Need help with purchase decision. Thanks! (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

jpoole said:
Regarding rust, my better advice is for you to go read through some rust repair threads on mud where you can see first hand. Try this search in Google:

rust repair 80 site:forum.ih8mud.com​

My wordy summary on 80 rust is that you'll sometime see the "inside out" rust on body panels. This may show up in rocker panels, low on doors, etc. Plenty of folks with rusty 80s also have issues in the rear hatch, often starting around/under the window seal. Undercarriage rust seems to start showing up first around the spare tire and rear axle and if it's all over the undercarriage the worst damage will often be in the rear. Personally I'd tolerate a bit of surface rust in the undercarriage area if it was easy to clean/seal but I'd probably not tolerate much rust in body panels unless I understood it's extent and what would be involved in the repair. I wouldn't be up for an 80 with lots of rusty hardware at this point or one that needed panel replacement that wasn't bolt off/bolt on as I'm not setup to weld/etc. Basically, if you are patient you can find a rust free 80 for a reasonable price so why bother with rust?

The seasonal game is probably out the window for now but I wouldn't be surprised if the current recession doesn't lead to an increased supply of 80s and slightly lower prices at some point in the next 6 months though 80 sellers/buyers will likely dodge the worst of this. I don't really have data to back up my limited observations on the seasonal markets but I like to think that lots of folks are recovering financially after the holidays and that early Winter can be a slow market which can work in a buyers favor, if 80s are available. For some items that are more outdoors related there can be a Fall selloff to avoid Winter storage but that probably doesn't apply at all to 80s though some folks may unload "hobby" 80s in the Fall in some areas? Around tax season can be a bit more mixed but I like to think at least that deals may pop up then as well as folks stretch to make tax bills or stuff moves around generally, etc. Anyway, that's mostly speculation and there's no predicting when someone will offer up a great deal on an 80 so you have to know what you are looking for and what you are willing to spend so that
Click to expand...
 
J,
Thanks for your advice on rust issue. Agree better not to deal with rust matters if you can avoid them.

Also appreciate the input on possible good times to find 80s. Make sense during tax season and after holidays for folks to let their 80s go.
 
My advice. Buy the nicest vehicle you can afford. Find one that has some maintenance history. Don't buy from a flipper or someone who hasn't owned the rig very long. Market value varies across the country. Out here in the west especially in Cali, they seem to fetch higher dollars. I paid 11k for mine with 210k miles. But it lived its life in SoCal so absolutely no rust. It has factory lockers. Front seats were re done. Bought from the second owner who had it for 15 years and kept maintenance history. This 80 was taken care of very well but I've still had to do some repairs. But most of the money I have in my rig is in offroad luxury items. I love this rig. I've taken it through the desert and the mountains and hasn't let me down. Like another poster said, plan on doing repairs yourself. Get a FSM and read and learn about the truck. Just about anything that your 80 would need could be found here on this site. This forum and the people here are awesome!
 
vegasfj40 said:
My advice. Buy the nicest vehicle you can afford. Find one that has some maintenance history. Don't buy from a flipper or someone who hasn't owned the rig very long. Market value varies across the country. Out here in the west especially in Cali, they seem to fetch higher dollars. I paid 11k for mine with 210k miles. But it lived its life in SoCal so absolutely no rust. It has factory lockers. Front seats were re done. Bought from the second owner who had it for 15 years and kept maintenance history. This 80 was taken care of very well but I've still had to do some repairs. But most of the money I have in my rig is in offroad luxury items. I love this rig. I've taken it through the desert and the mountains and hasn't let me down. Like another poster said, plan on doing repairs yourself. Get a FSM and read and learn about the truck. Just about anything that your 80 would need could be found here on this site. This forum and the people here are awesome!
Click to expand...
Vegas,
Congrats on getting a good deal on you 80 in good condition. I am in Florida and I hope to find a rig that has lived outside of the snow belt and away from the ocean. Yes, I do plan to do the repairs myself. Actually I see that as an important part of owing an 80. I will get the FSM and get familiar with the rig. What offroad luxury items have you added to your 80? Thank you for your feedback!
 
GlobeCruiser said:
Vegas,
Congrats on getting a good deal on you 80 in good condition. I am in Florida and I hope to find a rig that has lived outside of the snow belt and away from the ocean. Yes, I do plan to do the repairs myself. Actually I see that as an important part of owing an 80. I will get the FSM and get familiar with the rig. What offroad luxury items have you added to your 80? Thank you for your feedback!
Click to expand...

