For Sale 1988 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ62, North Central Florida. (1 Viewer)

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Location
United States
SOLD.

1988 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ62. $7,500 firm.

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At 111,xxx miles, this truck in the elite class of cruisers of this era because it has such few miles and because it lived its life (except the first year, in San Fransisco) in the South (Thomasville, GA), and never saw road salt (nor dirt, apparently), and as such, escaped the rusty grave of so many of these otherwise legendary rugged units. It is literally in the top few percent, and I have seen hundreds. Quite comparable to vehicles sold by the Vintage Car Guy (eBayer, out of Tampa), TLC (Colorado), and CCOT (Texas), known as being among the very the best Cruiser sellers in the states), usually starting at $15,000. This vehicle, in this condition regularly sells on the open market for $7,500 to $12,500 or so. I can provide comparables and as many links as you can handle… I’m selling at the bottom of the fair market price range, with the reasons cited below, but won’t go below it, because I don’t need to. I paid $5,500, and with the replacement lift gate, a/c and sunroof repaired (described below), it should command a few thousand more, easily. I’m not willing to haggle. First $7,500 takes it home.

I bought this truck to replace my rolled “HJ62”. I would once again swap the rare Toyota 6-cylinder diesel motor and 5-speed transmission from my old HJ60 (which had last resided in a near-identical FJ62 until I rolled it last year). The only thing that kept me from doing just that was the time it would take and bad timing, and the hesitation to molest a vehicle with such low miles. Since I am not going to do this project, and thus have a vehicle with mileage that gets in the mid-teens as my daily driver, I am selling so I can get into something cheaper to fuel, even though replacing it with something I’ll love and enjoy driving as much is impossible.

The photos in link above are almost all from the p.o. who emailed to me in November, a few days before I bought it (11/26/2010). I don’t have many since then, but can take some, if requested. Nothing has happened since then that would have changed the appearance or function, except that I tended to a few “deferred maintenance” items that needed addressing (see below), and I added roughly 7,000 miles.



VIN #: JT3FJ62G7J0076468.

The p.o. had no pets, did not smoke and had no kids. It was a grocery-getter, literally, the owner had two other vehicles. In the past six months it has seen more use than it had ever seen before, because it was my daily driver and I have two kids, but I was a real Nazi; “No food or muddy shoes in my truck!”

This was sold as a base model (affectionately known in the Cruiser Community as a “poverty pack”); no electric door locks, windows or mirrors, and no cassette (or CD, of course) in the radio. This was a bonus, having chased electrical gremlins in my previous FJ62, some due to it being 20+ years old, and also because I made so many changes to it. This has a simpler harness and many fewer electric parts, so it has fewer things to break and is more in keeping with the truck’s Spartan heritage and intended uses. The original radio is in there, and works perfectly.

4-Speed automatic, (the only transmission offered in the FJ62 (1998-1990). The “kickdown cable” needs an adjustment because the transmission hesitates slightly (sometimes) as it goes into 2nd, which is a well-known minor problem (that costs nothing to adjust). Well-covered in numerous threads. It's not an indication of transmission wear or other significant issue. I have just not gotten to this, but likely will, prior to sale.
This vehicle does not leak or burn oil, and has no fluid drips or leaks of any kind, including the engine, transmission/transfer case, differentials and axles. The engine bay is quite clean. 4-wheel drive works flawlessly. The mechanical condition of the vehicle is amazing, no known issues, does not overheat, everything works, including the original electric antenna (a minor miracle). The wheel-wells, bumpers, undercarriage…all quite clean and rust-free. This vehicle was simply not used as intended.

This is a respray, repainted when ~6 months old. Odd-sounding story, but true: The p.o. bought this truck for his wife as a surprise, but the only one on the dealer’s lot was this base model in “Freeborn” red, but the deal was good and the truck was awesome, so he bought it and took a chance. She loved it, but she HATED the color. Her complaining became more than he could handle, so he took it back to the dealer to trade in for a new one in a different color. The depreciation was a deal-killer, so he just had them repaint it for $3,500, a relatively expensive job at the time. Well, the job withstood the test of time, and then some, as it is still shiny (with no wax or other product applied), though it is a 22-year of paint job and lived the vast majority of its life in southern Georgia (though garaged almost all of that time, hence the flawless dash as well). The paint is VERY presentable with a few flaws, but, like I said, still shines like a relatively new car. NO RUST.

