1979 - 1984 Purchase Recommendations (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Oct 28, 2018
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Location
Williamsburg, VA. USA
Greetings all,

After fifteen years for messing around with diesel trucks and dual sport motorcycles, I find myself in Bogota, Colombia where I am surrounded by awesome Land Cruisers every day. It's gotten to the point that I can't resist anymore, and I have to take the plunge. In spite of the fact that demand in the U.S. has driven up the market price for vintage FJ and BJ 40 series land cruisers, there are still a lot of deals to be had here. Unfortunately there are also a lot of unscrupulous (or just uneducated) people and some of them view new buyers as a mark to be taken advantage of (especially if they are a foreigner). I have some good local friends who are helping me, but they are mostly purists who value original vehicle condition over all. Since I plan to take this back to the U.S. with me, I'm more willing to accept non-year-authentic components as I plan on installing a 5 speed transmission, disk brakes and an A/C unit so that I can drive year round.
For that reason, I was hoping for some advice:

While looking at several different vehicles, I have found three that I really like and that are in my price range. Each have downsides though. Can you help me avoid some pitfalls that will be expensive/timely?

Candidate number one is a 1984 FJ40 that had been purchased ten years ago by the current owner. He put a lot of money into it to install disk brakes, a 5 speed transmission, A/C, ARB lockers front and rear, and Old Man Emu suspension, an auxiliary gas tank, a snorkel, a WARN winch, rhino liner on the floors and a new soft top with a full roll bar/cage. He had the engine rebuilt about 25 miles ago. In spite of that, the vehicle has spent most of the past ten years just sitting in a garage since the owner has several vehicles and a driver who drives him almost everywhere. He used the vehicle occasionally on and off road and the paint definitely shows this. There is some corrosion but no rot and nothing evident in the fender wells. The owner is asking $14,200 USD but is flexible.

Candidate number two is a 1979 FJ43 that was purchased a year ago by a coffee farmer. He had it completely restored to it's original condition (not a full frame off restore and not even a level two restore but all of the original components are present and work well, the paint looks good, very minimal corrosion, new suspension and new tires) but it needs some weather strip work. The upholstery is good, but it has an underseat gas tank, manual steering and doesn't have disk brakes or A/C (obviously). It costs less than half of the cost of candidate one ($6,789 USD). It has the original motor, but the plate on the firewall is missing. However, I would want to move the gas tank outside of the cab (is that even possible/affordable?), install a five speed transmission, install A/C, install disk brakes and manual steering. Then I would basically install everything that candidate one already has installed.

Candidate number three is a rare beast. It's a 1982 BJ43 with a 3B diesel motor. Right off of the bat this appealed to me because I'm a diesel fanatic. However, it is on the other side of Colombia so I would have to fly out to see it (not a huge problem as this will only cost me $100 USD). Also, it was at one point painted black (it was originally red) and I don't know why. This could be because the previous owner just wanted a black paint job, or it could be because there was a collision/body damage and when repairing it they repainted (the world will likely never know). It has a snorkel, chrome trim, luxury rims (that look like crap), new upholstery and power steering. It is currently back in the shop getting a new paint job (still black). The dashboard was replaced with one from a later FJ70 with a 4.5 motor. I love the 3B motor and don't even mind the black paint but am a bit worried about all of the unknowns about this vehicle.

What do you think? Go with candidate A and deal with the cosmetic issues, Candidate B and sink ten grand into mechanical upgrades and know they are all new or Candidate C and risk the unknown for an awesome motor?


Update: Btw I should have mentioned that home is WV. We don’t have any emissions testing so no concerns about importing and registering a vehicle without emissions equipment. Also, I shipped a vehicle to Colombia with me for work so I will just sell that locally and ship the land cruiser back with me.
 
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1982 model year & 3b motor should make it a BJ46, not a BJ43. BJ43 should have only come with a B motor, not the 3B. You should confirm because if it has had a motor swap it is technically illegal to import to the US under the 25 year exemption. Not likely anyone at Customs would notice, but you should be aware of the risks if you made that choice
 
1982 model year & 3b motor should make it a BJ46, not a BJ43. BJ43 should have only come with a B motor, not the 3B. You should confirm because if it has had a motor swap it is technically illegal to import to the US under the 25 year exemption. Not likely anyone at Customs would notice, but you should be aware of the risks if you made that choice


It is a BJ43. BJ43004742 to be exact. Chassis number matches all affixed plates. 3B motors started to be installed in 1981 here.

AD1543D6-26BB-4A97-9698-8545E3C4080D.jpeg
 
#2, you asked ??
how easy is it to pull out the fuel tank from inside the cab and mount one underneath? I don’t particularly care for the gas smell and I’m a tall guy so I would like the seat to sit as close to the floor as possible so my legs fit under the steering wheel.
 
Not easy unless you just install a different tank above/behind the axle and used that one...

The last one sounds like a donkey show...
My advice for the first two is be VERY wary of the work done in Columbia. I have seen a few restorations that look like a blind guy was doing the work and a mute was leading him...

Every Columbian resto I've seen had the most crappily bent brake and clutch lines and that tells me they have no attention to detail.

Final bit of advice... Look for the most original condition truck you can find... Like meeting a girl at the bar, great makeup, exceptional choice of bra, and shape defining underwear will make a hard 2 into a soft 7. Look for a 5 with no makeup and take her home. You may get lucky and stumble into a 7 without makeup that buys you a drink...
 
Not easy unless you just install a different tank above/behind the axle and used that one...

The last one sounds like a donkey show...
My advice for the first two is be VERY wary of the work done in Columbia. I have seen a few restorations that look like a blind guy was doing the work and a mute was leading him...

Every Columbian resto I've seen had the most crappily bent brake and clutch lines and that tells me they have no attention to detail.

Final bit of advice... Look for the most original condition truck you can find... Like meeting a girl at the bar, great makeup, exceptional choice of bra, and shape defining underwear will make a hard 2 into a soft 7. Look for a 5 with no makeup and take her home. You may get lucky and stumble into a 7 without makeup that buys you a drink...


Regardless of what vehicle I buy it will spend the next six months in a respected shop getting work done to my specifications before I export it. Land Cruisers in Colombia aren't anything special, and frankly most people don't want them. They are used as work vehicles and therefore when they need repair those repairs are done as cheaply as possible. So if you run into someone who says they have experience working on Land Cruisers, they probably have experience keeping them running as cheaply as possible. If some dumb gringo wants to throw money at that shop to have them do a full "restoration" the mechanic certainly won't say no.

There are shops here that do excellent work, and frankly, nobody knows Colombian and Venezuelan cruisers better than the collectors and enthusiasts in those countries. I've made friends here with people who have great collections and are very knowledgable but as I said in my original post they don't always understand my rational for wanting to do things like change to a 5 speed transmission or install A/C. On the other hand, if you have work done by the same mechanics that do work for FJ Company, you'll end up paying through the roof. It's always a balance. For instance, a good shop quoted me $1k to install power steering on a vehicle (that included the parts and labor). Not bad compared to what I would pay in the U.S.

I think it's good advice to look for the most original truck as possible. For that reason I'm keeping an eye out for something with factory hydraulic steering and a fuel tank that isn't inside the cab. I can always pay to have the rest of the work done over the next six to eight months bringing in parts from the U.S. if they are rare or expensive here.
 
Hello,

Beware of good looking trucks down there.

It is customary for owners there to throw money in aftermarket equipment because they have this belief that it increases the vehicle's value, regardless of its age. These trucks usually have shiny suspensions, lockers, stereos and the like but lack creature comforts like A/C; usually little if any work is done regarding engine, power train or body. This seems to be the case with Cruiser number one.

Almost all Colombian Land Cruisers have lived very hard lives with poor maintenance jobs. It is becoming commonplace to hide the past under a shoddy paint job. This seems to be the case with Cruisers number two and three.

The registration you provided mentions diesel but also says engine displacement is 4477 cubic centimeters, which is correct for the 1FZ engine. Suspicious to say the least. If the truck had an engine swap it might not be eligible to import to the US.

If the frame number is correct and there is in fact a B engine, it is a rare beast. Very few BJ40/42/43s were imported in that part of the world back in the day, because diesel was scarce.

I would look for a non-restored 40/43 with as few accessories as possible. Then I would look for a mechanic or a local MUD member for an honest opinion.

Hope this helps.






Juan
 
Look closely at my front bumper decals , This was a shop / vehical sales outfit that fixed them up then sold them , i have seen

several 4#'s with this exact decals on the front bumper


purchased 9 years ago , it lacks any major Gerry-Rig issues past or present , got lucky


IMG_1049.JPG
 
Look closely at my front bumper decals , This was a shop / vehical sales outfit that fixed them up then sold them , i have seen

several 4#'s with this exact decals on the front bumper


purchased 9 years ago , it lacks any major Gerry-Rig issues past or present , got lucky


View attachment 1820732

This is actually just a large Toyota dealer in Bogota. It means that they either sold it originally, or they took it in as a trade and re-sold it used. Some of the ones I am looking at came from Distoyota (such as the one I attached).

toyota-fj-cruiser-1982-D_NQ_NP_801159-MCO28048609554_082018-F.jpg
 
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Hello,

Beware of good looking trucks down there.

