This summer there were some excellent weekends. I wanted to drive to crystal mountain to mountain bike the loop. I wanted to drive to the coast to surf, or up to the mountains to hike. Quite a few times I didn’t go because… my car isn’t right for it. 15mpg, no storage, lowered stiff suspension doesn’t like logging roads. Don’t own a bike rack for it, etc, etc. Then its winter and I can’t take my kids skiiing… Either I steal the wife’s volvo wagon and leave her without a practical car, or I rent a car, or I don’t go. Guess which happens more often.
In the summer I actually rented a car for a three day weekend. 33mpg but tiny. Bike almost didn’t fit in the truck with wheels off. Bike, let alone BikeS. Came out to ~$30/day, but drove 400 miles. 400 miles / 33mpg == 12 gallons. 12 gallons at $3.5/gallon == $42. That same distance in the porsche 930 would have cost ~$100. Savings was a wash, but no wear and tear, and I could bring my bike.
And last reason, my kids are getting taller and starting to dare to complain about the back seats in the 930. <Monty python voice>: Kids these days! When I was a child I could only dream of riding in a car…
So.. requirements: Big inside for carrying gear. 4+ passangers. Crash safety. Reasonable Gas Mileage ™. And then a little extra personal requirement: sufficient ground clearance that I can drive to Chimney Rock in the Maze district of Canyonlands National Park.
Started discussing this issue with friends. Most obvious answer, I can buy a Hybrid… Or a Nissan Leaf? I can be a prius hyper miler? Oh, those are sorta small. And they’re new so very expensive. Depreciation curve will eat the savings. And no ground clearance.
Made a spreadsheet and started costing out candidates. Assuming I drive 6000 miles/year. How many years does the new car need to be driven to pay for its cost in gas. Spreadsheet assumes 4% return on money if it weren’t spend on a car, and assumes NO depreciation. Quickly realized that new cars make no economic sense which is good because they suck too.
Strongly considered the VW TDI wagons that are available locally. They get fantastic mileage (40+). But being VW I expect lots of expensive problems.
I came across a Diesel Datsun Pickup on craigslist, advertised 40mpg. Pickup! Cool. Cheap! But then they never imported a Krew Cab edition, so no way to carry the family. And dang I remember those things, seriously cheap, terrible in a crash. Imagine one of them rusty units puttering through an intersection and getting t-boned by an inattentive teen in a Lincoln Navigator?
Search progressed from Datsun Diesel, to Toyota Diesel (also rare). And then I found a craigslist ad:
This is the first bj60 I laid eyes upon. Rusty!!!
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- This is the first bj60 I laid eyes upon. Rusty!!!
Hmm. Toyota made diesel land cruisers? 24mpg? Hmm… That sounds pretty reasonable for a huge truck… $4500? Not bad at all! Cool looking, probably reliable, reasonable gas mileage? Well, not great but better than the volvo wagon.
So went into full research mode. Spent hours in the diesel section of the IH8Mud forum. The more I read the more possible this seems. Reminded me of the Turbo Section of Pelican Parts Forum, I mean similar fanaticism, but more people seemed to be able to weld, and there seemed to be an unusual tolerance for… rust?
So hey? Perhaps the rust isn’t such a big deal on a Land Cruiser. MAYBE they’re so easy to fix that rust doesn’t matter? Just weld more metal on and Bob’s Your Uncle! Yeah?
I called Torfab about rust… “uh… hi?” Guy was happy to answer questions: Price to replace rusty wheelwell? $1500-$2000. Each? Yeah. Price to replace frame? $2500-$3500. Price to put Diesel drivetrain in american FJ60? $3500.
Crap. Thats porsche money. I cut him off… “It sounds like… the best thing to do is… buy one without rust” “YES!! Don’t buy a rusty one!!”
Dang. So much for the $4500 jobber, now on the hunt for rust free land cruiser…
CanadianBJ 