The great debate, restomod or stock restoration (1 Viewer)

[Roledzki]

I recently purchased a 1986 FJ60 stock, one owner, rust free Texas trust with 132k miles and am having a hard time deciding between doing a stock restoration or going with a restomod. It needs a tuneup as it had been sitting for a while, new paint, and new interior. Interior is probably the roughest part of it. I could restore it to original condition or I can do a restomod with custom interior and then was looking at doing the vortec swap with a manual transmission. Would be keeping the exterior stock in either case other than a two inch lift and slightly larger tires. I think I will be about $18k all in on the original restoration at the most and $27k all in on the restomod plus whatever I sell the stock engine and tranny for. What are your thoughts? I don’t mind either scenario to be honest, this will be my daily driver in the summer and might do 5k miles a year at the most. How are stock versus modified FJ60’s on resale if the work is high quality?

 

[Shes Mad]

Here is my thought—-either One works. I liked driving my 87 stock truck, but adding BMW seats and the 5.3 with cruise and auto made it so much more comfortable and reliable to drive. I plan longer term ownership

18K, if you stick to that number wound be a pretty good investment for a restored 133K mile cruiser.
27K, if you stick to that number would also be a pretty good position.

The unknowns—can you meet the investment number (Doubtful) And, do you plan longer term (5+ year) ownership. The longer you own it, and the more you drive it, I think you would be happier And more comfortable with the V8.

if you build to sell- build it stock original. Lower investment, potential better return.

Or just get 2 of them

Better yet, sell it to me as is and let me decide.......

 

[Roledzki]

Here is my thought—-either One works. I liked driving my 87 stock truck, but adding BMW seats and the 5.3 with cruise and auto made it so much more comfortable and reliable to drive. I plan longer term ownership

18K, if you stick to that number wound be a pretty good investment for a restored 133K mile cruiser.
27K, if you stick to that number would also be a pretty good position.

The unknowns—can you meet the investment number (Doubtful) And, do you plan longer term (5+ year) ownership. The longer you own it, and the more you drive it, I think you would be happier And more comfortable with the V8.

if you build to sell- build it stock original. Lower investment, potential better return.

Or just get 2 of them

Better yet, sell it to me as is and let me decide.......

Thanks for the advice, my purchase price was very low and I do intend on keeping it long term, but you never know with life. Stage one is getting it running really well, which will include carb rebuild, basic tuneup, clean out of fuel system, new battery and replace all fluids. From there I plan on getting the paint resprayed the original color. After that it’s kind of up in the air, I will drive it with the ratty interior until I decide to restore to original or do a restomod.

 

[HemiAlex]

My truck has about the same paint and rust. Missouri Truck in Texas. Bought with 277k, stock and very worn-out. Currently 320k on the original motor with a 5 speed added and a bunch of upgrades.

I modded it out and beat it. It's been dinged, dented and all over the country.

Keep it faded and enjoy it. I wouldn't change a thing about mine. There are enough pretty truck in the world.

 

[Spook50]

If you can afford it, I'm a big fan of restomod myself. Take it to Valley Hybrids/Cruiser Bros. or Torfab, give em a buttload of money and say "do me up".

 

[Lated]

My suggestion would be to do only what is necessary to make it a reliable driver--brakes, tires, tune-up, etc. Once all that is done, drive it. After driving it even semi-long term (I'd suggest at least 6 months if not a year) you'll have a much better idea of what you like and don't like about daily driving a 60. When I bought mine nine years ago I initially planned on ripping out the 2F in favor of a sbc, but after living with it for awhile I decided it wasn't as bad as I expected. I've cruised at 65-70 mph back and forth across the country getting high teens economy the whole way. Good enough for me.

I also wouldn't worry about resale too much, build your 60 the way you want it. If you decide to sell it in the future, let the buyer worry about building it the way they want it. Enjoy it while it's yours.

It looks like you've got a great platform to start with, no matter what you do with it you'll have a blast.

 

[John Staton]

Resale??? look, just develop a good method of hiding receipts early on. I made a nice pretty book in the beginning to chronicle my truck, documenting every purchase and repair. If my wife found that notebook and sat down with a calculator I would be living out of it. I would take the advice above and get it to reliable daily driver status before doing anything extra. It may or may not take more than you are thinking.....and then get a 5 speed

 

[Willard]

So after the amount I have spent on mine I will throw out my thoughts.
I have over 23K invested in mine and while some of that has been mistakes for the most part it is on track with the price .
I started with a rustish free frame (PO took care of that) rust in the body and a rebuilt engine. I changed the carpet, seat covers, dash, replaced everything in the engine bay (outside of the engine), 5-speed swap, all new steering (except the steering shaft u joints as mine were fine), new suspension, new tires, center console, seat belts, rebuilt AC, wider Toyota wheels, Antenna, front and rear bumpers, rebuilt front and rear axles, new brakes, new exhaust. rebuilt carb, updated wipers, rust repair, etc etc etc etc.

Some of my things like the long range tank or the rear full floater axle may not be needed, but due to what I designed mine for (expedition travel) it was. reduce the investment by $1500 for that (what I paid).
The big ticket items are not the issue these are easy to calculate. It is the smaller items. Price out a new set of studs and cone washers from the front axle. one is cheap a whole set adds up and suddenly you are over $100 for that. Rebuild the AC is in the area of $600-800 alone with your labor.
A full on restore will nickel and dime you to death. Unlike restoring American vehicles, Toyota parts are $$$ and some for this vehicle are no longer available with some aftermarket items just being crap.

I still have not painted it as that will add another 5Kish. So what ever you estimate for a restore/ rebuilt or resto mod, add 15-20% to be safe.

If I were to do it again. I would keep the 5 speed and swap the engine to a Vortec 5.3 engine, however not using the Vortec ECU but either a FItech or Holley Sniper (my personal reasons)
And IF I were to do it again, for 20K+ I would buy one already done and just enjoy the heck out of it.

Not trying to discourage you, just realize what you are getting into and then add a % to it.

Some may not agree with the above, but I challange them to price out a sudo restore of a Land Cruiser or at the very least the cost of replacing 90% of your engine bay.

 

[Fitzwho]

I've had my 60 for 17 years, almost half my life. It was my daily driver for 6 years through high school and college. Have had a V8 (carbureted) since the summer of 2004. I can tell you my next big steps will be a 5-speed, t-case rebuild, and a self-tuning TBI setup. Need new buckets and rear upholstery and seat belts to finish the interior to say 98% (is anything on a 60 ever really finished?). But a Trail Tailor coil conversion with an Icon Stage 2, 80 series suspension sounds really nice too, but talking my wife into a $8000 suspension setup (if I do all the work) isn't the easiest sell.

I would agree with Lated and get it tuned up, then drive it a bit before you move forward with the bigger dollar items. If you know exactly what you want, drop it off at a shop and let them go to town, by all means. But what I want for my 60 changes day to day to say the least.

 

[Roledzki]

Great advice guys, my initial thoughts are to get all the mechanical systems in perfect running order and see how I like it. 5spd instead of a swap could be a good option or the Holley sniper added as well for reliability. I have been lurking on these forums for a while now and seeing all your excellent builds and there are a lot of options out there. All mechanical work will be done by me except I will leave the carb rebuild to the guys that know how to get the best performance out of them. I emailed FJ40jim but have not heard back yet. I believe there was a California based shop that does them as well for $400 right?

 

[OSS]

If you want to own a Toyota FJ60 Landcruiser, keep it as stock as possible. If you want a frankenstein, go all out restomod — just don't call it a Landcruiser and don't pretend it is one

 

[NearJetties]

Stock if you just want to use it around town.

Tasteful restomod if you want to do long distances. If you’re paying someone to do it your budget would likely mean a takeout LS rather than a new crate motor. Nothing wrong with that.

compromise would be a hotrod 2f or even just Holley sniper from Mosley Motors, 5-speed, and a regear if necessary

 

[HemiAlex]

That’s the path I’ve been on. Next up is 4.11 and a rear locker, 3FE exhaust manifolds and efi. That will hold me for a long time.

I’ve been able to drive cross country in a tractor that keeps me very happy and involved.