FMC80
SILVER Star
Hello fellow mudders! I wanted to say hello and introduce myself and my newly acquired 1994 FZJ-80. Haven’t thought of a name yet but I’m sure my kids will help decide it soon. Maybe I’ll name it FMC like my mud handle. “FMC” in the aircraft business means “Fully Mission Capable” and for a while under Maddog Mattis we were striving for an “MC” rate of 80% for the fighter fleets. Seems fitting for the mighty 80 for obvious reasons.
I was first introduced to the Land Cruiser in 2014 when two buddies who worked at Saudi ARAMCO bought two brand new, matching LCs and outfitted them from top to bottom for the sand dunes in Saudi Arabia. I was hooked and I wanted one for myself. Well, the USAF had different plans for me and sent me to Okinawa Japan where there are some sweet LCs but after almost pulling the trigger on a nice 1993 model, I changed my mind; I didn’t want a RHD. Anyway, I waited for my next assignment so I could get one but the USAF had its own plans again. This time we moved way north of Okinawa into a rural and beautiful area called Misawa, Japan. We went from the tropics to the snowiest city in the world. We loved it there but again, I wanted a LC so I’d have to wait. After my Misawa assignment was close to an end, I was all set to head to San Antonio where I tried buying a 2015 LC but the dealership didn’t do electronic/internet transactions. Just as well because the assignment to San Antonio changed to Langley, VA, then changed again to Hawaii. Whatever. Guess I wasn’t meant to have an LC at the time.
Despite Hawaii having the most Toyotas on the road per capita (especially Tacos), finding a clean LC is difficult. After about 8 months of searching, one popped up on mud in December. @Skippyd placed the Facebook marketplace ad on the Mud marketplace and I made the call. The truck was in Winnemucca NV… (ever heard of it? Not me). The dude bought it off an older couple from the PNW who fell on some hard times. The seller seemed genuine and after some back and forth along with some terribly grainy photos and facetime, I took a leap of faith and sent a deposit. I also took @Skippyd assessment of the vehicle into consideration. Hope he knows what he’s talking about! Lol
Now, I initially had plans to send this rig back to TN to be stored on my farm inside a nice environmentally controlled garage to await my return after retirement. I enlisted the help of @Riverrunner who is a great guy to deal with and don’t hesitate to hit him up for your transport needs. He was honest and very helpful in getting the logistics set up to get my truck picked up from Winnemucca and trucked to TN but my wife convinced me otherwise. I ended up having it shipped here so I can wrench on her and get her tight, neat, and wrinkle-free. After waiting about a month for the logistics to work out, she finally got on a ship and set sail for Hawaii.
Finally, after about 7 years of searching, almost buying a RHD 80 series, an overpriced 100 series, an amazingly priced 200 series, I finally got my FMC 80. Happy to be here and looking forward to interacting with you lot.
Baseline plans:
Rotella 5W-40 with OEM filter (ASAP)
BH3D Front and rear double cupholders for that extra HP
ATF flush and fill (Valvoline)
Knuckles (Mt Fuji kit from @cruiserbros) Awesome to work with and fast on shipping
A metric ton of consumables from Partsouq. Love how they package the goods (so to speak) and how fast they come (sts)
Witsend hooked it up with some PHH, tools, and miscellaneous
OEM Vacuum lines
OEM Radiator and all new cooling lines
Toyota Red concentrate
Clamps throughout
Harness wrap from Aircraft Spruce (fantastic company, fast shipping, quality components)
OEM Starter
OEM Thermostat
OEM Keys (They gotta say Toyota!!)
OEM gaskets, plugs, seals, O-rings etc…too many to type out
OEM Spark plugs and new wires
OEM Dizzy and O-ring
OEM Blue Hub and I have some 10K oil on the sidelines
OEM Rad Fan
OEM Water pump
I finally got her from the shipping yard today and she is covered in bird**** and has a fine powdery substance all over her. Inside the engine bay is a big oily mess and the interior has a lot of work needed. There are some extraneous wires from a s***ty music "system" setup and the damage multipliers are coming off asap. The tires are 11 years old and parts of the interior look like a pack of rabid wolverines used it as a love shack. The body and frame is clean and has no rust on it anywhere so that is a plus!
