Introduction: 1988 FJ62 (1 Viewer)

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Old Nick

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Bourbon Country
Hi, Guys,

I've been a lurker on this board for a long time, and have gained so much knowledge from you. Thank you. It seemed time to join... should have done much sooner.

Six years ago I bought a one owner "poverty package" FJ62 with a complete service history.

When I was a young man, I always wanted a 60 series Cruiser, but I got into Subarus - STIs - then Ducatis instead. After a bad crash on one of the latter, I slowed down. Way down. Bought a Volvo 240 wagon with a manual trans., and then sold it to finance the Cruiser purchase.

My truck lived most of its life in Maryland, so it was exposed to salt - and has some rust in the usual spots (rockers - both inner and outer - fenders and quarter panels, upper lift gate hatch), but it runs wonderfully and the frame is in good shape. The paint color is gold/champagne. When it was originally imported to the U.S. it had "woody" vinyl installed, which has been removed since I purchased it.

At the moment, I am in the process of restoring my Cruiser, and am expecting loads of sheet metal to arrive in the next few weeks so that I can cut out the rust, weld in the new bits, paint it and stop her (my daughters named her "Ruby"... not sure why) from deteriorating any further. The guys at Cruiser Corp sourced rockers for me, and I bit the bullet and bought an upper lift gate from the auction site.

This truck is my daily driver. I've done some wheeling with it, and plan to do a good deal more this summer.

The only real upgrade that I've done is an OME full suspension, but I had the transmission rebuilt (it was original and had 155k miles on it) and the 4x4 system thoroughly worked over right after I purchased it. Lots of other bits and pieces have been replaced (brake master cylinder and lines, added a transmission cooler, thermostat and housing... it wouldn't ever get to a proper running temp, and thanks to this forum, I was able to sort that out).

I'll stop there and will post some pics later today.

With all my best,
O. N.
 
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Transmission cooler is a great addition and one of the first things I always suggest. Glad you are ahead of the curve. Definitely need to see pictures of the poverty package cruiser.
 
Ruby 2.jpeg
Ruby 1.jpeg


Here you go. Not very nice pictures... our drive is on a hillside. Hard to get a good angle.

I know that the vinyl "woody" on Cruisers gets laughed at quite a bit, but I actually liked it. When body/paint work are finished next month, I'm going to source some and do it again :D
 
Nice truck. I too am a Subaru STI enthusiast. Still have my 2008 STI hatch. Funny that two vehicles that are so different still appeal to the same people.
 
Nice truck. I too am a Subaru STI enthusiast. Still have my 2008 STI hatch. Funny that two vehicles that are so different still appeal to the same people.
Thank you! It sure is a funny thing. STIs are so fun to drive. My first car was a 1984 Subaru GL Wagon. My second was another celery green GL, an 85 They had the old school, proper 4x4 systems in them. Slow as all get out and unattractive too, but great cars. My STI was a 2012 sedan (sold it after that near death experience on the bike). Enjoyed the heck out of that car. The 08' hatches (and the hatches in general) are nice looking. I actually regretted getting the sedan over the hatch.; the wing ended up being too much. But heck... who cares... having the '62 is a total blast too.
Nice to meet you and Randy too.
 
Hi, Change ALL fluids, flush heaters and radiator. Have fun with it. Mike
 
Thank you, Mike. Yes, everything has been drained cleaned and sorted. Mechanically, everything is tip top... at least for now (knock on wood!). I'm also going to drop the tank at some point, de-gunk it and change out the fuel filter. And as you say, this is fun stuff!
Taker' easy.
 
View attachment 2367351View attachment 2367353

Here you go. Not very nice pictures... our drive is on a hillside. Hard to get a good angle.

