Just bought this 1985 Cruiser - got a list of fixes and would appreciate advice and sources for parts please (1 Viewer)

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

Joined
Jan 31, 2021
Threads
10
Messages
49
Location
Kennett Sq PA
IMG_3587.jpg

So I went and bought this the other day. Probably a mid-life crisis or a cry for help.

Got it on ebay for $18,700. 189,100 on the clock. It looks very clean, no frame or panel rust found so far. Interior is good, seats intact. How did I do?

So far the laundry list of fixes is growing. I'm no mechanic but I am learning and have made myself capable of a few fairly basic jobs.

Horn isn't working - tested it on a battery, works, switches under the wheel seem fine, fuse seems fine, have traced the wiring in between as far as I can - might have to give up and install a button on the dash and run separate wiring

Heater - heat control valve is gone, as is tubing associated with it in the engine bay, bypass has been run. Ordered replacement valve off ebay for $90. Found this source for hoses: Page 188 Land Cruiser 60 and 62 Front and Rear Heater - https://www.sor.com/cat188.sor but they seem murderously expensive just for hoses. No idea what exists on the other side of the firewall and whether that needs changing or whatever. Rear heater doesn't seem to work either but I'll cross that bridge after the front is fixed.

Can't seem to get the front floodlights working. Very ugly aftermarket switches have been installed on the dash. Am changing and tidying them up a bit. Shouldn't be too hard to figure it out with a bit more finagling. Have taken off the LED bar and might mount it on the rear roof rack.

Was thinking about putting in a 2nd battery - any suggestions as to how hard this is and where to go? Mounting options? How to wire it into the system? this is in the "nice to have" column.

Drivers seat locking mechanism is shot. There's a bolt holding it from going any further back but it rocks forward if you pull it. Seen a used locking mechanism on sor.com for $146

Interior light and glove box lights don't work.

New to the forum and forums in general - sorry if this is in the wrong place. Hugely appreciative of any advice and help in sourcing parts.

Best wishes,

Dave
 
Don’t worry about how much you paid. It’s after the fact. You own it now, so make it your own.

As for the horn. Skip the cheesy button on the dash. You can buy a new contact pin for the horn or use a .22 casing - look that up, lots of posts about it.

It seems that most trucks of this age have been through a few previous owners who added additional wiring. Sort out as much of that as you can and clean up all the grounds you come across. Here’s the previous owner add ons I pulled out of mine after I got it:
full
 
Interior light and glove box lights don't work.

try simply changing bulbs first

then on to the fuses
 
I have an ‘85 in the same color. Looks good.

About that heater valve - if the PO bypassed the heater completely, and pulled the valve at the firewall, I would suspect that the heater core was in bad shape and they did not want to deal with it. You’ll need to figure that out before you do anything regarding heat.

Replacement cores are out there. It’s not an easy job replacing one, but you’d sure get to know your cruiser in the process.
 
nice looking rig! welcome to the insanity!!
 
'85 4E9s unite! Looks like a solid rig and I'd be hard pressed you didn't pay fair market based on looks. For parts, a good place to look is the classifieds. Cruiser Outfitters is another killer vendor. There's plenty of others. Partsouq is a good source. SOR or, as they're known around here, $OR is good, but usually spendy. Half the fun is finding the best deal on parts for these beasts.
 
Go to this link and download the FSM for your truck. The best one is the 1984-1990 Heavy Duty repair manual that is listed in there. You’ll also need to download the 2F engine repair manual. Print out a copy—yes, it’s 700+ pages but you’ll be happy you did.

Also, the spent .22 casing for the horn fix that @FJACS mentioned above works great. If you don’t have one, just pop into an indoor shooting range, they’ll have plenty.
 
- pin for the horn...easy fix and lots of write ups. Have your reading glasses ready.
-get a glove box insert and have it powder coated black from wits end. look it up, sweet upgrade
-cant help on the heater problem, I am in Texas, God takes care of that down here. I bypassed the one under the seat and gained a little room on my 83. I can help you if you decide to do that. Cabin heater works really well once you get it up and going.
- you might start over on the lights...I got a kit from ebay and there is a guy on here selling factory switches for fog lights (ToyotaMatt) cant remember the website but you should find it easily.

