Hold fast... even if dreams changed they come true. (1 Viewer)

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

Joined
Aug 16, 2016
Threads
12
Messages
121
Location
Portland
I worked with Toyota when the 80 series was still being sold on the lot new and I fell in love with them then. From that moment to this life moved forward in so many different and often unexpected ways but my love for Land Cruisers never waned.

As fortune would have it I very nearly purchased a 200 series when the new model year came-out, actually had a contract drawn-up on an LX570 but in a moment of hesitation I did a search query online and what resulted was that I had found what I had been looking for all along. In hindsight, I am nothing but grateful that I am not up to my eyeballs in debt--the kids’ unexpected college expenses have all but pushed the budget to its limit--but
more than that I wound-up with a--albeit unlocked--really clean and obviously well-cared for ’96.

This forum has been a tremendous resource and is very much like an artery through which the entire Land Cruiser community flows. I hope to give back and plan to share much of the going-ons where my own adventures and enthusiasm for the 80 series is concerned.

So without further ado, here’s a glimpse at the cruiser as it sits now;
IMG_2534.jpg


The Army sticker is indeed a point of pride and not a political endorsement. The oldest boy is currently in Iraq. In my opinion, if he wanted to fight in the street he should have gone into the Marines but alas it is a huge point of pride.
 
Nice, that is a well cared for vehicle from its outward appearance. Wise choice and welcome. Particularly to a fellow Idahoan. Please thank your son for his service to the greatest country in the world.
 
I read your post about you, the cruiser and your daughter earlier today Doug. Great ‘life' stuff.
 
...the Moonglow Pearl may not be staying Midfat. Do not get me wrong, given the alternatives for the respective model years the Moonglow is definitely among my personal top three favorites and aside from slight discoloration on the one of the fender flares (oh, and the driver’s exterior mirror) I am considering a repaint in perhaps the 2013 cement color found on the Trail Edition FJs or maybe the dark-dark cement color on late model JEEPs. But as much of the updating of the cruiser is contingent on an expected cash windfall around Christmas time I have more than ample time to mull it over.

I kid you not, the previous and original owner must have kept the cruiser garaged for much of its life because the undercarriage is completely free of rust (it appears that the undercarriage was shot with a cosmoline substance--perhaps repeatedly) and even under the hood one will not find one rusted clip, bolt or fastener. I however am renting a small house without a garage (preparing to move to Oregon or Washington) and as such if the windfall is delayed or broken-up over installments I plan to spend money from the budget to have it vinyl wrapped--just to protect the paint from the never-ending tree sap that falls upon the cruiser overnight.

The funny thing about all of it is, I had the cruiser delivered in March and the body was remarkably straight with two odd exceptions; one dent on the black bezel surrounding the rear sliding window and one dent on the cowl(?) piece between the hood and the windshield, however, after parking the cruiser at work I now have more than a half dozen door dings along the passenger side of the cruiser. Even though I do not plan to lock the rear and get into heavy wheeling sliders are in order because when I hand the cruiser down to one of the kids I do not want the rig to look like a parking lot bruiser.
 
I'd urge you to reconsider ditching the Moonglow; it's a far superior color. Some evidence:

It photographs well.
image.jpeg


It climbs well.
image.png


It gets the cool poser shots.
image.jpeg


Even when its tire is falling off. :hillbilly:
image.jpeg


And in your case it gets the girl. Though Michael was just happy his truck stopped being a three wheeler. :confused:
image.jpeg


See? Far superior. And this is coming from a guy with a white one!
 
Welcome :flipoff2:. Very nice find. Keep looking for the path less travelled.
 
Congrats on your 80, and your patience paid off. Keep us posted on what you're doing to it and how it's performing for you.
 
I have exact, I mean exact, same truck.
Same Yr, No Lockers (Aussie), Same Color

The only way to tell them apart is the Valley sticker on tow hitch, you have the front Mud Flaps, and I removed the roof rack.
Wonder why yours got Silver Emblems and mine has Gold?
I have silver replacements uninstalled

Do you too like Long Beach Walks, Watching Sunsets, and Holding Hands ? :rainbow:
 
WIN. Although I'm a fan of the Sage.
 
Good looking truck, it is awesome your girl is into it as well. I hate to hear that you're leaving Idaho for Washington or Oregon though. Ha. Tell your kid to be safe and thanks for his service!
 
Mine is a Moonglow Pearl '97, looks identical to yours. The only color I would prefer over it is Sage.

Nice find.

Flint.
 
Great looking truck! I'll echo others and ask that you pass along my gratitude to your son for his service. Patriotism is dying a slow death in this country and it brings hope to see those who still value it.

Probably obvious, but I'm a fan of the Moonglow color as well. Funny thing is when I was shopping for this 80, the Moonglow was not on my list of preferred colors, but the truck itself fit the bill of what I was looking for in spite of the color. Since then the Moonglow has possibly become my favorite color on these trucks. It is somewhat rare, and unique and you have one that is in remarkably good shape. I'd keep it as it if you can.

Welcome to MUD and to the party that is 80 ownership!
 
Good looking truck; IMHO the worst thing you could do is change the original paint color. That is not based on personal color preference, but on how a non-original repaint negatively affects resale value. Unless it is a complete body repaint where everthing comes off and you paint the door jams, complete engine compartment, under the flares (flares come off) windshield comes out, doors come off, etc, etc, otherwise a cheapo quickie paint job (over good original paint and body) will hurt the value. Better to keep it as stock as possible (or easily converted back to stock) for long term value.
 
Kernal, I am a bit of a purist myself and no doubt that reality is clearly on your side where resale is concerned. I know for myself, if I was purchasing used and the desired vehicle had been ‘customized’ with a paint code other than the original it would immediately raise some concerns.

Obviously you’ve been around the forum for sometime and might even suspect with good reason that just as many members announce plans for their rigs that never come to fruition--I may not wind-up painting the rig at all. After all, my only genuine complaint about the cruiser is the lack of seat cushion depth (the Germans have the best seats in the industry) However, while the cruiser is in really good shape relative to its age, it is definitely not at a level of investment grade for restoration--not that I should be the proper owner even if it was an investment grade vehicle.

Ultimately the cruiser will--barring some prohibitive medical condition or the largest petrol exchanges coming-off the US dollar--remain in the family until the harness/loom deteriorates, it is scrapped after a collision or some other far-flung catastrophe. And as such, I expect to put perhaps hundreds of thousands of miles on it before it’s or my own demise. But before that time I am definitely putting ideas and looking for inspiration from the threads because while my particular cruiser has certainly been on the road for more than 20+ years (production date 06/96) it is absolutely new to me and as such I will definitely bring elements of the cruiser up to more contemporary aesthetics--hopefully, tastefully so. As far as the mechanical or hard part upgrades, I will more than likely follow the herd on those tried and true alterations.

But all-and-all I absolutely agree with each and every point you have raised and in a certain sense; you are correct all the way around.

So in another note; I woke-up late today after drinking too much coffee and too many Monsters all of yesterday and this is what I walked out to this morning when I was looking for Catherine, I kid you not. Chet Faker was playing on the iPod and Catherine was with the carnauba outside.
Catherine, by the way, is the one who is insistent that the cruiser get armored-up. She wants to travel to distant and far off locales--Its among her most desired dreams.

IMG_2858.jpg
 
Wax on, wax off....
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom