Potential 1991 Fj80 purchase. Lots of questions

[Marco Lau]

It is a real dog on stock sized tires. Gearing is 4.11

drive both, both are dogs IMO. put a turbo kit or factory supercharger in if you have an OBDII...otherwise, pick your poison. Get a truck if you want to go 85mph up mountain passes.... 3FE vs 1FZ-FE topic beaten to death, 1FZ owner will tell you their engine is best thing since slice bread...or 3FE owners will tell you reliability trumps extra pony and engine goes Kaboom!

 

[Devils Paw 80]

drive both, both are dogs IMO. put a turbo kit or factory supercharger in if you have an OBDII...otherwise, pick your poison. Get a truck if you want to go 85mph up mountain passes.... 3FE vs 1FZ-FE topic beaten to death, 1FZ owner will tell you their engine is best thing since slice bread...or 3FE owners will tell you reliability trumps extra pony and engine goes Kaboom!

But he didn't ask for a comparison, just if 3FE was a dog in 80 series. Seems to me that the best value to be found with an 80 would be the older 3FE powered models because they're considered less desirable.
I own a 62 with 3FE and just love the engine. If it were rust free I'd keep it forever. Since it's not I may be replacing with a '97 80 series. I've driven a '94 a few years back. Definitely more pep than the 3FE. But yeah, both are dogs compared to modern Toyotas.

 

[tooofast2002]

Decided to pass on the 91. Lots of reasons like R12 AC, drum brakes on rear, rear axle and rust. Lookd like i found a 97 with lockers. Ill post updates when i collect

 

[jomichael]

91-93 are really really gutless
93-97 are really gutless

All 80 series are gutless by today's standards. Especially if you live in a mountainous region and do a lot of elevation gain.

My 91 with 280,000 miles did get better gas mileage than my 97 with 120,000 miles on the clock.


After owning both I would say get a 93 or newer. Not because of the power difference but because of parts availability. The 3fe has less new parts available and it would be a harder motor to get rebuilt correctly.

Oh yeah, and none of this is true of you live in Cali. In Cali they will both get 18+mpg, clear 37's with a two inch lift, and have enough power to tow a 30' boat......

My 91 is gutless as well but I don’t care, it’s a tractor and will go forever!

 

[tooofast2002]

My 91 is gutless as well but I don’t care, it’s a tractor and will go forever!

I liked the 91 and it was not the power that i had the issue with, it was a culmination if all the other change that tipped the scales. If the AC had worked i would have got it.