Well, I am once again a 80 owner. I bought Grease Cruiser's 80. I had been thinking of selling Rusty, my BJ70, mainly due to it's impracticality as a family rig. Two dogs, wife and 2 kids + gear will not fit in a BJ70. The 80 was at Proffitt's shop in Austin, CO and Rusty was in Austin, TX.
I had looked for a HJ60 for some time and was not finding one that me my criteria, the main one being rust-free or nearly rust-free. Every prospect was discussed thoroughly with some local cruise buddies- Brian V, Dave G (now owns the Princess) and Henry C (used to own the Princess).
About two months ago,I posted a WTB 60/80 series diesel cruiser in the FS section. I put an 80 down in the unlikely chance I would get one of Proffitt's conversions. Within 2 hours, John PMd me that he was thinking of selling his BTJ80. He was in the early stages of this, so it was not advertised. The 80 was his wife's and she did not drive it much and he had just got his old FJ55 back from the PO. His father, now passed, and he had restored it together awhile back, and then sold it. John jumped at the opportunity to get it back. This time though, he wanted to drop in 3B mated to a H55. I sent an email to Dave and Henry telling them of my luck and, after all of the pics/info were received, they both gave me a thumbs up on it.
So, last month, Brian and I drove to Dumas, TX, just north of Amarillo to meet John. Believe it or not, that was the halfway point for both of us. We inspected each others rigs and decided to continue with the sale. It's always hard to buy something sight unseen, but we had talked numerous times on the phone and email and sent LOTS of pics of each other's truck. We did not want each other to be surprised when they saw the rig they were buying. Honesty is ALWAYS the best policy. So, we asked each other if we had represented our respective vehicle accurately, to which each of us said yes.
John, who is a very smart guy and VERY knowledgeable about Cruisers and diesels, is going to drop the drive-train into the FJ55 in the next month or so, when he goes back to Proffitts to work- he works there PT now. Then, Jeremiah is going to buy the 70 shell, fix some of the rust on the rear quarters (there is a reason why the 70 is named Rusty!), drop a Vortec in it he has laying around, and wheel the crap out of it. It will be great for that as it is semi-built along with it's SWB.
The 80 has been a great truck so far. My previous 80 was a 1997, and this is a 1991, so seeing the differences between the two is pretty neat. I really like the no frills interior of the 1991 and the cloth seats. And since the seats are manual, I get another couple of inches compared to the powered seats, which make it more comfortable for my 6' 3" frame.
I took the BTJ80 to ICBM two weeks ago. She was great wheeler, hauler and a good support for the RTT we slept in. It even did a little towing too when Brian's 2F seized 100 miles N of Austin
That's another story though...
I do miss the 70 though, and would love to get another someday once it becomes practical again.
So, without further ado, here is the newest family member, La Ballena (There are some pics of Rusty on there too)
I had looked for a HJ60 for some time and was not finding one that me my criteria, the main one being rust-free or nearly rust-free. Every prospect was discussed thoroughly with some local cruise buddies- Brian V, Dave G (now owns the Princess) and Henry C (used to own the Princess).
About two months ago,I posted a WTB 60/80 series diesel cruiser in the FS section. I put an 80 down in the unlikely chance I would get one of Proffitt's conversions. Within 2 hours, John PMd me that he was thinking of selling his BTJ80. He was in the early stages of this, so it was not advertised. The 80 was his wife's and she did not drive it much and he had just got his old FJ55 back from the PO. His father, now passed, and he had restored it together awhile back, and then sold it. John jumped at the opportunity to get it back. This time though, he wanted to drop in 3B mated to a H55. I sent an email to Dave and Henry telling them of my luck and, after all of the pics/info were received, they both gave me a thumbs up on it.
So, last month, Brian and I drove to Dumas, TX, just north of Amarillo to meet John. Believe it or not, that was the halfway point for both of us. We inspected each others rigs and decided to continue with the sale. It's always hard to buy something sight unseen, but we had talked numerous times on the phone and email and sent LOTS of pics of each other's truck. We did not want each other to be surprised when they saw the rig they were buying. Honesty is ALWAYS the best policy. So, we asked each other if we had represented our respective vehicle accurately, to which each of us said yes.
John, who is a very smart guy and VERY knowledgeable about Cruisers and diesels, is going to drop the drive-train into the FJ55 in the next month or so, when he goes back to Proffitts to work- he works there PT now. Then, Jeremiah is going to buy the 70 shell, fix some of the rust on the rear quarters (there is a reason why the 70 is named Rusty!), drop a Vortec in it he has laying around, and wheel the crap out of it. It will be great for that as it is semi-built along with it's SWB.
The 80 has been a great truck so far. My previous 80 was a 1997, and this is a 1991, so seeing the differences between the two is pretty neat. I really like the no frills interior of the 1991 and the cloth seats. And since the seats are manual, I get another couple of inches compared to the powered seats, which make it more comfortable for my 6' 3" frame.
I took the BTJ80 to ICBM two weeks ago. She was great wheeler, hauler and a good support for the RTT we slept in. It even did a little towing too when Brian's 2F seized 100 miles N of Austin
That's another story though...I do miss the 70 though, and would love to get another someday once it becomes practical again.
So, without further ado, here is the newest family member, La Ballena (There are some pics of Rusty on there too)