Hello fellow Mudders! My name is Edwin and I'd like to welcome you to the build and activity thread. For as long as I have been into cars, they have always been built with the interest of going fast. Now don't get me wrong, I have not lost my desire to go fast, but it's not something you can enjoy often, with the family, or without constantly checking for for police.
So the story of how I came to own my 80 series starts in August of 2017. I purchased a 2000 Cherokee (XJ) so that I could join in on the fun that my friends were having wheeling their trucks. I learned a lot from it and also enjoyed a few good trips with it. While capable (4.5" lift, 33's, 4.88 gears, ARB lockers, D44 rear, armor), the truck was a tin can on wheels and the cabin noise could certainly old. It fit me, my wife, Armin (our dog), and camping gear fine, we had plans to get a second dog and it surely would not fit with Armin in the back seat. So, the search for the next vehicle started.
I knew that I wanted something bigger, equally capable off road, and with a good community to participate in. I have always loved the Land Cruisers, but was never able to convince my parents to buy one. So I went and test drove a couple locally but nothing really stuck. There was a turbo one in Florida that I almost pulled the trigger on but someone else beat me to it. Somewhat randomly, I found myself on eBay (I usually just look on Craigslist) and stumbled upon something that caught my eye.
It was a 94, clean title, triple locked, single owner truck in Southern California. I am from Northern California and travel down quite frequently so I decided to reach out. So a couple days later I went to check out the car after completing my business. The truck was most of what I was looking for but a bit rougher cosmetically than I had wanted. Coupled with that was the fact that the owner had not smogged it yet and was not wanting to budget on the price. So I got back in my car to drive away but could not get myself to drive off, so I bought it!
6 hours later and I safely made it back home for the night with the subject of this thread, my newly acquired 80 series. Oh did I mention, it only had 80k miles on it Here's the proof from Jan 17, 2018 right after I signed the papers.
Here's a few more pics of the ugly duckling:
As it's been a few months since I purchased the vehicle, I have some catching up to do with this thread. So stay tuned!
So the story of how I came to own my 80 series starts in August of 2017. I purchased a 2000 Cherokee (XJ) so that I could join in on the fun that my friends were having wheeling their trucks. I learned a lot from it and also enjoyed a few good trips with it. While capable (4.5" lift, 33's, 4.88 gears, ARB lockers, D44 rear, armor), the truck was a tin can on wheels and the cabin noise could certainly old. It fit me, my wife, Armin (our dog), and camping gear fine, we had plans to get a second dog and it surely would not fit with Armin in the back seat. So, the search for the next vehicle started.
I knew that I wanted something bigger, equally capable off road, and with a good community to participate in. I have always loved the Land Cruisers, but was never able to convince my parents to buy one. So I went and test drove a couple locally but nothing really stuck. There was a turbo one in Florida that I almost pulled the trigger on but someone else beat me to it. Somewhat randomly, I found myself on eBay (I usually just look on Craigslist) and stumbled upon something that caught my eye.
It was a 94, clean title, triple locked, single owner truck in Southern California. I am from Northern California and travel down quite frequently so I decided to reach out. So a couple days later I went to check out the car after completing my business. The truck was most of what I was looking for but a bit rougher cosmetically than I had wanted. Coupled with that was the fact that the owner had not smogged it yet and was not wanting to budget on the price. So I got back in my car to drive away but could not get myself to drive off, so I bought it!
6 hours later and I safely made it back home for the night with the subject of this thread, my newly acquired 80 series. Oh did I mention, it only had 80k miles on it Here's the proof from Jan 17, 2018 right after I signed the papers.
Here's a few more pics of the ugly duckling:
As it's been a few months since I purchased the vehicle, I have some catching up to do with this thread. So stay tuned!