- Location
- United States
Not mine.
Seller is asking $15,500 and seems pretty firm on that price. He knows he has a classic and looks at it as a real fun father-son project and not a real lot-a-work to restore.
moving, must sell, 1976 toyota land cruiser
I talked with the seller and looked at the truck. Here's my take-away:
Last registered in 1990 and has apparently been sitting for approximately 26 years. Original motor was replaced in the 1980's with a SBC, which was blown and then removed. Currently no engine in the rig, although the seller has a 2F(?) engine that goes with it, separately. In California it would need to pass smog and I don't know if the engine has all the smog components, or what it looks like inside, or how long it's been sitting (currently in the back of a trailer near the FJ40), or how complete it is. The seller didn't seem to know much about the engine that comes with the rig. I didn't bother looking at the engine when I saw the truck (my bad).
I didn't take any pictures of the engine bay (my bad) and am concerned about what was done to the wiring when the SBC was installed or when it was removed. The FJ40 does have the original(?) transmission and transfer case still in it. Both were shifted forward when the SBC was installed so the transmission hump was cut accordingly, with shifter holes moved forward. I'm thinking this means both drive shafts would need to be replaced, along with repairing or replacing the trans hump, assuming one puts a 2F back in the rig.
There is surface rust pretty much all over the truck. I believe the exterior could be cleaned up, buffed a little and kept as is, which would be amazing. There is some rust damage in the rear corner of the passenger side top panel. Floors have surface rust but looked reasonably solid, at least from above. The headliner is shot and partially hanging from the roof, which I think you can tell from the pics.
My biggest rust concern is the frame and under the floor. It's currently sitting in a storage yard on a farm and I'm sure moisture has been attacking it from the ground up ever since it was parked. The truck has not been in its current location for the entire 26 years. The frame and underside looked very, very rusty and I couldn't really tell if there was frame damage.
My thought is that this rig needs a frame-off to address all the rust but maybe the body could be left more-or-less untouched and a repaint avoided. Of course, all mechanical parts need to be rebuilt and all rubber and seals replaced. Door rubber is totally shot. It was a bit hard to open the doors and we couldn't swing open the rear spare tire carrier as it was rusted too much and I wasn't going to try to force anything.
I'd love to buy this at the right price but my number is too far from what the seller is looking for. I gave the seller an offer over the phone and, instead of a counter offer, he said a few choice words that I won't include in this posting
and hung up on me.
Personally, I love the truck, it's my favorite color and has pretty much everything I'm looking for but the price is too high, given what I believe it needs in terms of time and money to get back on the road. Hopefully somebody out there sees this differently and is willing to buy and save the rig.
Edit: I did see some paperwork in the rig and it was apparently sold new from Florin Road Toyota in Sacramento on 3/20/1976. The VIN is FJ40-217616. The rig has been for sale for a few months, maybe longer.
Seller is asking $15,500 and seems pretty firm on that price. He knows he has a classic and looks at it as a real fun father-son project and not a real lot-a-work to restore.
moving, must sell, 1976 toyota land cruiser
I talked with the seller and looked at the truck. Here's my take-away:
Last registered in 1990 and has apparently been sitting for approximately 26 years. Original motor was replaced in the 1980's with a SBC, which was blown and then removed. Currently no engine in the rig, although the seller has a 2F(?) engine that goes with it, separately. In California it would need to pass smog and I don't know if the engine has all the smog components, or what it looks like inside, or how long it's been sitting (currently in the back of a trailer near the FJ40), or how complete it is. The seller didn't seem to know much about the engine that comes with the rig. I didn't bother looking at the engine when I saw the truck (my bad).
I didn't take any pictures of the engine bay (my bad) and am concerned about what was done to the wiring when the SBC was installed or when it was removed. The FJ40 does have the original(?) transmission and transfer case still in it. Both were shifted forward when the SBC was installed so the transmission hump was cut accordingly, with shifter holes moved forward. I'm thinking this means both drive shafts would need to be replaced, along with repairing or replacing the trans hump, assuming one puts a 2F back in the rig.
There is surface rust pretty much all over the truck. I believe the exterior could be cleaned up, buffed a little and kept as is, which would be amazing. There is some rust damage in the rear corner of the passenger side top panel. Floors have surface rust but looked reasonably solid, at least from above. The headliner is shot and partially hanging from the roof, which I think you can tell from the pics.
My biggest rust concern is the frame and under the floor. It's currently sitting in a storage yard on a farm and I'm sure moisture has been attacking it from the ground up ever since it was parked. The truck has not been in its current location for the entire 26 years. The frame and underside looked very, very rusty and I couldn't really tell if there was frame damage.
My thought is that this rig needs a frame-off to address all the rust but maybe the body could be left more-or-less untouched and a repaint avoided. Of course, all mechanical parts need to be rebuilt and all rubber and seals replaced. Door rubber is totally shot. It was a bit hard to open the doors and we couldn't swing open the rear spare tire carrier as it was rusted too much and I wasn't going to try to force anything.
I'd love to buy this at the right price but my number is too far from what the seller is looking for. I gave the seller an offer over the phone and, instead of a counter offer, he said a few choice words that I won't include in this posting
and hung up on me.Personally, I love the truck, it's my favorite color and has pretty much everything I'm looking for but the price is too high, given what I believe it needs in terms of time and money to get back on the road. Hopefully somebody out there sees this differently and is willing to buy and save the rig.
Edit: I did see some paperwork in the rig and it was apparently sold new from Florin Road Toyota in Sacramento on 3/20/1976. The VIN is FJ40-217616. The rig has been for sale for a few months, maybe longer.
Last edited:
