Looking For 80 (got locker questions)

[ElJefe]

I'm trying to think... it was the weekend of the SOR parking lot sale... end of the summer... maybe last October??? But he probably had a good 25 sets. My roommate was looking for parts for his 60 and I tagged along. They had just unloaded a full pallet of fronts and a pallet of rears from a container from Austrailia. I remember Marv telling me he'd do 750 for the rear and 1000 for the front, complete. He may have sold them allready... if so, sorry for the bad info. Looked like he had enough to last a while. You may want to speak to Marv himself. Most of the guys working there only know what's in the catalog/computer which is pretty much just new stuff for the 80's. He was just starting to bring in the used 80 stuff and most of it is not in the system... he has so much crap laying around there that half the time he doesn't even know what hes got.

Chris

 

[tucker74]

Thanks, that is what i was wondering. Have you done this? How much of it is existing?

Thanks

I didn't do the complete swap - but went through the entire thing on my locked '94 to get them working. Turned out the front harness was completely missing and I had to go through the rear starting at the ECU to get power to the actuator. I believe you can purchase both harnesses - might want to give Cruiserdan a call, since he did this on his '93 and will know about the parts

Easiest way to convert would be find a complete donor - although cdan went from scratch.

Good luck!

Tucker

 

[ElJefe]

I call BS on your friend's opinion they only got special order locked Cruisers....They got a certain percentage of "full spec" LandCruisers just like everyone in the LA Region did and I don't know the percent but I'm sure that literally hundreds of locked 80s were sold into the LA/San Diego market.

I appoligize for speaking in extremes... 'never' was the wrong word... a little too much artistic license. I know that we did get a token number of fully optioned locked cruisers. Unfortunately, they also sold tens of thousands of nonlocked cruisers around here over the production run. Hell, out in my parking lot alone, out of ~150 cars there 8 80's... All unlocked. I ride my bike by about 6 more 80's & 100's on my way home, about 5 miles away... All unlocked. Most people in SD wouldn't know a locker from a lug nut, but they can do simple math and weren't interested in paying the premium for lockers in a place that's dry 350 days a year. The ones that did sell went as the winter skimobile/family truckster, and those people drove the hell out of those trucks. I looked at all the locked cruisers that went up over several months in SD and all 3 locked cruisers in a 4 month span were 200k+ and driven into the ground, or one with a SC for $25K. That one may still be for sale

...I live in a small town in Idaho, and started looking for a 2nd locked 80 in January. Within 3 weeks I'd found two ideal candidates and I specifically wanted a 97. Bought one of them within that 3 week time period. You've got 50 times the number of locked 80s near you that I had as my potential purchase pool, so I think you can pull it off, but there's something to be said for doing essentially custom work on your ride as well. I respect that.
DougM

Just going on a hunch here, but I'd bet a 6'er of your choice that you guys have more locked 80's in your area of Idaho than there are in SD. You guys have that luxury of plenty of that cold white stuff that falls from the sky... I can't think of the name right now but it will come to me. Lockers are a much easier sell when you can point out the window at the cold white stuff and explain what lockers do. Pointing out the window at the surf and girls in bikinis doesn't really have the same effect when it comes to getting a buyer to open his wallet for an expensive option that 99.99% of people in SoCal will never use.

All that said... out of great respect for the great IdahoDoug who's posts have helped me in the past before I was a member, and whos knowledge I hope will help me at times to come. I, the nearly Noob... hereby officially and unequivocably eat most of my previous post, smeared with crow and sprinkled with foot. Had I intended my 80 to be my primary whellingmobile, I probably would have travelled for lockers as I don't think the retrofit is worth it when I see locked 80's go for 10-12k on ebay. I'm sure that there are many people here on the board who would be more than willing to lend a hand and inspect a nearby truck for you. I just know the axle prices because I was going to use the axles on another project.

And in closing... while I have seen a few locked and loaded cruisers here in SD, actually finding one in great condition at a descent price is like finding a needle in a haystack. I put it right between getting Cameron Diaz, Lindsey Lohan and Charlize Theron all to move to utah with me and be my wives, and walking on water. Not to say it can't happen, but if I was a betting man...

 

[tiorio]

Locked 80's in San Diego are RARE... A friend of mine works at Toyota Carlsbad and they NEVER had any locked cruisers delivered that were not special order. I looked for a while for one and the few I found were pretty beat. I would call on cruisers 6 hours after the trader would come out and the seller would answer the phone "no it doesn't have the knob to the left of the steering wheel". I wasn't motivated enough to travel so I settled for a non locked 80.
Chris

I bought my 97 locked and loaded in San Diego a couple years ago. Had to travel from LA but what the heck, for the right truck at the right price with the lockers. No plane tix, but a couple of lost weekends on the hunt for the right truck...

 

[ElJefe]

I tip my hat to ya.