When it was painted, the p.o. also had an aftermarket sunroof (ASC, top of the line) installed, which was not working when I bought it. Turns out, it merely had a poor ground somewhere, which I found and I thought I fixed, but it will still act up once a month or so, and will usually work again a few minutes later (and flawlessly). The sunroof will leak if there are any obstructions in the drain lines. I cleared them and it has rained on the vehicle many times since with no leaks, but sunroofs, especially aftermarket ones, tend to leak; it is just a matter of time. It may be time for new drain lines or have them professionally serviced (a very cheap job, either way). Frankly, I almost walked when I discovered that the vehicle had this installed, even though I had driven 130 miles to inspect and buy it. I don’t regret it one bit, and the sunroof has been a pleasure (mostly).

Bone, bone stock rig except the 19 year-old respray, and the aftermarket sunroof. The tires have about 25% left on them, but they are small and stupid-looking (to my eye, anyhow) ATs, though they do give it an excellent ride compared to what I was used to. Off-road, they’d be a real limiting factor, and are within a year from needing replacement. On the road, they do eek out the best possible mileage, I think.

As can be seen, the front bumper is pushed in about 2 inches on passenger side, and can be easily pulled out (have not gotten to it yet, but likely will prior to the sale), and even now is aesthetically acceptable, even more so when pulled back out; not a crumple, just a bend. The rear bumper has a small dent, dead center, but is totally acceptable to be left alone. The lift gate has a nice little fugly crumple, from the p.o. backing into a tree with the lift gate open, but it is not rusty, nor terrible. I have a perfect lift gate (with glass and internals) to come with the truck (and perhaps some other spare parts), but it would need to be painted to match. A replacement liftgate would cost a minimum of $350, from the CHEAPEST used Cruiser parts supplier in the states. See: Toyota Land Cruiser FJ60 FJ62 Parts For Sale, (see about ¾ down the page) plus shipping of a few hundred. Painting should be $200-250 or so from a quality shop.

The passenger A pilar base has a small dent, and in that spot, the windshield gasket is a little torn, but no leak (this is the one thing I would attend to in the short-term, if I were to keep it). The paint in the immediate area around the sunroof has clear coat peeling and color fading. The passenger side door lock was messed with and the little spring key door is torn out. It works, but is not perfect. A few minor dings and creases, only somebody very particular would care about, and miraculously few for a 1988 vehicle. If I were going to keep it, I’d eventually buy a new windshield gasket, pull the glass, fix that little dent, respray it and the replacement hatch (probably back to the original Freeborn red, even though that’s far from my favorite 60-series color), and throw on some new 33x10.5Rx15 BFG AT’s and roll in style. And I could do so for another 200,000 miles, without hesitation, and with no major mechanical work likely needed.

Overall I’d give it a B+, and if the lift gate, and the A pillar dent were repaired, it would get an A-. Really, really clean. No dash cracks, nothing jimmied with, just a pampered, low-mileage rig.

I comes with a pair of Yakima roof rack bars, (with locks and keys). Somebody broke off the driver’s side mirror, and a replacement has been ordered and will be installed in a few days. You won’t likely see that (except one perfect-looking mirror vs. a near-perfect 23 year-old one). But in case somebody reading his want to see it in the next few days and prior to the new one, I’m disclosing this now.



Located in Gainesville, FL



PM me if you are interested, but it may be a few days before I reply.
 
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Are you interested in trades? Or strictly cash? I'm in Jax.

My wife's out of town and would $#!t if she came home and found this the driveway instead of my 4runner.

Very nice.
 
NOPE. SOLD. Sorry. Consolation: There are some really nice rigs on eBay right now, some look mint. Of course, they're all going to fetch $12-13K+, but just sayin'...
 

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