Land Crusier FJ62 question

[Eric 951]

Picked it up Monday night--on the drive home it started raining--turned on wipers---they were working but were slooow--. When I got home, I did a quick walk-around--noticed that the headlight lenses were hot to the touch(outermost). Fired it up again and hit the high beams from inside--more light illuminated, but the owner prior to the PO (who did the H4 conversion) wired both low and high beam, to the same outermost light--so the inners are blanks. Weird. Also, the outers get very warm on the lens when on--even low beam. This can't be right.
Other things on the to-do list:
all new belts
oil/filter change
diff fluid/tranny fluid changes
new wipers
possibly new wiper motor
paint the wiper arms
thourough cleaning in and out
new tailgate piece above the pic. plate--original was rotted and the grounds for the lic plate lamps are gone.
plugs/cap/rotoe/wires
valve adjustment/new valve cover gasket
new air filter
new tires
new front seat covers

I was going to hit up Spectre with my parts needs.

Bonus parts that came with the rig--extra full synth diff fluid, (2) OEM Toy oil filters, and a factory repair manual.

So far I am pleased--the headlight issue has me a bit concerned, but this weekend I will do more investigating.

And now as promised the pics:

[onewhippedpuppy]

Looks like a solid starting point. Cruiser Dan from iH8Mud is a Land Cruiser parts guru, he works at American Toyota and gives Mud members near wholesale pricing. It's worth shopping him as well. Other things to consider doing:

As I suggested earlier, if you can get away with it do a desmog on the 3FE. It makes a dramatic difference in smoothness and drivability. It also gets a lot of crap out from under the hood, making access easier.

Fuel filter, both the canister and in-tank fuel "sock". My sock was filthy, replacing both was noticeable.

Replace everything rubber under the hood. I ordered an entire set of coolant hoses from Cruiser Dan after I had two spring leaks. It's not hard or super expensive, it's cheap insurance from getting stranded. Use Toyota red coolant, and whatever you do DON'T MIX coolant types. Vac lines are easy and super cheap, just get some bulk hose at your favorite auto parts store. Note that a desmog also greatly simplifies your vacuum lines.

Get OEM belts. The aftermarket ones are notorious for making an annoying whining noise.

Much like our Porsches, the headlight wiring is totally inadequate even with stock wiring. Headlight relays are essential with your upgraded H4s. There are several LC vendors that sell plug and play relay kits.

[Scott R]

Just a note on Specter, they are great, no doubt. But they are really expensive. Don't overlook the dealer for items, they are very competitive. Also CCOT (Cool Cruisers Of Texas) is very competitive as well.

During my FJ40 resto I tried to use SOR as little as possible, but there were some items that I had to get from them, and you pay a premium. They have an interesting system for getting their inventory. They go to the ME and Asia and grab a bunch of LC's all at once and have them containerized back here for parts. Gives them a unique edge on the competition.

[porwolf]

Specter (SOR) s a great source for used parts. They have almost everything available there. Once got a barely used starter motor for half the new price. I got a couple of used light fixtures to repair a fender bender. Also, a long time ago my transfer case broke because lack of oil and they had a barely used one from the Japan factory for $900.-. Another great deal. And their seat covers are custom made for FJ's, seem to fit perfectly.