Cruiser shopping 60 or 80?

[ShottsCruisers]

Not 100% sure on the price yet...it WON'T be less:

http://forum.ih8mud.com/az-arizona-l...k-crawler.html

[RMP&O]

My wife and I, as well as the kid, commute together. My Frontier just sits in the driveway mostly. I think I put about 4000 miles on it last year. I have had it for six years, and I still don't like it. That is another story. Might as well have something interesting to fill this role. One that can serve camping, canoe hauling and light trail duty. I don't have too many mods in mind. Out of the box stock is probably overkill for us. We keep our cars for a long time and I believe maintenance is just as good as any other religion. We will still use our Forester for long trips and commuting, but will likely use the Cruiser for weekend trips. So a 60 or an 80? Here are my perceived advantages and disadvantages of the two:

60
Simple and classic old but not ancient
I don't like allot of bells and whistles, I like crank windows and manuals
I am a bit leery of carburetors
I am in PHX so smog tests might be an issue.

80
A little pricey maybe, but I have seen a few in the $8k range (about my budget)
Fuel injection
Is it hard to find one with the poverty pack? Manual tranny?
Full time 4x4? Seems a bit excessive
Part availability may be a little better than the 60
Not interested in the V8 model, straight 6 for me

Any advice, enlightenment? Great deals, or offers on my Frontier?

My opinion is get the FJ60. Less of everything on the truck is better IMHO. 80s have a lot of electricals, sensors and so forth. That is lot's to go wrong. They also take a bit more know-how to work on since it is more modern. They are also a bigger heavier truck. On top of this an 80 will be more expensive to maintain and do upgrades/mods. An FJ60/62 is about as simple as it gets without getting to old and utilitarian. In fact by what you say, I would get the FJ60 and do some mods like update the engine to the 62 EFI system. I got the FJ60 for many reasons like these and an way happy with it! I also downgraded from an 04 Tacoma into the Cruiser for the same reasons.

[Flagster]

My opinion is get the FJ60. Less of everything on the truck is better IMHO. 80s have a lot of electricals, sensors and so forth. That is lot's to go wrong. They also take a bit more know-how to work on since it is more modern. They are also a bigger heavier truck. On top of this an 80 will be more expensive to maintain and do upgrades/mods. An FJ60/62 is about as simple as it gets without getting to old and utilitarian. In fact by what you say, I would get the FJ60 and do some mods like update the engine to the 62 EFI system. I got the FJ60 for many reasons like these and an way happy with it! I also downgraded from an 04 Tacoma into the Cruiser for the same reasons.

x2...I love the 80 I bought 6 mos ago but am itching to get started on my 60...with a 2FE conversion it will be perfect and I can turn the 80 into a chop top buggy

[lostworldexpedition]

As a proud diesel 60 owner, I would have a hard time in any other vehicle... But an 80 might be the only truck I would consider, problem is it would have to be diesel in other words I am no help in solving your connundrum. Try to drive both and see what you think.



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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=0.825342,-77.639827

[Douglas S.]

I love my 80, but if it wasn't a diesel I wouldn't have even considered it.

[constructeur]

I'm an 80 owner and wish I had a 60. Don't get me wrong, the rig has been great, very low maintenance and all, but it sucks fuel. I mean just guzzles the stuff. I'm more of a no frills kind of lad as well, and can only see things like electric windows, etc. causing me headaches in the years to come.

I'm starting to poke around at clean 60's and hopefully I'll be able to complete a diesel swap like Luis has and such...

[Viggen]

I vote 60 but I am partial. I am not a fan of the 80. Theyre bulbous and they are heavy. They ride better but, from experience, I can say a shackle reversal makes a 60 ride pretty damn well. Whats funny is 60s are appreciating and 80s arent. It will soon be a dollar for dollar consideration when shopping. Find one that has been taken care of and youll be just fine.

