Hokie LX
SILVER Star
Hi all,
Let me set the stage for you all. It all started way way back in January 2021 when my brother, @Hokierig , asked if I wanted to go to SAS#5 with him in Ouray, CO. I'm always up for a Cruiser trip but we had to take his FJ62 since I only had my 100 series at the time. After an amazing week wrenching, wheeling, sightseeing, and meeting new friends (most of whom had 60's), I left that week with a burning desire for a 60 series and told the new guys I'd met there that I would buy one soon enough. The search began for a 60 that was relatively rust free, able to be wheeled without feeling bad about dinging a panel, yet mechanically sound enough to hit the road at a moment's notice. Given my current work from home job, I also wanted something that needed some love so that I had something to tinker with over the winter.
Well, I made good on my promise. I found a great truck here on MUD of all places and PM'd the owner. He gave me what turned out to be a very honest representation of the truck which is always appreciated.
Now the tough part, I was in NC, the truck was in TX. After thinking about it overnight, we agreed on a price and I started working on how to get the truck home. It had been a deer lease truck for the past 10 years and had less than 5000 miles put on it during that time so it's driveability over the 1500 mile journey was anyone's guess. My brother and I had just done a similar trip with his newly purchased 80 series (Hokierig's hokie 1993 FZJ80 - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/hokierigs-hokie-1993-fzj80.1264190/) where we took a truck that had sat, wrenched on it a bit, and then set out on a 1300 mile trip back where we had a blast but also felt like stars in a Roadkill episode. Given the recent trip in his 80, I had some favors saved up and we decided to book some tickets after the Thanksgiving holiday and flew to TX with the plan of driving back the new-to-me 60 series.
We landed in TX, checked out the truck and completed the deal. The frame was amazingly clean and c-channels were intact and damn near perfect. The body on the other hand had some roof rot and interior needed a few good rounds of cleaning mud and dirt out of it. However, I was confident it would clean up nicely. Having detailed for many years in a past life, I was willing and able to take on the challenge.
From there, we set our sights on Houston, TX to go visit some friends from SAS (@HemiAlex and @js0k). Truck drove great all the way to Houston with no hiccups or issues. We spent the night and the next day, got our first look at the truck in daylight. We did some minor baselining and attempted to improve the questionable clutch pedal then hit the road headed towards NC.
Truck ran great that first day as we logged 600 miles to Meridian, MS. Along the way we babied the inconsistent clutch pedal, an alternator that didn't like to charge at idle/low rpm's, and worked on our case for a sponsorship from Love's (or any gas station for that matter). Truck was happy the entire day cruising 65-70mph getting ~12mpg.
We hit the road the next morning with plans to make it back to NC that day. Truck ran great all day with no new issues and happily cruising at highway speeds making sure to check out the local gas stations every ~200 miles. Around 8pm, roughly 60 miles from home, we started talking about the trip and how surprised we were that the truck had driven so well on the long trip. Well, seems we counted our blessings a little too early...
Overall, we made it ~1450 miles out of the ~1500 miles required to get back home on our trip. WE WERE SO CLOSE!
I was filling up the tank, having nursed a dying alternator/battery for a few hours now, and the slave cylinder finally lost all hydraulic pressure. Seal was toast and fluid was gone. I bumped the poor truck away from the gas pump and headed for a parking spot out of the way to diagnose and work on a plan to patch her up. Went to back it into the spot and there wasn't enough juice left to bump it. At which point, with parts stores closed, no uhaul with a car trailer handy, and not wanting to spend another night on the road, I got to put my AAA coverage to the test that I had acquired only 48 hours earlier once I had officially taken possession of the truck. We got picked up and, thanks to our AAA driver attempting to break the set the land speed record for a flatbed carrying a FJ60, we were home in record time.
Now she's home and parts are stockpiling to get her baselined. New clutch slave and master were already on order as well as a new alternator before we even got home.
Plans for the truck are to handle the rust and make it mechanically sound and reliable enough to grab the keys and hit the road anywhere at a moment's notice. It will get used for some wheeling, some trips, and some daily duty as well just for fun. First step in that plan is to go through all the core systems.
Let me set the stage for you all. It all started way way back in January 2021 when my brother, @Hokierig , asked if I wanted to go to SAS#5 with him in Ouray, CO. I'm always up for a Cruiser trip but we had to take his FJ62 since I only had my 100 series at the time. After an amazing week wrenching, wheeling, sightseeing, and meeting new friends (most of whom had 60's), I left that week with a burning desire for a 60 series and told the new guys I'd met there that I would buy one soon enough. The search began for a 60 that was relatively rust free, able to be wheeled without feeling bad about dinging a panel, yet mechanically sound enough to hit the road at a moment's notice. Given my current work from home job, I also wanted something that needed some love so that I had something to tinker with over the winter.
Well, I made good on my promise. I found a great truck here on MUD of all places and PM'd the owner. He gave me what turned out to be a very honest representation of the truck which is always appreciated.
Now the tough part, I was in NC, the truck was in TX. After thinking about it overnight, we agreed on a price and I started working on how to get the truck home. It had been a deer lease truck for the past 10 years and had less than 5000 miles put on it during that time so it's driveability over the 1500 mile journey was anyone's guess. My brother and I had just done a similar trip with his newly purchased 80 series (Hokierig's hokie 1993 FZJ80 - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/hokierigs-hokie-1993-fzj80.1264190/) where we took a truck that had sat, wrenched on it a bit, and then set out on a 1300 mile trip back where we had a blast but also felt like stars in a Roadkill episode. Given the recent trip in his 80, I had some favors saved up and we decided to book some tickets after the Thanksgiving holiday and flew to TX with the plan of driving back the new-to-me 60 series.
We landed in TX, checked out the truck and completed the deal. The frame was amazingly clean and c-channels were intact and damn near perfect. The body on the other hand had some roof rot and interior needed a few good rounds of cleaning mud and dirt out of it. However, I was confident it would clean up nicely. Having detailed for many years in a past life, I was willing and able to take on the challenge.
From there, we set our sights on Houston, TX to go visit some friends from SAS (@HemiAlex and @js0k). Truck drove great all the way to Houston with no hiccups or issues. We spent the night and the next day, got our first look at the truck in daylight. We did some minor baselining and attempted to improve the questionable clutch pedal then hit the road headed towards NC.
Truck ran great that first day as we logged 600 miles to Meridian, MS. Along the way we babied the inconsistent clutch pedal, an alternator that didn't like to charge at idle/low rpm's, and worked on our case for a sponsorship from Love's (or any gas station for that matter). Truck was happy the entire day cruising 65-70mph getting ~12mpg.
We hit the road the next morning with plans to make it back to NC that day. Truck ran great all day with no new issues and happily cruising at highway speeds making sure to check out the local gas stations every ~200 miles. Around 8pm, roughly 60 miles from home, we started talking about the trip and how surprised we were that the truck had driven so well on the long trip. Well, seems we counted our blessings a little too early...
Overall, we made it ~1450 miles out of the ~1500 miles required to get back home on our trip. WE WERE SO CLOSE!
I was filling up the tank, having nursed a dying alternator/battery for a few hours now, and the slave cylinder finally lost all hydraulic pressure. Seal was toast and fluid was gone. I bumped the poor truck away from the gas pump and headed for a parking spot out of the way to diagnose and work on a plan to patch her up. Went to back it into the spot and there wasn't enough juice left to bump it. At which point, with parts stores closed, no uhaul with a car trailer handy, and not wanting to spend another night on the road, I got to put my AAA coverage to the test that I had acquired only 48 hours earlier once I had officially taken possession of the truck. We got picked up and, thanks to our AAA driver attempting to break the set the land speed record for a flatbed carrying a FJ60, we were home in record time.
Now she's home and parts are stockpiling to get her baselined. New clutch slave and master were already on order as well as a new alternator before we even got home.
Plans for the truck are to handle the rust and make it mechanically sound and reliable enough to grab the keys and hit the road anywhere at a moment's notice. It will get used for some wheeling, some trips, and some daily duty as well just for fun. First step in that plan is to go through all the core systems.
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