Get yer 80 from Cali. The vast majority of em over here are in really good condition and there are ton for sale. Ya gota pay though.
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What is this "fluid film," you speak of?
Lanolin. Sheeps oil. You spray it all over underneath. It doesn’t allow anything to penetrate it. Such as salt.
Bonus: It smells like wet sheep.
What is this "fluid film," you speak of?
I used to use Fluid Film and I think it's a great product. However, I switched to using bar chain oil a few years ago because it's 1/6 the cost and that works just fine too. Whatever you choose, it's just smart to spray the snot out of the underside at least twice per year. I have been doing it on my 1997 Tacoma for the 5 winters that it has been in the upper midwest and it's still as rust free as it was the day it came here from Arizona. It works.Yeah, like others have said, it's basically an oil coating to prevent rust. Out here, you need it under the vehicle and inside the frame, body panels and on suspension to keep them from rotting out.
So glad I live next to 10% of all the fresh water on the planet.So glad I live where there is no salt.
I may get flamed for this but at the prices quality 80s are going for you might be better off trying to find a nice 100 series some soccer mom or suit wearing dad drove around without realizing what they had. 100 series here in charlotte are very prolific. Just go to the nice mall in your area and start putting business cards in windshield wipers.
If you really want an 80 though, and it seems like you do, be patient and be willing to travel. You've been here before, you'll be fine.
Thus the reason I have 2. Market in TX seems to be moving too. Maybe you could buy one with Bitcoin.It's not just an '80 thing btw. Landcruiser in general have appreciated substantially in the last 3-5yrs.
I'm in CA, and here theyre mostly rust-free and run between unmolested and totally nodded out, but overall the basline cost seems to be up.
This year I dropped a few $k on a '60 that two years ago would have been less than half that, and I got a good deal based on the current market.
Lotta sun beat paint issues out there though. It also seems like the cooling systems and head gaskets take more of a pounding and it also seems like the heat degrades the rubber and plastic bits more. My Tacoma is from Phoenix, and it is 100% rust free, but I have to replace the head gasket at some point and the rest of the cooling system has needed quite a bit of attention. The paint is OK, but not great. I have spent quite a bit of time trying to buff it back to life, but if I thought it was worth it, I would get it painted. I also think all the dust and sand is hard on the motor in general.I second the idea of shopping in the West especially southwest.
IH8RUST and that's all I have to say about that.Lotta sun beat paint issues out there though. It also seems like the cooling systems and head gaskets take more of a pounding and it also seems like the heat degrades the rubber and plastic bits more. My Tacoma is from Phoenix, and it is 100% rust free, but I have to replace the head gasket at some point and the rest of the cooling system has needed quite a bit of attention. The paint is OK, but not great. I have spent quite a bit of time trying to buff it back to life, but if I thought it was worth it, I would get it painted. I think the PNW has the best trucks but everyone figured that out a while ago with the advent of eBay and CL.
So do I. Don't get me wrong. I would take a rust free, well maintained SW truck over 95% of the upper midwest rigs that are left.IH8RUST and that's all I have to say about that.
The 93 I'm running now came from NNE Oregon high desert. No rust and all the rubber, even though I have replaced it, was in unbelievably good condition still. At the risk of sounding like an ass, I will say this. If you have a "budget" then you may want to consider another mode of transportation. I hear Toyota Yaris's are great cars. Granted, not everyone mods the hell out of there rig for more extreme or hardcore wheeling but on any car that is over 20 years old you are going to pay whether you buy the parts and put your own time into the vehicle or you pay someone else, and the PO could be that someone else. I sometimes wonder how much I would have spent on my 80 up to this point had I contracted out every bit of the work. I can tell you that, in that case, I could not afford to play because, as it is, my receipts equal more $ than I care to admit. I did not buy a Landcruiser to save money. If I a person is that concerned about the monthly "budget" (whatever that is?) a vehicle they could not have afforded new is not affordable now.So do I. Don't get me wrong. I would take a rust free, well maintained SW truck over 95% of the upper midwest rigs that are left.
That said, when you are talking about a difference of $12,000 or more, that leaves a lot of wiggle room in a budget for replacing a lot of parts that would likely need attention on either truck. If you aren't looking for a show truck or an eventual Barrett-Jackson candidate, a truck with some rust might be worth taking a flyer on for the right price.
If money and time are no object, find the best truck that was maintained by someone that could afford to bring it to the dealership for any and all issues that it may have had over the course of the last 20+ years. Be sure to have your checkbook with you though
You were starting to sound like an ass but you straightened out there very wellThe 93 I'm running now came from NNE Oregon high desert. No rust and all the rubber, even though I have replaced it, was in unbelievably good condition still. At the risk of sounding like an ass, I will say this. If you have a "budget" then you may want to consider another mode of transportation. I hear Toyota Yaris's are great cars. Granted, not everyone mods the hell out of there rig for more extreme or hardcore wheeling but on any car that is over 20 years old you are going to pay whether you buy the parts and put your own time into the vehicle or you pay someone else, and the PO could be that someone else. I sometimes wonder how much I would have spent on my 80 up to this point had I contracted out every bit of the work. I can tell you that, in that case, I could not afford to play because, as it is, my receipts equal more $ than I care to admit. I did not buy a Landcruiser to save money. If I a person is that concerned about the monthly "budget" (whatever that is?) a vehicle they could not have afforded new is not affordable now.