Hello all.
I’m looking to tap the knowledge of the Land Cruiser community to help me figure out what this thing is worth.
I have been eyeballing this FJ55 for the last couple of years, through some detective work I located the owner. The owner is an old guy who bought it either 10 or 20 years ago (depending on which day you catch him) because he “liked it.” He bought it, drove it about 20 miles and parked it where it sits today.
I finally convinced him to sell it to me, but after I got a chance to dig through it (which was admittedly a lot of fun), he came back with an absurdly high number. I’ve been doing Land Cruiser things for a long time and there’s no way it’s worth what he’s asking.
Here’s the rundown-
ODO shows 64k miles. Unknown if it has rolled over.
Original body, rot on the rockers in front of the rear wheels, rear quarters and rear sill are good, there’s definitely rust in the roof, although it isn’t rotten. Good frame. Original drum axles, original wheels, brakes, steering. The shell of this thing is surprisingly salvageable. Had a respray at some point, but the colors are original.
I opened the hood and discovered a desmogged 2F with a Mallory Ignition from the 90s and a Holley 2 barrel carb. The engine has a on old speed shop sticker on it, makes me wonder if it was punched out at some point. I was hoping for a numbers matching original 1F, but this engine is obviously better to drive. I didn’t try to turn it over or anything, my plan would be to break it loose very gently. Not a put gas in it and see what happens thing.
Transmission is a 3 speed converted to floor shift.
Original dash with no cracks, original rat shredded seats, original floor mats, original rear heater which had some sort of home brew valves and lines to operate it.
The biggest heart break, other than the engine not being original, is that the floors are completely wasted. Not from the bottom but from the top. They’re wet, and every time it rains water comes into the vehicle. All seals are gone so it’s just a moldy, rusted rat s*** filled mess on the inside. They’re so bad that I actually wouldn’t want to drive it and I’ve driven some sketchy old Cruisers.
Windshield is cracked.
I took my 12V jump box with me and hooked it up to the electrical system and it appears that the harness is intact!
Unfortunately no effort was made to preserve the vehicle when it was parked. Gas tank is undoubtedly full of lacquer and water, everything made of rubber is bad.
Despite all of this the vehicle will be easier to get running-ish than originally thought, but it’s going to be a lot more challenging to make it a driver, let alone restore, than I was originally expecting.
So, what do you guys really think I should offer the owner? Like, realistic numbers. I can tell you he thinks it’s worth what a running, driving FJ55 with solid floors is worth, I actually laughed when he said $10,000. I suspect I’m going to walk away from this one, but I wanted to get the community’s take before I close the book on this one.
I’m looking to tap the knowledge of the Land Cruiser community to help me figure out what this thing is worth.
I have been eyeballing this FJ55 for the last couple of years, through some detective work I located the owner. The owner is an old guy who bought it either 10 or 20 years ago (depending on which day you catch him) because he “liked it.” He bought it, drove it about 20 miles and parked it where it sits today.
I finally convinced him to sell it to me, but after I got a chance to dig through it (which was admittedly a lot of fun), he came back with an absurdly high number. I’ve been doing Land Cruiser things for a long time and there’s no way it’s worth what he’s asking.
Here’s the rundown-
ODO shows 64k miles. Unknown if it has rolled over.
Original body, rot on the rockers in front of the rear wheels, rear quarters and rear sill are good, there’s definitely rust in the roof, although it isn’t rotten. Good frame. Original drum axles, original wheels, brakes, steering. The shell of this thing is surprisingly salvageable. Had a respray at some point, but the colors are original.
I opened the hood and discovered a desmogged 2F with a Mallory Ignition from the 90s and a Holley 2 barrel carb. The engine has a on old speed shop sticker on it, makes me wonder if it was punched out at some point. I was hoping for a numbers matching original 1F, but this engine is obviously better to drive. I didn’t try to turn it over or anything, my plan would be to break it loose very gently. Not a put gas in it and see what happens thing.
Transmission is a 3 speed converted to floor shift.
Original dash with no cracks, original rat shredded seats, original floor mats, original rear heater which had some sort of home brew valves and lines to operate it.
The biggest heart break, other than the engine not being original, is that the floors are completely wasted. Not from the bottom but from the top. They’re wet, and every time it rains water comes into the vehicle. All seals are gone so it’s just a moldy, rusted rat s*** filled mess on the inside. They’re so bad that I actually wouldn’t want to drive it and I’ve driven some sketchy old Cruisers.
Windshield is cracked.
I took my 12V jump box with me and hooked it up to the electrical system and it appears that the harness is intact!
Unfortunately no effort was made to preserve the vehicle when it was parked. Gas tank is undoubtedly full of lacquer and water, everything made of rubber is bad.
Despite all of this the vehicle will be easier to get running-ish than originally thought, but it’s going to be a lot more challenging to make it a driver, let alone restore, than I was originally expecting.
So, what do you guys really think I should offer the owner? Like, realistic numbers. I can tell you he thinks it’s worth what a running, driving FJ55 with solid floors is worth, I actually laughed when he said $10,000. I suspect I’m going to walk away from this one, but I wanted to get the community’s take before I close the book on this one.
