First post - joined the club... (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Jul 19, 2005
Threads
3
Messages
16
So I've been lurking for a few weeks, figured I'd share that I'd recently picked up an '87 FJ60.

My wife and I were recently vacationing in Whitefish, MT about halfway through a road trip that started in Seattle, WA. After a little kayaking on the Whitefish river we were sitting and eating lunch, flipping through the paper. I noticed an awfully clean looking (full color ad) of and 87 FJ that was being offered up at a nearby dealer for $3800. We were actually headed in that direction over to ID so we decided to stop and have a look. I should probably be clear at this point that I'm from NC and was driving a rental car throught MT and for some reason thought it sounded like a good idea to go car shopping for a cruiser! So we stop and check it out. 208,000 miles, mostly straight metal, very little rust, isolated to the left front fender. A/C blowing cold, engine not smoking, interior intact (all buttons, knobs, etc). So we taker her for a spin. Next thing you know we're in possesion of an 18 year old Cruiser 2600 miles from home and a rental car that needed to be returned to Seattle (Budget did offer the convenient option of leaving the rental car in Kalispel, MT for a small upcharge of $1000 :mad: , but I passed). So we ran the rental back to Seattle, got a one way rental back to Kalispell and set out on a cross country road trip in a truck that we knew almost nothing about, save for the leaky transfercase that noticed while inspecting it on a lift. To tip the odds in our favor we grabbed an assortment of tools at the local Home Depot and a bunch of fluids at the local Napa and set off. The first day was smooth and found us just north of Sheridan, WY. On day two we managed to overheat while headed up hill with the A/C on just outside of Rapid City, SD. Minor problem but after getting back underway and having some strange hesitation we figured out that the A/C compressor was trying to lock up due to low freon and was dragging the engine down, no more A/C :frown: The next day we made it all the way to St Louis where we had a false overheat condition that turned out to be that nast electrical gremlin that plagues 60's. Thanks to this site I was able to figure this out, but not until after I'd done a road side thermostat swap (which ofcourse had no affect on the problem) and subsequently given up for the night and got a hotel room. On the 4th day we rolled throught the remainder of Missouri, Illinios, Kentucky, Tennesse, and finally to North Carolina. Amazingly we were never stranded. My wife was a trooper for going along with this crazy plan, never once got angry ( I must be really lucky). So this is the start of my first Cruiser and I can't imagine a better way to have gotten to know it than a cross-country road trip.


Anyway, here's a pic crossing into WY.
montana IMGP0206 small.jpg
 
Wow, that's faith!

Glad you got home OK! Now enjoy that cruiser.
 
MT_FJ60 said:
My wife was a trooper for going along with this crazy plan, never once got angry ( I must be really lucky).

"Lucky" is not the word for having a wife that will go through that with you, for an FJ60 that you drove by on a road trip.... She's either insane or she is now hatching a plan for PAYBACK. j/k, she must be a real gem (and probably deserves a large one)!

So yeah, welcome to the club, glad IH8MUD could help you out in St Louis (what an awful / hot place to be).

Where are you in NC?
 
nice trip report and glad you got it home in one piece. that wife or yours should be commended for being a good sport, for sure.

out of curisoity, what did this "nasty electrical problem" end up being?

welcome!
 
Welcome aboard! Good job jumping in with both feet and the wife :cheers:
 
:cheers: YOu are not alone. I flew out to Portland for mine and picked up my wife and son half way home in spokane. The three of us finished out the trip and had a great time. I should note that she has said numerous times since then that she will NEVER ride in the rig again. So now it's just me and my son's project!
Anyway, welcome to the forum and there are no stupid questions so search the archives and then post a thread. :cheers:
 
Thanks for the warm reception. It was quite an experience driving that beast home. We had a great trip. Yeah, I'm pretty lucky that not only did she agree to do the trip but was in 100% and loves the Cruiser more than ever. She has named the cruiser "Montana".

I've done most of a tuneup now and swapped the tie rod ends (they were toast). Going to rebuild the front axle next, birfield seals are gone. Researching doing an H55F swap when I rebuild my transfer case. Money pit? Love it... :)
 
loeky said:
nice trip report and glad you got it home in one piece. that wife or yours should be commended for being a good sport, for sure.

out of curisoity, what did this "nasty electrical problem" end up being?

welcome!

The fuel and temp guage share a ground, and it's common for this to fail. When it does both guages go to the top - ie idicating full tank, and overheating. Very unnerving the first time it happens if you don't know the scoop...
 
Welcome to the fold. Too bad you didnt know of your purchase beforehand, you probably could have warned some of us that were along your home route. Im in Omaha, NE and would have been happy to lend a hand. Its all about the karma, its worked for me in the past, and I need to pass it on.

Good luck, enjoy the truck (and your wife).

Hodag
 
cool, we bought our 40 (first landcruiser) in Butte after finding it in cruizers.com

it was a long drive back to sheridan going 55 (the 40 showed 60 or so), leaking seals on the hardtop listening to the wind whistling. my wife drove our exploder with our 9 month old baby in it. worst part was I lost sight of her in butte and spent an hour trying to find her. had two radios and two cell phones in her vehicle :doh:

the next day the headlights blew a fuse trying to drive home from work.
lucky.


enjoy it and the trips itll take you on :beer:
 
Welcome to the club and to the 60 series. I'm in Fayetteville NC so if you are ever coming down this way let me know, need more cruisers here. Also go to the club corner, we just started one here in NC.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom