1982 FJ40 Restoration Questions for High Resale Value (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Chaumpa
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
I personally think the ‘78 and ‘83 are the most valuable years but for different reasons. Sell it as is
Dave’s comments seem right on imo
Sorry, I know I'm piling on and I already posted something to the same effect. But now that I've seen the pictures, I'm even more sure that you're looking at a major money pit. Don't do it, man! Sell the rig as is.
I have probably 300-400 hours and thousands of dollars into tub repair, and mine was in much better condition.
I have probably 300-400 hours and thousands of dollars into tub repair, and mine was in much better condition.
Why ? As you see here in this thread a 1982 was prone to rust. I am sure 1978 is as well. Toyota not only had emissions issues in USA, they had fuel mileage as well. Remember the fuel crisis in 1973 >. ? The design protocol after this period was better fuel economy, lighter weight, and even recycled steel , which has its own issues. Now, that said, the engine , disc brakes, better gearing was a plus. I always said, 1983 driveline in a 1969 frame/body and there you have it.
Anyone who has sandblasted parts to bare metal will tell you the rot goes far beyond what is visible beforehand. Try to restore just the hood for now. That will give you an idea of whether or not you have the stomach for a full restoration. If you decide you don’t want to invest the $$$ & time, then you’re not stuck with a pile of parts to sell. It’s easier to sell it whole than to part it out. The individual parts may get you more than a package deal. The value is in the hard to find 40-series bits. The engine and transmission aren’t anything special since they were available in the 60-series of the same vintage. There’s a number of 60-series rusting to pieces too.
Last edited:
Right on! I call sandblasting the truth serum. I thought I had a really solid rig when I bought mine. The sandblaster showed all the crappy previous body work and I ended up replacing the rear quarters, bottom of one door and rear sill. It is right now, but if I had been on a budget, it would have killed me. I guess unknown issues in my restoration cost me 8k easy. I have a shoebox full of receipts that I will NEVER add up!
I do agree that 1978 was the best year of the whole production period. It was the beginning of the body and frame issues but still had respectable frame and body. Each year after 1978 metal got thinner and emission's got tighter, and in an analog world. Looking under the hood of 1982 ~ I see a bunch of black lines everywhere trying to keep up with regulations. I do see 1983 as the holy grail for collectors, and as well it should be.
These vehicles are really timeless and all through the production run there were good things and weak things for improvement. Looking back, 1978 was probably THE year to merge the old with the new.
Interesting thread. As others have said, I would sell it. You will never get your money back if you do a proper restoration, especially with what I consider to be not insignificant (to put it kindly) rust issues— as a buyer, I would pass for that reason alone but that’s just me. Good luck whatever you decide to do.
Sorry to say, but this is a typical example of a parts car,
This truck had spinal injuries so bad and died years ago, maybe even without you knowing it.
Of course it all can be repaired, but bondo won't help you here, only to deceive
Just take it a little off-road and it will break in two, maybe even more parts
Last edited:
With that frame and body rot, it’s a parts truck.
Hi, Anything can be restored but in my opinion based on experience ;the amount of money and time and parts would be Tremendous . Time alone would probably be years. Mike
