- Location
- United States
Well, as much as it breaks my old, crusty heart - time to let this old Cruiser go. I can't do the work on it anymore due to health issues and really don't have a decent place to completely tear it down and do a restoration - as was intended when I bought it. Bought this old girl in Nov2011, had a lot of issues from the previous owner and a lot of things hacked on it - it was basically from a flipper that thought an OD Green flat paint job would increase it's value, wrong.
Original color is Dune Beige. Outside is WWII OD Green, mostly black floors in the interior, rest is dune beige as original. There are some of the door headers and such that are obviously from other trucks as there is other colors underneath the green.
Far as I know, original engine and driveline - miles unknown, odometer cable was broken when I bought it.
Runs/drives nearly perfect, steering box is at the point it really needs rebuilt as well as the drag link - everything else in the steering has been done, including knuckles.
Has an unknown set of lift springs on it, guessing about 2" of lift, bushings are shot and need replaced.
Engine is very strong - will easily pull hard to 80mph, although I don't recommend it. Rear main is leaking pretty good.
Transmission is quiet and shifts well , albeit a bit slow as most HD truck transmissions.
Transfer case is solid and works as it should, but some minor leaks.
Previous owner ran the rear end gear with a bad pinion bearing - the ring and pinion should be replaced but I did put new bearings in it and have driven it now for 6yrs with no problem or noises, pattern is holding fine on the gears with no whine or excessive slop.
I have not been fully into the front axle as far as the 3rd member - feels very solid and probably has little to no wear as typical.
Both driveshafts run fine, appear to have original u-joints but who knows...
Exhaust is pretty loud, I put one of Mark's Offroad tri-y headers on it and ran 2.25" straight pipe with a small 10" glass pack on it , so it will bark under a load but otherwise tolerable.
Both the carb and distributor are from Trollhole, carb is developing a bit of hesitation in the secondary, otherwise runs perfectly fine. Ignition system is dead smooth and very steady.
Now, the bad stuff -
The body is really starting to suffer and showing a lot of filler repairs done over the years by previous owners. It needs to be pulled off and rebuilt properly, not for the faint at heart. Rockers, rear quarters, rear sill, some floor work and now the main step-up sheet member is coming apart. Doors are getting in bad shape, but still solid. It does have the wrong non-vent window hardtop sides on it and a beaten-up fiberglass hard top. No van doors on it presently, just the older style lift hatch and a blanking cover where the lower barn doors should sit. All from previous owners, not my doing, lol. Needs an entire set of new rubber weather stripping except the hardtop to windshield gasket, which is a few years old.
Frame is very solid but in serious need of cleanup - stock matching serial number is on it, non-altered. All the vin tags are correct and intact, as well as the emissions sticker. Non-smog as is now, emission pump is missing and has a header in place of the original manifold. Front bumper ends have been broken/cut off. Rear has a very heavy plate hitch for a 2" reciever I built, tows quite well with no frame flex to speak of.
Tires/wheels are obviously aftermarket - wheels are Eagle from one of the Cruiser vendors, can't remember which one now. Tires are Toyo Open Country MT's, 33x10.50-15, around 75% tread and balanced internally with beads, very smooth and concentric set on the road. Steering wheel is off a newer FJ80 and has had the turn signal pin mod done, I have the original FJ40 wheel and it's in great shape. Just preferred the smaller, thicker wheel. Horn, all lights/switches work as they should except the wipers - it has a mind of it's own due to losing the ground path on occasion. Washers work great. No rear heater, but I do have a set of the pipes/brackets for it here. Fuel tank has been swapped out, original rotted badly. Ignition switch is getting very worn, can be tricky to get the key to turn but otherwise works fine.
Radiator is from Radiator Barn, I custom turned a stock drain adapter to avoid the dumb plastic one most modern radiators use, and won't be accessible on a Cruiser. Temperature, even at Interstate speeds above 90*F run normal at around 190* of water temperature. It has a Gano filter installed into the upper radiator hose - the clear type and it needs replaced as it's starting to develope fine cracks from age/heat cycles. This engine had a ton of rust in the cooling system, has been acid flushed and cleaned as much as possible but still wants to put fine particles in the radiator, hence the use of the filter. Simple design that traps the crud, but can be cleaned out - works quite well.
Steering box is getting pretty sloppy, needs a rebuild and I do have an FJ60/80 power box here - had planned to upgrade to late model power steering. Spare box is very tight and smooth, no slop. Original drag link is pretty worn, again - needs rebuilt.
