1989 Fj62 Arizona Cruiser am I screwed? (1 Viewer)

[NeNeFJ62]

So I picked up this cruiser last week it’s my 6th Fj62…. chose this one because it has a pretty straight body , all original paint, undercarriage is rust free … spent it’s whole life in Arizona…. I paid $12k for it... It’s been desmogged though , missing Ac system (no ac compressor or idle pulley) engine runs strong has 175k on it. Has a kill switch and it’s acting up on starting but once it’s running it drives smooth 65-70mph I have a new carpet kit I’m gonna install after I install dynamat and have leather bmw seats with adaptors it all came with purchase. Passenger dent above rear tail light and roof needs some love cause the og owner had a rack on it that he tac welded but it was removed for sale. I kinda bought it sight unseen I wish I was more mechanical so I could do the work myself but im better at bodywork and interior redos than the engine stuff …. It also came with some regulators so I got most of the windows working. Let me know your thoughts p.s I’m in southern Utah so we don’t have emissions… yet thanks !!! Jen

Update:
Toyota Mechanic says it’s a CF with wiring and someone with wiring knowledge needs to give it some TLC but engine is strong

 

[dbbowen]

parts car? that things nicer than half of the vehicles here that people use to start builds

 

[Garrissey]

You probably overpaid, bro, but it is now a sunken cost and it's time to determine what you want to do with it. I think I saw this on CL for sale, but at any rate, good luck with it and enjoy it.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Price was fine. They probably removed to much from the engine .Go slow and you will find the problem.Look at what a Ford Bronco or GTO sells for.

 

[NeNeFJ62]

You probably overpaid, bro, but it is now a sunken cost and it's time to determine what you want to do with it. I think I saw this on CL for sale, but at any rate, good luck with it and enjoy it.

Price was fine. They probably removed to much from the engine .Go slow and you will find the problem.Look at what a Ford Bronco or GTO sells for.

Thank you! Appreciate it

 

[albert110]

I get that 10-15 years ago you'd pick up a wagon in this condition for $2,500 and it can be really hard to wrap your head around the new reality of vintage vehicle prices... I think value for money this would be a solid investment assuming there aren't any nasty surprises in the roof, that's the only part I'm nervous about here.
The exterior trim looks pretty tired, what's your assessment on how much of that can be brought back to life? My experience has been that wintergreen oil and elbow grease are pretty awesome up to a point...
Are you going to have to pay full shop prices to sort through the mechanicals? That's probably the biggest 'if' as far as I'm concerned. Good luck either way.

 

[NeNeFJ62]

I get that 10-15 years ago you'd pick up a wagon in this condition for $2,500 and it can be really hard to wrap your head around the new reality of vintage vehicle prices... I think value for money this would be a solid investment assuming there aren't any nasty surprises in the roof, that's the only part I'm nervous about here.
The exterior trim looks pretty tired, what's your assessment on how much of that can be brought back to life? My experience has been that wintergreen oil and elbow grease are pretty awesome up to a point...
Are you going to have to pay full shop prices to sort through the mechanicals? That's probably the biggest 'if' as far as I'm concerned. Good luck either way.

Thank you I appreciate that and you’re right I’m still stuck on my first cruiser I picked up in the desert for $3500 12 years ago

 

[micruz60]

Never give up!

You’ll get it sorted, ih8mud will help.

 

[BlackCat]

That wasn’t in Tucson was it? If it was I used to see it parked near 3 points restaurant quite a bit.

 

[Garrissey]

That wasn’t in Tucson was it? If it was I used to see it parked near 3 points restaurant quite a bit.

*5 points restaurant.

 

[NeNeFJ62]

That wasn’t in Tucson was it? If it was I used to see it parked near 3 points restaurant quite a bit.

