*Current state as of October 2023:
Hi all,
I am now back in a 60 series after a 6-year hiatus.
Some backstory- when I was a kid, my family rented a home on a few-acre plot, and slotted in the woods far behind the house was a white and red FJ40 - remembered by the "Land Cruiser" script badge on the hood. It was rusted and decaying, but as a young kid I would play in the woods, sit in it and pretend to drive it, and dream to have my own one day. Little did I know I was planting a seed that would last quite a long time. In 2014 I graduated college and began padding my measly savings account to try and get a vintage Land Cruiser. Living in Houston, while at work I would go on every major US city's Craigslist hub one by one, on the hunt. I had ambitions of doing a "Roadkill" style trip to fly in to a city to buy a beater, wrench on what's needed, and have an epic roadtrip home. One day I tried a new zip for Springfield, MO I found a candidate - a 1987 FJ60 with 280k miles. It had rust and had been sitting for years, but a good family story behind it. That weekend I rented a trailer, bought some load straps, cobbled together a roadside assistance and basic mechanic tool set, and hit the road on a Saturday morning. 11 hours later, I arrived to find this:
The truck reluctantly started, I took it around the block, handed over some cash, and drug her home. After attempting to drive straight home in the same day, I grabbed a nap on a friends' couch in Dallas on the way back, dealt with a flat tire fiasco on the rental trailer, and despite the cheap purchase price spent 3/4 of my few months' starter savings on the Cruiser and the whole trip - but was amped up about the undertaking. I was making memories and loving it. Over the next year and a half, I tinkered with what I could and learned a lot, but when I had the opportunity for a career jump in a new city, I decided not to take the Cruiser with me. The truck needed some rust repair, was running on 5 cylinders, and as a 23 year old rookie with extremely low budget, little tools, working in an apartment garage, it became too much for me to do her justice. I posted for sale and within just a few hours, she had her new home. That home coincidentally was @HemiAlex , who has since given much love and care to "Mamabear" and returned her to glory.
Fast forward to 2022, life has progressed. Now 30, married and a father, and finally a homeowner with some garage space, the Cruiser Gods were calling me back. I had several project vehicles in the interim, a 4Runner, bullnose Ford pickup, and a basket case 100 series, all of which helped me pick up new skills and knowledge in the wrenching game. Facebook marketplace now the ubiquitous classified site, I jumped on to find this a few hours away from my home in North Carolina (image from seller):
Full of nostalgia I rented a trailer, woke up early on the weekend, and arrived to find somewhat of a basket case. Rust everywhere with lots of mechanical needs, some wayward rattle-can artistry, and questionable mods by the seller's early-20's son. But the pull was there - she drove, smelled, and felt like the 60 I used to have. I was preparing myself to walk away, but decided to give @HemiAlex a Facetime, since we had kept loosely in touch for years through the Cruiser-sphere. He helped me check on some basics and offered the encouragement to throw an offer and go for it. Crazy how the Cruiser community is a small world, and I was now getting valuable advice from a chance-acquaintance turned internet friend that shares the disease. I threw out a number, and after some waiting, got the keys to "Pearl".
Pearl is a bit of a redemption story, as I always missed the 60 I sold and wondered what it could have been if I fought to keep it. Now being older, wiser (I think), with a little more budget, skills, and tools, is the chance to complete the journey of rehabilitating a 60 to her prime. I still have many constraints on the build with budget and time (young family and professional responsibilities taking priority), but I am ready for the new chapter.
The goal for the build is hopefully to keep it long term and slowly build over time, ultimately being able to take it on 1-2 night camping trips a few hours from home, with the reliability to bring family (primarily my son) along for his first adventures. He is 18 months old, hopefully able to camp by age 3 or so, so that's loosely the timeline for stages 1 and 2 below. In between large adventures, I enjoy using it casually around town with its analog/mechanical driving experience as a fun vintage cruiser to take the bikes to the park, family to ice cream, occasionally to work, etc.
Preliminary thought map of build stages:
Cheers!
Hi all,
I am now back in a 60 series after a 6-year hiatus.
