Cruisers Only

Kinda old school tonight

I've got a pair of OEM style Birfields here for an FJ80. These are the Nitro Gear stock style replacements. The chrome moly stuff is great if your 80 is really is a trail rig only. But in a full-time four-wheel-drive vehicle they just wear out too fast if you drive it on the roads, which is why I normally stick with the OEM style for most '80s.

I picked these up for a job that got delayed. Don't really need to have them sitting on the shelf when I can always pick up new ones when I need them. I've also got a set of the tall drive flanges if you want to install them in one of the early model '80s.

$450 for the pair of Birfields and $100 for the drive flanges if you want those too.

I was just asked if the discoloration on the outer shaft section of the Birfields inside the plastic bag is rust. No it is not! It apparently is a coat of paint that was put on the outer shaft for some reason that is flaking off. They're in perfect brand-new condition. I've only had them for a little while. Still sealed in plastic.

About $200 to replace your ujoint that's going bad. Or a minimum of $600 for two ujoints and a driveshaft too. And the expense of having your ring towed off the side of the road into the shop. And the disruption to whatever plans you had when the driveshaft fell out on the highway. And a rental car. And a now leaking transmission pan.

Ignoring funny sounds in your vehicle and hoping it will be okay it's not really a fiscally sound approach.

Leak much maybe?

New photo by Mark Whatley

Bolts are better than welds for many uses. The is s crossmember mount on a Land Cruiser "clone". Toyota bolts it to the frame over welding it. Easy to see why, even without taking clearance for component removal into consideration

Exotic and expensive imported cruisers can seem really cool. Really really cool. But be careful and make sure the beauty is more than skin deep. There are unscrupulous importers and flippers out there who are more than happy to mislead and deceive you about the condition of that once in a lifetime find.

This one is even nicer than it looks. Just received a brand-new steel, steel not aluminum , tub and a very high-quality paint job. It's taken him several years to get the vehicle to this point . Now it's here for an old-school high-performance 2F build. Fun stuff!

Remember when we called 80 series "mall cruisers" and "soccer mom rigs"? When IFS was considered the mark of Cain? And real men drove manual transmissions? I'd turn the lights on in the shop in the morning and see 40 and 55 Series and the occasional square bodied wagon...

I don't really want to go back, but I do miss those days a little bit.

Started the day with another traveler. Beginning to seem routine!

Sometimes when I look at all the '80s out front I feel a little bit like I have lost my roots. So it is nice to have a few Cruisers come through that no one will ever call "soccer mom rigs". Sometimes they are here hoping to find elusive non-US parts, sometimes for service and sometimes just to visit. Whatever the reason it makes for a nice break from all the NA spec rigs.

An important but often overlooked maintenance tip for the heating and A/C system... Keep your mice out of your squirrel cage.