'97 - Thoughts on rust?

[MTrun]

Would love to hear thoughts from people more knowledgeable than I am here. Been looking for an 80 series land cruiser for way too long now, and have my eye on a 97 but not sure how concerned I should be about the rust seen here? Living on the east coast perfect examples are of course hard to find in a mid tier price range, but willing to keep looking if this looks too bad. Appreciate your thoughts!

 

[categorytheory]

Dats bad...... and that’s only the areas that you CAN see! Walk away.

 

[ZIFFFZJ80]

Hard pass

 

[Road Apple]

That’s more work to correct than it’s worth. You may not be able to reach it all either.

 

[BILT4ME]

Everyone else that replied is from CA.

They have no idea.

That doesn't look horrible, but make sure there's not a lot of cover-up or lipstick on a pig.

It's ready for Fluid Film for sure.

 

[categorytheory]

Not tru. Ya got a CO gent here too... ZIFF. And I’m sorry that’s some bad rust and there is probably way more hidden... there has to be better rigs out there. Be patient!

 

[SNLC]

Everyone else that replied is from CA.

They have no idea.

That doesn't look horrible, but make sure there's not a lot of cover-up or lipstick on a pig.

It's ready for Fluid Film for sure.

You mean west of the Rockies.

I have always been out west, I wouldn’t touch that chassis. It is not just Californication my man.

Having said that, they sure are liking their mag out west the last 10yrs. Seen many a SLC or Denver Cruiser that bad.

I drove a plow truck for nearly 10yrs in the Wyoming Rockies, in the 2000’s. It used to just be “salt-sand” which is only 15% salt added to the sand to make it adhere to the ice. Now it is water trucks full of mag up and down the road if it is 40* and humid.

Cheers

 

[MTrun]

Really appreciate it guys. This rig has the setup and features I am looking for, in my price to mileage range, so I am trying not to to turn a blind eye to this rust as a result. I intentionally put that worst picture first. I don't mind putting some elbow grease and a lot of Fluid Film to give the car a longer life, but obviously you can't reverse what has already occurred. If you think it is really going to be more trouble than it is worth I would rather know now. It has had part of its life in New York, as the picture shows, seller said it was not driven in winter by the original owner, but was in recent years.

I have a shop looking at it tomorrow.

 

[Grandlooser]

Lol at people thinking they know what rust is. For the east that's as good as it gets.

 

[jonheld]

There are specific areas of concern that you should take pics of in order to get a more accurate idea of the extent.
The rear axle, specifically the the drivers side where the panhard rod mounts to the axle.
All body mounts.
Leading and trailing ends of the rear wheel arches.
Under the rear bumper/cross member.

Without more information you can't make an informed decision.

 

[studawg]

I would take one glance at that truck and walk away, and Im from the "east".

 

[Grandlooser]

Whats the price? I know someone who will pay $5-6k just based on the pics you posted lol. If anyone wants to make money, buy ones like this and bring them to new england. We know how to fix them.

 

[MTrun]

There are specific areas of concern that you should take pics of in order to get a more accurate idea of the extent.
The rear axle, specifically the the drivers side where the panhard rod mounts to the axle.
All body mounts.
Leading and trailing ends of the rear wheel arches.
Under the rear bumper/cross member.

Without more information you can't make an informed decision.

Jonheld, great advice. I will look at those areas and try to scrub the forums here for good/bad examples. If I can post photos I will.

 

[MTrun]

Whats the price? I know someone who will pay $5-6k just based on the pics you posted lol. If anyone wants to make money, buy ones like this and bring them to new england. We know how to fix them.

Grandlooser - still talking price. This one is in the 12-14K range. 200K miles. It has the upgrades I wanted: lifted, new tires, arb bumper / winch, body is good, interior is good and a lot of recent work so that the mechanical at first glance seems to be in good order. But the underbody...

 

[Howard705]

Lol at people thinking they know what rust is. For the east that's as good as it gets.

For Illinois it's fairly good. I've seen (and own) WAY WORSE. I've seen 100s that make that look Good.

 

[retlaw]

A way more rusted one than that showed up at my doorstep (literally) and I took her in. I take a lot of pride in saving a rust-belt rig. She's got way more character than those clean ones... That said, heed all of the above advice . If you arent used to rust remediation its probably not for you. Rust will cost you even more $ than is usual with these but it still can be the love of your automobile life.

 

[76lcmike]

Everyone else that replied is from CA.

They have no idea.

That doesn't look horrible, but make sure there's not a lot of cover-up or lipstick on a pig.

It's ready for Fluid Film for sure.

i agree, i live in the rust rust belt, i've seen rusty frames, that's not bad. more picks would be nice.
the body probably has some holes in it, just more ventilation. i've had 40's,60's,80's, 55 and a 100
in my opinion the 80's frame is the most survivable in rusty world.

 

[bencallaway]

You're in Virginia. That rust is terrible. Run away.

 

[zapatius]

Grandlooser - still talking price. This one is in the 12-14K range. 200K miles. It has the upgrades I wanted: lifted, new tires, arb bumper / winch, body is good, interior is good and a lot of recent work so that the mechanical at first glance seems to be in good order. But the underbody...

No way it's worth $12K. Go west and get a rust free one then do the upgrades. My '94 has less way rust than that despite being in the Midwest all its life. I'm still fighting/breaking bolts and I had to fix a couple of door spots and cut out some quarter cancer behind the rear bumper wing. The rear cross member needing scraping and treating, but it wasn't awful. Definitely check those places. With that in mind, my frame rails are rust free, so I can imagine you're going to encounter some significant rust.

If we were talking $6K, yes. I would say do it.

 

[BILT4ME]

Other issues I see:
Rear driveshaft is installed backwards. Slip yoke is supposed to be at the TC.
One catalytic converter is missing. Was cut out and had a cheap Bosal muffler installed.
Suspension bushings need replaced.

I think $12K is too high, by a lot. I don't think this truck was regularly maintained, just "fixed" when absolutely necessary.