ok well starts off like this... since i currently dont have a job i started to look into people that owed me money. i called an acquaintance of mine that owes me. he said he didnt have money but he would give me one of his trucks..... either an 1983 toyota land cruiser (fj60) or an 1989 toyota land cruiser (fj62) .

now from what i can tell and been reading, these trucks are very similar in almost everything except for a few small details.

Both:
-are knows as "Crew cab lawn mowers"
-have inline 6
-have heated rear area
-same measurements thought out entire truck
-they struggle to do 55mph up hill
-suffer from rust/rot
-manual locking hubs
-a/c, p/s, p/b
-tow rated at 3,500lb's (real life 1500lb's)
-poor gas mileage
-has too long a tail making for poor departure angle

Verses:
60-inline6 carburated (2F 4.3 L engine 135hp)
62-inline6 fuel injected (EFI 3FE 4.0 L engine 155hp)
60-manual trans (4speed)
62-automatic trans (3speed plus OD)
60-3.7ish gearing
62-4.10/4.11 gearing
60-no rear shoulder seat belt strap (just lap)
62 rear shoulder strap seat belt (or 3 point seat belt)
60-single round head lights
62-quad head lights
60-dash is boxier
62-dash rounder (smoother)
60-steering wheel is simple/ skinny
62-steering wheel fuller
60-shift lever 4x4 (manual operated transfer case)
62-push button 4x4 (Vacuum operated transfer case)
60-manual locks/windows/mirrors
62-electric lock/windows/antenna/mirrors
60-frame design (more weaker points/ skinny)
62-better frame design (beefier/ fixed weak points)
60-head liner infamous sag
62-headliner sagging fixed
60-"truck" feel
62-"suv" feel
60-no rear sway bar
62-rear sway bar
60-inability to run much over 70mph on the highway
62-od tranny and will run 90mph all day long
60-lack/poor rust proofing
62-have better factory rust proofing (esp the seam seals)
60-
62-linkage/downshift problem

The best 60/62 series cruiser will always be the one w/ the least rust.
period!

In this situation 62 has less rust if any (Florida truck) but it was sitting for a good 5 years. he said he would have his guy give it a once over to see it makes trip home (oil change check belts hoses brakes etc..) also an added bounce its still under original owners name from FL and all the records from when bought at dealership are available. 60 was just "serviced" (whatever that entailed) and is ready to be driven to my house. been driven on occasion lately. on both truck there is lack of initial problems to be said. both seem to have everything in order.
Me thinking like a Father (and i dont mean the one that touched little boys), i think that 62 sounds the way to go as far as more family oriented truck. Automatic, power option, rear seat belt to strap kids in not to mention better suspension and frame built.
NOW i would truly love that manual gear box with single round head lights up front but that carb'd 2f motor is the deal beaker. ive dealt with carbs being ****ty and not starting and all that fun. dont get me wrong if i have to work on it there's no stopping me i know how to rebuild most of them and tune them but just seems so much easier to get in and start the truck as appose to manual choke pumping gas petal not getting choke right stalling doing everything again.... letting it warm up... being in the cold because you have to wait until carb warms up then choke it down hope it doesnt stall on you......
in addition some reviews say that most guys wind up changing out that drive train in 60's anyway. maybe if i wasnt a father and did a lot more wheeling then i would wind up with 60. but since i have to keep my money pits, aka kids/wife, in mind i guess ..... but either way this will most likely be a temp vehicle until i get my truck back working and/or fix wifes.