For Sale 1977 FJ40 value (1 Viewer)

Location

United States

I rescued this FJ recently. I felt it was my civic duty. It had been sitting in storage for 8 years just wasting away. I towed it back to the house to check the vitals. It was pretty dehydrated so I gave it a few days to rehydrate and low and behold it started back up. I expected to see oil and various fluids spew all over the garage floor but it idled comfortably and no leaks. These engines are amazing.

I'm debating on whether to sell it to someone who will take it to the next level or put some money into a new paint job and minor body work. Most of the rust is surface except for the rear sill which will need to be replace. I know prices are going up and are over the place. I know this is not an exact science but what could I sell the FJ for in its' current condition verses putting some money into a new paint job, body work and some misc. improvements (nothing major)

Thanks for the input.

 

[scoutingranch]

It looks as though it has had four color changes. If you are going down that road it all needs to come off. Break out the wallet.
Or just a quick flip as is, let the next person spend the money. And yes, I cannot for the life of me figure prices on the these.
I look forward to reading the experts address the value.

 

[FJcrew]

If it runs and drives, and is more or less complete, I'd shell out up to 5 grand, depending on what it's condition actually is....

 

[swamp-thing]

With so many body colors present and evidence of overspray, personally I would be looking deeper at the rust areas to see what is really going on. It may actually need a lot of work under all that color. But running driving titled rigs can have lots of potential for someone with skills or bills or both. I’d say 3-4k as it sits would be a good starting point, maybe higher if you can clean it up & sort it out more. Good luck! I like the “patina”!!

 

[swamp-thing]

Maybe Post up some more pics, engine, chassis, dash and seats etc. does it have both jump seats?

 

[overton]

She's got the original Dunlop Snow Cruiser spare tire hanging on the back.

 

[Slick Lettuce]

Thanks for the input y'all. Original color was rustic green which is one of my preferred colors. The patina is kinda cool but a serious rookie job. Might be worth addressing some rust, replacing door seals and getting a decent paint job back to original. Has a clean title. I'll keep searching around to get pricing ideas and will post more pics as I make progress.

 

[Slick Lettuce]

She's got the original Dunlop Snow Cruiser spare tire hanging on the back.

I thought that was pretty cool, too! No need for a BFG AT

 

[YoYoHo]

I would clean it, get good pictures of it and sell it as it sits. Nothing is worse than undoing work someone has just done when you buy a project. Unless you are going to take it to a driver level then I would think its value / effort is at maximum when you just have it running, then again maybe I watch to many classic car shows
We build a lot of custom cars and we always tell the customer your return will be 50% of your investment if you want to build it like you want it and maybe 70% if you do a full resto ( Unless you have something really rare .. most 40 series trucks are not rare ) .
These aren't ass plucks they are what the market has taught us and we learnt many many years ago that when you pick up "Projects" you always try and place it with the New Owner before you work on it. Customers make you $$$ buyers make you annoyed and wishing you had never thought of working on it first.

 

[Slick Lettuce]

I would clean it, get good pictures of it and sell it as it sits. Nothing is worse than undoing work someone has just done when you buy a project. Unless you are going to take it to a driver level then I would think its value / effort is at maximum when you just have it running, then again maybe I watch to many classic car shows
We build a lot of custom cars and we always tell the customer your return will be 50% of your investment if you want to build it like you want it and maybe 70% if you do a full resto ( Unless you have something really rare .. most 40 series trucks are not rare ) .
These aren't ass plucks they are what the market has taught us and we learnt many many years ago that when you pick up "Projects" you always try and place it with the New Owner before you work on it. Customers make you $$$ buyers make you annoyed and wishing you had never thought of working on it first.

Thanks YoYoHo. This is really good advice. I worked on it over the weekend, got it running and cleaned up. I think I'll just market is for quick sale. I have a '78 that needs my full attention at this juncture. We have a good local market for 40s so I'll try my luck at $7500. Cheers!

