Wanna be a 80-owner, soon!

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ikecruiser

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Jul 20, 2009
Threads
15
Messages
50
Location
OC, California
Hello, SoCals neighbors

At last my financial manager approved getting a new rig for my toy.

Though we own LC200, found that it is not easy to make her more capable because of the current limited available susp. lift kit (only 2" and 33" tire is the max).

I don't have any mechanical backgrounds and experience in buying a used car. And the two day Hungry Valley driving school is the only off highway experience.

This rig will be mainly used for myself or family expedition purpose. We usually do multi days or weeks National Parks travels (several hundreds to several thousand miles highway run) and I just added moderate rock crawling trip after off highway school.

My budget is ~$20K which includes rig itself and mods like

- rig + repairment + refurbish
- 2~4" lift + 33" tire
- armors: front/rear bumpers + side rails + skid plate
- rescue devies : winch + high lift jack + others
- storages: roof rack + others ( jerry can ... )

Once I get a rig, armors will go first and the susp. lift will be done after ( or at the same time ).

The reason I'm focused on 80-series ( esp. 95-97 ) is

  • JK Unlimited - may be fun & capable. not sure about reliability & comfortness for long-trip
  • 100 series - stable & comfort & capable. but still have limitation differences from LC200
Now the time to shoot the trigger.

I found three possible groups in autotrader.com and have difficulties to narrow the search scope.


  • case-1. '94 43K mil. $14K (before negotiation). no lockers
  • case-2. 100~150K mil. $10K~$12K
  • case-3 170~200K mil. $6~9K

First, is it worth to pay more money for the very low mileage vehicle like case-1?

Second, though think that sweet spot is the case-2, if they have still potential HG problem (about $2K~3K cost, right?) is it worth to pay more bugs over case-3?

Third, if the engine has been refurbished due to HG proble, how long can the engine go without problems again? I don't walk out of Eureka Dune in Death Valley with my kids.

Fourth, there are some vehicles with Turbo or Intercooler. Are they reliable enough? (actually I am not a racer type and have no idea about turbo & intercooler)

Any advices?
 
I think if I do it again I will buy the lowest mi. rig I can find with lockers. 43k is the lowest mi. I have ever seen on an 80 in 2009. But the lockers are a very big thing. some day you will need them. You may do very well to get an 80 with 90k mi. that has lockers. There should be planty of life left in a rig with that many mi. My rig has orignal everything (- altinator) with 213k mi.
In my opinion the 80 is a very comfertable truck as long as you keep the AC working well (witch is not hard to do) I do not have any complaints with comfert. IMO if you plan to run 33s and you are not a seeder then you do not want a SC. there is some risk you take on when runing a SC. But remember the truck will drive nothing like your 200.
I hope this helps.
 
Thx hwakeye,

Believe or not there is a '94 26K mi / $22.5K (Ooops. 15 years old! what a low mileage and high price ! ).

My goal is a stock white '97 with lockers and 50~80K mileage used for a soccer mom OR well maintained & mod by an off roader.

Finding a used car is more difficult to get a brand new. alas~
 
First off, welcome to the board.

ikecruiser said:
First, is it worth to pay more money for the very low mileage vehicle like case-1?
Click to expand...

Yes, i believe it is.. but if you don't have the budget for a lower mileage 80, don't ever be afraid of a higher mileage setup. These trucks last forever if taken care of.

ikecruiser said:
Second, though think that sweet spot is the case-2, if they have still potential HG problem (about $2K~3K cost, right?) is it worth to pay more bugs over case-3?
Click to expand...
If the HG hasn't gone south yet, it's not something to worry. Especially at mid 100k mileage. All research has led to doing the HG when it goes, not as something of Maintenance.

ikecruiser said:
Third, if the engine has been refurbished due to HG proble, how long can the engine go without problems again? I don't walk out of Eureka Dune in Death Valley with my kids.
Click to expand...
If a reliable shop did the work or a really good shade tree mechanic.. then the HG should never have to be changed again. This could actually be peace of mind for you. If it has been done, make sure to ask for documentation.

ikecruiser said:
Fourth, there are some vehicles with Turbo or Intercooler. Are they reliable enough? (actually I am not a racer type and have no idea about turbo & intercooler)
Click to expand...
What trucks? the 80 series? No stock 80 came with a turbo in the USA.
 
Cruise the vehicles for sale section on this board. There have been some good deals there lately. Any 1994 should sell for well under 10K regardless of the mileage. Probably in the 5-6K range. While you may not think you'll use lockers, if you are armoring up the way you describe, hold out for factory lockers! You won't be sorry.

Great FAQ the mods have build in the 80's section. Take several hundred hours and read, read, read. Romer and gang have really done a superb job of collecting the wisdom on this board.
 
Your budget is more in the 100 series range. I wouldn't even know how to spend all $20k if I were in the market for an 80 right now. OK, maybe I could with Dave's sickness!
I would not pay more than $10K for an 80 in today's market unless it's under 75k miles. But even then I would only go as high as $12k.
And I have said this a few times, if I were in the market again I would buy one from someone on the board here who had a brain lapse and sells a rig that they PM and added armor too only to sell without recouping any of their money. Their loss will be your gain!
 
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Thanks for advices!

The reason I gave up 100 is that it overlaps with 200 in many aspects although it's more flexible to mod than 200. Who knows someday I want to go to Rubicon badly? (that's why I considered the JK Unlimited Ruib once )

My only concern about 80 is the stability of the engine. I don't want to escape from Death Valley by walk where the cell phone is nothing more than a clock.
Do you think that it may be helpful to refurb HG even though there's no symptom of the engine problem?

Yes, I am also trying my luck at Classified Sell forum for a nice rig.
 
If you end up interested in a Lexus you get free pink panties with it but you can also look-up in the data base to see if the HG was done by a Lexus dealer of course. If you get the Toyo then once you own it you can have your dealer contact the dealership that it was serviced at for HG records. That's how I found out my HG was already taken care of.
 
With your budget get the ultra low mileage 80, and put in ARB lockers. Or keep looking for one like mine I sold:mad: I have been looking at cruisers all weekend and last week too, the more I see the more I realize how much I scored on my first one and how much the buyer scored as I had a mechanically perfect 80 with tasteful mods and a great paint job to boot. :bang:

If I could do it all over and I soon will, I would not get anything more than a 3-4 inch lift and 33" tires, plus some armor. The most important thing is the care and mechanical condition of the 80, worry about cosmetics later. Just find one that someone treated good. With that budget you could have someone re-gear, add lockers..etc.

Even with the most capable 80 try not to wheel in DV alone, maybe buy one of those satellite phones at least. I did some wheeling alone in DV with my 80 and with my Tacoma, but I did run into several people on the more popular trails.

Good luck.
 
Sounds like Silvercruiser's 80 maybe perfect for you. He does have 315/75/16 Nitto's on though which are a tad bigger than 33's. He has 4.88's and supercharger though that have no problems turning those tires though. Also, IIRC, his head gasket was replaced by an engineer (who also had his own 80) with Toyota's national headquarters in Torrance...I think I would be comfortable with that one!

Smit
 
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I would hold out for lockers as well if you are not in a hurry. What you are looking for, white, lockers, low miles ... is what a lot of muds guys are looking for it seems. Lockers and gears could cost over $3k to install. I looked for 8 months before I found mine. There were 3 guys behind me in a matter of hours while I got cash at the bank after a hand shake deal, all willing to pay more. This was also 2 years ago. It did not have great maintenace but was a soccer mom with low miles and lockers, the bonus I got was no factory roof rack and no fake delaminated wood. I did however have most of the common items to replace/repair. AC was the most frustrating and costly. Auto door locks, antenna, no D light still not fixed but still planning on it.

I can also say I stayed with a 2.5 inch lift and 33" after 10 years in my FJ40 that was built up with 4" lift, chevy motor, chevy auto trans, 35" tires ect, and am much more comfortable in the 80 as it now is. The 40 could go more places that were tight but I no longer have the desire to test the limit of vehicle carnage and repairs while riding with no AC, dusty and stuff cramed in every space available. Not to mention that long trips are much more like a car but with a suitable rig for wheeling when I get there. My wife is also much more comfortable.

Plan on spending $500 for base lining service(fluids, wires plug, pcv etc.) and another $1300 if the front knuckle seals and bearings were never done, brakes rotors $500+. Of course cut this down by 60% if you do the work yourself. Good luck, with the $ you plan to spend you should not have a problem fiindng and getting what you want.
 
Hey Ike,

I am in the process of getting a later model LC (a not so boncy one according to my wife) for those family expeditions with my little ones. If the deal goes through, are you interested in my 80. I was thinking about giving it to one of my workman, but if I could sell it, I rather do that. I hate sellinjg cars because people never seem to make the appoinments. It hasn't been beaten at all. I am in LA. PM or e mail me if you are interested.
 
Hi Ike,
Just read your email. My cruiser is available. I've been to lazy to put it up for sale and it's just sitting in a nice werehouse not getting used. I think it would meet your needs. Please email me or call if you are still in the market - davida@dynashoe.com 310-941-2110
cheers,
David
 
If I was you Ike I would talk with this guy, from the looks of his sig, you would be set, and you should have money left for PM excessiveness.:D
 
Ike,

Many of us here have wheeled with David and can vouch for him and his truck. The truck is SWEET...David's a pretty nice guy too!
 
Brentbba said:
Ike,

Many of us here have wheeled with David and can vouch for him and his truck. The truck is SWEET...David's a pretty nice guy too!
Click to expand...

LOL...thanks for the kind words. Hope you are all doing well. If I still have the 80 I'm going to try and sneak up to SnT this year.

all my best to the So Cal 80's club
David...
 
if i had 20K to do it again (in the US), get the ultra low mileage, regear to 4.88s and put in arbs while youre in there, get an F.O.R lift kit, 315s or 35's, bumpers, sliders and winch. done. oh...of course you'll want to save a K or 2 for baselining and maintenance. tune up, fluid changes; motor, tranny, tcase (diffs done with regear), PHH (and coolant flush), and front axle service & brakes if needed.

if youve still got some left, bank it for an HG job...or do it just because you want the piece of mind. otherwise, do it when/if it goes.

with a generous budget for a more off road oriented rig, dont bother with the 100 since youve already got a 200. spend the G's on a nice low mileage 80 and build it up the way you want, not the way someone else already has.
 
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