Looking for FJ62 (1 Viewer)

[dkscism]

Hi All,

I'm new to the forum and to Land Cruisers. I’ve been bitten by the FJ60/62 bug. My goal is to find one priced reasonably that could need some cosmetic attention (minor rust, seat covers, small dings/dents, etc.) but runs and drives well. I cannot afford a $10,000+ FJ. This will be a second vehicle that I would use to commute a few days a week, as well as an occasional camping trip in the Appalachians. I am not looking for a dedicated off road vehicle. I would prefer an FJ62 due to fuel injection and auto trans, but I would still consider an FJ60.

While I do not see this as an investment, I still want to feel good about resale should I want to a few years down the road. All of this said, my main reason for posting here is to find out if my search is reasonable and/or achievable. I hope find one less than $7,000. Anything less than that is even better obviously. All thoughts are appreciated!

 

[NCFJ]

Your answer can be found here
FJ60 | FJ62 | BJ60 | HJ61

And here
https://charlotte.craigslist.org/se...&nearbyArea=323&nearbyArea=272&searchNearby=2

Cheapest 62
https://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/d/1989-toyota-land-cruiser/6610860279.html

 

[umpqua]

You should pony up on the white 60 in LA. That's a steal of a deal. Get a bank loan and save yourself the hassle of building one out yourself. If I needed/wanted a truck I'd figure a way into that one.

 

[dkscism]

You should pony up on the white 60 in LA. That's a steal of a deal. Get a bank loan and save yourself the hassle of building one out yourself. If I needed/wanted a truck I'd figure a way into that one.

Great looking cruiser, but way too far away. I’m in NC

 

[dkscism]

Your answer can be found here
FJ60 | FJ62 | BJ60 | HJ61

And here
https://charlotte.craigslist.org/se...&nearbyArea=323&nearbyArea=272&searchNearby=2

Cheapest 62
https://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/d/1989-toyota-land-cruiser/6610860279.html

Thanks for the links. I’ve actually talked to the owner of the 89 fj62. Has some rust at the bottom of the doors, other than that looks solid. I hope to see it in person next week.
One thing I’ve noticed on the forum, is the emphasis on avoiding rust. Obviously I know that rust bucket vehicles should be avoided. However, is there something that makes rust more difficult to get rid of on these cruisers than on other older vehicles? I planned on cutting it out and using patch panels similar to what I’ve done before on other projects. Am I missing something?

 

[Willard]

Thanks for the links. I’ve actually talked to the owner of the 89 fj62. Has some rust at the bottom of the doors, other than that looks solid. I hope to see it in person next week.
One thing I’ve noticed on the forum, is the emphasis on avoiding rust. Obviously I know that rust bucket vehicles should be avoided. However, is there something that makes rust more difficult to get rid of on these cruisers than on other older vehicles? I planned on cutting it out and using patch panels similar to what I’ve done before on other projects. Am I missing something?

Not missing anything.
Just make sure the fame is solid. Body's can be repaired. Rusted out frames are a PITA.

 

[Seth S]

Great looking cruiser, but way too far away. I’m in NC

I bought mine in Colorado. I live in Vermont. I got on this thing called an airplane. And flew to Colorado and then drove my 200k fj60 home.

 

[Gretsch]

The link to the Mud FJ60/62 classifieds NCFJ posted is the way to go if looking for one of these IMHO. I searched for years and seems the world has latched on to these trucks as collectable and prices everywhere are highly inflated. While perhaps viewed as an investment, what folks don't understand is the reality on these trucks is its hard for mere mortals to part with $15,000+ for what is typically a second vehicle. While these are really well built far beyond the vehicles of today, the reality is these trucks are old, and slow and are limited in their uses. Having been through it underestimating the cost of getting one of these trucks sorted properly can be a big mistake and whatever money goes into the vehicles purchase can pale in comparison to the expense of getting it correct. Buying from a Mud member who better understands how to keep these maintained will yield much more positive results down the road.

I have seen a bunch of these on the Mud classifieds that are very well sorted and still reasonably priced because Mud members fully understand what they are. Dealers and clowns don't. For the most part you can rely on the descriptions in the classifieds. Not always but more so than what you might find on Ebay or CL. Not saying that those options are bad. Just not as good as what you might find in the classifieds. I am not looking for a truck at the moment (mine was a Craigslist buy), but if I were knowing what I know now you can bet the Mud Classifieds would be my first stop to try and purchase one. There are still some out of reach trucks in the classifieds (links to various off net sites, etc.), but I think you'll find a lot more reasonable and realistic pricing there. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Gretsch]

Here is an example from the forums:

For Sale - 1988 FJ62 Blue

Looks to be taking offers. Not nearby but still looks nice and is available.

 

[dkscism]

So I’ve continued my search, mostly on the ih8mud classifieds.
I have come across this:
For Sale - 1989 FJ62 Grey No Rust (AC works great)
I have a few questions. The engine and transmission replacement complicates my thought process. I must emphasize that I do not see me buying one of these cars as an investment. However, it would be foolish for me to disregard resale value completely.
How much does this drivetrain replacement affect resale value?
What about the high number miles on the body?
Do these miles get disregarded by potential buyers because of the drivetrain replacement?
I want to avoid investing in a paint job, interior work, etc. and the value stay the same because of these concerns.

 

[bwesty]

250-350k is going to be fairly common on these older Cruisers these days. Sure you will see some with less but that doesn't mean they are any better. Miles in my opinion is not important on 60s any more, it's far more critical what was maintained or wasn't. In your price range expect to replace, repair and maintain from day 1. There will be issues to sort through and operating systems to service.
High miles on body is not a problem. A lot of good quality OEM parts availability still so they can be refreshed.

 

[Gretsch]

I'll second this. I am not sure miles matter as much on these trucks. Even if the engine had not been replaced and ran well. Folks wanting these know they are buying Toyota reliability so they usually understand that even high mileage trucks can be plenty reliable because of the platform. Really cannot compare it to resale on a modern car. 3FE motor will take way more than anything you can buy today. These were built from the start to last. Sure you would like to find a low mileage truck if you could, but even that has its issues, first being they are expensive. Consider that a lower mileage truck usually means that things did not need to be replaced, so they have not been. So you have a low mileage truck with 30 year old hoses for example. Would you want that on a truck driving across country? Not me. All hoses would be replaced immediately. Price the cost of doing just that and you will see things get pricey quick. On a higher mileage truck those have been most likely replaced and when you couple that with a highly reliable properly maintained 2F/3FE motor, you have a pretty nice rig. As long as the drivetrain swap was done correctly, you should not have an issue. Not sure it adds to the resale for you really but the motor runs, is all Toyota, and makes it worth more than if it still had a blown motor. Even non-running trucks sell for good money these days. There a few platforms that hold their value like these do. People are buying the utility, reliability, and novelty of a vehicle like this and will pay seemingly ridiculous sums for the privilege. Depending on what you do to the truck, you may not make your money back when you sell it, as I mentioned parts and repairs will get expensive on these. But as long as it runs and remains rust free, resale is something you shouldn't need to worry too much about, regardless of miles. There seems to be no limit to what folks will pay to get one of these.

 

[dnp]

The engine swap wouldn't concern me at all. The Corvette crowd is recognized as being the genesis for the "non-matching numbers kills valuation" theory, and truthfully, there's some fairly good reasoning for them to have done that. For example, a 327 could be found in anything from a station wagon to a dump truck to a Corvette. The only (main) way to assure having a performance version of that engine would be to have the numbers of the engine and the chassis match. In the case of the 62, the owner swapped in another 3F which, to the best of my knowledge, was only found in the Land Cruiser.

Assuming the engine is "good' (which would require, among other things, a compression check), it's my opinion a swapped engine would in no way affect valuation.

 

[Super77]

I’d be more concerned about a repaint than a swapped engine or trans.