Recently, I purchased a 1992 FJ80, which I had planned on using as an occasional DD or weekend fun vehicle that doubles as a snowmobile during the lovely North Dakota winters here. I've finished up some body work and am making good progress at base-lining the truck (only 50% left on the front axle rebuild). It will need new tires and there are some nagging issues, but nothing catastrophically wrong at this point. However, I wanted to ask you to weigh in with your experiences.
First, I didn't notice til recently, but the rear passenger side hub is missing one lug stud. I didn't notice during the inspection because you sort of take that for granted. How hard is it to address something like that? Second, it will definitely need new front pads, but I'll get to that probably before winter sweeps in.
The interior is in good shape and if I can get the truck in good condition overall, I may actually sell my 2007 Dodge Ram to keep my fleet from getting too large. There's a lot of variables for me to consider, but what I'm more interested in is how is an FJ80 for commuting purposes? I know that it'll drink gas, but that won't be a budget issue for me. I'm more concerned about overall reliability (I'm aware of the reputation the Land Cruiser holds) since I consider commuting a different thing altogether than exploration.
Finally, my wife and I are expecting twins in March of 2015. Not bad for my first trip around as a father-to-be! I'm familiar with the lack of safety features on the FJ80 outside of structure strength, but do any of you using your truck for child transport duty? I'm not certain how child seats are supposed to fit in the 2nd row, so any input regarding that would be appreciated too. My wife and I are discussing the possibilities of the car shuffle based on what makes the most sense, but I'd like to keep the '80 in the mix if possible. It'd be a question of whether we keep the '80, my Ram or get a Grand Caravan as our second vehicle best suited for kids since our other vehicle that staying is a Honda Civic that would be for commuting purposes.
Wow, what a wall of text. I look forward to your input!
First, I didn't notice til recently, but the rear passenger side hub is missing one lug stud. I didn't notice during the inspection because you sort of take that for granted. How hard is it to address something like that? Second, it will definitely need new front pads, but I'll get to that probably before winter sweeps in.
The interior is in good shape and if I can get the truck in good condition overall, I may actually sell my 2007 Dodge Ram to keep my fleet from getting too large. There's a lot of variables for me to consider, but what I'm more interested in is how is an FJ80 for commuting purposes? I know that it'll drink gas, but that won't be a budget issue for me. I'm more concerned about overall reliability (I'm aware of the reputation the Land Cruiser holds) since I consider commuting a different thing altogether than exploration.
Finally, my wife and I are expecting twins in March of 2015. Not bad for my first trip around as a father-to-be! I'm familiar with the lack of safety features on the FJ80 outside of structure strength, but do any of you using your truck for child transport duty? I'm not certain how child seats are supposed to fit in the 2nd row, so any input regarding that would be appreciated too. My wife and I are discussing the possibilities of the car shuffle based on what makes the most sense, but I'd like to keep the '80 in the mix if possible. It'd be a question of whether we keep the '80, my Ram or get a Grand Caravan as our second vehicle best suited for kids since our other vehicle that staying is a Honda Civic that would be for commuting purposes.
Wow, what a wall of text. I look forward to your input!
