Sell the FJ60 for a 98 4Runner?

[hank14]

Before I jump off the deep end, I thought I'd get your opinion here. I posted this on the 95+ Toyota Truck forum as well. I have been daily driving and working on my 87 FJ60 for almost a year and a half. I really enjoy it, but it is difficult to work on and drive all the time. I am thinking about buying this 4Runner and selling the 60 once I finish working on it:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/tx-lone-star...s-sliders.html

I don't do a lot of wheeling, but do take 1000-1500 mile round trips to the mountains of New Mexico 2-3 times a year. The 60 is fun to drive, but not very comfortable on those trips. The gas mileage is not great, either. I have 2 young kids that often go with me. We would all be more comfortable in a newer vehicle. All I need is something that will perform well in mild to moderate off road situations, mud, and snow on trips and get me to and from work daily.

I'm not really in a position to keep both vehicles, although I think that would be ideal so I could work on the 60 at my leisure.

The things I think are good about the 4Runner:
1. Fuel injection.
2. Built to be capable off road.
3. Comfortable for longer trips on road.
4. Better gas mileage (although this is not huge- I only drive 7-8K miles per year).

The things I think are good about the cruiser:
1. It's a Landcruiser, proven the world over.
2. It's paid for.
3. I have worked on it extensively over the last year.
4. It's a classic.
5. It's a Landcruiser, proven the world over.

The bad things about the Landcruiser:
1. It still needs about $4K in upgrades to get it where I want it (OME suspension, rebuild front seats and new covers, rear shoulder belts, 5 speed).
2. Gas mileage.

Based on this,

1. Is this particular 4Runner a good choice for me?
2. Is the price reasonable?
3. Should I keep working on the 60 and get it set up for better travel? I just bought rear shoulder belts, and could spring for a 5 speed if I wanted to.

Any input would be appreciated. I have heard post after post about people regretting selling their 40 or 60 series Landcruiser. My wife won't comment because she says I have regretted every vehicle buying decision I have made since she met me.

 

[hank14]

One more thing- right or wrong, I paid over $8K for this cruiser last year due to the excellent condition it was in compared to many others I looked at. (I also didn't take it to someone who knows cruisers before I bought it to see what work it would need. I should have!)

If I sell it, I may have a hard time recouping that cost, but would try hard to come close.

 

[jvazquez53]

I'm bias towards the Cruiser.

 

[alkarich]

More room in the 60 series for your trips.

 

[Hank]

Might not help your situation but I have both! I have a 1990 FJ62 and a 1997 4Runner. They each have their purposes and will some day be interchangeable. The FJ62 is for wheeling trips and the 4Runner is for daily driving and for now is stock. I like driving both, both are paid for which is a great feeling. Purchase price alone I don't have as much money in both of mine as you have in you FJ60.

For what it's worth, an 95-97 FZJ80 would be better than both and replace both especially if gas remains cheap (it won't.) For 7000 miles a year that would hardly be a factory. I'm doing 250 to 500 miles a week so it factors in a bit more. However a compromise by your posted standards would be an FJ62.

Newer, fuel injected, better milage, rear shoulder harnesses, lots of work that you may have done to the FJ60 will transfer over with a simple parts swap. They can also be obtained cheaply.

I don't see a working link to a 4Runner in your post but I suck at the intraweb. My honest advice, get both.

 

[mwalls54]

I personally wouldn't do it. I would throw some new seats in the 60 and a h55 and put a lift on it and it will be like a new one. and besides your going to take a big hit on the 60 when you sell it. with a 98 your still going to have to spend money on it to work on it

this link below should work
https://forum.ih8mud.com/tx-lone-st...ift-arb-lockers-rockware-bumbers-sliders.html

 

[Trapper50cal]

----!!!!!!-----

HERATIC!!!!

if youre a big guy, NO CONTEST....Cruiser by a length

 

[NocalFJ60]

I would put the money into the 60 and make it more comfortable for you and your kids. You have come so far already I think you might regret it if you sold it. You can rationalize it but you know which one you want to be driving in 10 years. Just ask your 10 years older self now what to do. I agree that the gas mileage is not a big concern since you don't drive it a lot. It seems like you are attached to the 60 and have worked on it and know it. I think you will enjoy the 60 in the long run and have a lot of good stories to telling with all the trip in it. The 4runner just doesn't have the character like a 60. I helped my brother find a 97 4runner and he has been driving it like mad and gets decent mileage. He has had little issues with it since I rebuilt the rear brakes and changed the axle seals. It is perfect for him since he doesn't need the 4x4 a lot and likes more comfort on the road. A 4runner would do everything you need by the sound of it but you can find one with a locker to just be sure.

Also if you haven't then ask your kids what they think.

 

[fowldarr]

So, I did something kind of similar to what you're talking about. I have my 60, but have it half tore apart and upside down, piecing it back together as money becomes available. So I bought a 94 Yukon (2 door). I like the Yukon, but miss driving my 60, and at least 3 times a week, I wonder where I'd be on my 60, if I'd just taken the money and dumped it into my cruiser. I could have lifted it, rebuilt the engine, and a bunch of other little stuff, and would have a really well running cruiser. The Yuk, is more comfortable, but new seats and OME would fix that for the cruiser. Work goes even slower on the cruiser now, because I have something else to drive, so I'm not forced to keep it running.

