I feel like the market of land cruisers has changed to sort of a collectors vehicle and not so much an expedition vehicle? With the cost of parts and rigs these days , seems like most people are just moving on to newer platforms and either letting their 80s sit or selling them on BAT or am I the only one that thinks this ?
How many of you ACTUALLY overland with your 80s or 60s
- Thread starter Wc203
- Start date
BritKLR
Kapitis Indagatoris
Me.
I bought and restored mine almost 20 years ago as a Missouri hunting and Colorado/Utah exploring rig (no Overlanding back then just wheeling and camping). Have over 100k miles of back country on it and Still have and use it now that I live in the Rockies. 60's are not new or fast. Parts are still available but, mechanics that know how to work on a overly emissioned, fuel sucking carb tractor motor are harder to find so most modern drivers pass on such a vehicle. I've reconfigured mine several times over the past 20 years and am currently prepping it for a summer of exploring Moab and camping/sleeping inside versus RR or ground tent so, that's a fun aspect about having an older truck you can play with.
Cheers and goodluck in whatever you decide to do.
I bought and restored mine almost 20 years ago as a Missouri hunting and Colorado/Utah exploring rig (no Overlanding back then just wheeling and camping). Have over 100k miles of back country on it and Still have and use it now that I live in the Rockies. 60's are not new or fast. Parts are still available but, mechanics that know how to work on a overly emissioned, fuel sucking carb tractor motor are harder to find so most modern drivers pass on such a vehicle. I've reconfigured mine several times over the past 20 years and am currently prepping it for a summer of exploring Moab and camping/sleeping inside versus RR or ground tent so, that's a fun aspect about having an older truck you can play with.
Cheers and goodluck in whatever you decide to do.
Last edited:
vintageracer
To Infinity and Beyond!
They don't make vehicles like they used to!
I sure am glad of that!
Times have changed!
The newest 60 is 31 years old. The newest 80 is 26 years old. EDIT worldwide according to Wikipedia.
When I started driving in the early 1970's my first car was a 1963 Galaxie XL R code convertible with 80K miles that my parents bought new. Now realize in the early 1970's the Arab Oil Embargo doubled the price of gas from $0.30/gallon to $0.60/gallon and that Ford got 7 MPG no matter how you drove it. At that time the car might have been worth $300-$500 at most! That's for an 11 year old car with 80K miles. Nobody wanted the car other than ME!
Today I have a lot of vehicles with my primary driver vehicle being a 1999 Suburban K2500 4WD that I paid $1000 for it with 135K miles on it 3 1/2 years ago. Yes a BARGAIN!
Think about it. In HS in the early 1970's I drove an 11 year old car with 80K miles. In 2023 I drive a 24 year old truck with 156K miles that I would drive anywhere across country at a moments notice.
The same can be said for 80's and 60's. They are OLD, not that reliable, not a all comfortable, more difficult to find folks to repair them, parts are more difficult to source and fuel mileage is TERRIBLE! Sounds just like my 1963 Ford Galaxie XL convertible back in the early 1970's.
My Suburban although not that much newer is far superior in so many ways to the old 80's and 60's as it is built with more modern technology, just as capable for my needs, far better comfort and better fuel mileage. What's not to like?
ALL the OEM's redesigned ALL their models between 1998 and 2005 using more modern design and assembly technology. The result are vehicles that are SIGNIFICANTLY more reliable, more comfortable, more durable and with better fuel economy on average.
I have a 1992 Land Cruiser. Neat truck but No Way am I going to Overland that truck here in the USA when there are so many better choices for the way I like to travel.
I sure am glad of that!
Times have changed!
The newest 60 is 31 years old. The newest 80 is 26 years old. EDIT worldwide according to Wikipedia.
When I started driving in the early 1970's my first car was a 1963 Galaxie XL R code convertible with 80K miles that my parents bought new. Now realize in the early 1970's the Arab Oil Embargo doubled the price of gas from $0.30/gallon to $0.60/gallon and that Ford got 7 MPG no matter how you drove it. At that time the car might have been worth $300-$500 at most! That's for an 11 year old car with 80K miles. Nobody wanted the car other than ME!
Today I have a lot of vehicles with my primary driver vehicle being a 1999 Suburban K2500 4WD that I paid $1000 for it with 135K miles on it 3 1/2 years ago. Yes a BARGAIN!
Think about it. In HS in the early 1970's I drove an 11 year old car with 80K miles. In 2023 I drive a 24 year old truck with 156K miles that I would drive anywhere across country at a moments notice.
The same can be said for 80's and 60's. They are OLD, not that reliable, not a all comfortable, more difficult to find folks to repair them, parts are more difficult to source and fuel mileage is TERRIBLE! Sounds just like my 1963 Ford Galaxie XL convertible back in the early 1970's.
My Suburban although not that much newer is far superior in so many ways to the old 80's and 60's as it is built with more modern technology, just as capable for my needs, far better comfort and better fuel mileage. What's not to like?
ALL the OEM's redesigned ALL their models between 1998 and 2005 using more modern design and assembly technology. The result are vehicles that are SIGNIFICANTLY more reliable, more comfortable, more durable and with better fuel economy on average.