Brakes have the original dual booster and master cylinder - no leaks. Most all of the lines are original except the front flex lines. Front calipers have been rebuilt and new pads/rotors a few years ago. Rears have all new aftermarket (Centric) wheel cylinders, new shoes/hardware and drums in last few years - stops on a dime very evenly and great power.
Most of the wiring is original and works fine, although due to age it should have the harness rebuilt. I wired it for a an auxilary power block with a main heavy duty breaker. Truck is wired with a full 7-wire trailer system with a brake controller mounted under the top dash pad including auxilary power source for the trailer charging circuit. Dual 7/4 wire trailer plug behind the driver's bumperette. System works great, did this for my 3,500lb utility trailer and the truck pulls it fine fully loaded to max load rating.
I've tried to detail everything that's been done to the truck and it's overall condition the best I can, over the 7yrs of owning I'm sure there are things I've forgotten, of course. The price reflects the fact that it's a running/driving truck and very reliable, it's taken me to work all these years with no issues other than regular service. It does ride quite rough due to the springs and bushings are shot - rear shocks are Bilstein 5150 series. Fronts are solid, but unknown brand and it came that way. A good portion of the price reflects the parts included, not just the rusty old Cruiser.
I have for it a spare top that someone put a large sunroof in it - that leaks badly. Gutter frame is in pretty good shape otherwise. Have a very nice pair of rear barn doors, nearly no sign at all of any rust along with the top header. Same with a spare pair of front doors in excellent condition. Spare set of '75 period hard top sides without the correct vent windows for this '77, but excellent condition. I have countless spare parts in boxes, some original, some brand new OEM, even a spare wiring harness. Vehicle jack is in it with a later model 60 series jack. I have a set of jack handles and a European made reprodution tool bag. I made a starting handle for it, works well.
Please, do not ask that I sell any of the parts separate from the truck - it all goes as a package.
Here are the pics -
Cont'd...
email @ weberguru@gmail.com
(815)878-0044 CDT - leave message, or text as well - I always return calls.
You can PM here, but be aware on I'm only on the 'net maybe once a day at most but do get notifications on my phone. Please, serious inquires only, no tire kickers as I don't have the time and work a lot of hours. Do not ask that I sell any of the spare parts away from the truck as a package - not happening.
Sarge
Original color is Dune Beige. Outside is WWII OD Green, mostly black floors in the interior, rest is dune beige as original. There are some of the door headers and such that are obviously from other trucks as there is other colors underneath the green.
Far as I know, original engine and driveline - miles unknown, odometer cable was broken when I bought it.
Runs/drives nearly perfect, steering box is at the point it really needs rebuilt as well as the drag link - everything else in the steering has been done, including knuckles.
Has an unknown set of lift springs on it, guessing about 2" of lift, bushings are shot and need replaced.
Engine is very strong - will easily pull hard to 80mph, although I don't recommend it. Rear main is leaking pretty good.
Transmission is quiet and shifts well , albeit a bit slow as most HD truck transmissions.
Transfer case is solid and works as it should, but some minor leaks.
Previous owner ran the rear end gear with a bad pinion bearing - the ring and pinion should be replaced but I did put new bearings in it and have driven it now for 6yrs with no problem or noises, pattern is holding fine on the gears with no whine or excessive slop.
I have not been fully into the front axle as far as the 3rd member - feels very solid and probably has little to no wear as typical.
Both driveshafts run fine, appear to have original u-joints but who knows...
Exhaust is pretty loud, I put one of Mark's Offroad tri-y headers on it and ran 2.25" straight pipe with a small 10" glass pack on it , so it will bark under a load but otherwise tolerable.
Both the carb and distributor are from Trollhole, carb is developing a bit of hesitation in the secondary, otherwise runs perfectly fine. Ignition system is dead smooth and very steady.
Now, the bad stuff -
The body is really starting to suffer and showing a lot of filler repairs done over the years by previous owners. It needs to be pulled off and rebuilt properly, not for the faint at heart. Rockers, rear quarters, rear sill, some floor work and now the main step-up sheet member is coming apart. Doors are getting in bad shape, but still solid. It does have the wrong non-vent window hardtop sides on it and a beaten-up fiberglass hard top. No van doors on it presently, just the older style lift hatch and a blanking cover where the lower barn doors should sit. All from previous owners, not my doing, lol. Needs an entire set of new rubber weather stripping except the hardtop to windshield gasket, which is a few years old.