I know that the vinyl "woody" on Cruisers gets laughed at quite a bit, but I actually liked it. When body/paint work are finished next month, I'm going to source some and do it again :D
I'm a complete noob here and learned a new term from you.....poverty package.....me too. I needed to pipe up because of teh Subaru and Ducati talk. I'm also a Subaru driver but I've had the wagons. I'm going to do a home job paint job on my 2006 Outback and want to do the Toyota Metallic Beige they put on the 60's and it looks like yours might have that paint. Lastly, the Ducati Monster is my DREAM!! I am small so I was (still am frankly) interested in the 600. I almost bought one back in 2001 and I still lament that I didn't do it. Best of luck with all the things friend.
 
Hi, Wunu,

You will love a Monster 600. The older Monsters with the dry clutch (and an open clutch cover!) together with some nice Termignoni pipes ride, and sound wonderfully. Like the "song of the sausage monster" by Hunter S. Thompson. They are such fun bikes. My last bike was an ST4s ABS in Senna. Dang, I loved that moto. My wife has since started calling them "death machines" and my kiddos begged me not to get another bike. I didn't, which was the right thing, but, I still troll the web looking at Ducatis as a guilty pleasure :cool:.

Re: the paint on my truck, honestly, I do not know the color code or name. Stupid, I know! I'm waiting on one more part to arrive, then I'm getting my rust sorted, and paint if I can swing it.

I learned about the "poverty package" when I lurked on this site. It's a perfect truck, and there is less to repair!

Sending you all my best,
O.N.
 
That’s not a poverty pack though :). That’s a standard US spec 62 and were all pretty much identical (some had manual windows). That equates to a G/GX elsewhere which mid-level.

poverty pack has vinyl seats, vinyl floors, manual everything, barn doors, non-chrome wheels, no chrome, etc.

love it, I have its twin!
 
I've got the manual everything, but also cloth seats, carpet and chrome. And I wish I had the barn doors! Maybe I've got the lower-middle class package :D

Yours is a beautiful truck. I'm so stoked to get mine sorted.

All the best,
O.N.
 
I've got to check the paperwork to be sure. I believe that it was owned by an active duty soldier (actually an officer, if I recall). He sold it in late 2014.
 
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What part of MD did this truck come out of? I think it looks familiar
I'm sorry for the slow reply. Work and house stuff have kept me offline. My truck came from Catonsville, MD.
 
All of my new sheet metal arrived two weeks ago (from Robin at Wolf Steel. He was great to do business with and the parts look excellent) and I just today got the chance to meet up with my welder... I want the repairs to be functional as well as look nice, so I'm not doing any welding He's got my truck slated to go in the shop in two weeks. As he gets portions of it done, I'll post up pictures.
 
Sweet 62! Glad to hear you are going to take care of her. Excited to see how the Wolf panels work out, as I've got a pretty banged up quarter on my 60, and am considering buying one to cut a large patch out and weld into my truck.

Also, who rebuilt your transmission?

Last, I had a 92 240 wagon a few years ago. I loved that car. I drove it back and forth between DC and Northern Michigan multiple times (12 hours non-stop). Vowed I would keep it until it died, but it wouldn't die. Great cars!

Good luck with the 62!
 
Sweet 62! Glad to hear you are going to take care of her. Excited to see how the Wolf panels work out, as I've got a pretty banged up quarter on my 60, and am considering buying one to cut a large patch out and weld into my truck.

Also, who rebuilt your transmission?

Last, I had a 92 240 wagon a few years ago. I loved that car. I drove it back and forth between DC and Northern Michigan multiple times (12 hours non-stop). Vowed I would keep it until it died, but it wouldn't die. Great cars!

Good luck with the 62!
Hi, Ocho77, I will definitely let you know how the Wolf Steel parts work. They look great out of the box, but we'll find out how well they fit! My welder is excited to work on the 62.

I actually bought a remanufactured transmission and torque converter from "All Trans" (before I found this forum). It bolted right in and has worked wonderfully, but looking back, it was probably too much money, when a rebuild would have more than sufficed. That said, it's been great.

Those old Volvos were such wonderful tanks. They never broke! Never should have sold mine :bang:

I'll let you know how the Wolf Steel works out.
 

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