8cam's 1800-mile 80 acquisition

[8cam]

Been lurking here for quite a while, and now that I've finally bought my first 80 it's time to say hi. My name is Mark and I've been a gearhead my whole life, but always fast cars. Speed. I've built race cars, brought sports cars back from the dead, daily driven everything from Z cars to Rx7s to Porsches and Corvettes, you name it. If it is low, fast, and fun, I've probably had it.

This is a radical change.

It all started with a couple friends and a trip to Moab, and I had my eyes opened. Slow is a completely different kind of fun, and what an incredible way to get introduced to it. I've always loved camping and getting into the woods, but this was something different and I was hooked.

That started several months of shopping. I knew what I was after, and there were a number of options out there, but I was patient. I kept looking and waiting, and then a friend connected me with someone 1800 miles away who had something completely unique...exactly what I was looking for and then some. An amazing rig and an amazing owner, super nice guy with a lot of knowledge and a stack of receipts for this truck that will make your eyes water. After phone calls and discussions, we had an agreement and I made travel plans.

Those plans started this morning at 4:30am when I got up, got ready and headed to the Atlanta airport where I met a buddy up for a road trip adventure, and we hopped on a 1-way flight. We're either driving an 80 home or hitchhiking.

Well after a long day, we're in the hotel with the 80 in the parking lot, ready to hit the road in the morning. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

To be continued.

 

[Delta VS]

WHEN?? (The to be continued part)

 

[DSRTRDR]

adventure

keep us posted

 

[Rifleman]

Remember, without lots of photos it never happened.

 

[8cam]

Remember, without lots of photos it never happened.

Oh lots of pictures coming. So yesterday we had a fantastic day, way out here in the western desert, totally different landscape from what this easterner is used to. Currently we're driving across Arizona at about 75mph and the cruiser is cruisin'. But again I get ahead of myself.

So we landed at Phoenix airport and the owner had some errands to run, so we couldn't meet up right away. No problem, my travel compatriot's wife is a Marriott exec, so we scored a cheap room at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Spa and Resort. Didn't really take any pictures there, but use your imagination. Then make it nicer.

Now that it's really mine and I'm headed east, I suppose I can give out a few more details. I knew what I wanted, specifically a late model 80, ideally white, with at least some level of build on it. Because honestly it's a lot cheaper that way. I also really like unique things, so I flirted with the idea of a Japanese RHD diesel. But then a friend of mine contacted me about a very unique 80 that was available, and sounded very intriguing. It's the one on the left.

 

[FJP971]

Did @LandCruiserPhil sell one of his trucks?

 

[swankstar]

IS IT TURBO’D??

 

[vegasfj40]

I'm watching

 

[Cass007]

That def looks like Phil's place in that pic ... intrigued

 

[rolliges]

Did @LandCruiserPhil sell one of his trucks?

Left one looks like it with those strange dots on the leading edge of the hood. Always wondered what they were.....

 

[8cam]

We just crossed the border into Texas, destination Oklahoma City for the night. Once we're at the hotel I'll make a bigger post that will catch us up to now. In the meantime, activating the flux capacitor and headed back to yesterday afternoon. The PO is a super nice guy, had a great time hanging out at his place. He's got a ton of knowledge around these things and is just good to hang around with. Also my travel buddy is a big composites guy, having built some pretty interesting stuff, and they found a LOT to talk about. So I crawled all over the truck and while I found a few small issues, nothing major. This thing is super clean, and in great shape. So once I pried them away from the composites conversation, I managed to shake his hand and we HAD A DEAL.

After that it was just a matter of going to the bank, getting all the particulars finished, and the truck was MINE! Now we were in a really nice town, with a Land Cruiser at our disposal, and an entire evening to have some fun. What did we do? We parked the Cruiser at the hotel and found a bar. Not very adventurous, but we had a LONG couple of days travel ahead. But dammit I'm driving my Land Cruiser now and a beer and a burger was called for.

Time for serious face.

 

[rolliges]

So, the official welcome:

 

[OffRoadScott]

You won't be disappointed, @LandCruiserPhil takes excellent care of his stuff, and you got a great rig.

 

[thatcabledude]

Left one looks like it with those strange dots on the leading edge of the hood. Always wondered what they were.....

Those are installed behind bug deflectors.

 

[smittycrusher]

Left one looks like it with those strange dots on the leading edge of the hood. Always wondered what they were.....

I like the right one better .

This is going to be a fun thread to watch.

 

[Dork]

Here I was hoping to see a vehicle with only 1800 miles on the odo....

 

[8cam]

I guess you guys have it figured out now.

IS IT TURBO’D??

YES.

Yep this is @LandCruiserPhil 's turbo 80, and what an amazing machine this thing is! Hell I guess it's 8cam's turbo 80 now. The Safari turbo is such a well-engineered solution it just works. This truck has been pressurized since it was new, and now 163k miles later is running better than ever. Between the spinning whistle if the turbocharger and the growl of the 3" exhaust, you'd almost swear it was a diesel...until you put your foot down. I have to say it really is well done, great torque from really low rpm and just consistent build of power all the way up the scale. Very smooth and just feels like it was made this way.

When we left Scottsdale we decided to take the more scenic route, going up 87 through the national forest, through Payson and finally joining 40 at Holbrook. Watching the sun rise along that route was just flat amazing, one of the most beautiful drives I've done.

The landscape of northern Arizona and New Mexico is beautiful, so different from what I see on the east coast. I love the west. My wife and I spent a year touring the country in a motorhome and one day I would like to settle out here. In the meantime I'll just have to be happy making trips and giving my new truck a workout.

 

[8cam]

As we crossed into New Mexico the landscape just kept getting more amazing. That is Mt Taylor in the distance, the stump of a massive volcano that blew its top a long time ago. Now it's the southernmost point of the Navajo's traditional territory and a sacred mountain.

And the leftovers from that long ago explosion, massive lava flows that are now piles of basalt everywhere. Every try to walk on this stuff? Painful. And did you know it will harbor ice crystals pretty much throughout the summer? Pretty amazing stuff actually.

 

[8cam]

As we went through Albuquerque, we could see some pretty serious thunderheads in the distance, which prompted a test of the wipers. Scrrrraaape, screeeech, smear....oh yeah these things are toast. So we stopped in a little town called Santa Rosa because they had a Napa Auto Parts, and picked up three new wiper blades - both front and the rear wiper, all new. It was also an opportunity to see at least a little of the famous Route 66. Not exactly your average hot rod, but it works for me.

 

[8cam]

New Mexico was just beautiful and I will be back. We were sad to see it go, but then we crossed into Texas and made our way to Amarillo, home of the Big Texan. No way in hell I can eat a 72oz steak and live to tell the tale, and we have to make Oklahoma City tonight, so no stopping. And in any case, the Texas panhandle and western Oklahoma are FLAT. Not much to see really, so we didn't take any pictures through those states.