80 or 60?

[imotox99]

I am a 15 yr old that is looking at 4 whellin cars to buy. I know I want a Fj 80 or 60 I just cant decide. I would like to have a decent size lift with 33's or 35's. I also need to keep it around 10-11000 dollars. If you have any advice please give it to me. If you know of a good bolt on lift kit I would be VERY interested in that also. Thanks Jon

 

[Atticus]

Hi Jon. Use the search feature to answer any questions you may have. FAQ's at the top of the page are also useful. If you are curious as to possible modifications to either, check out:

Sleeoffroad.com
man-a-fre.com
sor.com

Among others. Best of luck.

 

[cruiserdan]

Welcome,

Do remember that Land Cruisers are an expensive hobby. If you have the funds available you will have an enjoyable time. If you have a limited budget you will be very disappointed with what you will be able to do. Fuel alone will set you back quite a bit.


Dan

 

[e9999]

Welcome!

One (worth what you paid for it) suggestion: decide if / why / what for you *really* need a lift. If it's just to impress the other kids in the school, the LCs are likely not for you, and you will be disappointed in this forum. You might be better off with a Heep or a pickup, then. If, OTOH, as I'm sure you did, you have thought seriously about why you need a lift and what you need in a cruiser, then it will become clear after a while here what lift you should get, since this is discussed here ad nauseam ...
There are also threads describing the + and - of both 80s and 60s from the perspective of owners of both. Just keep in mind that most 60 owners are universally deluded into thinking their antiquated junk is superior to the almightly 80!

 

[bhmmapping]

get a 40 - I got one when I was fifteen, best high school car ever, sold it for a lot more than I paid for it when I went to college, but I still regret selling it. new driver mistakes are a lot more expensive in an 80

 

[sc40]

i second a 40, they kick ass

 

[gnx7]

FJ40 with big tires on the highway will be a little scary and wander; however wheels very well in tight spaces. They don't carry much stuff either and get 12-16mpg highway. Leaf spring suspension and manual trans.

FJ60 with big tires will cruise on the highway nicely (longer wheelbase), carry 4 adults comfortably, can fit a twin sized air mattress in the rear for camping, can carry a ton of gear, gets the same crappy mileage. Leaf spring suspension and manual trans equates to a 4x4 ride quality but at your age you won't know any better ;p . They have power nothing (no pw, ps, pl or anything) carb'd 130hp/200ft/lb tq engine.

I'm 33 and love driving my FJ60. Going larger than 33" tires requires a gearing change (this is barely tolerable with the stock 3:70 gears). Gear change is going to cost $2K+ with lockers front/rear if not more.

FJ62 only came with automatic trans and had 4:10 gears and power everything. Keep in mind FJ40-FJ62 trucks are very rust prone in parts of the country that get lots of moisture/salt on the roads etc.
They have a little more HP/TQ and had EFI engine.

To do serious wheeling on any of the above setups you need to add a locker out back at the minimum and up front wouldn't hurt either.

FJ80- '91-92 has the same FJ62 EFI engine, different body style, more plush (leather or cloth), can seat 8 people, has power everything, automatic only trans, a bit heavier, won't carry as much as an FJ60/FJ62, and 4:10 gears, with body/paint that won't rust as easily.

FZJ80- '93-97 has a more powerful 220hp+/275ft/lb tq EFI engine, option for factory electronic lockers, auto trans and those are about the only differences vs. the previous year. These are obviously the most expensive of the bunch.

A nice thing about the 80 series trucks is that you could tow something if you wanted to, they seat a lot of people, power everything, sunroof, and plush leather. The factory lockers is pretty sweet as well.
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on these points I tried to help him with.

Remember that these trucks need maintenance and things do break. So if you can afford to put in a lift with new tires/rims $2K or so (without labor), gears/lockers ($2K or so), HD bumpers $750+ for front, winch $750+.... then you will have a pretty bad ass wheeler.

In stock form though with 2.5" lift, 33" tires, a locker out back any of the above choices would wheel very very well aside from crazy rock climbing. Gas mileage isn't the strong point for these trucks. In town 10-12mpg. Hwy probably 13-16mpg depending upon speed, lift, gearing, driving style. They are not fast by any means either.

An FJ40 or FJ60 with V8 conversion IMO would be a sweet first truck and get the same if not better gas mileage (depending upon transmission/tire size).

Good luck!

 

[CSA]

Are you mechanically inclined? Do you have a good set of tools? Do you have a place to wrench on a cruiser? Does your total budget budget include initial vehicle purchase and modifications?

If your answers to all of the above questions are "yes," then get a 60. After a few years of fixing it and wheeling it, you will be ready to appreciate a FZJ 80.

If your answers to most of the above questions are "no," then get a FZJ80.

 

[Little Boss]

I think it depends on where your Landcruiser passion is. For me, the 80 was what I wanted; a safe vehicle for the family and a 4x4 capable vehicle. You put a price tag of 10 - 11,000 on the vehicle. The thing is that you can spend that easily on a 40, 60, or 80. Just depends on what you want to spend from the get go.. I think you could get an 80 with lockers and put a lift on for what you want to spend. Maybe ever more stuff depending which state you buy it from. But it you drool over 40's, you could easily spend the same or more to accomplish similar goals.
I have an 80 and I love it. (10,000 with lockers before any extras). I love the 40, but know that I will spend equally as much if not more on it to make it the rig I want. I am happy with my 80 as an offroad capable vehicle and a daily driver to boot.

Good Luck,

Teresa

 

[imotox99]

Thanks alot. This has helped me and I will use those websites that BHMCrusier listed. Again Thanks alot.

 

[ginericLC]

10-11k can build a pretty sweet 80 these days. Nothing really crazy but a nice well thought out rig. I'm in mine about that much. As a former 60 owner I can't say I would go that route. But I'm also not 15 years old. 60s are expensive to modify, springs are about double what a set of 80 springs go for. 60s are older and a lot cheaper, but they don't have a lot of power and gearing is a PITA with no overdrive. If you gear the ring and pinions you lose highway speed. If you don't do the ring and pinions you don't have any crawl at all. The tranny upgrade is about 2500 which takes a big hit. Also adding lockers will be another 2k if you go ARBs. I would definitely suggest ARBs for a young driver. There are a lot more little expenses that you will incurr if you build a 60. They are more ongoing and time robbing rigs to build. 80s don't take much time to build. Look at Wildyoats. A couple of weekends and he went from stock to a great truck.

Here is how I would do a budget build. Find a 7-8k rig. Spend some money on maintanence issues (knuckles, heater hose, plugs, brakes, etc...) $750 or so OME J springs and L shocks and steering stabilzer, $1000 on a nice set of 315s, gears will be nice but aren't an absolute necessary and they can come later, $800 sliders, and then whatever you have left on bumpers. Since you are in HS, I'd try to build my own bumpers in a welding class. You would have access to some nice tools at school and you have free time.

Do you have a budget for gas? If not, then this isn't the rig for you to tool around in unless you have 3-4 dedicated friends that are willing to chip in for gas.

At your budget and age I might actually look at a 4Runner too.

One last thing, call you insurance agent. That could make a huge difference in your choice. My 80 series insurance is outrageous for a 12 year old vehicle. My 60 insurance was always fairly cheap.