New 80 series owner

[ov1009]

Hello and thanks for having me in!

1. My name is Rusu Ovidiu and I am from Romania.
2. My Cruiser is a '97 80 series VX with the 1HDFT engine, 5speed manual, center diff lock only. It has 540.000km on the clock, a lot of rust and a few drivetrain issues. Engine runs fine tho.
3. The car doesn't have any off-road mods at the moment. It has been converted to a 2 seater commercial vehicle since tax here would have been a lot for the 4.2 engine.
4. First of all, I want to sort out all the mechanical issues and have the car in tip top shape.
Second of all, I plan on turning this 80 into an overlander.
Some mods I want to fit to this car include:

• 2' lift kit
• some AT tires since I will also drive the car on the road a lot - will probably get the BFGs
• roofrack, side awning
• some sort of bike rack since I also am a big mtb fan
• full inside setup - drawers, fridge, 12v system, water canister, cooking hardware etc.
• snorkel
• winch
• front and rear diff locks with compressor and so on.

5. I've always enjoyed going places in my 4x4. Not a huge fan of extreme off-roading. My favourite scenario is going out in the mountains with my friends, having fun, cooking something, cracking a beer and having some good rest out there in the nature. Since we also have a farm at home, my 4x4 background is wide: we have had a Hyundai Galloper, a Suzuki Samurai, 2 Suzuki Vitara, 2 second gen Pajeros, a 3rd gen Pajero, a 4th gen Pajero, one L200 and last but not least a 2007 Hilux which pointed me towards getting another Toyota 4x4. We still have most of this cars and they run just fine. As you can see, there is a pattern: we love japanese 4x4s - the Galloper is the intruder there.

I have been looking for an 80series for a few years now and finally decided to pull the trigger. As I said, the car is not in perfect shape, but I got for a decent price. I am very happy for being able to own this car considering they are getting rare and very expensive. I will soon make a post in the 80 series forum with all the issues, I know for sure I'll get some answers and be able to fix everything.

I will also get back with some proper pictures!

 

[cmcmill01]

Welcome to 80 ownership I'm sure it will bring lots of fun