81 FJ40 Frame Off Resto Mod
I purchased my '81 FJ40 on eBay in June of 2007. It's not my first Land Cruiser, I've owned an ‘83 FJ60, and a '98 UZJ 100 but sold both (regret this now). But something about the 40 series that I just couldn’t shake. I had to have one. Back to the 40.
It was an impulse buy. I was the last bidder and won much to my surprise. I had decided I wanted a late model FJ40, but can’t really tell you why. In fact this decision was made with no research at all. A decision I would soon regret.
The guy I bought the 40 from was from St. Louis and, if you don’t know by now, I live in Kentucky. I researched the cost to have the truck shipped, approximately $500, but the seller was anxious to get his funds so we decided to meet half way in Evansville, Indiana.
So a buddy of mine who is into Mopar and has built several vehicles agreed to go with me to Evansville with his car hauler and bring it back home. We met the seller at a marina on the Ohio river. My expectations were thrown when I saw the truck close-up. It was indeed the same truck in the eBay description, but the description was way off on the overall condition of the truck. It had diamond plate everywhere and had mud in every crevice you can think of. However, I knew I has stuck by eBay standards so after test driving the truck and going through some formalities I handed over the agreed upon cash and loaded up the truck on the car hauler. That’s when the fireworks began.
The seller counted his cash and told me I was short $250. “How so?,” I asked. He said since he had met me halfway from his house to mine and I had priced a door-to-door delivery of $500, I somehow owed him half of that! BS! I had taken a day off work and agreed to meet him only because he was desperate to get his cash. His hothead brother (who was clearly coked up) then started yelling and carrying on and for a moment I honestly thought I was going to get in fist fight over $250! I haven’t been in a fist fight since high school and my adrenaline was pumping a million miles an hour.
To make a long story short the seller whipped out the title and signed it, then handed it over to me. No blood was shed thankfully so I stuffed the title in my pocket, jumped in the truck and we were off. What a effin' crazy way to begin my FJ40 experience!!!
I purchased my '81 FJ40 on eBay in June of 2007. It's not my first Land Cruiser, I've owned an ‘83 FJ60, and a '98 UZJ 100 but sold both (regret this now). But something about the 40 series that I just couldn’t shake. I had to have one. Back to the 40.
It was an impulse buy. I was the last bidder and won much to my surprise. I had decided I wanted a late model FJ40, but can’t really tell you why. In fact this decision was made with no research at all. A decision I would soon regret.
The guy I bought the 40 from was from St. Louis and, if you don’t know by now, I live in Kentucky. I researched the cost to have the truck shipped, approximately $500, but the seller was anxious to get his funds so we decided to meet half way in Evansville, Indiana.
So a buddy of mine who is into Mopar and has built several vehicles agreed to go with me to Evansville with his car hauler and bring it back home. We met the seller at a marina on the Ohio river. My expectations were thrown when I saw the truck close-up. It was indeed the same truck in the eBay description, but the description was way off on the overall condition of the truck. It had diamond plate everywhere and had mud in every crevice you can think of. However, I knew I has stuck by eBay standards so after test driving the truck and going through some formalities I handed over the agreed upon cash and loaded up the truck on the car hauler. That’s when the fireworks began.
The seller counted his cash and told me I was short $250. “How so?,” I asked. He said since he had met me halfway from his house to mine and I had priced a door-to-door delivery of $500, I somehow owed him half of that! BS! I had taken a day off work and agreed to meet him only because he was desperate to get his cash. His hothead brother (who was clearly coked up) then started yelling and carrying on and for a moment I honestly thought I was going to get in fist fight over $250! I haven’t been in a fist fight since high school and my adrenaline was pumping a million miles an hour.
To make a long story short the seller whipped out the title and signed it, then handed it over to me. No blood was shed thankfully so I stuffed the title in my pocket, jumped in the truck and we were off. What a effin' crazy way to begin my FJ40 experience!!!
Last edited: