Toy. Land Cruiser

[mberry]

Ok. I did it again. I found one of those deals you just can't turn down. Let me explain:

Me and the family are heading to a friends house to take the kids trick or treating at the high school. As we pull up the their house, their neighbor we know has a flatbed wrecker in their driveway. I see an older Toyota Land Cruiser getting ready to be moved onto the wrecker.

Being the curious type, I go over to see what's going on. They were having to move the vehicle so the new owner of the house could move into the space. Turns out, that the vehicle owner was just going to have it taken to a wrecking yard and gotten rid of and I, of course, asked why?

They didn't have room in their new place for it and they can't keep in on the street thanks to City ordinances so they were just giving it away. To a wrecking yard.

He asked me if I wanted it. I said Hell Yes. I didn't even ask what he wanted for it. I also didn't tell my wife. At first anyway.

So, now I am the proud owner of a 1981 Land Cruiser. It's got the 2F 6cyl motor, 4 speed manual trans. No rust anywhere I can see, and lots and lots of upgrades done by the previous owner. Not the least of which was the replacement factory gas tank for a 42 gallon aftermarket tank. The only body damage is to the passenger side doors which I can fix/replace.

Not knowing much about these vehicles at all, and after finding out it's been sitting for 4 years or so I am asking for some guidance.

I know the fuel in the carb is at the very least nothing but varnish so a carb rebuild is a no brainer. Other than that, and not counting simple maintenance items such as an oil change and possibly a coolant change, is there anything I should look out for that is unique to these vehicles in order for it to get running again? From what i have been told, the only thing it needs to be driveable is to get it running/tune up and new tires, registration, and insurance. Oh, and front seats. The drivetrain is all stock. Thanks!

Mark.

By the way, I'm having a 2 for 1 sale on my Scouts. I need them gone to make room for the cruiser. My version of "Black Friday"

 

[JJPage]

Nice find! I had a 1979 FJ40 I purchased brand new, should have never sold it.



It never gave me a bit of trouble, so can't really speak to any problems other than the spring steel, it started sagging. Toyota tried shimming it to level it out, but that seemed Micky Mouse to me. I took it to Phol Spring in Spokane, they added 1 leaf to each pack and it was never an issue again.



Have fun.

 

[hcole]

Mark, I have a little experience with the Toyota Land Cruiser and most especially the 2F. I spent a lot of time and some money trying to rebuild the carb and getting it to run right. I finally gave up and got a Webber and that was the best move I could have made. No more carb problems. The 2F is a very good little motor with plenty of low end torque.

 

[bheiting]

Congratulations. You just got one of later FJ40s to be sold in the US. That means
it should have power steering and air cond. Those are the most desirable in my
book. You can look at edmunds.com to see what they are going for on the market.
The Toyota Land Cruiser Association (TLCA) is a national owners club. They put
out an excellent quarterly mag. and have a web forum like this one.
Squirt some oil through the spark plug hole and give it some fresh fuel before
you turn the key. I just parted with an FJ62 wagon after 21 one years of ownership.
I'm jealous.

 

[RMachida]

I'll second hcole's suggestion to ditch the stock carb and go aftermarket. The stock carb is a real pain. I've had a '72 FJ40 and an '84 FJ60. Both sold a while ago. I should've kept the FJ40.

Another option is look for a diesel, there was a company outside of Los Angeles doing a booming business importing engines for transplant as most of them were sold with diesels in other parts of the world.

 

[mberry]

Thanks everyone. I honestly think it's going to work out better than the Scouts.

I'm actually not sure what carb is on it now. The previous owner is pretty knowledgeable and may have already changed it to a Webber. If it is stock, can anyone tell me the model number of the Webber I would need/want to run this thing all day at 4500-10K feet elevation? I'll make sure to put the oil in the spark plug holes before turning it over. Good idea.

Yes, it does have power steering and A/C, but I was told the A/C doesn't work. It will be a while before I need it around here anyway.

I would love to put a diesel in it, but coming up with the money is problematic right now as many of us know. I'm not above taking donations

I was considering a 4BTA, or an Isuzu diesel to try to keep the weight down, while maintaining a good amount or torque. All I need is the engine and Chevy adapter plate. I have everything else, dang-it.

 

[mberry]

Mr. bheiting, or anyone else for that matter:

What kind of oil and how much should I put in the cylinders before cranking it over? I have Amsoil on the shelf but I don't really want to put synthetic in the cylinders while trying to get the thing to fire. I know synthetic doesn't burn as well as dino.

My idea was to put some Amsoil ATF in the cylinders, then crank it over for a while with the plugs out and coil unplugged. That should build pressure in the oil pump in the sump, and spread a good layer of a light lube on the cylinder walls before putting spark to fuel. What do you think?

 

[bheiting]

Mr. bheiting, or anyone else for that matter:



What kind of oil and how much should I put in the cylinders before cranking it over? I have Amsoil on the shelf but I don't really want to put synthetic in the cylinders while trying to get the thing to fire. I know synthetic doesn't burn as well as dino.



My idea was to put some Amsoil ATF in the cylinders, then crank it over for a while with the plugs out and coil unplugged. That should build pressure in the oil pump in the sump, and spread a good layer of a light lube on the cylinder walls before putting spark to fuel. What do you think?

The type of oil is not important, as long as it's motor oil. Those cylinders

will be very dry after sitting for four years. If you haven't already

done so, turn it over by hand to see it's seized.

 

[mberry]

Thank you. It does turn over easily so it is not seized.

 

[CUMAPART]

Nice score on the 40. Check out IH8MUD.com - Your Online Offroad Tech Resource it should answer all of your questions. Mike

 

[WStephens]

Thanks everyone. I honestly think it's going to work out better than the Scouts.

I'm actually not sure what carb is on it now. The previous owner is pretty knowledgeable and may have already changed it to a Webber. If it is stock, can anyone tell me the model number of the Webber I would need/want to run this thing all day at 4500-10K feet elevation? I'll make sure to put the oil in the spark plug holes before turning it over. Good idea.

Yes, it does have power steering and A/C, but I was told the A/C doesn't work. It will be a while before I need it around here anyway.

I would love to put a diesel in it, but coming up with the money is problematic right now as many of us know. I'm not above taking donations

I was considering a 4BTA, or an Isuzu diesel to try to keep the weight down, while maintaining a good amount or torque. All I need is the engine and Chevy adapter plate. I have everything else, dang-it.

There is a group in Colorado that is experienced with 4B re powers and they like using the Toyota 5 speed I dont have there link anymore. But Spector Off-road is a great source for parts and technical help. I have a 78 FJ40 I bought new in Cheyenne, WY that I want to put a Cummins in myself. With the gearing mine had the 4 speed was not enough and it was always reving high on the highway. The Webber is a good choice for carburetors I put a Rochester on mine it is was almost as bad as the stock carburetor.

Spector Off Road also has non USA full floating axles that you use your rear brakes and differential for less than $500 last time I checked,

 

[mberry]

Mr. CUMAPART,

Do you know if the doors are interchangeable between the 1981 and 1985 models? I don't know what, if any, body style changes were made on the FJ60's or what years. Pick N Pull here has an '85 and I want to replace the door rather than pay someone to do the body work to get it straight.

There was someone locally selling a 4BT for $2,800 without the adapter. I won't be doing any of that in the near future with the unexpected baby coming in March.

 

[KevinSmith]

The Toyota Truck & Land Cruiser Owner's Bible: A Hands-On Guide to Getting the Most from Your Toyota Truck is a great info resource. Is this the FJ40 or the Landcruiser FJ60 (wagon). The 1F engine is basically a 235 I-6 Chevy and the 2F is slightly updated but many part are interchangeable.

Amazon.com: Toyota Truck & Land Cruiser Owner's Bible: A Hands-On Guide to Getting the Most from Your Toyota Truck (9780837601595): Moses Ludel: Books

 

[mberry]

Thanks Kevin. It's a 1981 FJ60 4X4 with the 2F engine and 4 speed manual trans.

 

[S.Morris]

I just soold a 1985 BJ 70 diesel this. Summer that

I owned for 20yrs. wheeled many miles. . was in Toyata Trails

Magazine. Once.

Pls excuse Blacberry.....

85 doors will fit on 81 60 series.

You need 13BT toy diesel. 3,4L factory turbo.

12HT 6cyl factory turbo even better and will

Bolt right up to transmission. Other engine above requires

Input shaft change.

4BT does not rev high enough for LC gearing.

Miss my 70... was part of family. Only 700 sold in Canada and never in US.

 

[CUMAPART]

S. Morris, this wasn't a black 70 series was it? I can remember a while back, maybe 1998, to the Catamount Land Cruiser Challenge when it was in some part of NH and there was a black 70 there from Canada. It was a beautiful truck. Me and my friend had an orange 40 soa on 35 Boggers which seemed big at the time.

 

[S.Morris]

That was the truck. Final form when it was sold was with 4. 56 gears. Detroit front and ARB rear. AXT turbo and 35's.



Wheeled it at smokey mtns in Tennesse, Catamount, and was to Moab in 05.

Drove 4000km each way and wheeled for a week..... truck NEVER had a trailer ride. Last road trip was to Goose Bay Labrador... . and turned 500,000 on the trip. Sold it because just not using it much anymore..... most offroading in my area getting shutdown.



If this Ram I have now is even half as good as the 70 I will be happy.

 

[mberry]

Thanks for the information. Everything helps right now.

 

[bheiting]

For those considering a diesel conversion in a Cruiser, Toyota Trails had a tech
article a few years back discussing diesel options. The Cummins was included.
The staff at Toyota Trails should be able to help find the issue.

 

[AfterBurner]

I have a 1971 fj40. It has a 350 gasser out of a chevy truck. The cruiser works great off road as it is so I haven't really done much to it besides putting a Holley truck avenger carb on it (they are as good as they advertise!). Someday would like to drop an early nv4500 into it to get the low crawl gear and overdrive. The stock toyota 3spd is geared for the inline toyota engine not a V8. Have used it to get my truck unstuck multiple times in snow (when we were in CO) and mud, the best though was trying to get the truck back pulling the horse trailer and had just weighed it at 23,000 gcw. The little cruiser looked pretty funny dragging that rig out of a mud hole, but did it without hesitation. :-laf

Had some great trips with it in CO and WY and will have some more in TX now.

Forrest

BTW- the IH8MUD forum is the best place for cruiser talk IMO