My 80's undercarriage is a rust bucket and the body has a few spots that are starting to bubble up. I love my truck and have spent quite a bit of time and money customizing it - lift, snorkel, bumper, winch, etc. I have no intentions of selling it, but these imperfections drive me nuts to where I'm thinking of doing a complete frame off restoration - sandblast body and frame, address body rust, and paint a fun historic Land Cruiser color. Anyone have a clue what kind of costs I should expect? Anyone have a recommendation for a shop on the east coast that will do a tip top job?
RESTORATION - WHO AND HOW MUCH?? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter twist-a-grip
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Whoah.
Joe Rogan knows a guy.
Most affordable route: sell your current 80 for $7500 and buy a rust free lower mileage 80 for maybe $10,000, then install a new lift, bumpers, etc. Total out of pocket for that option, maybe $7500-10,000. First thing to do with the rust-free 80 is to rust-proof it, inside (body panels) and out, before it spends any time in an area of the country/world that is prone to rust.
Sometimes it's easier to just start over.
Sometimes it's easier to just start over.
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Bludozer
SILVER Star
I'd ask Joe Rogan.
All kidding aside, to do a frame off resto if you want it done right you are likely looking at a 6-figure plus job. That is a lot of coin for sentimentality. You'd be a lot better off buying a rust free one out of the Southwest, moving over your good parts and starting over.
All kidding aside, to do a frame off resto if you want it done right you are likely looking at a 6-figure plus job. That is a lot of coin for sentimentality. You'd be a lot better off buying a rust free one out of the Southwest, moving over your good parts and starting over.
Bludozer
SILVER Star
3rd in line with the Joe Rogan memes. I need to get it together
- Thread starter
- #7
I never knew about the Joe Rogan 80 - that ICON guy's lame if you ask me. I have 2 buddies with ICON FJ4x and they aren't holding up as well as expected - at least not for the $150k they paid. Plus I watched him berate the suspension on my beloved Geländewagen because it was archaic - I guess he's too stupid to realize the running gear on a G (463) has been more or less unchanged since 1979.
In theory, buying a rust free one makes sense, it's just that the interior of my truck looks near new - I bought it with 35k miles and its only at 85 now. I guess I thought since I know the motor and interior are good as new, why not just fix the problem areas and make it perfect. Surely it doesn't cost $100k+ to expose and sandblast a frame and paint the body - I've looked into painting it, and the highest quote was $17k. I figured $20-25 to get it looking better than showroom new on the exterior. Maybe I'm wrong.
In theory, buying a rust free one makes sense, it's just that the interior of my truck looks near new - I bought it with 35k miles and its only at 85 now. I guess I thought since I know the motor and interior are good as new, why not just fix the problem areas and make it perfect. Surely it doesn't cost $100k+ to expose and sandblast a frame and paint the body - I've looked into painting it, and the highest quote was $17k. I figured $20-25 to get it looking better than showroom new on the exterior. Maybe I'm wrong.
Dude get you a drill and wire wheel.. you’d be amazed at how much that does. Apply Corosal and POR15. Take it from a guy who sold a built 80 just to buy another one, same color and needs more work.. not to mention how much time and money it’ll take to build it. Sentimental value can’t be replaced
grab a decent 80 and give it time
but if your willing to drop $30k on a paint job maybe ICON is the place to go
but if your willing to drop $30k on a paint job maybe ICON is the place to go
NLXTACY
Wits' End
Some pics would really help this discussion
I would say 30 to 50k.
I would reach out to Land Cruiser Heaven in Maryland. Looks like they handle that type of work too.
@twist-a-grip I am like you. I get attached to my rigs and would rather fix than junk and start over. I talked with Jeremiah at Proffitt's Resurrection Land Cruisers and he told me that his shoe did 3 fundamental stages of restoration, based upon what you want. "Stage 3" was a full frame off, expensive job. The "Stage 2" was still pretty comprehensive. The "stage 1" intrigued me. It replaced/repaired anything that could be determined to be worn/broken/wrong. It was frame on but the shop still did a thorough cleaning wire wheeling and repainting of everything. Interior was the same treatment... only replacing stuff that the shop and customer agreed should be replaced. I think he said a job like that could be pretty reasonable with a nice outcome. This was a few years ago but the idea has be tickling my mind since.
Here's a "stage 1" job that he completed. Looks pretty good for a commoner like me:
www.resurrectionlandcruisers.com
EDIT:
I found the page describing what can be done. I'm guessing you might not be able to do a stage 1 because of the rust you mentioned:
www.resurrectionlandcruisers.com
Here's a "stage 1" job that he completed. Looks pretty good for a commoner like me:
1996 FZJ80 Stage 1 Restoration - Proffitt's Resurrection Land Cruisers
www.resurrectionlandcruisers.com
EDIT:
I found the page describing what can be done. I'm guessing you might not be able to do a stage 1 because of the rust you mentioned:
Land Cruiser Restorations, Vehicle Restoration - Resurrectionlandcruisers.com
Restorations and Custom Restorations are what put Proffitt’s Cruisers on the map, and the quality of our Toyota Land Cruiser builds sets us apart from any other shop in the business.
www.resurrectionlandcruisers.com
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- Thread starter
- #15
I think I got what I was looking for here. I'm not gonna go through the hassle of posting pics. Appreciate all the input.
No quid pro quo? We want pics
- Thread starter
- #17
Allright, allright. Here you go.
Oh man... It's almost worthless, you'd better sell that thing. To me. 
Seriously though, wire-wheel and woolwax IMO.
Seriously though, wire-wheel and woolwax IMO.
Yeah I think we've seen worse. Wasn't there some guy who couldn't keep gear oil in his rear axle because it had rusted through?
- Thread starter
- #20
I know it’s not on the verge of falling apart, but it annoys me and if it’s not cost prohibitive to make it perfect, I’d consider a nice resto.
