WTB 60/62

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T

topherbecker

Joined
Nov 29, 2004
Threads
64
Messages
453
Location
Keene Valley, NY
Is anyone holding a good running 60 or 62, little to no rust, decent interior? I'm looking to buy. Prefer stock, but willing to consider something lightly built if done right. It's a long shot, but I have a really nice 98 4-door civic that could be traded if interested.
Thanks
Chris
Arlington
 
the one in cali looks like its in better shape and a lot cheaper but your going to have to fly there to get it or have it shiped here.
 
Sorry for the lack response but the little or no rust thing is a deal breaker around here. Best to go south and ideally the far south west. What you may find is that the trucks out there are pretty rust free but they tend to have a lot more miles on them than do east coast rigs.
 
colangut said:
Sorry for the lack response but the little or no rust thing is a deal breaker around here. Best to go south and ideally the far south west. What you may find is that the trucks out there are pretty rust free but they tend to have a lot more miles on them than do east coast rigs.
Click to expand...

so is it worth it? i've thought of flying to the SW with a friend to buy and drive back, but what if i get there and the truck is not as represented? i'm kind of stuck. same is true if i ship. at least on the east coast, i know what i'm getting before i drive off.

mwalls54 said:
the one in cali looks like its in better shape and a lot cheaper but your going to have to fly there to get it or have it shiped here.
Click to expand...

how can you tell it's in better shape? there's hardly any pictures posted. the one in NC looks really clean to me. no?

how bout this?
https://forum.ih8mud.com/vehicles-t...me-dakar-heavy-third-row-seat-sale-trade.html

thanks for the responses.
 
Last edited:
topherbecker said:
so is it worth it? i've thought of flying to the SW with a friend to buy and drive back, but what if i get there and the truck is not as represented? i'm kind of stuck. same is true if i ship. at least on the east coast, i know what i'm getting before i drive off.



how can you tell it's in better shape? there's hardly any pictures posted. the one in NC looks really clean to me. no?

how bout this?
https://forum.ih8mud.com/vehicles-t...me-dakar-heavy-third-row-seat-sale-trade.html

thanks for the responses.
Click to expand...

That last one has some high miles and read the most recent post. What are your plans for the truck?
 
topherbecker said:
Weekend/ 2nd vehicle. Home depot hauler. Hopefully some camping, fishing, canoeing and light wheeling as my son gets a little older.
Click to expand...

As much as I love Cruisers, in my opinion my Taco crewcab does all that better, esp the Home Depot part...
 
Have you looked on ebay. There is one listed in The Plains west of D.C. and I think on craigslist there is on e listed in Irvington, VA
 
Went and looked at this today. 1989 FJ62. he's asking $5500. says he's firm.
Picasa Web Albums - topherbecker - 89 FJ62

Seemed to run fine - i'm no expert though. Started right up. no smoke, no funny smells. Tracks straight on highway, little to no play in steering wheel, no bad vibrations. Seemed to take a while to get up to speed mostly between 30 and 50 mph, but i'm guessing that's normal. tcase seemed to work fine. locking hubs worked. Steering wheel is misaligned when tires are straight. Braking is ROUGH. Lots of pulsing and the pedal is pretty mushy. springs look pretty flat. Tires have good tread but are pretty crappy looking no-name brand. owner says he gets between 12 and 14 mpg.

For the most part the body is really nice. Rear light bezel is swiss cheese. no rust at bottom of tailgate. i found at least one spot in the wheel wells starting but not on the fender/body. Some rust starting to form right below the weather stripping in a couple spots on the doors - each spot maybe a half inch. Gutter appear perfect (at least what's not covered by the chrome). Frame seems really good. Some surface rust. The studs which attach the frame to the mounts are rough. The chain/spring/device thing that holds up the spare was pretty rough too. Metal on antenna broken, but motor works and sends up the plastic insides of the antenna.

Interior was nice. A few stains, but given the age and the fact that the current owner NEVER vacuums and has three kids it's in great shape. headliner perfect if a little dirty. No tears/cracks in driver's seat. No cracks in dash. AC (converted to 134 this summer) and heat worked. wipers, gauges, lights, etc all functioning. Has OEM toolkit/jack. Windows VERY difficult to roll up and down (manual windows and locks).

Galley oil plug has been fixed. new OEM radiator about 4 years ago. newish windshield (which already has an 1/8" star on it from a pebble). new tstat. new oil pan since the last one sprung a leak at the skid plate weld. there was some oil spray/seepage under the engine, but nothing really wet - looked normal to an untrained eye. some of the linkages in the steering replaced about 2 years ago - owner couldn't remember what.

Two owners. First was in Richmond for the first ~140K miles. Second in Norfolk for the past 4 years and remaining miles.

Overall I got good vibes from the truck and the owner.

So my questions for you...

1) What's my worst case scenario on the brakes if I take it to a shop. My neighbor is a good professional mechanic with his own shop who won't screw me, so i have that going for me.
2) any suggestions about emissions? They don't have it down there. I'd like it to pass up here without dropping a grand to fix it. How would you handle this as the buyer?
3) is there anyone in the tidewater region you guys can recommend to take a closer look. is a preinspection worth it? Compression check? Etc?
4) What can I do about the windows? Is this a one-banana fix?
5) what do you guys think about the condition relative to the price? There are definitely some things that need to be addressed - brakes first, then at some point the springs and maybe rest of suspension, windows, clean-up rust spots, and tires (for vanity mostly).

