Please share your story as to how you came into your 80. #longlivemy80 (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Jan 17, 2023
Threads
1
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Location
New Mexico
Feels welcome to be a part of the crowd. Glad I found y'all. A decade ago I walked passed these trucks thinking nothing of them. Strange how quickly the tides can change.

This is my unmolested, all the way back from 1997, triple locked pride and joy. 285xxx long miles here in the southwest region of the United States. She rolled around Texas until 2012, then she was sold to someone in Colorado, now in the 2nd week of 2023, she is officially a New Mexican desert rat.

I owned two 3FE models in 2022 thinking one would be better than the other, unfortunately those trucks felt very old, and unconfident on the highway. The interior felt too 1980s to me. Anyways, I had no trouble selling both of those trucks, and got some cash hoping the right 80 would roll down my direction. I ended up buying Tacoma. Unbelievably I made an even trade with my 333xxx miles having, super clean, 1996 4wd extended cab tacoma. The 80s previous owner wanted a stick shift 4wd Toyota so we had no trouble making a deal. I was practically singing and dancing while driving the truck back home.

How I ended up with what I wanted most so quickly blows my mind. Manifest destiny much?



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Saw advertised, one elderly owner bought from new and owned by an aged pensioner 14 years ago now, rang, never off road, hmm did do about 20 kays on the gravel once so I jumped on a plane 2,000klms with a cheque and drove it home. As you do..... Was total grandpa spec then....

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Serving as a US Diplomat to Tajikistan. The LC was was being passed around like a barracks wh*#@ until I saved her.
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97 LX, originally California car owned by a woman who saw "luxury SUV" and drove it as such. Believe it was garaged from the sun, and she had the dealer service everything as needed, based on records. Then moved to OR for a few years, and was sold in 2012 to the guy who brought it up here. He lifted it (correctly, even) at the time and put 315s on it. Sold because his wife didn't like how tall it was - that next owner had it for years here. Met him at a gas station and he expressed his love for it, was glad to hear someone was taking care of it. He sold it to my friend who's a mechanic near my old house, because it needed some baselining and he didn't have time/desire. My friend is a Toyota fan & did all that, then sold it to me for a nice price. I've finished everything else short of future HG or other bigger projects. Cooling overhaul, knuckle rebuild, and all kinds of small details. Runs great, just over 231k now.

Wasn't looking for one, was just needing to replace my old 4x4 that I flipped in a ditch, and it had some rust issues. Mulled it over for a couple weeks as it wasn't selling. People here don't know what these things are, and 209k miles is "a ton" to them... meanwhile there's bidding wars over rusted out Tacomas 😂 so I took it for a long test drive, and then handed him cash. Coolest vehicle I'll ever own, I'd say, unless I find myself in a 70 troopy somehow. Been a pleasure. Need to install a few more easy parts this spring, and then we're planning a 2 week road trip to Denali with the dogs... I keep all rear seats out as it is, and will be building a platform for the trip, which will probably stay in there afterward.

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My family was always into cruisers (my mom drove one in high school and actually pulled my dad into the scene).

I remember walking to school in 2nd grade and taking note of the silver land cruiser down the block with Lexus badging. Well, a few years later in 2002 my dad decides to buy it off them and relieve the 60 series of daily duty. Bone stock, one owner, triple locked, no kids or offroading. I didn't care, I liked the 60 better still.

19 years later I'd pulled the drive trains out of each at least once, and my dad told me to pick which one to buy off him and he would list the other. It was a tough decision as I'd put heart and soul into both, but as much as I loved and enjoyed the 60, the 80 was basically turn-key, ready to go cosmetically and mechanically...besides, the wife preferred it 😉

Will hit 300k in the next couple months and wouldn't hesitate to (and almost just did) drive it across the country
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For me, originally I looked at a GQ Patrol at a 2nd hand car yard and quite liked it but it had a lack of headroom (im 6'5")
there was a 80 series in the lot as well and when I sat in it I had lots of headroom plus the quality of it just seemed so much better and the more I looked between the two on that day my mind was pretty much made up there and then that the 80 was the way to go.

