Would this rust scare you away? (1 Viewer)

[Red Merle]

The rear heater lines look a little rough. Nothing i'd loose my s*** over.

You could always get something from Cali or Arizona with a scorched paint job and everything cracked to s*** interior.

Pick your poison.

Is that what those are? I was trying to orient myself under there, but mine is a '94 and the exhaust routes differently. Yeah, those are shot. I would do the bypass right away or keep the parts to do that job in the truck, because those aren't long for this world...

Other than that, most of the rust seems to be on stuff that would likely be replaced soon or on the weld areas from the factory. I could get that cleaned up enough to use POR15 on the rust areas and then start dousing the whole thing with bar chain oil this spring. I doubt it would keep rusting too much. The real question is what else needs to be done? ALL of the normal baselining projects or are some of those checked off already? How does the interior look?

 

[cowboyjack]

Good advice above.

My Cruiser was NOT rust free, but not quite as bad as what you’ve pictured. Most of the rust I’ve been able to grind and wire wheel off and then paint — still working my way through that a little bit at a time. And yes, I’ve snapped off a few bolts.... really crucial bolts I’m really really careful with, using lots of Kroil, PB Blaster and gentle persuasion.

Do I wish my Cruiser was absolutely rust free with a perfect interior, full maintenance records and only had 20,000 miles on it? You bet! But that’s not the one I could afford.

The balance of rust and overall condition and price versus work you are willing to put into it is only something you can answer.

And, let’s face it, owning a 20 year old vehicle with 200k miles just because you love it and enjoy driving it doesn’t have to be a fully rational decision, eh?

 

[Golgo13]

I've seen worse and yeah, that would still scare me off unless its too cheap to pass up.
F the exhaust, it can be replaced. The body mounts are no big deal, remove when you can, treat the rest with oil. Anything you might want to actually replace, if it is rusty like the bad parts there, leave it there. No need to buy a headache.

 

[Martyt]

does not look that bad to me----I don't see anything in your pix that adversely affects the basic structure--but that's just me

 

[Red Merle]

Good advice above.

My Cruiser was NOT rust free, but not quite as bad as what you’ve pictured. Most of the rust I’ve been able to grind and wire wheel off and then paint — still working my way through that a little bit at a time. And yes, I’ve snapped off a few bolts.... really crucial bolts I’m really really careful with, using lots of Kroil, PB Blaster and gentle persuasion.

Do I wish my Cruiser was absolutely rust free with a perfect interior, full maintenance records and only had 20,000 miles on it? You bet! But that’s not the one I could afford.

The balance of rust and overall condition and price versus work you are willing to put into it is only something you can answer.

And, let’s face it, owning a 20 year old vehicle with 200k miles just because you love it and enjoy driving it doesn’t have to be a fully rational decision, eh?

Well said. Plus, it's still a Land Cruiser. If it continues to be a useful, reliable vehicle, that alone is more than you can say about 90% of the cars left on the road from it's era. These things ARE a labor of love and it's not a bad thing to love the one you're with.

Sure, I would have loved to pick up a perfect rig with low miles and in perfect shape, inside and out, but that deal was never going to come to me. I decided to force the issue on a truck in really good condition outside of the rust on the undercarriage. I have long since accepted my fate with this truck and I would never get rid of it. I am too nostalgic that way.

No regrets. I wouldn't have used the time that it took to get it all running the way it should in a better way and I learned a lot of valuable skills in the process and, well, it's a friggin' sweet truck. I get compliments all the time. Only the truly used up Land Cruisers really deserve to be run into the ground. This one has a lot of life left in it. Sorry for my rust rant...

Standard rust bucket 80.

As a side note, I am thinking about making a calendar of tremendous rust buckets of the north. Some of the dream boats that people tool around in up here boggle the mind.

This honey might be February. Appears to be about an '89 Corolla Wagon. Very nice "patina"...

 

[JeepinPete]

Looks like superficial rust to me, save the exhaust. I really won't want anything nicer in this part of the world, it would just end up looking worse than that in a year or two.

 

[ajax1]

I'd say bye bye , trust your gut rust sucks, I live out west slope Colorado there are plenty of cheap rust free rides out this way

 

[Bmp1]

Folks out west are spoiled! Just kidding guys. But it's not realistic to expect to find local vehicles rust free for some folks. Looks superficial. But at the end of the day it's your money. If you looked at other vehicles in your area is that about normal? It would great to buy a 20+ year old vehicle that looks like new for 2 grand. I never seem to have that luck. Poke frame with screwdriver. Check brake lines. Go with your gut. Think long think wrong!

 

[Red Merle]

I'd say bye bye , trust your gut rust sucks, I live out west slope Colorado there are plenty of cheap rust free rides out this way

I will pay $5K a piece for 5 trucks that you can find on the west slope of Colorado. I want nice paint jobs, nice interiors and I don't want to see a lot of evidence of prior wheeling. Tires, add ons and engines that have had the top end of the motor done would fetch a premium, but you should be able to have 5 trucks like that ready for pick up within 6 weeks if they are as plentiful as you say. I can have a check ready and arrange the shipper as soon as you say you're ready.

 

[ajax1]

One meeting your requirements sold for 6.5 here even had sliders and bumpers. Found another one this last fall for 2500k on it one owner a rich old lady out of Aspen that her and husband used for Mexico vehicle.

