Builds 100 Guy Builds a 60 Series (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Sep 8, 2003
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6,208
Location
Bozeman, MT
So it happened. We picked up a 60 series.

I am a 40 guy at heart and am the second owner of a 1976 FJ40... REZARF's ROTW 40 Series
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Then we bought a 100 series about 4 years ago, what an amazing Land Cruiser! We've been building it and enjoying it for the past 4 years... 40 Guy Builds a 100 Series
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We've always been on the look out for a 60 series wagon as it is my wife's favorite Cruiser series. We jumped on this one with plans to slowly clean it up, modify it to suit our style and enjoy it. I am not sure if it is our forever 60 as I have ALWAYS wanted a silver one, but this one had enough potential to put us over the edge and go for it. Here is how it came to us...

1983 FJ60...
Front_LI.jpg


and as it sits today Sept 2019...
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It is a 1983 FJ60 and some of the highlights were:

The Good:
  • V8 Conversion with a simple 1979 K10 Pickup Chevy 350 (done well by a pro shop)
  • Eldelbrock/Weber Carb
  • Advance Adapters Torque Splitter.
  • Centerforce Clutch
  • 4 Speed Manual
  • 38 Gallon MAF Long Range Fuel Tank
  • Older Con-ferr shackle lift... maybe 2" ish or so.
  • Modern Hands Free/Bluetooth CD/Headunit.
  • No leaks
  • Con-ferr roof rack awesome and old school.
  • Warn 9000ti winch on cradle for front/rear mounting. Anderson plugs front/rear.
  • Starts, runs, pulls and brakes straight and strong. This wagon is a kick in the pants to drive. My wife loves it.
  • Loud/burly exhaust note. Sounds good.
  • No leaks anywhere.
  • Mostly complete and unhacked.
  • Likely had an enthusiast owner in the past due to a few SOR and MAF stickers.
  • Class III tow hitch with 7pin and 4 pin wiring.
The Bad:
  • Interior is rough but likely average for a user that is 35 years old.
  • The PO swapped in some Ford cargo van seats (comfy but out of place) I did get the originals and center console in the purchase, looking for a good seat bottom.
  • Carpet is rough
  • Dash is cracked in bad ways
  • Tacoma wheels and spacers on OLD tires.
  • The wiring is all there, done mostly safely but sloppy when after market items were installed.
  • A few broken missing items, front TOYOTA emblem, rear brake lens, pass door handle etc.
  • Dented front bumper and pass fender.

The UGLY
  • It has some of the rust cancer on the roof above the rear windows. Its been smeared and squirted before, not sure just how bad it is yet but it's rough.
  • Front doors are SHOT. Never seen cancer like that on the leading front door jambs (have a line on some good less-rusty doors).
  • The fuse block showed evidence of a smoldering incident... smoked three of the fuse slots, likely due to improper fuse ratings. In addition, there was some hacking to get the circuits running again. I've already addressed this issue as it was a safety hazard.
  • The quarters are mostly solid, but time will tell, it's weird to see it rusting from the top down instead of the usual bottom up.

The Plan:
  • Baseline the maintenance
  • Tune it up.
  • Track down and complete the missing parts
  • Return the interior to stock.
  • Attack the rust and weld in new metal.
  • Paint/wrap the truck... really considering a wrap or the plasti-dip thing. Thoughts? I am not going to invest in a real paint job on this one. It's likely a spray bomb/wrap/Dip or nothing.
  • This one will never be a show truck again but it is a blast to drive and if we can kill the rust, it'll be enjoyed for many more miles.

Here are a few shots of what we are starting with...

