always love a good ride.

Clint

[klinetime574]

Very Nice Write-up and Cruiser!

Biking has really taken you a lot of places and that Cruiser has been there for you. Awesome.

I also grew up in my Cruiser. Lots of camping trips and road trips in her

[boots4]

Great to see your cruiser out in the wilderness. It looks at home out there and just fits in with the scenery. Some amazing bike pics too.

[askeyey]

Nice rig, great story. You can't go wrong with an FJ, a dog, and open land. I call that heaven.

[MountainCruiser62]

hey man great cruiser, great pics and even better story. man i wish i could ride like that, bum for life!

i mounted my high lift to my yakima rack with some cheap ubolts clamped to the bars and wing nuts to hold the lift on, works great super cheap, got all the parts at local hardware store, and a cheap bike lock to keep it mine

[Nemesis Gnat]

Originally Posted by askeyey

Nice rig, great story. You can't go wrong with an FJ, a dog, and open land. I call that heaven.

Amen... now whos gonna sticky this thing?

[AKcruiserfreak]

Great story! Cool to see a Cruiser being used.

TK

[4lux]

Great story and pictures of the Cruiser in her natural element.

[Nemesis Gnat]

Originally Posted by MountainCruiser62

man i wish i could ride like that, bum for life!

just takes time... lots of time... theres a reason im a bum. ill assume that you ride based on that comment, and youre from santa cruz based on your tag thingy... santa cruz, ca? you hear whats happening with the ucsc trails? shame...

thanks everyone for readin and commenting. i was worried that i had a bit of a boring cruiser compared to the eat-off-it clean one last month and some of the super gnarly ones in months past... but i guess the right spirit and a good story still go a long way eh?

now i gotta start figuring out what to do about this compression issue, and i figure this thread is as close as any to a comprehensive "build thread" for me, so ill just keep on goin here.

my problem is that #2 is way down... like 30... everything else is about 120 to 145, so not that consistent either. We dribbled some oil into the spark plug hole for #2 and the compression went up to 70... i know thats not the most reliable test but it makes me think its rings. frankly even the spread (25) isnt all that nice across the other cylinders, and while its apart i may as well make it last, so im thinkin rings for all cylinders for starters, maybe bearings. i need to get into it to see how things look otherwise. i dont foresee anything big, but something musta gone wrong to kill #2 so well see i guess...

now, i dream of turbo diesel, but i dont see having the budget for that for a while, and i figure i may as well make the long grades here a lil easier for myself in the mean time. So my thought is to go 2fe... ive been doin research like mad for it, and it doesnt seem that difficult... definitely within my mechanical abilities. seems like it can be done pretty cheap too. ive also read that a lil cam work can go a long way, and while its all apart, why not?

how does that sound to everyone? i feel like im missing something...

[NorCalBorn]

Great posting and write-up Tasso, nice to read in that about all the things that all of us who own and cherish our vehicles share.
*Anyone who hasn't seen him ride/jump, let me tell you, he has some serious skills and still makes me and a few other friends jealous!

Keep it, take care of it, and have fun with it!.

We did just that with our vehicle this Sunday.
(..and yeah, for me, a crappy shot, but I forgot my camera. )

[Nemesis Gnat]

Originally Posted by NorCalBorn

Anyone who hasn't seen him ride/jump, let me tell you, he has some serious skills and still makes me and a few other friends jealous!

aww shucks, gonna make me blush

[NorCalBorn]

Right back at you, you sir, suck..
(Just B/C I am also still jealous of where you moved to!)