Crankwalk explores Alaska in general

Back story, the wife and I moved from Atlanta to Anchorage last February and soon after I realized I needed a vehicle to play around with up here.

Original drive up thread: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/drove-the-jeep-to-anchorage-from-atlanta-with-pictures/99483/page1/

Because weather/ road conditions aren't ideal for sports cars most of the year,I decided a more "expedition" type vehicle would give me more use and thus more smiles.

The run down on this one is a pretty clean 1987 Toyota Land Cruiser. 4.2L, Carbureted, with a 4 speed manual transmission. 2" Old Man Emu lift and I added the 35x12.50 15 inch BFG Mud Terrains on Centerline wheels.

So far we have been all down the Kenai peninsula, up through the interior through summer and now winter. The plan is to continue to equip it to go further and further out. Probably a roof rack and small winch are next on the list but other than that I don't want to weigh it down too much.

Some pictures:

Whittier, AK

Matanuska Glacier this past Summer

St. Elias/Wrangell Mtns

Nelchina, AK

ugh that is just awesome, I had a fj80 and it was a blast, I miss it everyday except the 13 mpg hwy. I yearn for a clean fj60

edizzle89 wrote: ugh that is just awesome, I had a fj80 and it was a blast, I miss it everyday except the 13 mpg hwy. I yearn for a clean fj60

The first truck I bought here was a clean '91 fj80. Loved everything about it but the two pedals instead of three. The 60 feels more like a truck and I'm ok with that.

Very nice! I love the old 60/62's!

Now that's the way to see Alaska and not on some cruise ship. I'll take the adventure and wilderness every time. It\s hard to imagine sitting on a ship in the water. You miss so much of the real adventure and beauty of Alaska.

Why is it that things don't seem to rust in Alaska?

Uhhhhh, the truck wasn't in the last three photos!

Dusterbd13 wrote: Why is it that things don't seem to rust in Alaska?

Too cold for salt so we use sand!

That being said, stuff still rusts but I'd say at a normal rate not anywhere close to New England.

ok. I grew up in the rust belt, and Alaska beats the E36 M3 outta there for snowfall and cold and duration.

neat about the sand! never knew it could be too cold for salt to work.

pinchvalve wrote: Uhhhhh, the truck wasn't in the last three photos!

Yeah a ratty old LC cant mess up every picture of Alaska.

Here is the old stock 91 FJ80 that i had for about 6 mos at Arctic Valley. I liked it but missed a manual trans and so I started my search for a FJ60.

Another beige one but this time with a carburetor and three pedals. Rides like a real truck now.

Dusterbd13 wrote: ok. I grew up in the rust belt, and Alaska beats the E36 M3 outta there for snowfall and cold and duration. neat about the sand! never knew it could be too cold for salt to work.

When we were looking to move, I made it a point to not move somewhere that they salted the roads. Just doesnt fit in to my lifestyle. That being said since we used sand and gravel, EVERYBODY'S windshield is cracked.

This was the most offroad thing I've ever done. Mrs. Crankwalk and I went to Willow, AK to ride around with the Seavey's Iditarod crew for her 30th in Dec 2015. These dogs are like the retirees/B team that we could take out around the property. Temp was about -15 F.

Oh man that looks awesome! Beautiful country, awesome truck! Keep the pics/build info coming! I would love to see more of the truck, interior pics, underhood, etc.

sethmeister4 wrote: Oh man that looks awesome! Beautiful country, awesome truck! Keep the pics/build info coming! I would love to see more of the truck, interior pics, underhood, etc.

Interior is in decent shape. Carpet is out since it would just be gross with snow and mud all the time. I plan on bedlining the floors when its a little warmer.

Here's the de-smogged 4.2L 2f. Carbureted with a manual choke from the factory. I want to clean it up but every time I take it out it gets greasy and muddy. Oh well, its a truck. If you notice the full reservoir on the right, that is the headlight sprayer setup that was missing when I bought the truck. The whole system can go for hundreds but I got it all from a parts truck in town for $20 bucks. When everything is covered in filth, I can get clean headlights and windows from a button at least. With as marginal as the stock lighting is on this thing, anything helps.

So far,(in addition to the wheels and tires) I've done the thermostat, radiator cap,rear brakes, greased the hubs, changed all fluids and its running great. The thermostat was huge. It always started strong and drove great even not plugged in overnight in negative temps. With the new thermostat, that big cooling system gets up and stays at 185. The rear heater works great as well since its so big in there. So on super cold days, the front and rear heater blasting, you can take nice snowy trips with toasty temps inside.

Awesome. What do you do for work? Are you living in the boonies or are you near a town/city?

sethmeister4 wrote: Awesome. What do you do for work? Are you living in the boonies or are you near a town/city?

I live in Anchorage actually. We have a Chili's and Walmart etc. It;s mostly Anywhere USA except for seeing dog sleds at the park, moose and bear in the yard and other random Alaskan sights.

Im in risk management for a bank that is all through AK from Anchorage to Fairbanks, to southeast cities like Ketchikan, Sitka, and Juneau. I worked at a huge bank doing fraud strategy in GA just plugging away in an anonymous role and when we decided to move, we wanted some adventure. We can play outside year round and entertain ourselves for mostly free. So now i'm with a smaller company but i'm doing much better career wise,just have to put up with the drawbacks of living in the last frontier (6 months of winter, expensive to get back home).

In reply to crankwalk:

Cool. I think if they built a Carmax in Anchorage I would definitely be tempted to transfer.

crankwalk wrote:

sethmeister4 wrote: Awesome. What do you do for work? Are you living in the boonies or are you near a town/city?

I live in Anchorage actually. We have a Chili's and Walmart etc. It;s mostly Anywhere USA except for seeing dog sleds at the park, moose and bear in the yard and other random Alaskan sights. Im in risk management for a bank that is all through AK from Anchorage to Fairbanks, to southeast cities like Ketchikan, Sitka, and Juneau. I worked at a huge bank doing fraud strategy in GA just plugging away in an anonymous role and when we decided to move, we wanted some adventure. We can play outside year round and entertain ourselves for mostly free. So now i'm with a smaller company but i'm doing much better career wise,just have to put up with the drawbacks of living in the last frontier (6 months of winter, expensive to get back home).

Sounds like you and your wife made the perfect choice. As for me the cold winters would get me down. It takes a special kind of person to endure them. I can handle a few weeks of cold weather but after that I need sunshine and warmth.

Took the truck up to Hatcher Pass today for a little cross country skiing. After about 160 miles round trip today, I'm getting about 16 mpg. Now, that may sound terrible but I'm actually thrilled. Coming from a full-time 4wd FJ80, this is an improvement. Having the manual transmission and a part-time 4wd system is great. I was in 2H for 80% of my driving . So i'm getting a hair better than stock MPG numbers in winter, with stock gearing and 35s. Can't complain!

The mud terrain's get really packed with deep snow and I have no siping to really grip. I hate changing tires for different seasons but some 33 in all terrains would probably be perfect for the kind of stuff I do.

Awesome thread. Gotta say that you have what I consider to be the coolest two cars in the forum. Both the Datsun and now this Landcruiser.

Slippery wrote: Awesome thread. Gotta say that you have what I consider to be the coolest two cars in the forum. Both the Datsun and now this Landcruiser.

I appreciate it!

Siping the MT's would probably help a fair bit. I never had real chunking issues with Siping.

I so want one of those FJ's. Like since forever...

java230 wrote: Siping the MT's would probably help a fair bit. I never had real chunking issues with Siping. I so want one of those FJ's. Like since forever...

Yeah busting out the siping knife would just take FOREVER on these things so we will see if I get around to messing with that.

And yes the 60 is my favorite Land Cruiser i'd say. It's so crude. Leafs, carb, manual choke, 4 speed in 1987 in a Toyota! EFI, 5 speed, turbo supras were on the same lot with these relics. It just the last hoorah for that old school tech.

Get it done at a tire shop, just have them stop short of the outside lug.

I think a 60 or 62 wiht a 4bt would be a GREAT truck. They are getting harder to find with a non rusty shell though.

I love these rigs! I have an fj40 that I'm building for some overland stuff, I can't wait to get it and my adventure trailer done so I cam take the family away for a couple weeks. 60 seems much more practical for this usage though.

sesto elemento wrote: I love these rigs! I have an fj40 that I'm building for some overland stuff, I can't wait to get it and my adventure trailer done so I cam take the family away for a couple weeks. 60 seems much more practical for this usage though.

A 40 will be fun with a trailer and/or storage rack on top! I'm just lazy and haven't messed with any towing or gear on top of this one. I've just travelled pretty light and can sleep around stuff in the back. In fact I have a Hilift jack and a big bucket full of spares back there now. (Water pump, ps pump etc.) It's pretty ambitious to think I would try to swap a water pump on the side of the road in freezing temperatures but it's better than nothing.

Side note: I keep a can of WD40 with me at all times to spray the locks periodically these days. If I forget about the locking gas door, I look like an idiot the next time I'm at the pump and its frozen shut. I almost broke a key off in there once.

In reply to crankwalk:

Cool thread Crankwalk. My brother lives/works in AK, and keeps trying to lure me up there. How do you cope with the short daylight hours in the winter? That would bother me much much more than the cold.