What has she gotten me into This time!!?!???.... AKA another new guy post

[Sumguy]

Imagine yourself, on a trip to visit your folks via airplane when your wife says "there's this FJ60 on BaT that's ending today". No real time to think about it, hardly any time to research it, just dive in heard first.... so I placed a winning bid from the back seat of my folks car about 10 minutes before I ran out of cell reception for a week. Welcome to FJ60 ownership my way. To be fair, this isn't the first time she's done this, our '66 Bug was more or less the same "we're going to pick it up in 3 days" affair.

Anyway, 1200 miles in 36 hours road trip to pick it up and now I have a(nother) project.

At least the wife is happy, and that's all that Really matters... right? 'Cause if Mama ain't happy, ain't No One happy!

One other happy little accident is that this vehicle was originally sold in Wyoming... and I happen to be a Wyoming born and raised guy. Certainly set a hook of fondness into my heart when I stumbled upon that in the original owners guide.



Goals for this one is a reliable driver for local fun (her commuting to work being the lions share of that, 32 miles one way with a mix of 55 and 65mph limits) and generally being a steward to keep it going and improving it's general condition. This won't be a garage queen, nor will it be a crawler...

First step is to de-funkify the interior. Scraping the gum off the seats, out of the ash tray, vacuuming up toenails... yup, really.... and when an extractor shows up, cleaning the seats and carpet in place, putting 303 on everything plastic... just trying to get the smells under control. Then cleaning and protecting the outside (no paint in several places so wax for now to protect), de-greasing the engine and underside and a full systems checkup. Shouldn't be too bad as it was in Virginia and they have yearly inspections, PO only put 1000 miles on it in 6 years.

My first need would be tires. 14 year old KO (maybe they're KO2s?) 33's that are dry-rotted across the sidewall and tread do not make for a tire I trust being used. Dropping the overall height down would be helpfull too as my wife is inseam challenged...

Seems like most of the tire threads I read are for those doing more than highway driving, or who want to look like they are. If you set all of that to the side and focus on pure function first, what am I looking for? Will a 235/75-15 drop the top reasonable speed below 60? Not really wanting to change wheels.

I'll post up some other photos in the next post, if you happen to see anything glaringly off, I'd love to know. I've got a mountain of a learning curve ahead of me, not ashamed of a little help Oh, I have already downloaded the digital manuals to compliment the physical paper copies I also own.

Cheers,

Brian

 

[Sumguy]

Photo dump

 

[Sumguy]

Whoops, guess I can't edit?

 

[Sumguy]

last of them:

 

[kirvesmies]

@Sumguy, she looks good nice score!
oh yeah, the 60 looks like a keeper also

 

[dbleon]

I hate to be the bad guy ... but I’d poke around on that frame before doing anything further... or on second thought just drive the damn thing as is!

 

[kirvesmies]

on second thought just drive the damn thing as is!

this times 18

 

[g-man]

congrats! on getting the 60, AND on having a wife with excellent taste!

 

[aztoyman]

Most guys WISH their wife would point out a vehicle to buy. You're a lucky man.

The rust is starting to look a little scary in a couple spots but, maybe you got it in time to do something about it. Fingers crossed. Otherwise it looks like a pretty good truck. I'm in Arizona. No rust but everything else (paint, upholstery, plastic.......) gets destroyed by the sun.

Based on the look on your wife's face, I don't think you're going to get much time to enjoy it. Just work on it.

 

[Spike Strip]

Nice find. I don't think the frame is bad, mainly surface rust, but others are right, needs some further examination. If it's solid, I'd have or do a steam clean and spray with some kind of anti-rust (Don't use Rubberized Undercoating!) or fluid film depending on what you've got in mind for the project.

Wifey looks good in it. Nice color. What was the original? That brown interior did not come with the blue paint from factory.

As far as tires, my wife is vertically challenged too so I either help her up, which she hates, or I bought a little folding plastic step stool and tied some paracord on it so she can climb in then pull up the stool and stash under the seat.

But 235x75x15 is about 29 inches so should drop you down a few over the 33s. 31's with the stock diffs seem to be a nice compromise for street, trail and highway driving.

WELCOME! (official MUD greeting)

If you're in a non-smog area, pull off all the smog crap and sell it! (to us guys in Kalifornia! )

 

[WSOPgold2012]

welcome to the insanity This is how I bought my Cabin....sight unseen/online cpl clicks and boooooooom HomeOwnership In Coloado!!!! Best decision i evahhhhhhhhhhhhh made!!!

