I lost my mind...

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PhilC64

Joined
Apr 1, 2007
Threads
76
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Peoples Socialist Republic of Chicago
I've come on Mud here too often and caught something. The only cure is another Cruiser. So I just pulled the trigger on an 89 FJ62 w/ 195k miles. I'll give more detail later, but lets just say I'm happier than Gumby doing a Birf job! Speaking of which...it needs one!

I'll post pics and details later. In the meantime I need to clear out the garage.
 
I would have sold you the wifeys 62. We are probably going to sell it this spring.
 
I found the rig through Mud! The owner posted a for sale on here back in September. I looked at it then and found to be in great shape. I didn't pull the trigger then for a couple of reasons but I saw it sitting again near the owners house and made a discreet inquiry. Needless to say we are both happy at this point! I'll get my camera out, snap a few, then post up here.

Heres a link to the previous post https://forum.ih8mud.com/vehicles-t...toyota-landcruiser-$2300-obo.html#post2537885

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Took a few shots of the 62. It's pretty damned clean for a 19 year old LC! There are only 2 areas of concern regarding rust. The drivers side door has 2 quarter sized areas of bubbled paint and the rear passenger cargo area. I'll let the pics speak for themselves.

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Congrats Phil! I've always liked that blue.
Do you have a plan for it? Streets, stock wheeling, built up wheeling??
 
4rnr said:
I would have sold you the wifeys 62. We are probably going to sell it this spring.
Click to expand...

What will the wifey drive then?
 
Thanks Tom! After watching you wheel yours at the Badlands I would love to make it a mild/ moderate wheeler. My son just turned 16 and got hooked on wheeling with me, now I want him to have his own fun! I'd love to do either an SOA or 3" lift and some suspension mods. The thing is a great candidate for a resto but then I want to be like Gumby some day and not worry about it! Decisions decisions!
 
PhilC64 said:
Thanks Tom! After watching you wheel yours at the Badlands I would love to make it a mild/ moderate wheeler. My son just turned 16 and got hooked on wheeling with me, now I want him to have his own fun! I'd love to do either an SOA or 3" lift and some suspension mods. The thing is a great candidate for a resto but then I want to be like Gumby some day and not worry about it! Decisions decisions!
Click to expand...

Well, since mine is a 62 also maybe I can help in your decision making. The body on mine was similar to yours...some rust but not bad, solid frame and even though it has 250K miles it had very good care, very nice interior. I had mine professionally painted soon after buying it and spent way too much on this. At the time I had no idea that I wanted to wheel it. I was use to playing with cars not off road vehicles. My intent was to baby it and drive it occasionally. So one thing leads to another and now I'm wheeling it. My point, if I were to do it all over again I definitely would not of paid for a high dollar paint job. I would of wheeled the body as is. Take the money for a paint job and put it into the mechanicals (SOA) and you'll have a proper off road rig!! Just my .02.
 
Nice score! That was the 62 right near Patrick and I on Oakley. Just saw it again on craigslist. I was keeping tabs on that one for a while just in case they wanted to dump it pretty cheap. It looked pretty clean and unmolested. Good luck with it and hope to check it out soon.

Rob
 
Thanks Rob! It's rather cherry considering its age! Making room in the garage so I can take a thorough look at it. Run's a little rough but nothing that can't be fixed! I'll break it out soon enough if anyone is going to do a Tech day. It'll probably need a Birf job.
 
I'm somewhat "seasoned" in the world of Birf's, thanks to Rob. If your doing a the job let me know and I'll try and free up some time to help you out. Congrats on the new addition.


Thanks again Rob, hope your enjoying that plane.

Patrick
 
cruiserhunter said:
I'm somewhat "seasoned" in the world of Birf's, thanks to Rob. If your doing a the job let me know and I'll try and free up some time to help you out. Congrats on the new addition.


Thanks again Rob, hope your enjoying that plane.

Patrick
Click to expand...

With this weather lately, I've been 'grounded'. The bird doesn't like the cold too much. Nor do I. :frown:

Phil, where are you in the city?
 
I picked up the Cantankerous Beast today! I dropped a fresh battery in since the PO said she hasn't started or ran it in over 2 months. I turned the key and she fired right up! Amazing! It runs rougher than I expected! Looking over the 3FE I found it needs a bit of smog work done to it. Lots of exhaust leaks coming from various hoses near the air pump. The check valve was leaking like sieve as well. I ordered up an FSM directly from Toyota the other day so I should be able to dive into that sometime this week. I already ordered up the basic tune up parts (cap, rotor, plugs, and wires) and will do that tomorrow.

I drove it 5 miles to my home and found the suspension to have all 195k miles still in them. The springs are flatter than my first 13 year old girlfriend. So now the real question is do I get new stock springs and do an SOA or do I get some OME Light/Med's on a 2.5 inch lift SUA? The steering is sloppy, the tires are shot and I can't be happier.

I'm in the Jeff Park neighborhood close to Archie. I'll fire up the garage heater and make room for you all! We can have our own "Sticker Club" party and not invite John and Todd!
 
Since I had today off, I spent a few hours with the 62. I went over a bunch of stuff and am certain that the only thing needed in the engine bay so far* is a valve cover gasket and a smog check valve. The suspension and diff's are another story. I'll need diff' gaskets, a birf job, springs, shocks, brakes, and maybe a couple of steering components. I also took a few pics to document my starting point.

The offending check valve

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The gooey Birf's

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I also found some cool stuff prior to this.

An unmolested jack and tool kit.
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The owners manual and Warranty Book with the Original owners info!
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I broke down the knuckles over the last few days and am confident I can finish the birf job without an issue. I ordered up the birf parts and they should be here by Wednesday. I also talked to Kurt at CruiserOutfitters and am going through him for the OME medium lift. I'm impressed with his contributions here on Mud and it's more than evident he cares about his customers.

I'm also upgrading the brakes since I've got things broken down already. I'll be doing the 4runner calipers and FJ80 master cylinder. I'll upgrade the rear to disc's at a later time to hold my budget in line.

The only other concern I have is regarding tires. I have a line on 34" Maxxis Bighorns and a set of 16" black steel rims. Would going with a 34" tire be too much on the axles? I'd like to order the tires in the next couple ot weeks so I can get the rig on the road by the middle of March. What do you guy think? Am I going to push it too far?
 
34s are no big deal on 60 axles. The birfs are the weak link. If you run unlocked in the front they will last pretty well. Once you lock it, any size tire can break them. Buy longfields and an aussie at the same time and you'll be golden forever.
 
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