Any other advice is welcome.

Thanks,
Chris

(and sorry I missed the tech day - looked awesome. hopefully i'll be able to participate in future tech days after i make my purchase.)
 
topherbecker said:
Went and looked at this today. 1989 FJ62. he's asking $5500. says he's firm.
Picasa Web Albums - topherbecker - 89 FJ62

Seemed to run fine - i'm no expert though. Started right up. no smoke, no funny smells. Tracks straight on highway, little to no play in steering wheel, no bad vibrations. Seemed to take a while to get up to speed mostly between 30 and 50 mph, but i'm guessing that's normal. tcase seemed to work fine. locking hubs worked. Steering wheel is misaligned when tires are straight. Braking is ROUGH. Lots of pulsing and the pedal is pretty mushy. springs look pretty flat. Tires have good tread but are pretty crappy looking no-name brand. owner says he gets between 12 and 14 mpg.

For the most part the body is really nice. Rear light bezel is swiss cheese. no rust at bottom of tailgate. i found at least one spot in the wheel wells starting but not on the fender/body. Some rust starting to form right below the weather stripping in a couple spots on the doors - each spot maybe a half inch. Gutter appear perfect (at least what's not covered by the chrome). Frame seems really good. Some surface rust. The studs which attach the frame to the mounts are rough. The chain/spring/device thing that holds up the spare was pretty rough too. Metal on antenna broken, but motor works and sends up the plastic insides of the antenna.

Interior was nice. A few stains, but given the age and the fact that the current owner NEVER vacuums and has three kids it's in great shape. headliner perfect if a little dirty. No tears/cracks in driver's seat. No cracks in dash. AC (converted to 134 this summer) and heat worked. wipers, gauges, lights, etc all functioning. Has OEM toolkit/jack. Windows VERY difficult to roll up and down (manual windows and locks).

Galley oil plug has been fixed. new OEM radiator about 4 years ago. newish windshield (which already has an 1/8" star on it from a pebble). new tstat. new oil pan since the last one sprung a leak at the skid plate weld. there was some oil spray/seepage under the engine, but nothing really wet - looked normal to an untrained eye. some of the linkages in the steering replaced about 2 years ago - owner couldn't remember what.

Two owners. First was in Richmond for the first ~140K miles. Second in Norfolk for the past 4 years and remaining miles.

Overall I got good vibes from the truck and the owner.

So my questions for you...

1) What's my worst case scenario on the brakes if I take it to a shop. My neighbor is a good professional mechanic with his own shop who won't screw me, so i have that going for me.
2) any suggestions about emissions? They don't have it down there. I'd like it to pass up here without dropping a grand to fix it. How would you handle this as the buyer?
3) is there anyone in the tidewater region you guys can recommend to take a closer look. is a preinspection worth it? Compression check? Etc?
4) What can I do about the windows? Is this a one-banana fix?
5) what do you guys think about the condition relative to the price? There are definitely some things that need to be addressed - brakes first, then at some point the springs and maybe rest of suspension, windows, clean-up rust spots, and tires (for vanity mostly).

Any other advice is welcome.

Thanks,
Chris

(and sorry I missed the tech day - looked awesome. hopefully i'll be able to participate in future tech days after i make my purchase.)
Click to expand...

I would skip that truck. Where you can see any rust there is going to be lots more hiding. The price is high based on your description also. Unless you really want a auto I would skip the 62s all together and focus on 60s. The auto trannys on the 62s seem to fail at a alarming rate once the miles add up. Most were never maintained properly and Toyota did not install a large enough cooler from the factory IMHO.
 
I'd agree with what John said. I need an automatic in my cruiser for my gimpy left knee and I've never wanted a FJ62. They cost a fortune to maintain with the A440F and the transfer case issues related to worn splines. I also don't like how much the cats and cooler lines cost. I chose to build a V8FJ40 instead. I'll probably build a V8 FJ55 or 60 next. I need to find a good donor.

You can't go wrong with a FJ40/45/55/60

The later 80 series seem to have better transmission but I still tend to be a luddite and like older stuff.

That is also a lot to pay for a 62...

Just my opinion...
 
That's not where the frame is going to be questionable (unless it's really bad).

The area to focus on is next the muffler in the back, the shock cross member and the area on the other side of the muffler. Also check the rear cross member. On the main frame rails, check the area on the bottom of the frame, towards the front of truck in the area where the front - rear spring mount is.

The buyer may "think" it's clean and in his mind, it may be. Don't take that too seriously either way. Most of the MANY Land Cruisers that I have gone to look at have been in worse condition that described. However, this is not always the case. Several that I have purchased were described by the seller as ratty old trucks and to them they were - but to me, they were a real gem.
 
This one is down the block from my brother-in-law in L'ville, KY. He says there is no visible rust, but he's not a Cruiserhead so he might not be looking in the right places. Truck was bought in CA 3 years ago. Interior was redone just prior to that sale. 171k on the odo.

The owner says it's a 9-9.5 out of 10.

Classic 1987 Toyota Landcruiser
 
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