Team Mud-
In early 2011 I travelled to Greenland for a holiday, and while there had the opportunity to drive a diesel Cruiser and instantly fell in love.
Fast forward through a year and a half of travel and a relocation from Vancouver to Sacramento, and I finally stabilized almost enough to start to hunt one down for myself in mid 2012. I'm not sure what exactly I drove in Greenland, I guess probably a 70 but of what is available in North America I like the looks and temperament of the 60 the best and began my search. A little research and I learned that diesels were never imported into the US, but were available in the Canadian market. Damn.
Thanks to my ridiculous travel schedule and the logistics of buying an HJ60 here, I ended up getting an FJ60 off Craigslist at short notice:
This turned out to be (the start of a long and ongoing) a learning experience. My background is fairly technical, but I've got no significant experience wrenching on engines. I could tell that the frame and body were sound, but didn't realize what a mess it is to smog a 2F. Searching on mud led me to Georg at Valley Hybrids in Stockton who saved my ass and got this thing legal. Also being new to the US and California, I didn't realize that smog is supposed to be the seller's responsibility, but by that time I'd already misplaced his contact info and was off on another lengthy business trip..
Midway through all of this process, I learn from a friend in Vancouver that another friend's dad has a diesel 60 that he'd never sell. I thought I'd best ask anyway, and as it turned out, he was looking for a reason to sell so he can get a new car (also something diesel). And for a bonus, it not only had the 2H but also the H55F in it. Another few months went by in which awkward negotiations ensued by phone, and finally I arranged to pick the vehicle up over Christmas holidays.
The PO has owned the car since '86, and has put 280k km (174k mi) on in the interim. I can't tell if he bought it new or from someone who had it a few months, but I'm effectively the second owner. The PO was fastidious about maintaining the vehicle in some respects, but a bit .. quirky in others. The above pics are from a few years ago, just after it had been repainted a slightly darker metallic blue from the stock colour. Everything feels solid and basically new in comparison to the '85 FJ60, which already beats my expectations for a 28 year old vehicle with 300k mi on the clock. As far as I can tell, it was garaged its whole life and used as a mall cruiser. I think there were grand plans of expeditions that never materialized, but are about to
My previous Vancouver car was a '92 BMW 525it wagon in a similar dark metallic blue. Thanks to a distinctive sound due to a hole in the exhaust somewhere, my girlfriend nicknamed it Grumble. Since this HJ60 is easily as noisy as Grumble and already has an orange G on the side, Grumble Deluxe is born =)
Time to start the ridiculousness!
In early 2011 I travelled to Greenland for a holiday, and while there had the opportunity to drive a diesel Cruiser and instantly fell in love.
Fast forward through a year and a half of travel and a relocation from Vancouver to Sacramento, and I finally stabilized almost enough to start to hunt one down for myself in mid 2012. I'm not sure what exactly I drove in Greenland, I guess probably a 70 but of what is available in North America I like the looks and temperament of the 60 the best and began my search. A little research and I learned that diesels were never imported into the US, but were available in the Canadian market. Damn.
Thanks to my ridiculous travel schedule and the logistics of buying an HJ60 here, I ended up getting an FJ60 off Craigslist at short notice:
This turned out to be (the start of a long and ongoing) a learning experience. My background is fairly technical, but I've got no significant experience wrenching on engines. I could tell that the frame and body were sound, but didn't realize what a mess it is to smog a 2F. Searching on mud led me to Georg at Valley Hybrids in Stockton who saved my ass and got this thing legal. Also being new to the US and California, I didn't realize that smog is supposed to be the seller's responsibility, but by that time I'd already misplaced his contact info and was off on another lengthy business trip..
Midway through all of this process, I learn from a friend in Vancouver that another friend's dad has a diesel 60 that he'd never sell. I thought I'd best ask anyway, and as it turned out, he was looking for a reason to sell so he can get a new car (also something diesel). And for a bonus, it not only had the 2H but also the H55F in it. Another few months went by in which awkward negotiations ensued by phone, and finally I arranged to pick the vehicle up over Christmas holidays.
The PO has owned the car since '86, and has put 280k km (174k mi) on in the interim. I can't tell if he bought it new or from someone who had it a few months, but I'm effectively the second owner. The PO was fastidious about maintaining the vehicle in some respects, but a bit .. quirky in others. The above pics are from a few years ago, just after it had been repainted a slightly darker metallic blue from the stock colour. Everything feels solid and basically new in comparison to the '85 FJ60, which already beats my expectations for a 28 year old vehicle with 300k mi on the clock. As far as I can tell, it was garaged its whole life and used as a mall cruiser. I think there were grand plans of expeditions that never materialized, but are about to
My previous Vancouver car was a '92 BMW 525it wagon in a similar dark metallic blue. Thanks to a distinctive sound due to a hole in the exhaust somewhere, my girlfriend nicknamed it Grumble. Since this HJ60 is easily as noisy as Grumble and already has an orange G on the side, Grumble Deluxe is born =)
Time to start the ridiculousness!