I should add that I bought my truck 3 years ago. Prices are starting to move up on these now. My truck was in stock original condition when I bought it. So the first thing I did was upgrade the suspension. I did OME stock height springs with 10 mm spacers at each corner. That gave me about an inch and half of lift. The ride improved considerably as the original springs were pretty flat. Next I bought better tires. I currently run BFG A/T KO2 tires in 285 75 16 size. Then I bought a Frontrunner roof rack. I bought that to mount an awning mainly but also mount traction boards and shovel. And most recently bought a set of White Knuckle sliders. My next item I think is an ARB front bumper. Still not sure though. I like the Slee shortbus bumper too. This truck in its current form has been able to take me anywhere I travel out here. I'm usually on Forest service roads or BLM roads in the desert.

During my ownership I've also made some repairs to make it a little more dependable for desert travel. I've replaced all of the hoses water and vacuum. Completely replaced cooling system. Fixed a P0401 code. Blue fan clutch mod. This on top of usual maintenance items like brakes, fluids, filters, spark plugs etc. Its still on the original headgasket but I will be tackling that job soon as preventative maintenance. Would like to get another summer out of her though!
 
Here's a pic of how she stands today!

IMG_20200528_121307547_HDR.jpg


IMG_20200528_121328654_HDR.jpg
 
GlobeCruiser said:
Folks, here is one at a dealership in OH. Looks pretty clean from pics. Thoughts? Comments?

www.gtxagroup.com

1995 Toyota Land Cruiser - GTX Auto Group

1995 Toyota Land Cruiser **FOR SALE** By GTX Auto Group - 9516 Princeton Glendale Rd West Chester, OH
www.gtxagroup.com
Click to expand...
No. I would not buy one of these from a dealer like this. Try to find one from a private owner who's had it for awhile. There are several here on the mud site. It might take some time but it will be worth it to get a truck and know what you are getting. You can check a website called Cars.com. They will have local listings as well as long distance. Autotrader is good too. Use Searchtempest to check Craigslist ads nationally.
 
vegasfj40 said:
I should add that I bought my truck 3 years ago. Prices are starting to move up on these now. My truck was in stock original condition when I bought it. So the first thing I did was upgrade the suspension. I did OME stock height springs with 10 mm spacers at each corner. That gave me about an inch and half of lift. The ride improved considerably as the original springs were pretty flat. Next I bought better tires. I currently run BFG A/T KO2 tires in 285 75 16 size. Then I bought a Frontrunner roof rack. I bought that to mount an awning mainly but also mount traction boards and shovel. And most recently bought a set of White Knuckle sliders. My next item I think is an ARB front bumper. Still not sure though. I like the Slee shortbus bumper too. This truck in its current form has been able to take me anywhere I travel out here. I'm usually on Forest service roads or BLM roads in the desert.

During my ownership I've also made some repairs to make it a little more dependable for desert travel. I've replaced all of the hoses water and vacuum. Completely replaced cooling system. Fixed a P0401 code. Blue fan clutch mod. This on top of usual maintenance items like brakes, fluids, filters, spark plugs etc. Its still on the original headgasket but I will be tackling that job soon as preventative maintenance. Would like to get another summer out of her though!
Click to expand...
Vegas,
Nice add ons! Good to know what folks prefer to add on and modify on these 80s. Sounds like you are doing the HG on your own. Sounds like a scary proposition if I had to do it. I just don't want to mess it up!
 
vegasfj40 said:
No. I would not buy one of these from a dealer like this. Try to find one from a private owner who's had it for awhile. There are several here on the mud site. It might take some time but it will be worth it to get a truck and know what you are getting. You can check a website called Cars.com. They will have local listings as well as long distance. Autotrader is good too. Use Searchtempest to check Craigslist ads nationally.
Click to expand...
Vegas,
Ok will do. The only one I have yet to try is the cars.com website.
 
GlobeCruiser said:
Vegas,
Nice add ons! Good to know what folks prefer to add on and modify on these 80s. Sounds like you are doing the HG on your own. Sounds like a scary proposition if I had to do it. I just don't want to mess it up!
Click to expand...
It will be my first headgasket job on one of these but I've done several on other vehicles. Get the FSM and it will literally walk you through it. Patience and anything you have questions about the guys here are a wealth of knowledge.
 
GlobeCruiser said:
Thank you for your input. I'm guesssing your 80 was in good shape where rust was concerned. Is there any way to tell is the HG has been replaced if the seller has no proof? Did you replace the seats or did you upholster?
Click to expand...
I will send you a PM with the list of things I've done to my cruiser.

Yeah i recovered them with Lseat.com covers and added some seat heaters.