 

[DirtDauberGarage]

Thanks YoYoHo. This is really good advice. I worked on it over the weekend, got it running and cleaned up. I think I'll just market is for quick sale. I have a '78 that needs my full attention at this juncture. We have a good local market for 40s so I'll try my luck at $7500. Cheers!

Slick (I like the name),

I am still kind of new to the FJ40 market, but I did spend the last six months doing lots of research, talking to a lot of people, and looking at a dozen or so of these in person before I bought my 1977 two weeks ago. All that being said, here is my two cents...

Most of the 40's I found when I was looking to buy could be put into two different categories.

First, there were the total basket case 40's that were either mostly rusted out, had blown motors, NO motor, or were hacked and pieced together, etc. It seemed like even the worst of these still commanded a $2000-$3000 price tag. I found a couple good deals here but most needed much more work than I wanted to get into.

Second, it seemed like the other extreme. These were 40's that were either 90-100% restored or in really good shape. People wanted anywhere from $18,000-$40,000 for these. If you have about $20-25K, you can get a really nice FJ40 that is ready to enjoy and won't need much work at all other than regular maintenance.

Like I said, probably 85-90% of the FJ40's I looked at fell into these two groups. The last 10-15% I looked at were somewhere in the middle. Most people don't have $25K to spend or they don't have the space, skills, or time to get a $2k FJ40 up and running.

That means there is a strong market for running and driving FJ40's with minimal rust in the $5-$15K price range.

Obviously I am only looking at the couple pics you posted and only have those to go on, but I would say that $7,500 is a good starting place. It is a 77 with the vent windows so it should also have disk breaks, 2F Motor, etc.

I say start at $7,500 and see what type of interest you get. You can always say "price negotiable"

Matthew

 

[DirtDauberGarage]

I agree with the posts above about not painting it if you are not keeping it. Let whoever buys it fix it up how they want it. I would rather buy one that I can see the metal and what it needs, than one that has a fresh paint job on it.

Do it all the way or not at all and let the new owner do what they want.

Matthew

 

[FJ404345]

Nice truck !!

I'll Buy it !!!

I'll keep searching around to get a bidding idea and will post bid as I make progress.

 

[Slick Lettuce]

Slick (I like the name),

I am still kind of new to the FJ40 market, but I did spend the last six months doing lots of research, talking to a lot of people, and looking at a dozen or so of these in person before I bought my 1977 two weeks ago. All that being said, here is my two cents...

Most of the 40's I found when I was looking to buy could be put into two different categories.

First, there were the total basket case 40's that were either mostly rusted out, had blown motors, NO motor, or were hacked and pieced together, etc. It seemed like even the worst of these still commanded a $2000-$3000 price tag. I found a couple good deals here but most needed much more work than I wanted to get into.

Second, it seemed like the other extreme. These were 40's that were either 90-100% restored or in really good shape. People wanted anywhere from $18,000-$40,000 for these. If you have about $20-25K, you can get a really nice FJ40 that is ready to enjoy and won't need much work at all other than regular maintenance.

Like I said, probably 85-90% of the FJ40's I looked at fell into these two groups. The last 10-15% I looked at were somewhere in the middle. Most people don't have $25K to spend or they don't have the space, skills, or time to get a $2k FJ40 up and running.

That means there is a strong market for running and driving FJ40's with minimal rust in the $5-$15K price range.

Obviously I am only looking at the couple pics you posted and only have those to go on, but I would say that $7,500 is a good starting place. It is a 77 with the vent windows so it should also have disk breaks, 2F Motor, etc.

I say start at $7,500 and see what type of interest you get. You can always say "price negotiable"

Matthew

Thanks for your input Matthew. I think this 77' falls in that category of being a runner, mostly original that has potential for the person that wants to make it theirs. I had a fellow FJ enthusiast come take a look and he said that the doors and top alone were worth $3500 since they were in such good shape. I think I'll try to come somewhere in the middle range at $8750. There are a number of buyers out here in Colorado. Cheers and thanks again.

 

[Slick Lettuce]

Nice truck !!

I'll Buy it !!!

I'll keep searching around to get a bidding idea and will post bid as I make progress.

Cheers!