Howdy ih8mudders, I've been lurking here for quite a while and decided to create an intro and a thread for my '94 FZJ80.
Most recent photos below:
I'm in the South Bay LA area. I work for Garrett (Honeywell) turbochargers as a development engineer for OE Motorsports, mostly WRC and LMP1, and GT endurance racing. In my "spare time" I run a co-op workshop with 15+ members, maintain a fleet of Volvos, Volkswagens, & BMWs including LeMons racers - and a motorcycle powered AW11 MR2. I work on DailyTurismo.com as the Technical Editor and DT Radio Show co-host. You could call me Duder, CFlo, or Chris. I'm getting more into my Cruiser since my daughter is 3 years old now and able to appreciate fun camping and 4-wheeling trips. My wife and I also recently started using it to tow our NA Miata to trackdays, and of course it is always the ski vehicle of choice.
It's a factory e-locked example that I picked up through this site in 2012. Original ad is still here. It had just over 150k miles at the time, and already had OME springs & dampers, and 315/75R16 BFG AT tires on it. It was cheap and local...cheap mostly because of deferred maintenance and some rust...but I couldn't resist its siren song.
I finalized the purchase one weekend when my wife was on a work trip and picked her up at LAX in the truck as a surprise. It went over well. She used to have a TJ Wrangler, and my family has always had Toyota trucks (4 Hilux pickups and 5 Land Cruisers over the years - 40, 60, 80, 200 series) so it was only natural.
Pics soon after buying the 80:
It had a bit of rust as mentioned - mostly in the driver's side rear dogleg / rocker area just ahead of the rear wheel. There were small spots around the windshield and rear glass. The OE roof rack had already been removed and thick reflective highway stickers plastered over the holes - which worked to keep the rain out, but rust is now developing there too. There's another spot in the rear passenger's side slider window frame.
I use this Cruiser mostly as a workhorse vehicle. I had an '86 Hilux 4x4 previously which was great but underpowered and too small for 3 people plus a dog and gear. The 80 can do just about everything the pickup did plus more. Whenever I need to haul large dirty items (motorcycles, engines) I use a converted jetski trailer.
I've been catching up on deferred maintenance and fixing issues as they arise. I'm almost to the point now where I can focus on making improvements past those mechanical jobs but there are still a few remaining, and I'm sure that will never end.
My goal for this vehicle is to keep it well outfitted for any job that arises, be it towing, hauling, shuttling us up the mountain for skiing, desert camping, offroading in the Sierras, you name it. I want it to be clean, reliable, and capable.
I'm more into the Expedition style of offroading vs. hardcore rock crawling, so I've started making changes in that vein.
In the posts below I'll catch up with past jobs done and future plans.
Most recent photos below:
I'm in the South Bay LA area. I work for Garrett (Honeywell) turbochargers as a development engineer for OE Motorsports, mostly WRC and LMP1, and GT endurance racing. In my "spare time" I run a co-op workshop with 15+ members, maintain a fleet of Volvos, Volkswagens, & BMWs including LeMons racers - and a motorcycle powered AW11 MR2. I work on DailyTurismo.com as the Technical Editor and DT Radio Show co-host. You could call me Duder, CFlo, or Chris. I'm getting more into my Cruiser since my daughter is 3 years old now and able to appreciate fun camping and 4-wheeling trips. My wife and I also recently started using it to tow our NA Miata to trackdays, and of course it is always the ski vehicle of choice.
It's a factory e-locked example that I picked up through this site in 2012. Original ad is still here. It had just over 150k miles at the time, and already had OME springs & dampers, and 315/75R16 BFG AT tires on it. It was cheap and local...cheap mostly because of deferred maintenance and some rust...but I couldn't resist its siren song.
I finalized the purchase one weekend when my wife was on a work trip and picked her up at LAX in the truck as a surprise. It went over well. She used to have a TJ Wrangler, and my family has always had Toyota trucks (4 Hilux pickups and 5 Land Cruisers over the years - 40, 60, 80, 200 series) so it was only natural.
Pics soon after buying the 80:
It had a bit of rust as mentioned - mostly in the driver's side rear dogleg / rocker area just ahead of the rear wheel. There were small spots around the windshield and rear glass. The OE roof rack had already been removed and thick reflective highway stickers plastered over the holes - which worked to keep the rain out, but rust is now developing there too. There's another spot in the rear passenger's side slider window frame.
I use this Cruiser mostly as a workhorse vehicle. I had an '86 Hilux 4x4 previously which was great but underpowered and too small for 3 people plus a dog and gear. The 80 can do just about everything the pickup did plus more. Whenever I need to haul large dirty items (motorcycles, engines) I use a converted jetski trailer.
I've been catching up on deferred maintenance and fixing issues as they arise. I'm almost to the point now where I can focus on making improvements past those mechanical jobs but there are still a few remaining, and I'm sure that will never end.
My goal for this vehicle is to keep it well outfitted for any job that arises, be it towing, hauling, shuttling us up the mountain for skiing, desert camping, offroading in the Sierras, you name it. I want it to be clean, reliable, and capable.
I'm more into the Expedition style of offroading vs. hardcore rock crawling, so I've started making changes in that vein.
In the posts below I'll catch up with past jobs done and future plans.
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