Well, it's finally happened after 4 years! I promised myself when I got into post-secondary that I'd buy myself an 80 series when I graduated my program. While I was in school I swear I spent half my study time studying course material and the other half researching Land Cruisers (ha). Was an effective external motivator to keep my eyes on through a very demanding program. I have now graduated into a job where I will be working as a ship's officer doing 28 days on, 28 days off. Perfect schedule for doing 4WD touring/overland type travel! And that is why I'm drawn to the 80 series platform (that and a bunch of other reasons)
I had toyed with the idea of buying/importing an HDJ81 (I own a RHD turbodiesel Hilux Surf), but after weighing out the difference in purchase price, cost of insurance and parts availability (an issue I've dealt with owning the Surf), a LHD gas-powered 80 made more sense. I watched the prices of FJ/FZJ80s increase quite a bit over those 4 years, so I decided to focus on finding a clean, rust-free, well maintained Cruiser rather than a low-mileage '95-97 with lockers etc. I'd also never laid a hand on one, much less driven one. I was open to any year, but I'm drawn to the early 1991-1992 80 series because of some of the aesthetic cues (tweed cloth interior, narrow flares, manual seats, "TOYOTA" grille, early dash, 15-in alloys, etc.). As a bonus, they don't seem to be commanding the premium that the later locked trucks do. So, I graduated this past June and arranged to fly down to Montana a week later and pick up this beauty from fellow mudder @Bigsky80 :
For those that didn't see the ad it's a 3-owner 1991 FJ80 with ~250k miles. Originally a from Texas came with a thick file folder of service records kept by all 3 owners dating back to dealer records from the 1990s. It came with OME 861/862 springs, Tokico shocks, a Cruisin' Offroad front winch bumper, spotties, a Prinsu roof rack, and awning and a couple of other mods from the previous owner. This was great, because I would have gone ahead and done some similar mods myself anyway. Most importantly, it has the brown cloth interior.
Scot and his family were great to us (my father came along for the trip), cooked us some steaks and we enjoyed a few tasty beverages before packing it in for the night. We loaded up the 80 with all of the spare parts, including a FF rear axle, and hit the road in the morning for the 3,800 mile drive home to Nova Scotia.
First impressions driving the truck: This thing is a tank. I wondered how it would compare to my Surf and it's just so much more truck. Body panels are thicker, feels more robust and is a lot more comfy. It's also surprisingly quiet on the road. With the OME/Tokico combo it handles and rides well, and has a nice velvety lazy smoothness to it. Speaking of laziness, I was curious how slow the 3FE was going to be, and at altitude it was certainly very slow. The first time I climbed an on-ramp I mistook my foot being on the floor for it having a stiff pedal. But, at sea level it's no slower than my Surf, and comparable to the non-turbo Volvo 740 I used to own.
Flame suit on
Speaking of gas, I kept track of MPG for the trip, for an average of 16.3 mpg overall and a best tank being 18.5 mpg. I figured it must be a fluke, but I got 18 mpg on two other occasions and 17.5 mpg on another tank. Ethanol free gas seems to boost it a bit, but I could count on 16-17 mpg on 10% ethanol with my driving style. Curious to see what a timing bump and a bit of exhaust work might do.
Here is the truck in it's new home, and with its new Lightforce 240 Blitz lights and Duratracs I robbed from the Surf:
So, eventual plans for the truck are to kit it out with touring/overlanding goodies (drawers, winch, RTT, tire/jerry carrier, fridge, dual batts etc.). That will all be documented in this thread. For now, just doing a bit of baselining, rust-proofing, and really enjoying the truck! Can't wait to get it out on some trails.
Thanks to the ih8mud community for providing all of the reading material that steered me to these trucks!
Cheers
I had toyed with the idea of buying/importing an HDJ81 (I own a RHD turbodiesel Hilux Surf), but after weighing out the difference in purchase price, cost of insurance and parts availability (an issue I've dealt with owning the Surf), a LHD gas-powered 80 made more sense. I watched the prices of FJ/FZJ80s increase quite a bit over those 4 years, so I decided to focus on finding a clean, rust-free, well maintained Cruiser rather than a low-mileage '95-97 with lockers etc. I'd also never laid a hand on one, much less driven one. I was open to any year, but I'm drawn to the early 1991-1992 80 series because of some of the aesthetic cues (tweed cloth interior, narrow flares, manual seats, "TOYOTA" grille, early dash, 15-in alloys, etc.). As a bonus, they don't seem to be commanding the premium that the later locked trucks do. So, I graduated this past June and arranged to fly down to Montana a week later and pick up this beauty from fellow mudder @Bigsky80 :
For those that didn't see the ad it's a 3-owner 1991 FJ80 with ~250k miles. Originally a from Texas came with a thick file folder of service records kept by all 3 owners dating back to dealer records from the 1990s. It came with OME 861/862 springs, Tokico shocks, a Cruisin' Offroad front winch bumper, spotties, a Prinsu roof rack, and awning and a couple of other mods from the previous owner. This was great, because I would have gone ahead and done some similar mods myself anyway. Most importantly, it has the brown cloth interior.
Scot and his family were great to us (my father came along for the trip), cooked us some steaks and we enjoyed a few tasty beverages before packing it in for the night. We loaded up the 80 with all of the spare parts, including a FF rear axle, and hit the road in the morning for the 3,800 mile drive home to Nova Scotia.
First impressions driving the truck: This thing is a tank. I wondered how it would compare to my Surf and it's just so much more truck. Body panels are thicker, feels more robust and is a lot more comfy. It's also surprisingly quiet on the road. With the OME/Tokico combo it handles and rides well, and has a nice velvety lazy smoothness to it. Speaking of laziness, I was curious how slow the 3FE was going to be, and at altitude it was certainly very slow. The first time I climbed an on-ramp I mistook my foot being on the floor for it having a stiff pedal. But, at sea level it's no slower than my Surf, and comparable to the non-turbo Volvo 740 I used to own.
Flame suit on
Speaking of gas, I kept track of MPG for the trip, for an average of 16.3 mpg overall and a best tank being 18.5 mpg. I figured it must be a fluke, but I got 18 mpg on two other occasions and 17.5 mpg on another tank. Ethanol free gas seems to boost it a bit, but I could count on 16-17 mpg on 10% ethanol with my driving style. Curious to see what a timing bump and a bit of exhaust work might do.
Here is the truck in it's new home, and with its new Lightforce 240 Blitz lights and Duratracs I robbed from the Surf:
So, eventual plans for the truck are to kit it out with touring/overlanding goodies (drawers, winch, RTT, tire/jerry carrier, fridge, dual batts etc.). That will all be documented in this thread. For now, just doing a bit of baselining, rust-proofing, and really enjoying the truck! Can't wait to get it out on some trails.
Thanks to the ih8mud community for providing all of the reading material that steered me to these trucks!
Cheers
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