Potential First 80 series. What do y'all think? (1 Viewer)

[jlups]

hey guys,

i've been in the market for an 80 series for a few months now and think i found the one. here it is:

1997 Toyota land cruiser

i've talked to the owner quite a bit and he seems to know what he's talking about. he's got receipts for the head gasket job and was willing to come down to $4500 delivered (he's in SC and i'm in atlanta). interior is admittedly a little rough, but that doesn't really concern me. i'm looking to use this as a daily driver/weekend light overlander. plans initially would be a mild lift, some knobbies and a roof rack. and to build a sleeping/storage rig into the back for camping. eventually, i may redo the leather, but only after i get her running well.

i'm pretty competent with a wrench and work in the parts industry, but cut my teeth on old german and american stuff. i've owned a few vintage german cars, a few newer german cars and currently have a fox body and a 1979 kz1000 in the stable. i'm comfortable doing basically anything short of a transmission rebuild or motor build (mostly because i live in an apartment).

now, the bad. it's leaking some oil from the front driver side birf. i noticed it in one of the additional pictures he sent me and he confirmed it. said it isn't making any noise, though and that he's kept the front diff topped off with fluid. i looked over the diy and am confident i could get both sides rebuilt over a weekend.

what do y'all think? i currently live on bimmerforums.com, so i know what an invaluable resource forums can be. been lurking on here for a while and y'all seem super knowledgeable. either way, let me know what ya think and what i should be looking at when he brings the truck down tomorrow. thanks in advance for the help!

tldr: would you buy this truck?

 

[chap79]

Does he actually have the title? There's no plates on it. Seems fairly clean other than the dent in the driver door.
I thought the rear hatch Toyota emblem was centered on the '97. Replacement hatch?

 

[scrowley]

Looks clean. The interior would clean up real nice. Some pristine clean from Leatherique on all that leather. Even driver seat would look ok. Dent in driver door can be taken care of by a good paint less dent wizard. No lockers. I would offer $3750-4k plus delivery the $4500 isn't too bad. Some people find crack head deals but hey I have yet to find a $2-3k locked 80 thats in good shape and I look almost everyday.

 

[ToothDr]

Where's the third row seats? Agree. 1997 had the centered Toyota emblem. 1996??

 

[jlups]

Does he actually have the title? There's no plates on it. Seems fairly clean other than the dent in the driver door.
I thought the rear hatch Toyota emblem was centered on the '97. Replacement hatch?

excellent point. some googling has shown mixed results. i'll check make sure the check all the body panel seams. also just reached out regarding the title. thanks for the advice!

Looks clean. The interior would clean up real nice. Some pristine clean from Leatherique on all that leather. Even driver seat would look ok. Dent in driver door can be taken care of by a good paint less dent wizard. No lockers. I would offer $3750-4k plus delivery the $4500 isn't too bad. Some people find crack head deals but hey I have yet to find a $2-3k locked 80 thats in good shape and I look almost everyday.

yeah, i'm not worried about the interior. i plan on removing the seats and dash if necessary to do a deep clean. and yeah, the market is pretty brutal at the moment. from my borderline-psychotic craigslist and mud classified surfing over the past two months, i think it's a pretty good deal if it all checks out.

 

[LINUS]

@chap79 is right, that's either the 1st '97 built or it got a hatch off a '95-96.

It's a drilled pair of holes, so not just a sticker in the wrong place.
Not a big deal if he says the hatch had a rusty window corner, that happens - but look for paint & repair work out back.

The new HG is nice - no mention of lockers, if that's a priority to you.

Aside from that, the bumper is $1K, ditch the tailight toys & haggle a little, pay the fella & get ready to baseline!

These beat the heck out of hanging over a S52/S54 all day. It's nice not needing to avoid potholes too.

Cursory look, but I like it from the pics - eyes wide open though.

 

[jlups]

Where's the third row seats? Agree. 1997 had the centered Toyota emblem. 1996??

didn't ask. honestly, i'll never use them. at the moment, it's just myself, my woman and the dog (plus, apartment storage is pretty much nonexistent). good eye though!

 

[jlups]

@chap79 is right, that's either the 1st '97 built or it got a hatch off a '95-96.

It's a drilled pair of holes, so not just a sticker in the wrong place.
Not a big deal if he says the hatch had a rusty window corner, that happens - but look for paint & repair work out back.

The new HG is nice - no mention of lockers, if that's a priority to you.

Aside from that, the bumper is $1K, ditch the tailight toys & haggle a little, pay the fella & get ready to baseline!

These beat the heck out of hanging over a S52/S54 all day. It's nice not needing to avoid potholes too.

Cursory look, but I like it from the pics - eyes wide open though.

well said!

 

[ToothDr]

The devil in in the details.

 

[utahisrad]

What's his reason for selling it?

 

[jlups]

The devil in in the details.

don't i know it man. learned the hard way more than once.

What's his reason for selling it?

needs the money for a trophy rat project he's in the middle of. sent me a few pictures actually. super cool

 

[LINUS]

Just went back & saw 100% no e-locker in the FR axle.

Hope he's not stabbed a rotary knob in the dash like some you see.

Is e-lockers a priority to you? (Frankly I'd rather add a ARB out back, good enough unless you really rock out).
And that hole in the bumper means a winch & winch trumps lockers in a real 'how'd I end up here?'-moment.

It's still a easy $4500-5000 for guys who don't watch ads all the time, and frankly the big picture difference between a screaming deal & fair price is less than the tax you pay on a $20K vehicle.

 

[on3i11s]

Looks good to me. Paid around the same price for a very similar 80 although instead of the ARB bumper mine had an OME lift on it already. Also purchased right outside of SC.

Also....I have a white 1997 fzj80 and I believe that my Toyota emblem is in the same spot as well. No signs or records of the rear hatch being replaced. Damnit now you guys have sparked my curiosity and I'll have to go check outside.

Edit: whoops, just checked. I have gold emblems and my Toyota emblem is indeed in the middle of the rear hatch.

 

[jlups]

also, here's a picture of the leaking diff for reference:

should i be concerned?

 

[LINUS]

Looks good to me. Paid around the same price for a very similar 80 although instead of the ARB bumper mine had an OME lift on it already. Also purchased right outside of SC.

Also....I have a white 1997 fzj80 and I believe that my Toyota emblem is in the same spot as well. No signs or records of the rear hatch being replaced. Damnit now you guys have sparked my curiosity and I'll have to go check outside.

A late '96 or early '97 could have still been getting offset emblem hatches, I'd be far more concerned if you see repaint traces on the main body.

EDIT - check your driver door sticker for build date

 

[LINUS]

also, here's a picture of the leaking diff for reference:

should i be concerned?

Just a 'opportunity' for you to do your 1st service - Front Axle Servicing

They all poop a shaft seal at some point, I'd be far more concerned if you hear 'clicking' from the front birfields when turning full lock & moving slowly.

That means you need a new pair of birfs - $$$

Just make sure to keep in mind & check when testing it, take off a $1K for clicking birfs, and that's you doing all the labor for birfs & front axle service.

 

[on3i11s]

also, here's a picture of the leaking diff for reference:

should i be concerned?

Use that issue to your advantage to lower the asking price! ~ $200 for a rebuild kit + supplies and labor.

A late '96 or early '97 could have still been getting offset emblem hatches, I'd be far more concerned if you see repaint traces on the main body.

My mistake...my emblem is centered! Good to know though

 

[mechanist]

Cons:
High miles. Wrong hatch. No lockers. Birf soup. Dent on door. Missing 3rd row (Many people pull it anyway - I use mine).

Pros:
Receipts for head gasket. Looks rust free (Yuge!). ARB front bumper. Leather looks good.

I'd buy it. Front axle service is less than $300 in parts and only takes about a day per side on your first attempt - subsequent service will go much faster. Plus, as others have stated, that bull bar alone is worth $1k.

Why don't you make the drive up to Greenville? You could take it over to Trollhole's Cruisers and ask them to look it over for you.

 

[jlups]

Cons:
High miles. Wrong hatch. No lockers. Birf soup. Dent on door. Missing 3rd row (Many people pull it anyway - I use mine).

Pros:
Receipts for head gasket. Looks rust free (Yuge!). ARB front bumper. Leather looks good.

I'd buy it. Front axle service is less than $300 in parts and only takes about a day per side on your first attempt - subsequent service will go much faster. Plus, as others have stated, that bull bar alone is worth $1k.

Why don't you make the drive up to Greenville? You could take it over to Trollhole's Cruisers and ask them to look it over for you.

my hesitation with driving up there was having to drive it back to atlanta with that birf leaking like it is. even if it didn't drain the diff, i can't imagine prolonged highway speeds are good for that condition. am i wrong?

edit: he's trailering it down, also

 

[jbatx]

Wrong hatch... check for other body work. Check for rust everywhere, especially the window frame