Straight with some rust above the rear windows... old school cool Con-ferr roof rack.
Rear_LI.jpg


Gotta' refit the hood, I plan on reworking the front end with a black grill and LED headlights, maybe a one off bumper.
Front_LI.jpg


Interior is par for the course for a 35 year old user. It's mostly there but needs cleaning and replacing a few things... dash mostly.
Interior .JPG


The Ford E350 van seats that are as comfortable as they are out of place on this truck. I will be returning the interior to stock. Note the cool homemade center console that is actually quite comfortable and practical. It's gonna go back to stock soon though.
Seats.JPG


My nine year old son assured me that his Harry Potter Halloween Costume could eradicate the rust with a simple spell. It's the first time I've ever been pulling for witchcraft ;)
Rust removal_LI.jpg
 
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First question for the 60 crew here on mud... anyone tried this carpet kit? I have had good luck pressure washing carpets in past but this one is too far gone. It's been a hunting truck, gear hauler, work truck... the price on this kit seems good any experience out there with it?

Carpet Kit
 
Quite surprised the frau likes a 60. One would think with the creature comforts the 100 has, the 60 would be primitive to her.
 
NO PLASTI DIP! I used that crap on my beater 86 Toyota truck...the only thing worse than how it looked was the 4 hours and gallon of Goo Gone it took to remove. (Peel off...nope)

I have always disliked white Cruisers...until the best deal on a 100 was white...now I love the color. I think it will grow on you.

@wngrog put new carpet in his 60...from a Mud vendor. Not sure which.
 
First question for the 60 crew here on mud... anyone tried this carpet kit? I have had good luck pressure washing carpets in past but this one is too far gone. It's been a hunting truck, gear hauler, work truck... the price on this kit seems good any experience out there with it?

Carpet Kit


I would recommend this one, comes with lots of recommendations and keeps it in the mud family

New 60 carpet for sale! JUNE 1, 2018 UPDATE
 
^^^that’s the one Nolen used
 
Paint/wrap the truck... really considering a wrap or the plasti-dip thing

I am in the same boat as you kinda. I ended up with a white rig and its my least favorite color. Honestly though after 8 months of ownership its not something that bothers me on a daily basis. @Tennessee80 has a cool white truck with a simple set of stripes on the side that really look good. If I could find someone making those I would probably go for a custom set to break up the white. Simple fixes are usually the best I think, well at least for cosmetics

Roscoe: the 60 series journey begins...
 
I really like white 60's, although I'd prefer they came with the grey/blue interior.
 
Quite surprised the frau likes a 60. One would think with the creature comforts the 100 has, the 60 would be primitive to her.

To most women, sure. My girl is a Cruiser chick and knows her stuff! :bounce: She loves the 40 and will sneak it out of the garage, but she drives a soccer mom Sequoia as her daily.

NO PLASTI DIP! I used that crap on my beater 86 Toyota truck...the only thing worse than how it looked was the 4 hours and gallon of Goo Gone it took to remove. (Peel off...nope)

I have always disliked white Cruisers...until the best deal on a 100 was white...now I love the color. I think it will grow on you.

@wngrog put new carpet in his 60...from a Mud vendor. Not sure which.

Thanks man, I don't dislike the white at all, it just needs more metal protection from a fresh squirt.


Do they look cheesy when installed? I'll try tracking down a decent dash first I think.

Looking forward to watching the build drew! Congrats!

Max? Thanks man!

Drew, good to see you in a 60. I watched your trailer build and looking forward to this one.

Jason

Thanks Jason, this one is for enjoyment. The 100 is so capable, the 40 is plain cool. This 60 is more of a fling than a long term relationship ;) Either way it'll give me an excuse to break out the bender and welder. :cool:

If you’re interested I would trade you my black grill for your chrome grill.
Shoot me a PM, lets talk.
 
Good to see a good old 60 put to good use. Get the rusty parts changed out (or cut out and welded in), and you'll still be playing around in this one in 20 years from now. 60's are the real thing.
 
Super jealous. Really, REALLY want to get my hands on a 60 series. Just something about the round headlights that really makes it look good. 62s are alright. But, 60s are where it's at. Congrats! Will be following your build.
 

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