Tucson, Arizona...Firestone at Speedway and Pantano. They have been doing maintenance on our 62 for many years, but rather intensely in the restoration over the past year. Start with manager Jared (his off days are Tuesday and Wednesday). He is key to success with a Land Cruiser. He will assign technician Austin to any Land Cruiser. Austin has become rather experienced over the restoration. He has accomplished the following on my 62 with great care and precision:
* Indicates parts provided by me.
Knuckle overhaul including wheel bearings (Cruiser Outfitters kit)*
OEM front discs (Camelback Toyota)*
New Aisin ceramic brake pads (Cruiser Outfitters)*
New OEM master cylinder (Cruiser Outfitters)*
New aftermarket brake booster, check valve, and associated vacuum lines
Rear brake adjustment and exhaustive brake system bleed
Swap out old worn OME steering stabilizer with new (
Summit Racing)*
New OEM tie rods (Camelback Toyota)*
Swap to Mishimoto radiator (
Summit Racing)*
Plumbing of B&M transcooler (
Amazon)* in series with Mishimoto integral transcooler
Swap out of steering wheel switch assembly (Cruiser Parts) *
Lubrication of wiper arm mechanisms
Engine tune up*
Installed the permanent door lock fix mod per mud site info*
Swapped out master window switch assembly* and front passenger window switch* Both from
Amazon
Replaced both passenger side window motors and lubed mechanisms
Ran electrical required for mods I provided (BMW seats, condenser fan, etc.)
Rodney flush and swap to synthetic AT and transfer case fluids,* cleaning of AT pan screen, and swap to OEM AT pan gasket*
New Denso AC compressor
Probably stuff I can't recall at the moment
Manager Jared is an incredibly good fellow and manager. Technician Austin is young but quite experienced in general, and enjoys the challenges of the 62. He is very organized and careful. I provide the FSM for them. Prices are reasonable. Very reasonable on timely turnaround. They understand that they are not deeply experienced Land Cruiser folk, but they are totally cool with me providing assistance with the FSM, acquisition of parts to which they do not have access, and help with what to expect with some things.
I'll add this bit of info FWIW. I took this 62 to a Cruiser specialty shop that has a reasonably good reputation. It was a drive to the Phoenix area to do valve adjustment. I also had them evaluate weak brakes at low speed. They recommended a bunch of things such as the knuckle job, and said only new front discs and pads were needed. They quoted very high price estimates. The Firestone crew was able to beat the prices, and the Phoenix shop totally missed the diagnosis of the brake system. The Firestone guys were able to determine the brake booster was not holding vacuum by pressurizing it and testing. The level of care at this Firestone is far superior, although limited, as I described. I hear that there is an excellent Cruiser mechanic at Desert Toyota these days, but their prices are stratospheric.
If you can't or don't want to DIY, I highly recommend the guys at this Firestone for anything from knuckle overhaul and below in complexity. A valve adjustment is beyond them, for example. 520-722-3080.
