A Woody 62 from the Florida Woods (1 Viewer)

[DrKarrot]

A little introduction:

I picked up this no-title, rust-included FJ62 off Craigslist last night for a whopping $1,200. More pictures to come, but it has a pretty clean interior, no serious frame issues, mostly complete original running gear, and 172k miles.

It has a clean VIN so the current plan is to try and get it titled, either by out-of-state loophole or a bonded title. If both of those fail, this will likely end up in the Part-Out section, otherwise plans include fixing up the rust and a 4.8 or 5.3 chevy V8.

I briefly powered it up with a battery and the electronics generally seem to be functional. The previous possessor of the vehicle attempted some less-than-savory troubleshooting and de-smoging of the 3fe.

Some background on me, I've undertaken a multitude of car projects, mostly limited to the 2-door sports car realm, the most involved being a LS1/T56/8.8 RX7. I've got some experience with welding and rust repair, especially because of an ongoing 280z v8 project. The 62 brings my stable count of 80's Toyotas to two, joining this 1986 pickup which I bought from the local Pick 'N' Pull a month or two ago for $1300:

 

[cruisermatt]

Neat! Hopefully you can get it titled, if not, I’m close with an empty trailer
Looking forwards to seeing what you do with it, welcome to Mud!

 

[mattressking]

Easiest trick for titling is through Vermont... Look it up.

 

[DrKarrot]

That's exactly what I am doing, glad to hear someone here suggest it. Until last night I thought it was only for bikes since that's how I had originally encountered it. I have all the paperwork ready, going to mail it out today and wait patiently.

 

[rrv333]

Good score and more pictures, please.

 

[DrKarrot]

The Vermont title application is in the mail. Managed to roll up the passenger window, appears to just be the switch, motor worked fine. Bought some cheap rear tires so it can roll, should have them on this evening. Crawled around underneath and did not find anything shocking or any impetus for an immediate part out. Here are some more pictures:

The interior, as it came, zero cleaning on my part:

A very professional set of vacuum caps:

A selection of rust, nothing some Ace Hardware 22 gauge sheets can't fix:

Other than one of the rear sway bar mounts, frame looks usable:

An underbody view and peek at the ol' turbo Miata:

And the rear, with a view of the 280z-in-progress and the Pickup:

 

[SteveH]

Nice - very fixable. Right price! Love the Kustom vacuum caps!

 

[DrKarrot]

Not much going on today, but I bought two budget tires for the rear so it looks less derelict and can be rolled around more easily. Looks a bit more like a car now:

Probably not going to do anything other than some basic cleaning of the interior and taking stock of what parts are strewn around the interior until I hear back from The Green Mountain State.

 

[cruisermatt]

Dude - build a trail rig out of that thing and come out and have some fun with us!

 

[DrKarrot]

That's the plan. Was piecing together parts for an SAS on the pickup, but this thing will probably jump to the front of the line. Just finished up patching the roof rust on the pickup, and am shopping around for an engine/trans for the FJ. I have an aluminum block LM4 but that is ostensibly for the 280Z. How do you like the NV4500? I was planning on some kind of 4L auto but those NV transmission seem pretty sensibly priced, especially compared to the T56s I am used to dealing with.

 

[cruisermatt]

That's the plan. Was piecing together parts for an SAS on the pickup, but this thing will probably jump to the front of the line. Just finished up patching the roof rust on the pickup, and am shopping around for an engine/trans for the FJ. I have an aluminum block LM4 but that is ostensibly for the 280Z. How do you like the NV4500? I was planning on some kind of 4L auto but those NV transmission seem pretty sensibly priced, especially compared to the T56s I am used to dealing with.

I haven’t driven my NV4500 behind my LS yet (my swap isn’t running yet), however I put 15K miles on it behind my old 3FE, and have driven a few 6BT/NV4500 Ram truck’s.
They’re awesome transmissions, great highway overdrive and a great off-road first and second gears. My only criticisms are the spread between 2-3rd ratios (but that’s only an issue with the low-powered 3FE) and the sometimes notchy shifting.

 

[landcruiserjunky]

Nice save!!

 

[DrKarrot]

Nice save!!

Thanks!

I haven’t driven my NV4500 behind my LS yet (my swap isn’t running yet), however I put 15K miles on it behind my old 3FE, and have driven a few 6BT/NV4500 Ram truck’s.
They’re awesome transmissions, great highway overdrive and a great off-road first and second gears. My only criticisms are the spread between 2-3rd ratios (but that’s only an issue with the low-powered 3FE) and the sometimes notchy shifting.

Gotcha, my only exposure to the NV was having to break the news to someone that the "T56" they bought on Craigslist was an NV. If I can find one locally for a good price...

 

[DrKarrot]

And now we wait on the Title God(s)...

 

[Mister Earle]

It'll be interesting to hear how your titling goes. I registered mine last fall. No titles needed for vehicles 12 years (I think) or older in Vermont.

 

[DrKarrot]

Indeed, the idea is that once you have a Vermont registration for the 15+ year old vehicle you can then apply to transfer the registration to your home state (in my case Florida), who is obliged to provide you with a title.

I am waiting to see if they cash my check, I was told that is the quickest indicator that the titling was successful. Unfortunately for me, Vermont law requires sales tax on cars at whichever is higher: 6% of the selling price or 6% of the NADA book value. Despite the bargain price for this rusty body 62, NADA "Low Retail" is $7,800, so the titling process will likely hit the $700 mark after the Florida transfer is done. Should be worth it in the end.

I am keeping busy with my Z and pickup, trying not to start anything on the 62 until I have a title in my hands. By some miracle my junkyard-bought '86 pickup was just a fuse and blower resistor away from cold AC.

 

[Mister Earle]

Yes. They were so gracious as to tax me for $1000 more than what I paid for mine. This state needs an enema....

 

[DrKarrot]

A happy little update: Vermont cashed my check for $538, which I assume means the registration was successful.

 

[DrKarrot]

Great news:

Just waiting on the registration papers now.

In other news, picked this up for the pickup:

 

[Willard]

That is great! Your card and stickers are like a day or two behind those plates.