2017 Rig of the Year - FJ60Cam’s 1985 FJ60
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- #22
I have no idea. It was folded up with all the other paperwork I inherited with the truck. And there is quite a bit.
Most common complaint on the receipts:
Poor mileage
My mouth waters at thought of buying a brand new FJ60... Awesome that it's still in the family.
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- #24
I found a few pics of it back in the day.
Back then, off-roading meant forest service roads, driving around my grandparents’ farm, and a trip to the beach. Nothing the 29” all-seasons couldn’t handle.
Shortly after these pictures were taken, the tide came in. We tried to leave, but the non-aired-down pizza cutters just dug down into the soft sand. We were stuck. Luckily a monster truck rescued us just as the water was lapping at the tires.
Here’s 1987 summed up in one picture: Pontiac 6000, Schwinn BMXs, skateboards...
Back then, off-roading meant forest service roads, driving around my grandparents’ farm, and a trip to the beach. Nothing the 29” all-seasons couldn’t handle.
Shortly after these pictures were taken, the tide came in. We tried to leave, but the non-aired-down pizza cutters just dug down into the soft sand. We were stuck. Luckily a monster truck rescued us just as the water was lapping at the tires.
Here’s 1987 summed up in one picture: Pontiac 6000, Schwinn BMXs, skateboards...
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- #26
Lol! Still got the Sears X-Cargo Overland Special rooftop carrier in my parents’ attic, too.
Keep em coming @FJ60Cam
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- #29
One day, my Dad loaned the truck to someone for the day to move some stuff, and they called to say it ran out of gas and died on the road. They tried putting gas in, but something was still wrong.
Turns out the oil galley plug had popped out. It had run out of oil. My Dad filled it back up and plugged the hole with a wooden dowel and limped it to the dealer.
The damage - new short block plus the fixins. This will be engine #2, at only 70,000 miles. Invoice below. Also note the seatbelt and tank recalls were covered here.
Turns out the oil galley plug had popped out. It had run out of oil. My Dad filled it back up and plugged the hole with a wooden dowel and limped it to the dealer.
The damage - new short block plus the fixins. This will be engine #2, at only 70,000 miles. Invoice below. Also note the seatbelt and tank recalls were covered here.
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- #31
The 60 served as a one of two family vehicles for years. Even then, it didn’t see that much use because my Dad only drove it when it wasn’t motorcycle weather. Daily commutes were less than ten miles. It averaged about 7000 miles/year until I got it.
Both my brother and I learned to drive in it, and later my brother took it to college for a while.
One time, my Mom “lost control” in the rain and totaled two other cars. We were able to drive the 60 home. I remember watching my Dad pull the bumper out of the tire with a tree and a tow strap.
It had some pretty good front end damage, but all was fixed.
One day in high school, me and my friend thought it would be hilarious to mow down some of those orange road construction upside-down-trashcan-looking things. And it was hilarious - I hit 2 or 3 and they flew up and over the truck just like in the movies. We laughed all the way home till we got out and noticed the damage (which also got fixed) :dumbasses:
Other than that, it lived a normal life, getting less and less attention as it got older. Eventually it was kicked out of my parents carport and relegated to weather in the driveway.
Both my brother and I learned to drive in it, and later my brother took it to college for a while.
One time, my Mom “lost control” in the rain and totaled two other cars. We were able to drive the 60 home. I remember watching my Dad pull the bumper out of the tire with a tree and a tow strap.
It had some pretty good front end damage, but all was fixed.
One day in high school, me and my friend thought it would be hilarious to mow down some of those orange road construction upside-down-trashcan-looking things. And it was hilarious - I hit 2 or 3 and they flew up and over the truck just like in the movies. We laughed all the way home till we got out and noticed the damage (which also got fixed) :dumbasses:
Other than that, it lived a normal life, getting less and less attention as it got older. Eventually it was kicked out of my parents carport and relegated to weather in the driveway.
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- #32
Fast forward to 2004-ish and I was driving a 4WD single cab Tacoma. I was doing construction-type work and it was perfect for that except for not having a way to keep tools or cargo protected from the rain. I figured I either needed a topper or an SUV.
I also wanted to go debt-free and not have any car payments. My brother had just gotten an 80, and mentioned that my dad wanted to get rid of the 60 and get a full size pickup...
I also wanted to go debt-free and not have any car payments. My brother had just gotten an 80, and mentioned that my dad wanted to get rid of the 60 and get a full size pickup...