I looked half assed around SD for 6 months and seriously for another 3. All I found were project trucks and wheel-mobile's. Nothing that I would consider up to snuff for a daily driver. I was holding out for a locked 80 but had a deal for a white 97 with 55k miles fall into my lap. In my dads neighborhood poker game, some guys wife decided she HAD TO HAVE a Merc G5. The Merc dealer offered her 7500 as a trade on the cruiser. Said I could have it for 7500 just to screw the Merc dealership. Done deal... bye bye lockers.

 

[Beowulf]

... while I have seen a few locked and loaded cruisers here in SD, actually finding one in great condition at a descent price is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Chris,

This is true anywhere. ~7% of the US 80 series were equiped with the diff lock option. Nobody has speculated about the Lexus variant but my unofficial stats indicate it's about the same, maybe a little higher.

IMHO, virtually none of the original purchasers bought a specific truck to get the diff-lock option. They bought for color or availability and took whatever options were on the vehicle. There is no evidence that Toyota allocated more locked trucks to any area. The only correlation that I can come up with is that there seem to be more ugly green locked 80s than other colors.

The bottom line is that LUCK is more involved than anything else. Keep looking and chances are that if you look at 100 trucks then 7 of them will have the diff-lock option.

-B-

 

[cruiserdan]

Unfortunately, they also sold tens of thousands of nonlocked cruisers around here over the production run.

My, my, a busy local market then. Especialy considering that the total number of 93-97 Cruisers imported into the entire United States was about 58,419.

 

[Boston Mangler]

Hey Dan

Care to add in about my original question as to what is there in the rig and what is needed?

thanks a bunch
kevin

EDIT: I found the answers in Post #18

Thanks

 

[semlin]

Hey Kevin, why don't you review the help you have already received. I did and I can answer your question for you but I won't . I will cut you a little slack for not searching but not even bothering to read the answers you have received unless you are spoonfed is a bit much.

 

[OZCAL]

How Many Locked Cruisers Is That?

My, my, a busy local market then. Especialy considering that the total number of 93-97 Cruisers imported into the entire United States was about 58,419.

I'm sure this has been done before, but if 7% of US cruisers were locked, that means only 4,089 locked cruisers sold in the US.

 

[cruiserdan]

Hey Dan

Care to add in about my original question as to what is there in the rig and what is needed?

thanks a bunch
kevin

The link in post 18 pretty much covers it.

 

[cruiserdan]

I'm sure this has been done before, but if 7% of US cruisers were locked, that means only 4,089 locked cruisers sold in the US.

True if the 7% solution is the real number...


That figure was given to me by a fellow that worked in the Denver region office. IIRC it was 1994 or 95 when he told me how many TMS USA was ordering with locks. That percentage may have changed in later production. At one time I tried to check every one that came in but I could not dedicate enough time to do it properly and still perform my "real job" properly

 

[Boston Mangler]

The link in post 18 pretty much covers it.

Great, that link answered pretty much everything.

Except for the cost of the ECU. Is that big $ if i had to buy it new?

Everything else seems fairly straigh forward

Thanks

 

[Boston Mangler]

Hey Kevin, why don't you review the help you have already received. I did and I can answer your question for you but I won't . I will cut you a little slack for not searching but not even bothering to read the answers you have received unless you are spoonfed is a bit much.

I missed the reply (post #18) with the link to the previous writeup!

Sorry for not being perfect, i will try harder next time

 

[cruiserdan]

A new one lists for $245.73. A board member would pay about 185 bucks.

 

[Boston Mangler]

A new one lists for $245.73. A board member would pay about 185 bucks.

Great, thanks. I have a feeling, i will be in touch with you soon with a big parts list!

 

[elum]

Locked 80's in San Diego are RARE... Chris

yeah... that's why I got one from the East Coast.. then took it up the _ss getting it shipped to me.. in the end still saved $$$

 

[Boston Mangler]

hopefully you avatar isnt a pic of the custom bumper you built for it!!

 

[elum]

hopefully you avatar isnt a pic of the custom bumper you built for it!!

sweet rig eh? heh heh.. nope.. just one of the JDM beauties that allude me...

 

[IdahoDoug]

During the run of the 80 series (and really through all time), the dealers would take ANY LandCruiser with any option mix as the vehicles were always in short supply nationally. Being interested in making money, they'd prefer getting an 80 with every option as this is more money in their pocket and the buyers really didn't care. So, loaded locked 80s went to Arizona, Florida, Texas and Hawaii as well in about the same percent as they went to Colorado, Maine, Michigan and Minnesota on the official Toyota allocations. Within that, I'm sure the percentages wiggled a few points here and there as southern dealers traded with northern dealers when the northern dealer needed one of those fabulously gorgeous Emerald Green locked models (rumored to have the highest resale due to their mystique). So, locked 80s are fairly evenly distributed across the country.

What may be going against the SoCal guys wanting one is that professional buyers flock to your markets to purchase used cars and take them home. Naturally, locked 80s and nice 80s get snapped up without question so you may be fighting that.

Don't forget there are a lot of guys here on the list willing to go spend a lot of time checking out used 80s for you. I actually avoided buying a lemon by having a list member in Florida check one out for me, and also located an excellent one that was checked out in Seattle by Da Pimp for me. So consider this as well - it may expedite your search.

DougM