This may be FOOLISH!

[archie]

Tell us where the vehicle is at and maybe one of us can go accompany you to play "devil's advocate" to bring down the price. . Chances are if the owner has been on this site for a while, then he/she should be honestly representing the truck accurately.

 

[j-dub]

wow. thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread. the whole propostion is a little scary but i have faith that this rig will get me home safe and sound. i appreciate the offer of having somenone who knows there stuff with me to help out with the inspection. unfortunately i don't think there will be much in the way of price negotiation as the selling price is firm. i could forfeit the earnest money i suppose if the rig is not up to par, but the guy guarantees he has represented it accurately. with that in mind i think it'll be worth the trip. the vehicle is located in omaha. anyone reading this in omaha?

 

[jalmag]

J-dub, I purchased my 88 FJ62 after a 10 minute drive and visual inspection, did all the normal services Oils, Tune up and such. Then drove it 1300 miles from TX to AL no problems it has 257,000 miles on it now and runs better than when I purchased it. Trust your Cruiser it will get you home.

 

[j-dub]

yeah, thanks jalmag. the apprehension is starting to give way to excitement. can't wait to drive this thing home!

 

[caserique]

Before

 

[caserique]

After

 

[caserique]

Some have called my project foolish (no one on this board of course ) If you've got the patience and money fj's are the best looking rigs you can drive. I spent about $17,500 to purchase and fix mine up from top to bottom including entirely rebuilt interior, bodywork, and anything I thought would make it cooler. I did a lot of the work myself and met cool people while doing the rest of it. Definitely worth while.

My point: If you want a sure thing, buy a hyundai; if you want the pimpest rig in town--fix up an fj60/62!

 

[j-dub]

nice lookin rig! you should post a couple more pics of her.



no hyundai for the dub!

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Look for rust under the rig and especially over the skidplate. Mine is pretty under there.

God I hate rust in the northeast.

 

[Cookiemonsterette]

Post up the pics of it, asap.

 

[caserique]

Here's one. I don't know if it's because of the newness of my account or what, but I the site won't let me put up nice big pictures.

 

[caserique]

here's another

 

[cbmontgo]

Nice job, caserique.

I bought mine on Ebay as well in Phoenix sight unseen; I couldn't be happier wtith how it turned out!

 

[sc40]

i like it, i dont have a 60 but am in the market, if you dont mind me asking what is the asking price on that?

 

[caserique]

Asking price!!!

You talkin' to me?

 

[j-dub]

that thing is sweet! thanks for the photos. the one i just bought sight unseen is the same color. man i love that color. i'll tell you all about my "buying experience" in a new thread tomorrow.

 

[Outback]

Not foolish... I bought my '01 Tacoma DCab 4x4 completely over the internet and phone. This guy sent tons of detailed pics that I requested very promptly and accurately. The rig was absolutely exactly as described in pics and conversation. I got really lucky that he was as particular about his rigs as I was.

Talk about a leap of faith... He told me he would get the rig all serviced up for the trip back -- from San Diego, CA to Oklahoma City, OK!!!!!! I got a one-way plane ticket to San Diego and off I went. The Taco drove like a dream all the way back with a stop at Demello Offroad to get some sliders welded on

I have never gone cross-country to get a rig. This one just seemed "right". Already had all the goodies, OME lift, 265/75/16 BFG A/T tires, all the "wire" mods for 4 wheel drive felxibility, Rhino liner, etc. Relatively low miles, 76K. I really liked they guy too. He met me at the airport with his wife and kid and their new Jeep Unlimited that replaced the Taco I also got the complete FSM's for '01 Tacos and a bunch of flluids, oil filters, a TRD long sleeve t-shirt, original window sticker, OEM red antifreeze, etc. He loaded me up!!

I just love my Taco. Worth every penny I paid to get it and I really enjoyed the 2-day ride back. Well, except getting it sideways on I-40 west of Flagstaff, AZ around midnight in a snow storm, following a big rig and having several cars behind me. That was intense!! Good stories to go with it though, huh?

Do it man. Don't look back. What an adventure!!

Jody.

 

[TopJimmie]

I like that front bumper Caserique, could you email me some close up pics? I will PM you.

Nice looking rig. I also bought my cruiser sight unseen. Had a few more rust issues on the exterior than the previous owner admitted to, but the frame, engine and drive train where excellent. She is starting to come together after 3 years. Good luck.

 

[azaussie]

Well I flew from Phoenix to El Paso to pick up my 1988 FJ62. We did all of the dealing over the phone and the internet. The rig has 214K miles and was mechanic owned for the last 12 months and he did all the work on it for the 5 years before he bought it from his customer. Recent work included new radiator, harmonic balancer, brakes, tires, exhaust system, fan belts, alternator, starter, battery, tranny flush etc)

I was look for something rust free and this rig is rust free. I was also looking for something that was well maintained and this rig appeared to fit the bill. I paid $1,000 earnest money and bought a one way ticket to El Paso.

Cosmetically the rig looked much worst than the photos showed. It is two tone and I new the roof and hood need to be repainted at some stage (they are bad). These are the things I didn’t know about until I arrived in El Paso :grill is broken on the passenger side, rocker panel is dented on the passenger side, many cracks on the dash and other plastic pieces.

We took it for a test drive and it ran well, all the electric worked so I handed over the rest of the money and started my drive back to Phoenix. At one of my stops I decided to put in 4 wheel drive and crawl over a small mount. Not problem, until I tried to take it out of 4 high. It would not disengage. I switched the vacuum lines that go to the vacuum switches and it did disengage. Bad switch I guess. Worked when the prior owner put in 4x4.

Next I when through a drive thru and the drivers window would only come up about 4 inches and stop. I had to tug and shake the window back and forth to get it up. It worked perfectly on my test drive. Any ideas?

Finally about 70 miles other of Phoenix the engine starts to get louder and louder. So I stop and one of the hoses that comes from below the EFI writing on the engine and passes through a check valve and runs toward the front of drivers side had a huge hole in it.

It has a shimmy from 65 to about 73mph and then it rides fine.

Lesson learned the hard way, I paid too much.

Good news is that I got 16.5 miles per gallon on the ride back.

 

[Mike S]

Akkk. Tuition expense, AZAussie. Taxdeductible.

M