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- #33
So, I made a deal for the now-neglected 60 ($2500 in cold, crisp cash), and put my truck on Auto Trader.
The good thing about Toyota trucks is, that while they usually cost a lot, they don’t lose any value and they’re easy to sell. I had paid enough off that when I sold it in only a few days, I had enough to buy the 60, a set of 31” BFG AT’s with the laces out, and a new set of Rancho shocks.
I was ready for business.
The good thing about Toyota trucks is, that while they usually cost a lot, they don’t lose any value and they’re easy to sell. I had paid enough off that when I sold it in only a few days, I had enough to buy the 60, a set of 31” BFG AT’s with the laces out, and a new set of Rancho shocks.
I was ready for business.
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- #34
I don’t have any pictures of the truck when I bought it, but the exterior was in really nice shape, especially considering it now lived outside. It had a few scratches and parking lot door dings here and there, but the body was straight and rust free.
I chrome polished the wheels & bumpers, washed/waxed/armor-alled the rest, bought new wheel caps & marker lights from Cool Cruisers, and had it looking like new.
I stole this pic from @mel lowe, but it looked exactly like it, minus the tint.
I chrome polished the wheels & bumpers, washed/waxed/armor-alled the rest, bought new wheel caps & marker lights from Cool Cruisers, and had it looking like new.
I stole this pic from @mel lowe, but it looked exactly like it, minus the tint.
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- #35
Whie the exterior was perfect (the interior was way above average, too), the engine needed some help.
It had been taken for granted the last 5-10 years of its life, and no longer dealer maintained. Instead of preventitive maintenance, problems were either fixed after they appeared or ignored completely. The beauty of the 2F is that it will run forever like this, just not very well.
At the time, my mechanic-ing experience was limited to changing spark plugs and tires. I had not idea how any of this stuff worked or was put together.
So, I took it to the dealer to see what was wrong with it. $125 later, I find out that it had an exhaust leak that was going to cost over $1000 to fix. Jeebus. My $2500 bargain was starting not to look like one.
It had been taken for granted the last 5-10 years of its life, and no longer dealer maintained. Instead of preventitive maintenance, problems were either fixed after they appeared or ignored completely. The beauty of the 2F is that it will run forever like this, just not very well.
At the time, my mechanic-ing experience was limited to changing spark plugs and tires. I had not idea how any of this stuff worked or was put together.
So, I took it to the dealer to see what was wrong with it. $125 later, I find out that it had an exhaust leak that was going to cost over $1000 to fix. Jeebus. My $2500 bargain was starting not to look like one.
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- #36
I had joined ‘mud around this time and was lurking in the 60 series section. There was a really knowledgeable dude with a shop in Atlanta (rhymes with Turban Sand Bruisers), that was all over the forums and seemed to be at every event. Seemed like he was well respected in the community.
By this time, I was also ready to do an OME lift, H55 swap, and switch to 4.11s.
Since the engine needed work (and I didn’t know sh!t about wrenching on these things), I figured I’d take him my truck and knock it all out at once.
Me and my wife drove the sputtering truck the 6 hrs to Atlanta and had him look at the engine. He spent 30 mins - hour doing a compression check and a few other things. Diagnosis: needs and engine rebuild.
I have no idea how bad the engine really was, but to be fair, it is entirely likely that the valves were fried from the intake leak, and that the excessive blow by was worn rings. I’m positive the carb was toast at this point.
So we worked out a price and a timeline, and I eventually sent a hefty deposit toward a freshly rebuilt engine.
By this time, I was also ready to do an OME lift, H55 swap, and switch to 4.11s.
Since the engine needed work (and I didn’t know sh!t about wrenching on these things), I figured I’d take him my truck and knock it all out at once.
Me and my wife drove the sputtering truck the 6 hrs to Atlanta and had him look at the engine. He spent 30 mins - hour doing a compression check and a few other things. Diagnosis: needs and engine rebuild.
I have no idea how bad the engine really was, but to be fair, it is entirely likely that the valves were fried from the intake leak, and that the excessive blow by was worn rings. I’m positive the carb was toast at this point.
So we worked out a price and a timeline, and I eventually sent a hefty deposit toward a freshly rebuilt engine.
Thread of the Year as well!
Can't wait for the next installment.
Can't wait for the next installment.
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- #38
This was probably mid-2005.
Thinking I was going to be dragging my truck to ATL any day, I ordered a set of 4.11 diffs from Cruiser Parts, promised to be low-use units from FJ62 front axles.