It is customary for owners there to throw money in aftermarket equipment because they have this belief that it increases the vehicle's value, regardless of its age. These trucks usually have shiny suspensions, lockers, stereos and the like but lack creature comforts like A/C; usually little if any work is done regarding engine, power train or body. This seems to be the case with Cruiser number one.

Almost all Colombian Land Cruisers have lived very hard lives with poor maintenance jobs. It is becoming commonplace to hide the past under a shoddy paint job. This seems to be the case with Cruisers number two and three.

The registration you provided mentions diesel but also says engine displacement is 4477 cubic centimeters, which is correct for the 1FZ engine. Suspicious to say the least. If the truck had an engine swap it might not be eligible to import to the US.

If the frame number is correct and there is in fact a B engine, it is a rare beast. Very few BJ40/42/43s were imported in that part of the world back in the day, because diesel was scarce.

I would look for a non-restored 40/43 with as few accessories as possible. Then I would look for a mechanic or a local MUD member for an honest opinion.

Hope this helps.






Juan


Thanks Juan,

The motor on the Popayan vehicle is the original 3B (which is super rare in Colombia, they are much more common in Costa Rica). 3B Diesels are so rare here that they probably don't have a selection for their displacement when registering them (1FZs are common). I saw the actual plates on the vehicle but the picture was not as good or as easy to upload as the copy of the owners drivers license which had the relevant serial numbers. I can attest that it is a BJ43.

The owner of vehicle number one has decided not to sell right now, so I'm back to looking for a vehicle. They are so common here that it is just a matter of looking through all of them to find the one you like.

The life of the vehicle depends a lot on where it is located. For instance, if you buy something from Norte de Santander department there is a good chance that it is either Venezuelan (less desirable) or was used to "mochiliar por las trochas" (go mudding through the trails). If you buy something from Barranquilla on the other hand, it spent all it's life exposed to salt air. Find something that has lived it's life in Bogota or Medellin and you have a city car that wasn't used for mudding. Most of the vehicles I've found have been in Bogota (or the surrounding area), Villavicencia or the eje cafetero near Armenia.

When I get a chance I'll post some pictures of some of the awesome preservation and restoration jobs I've seen here. However, these jobs usually have taken the owner 3 to 5 years and he has sunken $70k - $80k into the vehicles. One friend has a 1983 with an original Toyota tarp that he bought for $20k that is so low mileage it still has the original tires on it (he trailers it to shows). He has zero interest in selling though, and I have zero interest in buying a trailer queen that I would never take out on the road.
 
do they still have fj40's for sale ?

It all depends on what gets traded in. I was at another Toyota dealer for a classic Toyota car show last weekend and they had some consignment sales. I'll have to swing by Distoyota to check out what they have. Most people around here would prefer to get a new Hilux, 4Runner or Prado rather than buy a FJ40. The old Toyotas aren't viewed as very sexy unless you are a collector or into 4x4s. I'll try to swing by Distoyota and I'll let you know if they have any FJ40's for sale.

Also, if you speak (or at least read) Spanish, I strongly recommend this facebook group. They have lots of parts for sale and occasionally a vehicle for sale.

TOYOTA FJ 40 - 43- 45 Cruiser COLOMBIA
 
It all depends on what gets traded in. I was at another Toyota dealer for a classic Toyota car show last weekend and they had some consignment sales. I'll have to swing by Distoyota to check out what they have. Most people around here would prefer to get a new Hilux, 4Runner or Prado rather than buy a FJ40. The old Toyotas aren't viewed as very sexy unless you are a collector or into 4x4s. I'll try to swing by Distoyota and I'll let you know if they have any FJ40's for sale.

Also, if you speak (or at least read) Spanish, I strongly recommend this facebook group. They have lots of parts for sale and occasionally a vehicle for sale.

TOYOTA FJ 40 - 43- 45 Cruiser COLOMBIA


Thanks Brian !
 


@brianblack138
Welcome ! :flipoff2:, for me it's none of the above,

Yes a lot of them are "Lipsticked" up, the same as in other parts of the world.

Remember you are in 40 series Cruiser paradise, of course your local friends are purist because they already know what kind of issues one has to look for, use their knowledge and keep looking till you know yourself you have finally found the right one. Don't rush !



:cheers:
 
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This is actually just a large Toyota dealer in Bogota. It means that they either sold it originally, or they took it in as a trade and re-sold it used. Some of the ones I am looking at came from Distoyota (such as the one I attached).

Not Dat Toyota?
 

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