80 Series Lament

[LS1FJ40]

Strip out all but the two front streets. Add milk crates. Puncture the receiver drier because the 3rd world doesn't need AC. Strip out the plastic interior, yes that means cup holders too. Etc etc etc

I meant that it will run on crappy fuel and I can fix it with a pliers, duct tape, and a 9 iron if needed.

As for no cupholders, I've made it 23 years without them. And 6 years without AC.

 

[voorland80]

I've had car salesmen compliment me on the "nice 4Runner" (Its a LX and I was there for another reason).
And most everybody that gets in the passenger seat complains about the lack of cupholders - and I laugh.
YEAH, they just don't get it.

 

[Heckraiser]

5th gen 4runner is nowhere near the truck the 80 was built to be, IMO. Lift and bolt-on away, but your rockers will still be in the rocks, your belly will still scrape over every obstacle and that $40,000 paint job is definitely getting scratched up.

Just my humble opinion, the 80 was the last real truck ever built with the exception of a handful of 3/4 tons.

To the OP, just fix'er up and keep trucking. It'll probably be cheaper (barely, lol) than getting something new.

 

[Howard705]

 

[NLXTACY]

^ Love it because it looks like a refreshed 60

 

[LS1FJ40]

All of your lamenting started over a third row seat bar. I'm guessing there are probably somewhere around 1,500 (shot in the dark guess) of these sitting around in peoples' basements and garages not being used.

You can have mine. Take a pic and post it. I've moved my seats from Iowa to Indianapolis to Dallas back to Indianapolis and finally back to Iowa. They haven't been used in my truck in over 15 years.

You can't have the awesome OG brown tweed covers though. They will eventually get cut up in to front seats. But you can have the metal parts.

 

[NLXTACY]

Shoot I have my tan leather ones collecting dust for a few years now as well.

 

[jcardona1]

Shoot I have my tan leather ones collecting dust for a few years now as well.

Why are you a vendor what are you selling and why is it so expensive? FLIPOFF

 

[NLXTACY]

Why are you a vendor

Hmm...thats so weird. How did that get there?

what are you selling

Ummm...stuff.

why is it so expensive? FLIPOFF

To keep out all the riff-raff

 

[LS1FJ40]

Why are you a vendor what are you selling and why is it so expensive? FLIPOFF

I know, I know!

 

[NLXTACY]

I know, I know!

Cruiser scented kitty litter. I add cinnamon.

 

[96Cruiser]

Heh. I would have said alien predator-catfish hybrid but that works too.

^^THIS^^ I just cant get my head around the front end.....my friends say I am stuck in the past, I too say they "just don't get it"
my 1996 80 is rusting[damn east coast crap] but I have bought the metal from cruiser yard, its getting all fixed up in the next month. in the past 6 months I redid my exhaust [broken o2 sensor studs] and new radiator and valve cover gasket / and all related stuff plus full tune and I couldn't be happier, runs like a dream right now.

if I could have another it would probably be a 100 series, I like them too !!!

 

[beachmike58]

Just sharing the lament...and 80 love
*tear rolls down my cheek*

 

[scottryana]

I have always liked the 4runners. My second car in 1997 was a 1996 4Runner limited, I loved that truck. The new 5 gens, I am getting used to the looks but I am not sure about comparing their longevity to the 80's. The softex material looks cheap to me, but they say it is great. I am sure we all know the majority of the undercarriage is lighter than the 80's but it is probably supporting a lighter overall vehicle. I am going to keep my 80 going as long as possible. But it does need some refreshing to keep it relevant. I need new seating surfaces, torn and looks like crap. With no leather option might need to be new seats.

 

[greentruck]

If you want something that will really break your heart...well, no, no longer possible to get a shiny new 76 FJ55, then have the rust start eating away within a couple of years...still wish I hadn't sold it, but it was a project falling apart as I worked at it.

