New cruiser in the stable (1 Viewer)

[lndcruz]

I finally bit the built and bought one. I've wanted one since I was 5 or 6 when my dad would always tell me stories about his 85 that he bought new. I just thought they were the coolest looking rig, but decided that it was not a good option for a daily driver so I bought a 80 a few years back.

Fast forward to last week. A good opportunity came up where a family friend offered to sell me his 84 that he has had since 90 and I jumped on it.

Its got 155k miles and is in fair condition. Runs decent, stops decent, steers horribly, is slow as hell, and I love it for some reason.

I'll dig up some old pictures of my fathers 60 and take some better ones of my 84.


So here comes the questions.
-I know they are slow, real slow and don't expect it to be fast, but what are we talking a good 0-60 time is? I'm assuming it needs some tuning on the carb and timing.
-The dash lights work intermediately. You turn the lights on and get no dash lights then they randomly come on and will work fine until you turn the lights off. Then its back to nothing till they randomly come back on again. Simple fix?
-How do you make the headlamp washers work? I have the owners manual but didn't see anything about it in it.

I'll have some more questions as I dig into the turd some more.

 

[haryv]

slow? is it diesel? if not, then its not slow..diesel is slooow like mine

BTW, how much rust inside the frame?

 

[lndcruz]

ha, its a 2f.

No rust. Only surface rust right behind the rear bumper. Its lived in Alabama all its life.

I've been searching on de-smoging it but have yet to find a thread with working images.

 

[slcfj62]

Sounds to me like you are going to be reading engine swap threads pretty soon.

 

[RunTrout]

"Runs decent, stops decent, steers horribly, is slow as hell, and I [COLOR=#00C800 ! important][FONT=inherit ! important][COLOR=#00C800 ! important][FONT=inherit ! important]love[/FONT][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR] it for some reason."
X2 kind of strange isn't it? I love how people are always clamoring to pass me in traffic, just to be sitting next to me at the next traffic light.

Mine is pretty underpowered as well, although it sounds like I need to do a valve adjust and timing before completely claiming this...

I havc loved the 60 series since my uncle got one when I was about 8. Finally got one at 33... only took a 1/4 century to get my dream car, now maybe a few years to fix all the quirks? Would love turbo diesel, but that would be mucho $$$ and time.

Welcome to the affliction! What's next? OME? sliders? have fun...

 

[bridges]

...I've been searching on de-smoging it but have yet to find a thread with working images.

Here is a great post with pictures on de-smoging

Driveability was greatly different for mine after the de-smog and mileage when from 9s to 13s per gallon.

Check the last page on that thread as well, there's a link to a pdf on de-smogging.

 

[bridges]

Congrats by the way on your new ride, I've had 80s and 60s and I've chosen a 60 for my daily driver....

 

[Spike Strip]

Nice! Be prepared to change TREs relay ends and do the knuckles to improve steering... Those split-rims ?

 

[daveIT]

but what are we talking a good 0-60 time is?

My new bumper sticker says "0-60...eventually" and that's about right with my 4.11s and 33" tires

 

[Joe_E]

lndcruz,
You have any info on those rims? I really like them. They look a bit wider than stock FJ40 wheels?
I'm in the market for a set of OEM steelies and am trying to nail down the right ones.

 

[lndcruz]

The wheels are off a trailer. That's about all the information I have about them. I have to give them back to the po(came with oem wheels), when I take them off I can take a few measurements.

 

[Joe_E]

Yes, please do.

 

[mobydick]

Wheels off a trailer?? That's a new one! lol. Most trailer wheels aren't rated too high, I'd for sure give them a close look-see. Nice cruiser. Be patient and get a 2nd job so you can "fix things" .

 

[lndcruz]

Only newer image I have

After almost 200 miles I've noticed the whole exhaust is trash. The manifold is leaking, muffler leaking, and the tail pipe is rusty. Is the MAF 6 to 1 still a good header to buy?

 

[Spike Strip]

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These are better:
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TRI-Y Header from Mark's off road.

 

[Ducks]

Are you sure the manifold is leaking or is it the EGR pipe? Both are common exhaust leak points. I've heard bad things about the MAF header. I'd search some more about those before you pull the trigger. Good luck!

Chad

 

[lndcruz]

Only thing i'm going on is the noise and a bunch of carbon buildup near the 6th cylinder on the manifold.

Any info on the intermediate dash lights and how to operate the headlamp washers?

 

[Joe_E]

Headlight washer only work when you hit the washers and the headlights are on.

 

[lndcruz]

Finally got around to swapping the spark plugs/wires/cap/rotor and damn this thing has at least 30 more horse power. I guess 28 years and 155k of providing spark is to much.

Is this the factory ac setup? I've only noticed a few 60's that look like mine, mostly southern cruisers.

IPF H4's

Cheap alpine head unit, and the super sweet realistic visual eq.

 

[klinetime574]

My 1984 has the A/C under the Alternator.

That looks completely different than mine. Which I know is original. Any markings on the compressor? Maybe a GM unit?