History of our 1982 Land Cruiser

Window Sticker

In front of original owner's house with "For Sale" sign.

Our Land Cruiser was bought new for $10,548.20 by Mike S. on February 23, 1982 at Norwalk Toyota in Norwalk, California. The truck was built in January 1982. He drove the Land Cruiser until he sold it to us on June 1, 2002. It had approximately 327,000 miles on it when we bought it. With the exception of a few dents and some very minor rust, the truck had been very well maintained and was in really nice condition. The truck still had the original paint and the interior was in very good shape, except for the driver's seat. The only mechanical problems were a leaking exhaust manifold, the carburetor needed rebuilding, and a failed oil seal between the transfer case and transmission. I replaced the exhaust manifold gasket and had the manifolds planed at a machine shop. I also rebuilt the carburetor and replaced all the old vacuum lines with new OEM lines. The failed oil seal was temporarily fixed with a hose that returns oil to the transfer case as needed. The oil seal will eventually be permanently fixed.

Even though the truck was in good condition, I decided that it would look much better having the dents fixed and body repainted. I stripped the interior of the truck and most everything else that I could unbolt, and towed it in for bodywork and paint. While putting it back together, I cleaned all the old parts before reinstalling (it is amazing what Simple Green will do!) and painted some of the parts that didn't make it to the bodyshop. I put in new OEM door panels, emblems, and a floormat. I also reupholstered the seats and put in a new headliner. The finished truck looks really good (better than in the photos!). I still have some more work to do to complete the truck, but it will take a bit more time, and now I just feel like driving it...