FJ60/62 Buying advice

Spike Strip · 04-25-09, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corhof

Here is one I am going to look at today. It seems way overpriced, but I'll check it out anyway.

What do you think something like this would be worth??

Unless it's got a lot of new goodies under the sheetmetal, that price is waaaaay high. -- Or, perhaps, its only got 60,000 original miles!

Just as a comparison, I was watching a '89 FJ62 on ebay, that was here in L.A. (where they tend to go higher cuz no rust)... Rig was very clean. but with 200K original miles. Started at $13K - no bids. Relisted at $10K - no bids. $8k, no bids. $6K, no bids. They stopped listing after that.
Good luck.

Andino · 04-25-09, 01:39 PM

My '83 (non-US non-turbo diesel, 4 speed manual):
1. I've owned it since Nov. 07. It is a DD, road tripper, and mountain climber. It has 290,000 kms on unrebuilt anything. Bolivian roads are some of the worst in the world, both for rock, washboard and mud, so most of it's life has been spent at under 80 km/h (or about 40 mph). On mine, I know for sure that when I change the engine to the 13B-T, that I'll also be remounting the spring hangers like I did on the '76 Pig - they really clunk when I drive.

2. I'd check the wiper seals on the ball joints in the front axle - specifically that they are either in good shape or a good buildup of wet gunk (means the axle has oil in it regularly). Jack up the respective axles and rotate the tires. Listen for weird noises and clunks. With the tranny in neutral (no load on the axles and tires blocked against rolling), rotate and shake the drive shafts - looking for worn u-joints/worn bearings in the diff. If you have the energy, open the oil fills on the tranny and the transfer case to see if the oil is in good shape.
Rust? RUST? Rust is just an excuse to buy a torch and spend ridiculous amounts of time either chopping off body panels, or fixing them with patches. Proceed cautiously

3.Go with your gut. Unless you have a thing for automatics or installing 5-speeds, I'd stay away from the '62. Plus, it doesn't have round eyes.

4. I've heard so many crappy rebuild stories, that I would put less faith in someone else's "rebuilt motor" than an original that blew blue smoke and had no exhaust past the header. The only exception would be if you personally knew the mechanic who did the rebuild, in which case you are probably buying a famous '60 that someone on MUD had redone. I've only owned a total of 2 2F motors, but man, they really have to get bad to need help!

5. Show the wifey how other women REVILE you as you drive by in the '60

Doesn't also hurt to mention that SHE will be able to park wherever the heck she wants, including on top of the pesky Prius.

corhof · 04-26-09, 06:37 AM

Hey everyone. I went and looked at the land cruiser. It looked great on first glance. The owner basically knew nothing about the vehicle's history. He bought it off of ebay in WV in December because he couldn't pass it up. Check out the pics and let me know what you think. As you will see, the engine is spotless and it drove great. The biggest issues are really loose steering and REALLY soft brakes. The car shifted great. Shifting from 1st to 2nd seemed somewhat abrupt and would occur at about 5mph, but otherwise it shifted smooth and accelerated fine.

Check out the pics and captions and let me know what you think of this one. I would really like to know what you think of the rust.

Thanks!!

BG_TX · 04-26-09, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corhof

Check out the pics and captions and let me know what you think of this one. I would really like to know what you think of the rust.

Thanks!!

Over priced IMO... I am curious what the group thinks about the frame pics, they look to be separating or something?

Hubs look recently rebuilt though...

When you test drove it how long did you drive it, how fast, did you engage Hi4, shifting from drive to reverse and back - are their clunks, atf fluid color and smell (pink, brown, etc), any metal shavings on the atf dipstick after driving, etc.

chitown40 · 04-26-09, 09:11 AM

The frame is not very bad at all. The fact it's been painted at least once and the mods made to the truck, with no documentation detailing it lead me away from this one. Steering can get expensive and brakes, depending on what it needs can get pricey as well. $6500 is about $3000 too high for that truck.

89GASHOG · 04-26-09, 09:40 AM

The rust isn't bad, but neither is it good. That hatch rust should be dealt with ASAP before it becomes an issue. Ditto the wheel well, and who knows what's under the spot where the mudflap used to be? The bad steering and brakes plus the dual exhaust would definitely direct me to look at some more trucks.

Spike Strip · 04-26-09, 10:17 AM

Unless the price were to drop -significantly - I would keep looking. Truck looks clean, though.

