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It's not about the truck, it's about the travels. I'm working on a series of travel pages from the last two decades of expeditions across America and Canada. Those trips were in cars, trucks, motorcycles and bicycles, and always in the spirit of exploration and adventure. If that appeals to you, you should surf around the Expedition Portal and the Toyota group at IH8MUD to find kindred spirits. If you want to take your driving skills up a notch, take a class with Bruce Elfstrom at Overland Experts. Knowledge is power. In July 2007 I bought a 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser from a mudder near Washington DC. I've always wanted one of these extremely capable expedition rigs. The build and adventures are just beginning.
The Pathfinder's replacement...
1996 80 Series Land Cruiser
I've always been in awe of Land Cruisers. From my younger years playing in FJ40s and drooling over the 55 pigs, I knew there would be a Land Cruiser in my life someday. I learned as much about them as possible by reading IH8MUD's wealth of information (that alone is a 6 month oddysey). When I was at Overland Experts for a 2-day driving session I spent a lot of time in Bruce Elfstrom's locked 80, and it felt so secure it sealed the deal. I started looking for a 1995-97, and it took a while... but when I found this I knew it was coming to Maine. I bought it after reading the following ad: ==================================================== 1996 80 Series Land Cruiser with 131k miles. I have had the truck for a little over 1 year and am selling it due to a recent job change requiring a long commute and this is my daily driver. I am also a member of www.IH8MUD.com and fully recommend you join this forum (if not already a member) The advice and information there is invaluable for Land Cruiser owners and will save you $$$$ in time and money. Also a bunch of good folks on that board. I have invested a significant amount of money in baselining and 4x4 upgrades to include: -New ARB Winch Bull Bar with WARN roller fairlead (no winch) -New Old Man Emu (OME) Australian 4x4 Front and Rear Coil Springs 861/862 (Stock Height) -New ARB 10mm Front Coil Spacers (Offset for ARB Bull Bar Weight) -New Toyota OEM Shocks (Front and Rear) (4) -New 285 75r 16 Nitto Terra Grappler All-Terrain Tires (4) -New PIAA 520 Crystal Driving Lights -New Yaesu 7800R 2m/70cm Dual Band 2-Way Radio. Also provides bands for monitoring police, fire, air traffic, NOAA weather. Great for expeditions, camping, wheeling, or daily commuting. -New Diamond/Comet hatch mount 2m/70cm Antenna and Hatch Mount. -New Toyota OEM Spark Plug Wires, Plugs, Rotor, Cap, Fuel Filter, Air Filter, Thermostat -New Toyota OEM Front Brake Pads and Shims (Rear = 50%) -New Toyota OEM Oxygen Sensors (Front and Rear) -New Toyota OEM Oil Pump Seal and Front Crank Seal -New Toyota OEM Factory Land Cruiser Carpet Floor Mats -New OEM Toyota PCV Valve and Breather Hoses -New (2) Eclipse Door Speakers for the Front Doors -Throttle Body Cleaned and Serviced -Radiator Flushed and Filled with Toyota 'Red' Anti-Freeze Coolant -Timing Checked-OK -PHH (Pesky Heater Hoses) Checked-OK -Wheel bearings, drive shafts, suspension, muffler/exhaust Checked-OK -Current Virginia Safety Inspection (No emissions...not required in my county) -Trailer Hitch appears to be original. The wiring/pigtail does work as I have recently used it. I also removed the hitch recently, grinded it down, primed it, treated it for rust, and applied multiple coats of black rust inhibiting gloss paint. Also comes with a fairly new ball and hitch from Toyota. ***My mechanic is a 20 year Toyota Dealership mechanic and is excellent. I will provide you his name and number to continue to service this Land Cruiser if you are located in the Northern VA/DC/MD area. Known Issues: -Radio Antenna does not work...the motor needs to be replaced. I just did not get a chance to get to it. Approx estimate is $100-$150 or cheaper if you do it yourself or go after market. The stereo still has excellent reception...you just have to raise and lower the antenna manually. -I do not have service records prior to my owning the vehicle. I purchased it at Springfield VA Toyota and was a trade in. There are also no original owner's manuals. -The vehicle appears to have been repainted the original emerald green metallic color by a previous owner. It is not clear that it has been in an accident and the Carfax did check out clean. -Spare tire is original and stock size. The Nitto Terra Grapplers are larger than the normal stock size for this vehicle. I recommend you purchase one and it will fit underneath. Approx $125 with free shipping from Discount Tire Direct. -There is a very small dent on the driver side near the front bumper (I bought it this way). -There is evidence of small nicks and where a car doors have come into contact with the vehicle when parked in shopping centers. All very minor and expected for an 11 year old vehicle. -I also removed the sunroof wind guard when I bought it. You can see where the rubber made contact with the paint. I buffed it out...still some evidence that it was mounted there. No rust and you cannot tell unless you stand up on the running board and look down at it. -The driver's seat has been refreshed with Magic Mender seat repair. Only 1 small crack remains...this can be fixed by DIY or a professional for cheap. Please see picture for details. Summary: This vehicle is turn key. All major tune up work has been completed. No evidence of any rust in the body and the under carriage appears to be clean for it's age. I hate to get rid of it but need a daily commuter car. I will answer any other questions that you have.
1996 Emerald Green 80 Series ============================================= First of all, I love the green ones. Second, I love this interior color combo, and lastly, it did not have a factory roof rack. I spent about half-a-second agonizing over the fact that it did not have lockers, but quickly moved on. I'll have ARB lockers installed at some point. It was obvious Dave took great care of this truck and it was as close to perfect as one can hope to find. We settled on $11,250.00, plus one-way air fare and the costs of driving it back. But that was well worth it and a fine way to start off in a Cruiser - they are built to travel. So... a few phone calls, a ton of emails, a minor maze of long-distance paperwork and soon enough Margaret and I were on a plane to DC to meet Dave and drive the Cruiser home. We were at the end of the (metro) line when we first saw the Cruiser coming our way... it was beautiful. Fellow Cruiserheads understand the feeling of seeing your new rig appear on the horizon. A Land Cruiser in Washington DC, amidst a sea of sports cars - the beast stands above the fray. Soon we were at Dave's house and he was sharing his knowledge with us, and more than a little sad to see her go. But he was happy she would be used in a place closer to her native habitat than DC - the north woods of Maine and beyond. We found a place to play in New Jersey on the way home. The articulation of these trucks is just too much fun! Although I came close to crumpling a running board on the exit.
Soon we were in Maine, exploring....
Maine pinstriping factory
10,000 miles in 5 months later: the Cruiser has treated us well all summer. And we tried our best to treat her well, too. People are concerned these trucks take a lot of money to keep going - I haven't found that to be the case. All cars are expensive now, so given the sum total of what this truck can do, I haven't found it to be that expensive. The only things I had to do this summer were minor: Oil changes at 5000 miles. I ordered five of the massive Japanese-spec Toyota oil filters from Cruiser Dan, which the previous owner had done as well. I also had Blackstone Labs do a full analysis which came back fine. This 80 does drink oil, about a quart every 2000 miles, which is not unusual and the previous owner told me the same. Based on what I read on IH8MUD I'll switch to Rotella synthetic next month and see if the consumption level changes. Replace the brake reservoir cap because the brake fluid sensor went bad (sends a false signal that you are low on fluid, resulting in a false idiot light on the dash). Cruiser Dan hooked me up for about $80. Secure the battery properly by ordering Toyota's bracket kit. I did buy a new battery just because... well, I always buy a new battery in my trucks if I don't know the entire life history of the previous battery. I'm weird that way. FZJ80s take a unique battery, and I ended up with a Sears Diehard International for about $125. I bought a matching spare to be safe - 285/75/16 Nitto Terra Grappler - to replace the factory spare. It fits fine; hangs down more than I'd like, but I can lash it inside for serious trails. That's all it needed for a summer that took me all over Maine, south to Florida (with a trailer), northwest to Ohio, southeast to the Outer Banks, north to Maine, and a quick loop around New England (Maine-New Hampshire-Vermont-Maine). Beautiful truck to cruise the highways and byways in, and point it off-road anytime something looks interesting. ==================================== Now...the reason people say these are expensive toys is because of how much stuff there is available for them! And, for those of us who delight in expedition travel, we view our rigs more like airplanes: we do a lot of preventative maintenence replacing things before they fail - unlike the common philosophy of drive it into the ground... we prefer to rest assured that on any given day we can take our Land Cruiser to the most remote place on earth on a moments notice. Or at least that is the dream! First I ordered the missing owners manual for the glovebox and the Factory Service Manual (FSM) from Toyota. Then I joined the Toyota Land Cruiser Association and paid up on IH8MUD since they sold this rig as much as anyone. I've been getting 4wd Toyota Owner magazine for a year, and no longer subscribe to any of the regular off-road magazines. Except for Scott Brady's Overland Journal, which is excellent. Then I removed the running boards and put them in the basement. I ordered a full set of Slee Armor: Slider Steps, Slee transfer case skid plate and the Slee ARB/AC compressor skid. These arrived a week later in a freight depot in Bangor, Maine, lashed to a pallette. I was so excited I went to my friend Dr. Bob's and we installed the sliders that evening, well into the dark, in his driveway. The next day I did the rest. I love armor! A vehicle this big needs sliders - I'd grown accustomed to having them on my previous truck and once you get used to using sliders on the trail it's really difficult to drive without them. Factory mudflaps for the front since the running boards served as flaps. In Maine you need mudflaps - we have a mud season, afterall. And IH8MUD! I removed the roller fairlead since there is no winch. I plan on a Warn 12 with synthetic line, so I'll sell this. I bought new Yakima crossbars and towers. I have a bunch of old yak stuff, but I wanted new on this. One of the things I wanted in an 80 was one without the factory roofrack, as it isn't a very good rack to begin with. I'll have several yak crossbars when I'm done, I plan on adding a rooftop tent this spring. I bought a PHH but haven't installed it yet. I also carry a gallon of Toyota Red and a spare thermostat and gasket, just in case. I added a ScanGauge II which is a great device. This monitors several essential engine functions, like water temp, as well as providing comprehensive trip computer stats like mpg, miles to empty, and most importantly - it reads the CEL codes. This is the biggest asset for me; the ability to self-diagnose in the field. Husky Liners are in - these are a must-have if you live in the snowzone. An exterior bottle opener from CruiserCrap for the ARB. Screen windows for the rear passenger windows - these oddities can be ordered from Mot in Japan via IH8MUD. I haven't installed them since bug season is over but I'm excited to have them in the spring. Slee stainless brake lines are in at all 4 corners. These were installed by Cruiser Solutions in New Hampshire when they did a full front axle service. The axles probably had plenty of life in them, but I didn't want to take the chance especially since this will be the first real winter for the 80. We are planning a big trip in December across Quebec and the axle service was something I wanted to put behind us. =========================================
I love excellent design. The rear tires stuff perfectly without rubbing. This is at a boat launch, just testing to see how much room there was (or was not) when the suspension is compressed. It also looks deceivingly small - remember those tires are 33 inches tall. I'm still getting used to the size of this rig on tight trails. The cruiser looks exceptionally clean since she just came from the beauty shop - exterior detailing job in preparation for the next 5 months of snow, salt, sand, mud and travels. Last updated November 17, 2007
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