1989 FJ62 Build in LA (1 Viewer)

[dahlmaker]

I've been lurking on the site for awhile and now I've officially joined the club. I picked up this 1989 FJ62 down in Tucson, AZ the day after Christmas and drove it back to LA the next day. It's lived in AZ it's entire life (minus two years in Idaho). Rust free except for a few spots small spots where the paint chipped and near the rear window. It's showing 207,000 and no sign or word on any rebuild of engine or transmission.

PO didn't do many mods at all except for an aftermarket stereo and tinted windows. The interior is in decent shape and only missing a rear passenger door handle. The locks need help but the power windows work, although they are slow. A local who I'm sure is a member here hooked me up on Craigslist with a new window actuator as my first project and it works better now.

The truck is at K and H to have the compression checked and I may have them throw on an OME kit as the suspension is shot. I'm looking forward to wrenching on this thing but not sure if I have the right tools to finish the suspension. It also came to me with a badly leaking steering box which I'm having rebuilt here. Otherwise no other surprises yet. It made the trip from Tucson to LA with no issues, but I did put near max psi on the tires, after which I noticed the truck started to wander on the highway a bit (lesson learned).

Fixes:

• All locks except for driver don't work (could be an easy fix)
• Clean head liner (badly stained but otherwise fabric is in good condition)
• Steering box in process
• Front and rear bumpers are dented in (replace with OE for now if I can find one)
• Shifter linkage is loose
• Middle seat belt female is missing
• Rear passenger door handle (blue) is missing

Upgrades:

• Suspension is shot - Would like to upgrade to a OME lift. Will probably go light/medium as most driving is on freeway with weekend jaunts to surf spots and local hills and camping. No rock crawling planned but we do load up for camping.
• Wheels are original - Would like to upgrade to 16" ProComp Series 51 or the Level 8 Trackers. The Level 8's are 10lbs lighter which comes out to almost 30% weight reduction. Is that worth it for the cost? Better acceleration and MPG with the lighter wheels.
• Tires - Want to move to a 33x11.5 BFG KO2 - Should be able to do that with the OME lift.
• The ARB bull bar is rad but I don't see a reason yet besides looks. Same goes for a rear swing out bumper. Will a fullsize 33" tire on a 17" wheel fit as a spare underneath?
• Sliders - These seem more necessary than a new bumper to me. The truck has a few small dents but there is damage to the rocker panel just below the driver door which would have to get fixed before sliders.
• Aux lights - Still figuring it out
• Pfran LED interior is ready for install
• Bigger tank
• I picked up a Yakima 1A gutter tower and 58" bars to hold my surfboards.

Once I get the suspension and wheels/tires sorted out I should be good to go (knock on wood). Our family has a ranch just outside Vegas and at the edge of the Mojave desert so I'm looking forward to plenty of exploring out there. I know there are tons of areas near LA and just beyond to explore as well as plenty of camping, where we won't be with the masses.

My four year old son already loves the thing and wants to go fishing so mission accomplished.

These forums have been invaluable and I look forward to sharing more of my progress and keeping up on yours.

 

[bmc352]

Congrats, nice looking truck. Like your planned upgrades. Please keep us posted on progress.

 

[SteveH]

Nice truck. OE front bumpers are hard to find and expensive. Consider pressing out the dent in yours (first) with a hydraulic press. Costs little, and it might look good enough. Or, put a bumper sticker or fog lights directly in front of the repaired dent.

 

[tgadd]

My understanding a 33" tire will fit under the truck. But if you change wheels, you might need to use a different mechanism for holding it (I think a Tacoma model was recommended).

I do not think you can install a larger tank if you plan to keep the tire under the truck though. Let me know what you find because I would like to do this also.

 

[dahlmaker]

Nice truck. OE front bumpers are hard to find and expensive. Consider pressing out the dent in yours (first) with a hydraulic press. Costs little, and it might look good enough. Or, put a bumper sticker or fog lights directly in front of the repaired dent.

Great idea SteveH - The dents don't concern me too much and they aren't that bad. I think flattening them out would fix it.

 

[dahlmaker]

My understanding a 33" tire will fit under the truck. But if you change wheels, you might need to use a different mechanism for holding it (I think a Tacoma model was recommended).

I do not think you can install a larger tank if you plan to keep the tire under the truck though. Let me know what you find because I would like to do this also.

Thanks - the tank will have to wait until I decide to invest in the rear swing and all of that. I would like to have a full size spare. I'll keep you posted.

 

[jamesg]

Congrats on your Fj. Funny I named mine "Frances" after Frances Bavier, aka "Aunt Bee" on the Andy Griffith show; Aunt Bee was very very dependable. I wonder about other names out there.

 

[dahlmaker]

Congrats on your Fj. Funny I named mine "Frances" after Frances Bavier, aka "Aunt Bee" on the Andy Griffith show; Aunt Bee was very very dependable. I wonder about other names out there.

Kinda fun going through the truck names in the registry. These vehicles definitely have personality.

