89 FJ62 question

mtbluetick · 04-26-06, 11:35 PM

I was wondering if you people could give me some advice. I own a 83 60, or should I say my wife owns a 83 60. we bought it last year and she loves it more than her 03 Dakota quad cab she had. A guy from work has a 89 fj that he got from another guy, it isn't running but we know why, it was worked on by this idiot that doesn't know any thing about cruisers. My wife and I went to look at it and it is perfect condition 186000 on it. It ran good for Lance untill he let someone mess with it. power everything automatic trans. Should I offer him 1500 for it or what. I paid 5000 for the 83 with 16000 on a rebuilt. What kind of mpg would you expect to get with stock tires? my wifes has 3 inch shakels and 31" tires. how is the 89 for pulling my 17 foot fiberform boat with 140 hp evinrude, the boat isn't that heavy.

pplkook · 04-26-06, 11:57 PM

You wont get much more MPG from a 62, though the EFI is a bit nicer IMOP. The gears are 4.11, so that will be lower than the 60, which might help with towing.

As for the "should I but it question" - who knows, that is up to you. You can throw gobs and gobs of money at a 60/62 if you want, I should know, my 62 has reached the Chris Craft level of insanity.

-Jack
/16-6

sundaypunch · 04-27-06, 06:02 AM

If it is in perfect condition with 186K a few thousand isn't out of line if you know you can get it running. Maybe even more if it's a simple fix. You are probably going to get 11-14 mpg. If it's perfectly tuned and you go easy on it you might squeeze 15 mpg out of it.

They don't have a lot of power for towing but you should be OK with a small boat. You will want to make sure the cooling system is up to par. The auto trans. are fussy and have a tendency to overheat. I would add a trans. cooler and go with synthetic fluid before towing.

ballardcruiser · 04-27-06, 09:47 AM

I agree with Sundaypunch... if you think you can fix the problem fairly easily, it's a good price. I just wouldn't count on any 62 being a good tow rig. The auto tranny is stout but it robs the car of some much needed power on the hills... you'll be puttering along fairly slowly in the mountains.

Also, not sure where you live in MT but if you're at altitude, I think you'll like the 60 a bit better than the 62. Hill climbing in the mountains with a 3fe and auto is not the rig's strong point. Depending on the condition of your 60, it might make more sense to drop a 5-speed H55 transmission into the 60 (probably will be the same price as the 62) ... might make for the best tow rig you can get in a 60 series if that's your goal...

RredFJ40 · 04-27-06, 10:45 AM

I have to disagree with sunday punch on the overheat issue. I've towed a few times with my 62 around town (2 yards of topsoil in stop and go traffic) and a round trip from Oregon to Texas with a fully loaded, enclosed 4x4x8 uhaul trailer, through the mojave, az, nm, and northern tx with no overheat issues.

granted, a 17' boat is a little different but you probably won't be towing much more than a couple hundred miles.

theside00 · 04-27-06, 11:03 AM

I have towed a decent size trailor with two motorcyces on it for about 300 miles up and down mountains the transmission seemed to stay cool. It did suck going over hills though so get used to the slow lane if you tow. The best would be to get the 62 and drop in the h55f tranny in it. Then it would be able to get up the hills at a decent speed. The fuel injection is nice in the cold weeather it will just start right up. My carb'd fj40 took forever to get going but the 62 EFI just fires up. The power windows and locks make it nice and if it is going to be a DD then it would be a nice truck.

baldredhead · 04-27-06, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theside00

get the 62 and drop in the h55f tranny in it.

this is not exactly a drop in conversion. lots of parts, some (simple i've heard) fabrication. don't wnat to mislead mtbluetick that's all, not picking a fight

Living in the Past · 04-27-06, 01:23 PM

If I remember correctly the rated towing for the FJ62 is 3500 lbs. I towed a FJ45LPB with a campershell and bed full of parts (well over the rated towing capacity) from Placerville CA to Phoenix AZ. Got over 13 MPG on the part from Bakersfield to Needles. That included the climb from Bakersfield to Mojave. Not a power house but got the job done. Used it to tow an FJ40 around the state from 1993 until 2000. Doesn't tow like the Tundra I bought but wasn't a snail either. Never had a problem with the transmision over heating and that included towing in AZ in the summer time.

John

import silvia · 04-27-06, 02:43 PM

1500 for a good 62 body alone is a good deal, if you can get it running easily I think it would be crazy to pass up.