Time to retire the 80

[slow91fj90]

Well its been since January of 2000 when I first laid eyes on it in San Diego, I knew I had to have it. Bought it and haven't looked back. I remember I always wanted 80 series but didn't know about 3FE's and 1FZ's. I didnt care, it was love at first sight. I snatched her up with 60k miles. Here we are almost 11.5 years laters and shes at 176 ish. She was my DD for several years up till the 130 ish range, then she sat or long periods of time while I was traveling for work. She became my DD again in 2005 and has been since, until Sunday when I decided to retire her and give her a break.

I have not decided what Im gonna do with her yet, but she aint going anywhere! I was gonna do a Toyota diesel swap, but to muchwork, and I dont know s*** about diesels. Im a Toyota freak and also a GM small block nerd. So it looks like she will be getting a LS motor in the future. I wanted to be one of the guys that drove it till it would die at some ridiculous amount of miles, but at 176k and still running like a champ, thats not gonna happen any time soon.

Well I thought I would share my story. Here a couple pics through her life. The first is after I lifted her in 05' and rest are randoms.

 

[mattafact]

Retire? It's barely broken in.

 

[Eicca]

You're only allowed to start thinking about retirement when you reach 500,000 miles. Actually retiring isn't allowed until quite some miles later.

 

[lndcruz]

2uz swap!

 

[slow91fj90]

A couple more

 

[slow91fj90]

My commute with her uptil now was only 4 miles round trip to work everyday. For the last 4-5 years she's been getting 12-13k miles a year with that same communte, but with dozens of trips out of town every year. Shes still gonna make the 5 hour trip to the beach 3-4 times a year! Plus what ever wheeling trips Im going on.

 

[slow91fj90]

And one from my last wheelin trip.

 

[arndog123]

Retire? It's barely broken in.

x2.

 

[slow91fj90]

OK guys and gals, let me rephrase this. I'm not retiring her, she is not gonna be my daily driver anymore!!

I'm thinking more of a rebirth or born again type of thing.

 

[Eicca]

OK guys and gals, let me rephrase this. I'm not retiring her, she is not gonna be my daily driver anymore!!

I'm thinking more of a rebirth or born again type of thing.

Aaaaah, ok. So you're thinking of going the get-a-Honda-for-good-gas-mileage-and-wheel-the-80-on-weekends route? I'd like to do that myself.

 

[kidglove13]

Hey Matt
Thats Crozet and thats me standing there watching your rig.
Glad to hear you are at least going to keep the rig
Call me when you are going to chop off the roof and roll cage it
We need to go wheeln again soon.

 

[mickeyt]

That pic would make a sweet post card!!

 

[kidglove13]

Matt I'll take those 37's off your hands now that the old girl is retired

 

[slow91fj90]

Matt I'll take those 37's off your hands now that the old girl is retired

Haha Roger, you don't want the Iroks trust me, they are sweet off road but for more than a 5 mile commute,not that friendly. I'm ready to go again, next time you are. I'm really planning on a LS swap and a couple other things.

 

[Rudster]

Those 2 words retirement and landcruiser should never be used in the same sentence...Hope to see it back on the road one of theses days

 

[slow91fj90]

Those 2 words retirement and landcruiser should never be used in the same sentence...Hope to see it back on the road one of theses days

OK, I will post every time I drive it! About three times a week instead of five or seven. I should have not said RETIRED. It just a relief to to drive something not as out of the ordinary as MY 80.......

 

[specialk396]

Sounds like a good time for the change, whatcha doing with the 3FE? PM me if you don't have a home for it.Plus I live 15 minutes from Crozet!

 

[thadscottmoore]

I did the same with my old girl, bought a corrola for the gas milage and keeping the landcruiser for the weekends. I drive 80 miles round trip daily back and forth to work and home. The 80 was ripping my wallet apart at the pump. The corrola gets 38mpg! I figured with the money I was spending on filling up the 80 every week, I could divert that money to a car payment and still come out on top!

 

[Romer]

OK guys and gals, let me rephrase this. I'm not retiring her, she is not gonna be my daily driver anymore!!

I'm thinking more of a rebirth or born again type of thing.

Well thats a lot different. I didnt want to wear my 80 with just commuting miles, so in 2007, I bought a commuter car that gets 28 MPG. I drive the 80 a lot in the winter and I drive it at least once a week, sometimes twice.

The 80 makes the trip to Moab and out and about when I am driving others. I like driving it much better than my wifes 2006 4runner.

I actually enjoy driving it more then my commuter car, well sometimes at least.

I probably still put about 5000 miles a year on the 80, but now it will be around a lot longer now that it has a "little friend" to help carry the load

 

[Brian Macgyver]

A real Land Cruiser never retires. It just focuses more on recreation.
I have another 30-40 years left in me. My 80 is indefinite. It won't die when I do, I'll give it to my daughter.
I have spent a lot of years in the auto biz. There are very few lifetime vehicles left in the world. The LC80 is one of the few. My truck will outlive me.
When I serviced Hondas for a living, a lot of my clients asked me about the quality of the car. I told them all the same thing. "Second best in the world is nothing to sneeze at. Honda is it. Not everybody can build a Toyota truck." This truck is second to none.
I can see the point though, about driving the LC everywhere. In the last three years I have put 75k miles on the Cruiser at 14 MPG. It has been to Vegas several times, to Havasu and to Williams and Flag several times. I have driven it up and down the west coast highway. I can see the reason for making it a secondary extra vehicle.
On most trips it sees very little off-pavement use. The trips could be made just as well in a RAV or a Highlander. In just the last two years alone, I have seen large portions of northern and central Arizona, southern California and parts of Nevada in my LC.
It is a great truck to make these trips in, but it is expensive to drive.
I also use the truck in daily business. I drive it all over the local area on business. I have a 4wd Toyota van that could do that duty just as well or better. It just needs a steering rack overhaul. I can do that.
I could replace either the 4wd van or the 4wd Tercel with similar Toyotas. But the LC is irreplaceable. Even Toyota does not build anything like the '96 locked 80 anymore. At least not in the U.S.
You might have a valid point. Maybe LC's should become extra vehicles.