I will pay $5K a piece for 5 trucks that you can find on the west slope of Colorado. I want nice paint jobs, nice interiors and I don't want to see a lot of evidence of prior wheeling. Tires, add ons and engines that have had the top end of the motor done would fetch a premium, but you should be able to have 5 trucks like that ready for pick up within 6 weeks if they are as plentiful as you say. I can have a check ready and arrange the shipper as soon as you say you're ready.

 

[Red Merle]

One meeting your requirements sold for 6.5 here even had sliders and bumpers. Found another one this last fall for 2500k on it one owner a rich old lady out of Aspen that her and husband used for Mexico vehicle.

That's a deal in a land of abundance. Seriously, keep your eyes peeled and let me know if you see any other ones. I shop the internet, but I don't see all of the trucks, I know that.

 

[ajax1]

If your serious my buddy had a 97 with everybody wet dream factory lockers, rust free , white, stock truck if I remember the front seat was a little beat 175k miles I think. He buys a lot cruisers so I know he bought it cheaper then he will sell to me which is in your range

That's a deal in a land of abundance. Seriously, keep your eyes peeled and let me know if you see any other ones. I shop the internet, but I don't see all of the trucks, I know that.

 

[ajax1]

Denver craigslist always has a ton too

 

[Red Merle]

If your serious my buddy had a 97 with everybody wet dream factory lockers, rust free , white, stock truck if I remember the front seat was a little beat 175k miles I think. He buys a lot cruisers so I know he bought it cheaper then he will sell to me which is in your range

Of course I am serious. I may work for the government, but I am a capitalist at heart. I have some people in Colorado and I can come up with the money. If a nice 80 can meet me at the Denver airport and get home to WI, I could make that happen this summer. Denver CL is market prices. No meat on those bones...

 

[Rifleman]

Mr. Green, If you've got money burning a hole in your pocket, and just have to have a LC right now, then buy it. Now if you've got time on your side, I'd spend as much time as possible looking for a rust free truck out west. Trust me, you'll thank yourself that you bought a rust free truck everytime you remove a rust free bolt.

When i was looking to buy my LC, i spent 6 months looking, plus did lots of road trips to nearby states to go look at LC that were for sale. In the end waiting paid off for me, i got a stock, clean, rust free CA truck with only 101000 miles on it, plus it's 3X locked! One thing i will warn you about, clean rust free trucks DON'T stay on the market very long, so make sure you have cash in hand. Good luck with your search.

 

[shaggy_mutt]

You know, as soon as I saw the pictures, I thought "Californians are going to shriek in horror, northeastern people are going to ask where the rust is."

Sure, "no rust" is a nice selling point but are you really going to leave it parked all winter?

 

[Red Merle]

Sure, "no rust" is a nice selling point but are you really going to leave it parked all winter?

The answer is a hard no. This thing is incredible in inclement weather. I was blasting through a foot of fresh snow and three foot drifts covering ice covered roads on Tuesday morning. Very few people had anything that could drive on roads like that and most of them followed my tracks.

Just invest in bar chain oil...

 

[Rifleman]

are you really going to leave it parked all winter?

Funny you should ask that, my first wife was from upstate (Albany) New York. She had a nice rust free 1969 Z28 Camaro that she kept parked all winter long while the state put down salt on the roads. Then she had her rust bucket, a 1972 Ford F100 4X4 that she drove during the winter while salt was used. I'm just glad i live in a state that i don't have to deal with salt and rust, so i don't have to make that decision.

 

[Red Merle]

Funny you should ask that, my first wife was from upstate (Albany) New York. She had a nice rust free 1969 Z28 Camaro that she kept parked all winter long while the state put down salt on the roads. Then she had her rust bucket, a 1972 Ford F100 4X4 that she drove during the winter while salt was used. I'm just glad i live in a state that i don't have to deal with salt and rust, so i don't have to make that decision.

Classic "winter beater"!

 

[Will Van]

What is the price tag on this unit?

Just for the sake of discussion, the truck below is for sale in Minneapolis right now. Interior is OK, body looks good, but the rear cross member and running boards make me suspect that she's got a fair amount of rust underneath. Is this truck worth what they are asking(they don't appear to know that it has lockers, whether they work or not is another question)? I bet this thing sells within 10 days.

1994 Toyota Land Cruiser Base AWD 4dr SUV

Something rust free with low miles and in great shape inside is going to run around $15k these days. Just ask @Will Van. He just picked up a really nice 80 in great shape from a reputable seller and I am guessing that is about what he paid. Anyway, price matters. For $3-5K, I would say the truck in question is probably a decent deal.

Well said. It also depends on what you are looking for. What are your plans for the Cruiser? How do you plan on using it? When I was shopping for mine, I knew it was a truck I wanted to keep for a long time. I had entertained some rusty dogs, but eventually decided that it was worth a premium price to get a well-kept, low-mileage, rust-free truck. But you may just want something inexpensive, that you can 'wheel with, and don't have to be OCD about. "If you smash it on the rocks, who cares?!"

If the truck is moderately priced, and you're looking for something strictly utilitarian, it may be a good match.

But if you're looking for something more long-term, or well-kept, I would pass.