1970 FJ40

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jetranger said:
Nice, but nowhere near $33k nice, in my opinion. I'd pay closer to $18-20k. Too many small issues with it. It looks like they rushed a refurb.
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Oh, I don't know, Riley... all that Armour All, on the tires, has to be worth something...

While, they cleaned it up very nicely... The the oil on the oil pan, the grease on the front differential and behind the tranny skid plate. ...and the mess on that one front knuckle are all worrisome. That knuckle has been leaking for some time...

While leaks are in pretty common places, if you sincerely want to pursue this truck, you really need to have a good inspection (as you said) done in order to be sure you aren't trying to buy a pig in a dress.

It's a dealership, so you aren't going to have much room to negotiate with them...

Also, realize the stated mileage is always questionable on these old gems - it could actually be one-to-several-hundred-thousand miles over what's shown on the odometer.

I agree with Riley... they are asking too much and it does look rushed.

I think the dealership found a good looking 40 and spent their effort making it look as good as possible (the shine and all that Armour All) - the fact that they didn't spend a little time pressure washing the really bad areas underneath is actually to your advantage... you can see there are issues... how serious? That's the question...

Assuming, there's nothing devastatingly wrong with it, Riley's price range is a good one... I would price it lower because of the
fact that it has a 3-on-the-tree, and F engine, no power steering, no power brakes, etc. But, that's just me...

Again, if you are serious about this one, buy a good inspection... you could even pay an experienced MUDder in the area to give you their opinion... better to spend a little to save a lot in the long run!!

EDIT: I can't remember where Grand Rapids is... but, you can find the various 'clubhouses' HERE <-- click it!!

...and remember, there are other good FJ40s out there - patience and due diligence is key!!

hth



 
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we can tell you issues with it... those front knuckles haven't been touched in a long time. When was the restoration completed? It looks like someone just sprayed black paint over everything on the underside of the truck. Those seats look like they were done by a 10th grader. The covers on the jump seats dont even match from side to side. The paint job is pretty good but there is dry spray on the doors and over spray on the door limiters. I would be cautious of the steering wheel. How many cracks are under that wrap? I've heard of them breaking due to age. I see oil leaks on the motor at the front and the back. I don't see how the restoration was completed just 100 miles ago. The instrument cluster is the wrong year so 77,000 miles are definitely inaccurate.

That all being said it is a very very nice truck. Without knowing if everything works as advertised I couldn't say value. If you buy this truck you will have to put money into it right away to get it "right"

$15-20K maybe?
 
Agree with all above

I looked over all the pictures and the ongoing thought was "why didn't they .... "

It's a good looking truck... Just not a 33k good looking truck

They are looking for a profit ... Not a restoration... And that's the reason 'why they didn't' do the obvious things

NEED hands on the ground to dig into this one IMO if your going to spend anything close to high20's for it
 
https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/70-fj40-whats-it-worth.482549/ https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/one-owner-70-fj40.487425/

Funny what a difference a few years makes. In 2011 the owner had a ad on CL for $19K with no interest at all. I agreed to help him sell it. First with a thread on the value. Checking around on places like eBay $9K to $10K seemed to be the price for one similar to year and shape of this one. My last post I said a possible deal was in the works, market dropped and possible buyer decided against it. Early July I bought it myself.

Sight unseen I would rather buy a original unrestored FJ40 versus one that has been restored unless I had a expert I trust check it out first.

FYI for some reason your link is not opening for me. My comments were because of the $33K price mentioned.
 
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This 40 needs a lot of work in order to reach the $33K level, don't be fooled by all the glitter used by used auto shops. They are out to make a huge profit and they know someone out there will pay big $$ for it because it's all shinny and purdy looking.
 
Thanks everyone. This is exactly the type of info I was seeking and I knew everyone would deliver. I'll be speaking with the dealer soon but totally agree she looks great sitting still under their dealership lights with the shiny paint and shiny black tires. Will absolutely look for a mechanic if we are going to get serious about this one. Honestly, your suggestions make me want to wait and avoid a dealer!!
 
I'm in Grand Rapids if your serious pm me, I know the local Toyota dealer main mechanic if this FJ40 was from around here he would now the vehicle.
Rick
 
BSLK said:
I'm in Grand Rapids if your serious pm me, I know the local Toyota dealer main mechanic if this FJ40 was from around here he would now the vehicle.
Rick
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I'm gonna check with the other involved party (father) to see if he wants to pursue this truck or if we both think its too 'shiny'. I'll be in touch.
 
It's not mine but I wanted to show you a vehicle that has been rebuild with love for a 40 driving it rather than a quick profit.

There are a ton of threads on here where someone spent a lot of money for a 40 from a dealer only to find out that it was a poor rebuild. One in particular had the rear sill welded to the frame crossmember. Jim C is currently rebuilding one that was supposedly a high level resto.
 
kulinap said:
I'm gonna check with the other involved party (father) to see if he wants to pursue this truck or if we both think its too 'shiny'. I'll be in touch.
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I got the link to work and noticed right off this is not a 70 but a 69 model. 69 was a change over model year. Started the same as a 68. Then started changing. I see it still has the early running boards. Bell crank in steering changed around this time. It does have the later 69 model two barrel carburetor. These were only used from 3/69-9/69 when the 70 model started. The air cleaner with the stud instead clamp over the carburetor was also only used during this time.

My opinion is somebody got a go deal on this put a new paint job and jack the price way up. The front and rear license plate holders are incorrect. At some point someone added a spare tire carrier to the driver's side. Who ever bought it didn't bother to remove the body part of the hinge and fill the holes. Looking at the back hatch my guess is handle is broken. Looks to be higher on the right side. That is where they normally break where the notch for the lock is. Last time I checked this were still available new. Which tells me alot about how these was restored/freshened up. Since it looked like it was very original cruiser they started with and they really didn't mod anything someone could pick this up put $10K into it and have a truck worth the current asking price. Do that and keep store away you could make money years from now. If you plan on using it your paying too much.
 
Living in the Past said:
I got the link to work and noticed right off this is not a 70 but a 69 model. 69 was a change over model year. Started the same as a 68. Then started changing. I see it still has the early running boards. Bell crank in steering changed around this time. It does have the later 69 model two barrel carburetor. These were only used from 3/69-9/69 when the 70 model started. The air cleaner with the stud instead clamp over the carburetor was also only used during this time.

My opinion is somebody got a go deal on this put a new paint job and jack the price way up. The front and rear license plate holders are incorrect. At some point someone added a spare tire carrier to the driver's side. Who ever bought it didn't bother to remove the body part of the hinge and fill the holes. Looking at the back hatch my guess is handle is broken. Looks to be higher on the right side. That is where they normally break where the notch for the lock is. Last time I checked this were still available new. Which tells me alot about how these was restored/freshened up. Since it looked like it was very original cruiser they started with and they really didn't mod anything someone could pick this up put $10K into it and have a truck worth the current asking price. Do that and keep store away you could make money years from now. If you plan on using it your paying too much.
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Thanks for the info! Taking a quick consensus report from the responses, it seems like the resto on this was quick and done to please the eye at first glance. When you professionals look a lil' deeper, you realize this. I appreciate the assistance and will probably let this one go. After all, the reason we are looking into an FJ is to drive her, not look at her and oooh and ahh about how shiny the paint and tire black are!!
 
A call to some of the vendors out west might be beneficial in your search. Marks Offroad, OrangeFJ45, Torfab, Cruiser Outfitters, etc... Mechanicals are easy, body and rust repair are not. You will find as you look around the east coast/Midwest that there are a ton of drivetrains around here but not many solid bodies.
 
Gents--the hunt continues, below you will see two found on hemmings, one dealer and one private seller. I am planning to visit the PA one in the first link, like it alot. As for the second, I believe this is looking alot like the red one I posted earlier, looks shiny and nice until you open the hood or crawl underneath. Clearly, not much love has been given in the the 'behind the scenes' area. This is a truck that will be used, so the PA one is definitely more appealing in the scheme of things. Thoughts, questions, GO! Also, if the consensus is that the TX truck is worth a look...anyone willing to take a peek for me?? $$$.

http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/carsforsale/toyota/fj40/1717405.html
(PA 1978) The restoration was performed by Ragtops and Roadsters in Perkasie PA. Additional work on the vehicle was done by OK4WD in New Jersey. Most of the restoration work was performed in 2012-2013.


http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/toyota/fj40/1710642.html; http://www.streetsideclassics.com/showcar.php/dfw/1093/1973-Toyota-FJ40; http://www.finecars.cc/en/detail/car/313710/index.html

Happy Friday Everyone!
 
kulinap said:
Gents--the hunt continues, below you will see two found on hemmings, one dealer and one private seller. I am planning to visit the PA one in the first link, like it alot. As for the second, I believe this is looking alot like the red one I posted earlier, looks shiny and nice until you open the hood or crawl underneath. Clearly, not much love has been given in the the 'behind the scenes' area. This is a truck that will be used, so the PA one is definitely more appealing in the scheme of things. Thoughts, questions, GO! Also, if the consensus is that the TX truck is worth a look...anyone willing to take a peek for me?? $$$.

http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/carsforsale/toyota/fj40/1717405.html
(PA 1978) The restoration was performed by Ragtops and Roadsters in Perkasie PA. Additional work on the vehicle was done by OK4WD in New Jersey. Most of the restoration work was performed in 2012-2013.


http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/toyota/fj40/1710642.html; http://www.streetsideclassics.com/showcar.php/dfw/1093/1973-Toyota-FJ40; http://www.finecars.cc/en/detail/car/313710/index.html
Also, looks like this one was recently sold, cleaned up by dealer and is now posted, once again... Am I catching onto the way these things work??
Happy Friday Everyone!
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