I picked up my '83 FJ60 about 3 weeks ago out of Texas. My son and I flew out and drove it 500 miles back to Kansas and had a blast doing it. Within 50 miles of picking it up, the a/c compressor died in a amazing display of smoke. It made for a rather warm drive the rest of the way! One the drive home, I noted that the engine had a rough idle, the steering was loose, and the shifter was sloppy. Overall, it drove great and easily cruised along at 60 mph. I managed to get 14 mpg on the way home.
I've never owned a 60, but did have a '92 FJ80 for about 10 years ago. I never even driven a 60 until we started the drive back to KS. Over the last several weeks of living with it, I've started to compile a list of things that need to be fixed, maintenance items that need to be caught up on and modifications I'd like to do to get it ready for exploring/camping duty for my family. I've found a local Cruiser shop to do some work for me and give me a general health checkup.
Immediate concerns to be worked on by my Cruiser guy:
--Fix the a/c (compressor, drier, convert to 134)
--Tighten up the steering (Saginaw upgrade)
--Gas tank has a bunch of junk in it and is clogging up fuel filters (stock tank cleaned, recoated)
--It has a significant exhaust leak. Cat was removed and straight piped, but still getting exhaust in the cab.
My list:
--Deep clean
--Oil change
--Drain fill front/rear diffs, t-case, transmission
--Flushp/s, brake fluid, radiator
--Replace a/f, distributor cap, rotor, spark plugs, wires, gas cap (OEM parts ordered
--Replace rear view mirror (OEM ordered)
--Replace battery (Odyssey)
--Wire in external fuse block, fridge
--Fix sloppy shifter (SOR kit plus oem shifter parts ordered)
--Replace front seat belts
--Replace stock stereo and speakers, add rear speakers, replace aftermarket antenna with oem
--Remove carpet and add sound deadening material
--Replace front seats/seat tracks (Corbeau)
--Tint windows
--Rust repair on right rear fender
--Towing option (2" receiver hitch)
Things to add if there's money left:
--Dissent Off-Road rear bumper
--Dissent Off-Road front bumper w/ bull bar
--Replace tires (33x9.50-15 Kenda KR601 ordered 6/18/23)
--Center console (CCOT w/ cup holder ordered 6/18/23)
Anyway, I'm really looking forward to getting to work on this. I've got all summer to work on it, so I should make a good dent in the list.
I've never owned a 60, but did have a '92 FJ80 for about 10 years ago. I never even driven a 60 until we started the drive back to KS. Over the last several weeks of living with it, I've started to compile a list of things that need to be fixed, maintenance items that need to be caught up on and modifications I'd like to do to get it ready for exploring/camping duty for my family. I've found a local Cruiser shop to do some work for me and give me a general health checkup.
Immediate concerns to be worked on by my Cruiser guy:
--
--
--
--It has a significant exhaust leak. Cat was removed and straight piped, but still getting exhaust in the cab.
My list:
--
--
--Drain fill front/rear diffs, t-case, transmission
--Flush
--
--
--
--Wire in external fuse block, fridge
--
--Replace front seat belts
--Replace stock stereo and speakers, add rear speakers, replace aftermarket antenna with oem
--Remove carpet and add sound deadening material
--Replace front seats/seat tracks (Corbeau)
--Tint windows
--Rust repair on right rear fender
--Towing option (2" receiver hitch)
Things to add if there's money left:
--Dissent Off-Road rear bumper
--Dissent Off-Road front bumper w/ bull bar
--
--Center console (CCOT w/ cup holder ordered 6/18/23)
Anyway, I'm really looking forward to getting to work on this. I've got all summer to work on it, so I should make a good dent in the list.
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