8cam's 1800-mile 80 acquisition (1 Viewer)

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That brings me up to the present. We're in the hotel in Oklahoma City and I'm ready to crash after a 15-hour day. It really was an easy drive, we swapped drivers every 2.5 hours or so, and the new leather seats meant no back or ass pain at all. I'm really surprised at just how comfortable a long distance machine this is. 75mph with the cruise control set and it just hauls ass up, down, across, everywhere.

Not to mention, this one has a 38 gallon tank, so we are running about a 500 mile range with it. We measured the fuel economy right at 13mpg with a lot of climbing and crosswinds today. I'm thinking the run from here to Atlanta will be a bit better tomorrow.

That's all for now, going to get some sleep and then hit the road early tomorrow.
 
5:30am and hittin’ the road.

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So after working perfectly for 15 hours yesterday the cruise control decided to take a powder this morning. That sucks. It would turn on and then blink when you tried to set it, but no joy. I figured it had thrown a code but without a code reader, jumper wires or beer, had no way to figure it out. But then like a rising sun, a walmart appeared. World cheapest wrench set later and we disconnected the battery for a bit, got back on the road, and there was joy in cruiserville. Set at 75mph and once again eastbound and down.
 
Trees. Clouds. Rain. Must be back in the east. Somewhere in rural eastern Arkansas, just stopped for Subway, fortified and back on the road. We’ll hit Memphis soon and then make a right turn towards Birmingham.

Mileage check. 1400 miles gone, another 450 to go. On the current tank we have done 150 miles and still have 3/4 tank left...ok that’s just cool.

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Welcome :flipoff2: Beautiful pics, and looks like a fun journey. Safe travels.

And.... how much does a beauty like that cost $$$ ??? I really didn't want to ask, but someone had to.

Im sure Im not the only one wondering.




.
 
Welcome :flipoff2: Beautiful pics, and looks like a fun journey. Safe travels.

And.... how much does a beauty like that cost $$$ ??? I really didn't want to ask, but someone had to.

Im sure Im not the only one wondering.




.

My guess is eleventy.
 
After we got through Birmingham we outran the front and the weather was nice again, but definitely got dark early. Between crossing four time zones and the clock change, we had no idea what time it was any more. Chad had parked his 4Runner (nicely built) at the airport to catch the flight out to Phoenix, so it was back to the airport to drop him off and we went our separate ways home. I wanted a pic of the turbo next to his 4Runner, but apparently we went into the wrong gate and I couldn't get there from here. So he had to hoof it a little. That's him walking away with the backpack.

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I live a good bit north of Atlanta, in the foothills of the Appalachians, so it was another 1.5 hours before I would make it home. But this was the final leg of an epic drive. Totally worn out and happy. If you have never made such a drive, you really need to do it. The landscape changes are incredible and even though we didn't get out into nature, it's still an awesome thing to see. In a perfect world, we would have taken several days to make the trip and done a lot of side trips. But us working stiffs had to be back at work Monday morning so that wasn't an option. So after that final leg, I made it home safe and sound, and collapsed into bed. Didn't get an arrival pic, but I went out this morning and took a couple shots. The turbo is getting to know the new garage mates.

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Just a quick word about @LandCruiserPhil - wonderful guy, exactly the kind of person you want to buy a vehicle from. Conscientious, meticulous, and just someone you'd like to hang out with. The level of prep and maintenance he did before I came out there, for someone he had never met and only talked to over the phone, and the hospitality he showed was second to none. Great guy.

My travel buddy Chad Austin, not sure he's on mud, but we've been friends for 20 years and have done these cross-country buy-n-drives multiple times. Always with sports cars, so this was a first. This was also the longest run, and we had a great time.

Also Scott @smittycrusher for making the connection. He knew Phil and knew this machine might be looking for a new home, and knew I was on the hunt. His text message a month ago "I have found YOUR NEW LAND CRUISER" kicked off this madness. BTW that's Scott's 80 parked next to this one in the earlier pic. He left it at Phil's for a couple months earlier this year and apparently it made friends. We'll have to get them back together.

Also a word on this truck. WOW. The turbo just makes it feel like it came this way from the factory, beautifully smooth and powerful, easily outruns all kinds of mallmobiles on the onramps. Phil didn't drive it much while he had it, and still we just drove it over 1800 miles without any issues other than a cruise control code. Smooth, rides great, tracks down the road perfectly, totally stable everywhere...even the rain, which I'm sure blew its mind after so many years in the desert. Just a fantastic truck.

That's all, epic drive and epic truck. There will be a few little things to do, and a shakedown camping trip will be happening very soon. Thanks again to everyone. Car folks of all kinds are just great people, glad to be here.
 
Welcome :flipoff2: Beautiful pics, and looks like a fun journey. Safe travels.

And.... how much does a beauty like that cost $$$ ??? I really didn't want to ask, but someone had to.

Im sure Im not the only one wondering.

.


I'll just say I paid a more than fair price for such a unique truck, probably less than you're imagining, and I don't believe Phil made any money on it. This is a keeper for me, don't plan on selling it ever. Sorry folks, this one is off the market.
 
Howdy folks. I'm the "Chad" guy.

This was a great trip. And...I fully expect to see more of this FJ on some epic'er adventures soon. Congrats Mark. That is a sweet FJ80.
 
Its always great when a plan comes to together. This was a good deal as both parties are now smiling. I do Look forward to seeing again out west . Both you and your new turbo cruiser have a place here to rest here anytime.
 
Price was firm, fair, and hassle free making for a great deal for the seller and buyer and that all anyone will here from me on selling price.
I will say the last 13 vehicles I have sold went for the full price :flipoff2:I see no need to negotiate and I dont when you price things fairly. That is unless Im on the buying then its you want WHAT!:D
 
Howdy folks. I'm the "Chad" guy.

This was a great trip. And...I fully expect to see more of this FJ on some epic'er adventures soon. Congrats Mark. That is a sweet FJ80.

We need to talk:)..... soon ;) What was the name of the coating for my roof again?
BTW Its a FZJ80 If it was a FJ80 you would still be on the road:grinpimp:
 
RE the cruise control blinking. I encountered that several times and the pattern is that it doesn't like abrupt turn off then on. I am guessing the old line is sticky causing a spike on power signalling the ecu that something may be at fault, and triggers a failsafe override (like runaway cruise control motor!).

Restarting the engine clears it for me.

Since then i give it a sec or two before turning it back on and never had anymore problems.

---

Great looking white 80, congrats!
 
We tried multiple restarts and nothing (stopped a couple different times to check). Checked the brake pedal switch and fluid reservoir sensor, everything around the throttle body, and everything looked great. Only when we disconnected the battery for a couple minutes and let it reset everything, then the cruise worked perfectly again. No issues the rest of the day, through multiple stops and starts. Really kinda odd that it threw a code when parked overnight. Maybe it was just shocked we took it out of its natural habitat!
 

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