I don't know what else. I have an inventory here and a loosely laid plan but going off the top of my head. Anyway, read or don't read the novella, I appreciate this forum and you all who make it worthwhile.
I was first introduced to the Land Cruiser in 2014 when two buddies who worked at Saudi ARAMCO bought two brand new, matching LCs and outfitted them from top to bottom for the sand dunes in Saudi Arabia. I was hooked and I wanted one for myself. Well, the USAF had different plans for me and sent me to Okinawa Japan where there are some sweet LCs but after almost pulling the trigger on a nice 1993 model, I changed my mind; I didn’t want a RHD. Anyway, I waited for my next assignment so I could get one but the USAF had its own plans again. This time we moved way north of Okinawa into a rural and beautiful area called Misawa, Japan. We went from the tropics to the snowiest city in the world. We loved it there but again, I wanted a LC so I’d have to wait. After my Misawa assignment was close to an end, I was all set to head to San Antonio where I tried buying a 2015 LC but the dealership didn’t do electronic/internet transactions. Just as well because the assignment to San Antonio changed to Langley, VA, then changed again to Hawaii. Whatever. Guess I wasn’t meant to have an LC at the time.
Despite Hawaii having the most Toyotas on the road per capita (especially Tacos), finding a clean LC is difficult. After about 8 months of searching, one popped up on mud in December. @Skippyd placed the Facebook marketplace ad on the Mud marketplace and I made the call. The truck was in Winnemucca NV… (ever heard of it? Not me). The dude bought it off an older couple from the PNW who fell on some hard times. The seller seemed genuine and after some back and forth along with some terribly grainy photos and facetime, I took a leap of faith and sent a deposit. I also took @Skippyd assessment of the vehicle into consideration. Hope he knows what he’s talking about! Lol
Now, I initially had plans to send this rig back to TN to be stored on my farm inside a nice environmentally controlled garage to await my return after retirement. I enlisted the help of @Riverrunner who is a great guy to deal with and don’t hesitate to hit him up for your transport needs. He was honest and very helpful in getting the logistics set up to get my truck picked up from Winnemucca and trucked to TN but my wife convinced me otherwise. I ended up having it shipped here so I can wrench on her and get her tight, neat, and wrinkle-free. After waiting about a month for the logistics to work out, she finally got on a ship and set sail for Hawaii.
Finally, after about 7 years of searching, almost buying a RHD 80 series, an overpriced 100 series, an amazingly priced 200 series, I finally got my FMC 80. Happy to be here and looking forward to interacting with you lot.
Baseline plans:
Rotella 5W-40 with OEM filter (ASAP)
BH3D Front and rear double cupholders for that extra HP
ATF flush and fill (Valvoline)
Knuckles (Mt Fuji kit from @cruiserbros) Awesome to work with and fast on shipping
A metric ton of consumables from Partsouq. Love how they package the goods (so to speak) and how fast they come (sts)
Witsend hooked it up with some PHH, tools, and miscellaneous
OEM Vacuum lines
OEM Radiator and all new cooling lines
Toyota Red concentrate
Clamps throughout
Harness wrap from Aircraft Spruce (fantastic company, fast shipping, quality components)
OEM Starter
OEM Thermostat
OEM Keys (They gotta say Toyota!!)
OEM gaskets, plugs, seals, O-rings etc…too many to type out
OEM Spark plugs and new wires
OEM Dizzy and O-ring
OEM Blue Hub and I have some 10K oil on the sidelines
OEM Rad Fan
OEM Water pump
I finally got her from the shipping yard today and she is covered in bird**** and has a fine powdery substance all over her. Inside the engine bay is a big oily mess and the interior has a lot of work needed. There are some extraneous wires from a s***ty music "system" setup and the damage multipliers are coming off asap. The tires are 11 years old and parts of the interior look like a pack of rabid wolverines used it as a love shack. The body and frame is clean and has no rust on it anywhere so that is a plus!
I don't know what else. I have an inventory here and a loosely laid plan but going off the top of my head. Anyway, read or don't read the novella, I appreciate this forum and you all who make it worthwhile.
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