I then started looking at new ones then as the cost between low km used and new was not that much plus i had full warranty etc....

still going strong 28 years & counting
 
I became separated from my family as young boy, left to wander in the forest. I survived by drinking rain water and eating mice, whole. One day I came upon a cabin in the woods, went inside to get warm and decided to make it my home. While checking out the area around the cabin, on a mountain side, there was what looked like an old mine entrance, partially hidden, with large steel doors, unlocked. I went inside to investigate.

Surprisingly there was power from a buried cable and running water from a deep well along with a massive supply of dried/packaged food, tools, old (but working) communication equipment, bunk beds, living quarters, etc,etc. It apparently had been built as a bomb shelter in case of nuclear war, and then forgotten.

Low and behold tucked deep in the structure was a maintenance area near the end of a closed off alternate entrance/exit and under a dusty OD green tarp there was a FJ40 in pristine condition someone had left behind, with the keys in the ignition. I named her Mother.

So that's how I got interested in Land Cruisers.






;)




Looked just like this:



CQ, CQ, is anybody there??

(is this chat?)
 
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September of 2000 I was 16 and had a lot of savings, I had been working in my family's businesses since I was legit 5 years old. My cousin had a dealer license and I went with him to the dealer auction to get a car. I honestly wasn't a car guy yet at all, I knew a little basic stuff but not nearly enough to be at a dealer auction choosing a car....I guess I just got lucky and chose the right one.

This black 97 LX450 rolled up, 22k miles on it coming off a lease, i knew absolutely nothing about them. I told my cousin I wanted it and he bid up to 26k and I picked it up from his lot the next day. That was my baby I went through everything with that truck, tried to replace it a dozen times and always went back to it and got rid of the other car.

Sold her in 2018 when I leased a new GX, regretted it from day one. My current 97 LC a local kid had and I went to randomly go see it, it shockingly had zero rust for being from Michigan....brought it home and sold my second GX lease for the equity in it. That was October 2021.
 
saw the '93 listed here on MUD and discussed in a local forum - probably because of the remote location of the seller, the ad lasted more than a month - after much vacillating, we decided to get it (involved a tri-state overnight trip, during which I learned the ins-and-outs of a crawfish boil - thanks to the Cottonland Cruisers :cheers:) :steer:

saw the LX listed here on MUD and discussed in a (another) local forum - jumped on it three days after it was listed, while hubby was in Europe :hillbilly: :flamingo:

[no need to divulge the reasons here, but both trucks came with gratuitous price drops at the last minute :bounce: :bounce2:]

got the trucks in different states, but they now get to play with each other :D

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and live peacefully next to each other in the same garage :D

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I had a first gen 4 runner (the IFS version, not the good one) which I liked but wanted to add lockers. When I saw the prices of front and rear lockers for that truck I started looking for used axles with lockers in them already. That got me looking at triple locked Land Cruisers. I found mine on a used car lot about 3 hours from home. It was listed for just a little more than a set of lockers was going to cost me so I went to look at it.

I fell in love with it right away and my wife even liked it (she hated the 4 runner) so we bought it. Trailered it home and proceeded to drive. After driving a few days it began overheating. Small amount of water in the oil so I was thinking head gasket. Used car dealer basically told me to F off when I brought it up to them. Did not have the cash for repair at the time so I decided to use some Barrs leak tablets to see if I could buy some time to save cash. That actually worked so well that its been 6 years and still going strong. I now don't think it was the head gasket and more likely the interface at the oil cooler on the side of the block. One day I will pull that off to clean and repair.

Wheeled it bone stock for a couple years doing baseline maintenance and then the upgrades began. It's my go to car in the winter, mostly because I enjoy saving other people who are stuck. It's got a bunch of dents in it now, the fender flares are long gone and it's closing in on 300,000 miles but I'd drive it across the Country tomorrow if I had to.
 
