1983 BJ60 Speed "Restoration"

[BigLez]

I've been lurking here since before I bought my first LandCruiser in 2016 (LJ78). Since then I've sold that one and bought/inherited 3 more, this forum has been a lifesaver soo many times.

So, in return I'm going to start a thread on my most recent one, a very rusty neglected 1983 BJ60. It will be full of acceptable mechanical, questionable electrical, and downright terrible bodywork.

I bought it nearly a year ago in September 2025 and quickly got it in great mechanical shape and tore out some of the fire hazard 12v mods from one of the previous owners. Then, nothing.. as I poked and prodded at the body I found more rust than my rose coloured glasses allowed me to see while I was happily buying a cheap new toy.

So here's the deal, in two weeks I'm driving out to Canmore AB which is about 1000k from my house and I've decided I'm going to try and drive the 60. Wise? Definitely not. But its on that perfect line between stupid and fun and it will force me to actually learn to do bodywork.

So no big deal right? The body doesn't matter, the frames good and it runs and drives great. Just do the major stuff and drive it.
Enter problem number 2. It needs a provincial inspection. Rose coloured glasses strike again! Turns out they're pretty strict on what they want on the road, and I am far far from what the government tells me is allowed on the road.

So join me as I give up sleep and sanity to try and get it just *good enough*. I'll post the pictures of how it looked when I picked it up and try and update in the order of the things I've done until I'm caught up.

 

[BryanLiew]

Hey BigLez, since you're in Canada I would look into Wolf Steel replacement panels! I used them when did my 60. They made fixing the rust way easier. It'll save you a ton of time!

Wolf Steel Car Body Rust Repair Panels

Wolf Steel provides steel body panels for your vintage restoration project. This is your source for panels for your old import or domestic car or truck.

alfaparts.net

 

[diesellibrarian]

We have a lot in common!

I, too, started with an LJ78. Then I moved on to a 60 series that was very rusty and also needed an out-of-province inspection. I taught myself to weld and do some basic metal shaping, and was able to pass the inspection no problem. Feel free to reach out if I can give you a hand at all, or check out my FJ62 build thread if you want to see how I tackled the quarter panels, rockers, floors, etc. Link in signature. Good luck!

 

[duncanrm]

No money shot? That cute little 3B in the engine bay..

 

[BigLez]

Hey BigLez, since you're in Canada I would look into Wolf Steel replacement panels! I used them when did my 60. They made fixing the rust way easier. It'll save you a ton of time!

Wolf Steel Car Body Rust Repair Panels

Wolf Steel provides steel body panels for your vintage restoration project. This is your source for panels for your old import or domestic car or truck.

alfaparts.net

I looked into them at they seem like solid products, once I've got it on the road I might look into getting some. I'm avoiding premade panels for now because the next project is my FJ40 which has a lot of sentimental value. So the 60's serving as sort of a learning platform to get the basics down. Id rather mess up on something that was essentially sold for parts!

We have a lot in common!

I, too, started with an LJ78. Then I moved on to a 60 series that was very rusty and also needed an out-of-province inspection. I taught myself to weld and do some basic metal shaping, and was able to pass the inspection no problem. Feel free to reach out if I can give you a hand at all, or check out my FJ62 build thread if you want to see how I tackled the quarter panels, rockers, floors, etc. Link in signature. Good luck!

The LJ78 was a great truck! Offensively underpowered though. Mine had the 3L head and was in great shape and almost no rust! (Yay!) Sold it to buy a bone stock 91 HDJ81 which has a fair bit of rust, was biohazard moldy (boo) and had sat for a few years in the woods. I've replaced or fixed pretty much everything on it but I use it hard so it's always an ongoing project.

Thanks! I will absolutely be checking out your build, tried my hand at the rear quarters tonight, it's... Going..

No money shot? That cute little 3B in the engine bay..

I actually haven't taken a pic of the whole engine bay so one of the exhaust manifold after I replaced the extremely leaky gasket will have to do for now lol. Sure is nice to work in, there is a ridiculous amount of space without a big 6 in the way!

 

[BigLez]

Oh yeah, I tried out fixing the bottom of the tailgate last night, it went really really well. Until it didn't. Should have bent the seam over BEFORE I welded it on. Ah well, it'll be good enough for now or maybe forever. We'll see.

 

[Gerry McGerry]

Hmmmmmmmm, f*** yeah, sounds like a skits mission. I knew Lez would be a Land Cruiser guy.

 

[BigLez]

Alright update time, I've been going hard on getting the 60 all buttoned up for the inspection which is today. Laaate nights all last week, finished early this morning and dropped it off at the shop with no incident. Of course as soon as they start it up this morning the fuel line between the IP and filter blew out so working to get that sorted today. Unlucky!

Looks was not a priority. It's more multicoloured now than it was when I got it!

I've been getting better at this whole body work thing. Rockers, rear quarters, and 3/4 of the door needed cutting out the rust and re welding. Things looked better the further along I got. I'm judging my progress by the amount of filler I use per repair.

Started with the rear quarters as I plan to chop the bottoms out at a later date and build a high clearance bumper. I'm toying with the idea of cutting out the rockers and replacing them with 3x2 rectangular tube but I'm not sure I like the look. If I can angle the outside down to get close to the factory shape I think that would be killer. Doors are in good shape besides the bottom so I spent more time getting them right and im pretty pleased with the way they turned out.

Other items were installing a rebuilt alternator, bosch IP primer pump, and cursing the po's electrical skills trying to get all the lights to work. The worst of the bunch was the license plate lights. Paper thin and they has somehow managed to coat everything including the insides of the lenses and sockets with a thick red paint. Grr. Broke my nice dremel cleaning it up when it got too friendly with my shirt so the rest had to be done by hand.

So many little things like battery hold downs, suspicious unconnected wires, and small leaks took longer than expected.

"Fixed" the sending unit with a self tapper for a ground and a new wire to the brass piece. New one should be in any day but this will work for the time being.

The frame is in pretty great shape for the most part, but the rear crossmember was pretty bad. A friend came by to help out and a few beers later had it patched up.

That's all for now, fingers crossed I patched enough holes to pass inspection!