I have a 1992 Land Cruiser. Neat truck but No Way am I going to Overland that truck here in the USA when there are so many better choices for the way I like to travel.
Last edited:
BritKLR
Kapitis Indagatoris
fj60 newest is 36 years old (1987 in NA)
fj62 newest is 34 years old (1989 in NA)
Cheers!
vintageracer
To Infinity and Beyond!
Correct!
I used worldwide availability numbers from Wikipedia.
I used worldwide availability numbers from Wikipedia.
alanymarce
Well-known member
We took our 1997 80 Series 45,000 km around Southern and Eastern Africa - it did experience some problems (blown radiator, seized front differential, A/C fan motor failed, and bearing failures resulting from non-OEM bearings used when the front differential was replaced). Still it was a great vehicle for the trip. We now have a 2016 Montero at home and a 2015 JK in Canada and appreciate the reliability of newer vehicles.
plh
Explorer
The first vehicle I bought was a 1965 Mustang in 1979, 14 years old and full of rust. Loved and restored that car, but ended up selling it in 1986 to finish paying for college. Wouldn't trust it out of the city limits hardly even when restored. Newish cars are crazy good in general since the early 2000s
nickw
Adventurer
Agreed - with the rise of "expedition" cool, the market for rigs that exude that look like Cruisers are getting ridiculously priced. They still have overland value if you know how to work on them and are familiar with them, but for most, they are now collector rigs status.
The prices I see for 80's and 60's now is ridiculous, especially considering there are modern vehicles, more capable, more payload, more comfortable and better fuel mileage for the same (or cheaper) price.
Reliability new vs new, I'd pick cruiser 10 outta 10 times. Comparing a 30+ year old cruiser to modern rig though, modern rig every time. From a parts availability perspective, cruisers are getting harder and harder to deal with every year, few OEM parts left for major mech systems, aftermarket parts are filling in that niche but are not OEM quality and finding somebody that knows their way around a LC properly, good luck....they are out there, but not in everywhere USA.
Lots of guys still use them but I think most need to ask themselves if it's worth dropping $40k+ on a 80 series with 100k miles on BAT or pick up 5 year old F250/Ram 2500 with half the miles for the same price, or less.
That’s exactly what I figure , parts availability is huge for me , at first the 80s were cool because they were cheap rigs and solid axle, but now the cost is getting to a point where even a 2010+ Tacoma is cheaper and more reliable , I definitely know how to work on my rigs but it’s crazy seeing the prices getting Out of hand to where it’s easier to find a newer rig with less miles and less problems to use on a daily basis
Is this you’re rig of choice ? Because you know it well and can fix it ? Or why do you justify using this 60
BritKLR
Kapitis Indagatoris
Yes.
Yes.
I enjoy it and I like old cars. I've driven a number of 40's, 55's, 62's,80's, 100's and 200's and have played around with purchasing a couple but, I always come back to my old 60. This doesn't make it better, more capable, faster, comfortable, economical or anything else, I just like it. It's also not a DD, it's just my exploring/camping truck.
Plus the world, cars, drivers behavior and the highway is a different place then it was in 1987. I-70 between Denver and Vail Pass can be a scary, risky and road rage filled place to be with a vehicle that can't do 90- 100 mph. If I had to live with it daily and also use it as a fun truck, I'd most likely get a 100/200.
Last edited:
Arktikos
Explorer
It's quite likely that fewer people are using any series LC as a daily driver anymore. Nevertheless, my guess is that driving around town plus an occasional road trip remain the primary uses for them. A few rich guys spending big bucks on BAT to purchase extra nice examples of them probably isn't representative of the broader picture.
I get where you're coming from though. It seems that a lot of guys like to spend money modifying their Land Cruiser unnecessarily for overlanding, especially the 80 series. Whether they actually end up using them for that purpose is questionable. Of course one of the glaring weaknesses of the Land Cruiser is poor MPG.
So the expensive. collector Cruisers don't get driven because they're too nice for scratching up and the average Joe Cruisers don't get out much either because they're so expensive to operate. It's a lose/lose situation!
I get where you're coming from though. It seems that a lot of guys like to spend money modifying their Land Cruiser unnecessarily for overlanding, especially the 80 series. Whether they actually end up using them for that purpose is questionable. Of course one of the glaring weaknesses of the Land Cruiser is poor MPG.
So the expensive. collector Cruisers don't get driven because they're too nice for scratching up and the average Joe Cruisers don't get out much either because they're so expensive to operate. It's a lose/lose situation!
toy_tek
Adventurer
(12-15-24 edit - add pics above)
not sure if I’d call it overlanding but it’s getting used for long camping trips… this pic is from Death Valley a few weeks ago.
But it’s a good point - sometimes I wonder if this straight rust free truck should be relegated to coffee runs - but it does what I want to do. The simplicity, style, and HD engineering are the factors that I’m interested in. I moved to this from a very well equipped 4Runner. The LC enthusiast community is big and strong enough that I think there will be support for quite awhile on these models. And eventually, I’m sure most of us will be moving to some sort of alternative fuel power plants anyway.
Last edited: