Someone Talk Me Out of Getting An FJ60

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I bought my '87 cruiser for under 5k and I have a backup beater '97 Nissan Sentra.
I play the game of roulette in my head but what's life, if it isn't w/o risk and rushes? Booooring.

And don't ask me what I make a year.

Life is too short to not do what you want to do. Take it from me. I had my first child die late summer 12 years ago at almost 8 from cancer. I wanted another child deep to my core and I now have a little boy who is almost 4 yrs of age... his dad and I aren't together (my choice, we were way too different) so he does 50/50 w/ us but he's a happy awesome kid who gets the best of two worlds. And his Mama drives a monsta' truck and he knows more about tools than a lot of kids his age. And his dad is an avid hiker/teacher.
Life is far to short for regrets.
 
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NeverGiveUpYota said:
I bought my '87 cruiser for under 5k and I have a backup beater '97 Nissan Sentra.
I play the game of roulette in my head but what's life, if it isn't w/o risk and rushes? Booooring.

And don't ask me what I make a year.

Life is too short to not do what you want to do. Take it from me. I had my first child die late summer 12 years ago at almost 8 from cancer. I wanted another child deep to my core and I now have a little boy who is almost 4 yrs of age... his dad and I aren't together (my choice, we were way too different) so he does 50/50 w/ us but he's a happy awesome kid who gets the best of two worlds. And his Mama drives a monsta' truck and he knows more about tools than a lot of kids his age. And his dad is an avid hiker/teacher.
Life is far to short for regrets.
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This I agree WAY TO BE, our greatest gift in life is being able to make choices and take risks. How we choose to deal with what happens next is where character shines.
 
I am not a FJ60 owner but do brows the 60 section from time to time because I do like them a lot and know a few cool FJ60 owners. :)

I guess I will chime in and add my experience owning an old cruiser. It is definitely not what you would want as a DD unless you have the space, tools & skills, and money to keep it going as a DD.
 
NeverGiveUpYota said:
I bought my '87 cruiser for under 5k and I have a backup beater '97 Nissan Sentra.
I play the game of roulette in my head but what's life, if it isn't w/o risk and rushes? Booooring.

And don't ask me what I make a year.

Life is too short to not do what you want to do. Take it from me. I had my first child die late summer 12 years ago at almost 8 from cancer. I wanted another child deep to my core and I now have a little boy who is almost 4 yrs of age... his dad and I aren't together (my choice, we were way too different) so he does 50/50 w/ us but he's a happy awesome kid who gets the best of two worlds. And his Mama drives a monsta' truck and he knows more about tools than a lot of kids his age. And his dad is an avid hiker/teacher.
Life is far to short for regrets.
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I think I posted elsewhere in the past about buying my first 60 after the death of my niece at 8 weeks old. I wasn't looking for a landcruiser exactly but I was definitely looking for something. It has been great therapy, great distraction and great adventure. Certainly its made me ask questions of myself and find interesting answers. It has allowed me to hone in on some important ideas such as how I spend my time, how much I work or play, what do I want to learn. Thats before the idea of it taking me out to see something other than strip malls and sbux.

I suppose one could get a similar experience from many old vehicles or other endeavors. For me though there is something special about these vehicles and the community that envelops them. Not everyone here is great or bound to be your best friend. Not every vehicle is the best one you will ever own, depending on your measure. There is however way more good than bad and I would challenge anyone to get a similar experience from a modern jeep or any other vehicle for that matter. Yes I am biased, perhaps because of when these things entered my life, but OP if you let them they will teach you something about yourself. What is the value of that?


Still don't be dumb it shouldn't be your DD unless you are very mechanically skilled and obsessive about pre-emptive/preventative maintenance
 
If you have to ask yourself the question "Is a 60 the right truck for me?" then the answer is ....No, it is not the rig for you. Either you know it is deep down inside or it just isn't. Clunky ride, hand cranked windows, rust, and s***ty gas mileage is just not for most people. That said, i get more smiles per mile from my 60 than any of my other cars/trucks/bikes. I am a 60 pilot, it is just who I am.

Dyno
 
BlackCat said:
Also plan time to talk to people about it. I stopped at the gas station for some coffee and wound up getting stopped by a guy who loved the truck and wanted to know about it. Haha.
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This is so true. I bought my 60 sight unseen almost 20 years ago as a daily driver / hunting & fishing vehicle thinking it was just a reliable (Toyota) 4WD station wagon. Little did I know the attention it would draw. It took awhile to get used to random strangers approaching me about it. They are slow and get lousy mpg. Different life events made me consider selling it a few times but I couldn't do it. I guess that says something about them.

It now has a 6BT in it and I should have it back in a couple of weeks. Can hardly wait to drive it again.
 