 

[g-man]

Tires...I'd go with 31 inches. 235s will look kinda dinky. With the 4 speed though if you go over 60 the rpms are going to feel kinda high...like cranked out of the frame high. But you can drive a 2f motor at 3k rpms ...I never liked it much though. Cruising between 2k and 2.5k rpms is going to feel a lot more like you're in the sweet spot. and for a 4 speed this is 55 mph. We had a nationwide speed limit of 55 in the 80s so the japs gave us the 4 speed. The good news is that you can buy a brand new 5speed bolts right in...new from toyota for about 2500.00 Then you'll be cruising around 65 no problem. And up to 70 if you don't mind going closer to that 3k rpms. There is such a thing as rubber overdrive though...you may want to check the fluids, get it running and take it out on the interstate with the 33s on it. 33s will lack low end torque in low gears unless someone has swapped out the ring and pinion gears in the diffs.

Your engine is almost completely stock, the smog pump should probably go along with the air injection rail and some hoses. Delete that stuff and save yourself headaches. The air rail looks pretty rusty anyhow and prob has holes in it. The smog pump can and will seize and throw the fan belt....leaving you dead in the water. Jim C has a delete kit. SOR and others sell smooth delete pulley with nice smooth bearings. You need the pulley to act as a tensioner your fan belt. the radiator looks rusty ...I'd be checking for leaks.

The frame rust does look rough in spots. You will probably be looking at having to weld patches in the frame if you start grinding at it. Hope you have a welder. Trail Tailor makes a nice C channel ....inner frame repair kit for the rear inner channel.

Everyone has the same problem with the drivers seat. Theres some rough sharp edges inside the seat frame there under the upholstery. If you take the seat to an automotive upholstery shop ask them to grind the edge of the seat frame smooth before putting the repaired cover back on.

The front steering knuckles....yes knuckles...(you don't have ball joints) are showing some grease has separated and leaked and is mixing with some road dirt. Pretty normal after several years. When they look dripping wet and are dripping down on the wheel and tire...then is the time to tear into the knuckles and replace the axle seal that is leaking gear oil into the grease in the knuckle. I'd leave them for now.

The OME lift is probably a few years old judging by the rust. BUT, its a nice lift and give a soft ride. Obviously no one has been wheeling/rock crawling in it since the lift was installed. If they had the U bolts that should have been trimmed at the bottom would be bent up. Ask me how I know. Also the rear shock mounts at the bottom bolt would be banged up too. I'd leave it and maybe talk you wife into getting a step installed. Even cooler would be a slider that angles out to use as a step but also if you ever go off road would save your rocker panels.

 

[CruiserTrash]

@Spike Strip 81 and 82 I think might have had that color combo: blue exterior with the brown/tan interior. I’m looking at bringing home a low miles 1982 with the same combo soon, and I feel like I’ve seen that combo before. Doors jambs and other hidden areas all seem to have the same blue as the exterior.

Can we summon the records custodian to provide us with definitive info?

@Sumguy beautiful truck man. You got a little work ahead of you but it’s worth it.

 

[ntdb]

My BIL bid on this truck but his top price was just a little lower than yours. Congrats and welcome!

 

[Spike Strip]

Possible, though I've never seen one, but I don't see many that early, anyway. I was going by one pic above that a bit obscured, but it *looks like* a solid front driveshaft which would make it a 5/85 or later... Maybe the OP could post a pic of the VIN plate ?

Yup. @CruiserTrash is right.

I really like how unmolested this 60 is. Somebody just drove it and left the mechanicals alone. Really nice to see them this complete, still. I've bought a few Calif trucks that weren't this complete.

1982 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ60

Bid for the chance to own a 1982 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ60 at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #64,794.

bringatrailer.com

 

[Sumguy]

I hate to be the bad guy ... but I’d poke around on that frame before doing anything further... or on second thought just drive the damn thing as is!

Oh, I did my best to put a screwdriver through the frame before handing the check over. It's not winning any beauty contests, and it May not be up to the task of hard wheeling as it stands, but it's fine for the street cruiser it'll be during my ownership. Not driving it "as is" though because it's my wife who'll suffer first, then I get to suffer for the rest of my years on this planet... plus, I like to leave things better than I found them.

Most guys WISH their wife would point out a vehicle to buy. You're a lucky man.

Based on the look on your wife's face, I don't think you're going to get much time to enjoy it. Just work on it.

Yeah, my wife's something else... believe it or not but I haven't needed to work for someone else since 2009 (working for her is a full-time gig). But who's saying I don't get any time to enjoy it, what if I get more joy from wrenching than from driving? Found that to be true with motorcycles several decades back... fun to ride, but I get more pleasure out of wrenching/maintaining.

Nice find. I don't think the frame is bad, mainly surface rust, but others are right, needs some further examination. If it's solid, I'd have or do a steam clean and spray with some kind of anti-rust (Don't use Rubberized Undercoating!) or fluid film depending on what you've got in mind for the project.

Wifey looks good in it. Nice color. What was the original? That brown interior did not come with the blue paint from factory.

As far as tires, my wife is vertically challenged too so I either help her up, which she hates, or I bought a little folding plastic step stool and tied some paracord on it so she can climb in then pull up the stool and stash under the seat.