It is hard to tell about a HG job as others have said, but if you find the head is a lot cleaner than the rest and the heater hoses around it are all new, then maybe....

But if i have what looks like the original pesky heater hose on still attached to the head of the engine... I really doubt the headgasket was done replaced.
 
clx16 said:
I will send you a PM with the list of things I've done to my cruiser.

Yeah i recovered them with Lseat.com covers and added some seat heaters.

It is hard to tell about a HG job as others have said, but if you find the head is a lot cleaner than the rest and the heater hoses around it are all new, then maybe....

But if i have what looks like the original pesky heater hose on still attached to the head of the engine... I really doubt the headgasket was done replaced.
Click to expand...
Thanks for sending me your list.
 
9k for that triple locked isn't a bad deal if there aren't any major mechanical/rust issues. Offer 8k and see where it goes.
 
@GlobeCruiser that '94 shows a bit of rust in the pictures and the paint is toast. The rust may not be a big deal but you can see that the hitch is rusty so I'd be looking all over the undercarriage, especially in the rear to see the condition of fasteners/frame/etc. Also there is rusty hardware under the hood which is another cue to be on the lookout.

New seat foam and lseat covers would tidy up the front seats and there are ways to improve the 2nd row seats cosmetically. Lift, bumper and rack are a bonus if you were planning to install those anyway or can be re-sold if you want to go back towards stock/etc.
 
jpoole said:
@GlobeCruiser that '94 shows a bit of rust in the pictures and the paint is toast. The rust may not be a big deal but you can see that the hitch is rusty so I'd be looking all over the undercarriage, especially in the rear to see the condition of fasteners/frame/etc. Also there is rusty hardware under the hood which is another cue to be on the lookout.

New seat foam and lseat covers would tidy up the front seats and there are ways to improve the 2nd row seats cosmetically. Lift, bumper and rack are a bonus if you were planning to install those anyway or can be re-sold if you want to go back towards stock/etc.
Click to expand...

I agree that the paint is gone on this one. I enlarged the pics and the rust seems to be worse that on first look both the undercarriage and under the hood. Also panels have damage and are starting to rust especially on driver's side.
 
GlobeCruiser said:
I agree that the paint is gone on this one. I enlarged the pics and the rust seems to be worse that on first look both the undercarriage and under the hood. Also panels have damage and are starting to rust especially on driver's side.
Click to expand...
There's about $4000 (new) of accessories added to it. Consider half the price in "value" of those items and that's $2000 of the sell price.
Dual batteries
Sliders
Snorkel (Roll over protection)
Lift with newer springs / shocks
Roof Rack
ARB
Tires are 315 / 17 and look to be in good shape, not on rims I would choose, but they are OK. I'll bet there are spacers behind them.


The wiring under the hood appears to be run "OK" and not butchered, at least from 20 ft.

It's triple locked and they work, so there's another $2000 premium that everyone thinks is there.

So, $5000 for a base model truck with a bit of surface rust under it, and bad paint. Typical bad seats.

How about receipts and service records?
Head Gasket replaced?

Talk him down a little if its still there. What's your intended usage? If you were already going to buy some of that stuff, then it saves you time because it's already there.
 
BILT4ME said:
There's about $4000 (new) of accessories added to it. Consider half the price in "value" of those items and that's $2000 of the sell price.
Dual batteries
Sliders
Snorkel (Roll over protection)
Lift with newer springs / shocks
Roof Rack
ARB
Tires are 315 / 17 and look to be in good shape, not on rims I would choose, but they are OK. I'll bet there are spacers behind them.


The wiring under the hood appears to be run "OK" and not butchered, at least from 20 ft.

It's triple locked and they work, so there's another $2000 premium that everyone thinks is there.

So, $5000 for a base model truck with a bit of surface rust under it, and bad paint. Typical bad seats.

How about receipts and service records?
Head Gasket replaced?

Talk him down a little if its still there. What's your intended usage? If you were already going to buy some of that stuff, then it saves you time because it's already there.
Click to expand...
Hi Bilt,

Thanks for your suggestions. I'm still waiting to hear back from this seller. I will ask him the questions re HG replacement, etc, and will let you know here what I find out. Appreciate your input!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

PeterTheBeater
Need help with caster adjustment
Replies
14
Views
1K
alia176
alia176
ashooter
Help? Need alternator for 3FE
Replies
15
Views
513
Greg E23
G
sogafarm
Need help with 3rd row seat attachment bushing identification.
Replies
13
Views
864
sogafarm
sogafarm
S
Chassis paint decision Por 15 or JDBB- help me out
2
Replies
24
Views
2K
KYLXFJ
K

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom