Hi everyone! First off, I've been lurking around for a few days and have learned already learned a lot, so I figured I better post up and introduce myself and my cruiser.
My name is Max and I live in Tampa, FL, far removed from any truly untamed wilds. A few weeks ago my 1995 Isuzu Rodeo (my first car)developed a case of "punctured oil filter" which is apparently quite hazardous to the health of internal combustion engines. Suffice it to say I didn't catch it in time, and ended up ruining my engine. I searched Craigslist for a few days looking for a solid rodeo engine to throw in my truck, but couldn't find anything worthwhile in my area. I then began to explore the option of getting a new car in lieu of swapping my engine. Being a poor college student, I tried to keep my budget below $2000. I was looking for another Rodeo or maybe a Passport or Pathfinder, but everything was either out of my range, sold, or had something really wrong with it that the poster happened to "leave out" of the listing. On a whim I searched "Land Cruiser" figuring I wouldn't find anything in my price range, and ended up finding what would come to be "Old Rusty". The PO was listing for $2500, but after my dad and I went and looked at it we ended up talking him down to $1800. It has some areas of concealed body rust (rockers, etc), but it runs great, the 4wd works, and the frame is solid with only some surface rust. There are a few other things I can live without for the time being (no radio, sagging suspension, front passenger door lock is broken and is shut permanently, beat up seats). For everything that's wrong with it, I still love it and hope to turn it into a worthy expedition vehicle one day.
I have always loved these trucks and still can't believe I own one! :wings:
Mods:
I've already replaced the old exhaust system trying to get it back to baseline performance and I've ordered new silicone vacuum lines to replace the old brittle lines. Up next is the body work to repair the rust as well as replacing all of the weather stripping and gaskets and getting that passenger door back to functional status. I don't have a girlfriend and my friends all have nicer cars so they drive if we go anywhere together (that's why the door can wait for right now
). I plan on doing most of the body work myself, with the exception of a one or two bad areas that I'll leave to a body shop. The suspension would be up next. I wanted a lift before I did a little research and realized that I won't really be doing anything that will warrant a lift. So I figure I'll beef up the stock suspension to carry the weight of all of the eventual bells and whistles. I want to add a rack, new front and rear bumpers (with tire carrier), lights, winch, lockers, and maybe eventually a snorkel and roof-top tent.
Right now I'm just sticking to the little stuff on my truck and drooling over some of the incredible stories and trucks I've seen on the site. Thanks for being here Expedition Portal!
My name is Max and I live in Tampa, FL, far removed from any truly untamed wilds. A few weeks ago my 1995 Isuzu Rodeo (my first car)developed a case of "punctured oil filter" which is apparently quite hazardous to the health of internal combustion engines. Suffice it to say I didn't catch it in time, and ended up ruining my engine. I searched Craigslist for a few days looking for a solid rodeo engine to throw in my truck, but couldn't find anything worthwhile in my area. I then began to explore the option of getting a new car in lieu of swapping my engine. Being a poor college student, I tried to keep my budget below $2000. I was looking for another Rodeo or maybe a Passport or Pathfinder, but everything was either out of my range, sold, or had something really wrong with it that the poster happened to "leave out" of the listing. On a whim I searched "Land Cruiser" figuring I wouldn't find anything in my price range, and ended up finding what would come to be "Old Rusty". The PO was listing for $2500, but after my dad and I went and looked at it we ended up talking him down to $1800. It has some areas of concealed body rust (rockers, etc), but it runs great, the 4wd works, and the frame is solid with only some surface rust. There are a few other things I can live without for the time being (no radio, sagging suspension, front passenger door lock is broken and is shut permanently, beat up seats). For everything that's wrong with it, I still love it and hope to turn it into a worthy expedition vehicle one day.
I have always loved these trucks and still can't believe I own one! :wings:
Mods:
I've already replaced the old exhaust system trying to get it back to baseline performance and I've ordered new silicone vacuum lines to replace the old brittle lines. Up next is the body work to repair the rust as well as replacing all of the weather stripping and gaskets and getting that passenger door back to functional status. I don't have a girlfriend and my friends all have nicer cars so they drive if we go anywhere together (that's why the door can wait for right now
). I plan on doing most of the body work myself, with the exception of a one or two bad areas that I'll leave to a body shop. The suspension would be up next. I wanted a lift before I did a little research and realized that I won't really be doing anything that will warrant a lift. So I figure I'll beef up the stock suspension to carry the weight of all of the eventual bells and whistles. I want to add a rack, new front and rear bumpers (with tire carrier), lights, winch, lockers, and maybe eventually a snorkel and roof-top tent. Right now I'm just sticking to the little stuff on my truck and drooling over some of the incredible stories and trucks I've seen on the site. Thanks for being here Expedition Portal!