Long story short. I wish I would have invested in the Cruiser.

 

[forestdan7]

Put an H55F and some child safety stuff in the 60 and drive it forever. Lift it if you have the cash, but it sounds like you really don't need it lifted right now.

I just got a new H55F installed, rebuilt transfercase, rebalanced driveshafts. It really doesn't feel like the same truck. Really smooth and quiet. And, believe it or not, I have actually gotten two tanks at 19.8 mpg, and one at a world record 19.94 mpg. That's all highway, no passing, keeping it right at 2500 rpm.

4Runners of that vintage are really nice, and you'd like it. My dad has a 2002, leather, really sweet. Averages around 20 mpg highway miles. But he passes 15 other 4Runners on the road every day. I might see another 60 once every 6 weeks. It's just that much cooler.

That's my opinion. Good luck.

 

[Randy88FJ62]

Why go OME's if you want to save cash? Keep stock shackles and get AAL's. Upgrade the chairs in the front so you're comfortable driving. Why buy another vehicle and risk having to fix that one?

Ultimiately it's your preference. You could always upgrade to an 80 series. They are more comfotable and share the same attriburtes of the 60.

 

[hank14]

I appreciate all the replies and I am weighing this decision heavily.

I have a strong feeling that if I do buy the Runner (which I agree is heretical and even the consideration of it should have me banned from this forum), once I get the cruiser ready to sell (new clutch, manifold leaks, SOR J tube, detailed, etc), then I won't want to sell it.

I really don't need a lift, but the springs are F-L-A-T and have zero bounce- possibly even negative bounce. So, I either find stock replacements like at Man-A-Fre, or go OME. I don't want the rough ride of the Add a leafs I have read about.

I also thought about the 80 series. I had a 99 100 series that I drove for 2 years. They are awesome vehicles, which is why I'm here, but they are also expensive to maintain (full time 4WD, gas mileage, etc).

For me, the 4Runner is just big enough for family mountain and camping trips, gets good gas mileage, but can still wheel anywhere I want to go the way he has it set up.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

One more thing- some of this has to do with time. I spend so much freaking time on this forum, that it is affecting other things I should or could be doing. A vanilla flavored 4Runner would not fuel my obsession to learn everything there is to know about it like I do with the cruiser.

 

[mwalls54]

https://forum.ih8mud.com/vehicles-t...ed-lifted-snorked-sleed-winched-labd-etc.html

this could be a option for ya.

 

[hank14]

Interesting...Thanks for the link!

Anyone have Carfax access right now?

 

[Duane]

hey kind of cool that this thread is in the 60-series wagon and the 95+ section..I check them both out.

I commented on this from the practical approach of the 4 runner... that's the less wrenching more practical choice...
Our 4runner is the daily driver/weekend tripper for the canoe, a dog, 2 hiking friends and the gear...it does it all quite nicely and absolutely minimal wrenching...
BUT... the girlfriends LC is like a family treasure, her Dad bought it in 85 and just about every family trip and memory involves this land cruiser.. Every family friend knows it, it hauls bloody near everything and driving it just gets in your blood... and cause its a BJ there is just something about that rattling old diesel that makes you wanna drive it more. Yes it's slow but it just keeps going.. and if the girlfriend had never come along with this landcruiser I would likely never have ridden in one or driven one, wrenched on one and would never have joined a cool cruiserhead website like MUD to figure out things about a diesel 60. Somehow slowly one becomes obsessed with owning and driving a landcruiser... a lifestyle, a passion... sort of my Harley Davidson if you will..... somehow I'd save my pennies and keep the 60 too... but buy the 4runner for the practical daily driver if it's a good unit!

 

[Iceman25th]

Wow,
With the kind of bux you have in the 60 you are probably going to take a serious bath if you cut it loose. I have an 87 and a 90 and I have been trying to convince myself that I should wave by by to the 87. Note, I said, trying. I got to thinking that I wanted an LX450. There are some pretty good deals around on them. You already know what you want to do so just go ahead.

 

[Coyote808]

I personally think sticking with the 60 is a better choice than picking up a 4Runner. I'll list my reasons and keep them short and sweet:

Points for staying 60 series:
1) Much more space than a 3rd gen 4Runner.
2) Front and rear live Toyota HD axles
3) Leaf sprung. Much easier to maintain (IMO) than coils and stabilizers. But that is mostly what I think.
4) Less electrics to go wrong.
5) With a little time and some $$$ you can get it to be just as, if not more so, comfortable than that 4Runner.
6) Your kids will probably like the 60 series better because they can say,"My dad drives something you don't see everyday," line that kids seem to so love to use. Especially the younger ones.
7) It's a manual transmission. Most 4Runners I've seen on the mainland and even here where manuals are more prevalent it seems all 4Runners are automatics. I personally dislike autos, you may like them, once again personal issue I guess.
8) Heavy duty and proven driveline. There's a reason they're popular as fighting vehicles the world over, even among US troops.
9) Cool factor. Land Cruisers just screem cool because they're not very common here in the US.

Once again, some of these may not apply to you, but I've gone the "buy the cruiser to work on and wheel the crap out of it and get another truck to drive everyday" route.