Howdy (finally)...and FJ60 purchase question (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Sep 10, 2022
Threads
2
Messages
11
Location
Washington
Greetings all,

After reading and lurking forever, finally jumping in to this arena. Much thanks to all prior participants for hours of entertainment and education!

I did not grow up as a Toyota or LC fan, but my wife was always harassing me about wanting a LC. We lived in southern Africa for several years and I began to see what all the fuss was about - first with the Hilux and then the LC. Never could afford either over there, but we did drive the reliable-if-not-sexy Toyota Avanza.

That brings us to present-day - Wife and I agree on finally buying a FJ60. It's always been her favorite and I love the look of it too. Also really miss driving manual from our days abroad. I've looked at several but the current options boil down to either a poor condition 1985 with 215k on the motor ($8k-ish) or an above average condition 1983 with less than 160k miles ($16-ish).

The '85 could be used as a daily driver but has several suspect mechanical issues (sat for a long time; timing off; air intake hose partially melted; leaks some oil; possibly leaking CV boots), as well as much surface rust in all the expected lower body places. The nicer '83 had a lot of work done already, mechanically very sound and much less rust. However it appears that rust has been "fixed" in the past in a shoddy manner. I've done body work/rust repair before, and the 83 has rust coming through in difficult places, most notably around the windscreen.

'85 interior is rough; '83 looks great inside but my wife's allergies went nuts as soon as she opened the door and she swears it is from mildew. I've learned over the years that she's usually right on such matters! It's like a superpower.

Lastly, one of the big reasons we are finally getting into LC's is my oldest son is keen to work on stuff with me. So part of the potential fun is getting in over our heads and really digging in to a project together. I would prefer to spend more time on teaching him mechanical, than body work.

The '83 will probably go quickly simply because it's a head-turner currently. The '85 has a lot more unknowns, but a lot more potential. The body work is likely more straight forward. I've comped prices in the area and online and I feel that both are asking $1-1.5k more than what the vehicles are worth.

I would love to get your opinions and advice! Especially on pricing and jumping into first LC project.

Cheers!
 
Rust is the one kryptonite with these trucks. Its not something I have the tools or skills to deal with really. If there is any chance the rust was repaired poorly, you could be in for it down the road. If it were me, having any rust simply 'covered up' would always have me wondering. If there is known rust, I guess its prolly better to see it to deal with it than have someone else just cover it up rather than stop it from getting worse. That said, I would personally pass on any truck that's got significant rust. I just don't have the skills to deal with it properly. Maybe you do. Way too much other stuff you'll spend money on without having to throw rust repair into the mix.

If you had any designs on swapping in a 5 speed in, the '85 would be easier to do that on. Pre-'85 likely would require modification of the drive shafts at a driveline shop as part of the work(among other things), increasing costs. Search around here for additional info on swapping in an H55F 5-speed for details on what's needed if interested in that sort of thing. Nice project for father and son to tackle together. Good on you for showing him the way of fixing old things. GL and HTH.
 
Hi, Rust,is bad . sand ,prime ,paint, but if deep , cut it out and weld in new
 
The '83 sounds totally dodgy. Sounds like something bad is lurking under a quick re-spray. Without pictures of each, it's hard to make an educated decision, but based on your description alone I'd go for the '85. None of the mechanical "issues" you've noted on that one are particularly hard to deal with.
 
Thanks for replies! I've read on here many times the best 60 series is the one with the least rust. That's the '83, for sure. But I guess the sticking point is if we are going to do significant body work eventually is it worth it to pay half the price for the truck up front. It's probably not a fair comparison, but I'm envisaging what the '85 could be with the extra $7-8k put back in to it.

I'm by no means a body work wizard, but I've done it and would like to get better at it. But also have a little PTSD from when I was teenager and my buddy and I started trying to restore a '67 Plymouth Sport Fury. Paid too much 'cause it sounded amazing - the deeper we went, the worse it got - I would hate to pay more for the '83 and have to re-live that with my 10 y/o!

5 speed swap is on the table - it's a 9/85 so a minor plus.

Thoughts on the respective asking prices?
 
I would add that there are rust free (ish) trucks around, but they might take a little longer to find. And the market is softening on these a bit, so they generally stay on the market a bit longer than they have in the past, which makes for a less stressful buying experience.

But back to the '83, its had rust repair already done, but still has more rust showing? I would be wary. I firmly believe there is no such thing as a rust free 60, and the term "surface rust" does not apply to these vehicles. Just call it rust. Surface rust suggests it can almost be wiped off, and there are very few, if any trucks in that condition around. They were built in a way, and with a quality of steel to encourage rust, and that's what they did.
 
Ever watch FantomWorks? Likely you may have but if not, pick a few random episodes to put repairs into a different perspectiv. I have gone both routes and just bringing my FJ40 back to stock (and it was not really modified) has set me back nearly $10,000. Little stuff…steering wheel, spare tire carrier, nuts bolts, electrical parts, dash pads, alternator….adds up fast…. Welcome and good luck
 
State..in the other Vancouver.

I don't know the ethics/protocol of posting pics of someone else's sale on here. Neither truck has been listed on this site.
Sure, don't post anything that might make someone upset. But the PNW is arguably one of the best areas to find a solid truck. That's where I bought mine (Portland, OR).
 
Well I was right...the '83 went fast. Strangely I felt relieved. At least I'm not trying to choose between two very different trucks now.
 
It took some time but I feel like patience paid off! I didn't purchase either of the original LC's in question and found a much better deal a few weeks later. Just finally getting around to working on it a little and posting an update.

Ended up with an '83 that already had the engine swapped to a Chevy 350 and a 5 speed upgrade for approx. half the price the first '83 I looked at was selling for. Overall rust seems a little less than what you would expect, with the tailgate being the biggest trouble spot - rusted out in several places at the base of the gate. Interior is pretty dang immaculate considering the first two owners didn't baby it. Front seats were re-covered by second owner and he did great considering he had never tried something like that before. No weird smells or allergy concerns either.

Most importantly the 10 y/o is almost as amped about it as I am - he's been a huge help on the little things we've done so far :D
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I'm still in the first-time FJ60 owner stage - primarily trying to discern what's stock, what needs replaced first and what weirdness is down to the engine swap. I'm happy with the 350 and after a tune up it is sounding/running great. However little things like getting instrument gauges up and running (they just cut the tach and temp gauge wires) is where I'm at. Temp was easy with a cheap aftermarket gauge, but I'm debating digging in to the dash to get the original temp and tach operating. Haven't seen a thread on it here yet.

Suspension is shot, but I'm focusing making sure it's super reliable as a daily before paying a ton of money for a lift kit etc. Also putting off body work until this summer. I've read quite a bit of the sticky thread for new FJ60 owners - any recommendations for where to focus effort?
 
That is a great find, since it already had a swap I would still go over everything like your brake system and suspension. I think most of us can agree that before you take this out on a long trip or off roading is to baseline it bumper to bumper. Change all the fluids fix any major leaks replace brake hoses and if you are not ready for a full suspension swap just fix what needs fixin. Keep posting any updates and FYI MUD members love pictures.;):)

I'm not sure if you were officially welcomed to MUD, WELCOME TO MUD :flipoff2: :flipoff2: :flipoff2: (Mud official welcome).
 
I'm not sure if you were officially welcomed to MUD, WELCOME TO MUD :flipoff2: :flipoff2: :flipoff2: (Mud official welcome).
Thanks!!

I got new plugs in it today and was very surprised by what a difference it made. Fired right up and was purring, best it's sounded so far - it made the battle with the headers/busted knuckles worth it. I'm still getting some "rough landings" with dieseling on shut down though. Hopefully that is all down to the vacuum leak I found which should be an easy fix when parts arrive on Wednesday. It sat, mostly unused, for about 6 years.
engine  bay.jpeg

I have mixed feelings about the look of the engine bay - I like the new air cleaner I replaced to a more standard size, but it looks out of place. I hate how it's just got Chevy stuff taped off, but I haven't found a neater solution to that yet.

front interior.jpeg

Recovered front seats look great; original dash has the smallest of cracks starting on the driver side, but otherwise immaculate.
back interior.jpeg

Not sure if back bench was re-covered but it looks great

tailgate rust thru.jpeg

The worst spot of rust that I've discovered so far.

right hand shock.jpeg

The leaf springs are almost entirely flattened out - not sure when the shocks were last done, if ever. I've never done anything with suspension/lifts, but there are plenty of video resources it seems. Truck steers and handles well though. No off-roading planned for the foreseeable future though!
 

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