My First Cruiser (not my last)

[Korasher]

Hey all,

I just bought my first Landcruiser, and I thought I might try to keep a Build-up/Trip thread for all to enjoy.

I bought my cruiser from Mudmember KutaDog (who bought it originally from ARZTRD) May 12th. I was able to do it thanks to Robbie (AKA powderpig) of Adventure Off-road out of Boulder who did the inspection. His write up was impeccable and thorough and his continued advice in prepping it for the long road home to Atlanta was very appreciated.

The cruiser was located in Nederland, Co, so I flew in to Denver that day and went up the mountain with a friend who lives in nearby Broomfield and I drove it down the mountain to his house.

After going to napa to get a few things to prep for the trip home (greasing the steering knuckles, etc) This was fun because it had snowed the previous night and was doing so off and on that day. When i went to get the cruiser there was a foot of snow on top of it. Forgot to take a picture of it, but here it is soon after purchase:

(forgive poor iPhone quality)

The list of the goodies is as follows (though most of it is in my sig as well)

1997 Landcruiser with 112k miles at purchase:

OME complete 2.5" Heavy suspension
OME castor correction
OME steering stabilizer
ARB front bumper/ A/c dryer shield (not yet installed)
Slee sliders
Slee transfer case skid plate
Slee rear bumper with tire carrier swing out
2" receiver adaptor
IPF 900 XSD lights w/ factory switch in dash
Slee upgraded wiring harness (new in package)
CDL- Center differential lock switch
Spector seat covers (Tan)
Alpine 9853 head unit w/ Sirius satellite radio interface
Pioneer speakers f/r doors
Dynamat in front/rear doors. entire cargo area and tailgate
Magnaflow exhaust
Optima series 31 Blue top Marine Battery
Co2 seat bracket mod
35" BFG KO All Terrains (5) approx. 17000 miles on them. (after the trip)
High clearance Magnaflow
At 111000, all new ceramic brake pads, flushed, all new hardware.
New windshield

More posts of the trip to follow. Need to get back to work.

 

[pinoytoys]

Congrats! Looks like a well put together 80. Enjoy!

 

[Brentbba]

Nice!

 

[arndog123]

Congrats. Looks like a nicely built 80.

 

[2000UZJ]

Nice, where in Atlanta are you?

 

[Jrob80]

Congrats

 

[Korasher]

Nice, where in Atlanta are you?

Right now the little 5 points/ Edgewood area. come august, who knows. Looking for a new place (hopefully a rental house with parking space.)

Thanks all for the congrats. I'm really happy with the purchase so far.

 

[dranven]

More pics.

 

[97 40th]

Very nice...... Where do you guys find these things for sale?

 

[Korasher]

The long road home

So to continue with the story, though thankfully not much to report because of unshakeable LC dependability, I began my journey home. As you can imagine, this trip is a long one. about ~1500 miles. the one good thing is that i was not going into this without experience. I have driven east to west to Colorado once before, as well as a cross country trip to California by way of Colorado(part-time in the back seat of an extra cab F150, yeah the bench seat one half the size of a adult backside...)
But I digress. The new spin on this trip was two-fold: 1. I have never gone west to east before now. 2. I was driving it alone.

I have in fact driven long distances (up to 8 hours) alone from Atlanta to Orlando, but this was going to be a different animal entirely. The one saving grace besides my iPhone and handy-dandy power inverter was that the previous owner hadn't yet disabled the Sirius Satellite radio. Thus I would be entertained for hours. And so, it started my journey:

This was near the town of Limon on I-70 in eastern Colorado. Pretty flat for considering the normal image of colorado...

First rest stop. me and a pretty green cruiser under phenomenal blue skies...Arriba, CO

No pictures from here through Kansas to Missouri. Much of the same till Missouri. The car rode like a dream, never had any problems. I wanted to push all the way to St. Louis the first day, but by 10:30 - 11 that night, I was still over 150 miles from there, so I stopped at a Motel 6 in Columbia, Missouri. Cheap ($38 total) and surprisingly clean room though no shampoo...odd.

Next day, Woke at 6:15 and headed out after stopping at a Sonic for on the go breakfast. probably some of the best breakfast I've had from a fast food establishment. The coffee was good enough to drink black...

Now comes the nasty rainy skies in St. Louis. Rain was an off and on problem as I traveled deeper and deeper south.

and Arch again

Illinois countryside

Crossing from Indiana to Kentucky on the Veterans Memorial Bridge.

Entering Tennessee...obviously

Sitting in lovely Nashville traffic on a rainy afternoon.

Tennessee River and Nickajack Lake

And Home after a nice wash

And so I left for a few days soon after coming home. I come home to this:

Evidently this is what they have named it. There was also what was apparently being compensated for on the sunroof, but I'm trying to keep this PG.

here is a link to more photos including the ones from the seller.

Picasa Web Albums - WarsofWords - Landcruiser

Sorry that there aren't more of the LC; It's hard when you are traveling alone and on a tight schedule (2 weddings the day after I returned)

Have a great day everyone. Updates when I do something interesting.

 

[Korasher]

Very nice...... Where do you guys find these things for sale?

Found mine on Classifieds one day. Jumped on it within the hour after months of searching...

 

[retrofive]

So to continue with the story........

Awesome

 

[Vanisljoe]

There are about 3000 on yahoo auto.

 

[Vanisljoe]

I like it. There isn't anything nicer or safer feeling to drive on the highway that an 80 with an ARB front bumper. It a good thing for you whoever bought the bumper paid the extra 80 bucks and got the winch model. Lot's of guys cheap out and buy the non-winch model for $80 less. At least you have the option of adding a winch at your leisure. If you look around and take your time you can find a good deal on one.

 

[AJLFJ80]

I was about 10 years old when I made the crossing over the Veterans Memorial Bridge into Kentucky. Definitely brings back memories looking at that pic.

 

[Korasher]

I like it. There isn't anything nicer or safer feeling to drive on the highway that an 80 with an ARB front bumper. It a good thing for you whoever bought the bumper paid the extra 80 bucks and got the winch model. Lot's of guys cheap out and buy the non-winch model for $80 less. At least you have the option of adding a winch at your leisure. If you look around and take your time you can find a good deal on one.

Haha, having the ARB was great. The POs knew how to put the rig together so its no surprise its a winch bumper. I may not have necessarily considered it without that option. But, I'm definitely keeping my eye out for a good one, though a few other things must be purchased previous to a winch.

 

[Vanisljoe]

I hear that. There seems to be no end to what amount of money you can spend on a kroozer. And in what order things take priority over another. I like to mix it up. One repair and then one mod. That way the 80 and I are both happy!

However- If you keep your eyes peeled once in a while a deal comes along that is too good to pass up. I.E. I got my Warn M12000 in near new condition for about $200.

 

[Korasher]

Yeah, that's not a terrible idea. I have some stuff to do in the mean time that came with the car at purchase (Slee wiring harness, ac dryer plate) plus some maintenance items to do, so I'll be able to save money(Lord willing I get a deal closed) for that sweet deal like your winch.

 

[bcrosbie]

Congrats!

 

[Limey55]

Interesting that there is Dynamat in the truck. Have you noticed whether it is quieter than a stock 80? Congratulations on your buy. I got an 80 last October and the more I look at it, the more impressed I am.