Hi! My name is Sara- I'm a new member!
Last year for my husbands Birthday I earned the "Best Wife" award because I replaced his 1991 Range Rover Classic with a 100 Series Land Cruiser. Permanently converting him to Toyota. Today, he returned the Birthday LOVE and gave me a FJ62 for my 38th lap around the sun.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!
Let me start off by saying that this Cruiser is PERFECT!!!! It is all bone stock with only 187k original miles. It sat in storage for several years but eventually was put outside to sit. I’m so thankful that there was no little critters nesting in my engine or interior.
I am only the 2nd owner. They 1st owner took EXCELLENT care of the vehicle. The Cruiser is a Colorado native. Purchased in Denver & lived it’s whole life here. The 1st owner used this strictly as a Townie car with the occasional trip with the kids to our local ski mountain. Btw... I found his kids old gross candy stuck to the carpet underneath the back seats- . #neverreproduce
As far as the body- There is one dent on passenger door and even though the paint job has the classic “Colorado Peal” from the sun- there is only 2-3 relevant scratches on the entire body. The chrome gutter & trim around the windows looks brand new as well as all the chrome door handles. I thought about replacing all the chrome for a murdered out look- but I think I’m keeping it classic and original. I feel like it would be criminal to disrupt something so well preserved.
The engine is clean and it runs so strong. EVEN UPHILL!! But here is the kicker... We only paid $8500 for this thing. I have seriously stalked the internet for over 3 years for a FJ60 with less than 200k that has lived west of the Mississippi River it’s entire life. I’ve found rust buckets with body damage that don’t run for $10k. I saw a Cruiser where the owner spray painted the entire undercarriage with black spray paint to hide the rust from potential buyers. But I’ve never seen anything like this 62. I think it was just meant to be mine.
I would say that as a whole the vehicle is 99% rust free. The only rust is surface paint bubble rust that will be taken care of when I paint it. There is also a little rust on the inside door panels where the door lock sits- but I will replace all panels and the dash in the future. That’s pretty low in the list. There are also several small circular rust spots on the hood from 32 years of rocks hitting it. There is not a speck of rust underneath or on the wheel wells - I thought 60 series came off the line with rusted wheel wells???
I drove it home to Ouray over the infamous MILLION DOLLAR HIGHWAY with 4 dry rotted tires and 2 wonky/ blown out shocks. Needless to say...it was super sketchy driving over the 2 mountain passes. Thankful for dry roads because a dusting of snow would have meant instant death on 550 with those old nasty tires. But I did get it up to 75 mph - it was strong and steady and the engine purred a little- letting me know that the engine was solid for now.
My original plan was to do ALL engine work 1st. Rebuild my knuckles/ rebuild the suspension. Interior repair, body work and paint last. But after driving it I quickly realized that the suspension and tires MUST come 1st- it’s dangerous to drive otherwise. However, my best friend is a mechanic is going to fly out this summer and do all my knuckle work for free. I wish I could have this done sooner than later but... I will have to work something out.
Side note: ALWAYS HAVE A MECHANIC AS A LIFELONG BEST FRIEND!!!!!!!
The interior is WAY nicer than I ever imaged. I was planning on dumping a ton of money on restoring it but once I pulled back the old dirty seat covers - it’s totally unnecessary. Even the headliner is in perfect condition. I’ve combed through several threads on here on cleaning the interior- Thank you for sharing the love! So, after the tires and lift are installed I will attempt to remove all seats and carpet for a SUPER deep cleaning. I've found several forums online in regards to restoring but feel like this one is the best!
I’ve already ordered my lift and tires and plan to install in less than a week. I went with the 2” OME lift kit I’m keeping my stock 15” wheels bc I want to keep it as original as possible. As for tires- I chose 33x10.5xR15 KM3’s... Mainly because I’m basic AF & I do what I want But also bc our house sits on top of a mountain, 8,000 feet above sea level, so we require a legit tire year round. Our driveway alone is a steep, snowy Mountain of Death 9 months out of the year. I know everyone wants a 12” wide tire out here but I don’t need that. So, I went with the 10.5”. Clearly... I’ve caught grief from for my choice of tire & width This is the same suspension set up we have on our Overland series- And I think it’s perfect!
We’ve been planning a road trip that includes taking our Series on a 4 week long adventure from Colorado to the tip of the Baja California Peninsula in February of 2021. Now, we are thinking about bringing both Cruisers.
Living in Ouray... we see A LOT of Jeeps. And I love Jeeps - I owned a Wrangler for years. But after awhile they all look exactly the same. With that being said- we are SO excited to be a 2 Cruiser family - turning heads of locals & tourist in the "Jeep Capital of the World"!!! But we aren’t doing this for our selfish love of Land Cruisers or our inflated egos from owning something so elite and beautiful We are building this Cruiser for America Because NO ONE stimulates the economy quite like the new owner of a vintage Land Cruiser.
You’re welcome, America!
Stay well, Friends. And please let me know any suggestions, tips, tricks, Colorado/Utah Cruiser Clubs or just say hi . I’ve already gained so much knowledge from this website. Thank you
My new life motto:
In a world full of Kim Kardashians... be a 1988 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ62
To Do: no order
Water Pump
Fuel Pump & Filter
Mass Airflow Sensor
Service Transmission
Service Diff
OME Lift - with Sway Bar
Tires KM3’s 33x10.5xR15
Tune Up
Deep Clean Carpet & Upholstery
Replace interior door panels
Replace Dash
Replace back headrest
Paint- where? May have to travel to Front Range Knuckle work - June or July- maybe sooner?
Quiet crap from Cruiser Crap- does this work?
Center Console - tuffy, Cruiser Crap
Find a damn cig lighter bc it looks like trash without it