New to Land Cruisers but I've been eyeing FJ80s for a while now. Hoping your experience can help me decide if a cheap '92 I looked at today is a good idea to get started or if I should hold out and spend more money for a better specimen.
For context: I've not worked on a Land Cruiser before but I'm very confident I can repair anything on one short of rebuilding a transmission. My experience is with smaller cars but I've done just about everything under the sun to them over the years.
The deal: '92, 285k miles, runs and drive smooth (didn't go over 30mph because of failing brakes), interior and exterior in rough shape (door dented, fender bent, small rear quarter dent, faded paint, peeling clear coat, rips in the cloth interior, etc.), third row, at least one of the brake calipers is toast (wish I'd had a warning before I took off in it!), shocks need replaced, good bit of oily gunk on the passenger side of the engine as well as on the bottom but no pool of oil where its been parked, a/c and heater work, no rust, clean title.
Its rougher than what I had in mind but its only $1,500. It seems like a solid deal even considering its condition right? Obviously thats assuming there aren't any hidden surprises but I drove it around the neighborhood and let it idle for about 20min with no problems.
Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks.
For context: I've not worked on a Land Cruiser before but I'm very confident I can repair anything on one short of rebuilding a transmission. My experience is with smaller cars but I've done just about everything under the sun to them over the years.
The deal: '92, 285k miles, runs and drive smooth (didn't go over 30mph because of failing brakes), interior and exterior in rough shape (door dented, fender bent, small rear quarter dent, faded paint, peeling clear coat, rips in the cloth interior, etc.), third row, at least one of the brake calipers is toast (wish I'd had a warning before I took off in it!), shocks need replaced, good bit of oily gunk on the passenger side of the engine as well as on the bottom but no pool of oil where its been parked, a/c and heater work, no rust, clean title.
Its rougher than what I had in mind but its only $1,500. It seems like a solid deal even considering its condition right? Obviously thats assuming there aren't any hidden surprises but I drove it around the neighborhood and let it idle for about 20min with no problems.
Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks.
