My first LandCruiser

[mshelby]

Hey all, I stumbled upon this site a few weeks back after a link on Nick Rapp's webpage Trans World Expedition

I have loved 80's series Land Cruisers since I was a teenager and we rented one for a weekend on an off road trip.

On Thanksgiving I drove over 500 miles to Dallas Texas to purchase my first one after all these years.

It's not much but for $1,500 I couldn't turn it down, just a stock 1992 (snicker all you want it's mine lol)

After changing the oil and giving it a thorough once-over I filled it up and hit the road for the long drive home.

The interior leaves alot to be desired but the engine runs fine (minus the obvious underpowered issue) and the tranny shifts great.

Today I took it on a few trails to test out the 4WD capabilities and it switches over very smoothly.

Now onto the problems:

The cruise control went out on me about half way home, no biggie I will get to that when I can.

The truck was idling funny but after cleaning out the air filter and hoses coming off of it the vibration has mostly stopped.

The struts holding up the back hatch don't work but again that's minimal.

The dash has some bad cracks and the seats are torn, I will fix that over time as well.

Mechanically other than the idling issue, everything seems to be great for such an old truck but I bought this to take on road trips up mountains and so fourth so I need more power.

My first goal is to pull the engine and replace it with a 350 as well as lift it up another inch or so.

I do need running boards for my daughter and nephew to get in and out so I may just take the ones off my Pathfinder and remove the Nissan logos.

Any recommendation on tires? I have the stock 15" rims but I was considering some bigger rims off of a newer Toyota.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post and I look forward to learning more about this machine once I get further into it.

 

[Marc311]

Nice find! Welcome to the forum.

 

[ERG80]

Very nice.

The classifieds are full of factory 16"wheel and tire sets you can pick up for reasonable prices. And they will fit perfectly.

 

[VCCruzr]

Welcome to MUD! Since no one else has, here's the official salute,

 

[murf]

Welcome!

 

[Lka1988]

Can't wait to see the motor swap.

 

[raYGunn]

Congratulations and welcome! That's a good price for a nice vehicle, it can only get better now it's in your hands!

 

[retrofive]

Congrats. Welcome to the addiction!

 

[harrydunn]

Looks like you did very well. Nice job.

 

[sdog]

Welcome! Your pics give me a great idea for a new thread, 'Post up pics of rigs with tiny tires!'
Get those off there, someone did a great disservice to that truck! Sweet deal!

 

[gwunsch]

I am new here as well, This site has been such a great helpalready. I hope to be able contribute in the future. I just bought a 1996 80 series and love the truck and the work that comes with it. Enjoy your rig, sounds like you have some good plans.

 

[mshelby]

Thanks everyone, glad I can give you the idea sdog lol

Once I get some of the engine work done (found a slight oil leak coming from the oilpan and a fuel injector appears to be bad) I will work on getting bigger rims and tires.

I also noticed today the speedometer is about 8 miles off according to my GPS so I will get that calibrated after the new tires and suspension are added.

I took it through some mud today, handled very well for what I have on it. I only got hung up on a very steep hill.

Tomorrow I am hitting up the junk yard for a new side view mirror and hopefully some running boards so I don't have to sacrifice my Pathfinder's (it's already jealous of the LandCruiser.)

 

[arndog123]

Congrats on the new rig and welcome.

 

[green73]

Nice find!

Before you go through all the work of a V8 Chevy swap, conciser some good tune up work on the original engine. Since you are in a state that doesn't have a smog check you have options to wake the 3FE up. Search out the de-smogging threads here. Send the injectors out for cleaning/balancing (less than $150). Depending on your mileage it may be time for new O2 sensors and possibly "cat" delete, or replacement. Don't give into the temptation to use generic parts house tune up items (plug wires, cap rotor, fuel filter....). I am sure some of the other 3FE guys here may chime in with suggestions too. You may be surprised with the results and a fraction of the cost of a well done engine swap. The 3FE is pretty damn robust and will last a loooooooong time when properly cared for. No speed demon, but it'll get you there.

First mods I would do would be to remove the non OE chrome wheel trim and the black body strip.

Oh and Welcome to MUD!

 

[mshelby]

Nice find!

Before you go through all the work of a V8 Chevy swap, conciser some good tune up work on the original engine. Since you are in a state that doesn't have a smog check you have options to wake the 3FE up. Search out the de-smogging threads here. Send the injectors out for cleaning/balancing (less than $150). Depending on your mileage it may be time for new O2 sensors and possibly "cat" delete, or replacement. Don't give into the temptation to use generic parts house tune up items (plug wires, cap rotor, fuel filter....). I am sure some of the other 3FE guys here may chime in with suggestions too. You may be surprised with the results and a fraction of the cost of a well done engine swap. The 3FE is pretty damn robust and will last a loooooooong time when properly cared for. No speed demon, but it'll get you there.

First mods I would do would be to remove the non OE chrome wheel trim and the black body strip.

Oh and Welcome to MUD!

Thanks for the tips, I am about to drive out to a friend's shop and we are going to look into the injectors as well as replace all the plugs, cables, and distributor cap.

I will look into de-smogging it, I don't really need a speed demon but in it's current state it seems to struggle going on anything other than flat road.

And I guess I need to officially join so here I go

 

[tromz]

Hey use the OEM stuff it will save you headaches in the long run. You dont need power off road just low end tourque. Remember its a Toyota Land Cruiser ......TLC..... tender loving care.

 

[green73]

Thanks for the tips, I am about to drive out to a friend's shop and we are going to look into the injectors as well as replace all the plugs, cables, and distributor cap.

I will look into de-smogging it, I don't really need a speed demon but in it's current state it seems to struggle going on anything other than flat road.

And I guess I need to officially join so here I go

I did all the mentioned things on my old '91 FJ80 (It is now in South Ms too, Gautier), and the difference was night and day. I also bumped the timing up a tinge too. I picked up a few mpg and noticeably more power. Look really closely at the rubber hosing between the air box and the throttle body. If there are any cracks that can cause it to run bad (un metered air).

There are a few companies that rebuild and balance match the injectors. I have had good luck with Witchhunter Performance on the '91 and the '96. Way cheaper than replacing them.

Sketch down some mileage numbers as a starting point, and keep track as you tune at it to track the increase.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Nice esp. for the price. Id try a tune up first seems like few outside mud and comp. sites do them anymore. I have 2 running boards I think. To bad I didnt know you were in Dallas. MIke

 

[mshelby]

Everything appeared to be in pretty good order, the oil leak is coming from the screws behind the oil pan and is just a drip when parked. This coming weekend I will look more into that to find out what is going on, in the mean time I put some engine sealant in it as well as some fuel injector cleaner on my fill-up.

Currently I am averaging between 13-15mpg highway. I measured that driving between Dallas and Gulfport.

The tune-up will come this weekend as well due to the crazy work schedule I have this week, the plug cables look pretty old so I am sure it hasn't been changed in quite a while.

I can make another trip to Dallas Mike so hold onto those

 

[green73]

Check in the TLCA club forum. Look for the CottonLand Cruiser section. Local club to you and a bunch of good guys to boot!

On those plug wires. Many people laugh at us anal retentive type that use the OEM stuff, but there is a huge difference in these. The OEM stuff is completely sealed at the boots. I haven't seen any part store plug wires that are sealed. This makes a world of difference in mud and water wheeling. If I were to do a solid tune-up on a budget the part store cap and rotor should work, but the plug wires I would definitely go OEM. Keep in mind this is not a "performance" engine and 8+mm plug wires aren't going to do crap for that.