Got back into a Land Cruiser this weekend. This may be a familiar vehicle to some on here. Seller is a member and long time TLCA member.
It's been 10 years since I sold the last one, this is the 4th. I had an '84 FJ60 for 5 years in the late 90's to early 2000's, a very brief stint in an '88 FJ62, then a '97 FZJ80 from 2010 to 2016. Loved all of them. The right combination of size, capability, practicality and reliability. The '97 was my favorite, blending classic Land Cruiser capability with just enough modern comforts.
I've been casually looking for another FZJ80 for the last couple years. I didn't want a big project, definitely no rust. Something with a few needs and cosmetic challenges would work. Most of what I was finding were very high mileage, cosmetically challenged and had the absolute bare minimum of maintenance done to keep them on the road. Really kind of amazing how well these trucks can be running at 250k miles with a few oil changes. Amazing, but I didn't want something with all the maintenance deferred.
Fast forward to last fall. I found a used set of snow tires (Hakkapeliitta FTW!) on wheels for my Tundra on Craigslist. The seller showed up in this 1993 FZJ80. Very nice guy, we ended up BS'ing for an hour. He had moved here from CA a few years ago. Brought his collection of 5 Cruisers with him. He's had the '93 since 1999. I told him if he wants to sell the '93 to let me know. I texted him this spring about it this spring. He advised he needs to decide what he's going to do with it and would let me know. I texted him again a couple weeks ago. He said come out and take it for a test drive.
He lives in a pretty spot on Flathead lake. Gave the truck a thorough look over. 170k miles, triple locked. CA truck from new until it came here. Not winter driven up here so no rust. Clear coat thoroughly cooked. Flares deleted and the lower body truck linered. Quality job. Full array of body armor, ARB front bumper, Hannah rock sliders and rear bumper with swingouts, 33" mud terrains. Dash is cracked, front seats have been covered since he bought it and are not bad. Rear seat is not bad, has a custom drawer set up in the back. Overall impressive. The cooked clear is a bummer but the truck has a nice well used but taken care of desert patina.
He's got some nice history for the truck. Newspaper classified ad from when he bought it (!), window sticker, some maintenance records. Including comprehensive maintenance over the last 10k miles, cooling system, complete suspension rebuild, front axle rebuild, new brakes, new exhaust from the manifold back including cats, etc. That was done a specialty shop in CA before coming up here. He's also got some cool documentation from 2001 when he took it to AK for a Land Cruiser club trip. It was on the cover of Toyota Trails magazine for that trip. The truck was never really a daily driver, it was built for adventures and well maintained so they wouldn't have issues in the backcountry.
Naturally I love it. Checks all the boxes and then some. We struck a very fair deal and I brought it home this weekend. Normally I buy stuff that's cosmetically good but mechanically a mess. This is the opposite. My initial plan is do some minor cosmetic work. The body armor has been on for 20-25 years and needs to be cleaned up. The wheels are peeling and either need to be refinished or replaced. A couple minor details in the interior. The steering wheel squeaks and is tired. A few trim pieces need replacing. I think that is it, then drive it. My 17 year old is very into it. He loves cars and car activities. He got into autocrossing this summer and is planning some cool trips with this thing next summer. I think Moab and the BDR are at the top of the list. Hopefully we can keep using this as an adventure vehicle like it was built for 25 years ago.
Pics.
AK trip 2001.
Buying snow tires last year.
Home in the driveway.
It's been 10 years since I sold the last one, this is the 4th. I had an '84 FJ60 for 5 years in the late 90's to early 2000's, a very brief stint in an '88 FJ62, then a '97 FZJ80 from 2010 to 2016. Loved all of them. The right combination of size, capability, practicality and reliability. The '97 was my favorite, blending classic Land Cruiser capability with just enough modern comforts.
I've been casually looking for another FZJ80 for the last couple years. I didn't want a big project, definitely no rust. Something with a few needs and cosmetic challenges would work. Most of what I was finding were very high mileage, cosmetically challenged and had the absolute bare minimum of maintenance done to keep them on the road. Really kind of amazing how well these trucks can be running at 250k miles with a few oil changes. Amazing, but I didn't want something with all the maintenance deferred.
Fast forward to last fall. I found a used set of snow tires (Hakkapeliitta FTW!) on wheels for my Tundra on Craigslist. The seller showed up in this 1993 FZJ80. Very nice guy, we ended up BS'ing for an hour. He had moved here from CA a few years ago. Brought his collection of 5 Cruisers with him. He's had the '93 since 1999. I told him if he wants to sell the '93 to let me know. I texted him this spring about it this spring. He advised he needs to decide what he's going to do with it and would let me know. I texted him again a couple weeks ago. He said come out and take it for a test drive.
He lives in a pretty spot on Flathead lake. Gave the truck a thorough look over. 170k miles, triple locked. CA truck from new until it came here. Not winter driven up here so no rust. Clear coat thoroughly cooked. Flares deleted and the lower body truck linered. Quality job. Full array of body armor, ARB front bumper, Hannah rock sliders and rear bumper with swingouts, 33" mud terrains. Dash is cracked, front seats have been covered since he bought it and are not bad. Rear seat is not bad, has a custom drawer set up in the back. Overall impressive. The cooked clear is a bummer but the truck has a nice well used but taken care of desert patina.
He's got some nice history for the truck. Newspaper classified ad from when he bought it (!), window sticker, some maintenance records. Including comprehensive maintenance over the last 10k miles, cooling system, complete suspension rebuild, front axle rebuild, new brakes, new exhaust from the manifold back including cats, etc. That was done a specialty shop in CA before coming up here. He's also got some cool documentation from 2001 when he took it to AK for a Land Cruiser club trip. It was on the cover of Toyota Trails magazine for that trip. The truck was never really a daily driver, it was built for adventures and well maintained so they wouldn't have issues in the backcountry.
Naturally I love it. Checks all the boxes and then some. We struck a very fair deal and I brought it home this weekend. Normally I buy stuff that's cosmetically good but mechanically a mess. This is the opposite. My initial plan is do some minor cosmetic work. The body armor has been on for 20-25 years and needs to be cleaned up. The wheels are peeling and either need to be refinished or replaced. A couple minor details in the interior. The steering wheel squeaks and is tired. A few trim pieces need replacing. I think that is it, then drive it. My 17 year old is very into it. He loves cars and car activities. He got into autocrossing this summer and is planning some cool trips with this thing next summer. I think Moab and the BDR are at the top of the list. Hopefully we can keep using this as an adventure vehicle like it was built for 25 years ago.
Pics.
AK trip 2001.
Buying snow tires last year.
Home in the driveway.