Frame is very solid but in serious need of cleanup - stock matching serial number is on it, non-altered. All the vin tags are correct and intact, as well as the emissions sticker. Non-smog as is now, emission pump is missing and has a header in place of the original manifold. Front bumper ends have been broken/cut off. Rear has a very heavy plate hitch for a 2" reciever I built, tows quite well with no frame flex to speak of.
Tires/wheels are obviously aftermarket - wheels are Eagle from one of the Cruiser vendors, can't remember which one now. Tires are Toyo Open Country MT's, 33x10.50-15, around 75% tread and balanced internally with beads, very smooth and concentric set on the road. Steering wheel is off a newer FJ80 and has had the turn signal pin mod done, I have the original FJ40 wheel and it's in great shape. Just preferred the smaller, thicker wheel. Horn, all lights/switches work as they should except the wipers - it has a mind of it's own due to losing the ground path on occasion. Washers work great. No rear heater, but I do have a set of the pipes/brackets for it here. Fuel tank has been swapped out, original rotted badly. Ignition switch is getting very worn, can be tricky to get the key to turn but otherwise works fine.
Radiator is from Radiator Barn, I custom turned a stock drain adapter to avoid the dumb plastic one most modern radiators use, and won't be accessible on a Cruiser. Temperature, even at Interstate speeds above 90*F run normal at around 190* of water temperature. It has a Gano filter installed into the upper radiator hose - the clear type and it needs replaced as it's starting to develope fine cracks from age/heat cycles. This engine had a ton of rust in the cooling system, has been acid flushed and cleaned as much as possible but still wants to put fine particles in the radiator, hence the use of the filter. Simple design that traps the crud, but can be cleaned out - works quite well.
Steering box is getting pretty sloppy, needs a rebuild and I do have an FJ60/80 power box here - had planned to upgrade to late model power steering. Spare box is very tight and smooth, no slop. Original drag link is pretty worn, again - needs rebuilt.
Brakes have the original dual booster and master cylinder - no leaks. Most all of the lines are original except the front flex lines. Front calipers have been rebuilt and new pads/rotors a few years ago. Rears have all new aftermarket (Centric) wheel cylinders, new shoes/hardware and drums in last few years - stops on a dime very evenly and great power.
Most of the wiring is original and works fine, although due to age it should have the harness rebuilt. I wired it for a an auxilary power block with a main heavy duty breaker. Truck is wired with a full 7-wire trailer system with a brake controller mounted under the top dash pad including auxilary power source for the trailer charging circuit. Dual 7/4 wire trailer plug behind the driver's bumperette. System works great, did this for my 3,500lb utility trailer and the truck pulls it fine fully loaded to max load rating.
I've tried to detail everything that's been done to the truck and it's overall condition the best I can, over the 7yrs of owning I'm sure there are things I've forgotten, of course. The price reflects the fact that it's a running/driving truck and very reliable, it's taken me to work all these years with no issues other than regular service. It does ride quite rough due to the springs and bushings are shot - rear shocks are Bilstein 5150 series. Fronts are solid, but unknown brand and it came that way. A good portion of the price reflects the parts included, not just the rusty old Cruiser.
I have for it a spare top that someone put a large sunroof in it - that leaks badly. Gutter frame is in pretty good shape otherwise. Have a very nice pair of rear barn doors, nearly no sign at all of any rust along with the top header. Same with a spare pair of front doors in excellent condition. Spare set of '75 period hard top sides without the correct vent windows for this '77, but excellent condition. I have countless spare parts in boxes, some original, some brand new OEM, even a spare wiring harness. Vehicle jack is in it with a later model 60 series jack. I have a set of jack handles and a European made reprodution tool bag. I made a starting handle for it, works well.
Please, do not ask that I sell any of the parts separate from the truck - it all goes as a package.
Here are the pics -
Cont'd...
email @ weberguru@gmail.com
(815)878-0044 CDT - leave message, or text as well - I always return calls.
You can PM here, but be aware on I'm only on the 'net maybe once a day at most but do get notifications on my phone. Please, serious inquires only, no tire kickers as I don't have the time and work a lot of hours. Do not ask that I sell any of the spare parts away from the truck as a package - not happening.
Sarge
