The FJ80 has been a favorite of Land Cruiser enthusiasts since it hit the market in 1990. Considered one of the best made off-road vehicles of all by time by some, the last years of the straight axle coil spring series are highly sought after. The last year for the 80 series in the states was 1997 and that is the model I was searching for. There were "collector series" and "40th anniversary" limited edition models during this last year of production, but I was more concerned with color. I had in mind either a green or a white cruiser that didn't have 500K miles on the odometer and was in good nick overall. The search, of course, was national and it seemed most cruisers that fit my criteria were thousands of miles away….what else is new! I did find a few early examples, but these cruisers were built before 1993 and had less power and smaller brakes. The last evolution of the original "old school" straight six engine that started way back in the 50's as a 3.4, then became famous in the 40 series cruisers, reached its pinnacle in the 80 series. The engine had grown in displacement to 4.5 liters, came with an aluminum head with double over head cams, 24 valves, fuel injection, and 240 HP with 300 ft-lbs of torque. This was the engine to have if you wanted the old straight six cylinder engine.

One day while driving my FJ40 through a residential section of town, I spotted a white FJ80! I watched as it turned a few blocks away and immediately threw the kids in the back of the cruiser into a panic as I pulled a complete U-turn and headed after the "white whale." I turned early hoping the cruiser would appear in front of me on the next street over and it did! I followed it until we came to a double lane road and quickly got beside the 80. It stopped at a stoplight and so did we. I rolled down the window on the passenger side and frantically started waving while we were stopped. Darn tinted windows…I couldn't see if the person saw me or not. Pretty soon all the kids were hanging out the window waving…we were creating a scene right there on the road. How did this person not see me? The light turned green and the chase continued. Next light and another chance to get their attention. We stopped and this time the window of the 80 came down. Before they could say anything, I asked, "what do you want for the cruiser?" The light turned green and the guy was just looking at me. I started thinking, now I'm going to cause an accident. Perhaps I could buy the wrecked 80 for a reduced price? Never mind that, the guy was turning again! I zoomed in behind him. Where was he going now? Didn't he hear me? Didn't he see that I was driving a Land Cruiser too!! I kept following, another turn and now we are heading to the movie theater parking lot. I was starting to get discouraged when my nine-year-old daughter Brooklynn said, "maybe he called the police and he's just waiting for them to arrive while he drives around?" I laughed and thought to myself, why would he do that…he can see I'm driving a Land Cruiser. Once we finally reached the theater parking lot, the 80 stopped and I pulled up next to it. A guy got out smiling and I knew we were in business.