MexicanNewby
SILVER Star
This is a thread more than two years late but it has to start somewhere.
Quick background:
I have VERY little knowledge about cars and had never even considered a restoration project, let alone an FJ40.
The first time I ever saw an FJ40 was in Phoenix while looking to buy an FJ80 for road trips with my kids. Never got the FJ80 but kept the 40 on the back of my mind.
In December 2017 I accidentally stumbled online upon a 1963 FJ40 in Guadalajara that had been sitting for 25 years. In February I looked and the advert was still up so I offered half the asking price, which was still steep, but the seller accepted. He asked for a $1,000 USD advance to reserve the car for me and I figured it would either be a VERY expensive story to tell or a simple transaction to start a much more expensive process. So, come February 14th 2018 and there I was on a plane from Mexico City to Guadalajara to then take an Uber to either acquire an old FJ40, find an empty lot or lose a kidney.
I got there and the car was there, the guy, in his early 50's, was there and the story was fascinating:
Turns out seller's father, Mr. Hermosillo, worked for Mr. Roberto Orendain, owner of one of the best known Tequila distilleries in Mexico. Mr. Hermosillo was in charge for going up the Jalisco Mountains and find blue agave plantations to purchase. When Mr. Orendain saw the off-road needs the task entailed, he decided to lend his 1963 FJ40 to help out.
In 1965 Mr. Hermosillo was promoted to foreman of the distillery and with it, he was give a company car, a 1965 FJ-40. He used that FJ40 until he retired in 1980 and Mr. Orendain gave it to him as a farewell gift. Mr. Orendain died in 1988 and Mr. Hermosillo died in 1998 and his eldest son kept the Land Cruiser running till 2004 by making incredibly poor, if not terrible, repairs, he wasn't able to start it after that and moved the vehicle with every house move they had till their present residence where it sat outdoors for 6 years, before that it was kept under... something.
This is the photo of the online advertisement:
These I took when I got there.
There was also a mix-up. Before dying Mr. Orendain gave Mr. Hermosillo the invoice BUT gave him the one for his '63, no one had ever noticed the difference in registration numbers till I checked them. Bear in mind the Hermosillo's paid tax on the '63 every year unwittingly. Whatever happened to the actual '63 is a mystery and since the '65 invoice didn't appear on records in the digital age, there is no record to trace it. Most likely both the '63 FJ40 and the '65 invoice are long gone. I also tried to contact Mr. Orendain's grandchildren to no avail, it was a long shot.
Quick background:
I have VERY little knowledge about cars and had never even considered a restoration project, let alone an FJ40.
The first time I ever saw an FJ40 was in Phoenix while looking to buy an FJ80 for road trips with my kids. Never got the FJ80 but kept the 40 on the back of my mind.
In December 2017 I accidentally stumbled online upon a 1963 FJ40 in Guadalajara that had been sitting for 25 years. In February I looked and the advert was still up so I offered half the asking price, which was still steep, but the seller accepted. He asked for a $1,000 USD advance to reserve the car for me and I figured it would either be a VERY expensive story to tell or a simple transaction to start a much more expensive process. So, come February 14th 2018 and there I was on a plane from Mexico City to Guadalajara to then take an Uber to either acquire an old FJ40, find an empty lot or lose a kidney.
I got there and the car was there, the guy, in his early 50's, was there and the story was fascinating:
Turns out seller's father, Mr. Hermosillo, worked for Mr. Roberto Orendain, owner of one of the best known Tequila distilleries in Mexico. Mr. Hermosillo was in charge for going up the Jalisco Mountains and find blue agave plantations to purchase. When Mr. Orendain saw the off-road needs the task entailed, he decided to lend his 1963 FJ40 to help out.
In 1965 Mr. Hermosillo was promoted to foreman of the distillery and with it, he was give a company car, a 1965 FJ-40. He used that FJ40 until he retired in 1980 and Mr. Orendain gave it to him as a farewell gift. Mr. Orendain died in 1988 and Mr. Hermosillo died in 1998 and his eldest son kept the Land Cruiser running till 2004 by making incredibly poor, if not terrible, repairs, he wasn't able to start it after that and moved the vehicle with every house move they had till their present residence where it sat outdoors for 6 years, before that it was kept under... something.
This is the photo of the online advertisement:
These I took when I got there.
There was also a mix-up. Before dying Mr. Orendain gave Mr. Hermosillo the invoice BUT gave him the one for his '63, no one had ever noticed the difference in registration numbers till I checked them. Bear in mind the Hermosillo's paid tax on the '63 every year unwittingly. Whatever happened to the actual '63 is a mystery and since the '65 invoice didn't appear on records in the digital age, there is no record to trace it. Most likely both the '63 FJ40 and the '65 invoice are long gone. I also tried to contact Mr. Orendain's grandchildren to no avail, it was a long shot.
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