Some backstory- when I was a kid, my family rented a home on a few-acre plot, and slotted in the woods far behind the house was a white and red FJ40 - remembered by the "Land Cruiser" script badge on the hood. It was rusted and decaying, but as a young kid I would play in the woods, sit in it and pretend to drive it, and dream to have my own one day. Little did I know I was planting a seed that would last quite a long time. In 2014 I graduated college and began padding my measly savings account to try and get a vintage Land Cruiser. Living in Houston, while at work I would go on every major US city's Craigslist hub one by one, on the hunt. I had ambitions of doing a "Roadkill" style trip to fly in to a city to buy a beater, wrench on what's needed, and have an epic roadtrip home. One day I tried a new zip for Springfield, MO I found a candidate - a 1987 FJ60 with 280k miles. It had rust and had been sitting for years, but a good family story behind it. That weekend I rented a trailer, bought some load straps, cobbled together a roadside assistance and basic mechanic tool set, and hit the road on a Saturday morning. 11 hours later, I arrived to find this:
The truck reluctantly started, I took it around the block, handed over some cash, and drug her home. After attempting to drive straight home in the same day, I grabbed a nap on a friends' couch in Dallas on the way back, dealt with a flat tire fiasco on the rental trailer, and despite the cheap purchase price spent 3/4 of my few months' starter savings on the Cruiser and the whole trip - but was amped up about the undertaking. I was making memories and loving it. Over the next year and a half, I tinkered with what I could and learned a lot, but when I had the opportunity for a career jump in a new city, I decided not to take the Cruiser with me. The truck needed some rust repair, was running on 5 cylinders, and as a 23 year old rookie with extremely low budget, little tools, working in an apartment garage, it became too much for me to do her justice. I posted for sale and within just a few hours, she had her new home. That home coincidentally was @HemiAlex , who has since given much love and care to "Mamabear" and returned her to glory.
Fast forward to 2022, life has progressed. Now 30, married and a father, and finally a homeowner with some garage space, the Cruiser Gods were calling me back. I had several project vehicles in the interim, a 4Runner, bullnose Ford pickup, and a basket case 100 series, all of which helped me pick up new skills and knowledge in the wrenching game. Facebook marketplace now the ubiquitous classified site, I jumped on to find this a few hours away from my home in North Carolina (image from seller):
Full of nostalgia I rented a trailer, woke up early on the weekend, and arrived to find somewhat of a basket case. Rust everywhere with lots of mechanical needs, some wayward rattle-can artistry, and questionable mods by the seller's early-20's son. But the pull was there - she drove, smelled, and felt like the 60 I used to have. I was preparing myself to walk away, but decided to give @HemiAlex a Facetime, since we had kept loosely in touch for years through the Cruiser-sphere. He helped me check on some basics and offered the encouragement to throw an offer and go for it. Crazy how the Cruiser community is a small world, and I was now getting valuable advice from a chance-acquaintance turned internet friend that shares the disease. I threw out a number, and after some waiting, got the keys to "Pearl".
Pearl is a bit of a redemption story, as I always missed the 60 I sold and wondered what it could have been if I fought to keep it. Now being older, wiser (I think), with a little more budget, skills, and tools, is the chance to complete the journey of rehabilitating a 60 to her prime. I still have many constraints on the build with budget and time (young family and professional responsibilities taking priority), but I am ready for the new chapter.
The goal for the build is hopefully to keep it long term and slowly build over time, ultimately being able to take it on 1-2 night camping trips a few hours from home, with the reliability to bring family (primarily my son) along for his first adventures. He is 18 months old, hopefully able to camp by age 3 or so, so that's loosely the timeline for stages 1 and 2 below. In between large adventures, I enjoy using it casually around town with its analog/mechanical driving experience as a fun vintage cruiser to take the bikes to the park, family to ice cream, occasionally to work, etc.
Preliminary thought map of build stages:
- Get sorted mechanically - starts, stops, turns, with reliability and safety. Having family on board, my tolerance for an unreliable vehicle and acceptable probability for getting stranded in either an unsafe or highly inconvenient situation is near-zero, especially compared to my last go-around at age 22.
- Decide on level of rust repair. It is extensive, so will need to prioritize cost, time, etc. I predict a couple of future options - tackle any frame/safety items and close up any holes to interior (corners of floor pan and inner rear fenders currently) as a "make it safe" option, or to commit to full teardown (interior and window removal, possible body-off) and extensive repair of every item to "make it nice". TBD here.
- Cosmetics - to repaint or not. If I successfully make it through stages 1-2, would be deciding on further investment to make it a long term member of the family with nice paint, trim, and interior.
Cheers!
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