Well, ‘any day now’ turned into any month now.
Communication with ULC was nonexistent. Slowly, more & more people were complaining of the same.
Not sure what or when anything was going to happen, or if I would ever see a new engine or my deposit, my brother suggests we tackle the OME lift ourselves. He had recently done some front end work on his 80 and had a new mechanical confidence.
So I ordered the OME lift (from a reputable vendor - thanks @cruiseroutfit!) and had a set of 33s mounted.
We muscled through the lift install, and other than a crazy lean (ARB later sent a free spring to correct), we had an entirely different truck!
(This pic was taken a few months later, and has a set of 2Badfj’s sliders mounted)
Thinking I was going to be dragging my truck to ATL any day, I ordered a set of 4.11 diffs from Cruiser Parts, promised to be low-use units from FJ62 front axles.
Well, ‘any day now’ turned into any month now.
Communication with ULC was nonexistent. Slowly, more & more people were complaining of the same.
Not sure what or when anything was going to happen, or if I would ever see a new engine or my deposit, my brother suggests we tackle the OME lift ourselves. He had recently done some front end work on his 80 and had a new mechanical confidence.
So I ordered the OME lift (from a reputable vendor - thanks @cruiseroutfit!) and had a set of 33s mounted.
We muscled through the lift install, and other than a crazy lean (ARB later sent a free spring to correct), we had an entirely different truck!
(This pic was taken a few months later, and has a set of 2Badfj’s sliders mounted)
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- #39
Eventually, I muscled up the courage to tackle the H55 install. I survived the gauntlet of questions and attitude from CDan 
, and shortly had a new transmission headed my way.
Also about this time, I learned that some new blood was working at ULC. I somehow got the number for the new guy (Mike, who later left to start ACC) and made contact. He explained that there was a backlog of screwed over customers, but they were slowly working through it.
I decided to make an unannounced visit to at least recover my diffs and hopefully move myself up the list in importance.
I took off work one day and drove to Atlanta. No one was there, so I took a nap across the parking lot. Eventually I awoke to some commotion and noticed the shop door open. I went in to confront them.
Surprisingly, my diffs were sitting on the shelf. They said there was an FJ60 that was being fully restored and it’s engine was in in line before mine. I questioned the logic of that, and had my engine moved up since that truck wouldn’t need one for quite a while. I also learned that the engine was being rebuilt by none other than the legend who shares the same initials as our Lord & Savior, the son of God (coincidence? I think not).
After I got home, I confirmed with JimC that indeed he was working on a motor for ULC.
Things were looking up.
, and shortly had a new transmission headed my way. Also about this time, I learned that some new blood was working at ULC. I somehow got the number for the new guy (Mike, who later left to start ACC) and made contact. He explained that there was a backlog of screwed over customers, but they were slowly working through it.
I decided to make an unannounced visit to at least recover my diffs and hopefully move myself up the list in importance.
I took off work one day and drove to Atlanta. No one was there, so I took a nap across the parking lot. Eventually I awoke to some commotion and noticed the shop door open. I went in to confront them.
Surprisingly, my diffs were sitting on the shelf. They said there was an FJ60 that was being fully restored and it’s engine was in in line before mine. I questioned the logic of that, and had my engine moved up since that truck wouldn’t need one for quite a while. I also learned that the engine was being rebuilt by none other than the legend who shares the same initials as our Lord & Savior, the son of God (coincidence? I think not).
After I got home, I confirmed with JimC that indeed he was working on a motor for ULC.
Things were looking up.
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- #40
The ‘low-usage front axle FJ62’ diffs turned into the biggest clusterfawk...
Not only were they not low-use, one of them wasn’t even a 4.11 ratio
Cruiser Parts spent every nickel they got from me shipping diffs back and forth until I eventually decided to make something work.
I put the best one up front, and sent the next best one to @cruiseroutfit for a rebuild and ARB rear locker install.
I became an expert in swapping diffs. By the time I was done, I had swapped the rear 3 or 4 times.
Not only were they not low-use, one of them wasn’t even a 4.11 ratio
Cruiser Parts spent every nickel they got from me shipping diffs back and forth until I eventually decided to make something work.
I put the best one up front, and sent the next best one to @cruiseroutfit for a rebuild and ARB rear locker install.
I became an expert in swapping diffs. By the time I was done, I had swapped the rear 3 or 4 times.
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