Go for it
I bought an 84 FJ-60 4 years ago. Alot was said about rust here on the board. Rust is not the end of the world. Being in California, the rust will likely grow very slowly.
A little history on mine, sounds like a similar situation. Mine was bought in Ft. Collins Colorado, and spent all of its life in SouthEastern Wyoming. We have snow, and wet half the year. Salt has been a recent addition to city streets and they also salt the highways now for the past 5-10 years in the winter. Montana sees a similar winter as most of Wyoming. Rust will happen with time. The rear fender well area is the first spot on 60's. Mine has rust forming and breaking through above the rear wheels, below the doors. It also has a rust spot or two on the back, near the tailpipe and mudflaps and such. So far it has developed very little over the last few years, and it is not a huge deal. I also found a bad rust spot on the underside, below the passenger door, on the back side of the rocker panel. All the places that rust, are places that trap dust and such, and then it gets wet in the rain and snow, and starts rusting through. Beyond that, the finish of the paint and such is great on mine. Frame wise, the area below the gas tank, where the spare tire is mounted is rusted pretty bad. Toyota boxed all the frame on the forward section, it is hard to tell if rust is forming in there. But it does. I had a buddy with an 81 Toyota pickup, where the frame dipped down, in front of the rear springs, his boxing was rusting through there. I would look for similar holes on a 60. By the spare tire, Toyota put two C channels together, like plastic cups. My inner C channel is distorted from rust froming against the bigger peice. It is a bad deal, but is is rusting slowly.
As for mechanicals. Mine had 175,000 on it when I bought it. I replaced all of the orignal heater hoses and fuel lines. I replaced the original water pump shortly after, as it started to sqwall. I got a 20 dollar rebuild kit at NAPA and rebuilt the power steering pump, replaced belts, took the smog pump apart, cleaned it out, and lubed the rear bearing, front is sealed. So far so good. I replaced the alternator last year. I did the front end, knuckle rebuild, and brakes, and changed all the gear case oil. I rebuilt the carb, adjusted valves and fixed the windshield wipers. I just recently replaced all the spring bushings and shocks. Recharged and converted the AC last summer.
I bought mine for 3600, wonderful interior, clean inside and out. Now it has 202,000 miles, runs great, leaks a little oil.
I had around 1500-1700 in repairs over the last few years, but it is sound for now.
I'm guessing you will probably need to look at the same issues I did, for a stock, regularly driven 60. Front end defientley needs looked at. Very liquid looking grease/oil on the balls behind the steering knuckles tells you the front end is leaking oil through the knuckles. Very few owners ever touched the front ends until it was too late. My FJ-40 went 25 years without it, but all was fine. It is one of those 100,000 mile type of service items really.
As for the rust, yes I have some. It is kind of unsightly. Will the frame rust through on mine, yes, in this climate, in about 15-20 years I suspect, in Cali, you are probably okay for awhile. For the price, offer 3200, see if he takes it. If it runs good and will make you a fair vehicle for several years, until you can save up to replace it or really restore it , then get it and drive it. A little maintainence will go a long way on a Cruiser.
