Slug; A 62 revival

After looking at countless 60s and 62s I finally found a 62. Thanks to @Cruisertrash for showing me what to look out for. Ironically the 62 that I acquired had more rust in the body than most all of the others combined. So why this 62? Well, it was easy. I purchased an 80 from the impound auction to fill the void of not owning a 62. Not even a week after @timmbuck2 and I started to talk about trading my 80 for a rusty 62 he had just acquired. We agreed to do the trade, and I brought the 62 home.

As you would expect with a rusty 62 it came with a laundry list of problems, quite literally. After pulling up the Carfax there was a report that work was performed at Redline Land Cruisers a few months prior. I reached out and sure enough they performed an inspection and were gracious enough to send me the report and photos.
The biggest thing on the list mechanically was the transmission. Big surprise, a 62 with transmission issues. I knew this going into the trade.

There are plenty of other surprises. This build thread is to document the process of getting this 62 to be in top shape mechanically. I don't have any real intention to fix all of the rust. This will be me stumbling my way through understanding another Land Cruiser Chassis. Cheers.

The first order of business was to get the emissions tested and get it registered.
To prepare for this I changed the oil and filter, checked the timing, adjusted the valves, and took it in to see what it would do.
I didnt take any photos of this, because I wasnt sure I wanted to start a build thread.
It passed!! Ill forever be stressed about emissions.


With that out of the way I tasked myself with addressing a slew of other items.

First, I decided I would tackle the rest of the fluids.
I drained and filled the transmission, hoping it would fix the problem of not wanting to shift form 1-2 when cold. Which the first test drive proved successful, but weeks since has proven its fine 70 percent of the time. Then, I drained and filled the tcase and front and rear diffs and cleaned the breathers. With those Items out of the way I decided to tackle the coolant and a few hoses that were identified as being problematic by Redline. I also replaced the cold start coolant sensor as I was having some cold start issues.

All of the fluids were of sound appearance and so I feel confident in investing some more time into it.
A ritual of mine when I purchase a new vehicle is to pull the whole interior and do a deep clean. So that's what I did. I also took the opportunity to replace the destroyed 62 steering wheel with a good 60 steering wheel @Cruisertrash gave me awhile ago.



As you can see the stereo was destroyed and so I decided to replace it with a good stock Toyota unit from the junkyard. It turns out a 1998 Camry stereo is plug and play with a 1990 Land Cruiser. I also installed a new aftermarket antenna because the other aftermarket one was S shaped.



With that stuff out of the way I figured I'd tackle getting the ac recharged with r134a. I ordered the parts and was ready to get it charged and then broke the darn fitting off the compressor right in front of @Boulder Cruiser. Since then, I've procured a new compressor thanks to @Crash and will hopefully soon have some ice cold air conditioning.

Does the 62 require a conversion to run R134a, like the 60? If so, where did you find parts? I know there is a 60 kit but I haven’t found it available anywhere. Not really looking hard, but it would be good to have the AC in my 60 working and easier to recharge as necessary.

RDub said:

Does the 62 require a conversion to run R134a, like the 60? If so, where did you find parts? I know there is a 60 kit but I haven’t found it available anywhere. Not really looking hard, but it would be good to have the AC in my 60 working and easier to recharge as necessary.

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Its just replacing a bunch of o-rings, installing the r134a adapters and using the right oil.

Looking good Hans!

Back at it again with some other maintenance and non maintenance items. The belts were in obvious need of replacement, , so I tackled all the belts. It was a one banana job. So far, the 62 has been the easiest and roomiest Land Cruiser chassis I've worked on.

I also have an opportunity to buy some 40 series wheels, so I decided I'd take the ones off the Stout and see how they look. While I was there, I replaced one of the front sway bar end links.




Always a fan of the 40 wheels on the 60/62. I also decided I'd take a stab at cleaning the stock wheels. I think they turned out pretty great.





I'm hoping to get the ac recharged next week sometime. I also ordered a whole tie rod end kit from Cruiser Outfitters that Id like to get to next weekend as well, but we'll see if time allows.

Update on the 62!
I've been driving it as my daily for the last month and I can report that the trans now shifts fine from 1-2 everytime. I started paying even more attention to how it shifts and when and it appears that I have a flare up, or so I guess that's what they call it. Its minimal and hardly bothersome, however, soon on the agenda is a trans cooler and the "Rodney" flush as suggested by @Crash.

I spent one weekend and pulled the entire front steering linkage and replaced all of the end links with new from Cruiser Outfitters.
The Stout served as the perfect work bench for this effort.




It drives great with the new component's and was honestly not as bad as some linkages I've delt with in the past.
On the to do list are install trans cooler, 40 wheels + tires, rebuild the knuckles, and charge the AC.

In spite of the to do list this thing is just a joy to drive, and it has been incredibly rewarding feeling to get it sorted out from where I started.
We have also settled on a name for the 62 as designated by my son, Slug. A fitting name for a gray rusty and slow 62.

Good job! Anytime you want to get together and do the Rodney flush we can do both of our trucks. Did you play with the transmission throttle valve cable length to get better shifting?

Since you'll be doing the side cover gasket at some point....My TLCA article from a few years back.

Steve, can you please let me know if when the Rodney flush is going to happen? Like to get my 62 done also. Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread.

Looking good Hans. I always enjoy your build threads, very well done.

I miss my 88 FJ62 with the same color. It was my second Land Cruiser after selling my 85 FJ60 back in 2001. Back then, you could find these with low miles, I think it had 120k on the odometer.

Telly said:

Looking good Hans. I always enjoy your build threads, very well done.

I miss my 88 FJ62 with the same color. It was my second Land Cruiser after selling my 85 FJ60 back in 2001. Back then, you could find these with low miles, I think it had 120k on the odometer.

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Thanks Doug! I enjoy writing them, so I appreciate you reading them!

I miss those days. I sure wish my father would have let me purchase a 40 series I found for $1500 in the Thrifty Nickel when I was 16. I'm never going to let him live that one down.

Update!
I had to do an oil change one the 62, because I’ve put 3200 miles on it since the last one. It’s been my primary beater since August and has just been a gem. That’s more miles than I’ve put on the stout and 80 in the same period, to put things into perspective.





The transmission is still a little finicky at first start when it gets below 30 degrees. However, driving it around the block once is enough for it to warm up and shift normally.

Next order of business was the ac. 6 months ago I ordered some 9 dollar r134a fittings for the ac compressor. I got them on my compressor and then decided I’ll just make sure the low pressure fitting is tight. Of course, I end up breaking the fitting off the top of the compressor. I’m glad the system was empty, but it left me needing a new compressor. Fortunately @Crash had one and offered it up. So I ordered the fitting I broke off and got to changing the top of the compressor and it went by smoothly, however, by the time I got to it the ac was not a priority so, I made that a future me problem. Since I had plenty of time to think about it I got thinking, I wonder if I could refill the system with one of those cans from Walmart?
What do you know, it worked. And just in time for a March heatwave.


I’m at a decision point with the 62 now. Do I keep it and keep tackling some more of the deferred maintenance or do I sell it to free up some money for a new house? It’s proven to be a great rig and I’ve gotten a ton of joy out of driving it.

Part of life’s hard decisions how many are too many?

HDavis said:

Part of life’s hard decisions how many are too many?

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Amen brother. The second land cruiser I owned was an 88 FJ62 and daily drove it for a couple of years. What a joy it was!

@HDavis - you will have to evacuate the A/C system before filling it with refrigerant. And, per the Car Care Nut, don't use any of the 'R134a with sealant' products (might be what you show in the photo).

SteveH said:

@HDavis - you will have to evacuate the A/C system before filling it with refrigerant. And, per the Car Care Nut, don't use any of the 'R134a with sealant' products (might be what you show in the photo).

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Luckily It was already evacuated, before I traded Tim for it.

That’s first I’ve heard about not using the stuff with sealant. I’ve used the same stuff before on my 80 when it was low after I had it refilled at a shop. That was 5 years ago and it still works fine. Hence the reason I figured why not try it to fill the 62 system from empty. I guess we will see how it impacts a system that was filled with it from empty.

HDavis said:

Update!
I had to do an oil change one the 62, because I’ve put 3200 miles on it since the last one. It’s been my primary beater since August and has just been a gem. That’s more miles than I’ve put on the stout and 80 in the same period, to put things into perspective.





The transmission is still a little finicky at first start when it gets below 30 degrees. However, driving it around the block once is enough for it to warm up and shift normally.

Next order of business was the ac. 6 months ago I ordered some 9 dollar r134a fittings for the ac compressor. I got them on my compressor and then decided I’ll just make sure the low pressure fitting is tight. Of course, I end up breaking the fitting off the top of the compressor. I’m glad the system was empty, but it left me needing a new compressor. Fortunately @Crash had one and offered it up. So I ordered the fitting I broke off and got to changing the top of the compressor and it went by smoothly, however, by the time I got to it the ac was not a priority so, I made that a future me problem. Since I had plenty of time to think about it I got thinking, I wonder if I could refill the system with one of those cans from Walmart?
What do you know, it worked. And just in time for a March heatwave.


I’m at a decision point with the 62 now. Do I keep it and keep tackling some more of the deferred maintenance or do I sell it to free up some money for a new house? It’s proven to be a great rig and I’ve gotten a ton of joy out of driving it.

Part of life’s hard decisions how many are too many?

Click to expand...

Of course I’m mightily biased, I’m going to be buried in my 62 like Willie the Pimp, and keeping your 62 and driving it forever would not be a bad decision but… a house definitely takes priority over the 62. Family first, Cruisers second.

"Family first, Cruisers second."

We must be careful when making broad sweeping generalizations!