For Sale 97 LOCKED IN SC (1 Viewer)

Location

United States

1997 Toyota Land Cruiser 4x4 Front & Rear Differential Locker No Rust

Went to look at this last night with cash in hand. It wasn't for me but I can give my thoughts on it. BTW I am the second guy to pass on it.
GOOD:
Locked
Headliner perfect
Good DS visor
Good shift knob
No rust visible any where
Seat bottoms have new covers
From TX,GA,SC
New starter a few months ago
Great service history

BAD:
Paint is horrible. It was a very half ass job. Looks good from 15'. Bad tape job, sprayed over weather seals and gaskets. And looks to be thick and uneven.

Missing fender flare gaskets on one side. Some kind of glue residue in gap(gorilla glue?)

The carpet is not that great. But usable for sure.

Seats show age on the uppers. Only the bottoms were recovered. And not done well. May need to be hog ringed. Pics don't show this.

Seats are inop

It used to have wood trim. But was peeled off so lots of residue left.

Needs all the baseline work and then some.

Oil leaks are strong on this one. Front seal,main, missing gasket on valve cover pcv. New belts are soaked in oil.

Appears to have all original hoses. History showed one lower rad hose replaced.

Conclusion

Not that bad. But I have two white/tan 95s locked/unlocked that this was gonna replace. But I like my current ones better. Especially since one has been completely baselined.(may be selling soon) So it was easier for me to pass with two at the house. Locked ones are getting hard to find. Throw a grand or so to baseline it. It can be a solid ride mechanically. So this may be what you need. It's definitely not that bad other than paint. And could be a good ride if you can look past that. I wasted five hours of my life to go look at this. So I figured I would give my honest views on it. The pics are definitely a bit deceiving I was disappointed to say the least.

 

[swampfoxSC]

My thoughts on the seller. The guy is a cruiser flipper. He was dishonest to me about the oil leaks. And did not even mentioned the horrific paint job. I was so pissed when he pulled up I wanted to punch him in the face. Then when I popped the hood I wanted to punch him again. He knew I was driving late with my family two hours one way. And failed to be honest with me when I directly asked about these issues. So buyer beware with this guy for sure. He is in it for a quick flip. I know he was getting a lot out of state interest. So hopefully this may help with your decision to buy.

 

[Al Grain]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience with this guy! I was ready to go dive into it myself, then I clicked on his "other items by this seller" link: charleston for sale - craigslist

Once I saw that I had a feeling this cruiser was in too good of condition to be at that price...

 

[Beau Diddly]

Well, I'm the sucker who bought it, before I found this thread. I noticed everything swamp fox mentioned, but the engine bay was immaculate, leading me to assume there were some leaks. From underneath I could see where the power washing couldn't reach. Will definitely need a knuckle job in the near future. My big concern was it wasn't shifting into overdrive. I was ready to pass, but he came down on the price enough to make me roll the dice. Locked 80s are getting harder to find, its a gamble.

The guy's name is Jimmy and he is shady, but I'm not sure if he's outright dishonest, maybe naive, maybe a dishonest SOB. I would've been pissed if I drove from Columbia. Next time have someone local look at it for you. He has a 100 that might be on the market in a few months since he's a serial flipper, so buyer beware.

 

[swampfoxSC]

Sounds like he washed it after I gave him my thoughts about it. The trans could be a concern. Maybe it's just a solenoid or something simple. He came down to $8200 with me. I didn't test drive it. And of course the a****** said it ran fine with no issues. Can't believe he failed to mention that small oversight. Like my review said. It has a good service history. Definitely rust free and the interior is above average for sure. I don't think you did too bad it's a solid rig with some base line work most all need at this age.

 

[swampfoxSC]

Hey it just hit me that he replaced the shift knob. I bet there's a good chance he Fd something up in the process. May not be making a good connection. So hopefully it is that simple. Also the OD is tied to the cruise control if you have to start looking deeper.