WHAT'S THE MILEAGE ??

corhof · 04-26-09, 05:07 PM

Thanks for the comments. To answer your questions about the truck:
-Mileage is 230k
-I drove it for 15 minutes.
-No clunks with shifting to reverse
-I didn't engage 4wd
-got it up to 50mph
-I didn't look at the atf, but I'll be sure to do that next time!

I agree with you all on this one. I'll definitely look elsewhere. The whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth! I feel like someone is trying to cover something up. I'll send more trucks along when I see 'em!

Thanks again!

C

corhof · 04-26-09, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slcfj62

You would be well served picking up a good 62, and not on ebay.

Just out of curiosity, why shouldn't I buy one on ebay? This one looks pretty nice.

Spike Strip · 04-26-09, 07:08 PM

Good thing you passed -- Trust your gut.

Nothing wrong, necessarily, with buying on ebay - if you can check the truck first, or you really really trust the seller.

My experience is, it's never as good as they say it is... Like most things in life.

edit: that's a nice cruiser!

SDFJ60JFK · 04-26-09, 07:12 PM

Looks like a nice truck.

What carb is that on there?

John

Ducks · 04-27-09, 07:02 AM

Why are there no license plates on the truck? I wonder if they had trouble getting it past smog? It looks like a decent price for a decent rig.

slcfj62 · 04-27-09, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corhof

Just out of curiosity, why shouldn't I buy one on ebay? This one looks pretty nice.

Because most ebay purchases are done remotely--as in you haven't actually seen it in person or driven it before you buy it. That is too high a trust level to be granted to some seller that you don't know. If you find a local rig on ebay that you can go look at, fine. But to buy a high dollar item sight unseen is begging to join the ranks of the ripped off.

corhof · 04-27-09, 06:06 PM

What do you guys think this one is worth?

Ducks · 04-27-09, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corhof

What do you guys think this one is worth?

If it is exactly as advertised then maybe $5,500 or $6,000. Just a guess.

SouthCoastMudder · 04-27-09, 06:56 PM

Not 10K...

I wonder what carb is on the white 85' in Texas, I would guess they took the plates off for picture purposes, It hasn't been registered or inspected since 05/07 and I think that is an inspection sticker. The good thing is in Texas all you would have to do to pass inspections is have lights, brakes, and a horn... Don't know about the electric choke??

Spike Strip · 04-27-09, 06:58 PM

Yup -- make him an offer. But I'd wanna know why it sat for 5 yrs and how it was stored and if the tires are 10 years old... little things like that.

corhof · 04-27-09, 08:33 PM

Check this one out that was posted today. It seems like a great deal! I talked to the guy and he said that it's in perfect running condition and has no rust. If only I could find someone to go check it out! Unfortunately, Billings, MT is kinda in the sticks. And getting the car back home would be a bit of a hassle too!

GLTHFJ60 · 04-27-09, 08:35 PM

There is no way a truck that has it's picture taken in snow has no rust. Not possible.

Ducks · 04-28-09, 06:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GLTHFJ60

There is no way a truck that has it's picture taken in snow has no rust. Not possible.

I don't think they salt the roads in Montana, do they?

GLTHFJ60 · 04-28-09, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ducks

I don't think they salt the roads in Montana, do they?

Maybe not but the snow itself would rust at least a bit after being driven in it for a number of years. There is no such thing as a rust free cruiser.

corhof · 04-29-09, 06:19 PM

This is the white Texas land cruiser on ebay. I asked him to send me some pics of the undercarriage and this is what he sent. Let me know what y'all think!

Thanks!!

89GASHOG · 04-29-09, 06:38 PM

It looks good-better than most. The only question I'd have is regarding the last photo, showing significant surface rust on a front frame rail and leaf spring. What's up with that? It seems incongruous with the rest of the undercarriage. FWIW my 62 has seen at least 8 winters in snow country, six of them in my ownership, and the undercarriage looks pretty good. No rust at all in wheel wells either. We occasionally see some snow melting chemicals applied, but nothing like the nasty salt back in the day.

Spike Strip · 04-29-09, 06:59 PM

First of all, how can you trust anything that comes from a place called Pflugerville ??

Kidding.

That's a very nice cruiser. Probably the one to get, but that's just in pix...

Only question I have is that is not the stock carb. Don't know if you live in a smog nazi State, but there is the possibility you might have to get a toyota carb to get it registerd. May be legal to have the non-stock carb in your State. You should look into it. Rebuilt carb would run you $300-400, plus install.

Rust on there, that I can see, is virtually nothing, and surface at that. Very nice.

Good luck!