The 80 is a far better truck than the 55 in everyway except bare-knuckled looks, but at least it's not homely. Despite being a Midwest truck, hardly any rust. I may end up not a DD someday, but for now it does it all. I put some bucks in it when first bought in 09, but virtually nothing since. Felt like a new truck compared to my long in tooth but only 10000 more miles 93 Rodeo.

I'll never feel sad about the 80 unless I lose it somehow.

 

[OG 91 LC]

About 6 years or so ago I saw a for sale post on CL. The vehicle for sale was a 1997 LX 450 with 31k miles.
I called the sellers and they turned out to be female Buddhist monks in El Monte Los Angeles. I bought the vehicle the very next day. (monk cruiser)

I didn't buy it for me. I bought it for my (unborn) son. He is 3 now. All of my friends hate and don't get the concept of buying a car and having it sit in the garage.

They certainly don't make them like they used to. Luckily for my son he'll have a shiny new 80 series waiting for him.

 

[Tapage]

About the 4Runner .. all good, but IFS ..? that's a no no .. nothing personal, just not as real as any 80 ..

One thing that makes 80 that special it's the ability to fit 315 in nearly ( healthy ) stock form .. mention how many actual real 4x4 can do that ?

 

[rc51kid]

I also think the 80 is about perfect. If I went smaller in size then i couldn't "live out of it" like i do while traveling. Any bigger and it wouldn't fit on some of my trails. If i go more modern or newer i lose simplicity, lose solid the axles, loose my lockers for "traction control" the just become less truck like. If i go older i lose four wheel disk brakes, lose coil springs for leafs, lose quality AC and automatic transmission, lose the well developed fuel injection and electronic ignition if you go really old.
All that being said, when i move on from the 80 i do have a few that i like. But really they all are either more "overland" or off road. Non of them can the "do it all" like the 80 can. If actually like the 100 with a little lift and 33s they make a good overland truck. If i was building something for off roading i might even take a solid a axle mini truck. I love the classics Toyota pickups. I know it is a step "backwards" but i also really love the 60/62. But the leaf springs and no factory lockers are a draw back. Sometimes i think for my next LC i might just choke up some money and find a 70 series.
Any way, the long and short of it is that the 80 really is a great truck, just the right of new and old in my opinion.

 

[NCFJ]

I too love my (actually my wife's) 80. The reality for me and a great many other 80 owner is that there is simply nothing out there new that compares. Most of us are on a budget of some sort and in more cases than not the 80 is not the primary vehicle. This puts it at the back of the line when it comes to expenditures on transportation. But that is not how I look at it.

Right now I am going through my wife's 80 and slowly replacing all mechanical gear that needs service. I am also collecting parts for a complete drive train swap, 5.3L Vortec/4L65E/split case/manual hubs. He'll (Dexter) get a quickey paint job and an interior make over as well. This rig will be our dedicated trail rig so we are not going for that "showroom" new look.

I also have another 80 project in process that once complete will essentially be a "new" 80 with a Vortec swap and every component gone through and rebuilt or replaced, new paint and interior. The body is off the frame and frame has been gone through and painted, all new bushings and body mounts as well. I figure somewhere in the neighborhood of $35-40K all said and done. There is simply no vehicle available on today's market that comes close IMO and even the models that do come close are $45K and up.

 

[jcardona1]

About the 4Runner .. all good, but IFS ..? that's a no no .. nothing personal, just not as real as any 80 ..

One thing that makes 80 that special it's the ability to fit 315 in nearly ( healthy ) stock form .. mention how many actual real 4x4 can do that ?

True. IFS is the only downside in my opinion. Aside from the Wrangler, there's no other viable option in the states for a comparable SUV. But if you can afford it, a 4th/5th gen 4runner with a well done SAS is a much better platform than the 80 was or ever will be. And you could do it for less than what a brand new Land Cruiser would have cost you back in '97.

The problem isn't lack of newer options. The problem is money. Many of us never paid sticker price for our trucks so we don't get it. 80s are dirt cheap these days and nothing else compares.