[Grim Reaper]

In addition:

60: Leaf springs (easier/cheaper to lift)
80: Coil springs (much better ride for a DD/family car)

60: 2F engine (3FE if a 62), Great wheeling/off-road motors, gobs of torque off of idle, under-powered on the freeway and in the mountains.
80: 3FE if an FJ80 (1991-1992), 1FZFE if '93 and up. 1FZFE a much better highway motor.

60: few electronics; easy to de-smog
80: Lots of electronics, more work to de-smog

What could you possibly need to remove that wouldn't make it perform worse? I hate when I see people post stuff like this.

I can see the nightmare of the 60 carburetor thanks to emissions needs making it more complicated then it needed to be with all the vacuum operate valves but the Bosch L Jetronic (YES BOSCH, ND builds it under license from them) based FI of the 80 is some of the best and most reliable built. 90% of the problems you will have is vacuum leaks from rotten hoses or cracked plastic fittings. The rest is gummed up injectors, EGR and IAC and the occasional failed O2 sensor.

Does the 80 have a Airpump? I dont think it does. Parasitic drag of the pump might free up some HP but I would think it would cause a conflict in the ECM where the readings of the Lambda sensors is out of range of what it is expecting to see when the pump is doing its thing.

The STUPIDEST thing people do is think that removing EGR is a good idea and that somehow it kills power. Couldn't be further from the truth. If the EGR is open at idle or any other time then steady cruise its broken....fix it.

The EGR primary function is to allow for less fuel to be used at cruise when you dont need the full power that the motor can make. When the EGR opens it removes oxygen from the combustion chamber. To get back to a stoic mixture the ECM see's that the mixture is rich (remember the ideal mix is 14 parts air to 1 part fuel so when you displace the air with the exhaust it goes rich) and leans out the amount of fuel to match the O2 Level .

It improves MPG and doesn't not hurt performance when properly functioning. When you put your foot down the EGR closes. Go put a Vac gauge inline with the valve and see for yourself.

Love the looks of the 60's, Love the the technology of the 80 more. I'm currently shopping for a 80.

My big hang ups why I want the 80:

Bigger 4.5 motor (I will be pulling a 2800lb Airstream some).
The easier to work on Fuel injection
Ride of the linked coil suspension
Hope to find a factory locked
R134 A/C because I never had good luck converting a R12 o R134, My 86 4Runner has had no A/C for the last 2 years. Keep trying to get it to work on R134 and between leaks and parts failing. like right now I need to put in an expansion valve, I just cant get it to function for more then a few months and its marginal when it does. I'm over it. I'm looking for a DD and weekend warrior.

If I bought a 60 I'd have to replace the motor with a 5.3 Chevy before I would be happy. I can buy a LOT of fuel for a 80 before I would make up that cost.

[1911]

What could you possibly need to remove that wouldn't make it perform worse? I hate when I see people post stuff like this.

... 90% of the problems you will have is vacuum leaks from rotten hoses or cracked plastic fittings. The rest is gummed up injectors, EGR and IAC and the occasional failed O2 sensor.

You answered your own question. Heat and time make the vacuum lines rotten, crack the plastic BVSV's and other plastic fittings, and the EGR fills the intake manifold and intake valve runners in the head with carbon, enough to partially block the flow. Taking these things off is cheaper than replacing them, and better for the engine in the long run (since it won't fill the intake back up with carbon after you've cleaned it out).

My de-smogged FJ80 (same 3FE engine) ran much better de-smogged and without the EGR putting all that carbon back into the intake, and it still passed emission testing with flying colors. Better numbers on subsequent emissions tests in fact. Still running great today at almost 300,000 miles (I de-smogged it at just over 100,000 miles). YMMV.

[esh]

I think they're both great models. I have a 62, slightly modded, but if I were looking for a platform I wasn't planning on heavily modifying (engine/drivetrain wise), it would probably be a 93+ 80. No WAY the 100s are close to 80 prices yet. If I were doing a conversion or otherwise heavy mods, it would be an FJ60 (not 62), though FJ80s (not FZJ) would be a good cheap platform if you wanted coils and quieter interior for a conversion.

Also, the 80 series lift is HALF the cost of a 60 series lift. I am comparing 2-3" OME prices.