About 9 months ago my dreams finally came true. I was able to find a really well kept 40, something I always wanted long before I ever even arrived here in Honduras 6 years ago. And better yet... diesel. Original motor. Odometer doesn’t work, but has around 250-300k miles. From one of the very first days I got here, I laid eyes on a broken down rusted out HJ47 sitting on the side of the highway and told myself... one day... Well it just so happened on my birthday (by coincidence) I became the official owner of this sweet beast. For the better half of a year, I’ve been working on her, taking her up the mountains, down to the beach and everywhere in between. It’s been a blast.
The previous owner was a med student in a city about 5 hours from me. I searched for months for a decent cruiser with no rust and an original motor (so I can to it back to the states one day). He did a bit of resto on it, took very good care of it, and lucky for me had lived in the middle of the country all its life and not near the coast with the salty air. He did not want to sell it, but with a baby on its way and more school to pay for, I was in luck. I hopped on a bus, got there late evening, and the next day went and saw it. I lurked on here for months reading what I should be looking for, red flags, etc etc. From the getgo it all just felt like it was meant to be. The dude was super nice, very honest, and explained everything that was done. He kept records in a nicely organized folder all the way back from when this cruiser was purchased new! He wasn’t the original owner, but had all the papers. I now have the original receipt from 1979 when it was bought for like $3,000!
Anyway, I go over this thing with a fine tooth comb, running magnets all over the place and checking for leaks, rust, everything. Didn’t come across any of that. We take it out for a drive about 20 minutes up the mountains, climbing hills, testing out the 4wd, the winch, it was amazing. We get back to his place and we talk price and settle on $12k. At this point, I’m ready to get all the official paperwork done, get this thing in my name, and start exploring. The next day we drive it back to my house, take a trip to the “dmv”, and I make the bank transfer. BOOM, it’s official. All mine.
So these last 9 months or so have been really incredible getting able to learn more, work on it, fix things, upgrade parts, and most importantly, just have fun with it. My two little boys LOVE it too. We’re at the beach, up the mountains, to the river, you name it.
Here’s some build pics and I’ll add progress pics later. I’m never done working on her (just don’t tell my wife).
The previous owner was a med student in a city about 5 hours from me. I searched for months for a decent cruiser with no rust and an original motor (so I can to it back to the states one day). He did a bit of resto on it, took very good care of it, and lucky for me had lived in the middle of the country all its life and not near the coast with the salty air. He did not want to sell it, but with a baby on its way and more school to pay for, I was in luck. I hopped on a bus, got there late evening, and the next day went and saw it. I lurked on here for months reading what I should be looking for, red flags, etc etc. From the getgo it all just felt like it was meant to be. The dude was super nice, very honest, and explained everything that was done. He kept records in a nicely organized folder all the way back from when this cruiser was purchased new! He wasn’t the original owner, but had all the papers. I now have the original receipt from 1979 when it was bought for like $3,000!
Anyway, I go over this thing with a fine tooth comb, running magnets all over the place and checking for leaks, rust, everything. Didn’t come across any of that. We take it out for a drive about 20 minutes up the mountains, climbing hills, testing out the 4wd, the winch, it was amazing. We get back to his place and we talk price and settle on $12k. At this point, I’m ready to get all the official paperwork done, get this thing in my name, and start exploring. The next day we drive it back to my house, take a trip to the “dmv”, and I make the bank transfer. BOOM, it’s official. All mine.
So these last 9 months or so have been really incredible getting able to learn more, work on it, fix things, upgrade parts, and most importantly, just have fun with it. My two little boys LOVE it too. We’re at the beach, up the mountains, to the river, you name it.
Here’s some build pics and I’ll add progress pics later. I’m never done working on her (just don’t tell my wife).
