Your 60's story

[CenTXFJ60]

I’m personally not a fan of rising values but as we know it’s inevitable. This is the reason I’ve gotten out of muscle cars and sold most of my older Corvette projects. I quadrupled my investment without touching them but when you start getting into higher values it tends to change the personalities involved. Down to earth folks are what attract me to the Landcruiser world. That and the fact my boys enjoy them as well

I did forget to share my story so here it goes. Also fairly well documented in my build thread. So as mentioned above I was into muscle cars. When I was 10 or 11 I came home from the movies and told my parents I wanted to be a PE coach and drive a Black Trans AM . Still a great movie! Fast forward 10 more years and I did get an education degree (never went into coaching) and drove an 80 Pace Car TA through college. Had a 74 factory Air Super Beetle when I turned 15 and then a 74 Alpha Romero which looked great, but was a tough one to keep on the road. I had bought every car I had and was told if I was able to get through college without my parents fiscal support then they would give me their 77 Corvette. Wanted a chrome bumper Vette so I sold the 77 and found an original 68. This was my first frame off job in the 90's. Decided then I wanted to do this for the rest of my time here so I started buying projects knowing They would not always be available. Then my father in law gave us his 87 60 which he had for several years. This was 12 years ago and I daily drove it for a few years then my son (@mcguirejohnson ) took it over when he turned 16. So the addiction started and still wondering if it will ever end. We've collected a couple cruiser projects to ensure a lifetime of fun projects. I do still have one older Corvette and a 79 4-speed Z28 (one owner) that I picked up from a good friend. Either me or one of my offspring will enjoy these cars one day.

 

[Joe T]

A friend of mine in high school had a yellow 79ish 4speed Z28. They were kinda out of style by that point but it was definitely a survivor for being 20+ years old and really clean. He took good care of it. What makes them rare now is how under appreciated they were.


I had a new one. The 4th gen.

 

[CenTXFJ60]

A friend of mine in high school had a yellow 79ish 4speed Z28. They were kinda out of style by that point but it was definitely a survivor for being 20+ years old and really clean. He took good care of it. What makes them rare now is how under appreciated they were.


I had a new one. The 4th gen.

So I'm a bit older and the 79 was only a few years old when I started driving. Really like the yellow color your friend had. did it have the rally wheels or the aluminum finned ones? I had a few friends that had z's and TA's and always new I'd get one when I had the spare change. Had the one in college and then in 96 I bought another 80 pace car TA with 10,000 miles on it. Problem is I was afraid to drive it anywhere being a survivor and was paying $80 per month for a storage unit in North Houston. Tis the reason we moved to the country and now have a barn/shop. I do believe the TA's and Z28's from the late 70's early 80's will bounce back as a desired car one day.

 

[Joe T]

It had the aluminum ones. Was unique.


Most of them ended up in trailer parks on jack stands.

 

[Kleatus]

Mine? Well..
My first few cars were 4WD’s.
1984 Bronco II for $140 at age 14 from a K-Mart parking lot in Quincy, IL (down 2 cylinders among other things.) I fixed it and acquired 2 more for parts and drove them a bit too. Had a lot of fun with them. Went through a few (ok a bunch) of other cars along the way, then I moved out to Oregon and got serious into 4 wheeling. Build up a K5 Blazer with 1-Ton axles, lockers and 39.5” tires. Sold it when I moved to Ohio and realized it wasn’t practical day to day and I didn’t have anywhere to play with it. By this time I had had a few Tacoma’s and was sold on Toyota’s. Bought my project FJ40 about that time and really wanted a cruiser I could “drive now.” A co-worker found my FJ62 in CL but wasn’t the tinkerer type, so I went down to check it out - ended up with the FJ62 and a “new” fridge as part of the deal, and drove my 5 cylinder, 15 year old swamper shod cruiser home to Omaha from Lincoln. Threw on a “new” head, and have been driving it ever since. It’s taken me from Rhode Island to Washington state and just about everywhere in between, brought my boy home from the hospital, taken us on lots of great road trips and is about 400 miles shy of 400k now. Yeah there’s been some learning and fixing along the way, but I really do love the old thing..

 

[rrv333]

A part timer at our department drove a 62 into the parking lot one day. I spied it from a distance and walked over and asked if he wanted to sell it. He gave a price and I said I like it but not for that price.

Over the next several years, I'd periodically ask and get the same price, I'd then kindly walk away from his price. One day he catches me in the parking lot and asks If I was still interested in the 62.

I said sure but not for $$$$. He then says how about $$, I said I'd be back in 20 minutes with a cashiers check. Seems he fell onto some hard times and needed the cash, I felt guilty for getting my 62 so cheap but I quickly got over it.

