Newbie intro and questions

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Welcome!

Actually your timing is perfect; there is a meet tonight at Rudy's off 183 at 7pm. :)
 
D'oh!

Maybe not so perfect. I have plans with the wifey tonight.

Is it a weekly thing? Tuesdays are usually bike night for me, but I can make an exception or hit up both if I'm fast. :)
 
Welcome...

Sounds like an 80 series might be your best bet if you want leather that is...and are looking for a comfortable daily driver.

Keep in mind they are full time 4WD and weight sh$t ton, so they guzzle gas.

They are super reliable though. My 80 is my favorite Cruiser. I don't think I could daily drive a 40 and I'd rather have auto vs. manual as a daily driver too.

As far as your budget, you can find a really nice 80 for $10K or less. They are priced to sell these days.
Keep in mind you probably will have to dump a few grand into even a nice one unless it is pristine.

Good luck with the search.
 
If you have any concern about mpg, then you might rethink buying one as a daily driver.

I don't even pay attention to what I get from a MPG standpoint, but its under 15 in town and under 20 on the highway.

That is pretty standard for ANY cruiser unless you have a diesel of course.
 
It all depends. 12-15 city is around what most auto sites will say. Adding any aftermarket goodies will probably clip a few off of that. I am sure if you do a search you will find numerous threads on the subject including what people are getting with diesel swaps. I was in the same boat I love the 80, 100's are really nice as well. However, because my truck is my DD I went with something that gets slightly better MPG. Also the Rudy's meeting is the last Tuesday of every month. Hope this helps.
 
"Daily Driver" is, perhaps, not the right term. It's sunny in Austin 300 days a year and I have a motorcycle that I do most of my running around on. I also live about 4 miles from work and will soon live less than a mile from there. We have a second car, a turbocharged Scion tC that the wife uses, but she works from home 99.99999% of the time. I honestly get in my current car a couple of times a week, if that. This is part of the reason I find it dumb that I'm carrying a car note. I could quintuple the amount I spend on gas a month and still save money because it's so low.
 
4 miles from work, buy a 40 and install a/c

Gas mileage will be 8-15. 12-15 with a good tune and light foot. Don't bother chasing higher mileage with engine swaps. Just enjoy it for what it is.

If y'all only have a scion though, what serves as your road trip car? TCs are small an 40s don't really go over 70 without extensive mods. Consider that.
 
Road trips are totally doable with the tC. Have done several and am very surprised how much I fit in there. Actually drove her and the dog along with all the non-shippable stuff down from Seattle in it a few months ago. You'd be amazed what you can do when you have no other choice. :)

Still, I do like the idea of the cargo space on a later model Cruiser. The 40 is beautiful, but awfully small and the speed is a disadvantage.
 
TwoLeftThumbs said:
Road trips are totally doable with the tC. Have done several and am very surprised how much I fit in there. Actually drove her and the dog along with all the non-shippable stuff down from Seattle in it a few months ago. You'd be amazed what you can do when you have no other choice. :)

Still, I do like the idea of the cargo space on a later model Cruiser. The 40 is beautiful, but awfully small and the speed is a disadvantage.
Click to expand...

Can you afford an FJ cruiser, and are you under 6 foot? They have phenomenal speed, braking and gas mileage.
 
TwoLeftThumbs said:
Road trips are totally doable with the tC. Have done several and am very surprised how much I fit in there. Actually drove her and the dog along with all the non-shippable stuff down from Seattle in it a few months ago. You'd be amazed what you can do when you have no other choice. :)

Still, I do like the idea of the cargo space on a later model Cruiser. The 40 is beautiful, but awfully small and the speed is a disadvantage.
Click to expand...

Not a cruiser, but my neighbor is getting ready to sell his 2001 Tacoma Extra cab, 4wd, with rear locker. He's asked me to figure out what it's worth and help him post it. It will be in the classifieds in a week or two.
 
FJsnoozer said:
Can you afford an FJ cruiser, and are you under 6 foot? They have phenomenal speed, braking and gas mileage.
Click to expand...

FJ Cruisers suck; I owned one. The only thing phenomenal about them is how cheap Toyota made the interior.
 
To answer your question, yes I can afford an FJ, but if you read my original post you'll see that the whole point is to NOT carry a carnote. I can't find used FJs for under $20k. At that price I'd be right where I currently am with far worse gas mileage. So it's a moot point.

A question on engines. I see quite a few 80s out there but how much mileage is too much on these engines? I know they run "forever" but alarms start going off for me when I see them with 200k+ miles. Am I nuts?
 
austintaco said:
Not a cruiser, but my neighbor is getting ready to sell his 2001 Tacoma Extra cab, 4wd, with rear locker. He's asked me to figure out what it's worth and help him post it. It will be in the classifieds in a week or two.
Click to expand...


Not a bad option! Gen1 taco's are awesome trucks. I have had mine for a few months now and I love it; is def ok for a daily driver as well. Some pros are good MPG, nice to have a truck bed (if you need stuff dry camper shell), aftermarket stuff is usually a little less expensive. However, they do lack the land cruiser aura that is hard to beat! ;)
 
TwoLeftThumbs said:
To answer your question, yes I can afford an FJ, but if you read my original post you'll see that the whole point is to NOT carry a carnote. I can't find used FJs for under $20k. At that price I'd be right where I currently am with far worse gas mileage. So it's a moot point.

A question on engines. I see quite a few 80s out there but how much mileage is too much on these engines? I know they run "forever" but alarms start going off for me when I see them with 200k+ miles. Am I nuts?
Click to expand...

It depends on the history and maintenance, so I wasn't scared away from buying one with a shade over 200K on it. The price was right for the miles and so far it has worked out.
 
TwoLeftThumbs said:
To answer your question, yes I can afford an FJ, but if you read my original post you'll see that the whole point is to NOT carry a carnote. I can't find used FJs for under $20k. At that price I'd be right where I currently am with far worse gas mileage. So it's a moot point.

A question on engines. I see quite a few 80s out there but how much mileage is too much on these engines? I know they run "forever" but alarms start going off for me when I see them with 200k+ miles. Am I nuts?
Click to expand...

the problme is that you want a lot of things that dont go together in a toyota in a 10k package.


You are probably going have to look to a fj60. There is a clean looking truck with a bad motor for 2800 on C list.

you can add leather seats, Lift and even swap a 5.3 v8 around your 10k price. then add the sliders and such as you go. Or you can keep costs low buy sticking with a used 2F.
 
Last edited:
I'm not locked down to any one of the points I listed earlier. Leather is simply a "nice thing to have" since it's easy to clean but I can easily do that after the fact if I really want it.

I saw this yesterday on CL:
1992 toyota land cruiser 4x4

Was thinking of maybe giving it a looksie, but I'd much prefer a pair of more professional eyes on it too. Anyone want to attempt to take a trip out there with me? Give me some pro feedback? May be a beer in it for you....
 
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