I moved from the city to the country about 13 years ago. I was tired of repairing the diffs, axles and transfer cases of Grand Cherokees so I found a triple locked '94 LC with 160k miles on CL for a couple $K and got rid of the Jeeps. The previous owner also threw in a bunch of extra parts that he had accumulated. It blew the head gasket about 6 months later just after the winter. I pulled the engine and trans and did a complete rebuild of the engine. There were signs of overheating in the past and some sodium silicate stop leak, but all the cylinders still had clear factory hone marks.

I have pulled apart the front and rear diffs as well but they looked so good I put the bearings back in the boxes and plan on rebuilding them after another 100K miles when I rebuild the knuckles again. It has a couple of surface rust spots that I'll get to in the next year or so when I strip and repaint the whole body. I try and stick with Toyota parts or better since any corner cut or temporary cheap part has let me down. The driver side leather seat is a bit worn now and I'll fabricate some new leather for it along with replacing all the carpet.

My plan is to keep it going until one of us dies or they don't allow ICE vehicles on the roads anymore. Even then I might convert it to EV, but no self driving, that would take all the fun out of it.
 
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Boring story.....

Walked into the local Toyota dealer, struck a deal on a vehicle still on the boat from Japan. Took ownership about 10 days later on a Friday afternoon. Friday evening/night went trail riding in Trabuco Canyon.
 
My parents had a ‘91 from nearly new. When I hit about 12, I was let loose to drive around and do what I wanted while my dad flew his glider. The entire glider port (a former Naval air base and backup shuttle landing site) was absolutely massive. I fell in love with the cruiser. They sold it when I was about 18, I couldn’t afford to run it or I’d have bought it. But to be fair, it was rough with nearly 400k. After a brief foray into a 1992 Honda Accord station wagon with a 5 speed manual (wish I still had it), I was back in an 80. A ‘92 this time. Drove that until it was totaled, then bought another ‘92. Had that for awhile and decided I would move ‘up’ and bought my current ‘93. I’ve also got a ‘96 LX450. There’s nothing quite like them. Except maybe a 70 series… that bug I fear might find me some day.
 
These threads are fun to see how guys got their cars. I'll share my story because it's kind of fun.

One October morning I was cruising CL before heading out to do some mountain biking. I came across this ad for a 1996 80 series with a 158k and supercharger that had been sitting for about 3 years and the seller was trying money to replace the roof on one of the buildings on her property.

I shot out an email and continued on with my day, didn't think much of it, just a shot in the dark. When I got back into cell service I had a voicemail from the seller asking to call her back. I talked with her for a few minutes, ended up heading over to check it out and see what was up. I knew nothing really about 80 series other than if it has magic dial than you are good. Nothing about head gasket paranoia or fusible link psychosis, hell, I had know idea they came with superchargers at that point. All I knew is my friends dummy thicc mom had one like this in HS and I wanted one too.

I make it to her place, and there it is in all it's glory. Last registered in 2016, 2019 now. It smells like a pool inside and there are some chicken bones under the cowl. It's got no battery and eventually will blend in with the surrounding woods.
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So I look it over, it's crusty but nothing that a vacuum can't fix, there is no battery and the seller wants it towed out because she thinks the brakes won't work or doesn't want people working on it at her house. I get the back story that the guy who owned it used to stay on her property from time to time (she has a weird air bnb campground thing going) and he would come and go and just keep the 80 there in the meantime. The last time she saw him he showed up in a Porsche for a few days and then went back east and apparently passed away. The car had some cigar ashes in the ashtray and center console but nothing horrible. Whenever I think of the PO, I picture Jon Daly but that's just me.

Anyway, I'm looking the car over, check the oil, it looks brand new, check the trans fluid, looks great. Supercharger and all the belts are on. It came with an extra set of wheels and a Warn 10k winch.