I bought my truck off ebay too several years ago. Paid less but have spent as much on it as I paid for it at this point. Good luck and have fun getting it to where you want it. Make sure to take time to have fun with the darn thing. I take mine hunting at least twice a month and am the coolest car at the soccer fields every weekend. Came in handy during our winter event last week down here in Texas.
FJ60Paddle.JPG

FJ60Pond.JPG
 
In for a penny, in for a pound, as they say
Welcome to the madness.
You'll be here a LOT.
Make sure to exhaust the Search feature as a first step
The crew here has made many thousands of posts, and I've been able to find an answer to every question I've had so far.

In addition to the FAQ, spend some time digging in the FAQ - so many answers.

Gundo
YMMV
 
Congrats on the purchase and welcome to the madness. Lots of great resources here and you are off to a great start with finding this forum. The best thing you can do to help yourself early on is learn how to search. I find simply googling a particular topic with FJ60 included mostly brings up Mud related results but to dial in the search a bit you can add "site:ih8mud.com" after your search terms (i.e "Horn doesn't blow site:ih8mud.com").

Factory Service Manuals available here:




Also included in various members sig lines. Best thing you can do is download those and start reading.

As mentioned many common issues are already included in the FAQ:


Many sources available for parts. Toyota still has many available but the list is dwindling year by year for these old dinosaurs. I always check with my local dealer first for OEM. @ToyotaMatt is a great resource for all manner of 60 series parts for the more OEM focused buyer:


Some other vendors that are popular with the kids:

City Racer

Cruiser Outfitters

Some others:


Used


Speciality


And don't overlook the Mud Classifieds:


Many others but hopefully this gets you started.

Trick with parts to me is just finding the correct P/N's for what you are after. Parts diagrams are available so good thing to try and figure those out.

GL and again welcome to the fun. HTH
 
Last edited:
@4Cruisers is taking you to church. Classic Cruisers a killer spot for parts and the galley plug is a definite must-fix. Even though I haven't fixed mine yet.
 
I've got that seat hardware, for a tiny fraction of what SOR wants. PM me if interested.

Another good source of used parts is Classic Cruisers in Poncha Springs, CO (outside of Salida).

I LOVE CLASSIC CRUISERS LLC!!!!

That place makes me feel like a little kid walking into toys-r-us
 
Also, check to see if the oil galley plug in the cylinder head has been replaced. A search here on MUD will provide all the details. That should be near the top of your to-do list.
IMG_3608.jpg

Thanks for the advice (and everyone who has replied) is this the galley plug screw and does that look like someone has taken care of it for me?
 
Don’t worry about how much you paid. It’s after the fact. You own it now, so make it your own.

As for the horn. Skip the cheesy button on the dash. You can buy a new contact pin for the horn or use a .22 casing - look that up, lots of posts about it.

It seems that most trucks of this age have been through a few previous owners who added additional wiring. Sort out as much of that as you can and clean up all the grounds you come across. Here’s the previous owner add ons I pulled out of mine after I got it:
full
I tried the .22 casing - still silent, although I still have to go check every contact with a circuit tester to be sure
 
Thanks for the advice (and everyone who has replied) is this the galley plug screw and does that look like someone has taken care of it for me?

Yes, looks like somebody took care of it for you. Also looks to me like the head has been off and painted.
 
When you take off the steering wheel center cover, have you confirmed that the single wire is connected to the spade terminal on the dash-side of the connection? I've seen them fed in there but not actually connected before.
 
Go to this link and download the FSM for your truck. The best one is the 1984-1990 Heavy Duty repair manual that is listed in there. You’ll also need to download the 2F engine repair manual. Print out a copy—yes, it’s 700+ pages but you’ll be happy you did.

Also, the spent .22 casing for the horn fix that @FJACS mentioned above works great. If you don’t have one, just pop into an indoor shooting range, they’ll have plenty.
Thank you for posting that link. The FSMs that used to be on here are dead now. Good to find a new resource.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom