Newbie in Arlington

[Jbrice08]

Hi All,

I came across this forum for the first time yesterday and it's awesome. I'm obviously new here and new to Land Cruisers. I've had two wranglers in college and I'm super excited to have a new toy.

I finally talked my (soon-to-be) in-laws to allow me to take their '87 FJ 60 Landcruiser off their hands and out of their garage in Richmond. They've had it for 10 years now and haven't used it much in the last 3-4 years. Although I'm new to the car, it seems to be in good condition but I wanted to get some expert advise here...disclaimer, I'm not mechanically gifted by any means. So this will be welcomed learning experience.

This won't be a daily driver but want to drive is as much as possible when it warms up. I also don't want to dump a lot of money into as it's not 100% mine....yet.

With that said, a few concerns, and I can share pictures tomorrow or this week in addition to the ones below.

-Rust, seems to be a fair amount on the frame underneath, especially in the back by the leaf springs/shackles.
-Surface rust on the chrome bumpers & wheels...assuming i can just polish it off.
-Some rust on the back left quarter panel under the paint.
-leaking, a lot of "extra" fluid underneath the engine and transmission. I was told it was leaking power steering fluid for the past several years and have been worked on three years and it's a lot better now.

-Tires, how big can I go on stock suspension/lift? Is it worth it? I was thinking 31's BFG All-Terrains...

Open to comment and suggestions, thanks!

Justin

 

[Jbrice08]

adding a few rust pictures

Best I can do for now, thanks!

Justin

 

[Devilmans Hand]

pretty cruiser. Looks to be in decent condition.

If I recall correctly, the fj60 tends to suffer from frame rust near the exhaust tip. I would address this issue first. Crawl under there and see how much of the structural steel is missing. Wire brush/wheel the flaky rust off and snap some pics.
The rust on the bumper and wheels can be chemically treated. You can try some coke and aluminum foil to remove rust spots.
Spray some oil on the underside of the fenders and wherever you see rust. It will help a bit to slow down the rot.

Welcome to the addiction.

Sam

* Tires: you should be able to fit 31" tires under there no problem. I think the 60s came w/ 31" stock.

 

[Devilmans Hand]

fyi, you have a attachment limit under 15posts. You can embed pics from a photo sharing website like photobucket if you want and bypass attachment limitations.

 

[Jbrice08]

fyi, you have a attachment limit under 15posts. You can embed pics from a photo sharing website like photobucket if you want and bypass attachment limitations.

Thanks, that's what I figured, was trying to delete that post above.

Thanks for the heads up about the rust and tires. i hope to have time to look more this weekend and share some pictures. At a glance it doesn't look good in some areas but fingers crossed.

 

[Stumpalama]

Welcome! Nice work wrenching that 60 from the slow painful death it would experience rotting away in your (future) in-laws' garage.
We can certainly help you with ideas to spend your money turning that thing into a BADASS wheeling rig! Or just a nice (mostly) rust free FJ60 with a lift and bigger tires.

Cheers,
Stump

 

[SAS]

Are you kidding? That old 60 is a worthless turd. You should sell it to me for cheap for taking it off your hands and saving you the hassle. <<< welcome to 'Mud!

Of course I'm just kidding!

That is a great looking 60 and with a short learning curve you can have it right in no time. Don't let the rust hang you up....if you want to see rust, let me show you my 60! It lived in New York and Ohio, the epicenter of the rust belt. But a little work here and there and she's ready for another 30 years.

 

[Jbrice08]

Welcome! Nice work wrenching that 60 from the slow painful death it would experience rotting away in your (future) in-laws' garage.
We can certainly help you with ideas to spend your money turning that thing into a BADASS wheeling rig! Or just a nice (mostly) rust free FJ60 with a lift and bigger tires.

Cheers,
Stump

Thanks Stump. It took a while but I'm looking forward to getting some nice tires and other goodies. It will be a slow start...wedding and new house I one year was a little nuts.

 

[Jbrice08]

Are you kidding? That old 60 is a worthless turd. You should sell it to me for cheap for taking it off your hands and saving you the hassle. <<< welcome to 'Mud!

Of course I'm just kidding!

That is a great looking 60 and with a short learning curve you can have it right in no time. Don't let the rust hang you up....if you want to see rust, let me show you my 60! It lived in New York and Ohio, the epicenter of the rust belt. But a little work here and there and she's ready for another 30 years.

Ha, I see where you're going with this....

Yeah, that's a good amount of rust. I'm more worried about the frame rust then the panel rust. Last thing I need is the leaf spring popping off as I'm driving down the road so ill have to spend some time with the wire brush and perhaps get it checked out.

Anyone know a good local shop for this sort of thing? I'm familiar with Iron Pig in Fredericksburg, ideally looking for something closer north.

Thanks!

Justin