But 235x75x15 is about 29 inches so should drop you down a few over the 33s. 31's with the stock diffs seem to be a nice compromise for street, trail and highway driving.

If you're in a non-smog area, pull off all the smog crap and sell it! (to us guys in Kalifornia! )

Yup, no undercoating. For those who Don't know, it's because it locks moisture in and everything keeps on rusting. Plan of attack is physical abrasion to remove as much loose rust as possible, rust converter to get what remains and a lanolin product to protect. I'll brace anything that looks bad once I really get in there. But my general take is that this frame is just near the limit of salvagable without cutting/replacing large sections.

Color is original 861 (well, 2 or 3 times repainted), verified by VIN plate and it still has the Toyota stickers on the doors (inside, bottom right corners). Doubt anyone replaced the interior.

I am *not* following my wife to work to help her into it when she wants lunch or to come home. Nope, not gonna happen. She's not too fond of the stool idea either. This will have to be explored further once we get different tires on.

I'm in a no-smog area for now, but that may not be true next year... plus, resale is better with it intact (larger audience).

Tires...I'd go with 31 inches. 235s will look kinda dinky.

Your engine is almost completely stock, the smog pump should probably go along with the air injection rail and some hoses. Delete that stuff and save yourself headaches.

The frame rust does look rough in spots. You will probably be looking at having to weld patches in the frame if you start grinding at it. Hope you have a welder. Trail Tailor makes a nice C channel ....inner frame repair kit for the rear inner channel.

Everyone has the same problem with the drivers seat. Theres some rough sharp edges inside the seat frame there under the upholstery. If you take the seat to an automotive upholstery shop ask them to grind the edge of the seat frame smooth before putting the repaired cover back on.

The front steering knuckles....yes knuckles...(you don't have ball joints) are showing some grease has separated and leaked and is mixing with some road dirt. Pretty normal after several years. When they look dripping wet and are dripping down on the wheel and tire...then is the time to tear into the knuckles and replace the axle seal that is leaking gear oil into the grease in the knuckle. I'd leave them for now.

The OME lift is probably a few years old judging by the rust. BUT, its a nice lift and give a soft ride. I'd leave it and maybe talk you wife into getting a step installed. Even cooler would be a slider that angles out to use as a step but also if you ever go off road would save your rocker panels.

Thanks, this is the detailed kind of stuff I was fishing for. Several comments for 31's have me leaning that way. This rig came from a smog state and passed in Nov 20, docs say the smog pump (same thing as air pump, right?) was replaced 2016 ~ pretty sure I have a spare in the box of parts. I'd rather keep it intact for when my area becomes a smog area (or if I should ever move to one), with the upside of it always having a larger resale audience if it's installed.

Deal with my wife is any work that she asks me to do that requires a new tool, buys me that new tool. So a Hobart 210mvp (yes, opting to stick with a transformer welder) is headed my way.

Thanks for the info on the seat, I have a spare pass seat I'm stealing the cover from so I'll make sure to look for the problem and correct it.

I knew these had knuckles (have been looking at land rovers too, we were actually trying to go overseas to buy one, vacation with it and then ship it home... then Covid insanity). I'll get them cleaned up and then watch for wet leaks.

Good news on the OME front, and I've already been showing her pics of sliders with the idea of it being a step. She uses the running boards on our 99 4runner all the time.

Maybe the OP could post a pic of the VIN plate ?



I really like how unmolested this 60 is. Somebody just drove it and left the mechanicals alone. Really nice to see them this complete, still. I've bought a few Calif trucks that weren't this complete.

Don't have a good one of the VIN plate, but its FJ60L G-KA 861 - FB41 - KO52 - H42

I'm a fan of stock (or as close as is reasonable) vehicles too. Reliable drivers with minimal fuss. I went down the rabbit hole of modifying back in the 90's (motorcycles) and wound up with a high strung, temperamental performance bike that liked to overheat in traffic, was loud and lost the comfortable refinements that it started with. And it wasn't better for it anywhere outside of the racetrack... which was less than 1% of my use. This FJ will be a street ride for the foreseeable future, no reason to try and turn it into an extreme wheeler/crawler. Maybe down the line I'll do a 2fe build and put the h55f behind it, but we need a year or two of use to see if that's even necessary.

Cheers

Brian

 

[Catching Neutral]

Love this story and I have Zero input… you seem to have thing under control. I will watch and enjoy.

 

[Gimme a 60]

Good find. It’s cool that your wife likes it.

 

[BGarcia88FJ62]

Truck looks to be in decent condition from the photo's. Where about's in Georgia are you hanging your hat?
Reach out if you need a hand or have any questions about anything.

 

[Dekeman]

Great colour. I've seen a few brown a blue trucks as well, @OGBeno might be able to confirm.
31s on these look great. Welcome to the fun house.