 

[4Cruisers]

Nice looking vehicle - I like the color (just like my '84 FJ60). I'm building my '86 FJ60 with many of the parts from my '89 FJ62, including the 3FE, mated to a new H55f 5-speed. I bought an OME suspension (not yet installed) from Cruiser Outfitters, and decided to go with the stock Toyota 16" steel wheels from the 70-series Land Cruisers, with 235/85R16 BF Goodrich ATs. As you know, there's a lot of great 4-wheeling outside of Las Vegas - we have been a lot of places in the past on our own and with the Southern Nevada Land Cruisers - enjoy! BTW, w.r.t. names, it's easy for us - "The '71", "The '76", "The '84", and "The '89" (soon to be "The '86").

 

[dahlmaker]

Nice looking vehicle - I like the color (just like my '84 FJ60). I'm building my '86 FJ60 with many of the parts from my '89 FJ62, including the 3FE, mated to a new H55f 5-speed. I bought an OME suspension (not yet installed) from Cruiser Outfitters, and decided to go with the stock Toyota 16" steel wheels from the 70-series Land Cruisers, with 235/85R16 BF Goodrich ATs. As you know, there's a lot of great 4-wheeling outside of Las Vegas - we have been a lot of places in the past on our own and with the Southern Nevada Land Cruisers - enjoy! BTW, w.r.t. names, it's easy for us - "The '71", "The '76", "The '84", and "The '89" (soon to be "The '86").

You've got a full house of trucks. If you have any recommendations about trails near Vegas let me know. I explored a bit in my F150 but I'm always open to more ideas. I should plan a truck meetup at our ranch sandyvalleyranch.com.

 

[Meatdawg]

Nice 62, welcome to the club. My locks were not working either and I found the following link. Fixed them right up.
Enjoy the truck!
FJ62 Door Lock circuit breaker fuse location

 

[4Cruisers]

Only a full house when you add in my '93 4-Runner! One of our favorite roads, believe it or not, is right in Red Rock Canyon. The BLM now calls it Rocky Gap Road. It starts off of the Scenic Loop Drive at the Willow Springs parking area, and heads up and over the divide to the west, ending up on the west side, where you can head south to hit State Route 160 between Mountain Springs and Pahrump. Back in the '80s the road was fun and more challenging than it is today. At one point, some of the other SNLC members had to hang from my '84 FJ60's roof drip moulding to keep it from tipping over. At that time, we had the only FJ60 in the club, and a brand-spanking new one at that. When we showed up for our first club meeting, someone asked "Who's driving the Cadillac?" - so of course that became our CB handle for club trips.

 

[dahlmaker]

Only a full house when you add in my '93 4-Runner! One of our favorite roads, believe it or not, is right in Red Rock Canyon. The BLM now calls it Rocky Gap Road. It starts off of the Scenic Loop Drive at the Willow Springs parking area, and heads up and over the divide to the west, ending up on the west side, where you can head south to hit State Route 160 between Mountain Springs and Pahrump. Back in the '80s the road was fun and more challenging than it is today. At one point, some of the other SNLC members had to hang from my '84 FJ60's roof drip moulding to keep it from tipping over. At that time, we had the only FJ60 in the club, and a brand-spanking new one at that. When we showed up for our first club meeting, someone asked "Who's driving the Cadillac?" - so of course that became our CB hndle for club trips.

I'll definitely have to check that out. Red Rock Canyon is so beautiful. That's some story about hanging from the gutter. So much to explore in Nevada. Thanks.

 

[dahlmaker]

Nice 62, welcome to the club. My locks were not working either and I found the following link. Fixed them right up.
Enjoy the truck!
FJ62 Door Lock circuit breaker fuse location

Thanks Meatdawg! I'll check out that fix.

 

[SonnyAK]

Congrats on the purchase!!

We recently picked up a '90 FJ62 that needs quite a bit of cleanup, including a filthy headliner (how does anyone get one of those so filthy)!!??

We used the cleaner "Folex" (I think from Lowes) and it did wonders for the headliner - looks like new now except for a few scuffs!!

Now I have to start in on some rust repair...

 

[dahlmaker]

Congrats on the purchase!!

We recently picked up a '90 FJ62 that needs quite a bit of cleanup, including a filthy headliner (how does anyone get one of those so filthy)!!??

We used the cleaner "Folex" (I think from Lowes) and it did wonders for the headliner - looks like new now except for a few scuffs!!

Now I have to start in on some rust repair...

Thanks for the tip - I'll have to pick up some Folex. I was going to try steam cleaning. Yes - It's amazing to think how they can get so filthy.

 

[rrv333]

Congratulations on the new 62

 

[Randy88FJ62]

Just an FYI. A full size 35" X 12.5" tire on 16" rim fits under my 62. It does bounce a little in there so I add a ratchet strap to the back bumper to hold it in place.

Did this for 2 years before I got my swing out bumper.

 

[dahlmaker]

Just an FYI. A full size 35" X 12.5" tire on 16" rim fits under my 62. It does bounce a little in there so I add a ratchet strap to the back bumper to hold it in place.

Did this for 2 years before I got my swing out bumper.

Thanks for the info! Looks like I'm good to go then on fitting a 33x11.5 under there.

 

[Benjaman]

Looks good. I'd change the tranny fluid to a good Synthetic asap. Also add a cooler.