I give her a deposit, call my tow guy and arrange for pickup the next day. Tow it to my work, pull the spark plugs, put some oil in the cylinders and toss in a random battery I had laying around and try to crank it. It cranks perfectly and sounds good at that point. I toss the plugs back in and give it a shot. Stupid pig fired off first crank! Sent her down to detail and have been wasting money on it ever since.
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I've always owned 4x4s. Early broncos. Jeeps. Big broncos. F150s. 4runners. You name it

After my divorce I had a fleet of cars but mostly 2wd toys. I needed something to go camping in and drive in foul weather. I was considering a new bronco. But sadly the COVID had hit and the market was nuts. I'd always loved the 80 series. But had no love for the gas motor and couldn't fathom 20 grand for something with 250k on it as was the norm around here.

I picked up a rhd 80 with a 1hdt and 130k on it for 22k.

I've had some hiccups but overall I'm happy.

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For sometime I had wanted an 80 but it just wasn't in the cards. Till a few years ago my wife was involved in a accident, was not her fault. We used the money from the payout of her Accord and bought me a Land Cruiser. The seller was looking to get a little more then what we had available, but I was honest with him and told him the story of my wife's accident. Plus his son is a veteran like myself, he accepted my offer and that is when the ball started rolling on my 80.

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Some awesome stories in here.

In 2018, I wanted a change. My son was growing older and I was looking for ways to be able to connect with him that would hopefully last a lifetime. We loved to chase adventure, so I started thinking about what the next step is. I had done some research on 90's style vehicles to stick with the 90's theme (have a 2001 Integra GSR) at home, once I stumbled upon the Cruiser, I knew... this was it.

I started combing this forum's classified section looking for something to 'get my feet wet', as I wasn't sure where I wanted to go. I just knew it was a Land Cruiser that would take me there. I almost pulled the trigger on a rig from a member here that lived in Georgia and had a solid 1994 truck, about 220,000 miles on the clock and an asking price of about $3400 IIRC.

As I started to talk with him about flying down and driving it back home to NJ.... this showed up about an hour from where I live:

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It was registered to a Limo company in Connecticut until 2012, where a College kid had purchased it and put 10,000 miles on it over the course of about 6 years. I presume, when it came time to spend real maintenance and repair money, he parked it at his parents house in South Jersey. Where I test drove and used the death wobble to negotiate a price that I felt was fair, considering what I knew needed to be done. I got an amazing deal when I think about it today, but then I was like... "damn I should've went lower."

An incredibly long journey later and she met the pavement again, ready to bring us where ever we want to, fully loaded.

I've put almost 20,000 miles since the frame off restoration and still hope to be writing about it in another 180,000 miles when I hopefully get to pass it down.

Maybe it'll be all electric by then, who knows where the LC adventures can take you.

We just like to enjoy the sunsets and trails on the way there...

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This is by far my best purchase in 43 years, don't let the Integra hear that, she gets jealous and they might try to steal her again as she pulls her skirt up to others every time she thinks the LC gets all the love.
 
These threads are fun to see how guys got their cars. I'll share my story because it's kind of fun.

One October morning I was cruising CL before heading out to do some mountain biking. I came across this ad for a 1996 80 series with a 158k and supercharger that had been sitting for about 3 years and the seller was trying money to replace the roof on one of the buildings on her property.

I shot out an email and continued on with my day, didn't think much of it, just a shot in the dark. When I got back into cell service I had a voicemail from the seller asking to call her back. I talked with her for a few minutes, ended up heading over to check it out and see what was up. I knew nothing really about 80 series other than if it has magic dial than you are good. Nothing about head gasket paranoia or fusible link psychosis, hell, I had know idea they came with superchargers at that point. All I knew is my friends dummy thicc mom had one like this in HS and I wanted one too.

