Bloomer
SILVER Star
I have always considered a FJ40 as the epitome of Land Cruisers and have dreamed of owning one since before I was 16 (and that was a long time ago). Over the years I have considered buying one and always opted for what seemed more practical for family trips and the somewhat remote area where we live (our trips to the store usually take the better part of the day). So, an 80, 100, and a 200 series that is a family daily driver seemed to always make more sense.
I decided earlier this year to get serious about finding a 40. When I started thinking about what I wanted in a 40, and searching what matched, I QUICKLY found out I could not afford it. Early on, I came across one that a member of the Land Cruiser group I periodically meet with was selling. It was a 1978 dune beige in mostly original condition. It wasn’t perfect but a decent land cruiser. It actually was the first 40 I looked at in my search, and coincidentally the first one I ever drove. At the time, I wasn’t sure it was the right 40 so opted not to buy it. It sold very shortly thereafter, like pretty much the next day.
Over the next several months a couple others came and went for various reasons, they just didn’t work out. I had the opportunity to meet some very nice people and keep in touch with some. I found myself comparing many of the 40’s I looked at to the first 1978 dune beige.
Recently, I was surprised to see the 1978 dune beige pop up for sale again. It was purchased by someone who lived about 3.5 hours away and they started doing some of the work to it that originally caused me hesitation (much of it was minor and just boiled down to me being uneducated). I decided second chances don’t come around often and ended up making an offer the seller accepted. We exchanged signatures on a bill of sale a little over a week ago and I loaded it on a trailer for the drive home. Well, it made it most of the way home on the trailer; I couldn’t wait to drive it so it was unloaded about 60 miles out from the house and it made its way home under its own power.
Over the past week I’ve had some time to have a better look at the 40. A few obvious cosmetic things need to be corrected, mainly the steering wheel, head liner, and a few other odds and ends. There’s no appreciable rust that I can find (some surface) but has some nice patina and a few well placed small dents for character. Emergency brake is not functional and there seems to be an exhaust leak. The smog equipment is all present but pump is frozen up with no belt. I’m suspecting I’ll need to work my way through much of the mechanical components before I really feel comfortable taking it on any trips involving distance. With how simple the 40 is to work on, my head is spinning on where to start. Probably will just baseline fluids then drive it on short runs for awhile to see what needs to be addressed first.
A few pictures of the 1978 dune beige....
I decided earlier this year to get serious about finding a 40. When I started thinking about what I wanted in a 40, and searching what matched, I QUICKLY found out I could not afford it. Early on, I came across one that a member of the Land Cruiser group I periodically meet with was selling. It was a 1978 dune beige in mostly original condition. It wasn’t perfect but a decent land cruiser. It actually was the first 40 I looked at in my search, and coincidentally the first one I ever drove. At the time, I wasn’t sure it was the right 40 so opted not to buy it. It sold very shortly thereafter, like pretty much the next day.
Over the next several months a couple others came and went for various reasons, they just didn’t work out. I had the opportunity to meet some very nice people and keep in touch with some. I found myself comparing many of the 40’s I looked at to the first 1978 dune beige.
Recently, I was surprised to see the 1978 dune beige pop up for sale again. It was purchased by someone who lived about 3.5 hours away and they started doing some of the work to it that originally caused me hesitation (much of it was minor and just boiled down to me being uneducated). I decided second chances don’t come around often and ended up making an offer the seller accepted. We exchanged signatures on a bill of sale a little over a week ago and I loaded it on a trailer for the drive home. Well, it made it most of the way home on the trailer; I couldn’t wait to drive it so it was unloaded about 60 miles out from the house and it made its way home under its own power.
Over the past week I’ve had some time to have a better look at the 40. A few obvious cosmetic things need to be corrected, mainly the steering wheel, head liner, and a few other odds and ends. There’s no appreciable rust that I can find (some surface) but has some nice patina and a few well placed small dents for character. Emergency brake is not functional and there seems to be an exhaust leak. The smog equipment is all present but pump is frozen up with no belt. I’m suspecting I’ll need to work my way through much of the mechanical components before I really feel comfortable taking it on any trips involving distance. With how simple the 40 is to work on, my head is spinning on where to start. Probably will just baseline fluids then drive it on short runs for awhile to see what needs to be addressed first.
A few pictures of the 1978 dune beige....
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I am getting a little bit of a growl from the air pump so we’ll see if it holds up.