Dynosoar said:
If you have to ask yourself the question "Is a 60 the right truck for me?" then the answer is ....No, it is not the rig for you. Either you know it is deep down inside or it just isn't. Clunky ride, hand cranked windows, rust, and s***ty gas mileage is just not for most people. That said, i get more smiles per mile from my 60 than any of my other cars/trucks/bikes. I am a 60 pilot, it is just who I am.

Dyno
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Understood here. I don't think the crappy gas mileage, clunky ride, etc. will bother me. My current ride, while maybe slightly more modern, is no luxury car. I am pretty sure that part is workable. The constant repairs are what I am not sure I am in for or have time to deal with. With my Jeep, I am meticulous about regular maintenance and upkeep. Its garage kept and well taken care of. Something somewhere in me has a hard time shelling out $16,000 to $20,000 + for a vehicle that in the end is by all accounts, slow, underpowered, and 30 years old only to have to then add insult to injury by having to apparently poor money into it as soon as I get it. Especially since what I have is pretty good as is. No cruiser but pretty good ride. Maybe that tells me all I need to know. And yet I am still drawn to the cruiser and am confident I would love driving it everyday if I had one. Crazy right? Modern does not guarantee trouble-free by any stretch. The case could be made that since these older trucks were better built to begin with, that getting one is the smarter move. I still don't know.

Here is an example of a truck I would be interested in:

1983 FJ60 Landcruiser

What you think?
 
Gretsch said:
Understood here. I don't think the crappy gas mileage, clunky ride, etc. will bother me. My current ride, while maybe slightly more modern, is no luxury car. I am pretty sure that part is workable. The constant repairs are what I am not sure I am in for or have time to deal with. With my Jeep, I am meticulous about regular maintenance and upkeep. Its garage kept and well taken care of. Something somewhere in me has a hard time shelling out $16,000 to $20,000 + for a vehicle that in the end is by all accounts, slow, underpowered, and 30 years old only to have to then add insult to injury by having to apparently poor money into it as soon as I get it. Especially since what I have is pretty good as is. No cruiser but pretty good ride. Maybe that tells me all I need to know. And yet I am still drawn to the cruiser and am confident I would love driving it everyday if I had one. Crazy right? Modern does not guarantee trouble-free by any stretch. The case could be made that since these older trucks were better built to begin with, that getting one is the smarter move. I still don't know.

Here is an example of a truck I would be interested in:

1983 FJ60 Landcruiser

What you think?
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I think you should buy a 60 but do an LS3 swap
 
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FishTown said:
This. Some of your issues would be resolved with a swap that was done right. Spend $7k on a clean body/frame and put $10k into a swap.
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Unless he has to pay someone for a swap then you are looking at 15 to 20k minimum
 
Gretsch said:
Understood here. I don't think the crappy gas mileage, clunky ride, etc. will bother me. My current ride, while maybe slightly more modern, is no luxury car. I am pretty sure that part is workable. The constant repairs are what I am not sure I am in for or have time to deal with. With my Jeep, I am meticulous about regular maintenance and upkeep. Its garage kept and well taken care of. Something somewhere in me has a hard time shelling out $16,000 to $20,000 + for a vehicle that in the end is by all accounts, slow, underpowered, and 30 years old only to have to then add insult to injury by having to apparently poor money into it as soon as I get it. Especially since what I have is pretty good as is. No cruiser but pretty good ride. Maybe that tells me all I need to know. And yet I am still drawn to the cruiser and am confident I would love driving it everyday if I had one. Crazy right? Modern does not guarantee trouble-free by any stretch. The case could be made that since these older trucks were better built to begin with, that getting one is the smarter move. I still don't know.

Here is an example of a truck I would be interested in:

1983 FJ60 Landcruiser

What you think?
Click to expand...


I mean no disrespect but you sound like a couple of supposed potential buyers I have encountered recently. That is to say the idea that you will shell out a certain amount of money and then be "trouble free" when dealing with 30 year old + trucks is pie in the sky. Now pick the right one and I don't think you will have "constant repairs" as you put it. If you really think what you
Gretsch said:
have is pretty good as is
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then you should probably stick with it. As dyno stated above the 60 probably isn't for you. If what you are looking for is something that looks cool but isn't "slow and underpowered" then maybe one with a v8 conversion, but you will have to adjust your budget for a good one. Again no disrespect but you sound an awful lot like a jeep guy I work with. You either get these old beasts or you don't. Just because they look really good in a tourism commercial doesn't mean they are a good choice.

I think where you are tripping up is trying to be logical about the choice and as others keep pointing out it's really not about logic in many regards. I hope that makes sense.
 