I make it to her place, and there it is in all it's glory. Last registered in 2016, 2019 now. It smells like a pool inside and there are some chicken bones under the cowl. It's got no battery and eventually will blend in with the surrounding woods.
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So I look it over, it's crusty but nothing that a vacuum can't fix, there is no battery and the seller wants it towed out because she thinks the brakes won't work or doesn't want people working on it at her house. I get the back story that the guy who owned it used to stay on her property from time to time (she has a weird air bnb campground thing going) and he would come and go and just keep the 80 there in the meantime. The last time she saw him he showed up in a Porsche for a few days and then went back east and apparently passed away. The car had some cigar ashes in the ashtray and center console but nothing horrible. Whenever I think of the PO, I picture Jon Daly but that's just me.

Anyway, I'm looking the car over, check the oil, it looks brand new, check the trans fluid, looks great. Supercharger and all the belts are on. It came with an extra set of wheels and a Warn 10k winch.

I give her a deposit, call my tow guy and arrange for pickup the next day. Tow it to my work, pull the spark plugs, put some oil in the cylinders and toss in a random battery I had laying around and try to crank it. It cranks perfectly and sounds good at that point. I toss the plugs back in and give it a shot. Stupid pig fired off first crank! Sent her down to detail and have been wasting money on it ever since.View attachment 3222807
These threads are fun to see how guys got their cars. I'll share my story because it's kind of fun.

One October morning I was cruising CL before heading out to do some mountain biking. I came across this ad for a 1996 80 series with a 158k and supercharger that had been sitting for about 3 years and the seller was trying money to replace the roof on one of the buildings on her property.

I shot out an email and continued on with my day, didn't think much of it, just a shot in the dark. When I got back into cell service I had a voicemail from the seller asking to call her back. I talked with her for a few minutes, ended up heading over to check it out and see what was up. I knew nothing really about 80 series other than if it has magic dial than you are good. Nothing about head gasket paranoia or fusible link psychosis, hell, I had know idea they came with superchargers at that point. All I knew is my friends dummy thicc mom had one like this in HS and I wanted one too.

I make it to her place, and there it is in all it's glory. Last registered in 2016, 2019 now. It smells like a pool inside and there are some chicken bones under the cowl. It's got no battery and eventually will blend in with the surrounding woods.
View attachment 3222788

So I look it over, it's crusty but nothing that a vacuum can't fix, there is no battery and the seller wants it towed out because she thinks the brakes won't work or doesn't want people working on it at her house. I get the back story that the guy who owned it used to stay on her property from time to time (she has a weird air bnb campground thing going) and he would come and go and just keep the 80 there in the meantime. The last time she saw him he showed up in a Porsche for a few days and then went back east and apparently passed away. The car had some cigar ashes in the ashtray and center console but nothing horrible. Whenever I think of the PO, I picture Jon Daly but that's just me.

Anyway, I'm looking the car over, check the oil, it looks brand new, check the trans fluid, looks great. Supercharger and all the belts are on. It came with an extra set of wheels and a Warn 10k winch.

I give her a deposit, call my tow guy and arrange for pickup the next day. Tow it to my work, pull the spark plugs, put some oil in the cylinders and toss in a random battery I had laying around and try to crank it. It cranks perfectly and sounds good at that point. I toss the plugs back in and give it a shot. Stupid pig fired off first crank! Sent her down to detail and have been wasting money on it ever since.View attachment 3222807
unbelievable find. I thought I got a good deal lol thanks for the story. im having a good time reading what the guys have to share
 
Funny how early childhood experiences shape future behavior. My parents owned a '93 80 series from new, which started my solid axle obsession. I got into wheeling in the early 2000's with a built Grand Cherokee. Great rig. Suffered new dad syndrome, and sold off all my toys in the mid 2000's. Got the itch to start wheeling again, wanted a solid axle rig, and tried to acquire my parents' 80 series, but it was a rust bucket. Since then, it's been downhill. I've purchased 4 80's, and still have three of them. One for wheeling, and two that are collector grade.

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