No out in Gilbert AZ garaged

 

[NeNeFJ62]

I get that 10-15 years ago you'd pick up a wagon in this condition for $2,500 and it can be really hard to wrap your head around the new reality of vintage vehicle prices... I think value for money this would be a solid investment assuming there aren't any nasty surprises in the roof, that's the only part I'm nervous about here.
The exterior trim looks pretty tired, what's your assessment on how much of that can be brought back to life? My experience has been that wintergreen oil and elbow grease are pretty awesome up to a point...
Are you going to have to pay full shop prices to sort through the mechanicals? That's probably the biggest 'if' as far as I'm concerned. Good luck either way.

The exterior trim was on my side yard from a cruiser a couple years back I was seeing if I could salvage hence why it’s sad hahaha I’ll prob pull it and add a rack but not surprises and still rust free up there … the person that welded the tiny areas did catch the headliner on fire so I need to pull that dynamat it and install new headliner

 

[Benjaman]

These days $12k is nothing for a good rig. but not being a mechanic will cost you twice that over the next 20 years.

You should try real hard to learn how to wrench on stuff if your buying 30 plus year old rigs.

 

[NeNeFJ62]

These days $12k is nothing for a good rig. but not being a mechanic will cost you twice that over the next 20 years.

You should try real hard to learn how to wrench on stuff if your buying 30 plus year old rigs.

I’m gonna try !!!! Not giving up hope yet my husband doesn’t give a crap about these project so I’m a 40 year old female trying to figure this s*** out I have all the repair manuals and time so I’m gonna try! Also my dad lives one street above me and just ordered a lift for his ever garage and has a machine shop so I have no excuses

 

[OGBeno]

Cruiser:

Dad w/Lift:

Dad w/machine shop:

Now you just need $40-50k in tools and you can open up a Land Cruiser shop.

And that 62 looks damn great. I’d rock the fůck out of it.

 

[NeNeFJ62]

Cruiser:

Dad w/Lift:

Dad w/machine shop:

Now you just need $40-50k in tools and you can open up a Land Cruiser shop.

And that 62 looks damn great. I’d rock the fůck out of it.

Haahhhahaha thank you I just need some more confidence in wiring and ill
Start digging in!!!! Hahaha thanks appreciate it

 

[majdomo]

Didn't overpay.. Not to cry in your beer, but I paid $12.5K for a rusty SOB that is costing me half that again in rust repair and paint... which is a bargain given how much work it's needed. Now THAT is overpaying.

Get after the mechanicals. Good looking rig.

 

[diesellibrarian]

Definitely looks like there's some suspect wiring in the engine bay, but any Cruiser -- indeed any old car I've ever owned -- has had some kind of hackery by a previous owner. If you can get a service manual with wiring diagrams and a multimeter, you'll be able to start replacing the janky wiring bit by bit.

In terms of the hard starting, check out your cold start injector - it's right on top of the intake manifold. It looks like there's some previous hack wiring leading to it. If you can get your hands on a manual, it will tell you how to test it. The manual also has diagnostic decision trees to help you find the cause of whatever issues you're experiencing. FJ62s are more complicated than the FJ60s, but they're still very simple and they want to run!

 

[diesellibrarian]

Git it: FSM - 1984 - 1990 Repair Manual, Chassis/Body - https://forum.ih8mud.com/resources/1984-1990-repair-manual-chassis-body.1/

 

[NeNeFJ62]

Definitely looks like there's some suspect wiring in the engine bay, but any Cruiser -- indeed any old car I've ever owned -- has had some kind of hackery by a previous owner. If you can get a service manual with wiring diagrams and a multimeter, you'll be able to start replacing the janky wiring bit by bit.

In terms of the hard starting, check out your cold start injector - it's right on top of the intake manifold. It looks like there's some previous hack wiring leading to it. If you can get your hands on a manual, it will tell you how to test it. The manual also has diagnostic decision trees to help you find the cause of whatever issues you're experiencing. FJ62s are more complicated than the FJ60s, but they're still very simple and they want to run!

Thank you! I downloaded a service repair Manual and have a Haynes repair book as well… I’m kicking myself for giving away all my og Toyota service repair manuals … like the original ones that are $135 a piece on eBay to the guy who bought my last fj62 “cause I was never gonna buy another Land Cruiser again”