Never was mechanically inclined but an extremely good friend who also is a mechanical savant, held my hand while I cut my teeth on my 62. It's been so much fun that I pulled the trigger on a 40

 

[SteveH]

• Bought my '78 FJ40 in 1990, right after I moved to Colorado. I still have it. Also bought and restored an FJ45, and FJ55 as side-jobs.
  
• Got married in 1994, wife had an '85 Olds Cutlass Supreme (v6, rear wheel drive) and needed a 4WD for her job, so in 1995 we bought an '87 FJ60 with 99,975 miles on it for $10K - super clean truck. Drove it another 76K miles, sold it to a buddy, and he was hit head-on at 65 and the truck was demolished, but he lived (took him a year to recover). I sold this FJ60 because the springs were shot, it needed a clutch, it was difficult to start in the winter and could not tow our 2000# popup camper. I didn't really miss it, and still don't.
  
• Bought a 1995 FZJ-80 with 76K, and drove that until it had 200K on it. Liked a lot of things about it, but less passenger room than the FJ60. Sold that for an '08 Toyota AWD Sienna minivan that leaked more oil (trans, PS, xfer case) than any Toyota I have owned. Beware.
• Bought my current FJ62 from a neighbor, who bought it new. When I got it, it had 243K, was dog-chewed inside (all glass scratched), rusty, filthy, and had a dead battery. Got a very good deal, as the neighbor wanted it loved and restored, which I did. I have added 12K miles in 3 years or so, as it's not my DD. Yes, it's gutless and gets 12 mpg in town, and cannot tow, but I love it anyway. My co-workers are impressed with the low belt line and big windows - you can actually see out of the truck, unlike modern vehicles with thick pillars and tiny windows (and safety engineering).

 

[Joe T]

Mine is a seasoned veteran, she can spot BS from a long way off, LOL

I needed to buy another one to put the parts from the blue one on. To keep her pleased by proving myself right. If I go missing you know who did it.

 

[KWalkerM]

Had one in the family since I was born. Someone t boned me in highschool while i was driving the pristine fj62. Got another one, v8 fj60, drunk guy smoked me head on less than 2 years ago. I now have a built 80 and a mega caged LS FJ60 as a result. Have not modified either one and enjoy having something mostly turn key for once.

Picture is left to right top to bottom in order.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

I needed to buy another one to put the parts from the blue one on. To keep her pleased by proving myself right. If I go missing you know who did it.


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I had to read thru that again.... I thought the chest shot was a fun flirty shot inbetween hwr annoyance but I see now she said ‘mad face’ tho we were lucky enough to not see it.

 

[Joe T]

It was her joking she is jacking with me. She doesn’t care like she acts.

But I probably won’t buy another one

 

[umpqua]

Good story NeverGiveUpYota. I knew there had to be some ladies on MUD. Sorry to hear of your sons loss. Seems every cruiser story has some type of adventure seeker within us all, just like the vehicle that was built. Good reading material.

Believe it was the loss of the daughter. I too am certainly sorry for your loss. Can't imagine it.

Someday I'll have to get around to posting the pic of my daughters handprint on the headliner. 17 years later it's still there.

 

[cps432]

6 speed manual? Where are my other 2 gears?

H55f plus reverse as a 6th gear? haha I'm dying!

 

[Godwin]

6 speed manual? Where are my other 2 gears?

Hi and Lo of course .

 

[4Cruisers]

6 speed manual? Where are my other 2 gears?

At one time I was thinking of putting a 383 CID stroker into one of my FJ60s, along with a ZF-6 6-speed and transfer case like the set-up in my '01 Silverado 2500HD (the 496 CID in the truck would be too heavy for the FJ60, hence the 383) with >60:1 crawl ratio. The ZF-6 also came in the Ford 250 Super Duty trucks. But I'll settle for the 3FE/H55f/FJ62 split transfer case in my '86.

 

[Paul McGarrah]

My story starts in 1985, my grandpa (the most frugal man alive) was driving to San Antonio TX from Saltillo Mexico with my grandmother, mother and two uncles in an old VW Bus. At the time he collected National Geographic magazines and had seen land cruisers in there and was really really wanting one. Somewhere in South Tx my grandpa drove by a Toyota dealership and had seen a gorgeous brand new 1985 Fj60 parked on one of those display ramps. It was the only car he had ever bought new to this day. I came into the world in 89 and spent my early years listening to the signature whine of the cruiser while driving to a park to go collect pecans with my grandfather. He drove that truck everywhere. It was a part of his identity. When I turned 15 he told me out of nowhere and in front of everybody in the family. If you want it it’s yours. So it became my car. It had 68000 miles when I got it and it has 93000 now. I drove that truck through high school, went on my first dates in it, went to prom in it. That truck made it through the abuse of my college experience. I couldn’t imagine not having it. It has been there my entire life and will probably be there until the end. Toyota really hit the nail on the head when they designed this vehicle. I have always had the desire to tweak and geek it because it’s what I always wanted when I was younger but never had the money, but at this point I like it just the way Toyota made it. Life takes you through twists, turns and far away lands. No matter how far away I go, or how much my identity changes, every time I get in my 60 and fumble with the choke and throttle massaging the engine to life I feel like A kid again.

