Well- This is my cruiser as it stands, having just driven it from Shreveport LA to San Francisco. I have had the "Grey Goose" for the last 6 years and I bought it from the second owner, the first was his neighbor, when my wife and I were living in the Outer Banks NC and I needed something other than my S2000 to haul my junk in- and we had a new baby on the way! Having owned a 94 4x4 Toyota truck, a 99 4Runner and put tons of worry free miles on them, so a cruiser just made sense...kinda of. I mean come on, I live hours from anybody and have a half set of tools. What could go wrong with a 16 year old truck with 240,000 miles on it?
It was the first one that I looked at- I think I got it for 5k. The guy that I bought it from was ANAL- which is good is guess when it comes to buying a used car. I have the original stuff like build sheets and window stickers. I have just about every receipt that I think you could have and mileage logs going back to the first tank of gas. Folder is thick- I mean every oil change tire rotation etc.
It came to me as original as they come, a tad bit of rust behind the snake blinders, some door dings and some faded paint. It had spent its life in Raleigh NC. It was tired but it was mine.
What I wanted- daily driver that was different, cool (in my mind) and would not leave me stranded in the mountains out west. Keep in mind we were living 100 yards from the Atlantic- I knew one day I would be back out west- I grew up in Socal and lived in CO for awhile and have spent many miles exploring BLM land in search of fish, climbs and other fun stuff.
What I have done over the last 6 years-
1. The motor had a knock in the lower end and the first shop I took it to said it was shot- I bought a used low mileage one from cruiser parts and had a shade tree shop put it in along with some other stuff like 2.5 pipes and water pump etc.
Had I know about mud I might have looked about other options at the time but O-well
2. 2.5" Heavy OME lift from Jacques at Toyota of Dallas- Great deal! I put them on myself. Not hard at all really with 2 jacks and a pry bar
3. 3M window limo tint
4. De chromed- snake blinders, window trim and roof gutter trim. https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/67729-public-service-announcement-de-chroming-windows.html
5. 33x9 BFG All terrains
6. Some of the first Solid Rock sliders -steps (wife needed them)
7. Knuckle rebuild
Moved from Outer Banks to Shreveport-
8. Power steering pump went out- new Toyota, again new to town and in a pinch. O-well
9. Tranny was really starting to slip- was feeding fluid into transfer case. I got in touch with Randy at RT Customs and put in a H55F. All the other goodies as well like new drive shafts. Oil Pressure, Vacuum and temp guages.
10. Tuffy center console https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/415860-ammo-cans-tuffy-no-loose-lost-stuff.html
11. LEDs from super bright- dash in blue, overhead and reverse lights
12. Blacked out hood cause the fade was really bad and looked like poop. Used rattle can paint. https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/386011-blacked-out-hood.html
13. Rear seat belts from ? Ill look it up- It was a kit I got online- used some big ole fender washers and drilled through the metal and trim. look at the link for the rear platform for some pics-
14. Pulled carpet, did the second skin and some other stuff, did whole inside including doors, had some left over did the hood. Spray painted carpet. Deep cleaned the seats. https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/386049-paint-carpet.html https://forum.ih8mud.com/paint-body/328772-mud-flap-paint.html
15. Bought a extra right seat- switched fabric and refoamed drivers side- no more crack.
16. Built a platform in the back for light duty camping- https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/415874-rear-sleeping-storage-deck.html
17. Built my own rear bumper. https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/386008-new-rear-bumper-design.html
18. New radiator, belts, alternator and battery for the drive west.
19. Rear capet from walmart- the grey is pretty close and looks better than the stained stuff I had in the back. Look at platform pics link
20. Flowmaster 55, high flow cats from Midas (Midas sucks) and re routed the exhaust to within the frame. Not side by side but almost on top of each other-
21. Grinded the rust down-primered the spot and painted the bottom 2 inches of the rocker panel with rustoleum truck bed liner.
22. New radio and speakers- nothing fancy but better than stock
23. Tie Rods ends redone
24. All new vacuum lines
I have tried to use Toyota parts if at all possible, I used a cool cruiser (aftermarket) slave and master cylinders on the H55f failed within 7 months the slave cylinder failed.
If you want any specific photos and I will take some.
So thats it- I wanted a daily driver that was comfortable and reliable. I have not had a chance to really wheel it hard yet. I will be in SFO for awhile and then I will drive it out to Colorado when we move in the spring.
The Grey Goose at 300,000 miles and the first time it had been above 6000 feet and my other ride, Airbus 320
It was the first one that I looked at- I think I got it for 5k. The guy that I bought it from was ANAL- which is good is guess when it comes to buying a used car. I have the original stuff like build sheets and window stickers. I have just about every receipt that I think you could have and mileage logs going back to the first tank of gas. Folder is thick- I mean every oil change tire rotation etc.
It came to me as original as they come, a tad bit of rust behind the snake blinders, some door dings and some faded paint. It had spent its life in Raleigh NC. It was tired but it was mine.
What I wanted- daily driver that was different, cool (in my mind) and would not leave me stranded in the mountains out west. Keep in mind we were living 100 yards from the Atlantic- I knew one day I would be back out west- I grew up in Socal and lived in CO for awhile and have spent many miles exploring BLM land in search of fish, climbs and other fun stuff.
What I have done over the last 6 years-
1. The motor had a knock in the lower end and the first shop I took it to said it was shot- I bought a used low mileage one from cruiser parts and had a shade tree shop put it in along with some other stuff like 2.5 pipes and water pump etc.
Had I know about mud I might have looked about other options at the time but O-well
2. 2.5" Heavy OME lift from Jacques at Toyota of Dallas- Great deal! I put them on myself. Not hard at all really with 2 jacks and a pry bar
3. 3M window limo tint
4. De chromed- snake blinders, window trim and roof gutter trim. https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/67729-public-service-announcement-de-chroming-windows.html
5. 33x9 BFG All terrains
6. Some of the first Solid Rock sliders -steps (wife needed them)
7. Knuckle rebuild
Moved from Outer Banks to Shreveport-
8. Power steering pump went out- new Toyota, again new to town and in a pinch. O-well
9. Tranny was really starting to slip- was feeding fluid into transfer case. I got in touch with Randy at RT Customs and put in a H55F. All the other goodies as well like new drive shafts. Oil Pressure, Vacuum and temp guages.
10. Tuffy center console https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/415860-ammo-cans-tuffy-no-loose-lost-stuff.html
11. LEDs from super bright- dash in blue, overhead and reverse lights
12. Blacked out hood cause the fade was really bad and looked like poop. Used rattle can paint. https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/386011-blacked-out-hood.html
13. Rear seat belts from ? Ill look it up- It was a kit I got online- used some big ole fender washers and drilled through the metal and trim. look at the link for the rear platform for some pics-
14. Pulled carpet, did the second skin and some other stuff, did whole inside including doors, had some left over did the hood. Spray painted carpet. Deep cleaned the seats. https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/386049-paint-carpet.html https://forum.ih8mud.com/paint-body/328772-mud-flap-paint.html
15. Bought a extra right seat- switched fabric and refoamed drivers side- no more crack.
16. Built a platform in the back for light duty camping- https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/415874-rear-sleeping-storage-deck.html
17. Built my own rear bumper. https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/386008-new-rear-bumper-design.html
18. New radiator, belts, alternator and battery for the drive west.
19. Rear capet from walmart- the grey is pretty close and looks better than the stained stuff I had in the back. Look at platform pics link
20. Flowmaster 55, high flow cats from Midas (Midas sucks) and re routed the exhaust to within the frame. Not side by side but almost on top of each other-
21. Grinded the rust down-primered the spot and painted the bottom 2 inches of the rocker panel with rustoleum truck bed liner.
22. New radio and speakers- nothing fancy but better than stock
23. Tie Rods ends redone
24. All new vacuum lines
I have tried to use Toyota parts if at all possible, I used a cool cruiser (aftermarket) slave and master cylinders on the H55f failed within 7 months the slave cylinder failed.
If you want any specific photos and I will take some.
So thats it- I wanted a daily driver that was comfortable and reliable. I have not had a chance to really wheel it hard yet. I will be in SFO for awhile and then I will drive it out to Colorado when we move in the spring.
The Grey Goose at 300,000 miles and the first time it had been above 6000 feet and my other ride, Airbus 320
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