So I've been lurking here for a few months and now, with the keys to my first Land Cruiser in hand, I thought I’d introduce myself. My name is Todd and I own a FJ60.
I started out on this journey looking for a Land Rover Disco 1 or 2. (My wife and I have a 9 month old and another due in 3 months and the Bronco is getting cramped) But, after spending months reading muddy oval (Landy website) I couldn't get over how horribly unreliable the vehicles are unless you have the service records going all the way back to birth that show constant dealer attention. I still love the looks of the Disco and we all know how capable all Landys are off-road but I couldn't get past the reliability issues. Then one day I was reading a post about a trip a few of the disco guys had gone on and one of them said: to get home just follow the oil trail left behind from their Landys, another guy said something about the Land Cruisers (negative comment) and then the other guy said don't be too hard on them because we might need them to make a parts run while on the trail. That sold me! If the Discos have the upper hand off-road (according to a Landy website), the Toyota's have the upper hand in reliability (admitted by all on a Landy website).
Following a reference to this site from the Landy one, I started looking for a FJ80. A funny thing happened next... I found the 60s. I'd seen them on the road and always thought that they where a cool car but new little else about them. I liked the pigs too but they were too old and too much work to take on at this time in my life. But the FJ60s and the FJ62s were perfect, new enough to have good defrosters, heaters, and A.C. but old enough to have a carburetor and solid axles.
Ah the FJ62, with a transmission my wife will appreciate and the off-road features I wanted, plus auto windows and a fancier dash. BUT, they seemed over priced (I was searching for a project that would run within a week or so and I HATE rust), and I just couldn't completely come to terms with the square headlights. Oh, whom was I kidding anyways, the wife would never drive this thing and I could find 60s, in comparable condition, for half the price.
THE SEARCH WAS ON!
And there it was, a tan 60 runner… With a blown transfer case. San Francisco was 800 miles away and “there is no way you can travel that far to check out a Junker”, visions of my wife’s words were dancing through my head. Next step; introduce myself to the owner and introduce the concept of a Land Cruiser to my wife. Surprisingly both intros went well. The wife thought that FJ60s were pretty cool looking, especially when I showed her a few “cleaned-up” versions from Ih8mud. The owner answered all my questions with what I wanted to hear: passed smog last year, A.C. works great, absolutely no rust, clear title… He sent some more pictures and I was hooked. I asked a few more questions but the answers didn’t matter much. What happened to the t-case, I asked. Well, the wife was driving it and it started to make a whirring sound so she pulled over and called the tow truck, the mechanic said the t-case was totaled, so it’s for sale; he said. Great, will you move on the price? No, darn, game over! The next day he called and said he rethought the price and was willing to come down a little. SOLD!
…Paypal, transport company, friend schooling me on geography (turns out San Fran. is only 450 miles from me, who knew), Loomis arrives. I named it Loomis after the town it came from: Loomis, CA. Loomis got a new battery and after ten minutes of the lifters ticking (he was sleeping for two months while his previous owners tried to sell him), he purred like a kitten. Did some more reading and downloaded all the Toyota manuals and less than a week after he showed up at my door his t-case is out and the rebuild kit should be here tomorrow. He’ll be on the road by the end of the weekend. I paid $1100 for it, the interior is mint except for the driver seat (the usual tear at the edge by the door), the AC blows cold, the tires are new, the only rust on the entire car is the surface rust on the leaf-springs (seriously!), and soon he’ll be hitting the trails.
I mention the price only because I found it on cruizers.com. Sitting there for two months at $1250. This was not a “under the tarp, hidden in the recently deceased neighbors garage” deal. And as many of you know, when dealing with old cars, if the A.C. blows and she passes smog, she’s mint.
Nobody wanted Loomis but me… Cut to the movie scene where the lost dog runs down the dusty road and leaps into the joyous little boys arms. Home again, Loomis, home again.
I started out on this journey looking for a Land Rover Disco 1 or 2. (My wife and I have a 9 month old and another due in 3 months and the Bronco is getting cramped) But, after spending months reading muddy oval (Landy website) I couldn't get over how horribly unreliable the vehicles are unless you have the service records going all the way back to birth that show constant dealer attention. I still love the looks of the Disco and we all know how capable all Landys are off-road but I couldn't get past the reliability issues. Then one day I was reading a post about a trip a few of the disco guys had gone on and one of them said: to get home just follow the oil trail left behind from their Landys, another guy said something about the Land Cruisers (negative comment) and then the other guy said don't be too hard on them because we might need them to make a parts run while on the trail. That sold me! If the Discos have the upper hand off-road (according to a Landy website), the Toyota's have the upper hand in reliability (admitted by all on a Landy website).
Following a reference to this site from the Landy one, I started looking for a FJ80. A funny thing happened next... I found the 60s. I'd seen them on the road and always thought that they where a cool car but new little else about them. I liked the pigs too but they were too old and too much work to take on at this time in my life. But the FJ60s and the FJ62s were perfect, new enough to have good defrosters, heaters, and A.C. but old enough to have a carburetor and solid axles.
Ah the FJ62, with a transmission my wife will appreciate and the off-road features I wanted, plus auto windows and a fancier dash. BUT, they seemed over priced (I was searching for a project that would run within a week or so and I HATE rust), and I just couldn't completely come to terms with the square headlights. Oh, whom was I kidding anyways, the wife would never drive this thing and I could find 60s, in comparable condition, for half the price.
THE SEARCH WAS ON!
And there it was, a tan 60 runner… With a blown transfer case. San Francisco was 800 miles away and “there is no way you can travel that far to check out a Junker”, visions of my wife’s words were dancing through my head. Next step; introduce myself to the owner and introduce the concept of a Land Cruiser to my wife. Surprisingly both intros went well. The wife thought that FJ60s were pretty cool looking, especially when I showed her a few “cleaned-up” versions from Ih8mud. The owner answered all my questions with what I wanted to hear: passed smog last year, A.C. works great, absolutely no rust, clear title… He sent some more pictures and I was hooked. I asked a few more questions but the answers didn’t matter much. What happened to the t-case, I asked. Well, the wife was driving it and it started to make a whirring sound so she pulled over and called the tow truck, the mechanic said the t-case was totaled, so it’s for sale; he said. Great, will you move on the price? No, darn, game over! The next day he called and said he rethought the price and was willing to come down a little. SOLD!
…Paypal, transport company, friend schooling me on geography (turns out San Fran. is only 450 miles from me, who knew), Loomis arrives. I named it Loomis after the town it came from: Loomis, CA. Loomis got a new battery and after ten minutes of the lifters ticking (he was sleeping for two months while his previous owners tried to sell him), he purred like a kitten. Did some more reading and downloaded all the Toyota manuals and less than a week after he showed up at my door his t-case is out and the rebuild kit should be here tomorrow. He’ll be on the road by the end of the weekend. I paid $1100 for it, the interior is mint except for the driver seat (the usual tear at the edge by the door), the AC blows cold, the tires are new, the only rust on the entire car is the surface rust on the leaf-springs (seriously!), and soon he’ll be hitting the trails.
I mention the price only because I found it on cruizers.com. Sitting there for two months at $1250. This was not a “under the tarp, hidden in the recently deceased neighbors garage” deal. And as many of you know, when dealing with old cars, if the A.C. blows and she passes smog, she’s mint.
Nobody wanted Loomis but me… Cut to the movie scene where the lost dog runs down the dusty road and leaps into the joyous little boys arms. Home again, Loomis, home again.