australian cruiser restorers? (1 Viewer)

[serenity]

does anyone (australian or not) know of anyone in this damn country that deals specificaly with restoring cruisers preferably in QLD or northern NSW?

 

[Sixty's Guy]

does anyone (australian or not) know of anyone in this damn country that deals specificaly with restoring cruisers preferably in QLD or northern NSW?

They don't deal with just Landcruisers but www.superiorengineering.com.au in Qld have a lot of gear for Cruisers.

 

[Lupdog]

If your talking about a complete restoration including everything then probably not, well not that I've heard of anyway. Probably heaps of places that don't specialise in any one make or model around that will do the work for you.

There are mechanics around that like to work on cruisers. There is one bloke in Wynnum - Pitstop auto or something (definately "pitstop") that my boss uses and he always has a few 40's, 45's, 60's and 80's in his shop when I go past. I've not used him personally as I try to do most of my stuff myself. I'm sure there are others too.

have you tried posting on outerlimits4x4.com? You may get some more local info there.

Lup

 

[serenity]

yeh hey a mate of mine put me on to a guy who loves his cruisers (he has 3) and he will do full restorations if you pay him enough. hes a mechanic for some big company though so he has to do it in between work so it could take ages.
well so much for australians loving the cruiser we dont even have anyone dedicated to restoration/maintanence of them.

 

[Lupdog]

Probably not really a market for it yet. Still alot of good, original rigs out there for not much cash. Not really a need for ground up restorations while so many 40's are available that don't need complete overhauls.

But wouldn't it be nice if there was somewhere we could go for all our needs. Or would that take the fun out of it - I love "cruiser hunting" at the wreckers...I went today!!!!

Lup

 

[bigbrowndog]

yeh hey a mate of mine put me on to a guy who loves his cruisers (he has 3) and he will do full restorations if you pay him enough. hes a mechanic for some big company though so he has to do it in between work so it could take ages.
well so much for australians loving the cruiser we dont even have anyone dedicated to restoration/maintanence of them.

you sound like a winging Pom, LOL . Have you got heaps of money you want to throw away? In a previous post you said you were short????
There are heaps of good body shops in Brisbane and the surrounding area,also the same for upholstry shops and mechanics. Engine specialists, gearbox specialists ,diff specialists ,fuel injection, carby specialists,auto electricians and a heap of 4x4 shops, what more do you want? So it seems to me anything you want done can be done. Most people will buy a cruiser or vehicle that needs the least amount of work done on it as it is cheaper than paying labor at $70.00 + an hour to a shop. Then get it rustproofed or painted or custom work done. Through this and several Aussie forums you can find out anything you need to know. You could buy a new one for the price of a full restoration.

 

[roscoFJ73]

yeh hey a mate of mine put me on to a guy who loves his cruisers (he has 3) and he will do full restorations if you pay him enough. hes a mechanic for some big company though so he has to do it in between work so it could take ages.
well so much for australians loving the cruiser we dont even have anyone dedicated to restoration/maintanence of them.

Why restore one when in oz you can have a choice of a number of models with all petrol or diesel options in great condition?

Restorations are something you can throw big money into and the result is not always what you want.
Its much cheaper to buy a nice turbo 61 series Sahara for $12-15K.

Anyway you dont really need a restorer in oz for Landcruisers.
The upholstery shops know where to get the material for the interior.
Nearly all the mechanics have landcruiser experience.
Engines,gearboxes,diffs and all the electrical items can be bought off the shelf with a quality rebuild and a 1 or 2 year warranty.

All you would be doing is paying a restorer to run around organising all this for you and get a $25000 bill at the end.

 

[Lupdog]

Why restore one when in oz you can have a choice of a number of models with all petrol or diesel options in great condition?

Restorations are something you can throw big money into and the result is not always what you want.
Its much cheaper to buy a nice turbo 61 series Sahara for $12-15K.

Anyway you dont really need a restorer in oz for Landcruisers.
The upholstery shops know where to get the material for the interior.
Nearly all the mechanics have landcruiser experience.
Engines,gearboxes,diffs and all the electrical items can be bought off the shelf with a quality rebuild and a 1 or 2 year warranty.

All you would be doing is paying a restorer to run around organising all this for you and get a $25000 bill at the end.

x2

Remembering that Mud is a US site the small number of cruisers imported and sold over there makes them more valuable. My experience is with 40's and good examples fetch rediculous (by our standards) prices over there. In Oz you would be hard pressed to find a 40 for much over AU$10 000 (and that would have to be one sweet rig!) but in the states you will find them for US$20-30 000!!! Thats like AU$50 000! Keeping this in mind and add that to what RoscoFJ73 said it makes sense that there are no specialist cruiser restorers simply because you can get more value for money without any effort.

Find a well looked after cruiser, there are plenty out there for the right price, and get any work you need doing from the usual places and save yourself a bucket load of cash!

Lup

 

[roscoFJ73]

cheaper than paying labor at $70.00 + an hour to a shop. .

I could just imagine an aussie "landcruiser restorer"
He would be sitting there with his feet up on the desk,sinking cold tubes reading 4WD Monthly studying up on landcuisers and charging $70 an hour to some turkey with no brains

 

[serenity]

yeh i dont have alot of money but i was thinking of getting something reasonably major done at some stage in the future though, and i was seeing if anyone knew of someone. maybe there should be an international "recommend a cruiser mechanic in your area" thread

good points though guys. the thing i was thinking was that all the guys on here talk as though cruisers work better on OEM parts and work better if you get stuff fixed/maintained by people who work specificaly on cruisers.

strange thing is that since i started posting on this site i keep noticing more cruisers around town. every time i go out i see around 4 or 5 60 series cruisers often in mint condition. i was talking to a guy in the local 4wd shop and he says their all owned by oldies who've held on to them for the last 20 years, most of them look like they have never been off road.

 

[roscoFJ73]

yeh i dont have alot of money but i was thinking of getting something reasonably major done at some stage in the future though, and i was seeing if anyone knew of someone. maybe there should be an international "recommend a cruiser mechanic in your area" thread

good points though guys. the thing i was thinking was that all the guys on here talk as though cruisers work better on OEM parts and work better if you get stuff fixed/maintained by people who work specificaly on cruisers.

strange thing is that since i started posting on this site i keep noticing more cruisers around town. every time i go out i see around 4 or 5 60 series cruisers often in mint condition. i was talking to a guy in the local 4wd shop and he says their all owned by oldies who've held on to them for the last 20 years, most of them look like they have never been off road.

Whats this major work to be done?

Its not too hard to find mechanics that work mainly on landcruisers.
They actually like them because they are easy to work on and easy to quote fixed prices unlike many little s***boxes with their tempermental cyl heads,lack of space and flimsy parts.

All the more reason to pick up a spanner and start doing it yourself.Spend your limited funds on tools

As for the genuine Toyota parts being the best. This deserves a yes and no answer.
The Japanese are not the only ones who can make a good spark plug,clutch kit or fan belt.
Over a long period of time many shops in Australia have bypassed Toyota and gone straight to the manufacturers or have found other companies that can make an identical part much cheaper.
By sheer volume the crap parts have been mostly weeded out

Its funny about the old guys and their 60s. The RSL carparks are full of 60 series bought by old guys ,for many it will be their last vehicle if they can keep climbing in and out without a hip transplant.
I have a few mint ones in my area owned by old guys and they are maintained meticulousy by the same mechanic year after year just so they can tow the caravan 150 klms at Easter

 

[Zack1978]

Read this. Go to these guys, not in OZ but get your truck on a boat!


Zack

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=107845

 

[Nick the Carpenter]

theese cars are not collectable items yet .Give it a nother fifty years then ask

 

[Beck's Bier]

I found this place awhile back but I m almost positive that its strictly North America

http://www.tlc4x4.com/2000/Restorations/tlc_restorations.htm