Noob to owning 55's - Purchase Advise / Feedback Appreciated

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

cruiser4life

cruiser4life

Joined
Dec 15, 2003
Threads
95
Messages
3,646
Location
CLT
Noob here to the 55 world. Have always wanted one and finally found a local one I've admired for a long time. I've read / searched enough here and on Mud that I know enough to be dangerous in the 55 world but could use your expertise...

Talked to the seller today and I am going to look at it tomorrow.

It's a 72, 3rd owner, east coast pig. Has 65K on a rebuilt 2F (did 72's come with F or 2F?). Has saginaw power steering conversion. Little rust - mostly on rockers as is common. Rear window motor works but is SLOW according to seller.

The guy is an enthusiast, hates to sell but family changes (kids and 2 income turning to 1) has forced him to sell.

I have stopped and looked at this vehicle about a dozen times over the last year just admiring it's straight lines and solid condition. Has been a daily driver off and on for 6-7 years. Is a 3-4 times a week driver currently.

Price is $6800. A little high IMO. What else should I be looking for in the test drive, undercarriage, etc.?

Thanks in advance!!!! :cheers:
 
Rust spots:
- roof rails
- front fenders
- rockers (as you metntioned)
- body mounts
- tail gate
- driver and passenger floor boards
- rear quarters (dents=typical place for bondo)

For $6800 I would expect the body to be extremly good with NO bondo. A strong engine and trans. The seats I would also expect to be execlent condition, along with the headliner.

$6800 seems like alot of $$$ to me for a pig unless it is truly worth it. But then again I cannot tell with out pics.
 
usmcruiser said:
Rust spots:
- roof rails
- front fenders
- rockers (as you metntioned)
- body mounts
- tail gate
- driver and passenger floor boards
- rear quarters (dents=typical place for bondo)

For $6800 I would expect the body to be extremly good with NO bondo. A strong engine and trans. The seats I would also expect to be execlent condition, along with the headliner.

$6800 seems like alot of $$$ to me for a pig unless it is truly worth it. But then again I cannot tell with out pics.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Nick. I've seen you poking around here looking at 55's. Sepcifically the one near Roxboro, NC being advertised by R.K.

I get to check it out tomorrow and will take / post pics. It is a very clean 55 (to me anyway) and the engine and trans are reported to be very strong. Don't know if the 72 came with a F or 2F though... The 2F it has was rebuilt professionally and pulls well he says.

I am not going to build or mod this thing - just use it as a low mileage around town pavement truck.
 
$6,800 imo as well is too high for a rusty rig. There still are much less rusty one's out there for cheaper. If that much rust is showing, there is still A LOT more you can't see...:grinpimp:

For a stockish pig, replaced engine, typical rust (east coast anyvehicle scares me) ...I would put it in the ballpark of 2 to 3K...
 
cruiser4life said:
Thanks, Nick. I've seen you poking around here looking at 55's. Sepcifically the one near Roxboro, NC being advertised by R.K.

I get to check it out tomorrow and will take / post pics. It is a very clean 55 (to me anyway) and the engine and trans are reported to be very strong. Don't know if the 72 came with a F or 2F though... The 2F it has was rebuilt professionally and pulls well he says.

I am not going to build or mod this thing - just use it as a low mileage around town pavement truck.
Click to expand...

Your looking at R.K.'s friends tommorw? They want $6800 for that :eek:

I wouldnt pay $2500 for that. Plenty of rust, interior looks rough to me. If you can get him to take 2K then go for it (maybee) but other wise I would tell him to shove it.




Just to be sure this is the Pig right?
FJ55(1).webp
FJ55(2).webp
FJ55(3).webp
 
FJBen said:
$6,800 imo as well is too high for a rusty rig. There still are much less rusty one's out there for cheaper. If that much rust is showing, there is still A LOT more you can't see...:grinpimp:

For a stockish pig, replaced engine, typical rust (east coast anyvehicle scares me) ...I would put it in the ballpark of 2 to 3K...
Click to expand...

Whoops. I didn't mean to convey that it's a rusty pig, actually, it's the opposite. It is an east coast truck but doesn't have bondo or much rust. Most of it was cut out and replaced when it was painted 4-5 years ago.
 
usmcruiser said:
Your looking at R.K.'s friends tommorw? They want $6800 for that :eek:

I wouldnt pay $2500 for that. Plenty of rust, interior looks rough to me. If you can get him to take 2K then go for it (maybee) but other wise I would tell him to shove it.




Just to be sure this is the Pig right?
Click to expand...

No, no, no. Sorry for the confusion - that is the pig near Roxboro, NC listed by R.K. I think he was asking around $1800 IIRC. Lots of rust, lines not straight, dents and needs engine work...

The one I am looking at tomorrow is a different animal all together. Runs well, shows well, very little rust, nice interior, new dash, etc.

I was just trying to find out what else to look for tomorrow.

And I answered my own question earlier - the F was the stock enginer and the 2F was installed 4 years ago.
 
a '72 Pig would come with an F engine and 3 speed transmission...
This one's got a 2F? good.
3 speed or 4 speed?
F carb/intake or 2F carb/intake?
Which air cleaner?
any disc brakes?
if it's in the good shape you describe, with rust already cut out & repaired and minor upgrades, I could see paying his price. hth.
 
Andy, why the H*** didnt you ask me to come with you man. I'm a little disappointed in you. Get some pics and we can give you a much better guess but 6800 sounds high from what you have said. I have seen some very nice ones on ebay go for like 8000 so that thing would need to be pretty nice. I promise theres more rust then you can see too. You should have gone on a weekend I'd be there with you in a heartbeat to go check out a pig.

Edit: It should have had an f engine so either the guy is wrong or it was swapped. What tranny? If its a 3spd like mine you need to upgrade to a 4. Does it have an aisin or a holley or something else. Any other mods like discs, lift, winch, etc.
 
Pighead said:
a '72 Pig would come with an F engine and 3 speed transmission...
This one's got a 2F? good.
3 speed or 4 speed?
F carb/intake or 2F carb/intake?
Which air cleaner?
any disc brakes?
if it's in the good shape you describe, with rust already cut out & repaired and minor upgrades, I could see paying his price. hth.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the insight Pighead. Yeah, I figured that F / 2F info out after I posted. Thanks for the additional info though.

Don't know about the rest but I will take notes tomorrow. Hopefully a 4 speed like I have in my 40.

Thanks again!! I'll update tomorrow!

PS - Nice sig line - like the Cash song adapted to fit a Piggy...
 
clemson55 said:
Andy, why the H*** didnt you ask me to come with you man. I'm a little disappointed in you. Get some pics and we can give you a much better guess but 6800 sounds high from what you have said. I have seen some very nice ones on ebay go for like 8000 so that thing would need to be pretty nice. I promise theres more rust then you can see too. You should have gone on a weekend I'd be there with you in a heartbeat to go check out a pig.

Edit: It should have had an f engine so either the guy is wrong or it was swapped. What tranny? If its a 3spd like mine you need to upgrade to a 4. Does it have an aisin or a holley or something else. Any other mods like discs, lift, winch, etc.
Click to expand...
Dude, can't see asking you to drive all that way to check out a 55 for the first time (to clarify, I haven't even been to test drive it yet)!! I'll post pics tomorrow.

I didn't know you got up this way - let me know when you're back in town - I'll buy you a :beer:.

Thanks for the other info, Richard.

It's pretty cool, I've drooled over this pig for a few years and even left my # on the UC card under the wipers but never got a call. Got home from wheelin with JP this weekend and what do you know - it's now for sale...
 
Yeah I dont really get up that way unless I have a reason, but if it were a weekend I'd take a day to check out a pig. I forced my gf to sit in the car for like an hr while I checked out a pig one time. Get some pics and we'll let you know a lot better guess on the price though.
 
I am somewhat of a newbie to 55's but for $6800 I would expect a super clean 55, with some improvements like discs, ps, interior, nice paint, no rust. In my opinion, save up some $, and buy a perfectly restored one for 8-9K, OR build one for around 6k, I am building one, got everything for 2k and plan to put about 4k into it......

Noah
 
You need to pull back the door and cargo bay cards and check the metal to see how well they welded in the met metal. Paint covers stuff. Take them cards off and you will see whats behind the paint. Also check the body mounts and body support beams. See if they are rusted out. Did you look under the rubber matting and see what condition the flooring is in? The A and D pillars are prone to rust thats comes down from the rain gutters. The rain gutters are also prone to rust and cancer around the rear corners of the D pillars and at the top of the A pillars as well as behind the kicker panels and along the insides of the A pillars at the seam of the lower corners of the windshield. Also pull the inspection panel off the tailgate and look inside. Look along all the door hinges and check for metal fatigue and shearing at and around the hinge plates where they bolt onto the doors and tailgate.


Thats about it for now.... I would offer him 2000USD and call it a day. Not worth 6800. You can get one hell of a rig for 6800 bucks.:cheers:
 
MiniPigg said:
You need to pull back the door and cargo bay cards and check the metal to see how well they welded in the met metal. Paint covers stuff. Take them cards off and you will see whats behind the paint. Also check the body mounts and body support beams. See if they are rusted out. Did you look under the rubber matting and see what condition the flooring is in? The A and D pillars are prone to rust thats comes down from the rain gutters. The rain gutters are also prone to rust and cancer around the rear corners of the D pillars and at the top of the A pillars as well as behind the kicker panels and along the insides of the A pillars at the seam of the lower corners of the windshield. Also pull the inspection panel off the tailgate and look inside. Look along all the door hinges and check for metal fatigue and shearing at and around the hinge plates where they bolt onto the doors and tailgate.


Thats about it for now.... I would offer him 2000USD and call it a day. Not worth 6800. You can get one hell of a rig for 6800 bucks.:cheers:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the good feedback here. I am off to see it / drive it shortly.

I guess everyone thinks the price seems high but I'll take lots of pics and post them later.

Thanks again.
 
OK, guys. Just got back from test driving it. Although it's a 72, it has a 2F / 4 speed conversion done. It drives really well and 2 hi, 4 hi and 4 lo all work well. Pulls strong and has acceptable acceleration. Feels stronger than my 77 40 with similar engine and tranny although that's far from a fair comparison as my 40 has an orion t-case, 5.29's and 37 MTR's.

All of the mechanicals seem sound - power steering conversion, lights, blinkers, high beams, rear window, warn hubs, heat, etc. The interior would need some work as would some of the exterior. Undercarriage seems decent, some rust on the leaf springs but frame seems well maintained as does the drivetrain, diffs, tranny, etc.

It is a capable DD right now, all work / changes would be cosmetic. Looks to be some bondo or patch work on the rear bottom of the tailgate, rockers have a little rust, rain gutters have some rust, a few random rust spots around the body. Some random holes (not rust, for mounting something) in the body that I am curious about. The floors (under the mats) seem to have been treated with a liner and seem rust free. I didn't not get behind the doors as the owner just installed new door panels and I didn't want to risk messing up his work.

I will post the pics here. Warning: there are a lot of them and picture quality may suck on some as I was in a hurry to get it back from the test drive.

I agree that $6800 is high. I would need a compression test done and a once over on everything else before I could be sure there aren't any hidden gothca's around the corner. Thanks for all of the help and feedback.

Here are the pics:
 
Sorry, it took a while to resize them all. Here you go:
1.webp
2.webp
3.webp
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

wdukes
Need rockers for your 55?
Replies
0
Views
512
wdukes
wdukes
wdukes
Winch on your 55?
Replies
5
Views
886
wdukes
wdukes
D
FJ 55 AFT GLASS GEAR
Replies
0
Views
596
Drice
D
JLB206
Builds Build Thread: Jim’s ‘55
2 3 4
Replies
65
Views
7K
scrapdaddy
scrapdaddy

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom