To me, this is a 'head/heart' discussion. I wanted *anything* with wheels when I was in high school (beyond my parents car). My first 'car' - a '72 Chevy van with major rust, that got 60 miles of driving per quart of oil. Paid $300, sold it for $425 after trimming off the rusty panels with tin snips and spray-bombing them. I had my parents cars as backups, which was good. It was safe to buy such a heap because I didn't really have to depend on it.
A general observation about 30 year old vehicles - be they 60/62s or 80s. Shops won't like working on them, and will 'see you coming' with lists of $1000s in repairs every time you get near a place. Think 'Brakes Plus'! And you will have to be perceptive enough to know what is actually true and in need of repair. Parts will fail simply because of deferred maintenance or the part will have exceeded its design life.
Say you buy an '80 or a '62 with 200K on it that seems reliable and well-taken-care-of. Are you ready when the head gasket blows and takes out the engine and a shop wants 6-10K to replace/rebuild it? And you now don't have a vehicle you can drive for 6 weeks? All parts will be 'out of stock' or special order for 25-30 year old Toyotas.
I would strongly point you toward a 3rd or 4th gen 4Runner, stock, and when you have a garage and more experience/money/tools/years, then get a clean 60 series. They won't all go away, or all be $50K - there will still be one out there for you. Be patient.
At my elevation, my FJ62 can't tow the skin off a bowl of pudding, and I can't image you will like dog-slow performance and terrible towing, combined with 12 mpg and gasoline at California prices.
A general observation about 30 year old vehicles - be they 60/62s or 80s. Shops won't like working on them, and will 'see you coming' with lists of $1000s in repairs every time you get near a place. Think 'Brakes Plus'! And you will have to be perceptive enough to know what is actually true and in need of repair. Parts will fail simply because of deferred maintenance or the part will have exceeded its design life.
Say you buy an '80 or a '62 with 200K on it that seems reliable and well-taken-care-of. Are you ready when the head gasket blows and takes out the engine and a shop wants 6-10K to replace/rebuild it? And you now don't have a vehicle you can drive for 6 weeks? All parts will be 'out of stock' or special order for 25-30 year old Toyotas.
I would strongly point you toward a 3rd or 4th gen 4Runner, stock, and when you have a garage and more experience/money/tools/years, then get a clean 60 series. They won't all go away, or all be $50K - there will still be one out there for you. Be patient.
At my elevation, my FJ62 can't tow the skin off a bowl of pudding, and I can't image you will like dog-slow performance and terrible towing, combined with 12 mpg and gasoline at California prices.