 

[batthewmrown]

My story starts in 1985, my grandpa (the most frugal man alive) was driving to San Antonio TX from Saltillo Mexico with my grandmother, mother and two uncles in an old VW Bus. At the time he collected National Geographic magazines and had seen land cruisers in there and was really really wanting one. Somewhere in South Tx my grandpa drove by a Toyota dealership and had seen a gorgeous brand new 1985 Fj60 parked on one of those display ramps. It was the only car he had ever bought new to this day. I came into the world in 89 and spent my early years listening to the signature whine of the cruiser while driving to a park to go collect pecans with my grandfather. He drove that truck everywhere. It was a part of his identity. When I turned 15 he told me out of nowhere and in front of everybody in the family. If you want it it’s yours. So it became my car. It had 68000 miles when I got it and it has 93000 now. I drove that truck through high school, went on my first dates in it, went to prom in it. That truck made it through the abuse of my college experience. I couldn’t imagine not having it. It has been there my entire life and will probably be there until the end. Toyota really hit the nail on the head when they designed this vehicle. I have always had the desire to tweak and geek it because it’s what I always wanted when I was younger but never had the money, but at this point I like it just the way Toyota made it. Life takes you through twists, turns and far away lands. No matter how far away I go, or how much my identity changes, every time I get in my 60 and fumble with the choke and throttle massaging the engine to life I feel like A kid again.

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That's called hitting the grandad lottery, right there.

 

[Hojack]

My story starts in 1985, my grandpa (the most frugal man alive) was driving to San Antonio TX from Saltillo Mexico with my grandmother, mother and two uncles in an old VW Bus. At the time he collected National Geographic magazines and had seen land cruisers in there and was really really wanting one. Somewhere in South Tx my grandpa drove by a Toyota dealership and had seen a gorgeous brand new 1985 Fj60 parked on one of those display ramps. It was the only car he had ever bought new to this day. I came into the world in 89 and spent my early years listening to the signature whine of the cruiser while driving to a park to go collect pecans with my grandfather. He drove that truck everywhere. It was a part of his identity. When I turned 15 he told me out of nowhere and in front of everybody in the family. If you want it it’s yours. So it became my car. It had 68000 miles when I got it and it has 93000 now. I drove that truck through high school, went on my first dates in it, went to prom in it. That truck made it through the abuse of my college experience. I couldn’t imagine not having it. It has been there my entire life and will probably be there until the end. Toyota really hit the nail on the head when they designed this vehicle. I have always had the desire to tweak and geek it because it’s what I always wanted when I was younger but never had the money, but at this point I like it just the way Toyota made it. Life takes you through twists, turns and far away lands. No matter how far away I go, or how much my identity changes, every time I get in my 60 and fumble with the choke and throttle massaging the engine to life I feel like A kid again.

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That’s an awesome story for an awesome cruiser. Wish my grandpa drove a cruiser, so jealous!

 

[cps432]

That’s an awesome story for an awesome cruiser. Wish my grandpa drove a cruiser, so jealous!

Yeah, no kidding. My grandpa was in the Navy on a medic ship during WWII (imagine what he saw) and he'd probably be rolling in his grave if he knew I was driving a Toyota.... But then again if he had lived long enough to see the FJ60 he would have invited them over to talk shop and drink beer rather than dwell on the war.

 

[Hojack]

Yeah, no kidding. My grandpa was in the Navy on a medic ship during WWII (imagine what he saw) and he'd probably be rolling in his grave if he knew I was driving a Toyota.... But then again if he had lived long enough to see the FJ60 he would have invited them over to talk shop and drink beer rather than dwell on the war.

When I was young I drove my 85 Toyota 4 runner. My grandpa never gave me any crap about driving a Toyota... but my dad sure did. My grandpa was a Marine in the Pacific during WW2. When they stormed the Island of Iwo Jima a mortar hit and wounded several in his troop including himself. He was able to get them safely back to the amphibious vehicle. While he was in the hospital he met a nurse who would became his wife. Later for his bravery he was awarded a Purple Heart. My dad and I still have our differences. He loves Ford. I love Toyota and Cummins.