njtaco
Explorer
Continued from this thread....
If you don't want to read the narrative, skip to the bottom, where the pics are...otherwise, enjoy today's adventure with us.
My wife and I sat down at breakfast this morning, and talked "it" over. Do we need a second vehicle? Do we even want one? If we did, we knew it had to be "different" somehow. Not just any old truck.
As I said grace over pancakes (chocolate chip and banana), I prayed for wisdom. :chef: As my wife (Susan) cleaned up breakfast, I checked in here, and prayed..."If our tax return comes today, I'll take that as a sign to at least LOOK at the Land Cruiser." Ok, I'm not supposed to put a fleece out before God, but I did.
Guess what showed up at the bank this morning... :bowdown:
So we called the seller and drove about an hour out to his place. It was obvious he is no stranger to selling...perched on the top of his otherwise empty driveway set the purtyest cruiser. White-on-white, gray interior, clean, and looking forlornly for a new home. Ours.
I try so hard not to buy on emotion, so I looked over the truck carefully. She has the usual surface rust coating the underneath, but the rear frame especially is sound. She has no evidence of ever having a hitch installed, so no worries about towing. There is minor rust in the usual places on the body, and one strange spot on the driver side front fender. The truck has been painted, or rather parts of it has, and the color is off a bit. The interior does not smell of smoke or dog, though there was a bit of fur left in the carpet. A test drive later, and we are the new owners. :smiley_drive:
60 miles of first impressions:
The engine "taps" like a room full of sewing machines, but runs strong. Actually, I was suprised how well it did run, considering year old fuel and such. The transmission shifts fine, firm, and on time. Twice on the way home, if I roll up to near-full throttle, she hangs in 3rd, but shifting to neutral and back clears it up. The torque convertor locks and unlocks properly. 4wd does everything it should, and how it should. It has the original Aisin hubs.
She wears 31-10.50R15 tires on American Racing steel wheels, all of which will be replaced. Tires are shot, and I don't like the rims. I may upgrade to aluminum when the time comes. Otherwise, there are no unexpected leaks, just all the expected ones. The hubs weep grease at the felts (did I say that right?) but not oil, which is a good sign. (Either that, or the diif is out of oil, which is a bad sign...)
Also included was a Toyota Repair Manual for the truck and a separate one just for the transmission! :Mechanic:
Thanks to everyone on the other thread for the advice and encouragement. It really helped us out, we appreciate it.
Oh, I almost forgot...my wife loves the truck too. :jump:
On to the pictures, 'cause everyone likes pictures, right?
Presenting our new-to-us 1988 FJ62 Toyota Landcruiser... :rockon:
If you don't want to read the narrative, skip to the bottom, where the pics are...otherwise, enjoy today's adventure with us.
My wife and I sat down at breakfast this morning, and talked "it" over. Do we need a second vehicle? Do we even want one? If we did, we knew it had to be "different" somehow. Not just any old truck.
As I said grace over pancakes (chocolate chip and banana), I prayed for wisdom. :chef: As my wife (Susan) cleaned up breakfast, I checked in here, and prayed..."If our tax return comes today, I'll take that as a sign to at least LOOK at the Land Cruiser." Ok, I'm not supposed to put a fleece out before God, but I did.
Guess what showed up at the bank this morning... :bowdown:
So we called the seller and drove about an hour out to his place. It was obvious he is no stranger to selling...perched on the top of his otherwise empty driveway set the purtyest cruiser. White-on-white, gray interior, clean, and looking forlornly for a new home. Ours.
I try so hard not to buy on emotion, so I looked over the truck carefully. She has the usual surface rust coating the underneath, but the rear frame especially is sound. She has no evidence of ever having a hitch installed, so no worries about towing. There is minor rust in the usual places on the body, and one strange spot on the driver side front fender. The truck has been painted, or rather parts of it has, and the color is off a bit. The interior does not smell of smoke or dog, though there was a bit of fur left in the carpet. A test drive later, and we are the new owners. :smiley_drive:
60 miles of first impressions:
The engine "taps" like a room full of sewing machines, but runs strong. Actually, I was suprised how well it did run, considering year old fuel and such. The transmission shifts fine, firm, and on time. Twice on the way home, if I roll up to near-full throttle, she hangs in 3rd, but shifting to neutral and back clears it up. The torque convertor locks and unlocks properly. 4wd does everything it should, and how it should. It has the original Aisin hubs.
She wears 31-10.50R15 tires on American Racing steel wheels, all of which will be replaced. Tires are shot, and I don't like the rims. I may upgrade to aluminum when the time comes. Otherwise, there are no unexpected leaks, just all the expected ones. The hubs weep grease at the felts (did I say that right?) but not oil, which is a good sign. (Either that, or the diif is out of oil, which is a bad sign...)
Also included was a Toyota Repair Manual for the truck and a separate one just for the transmission! :Mechanic:
Thanks to everyone on the other thread for the advice and encouragement. It really helped us out, we appreciate it.
Oh, I almost forgot...my wife loves the truck too. :jump:
On to the pictures, 'cause everyone likes pictures, right?
Presenting our new-to-us 1988 FJ62 Toyota Landcruiser... :rockon:
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