diesellibrarian
SILVER Star
A couple of years ago, I bought a rusty, pooched-out 1988 FJ62. I had no idea what I was doing, but was stoked to finally own a 60-series Cruiser and keen to bring it back from the dead. Over the first year of ownership, I did the brakes, rebuilt the front axle, installed new seats, did a full tune-up, set timing, fixed the exhaust, etc. I then started working on the rust, documenting the work in this thread. I taught myself to weld and to shape sheet metal. Loved every minute of it.
Fast forward to last month, when a 1989 FJ62 popped up a couple of hours away for a good price. After making a couple of calls, I found a guy to haul it for me. So now I have two kinda junky 62s sitting in my driveway. My original plan was to cannibalize the "parts" rig for some of the hard-to find items, and then sell the rest to hopefully recoup my costs. What I didn't expect is that this new "parts" rig would be in better shape overall than the one I've been working on. It is still quite rusty, and has clearly been neglected, but most importantly - the frame is rust-free.
SO now I need to decide the best course of action: do I fix up both of the 62s, and sell one of them? Do I stick with my plan of stealing parts off the 89, and continue the rust repair on the 88? Or do I move all of the best parts over to the 89, and sell any of the parts I don't need (axles, glass, interior stuff, etc.).
I'm mostly putting it out there to help me organize my thoughts, but would welcome any input you have.
1988 FJ62
GOOD: axle rebuilt, strong engine, good glass, new TREs etc.
BAD: rust repair needed (rockers, passenger rear quarter panel, a few other places), rusty inner frame rails on both sides of frame.
1989 FJ62
GOOD: rust-free frame, lower mileage, cleaner interior
BAD: engine condition unknown, A440f condition unknown, no brakes, cracked windshield, signs of neglect, sketchy wiring, shoddy rust repair on front clip, everything covered in greasy dirt.
I am leaning toward abandoning my other project, and putting all of my effort in to the 89. I know that frames are repairable, but the prospect of starting with a clean frame is very appealing.
Anyway, here are a few pics, just for fun:
The 89 loaded up and headed to its new home (mine)
Dropping it in my driveway (quite literally - story below)
So, when the guy went to unload the truck in my driveway, he had me climb in to steer it as it came off the trailer. What I didn't realize is that he'd decided just to let the truck roll off, without attaching the winch. Needless to say, as the truck rolled back, the trailer tilted, and I was hurtling toward my house at at pretty decent speed. I hit the brakes - nothing! Yanked parking brake -NOTHING. Finally in a panic I threw it into Park, and the pin just chattered, and finally caught when the truck was about 18" inches from the wall. It was pretty hectic. Dude asked me to give him a good review on Google, and I'm like .
Fast forward to last month, when a 1989 FJ62 popped up a couple of hours away for a good price. After making a couple of calls, I found a guy to haul it for me. So now I have two kinda junky 62s sitting in my driveway. My original plan was to cannibalize the "parts" rig for some of the hard-to find items, and then sell the rest to hopefully recoup my costs. What I didn't expect is that this new "parts" rig would be in better shape overall than the one I've been working on. It is still quite rusty, and has clearly been neglected, but most importantly - the frame is rust-free.
SO now I need to decide the best course of action: do I fix up both of the 62s, and sell one of them? Do I stick with my plan of stealing parts off the 89, and continue the rust repair on the 88? Or do I move all of the best parts over to the 89, and sell any of the parts I don't need (axles, glass, interior stuff, etc.).
I'm mostly putting it out there to help me organize my thoughts, but would welcome any input you have.
1988 FJ62
GOOD: axle rebuilt, strong engine, good glass, new TREs etc.
BAD: rust repair needed (rockers, passenger rear quarter panel, a few other places), rusty inner frame rails on both sides of frame.
1989 FJ62
GOOD: rust-free frame, lower mileage, cleaner interior
BAD: engine condition unknown, A440f condition unknown, no brakes, cracked windshield, signs of neglect, sketchy wiring, shoddy rust repair on front clip, everything covered in greasy dirt.
I am leaning toward abandoning my other project, and putting all of my effort in to the 89. I know that frames are repairable, but the prospect of starting with a clean frame is very appealing.
Anyway, here are a few pics, just for fun:
The 89 loaded up and headed to its new home (mine)
Dropping it in my driveway (quite literally - story below)
So, when the guy went to unload the truck in my driveway, he had me climb in to steer it as it came off the trailer. What I didn't realize is that he'd decided just to let the truck roll off, without attaching the winch. Needless to say, as the truck rolled back, the trailer tilted, and I was hurtling toward my house at at pretty decent speed. I hit the brakes - nothing! Yanked parking brake -NOTHING. Finally in a panic I threw it into Park, and the pin just chattered, and finally caught when the truck was about 18" inches from the wall. It was pretty hectic. Dude asked me to give him a good review on Google, and I'm like .
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