Here's another point... I've owned a few jeeps in my life, I think a 30 year old land cruiser is just as (or more) reliable than an 11 year old jeep. If you're not having mechanical issues with your jeep now, you will soon. So you can put that maintenance money into your jeep, or into a land cruiser.

You said that you're meticulous about maintaining your vehicles, and they're kept in the garage. If you bring those same habits over to a land cruiser, you won't have any issues.
 
I bought my first 60.with my son as a father/son project. I was reminiscent of my grandfather's 55 he had in western NY when I was a kid. My son found Blue, 85 FJ 60 with @ 109K miles. It had not run in 4 years, and it was clean, dusty and few light spots of surface rust, but a good base vehicle to start. We bought it n bought her home October 2015. It has been worked on by my mechanic's shop, Dajda Do Rite
, why cause some work I'll pay for because I do not have the time.and want it completed professionally. But I did the initial teardown and tuneup, used Jim C for carb rebuild, and finally got her running decent and she got her license plates.

It's almost ready after OME suspension, front axle rebuild all new brakes n lines, and intake/exhaust gaskets. I have several projects left: dashpad, some gauges..to be replaced, grab bar, seat belts replaced, new stereo, cig lighter, among many others items. I know what needs to be done, and have gotten the FSMs from this site to assist.

If you want it easy spend 20k on frame up restoration. Or buy the fixer and learn to wrench n deal with repairs. It is your call, and good luck with your decision. It is wise to plan and discuss before spending 20K.
:beer:
 
Gretsch said:
Understood here. I don't think the crappy gas mileage, clunky ride, etc. will bother me. My current ride, while maybe slightly more modern, is no luxury car. I am pretty sure that part is workable. The constant repairs are what I am not sure I am in for or have time to deal with. With my Jeep, I am meticulous about regular maintenance and upkeep. Its garage kept and well taken care of. Something somewhere in me has a hard time shelling out $16,000 to $20,000 + for a vehicle that in the end is by all accounts, slow, underpowered, and 30 years old only to have to then add insult to injury by having to apparently poor money into it as soon as I get it. Especially since what I have is pretty good as is. No cruiser but pretty good ride. Maybe that tells me all I need to know. And yet I am still drawn to the cruiser and am confident I would love driving it everyday if I had one. Crazy right? Modern does not guarantee trouble-free by any stretch. The case could be made that since these older trucks were better built to begin with, that getting one is the smarter move. I still don't know.

Here is an example of a truck I would be interested in:

1983 FJ60 Landcruiser

What you think?
Click to expand...

nothing is wrong with that 60 as a starting point, except that people want insane prices for them now. You and I missed the boat by a couple of years.

Yea, your jeep rattles a bit and doesn't handle that well, and may nickel and dime you a bit, but the 60 literally has double the 0-60 time of your jeep. Just that fact alone makes it unsuitable for a freeway DD (with the stock engine of course). I'd be surprised if the AC even blows cool even when charged.

but they sure do look cool.
 
Texas heat is a biatch, I don't care how good your A/C is, in an old 60/62 it's rough in traffic from June-Sept.

For that reason alone get a good DD with good A/C, and make the 60 something you WANT to drive not HAVE to drive.
 
I've used mine as a dd for 7 years, spent 2 of those years commuting 80 miles a day highway and county roads. Multiple trips from CO to CA and back. Left me stranded one time and that was a couple of weeks ago (wheel bearing failure within 4 miles of replacement). These things can be highly reliable.
 
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Buying my 60 was one of the best things I've ever done. As far as vehicles go, it's been my best investment yet. I can't imagine not owning one now.

But If i read this thread before I bought my Land Cruiser, I don't think I ever would have purchased it. You guys are making me wonder if I really should have bought it at all o_O
 
You guys are kind of making a big deal out of this. Are they slow? Yes. Can you safely drive on the highway doing 70+? Yes, sort of. I'm in AZ, and my A/C will freeze me right out of the truck in 90+ degree heat. A 60/62 will take some getting used to, that's for sure. But it's not like it's some sort of death trap that's unsuitable for driving on today's roads. I just cruise in the slow lane and put my hazards on and tuck behind a loaded 18-wheeler when trying to go up mountains.

Buy one. There's a strong market for them now, and it's going up. If you're smart and pick one up reasonably priced, if you absolutely hate it you'll be able to get out of it fairly easily.

I will also say I daily drive mine. Not because I have to, I have a GX470 that collects dust in the garage. Life slows down in a 60, and some times that's just what the doctor orders.
 
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@BlackCat spesks the truth. I have a Lincoln MKX that I only drive when I absolutely need too. Which is rare. Driving an FJ60 is way more therapeutic for the soul.
 
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