1986 FJ73 LHD Colombian Spec Soft Top Truck (1 Viewer)

[CHAS404]

My company is Volcan 4x4, LLC and I am sourcing FJ40s/43s, Nissan Patrols and even did a Land Rover. I don't do high volume and due to shipping costs involved I restore/overhaul the trucks to bring them up to a higher quality before exporting them. When I started 18 months ago investigating FJ40s I was personally drawn to the 70 series but they had not reached the market price to justify exporting them. These trucks in Colombia actually have a very high resale value as they are still suited to the local lower speed mountain roads. A new crew cab 70 series diesel for instance is $100,000 including high car taxes.

Anyhow started to see these great trucks come from other countries and thus wanted to provide an additional alternative. No diesels out of Colombia.

We can do the 1985 to 1989 3F gasoline models. The advantage of the Colombian sourced trucks is that we can start with a rust free truck then add custom interiors and custom soft tops. 3F is the only engine option. These have no emissions and the 2 barrel carb.

After searching around I found this 1986 FJ73. I actually have this truck under contract to a buyer in the USA for $25,000 to give an idea on pricing. That includes delivery Florida, Florida title 5 new 32 inch tires. Spare tire carrier and new exhaust. We will also mechanically review the truck and do some touch up paint.

Here she is... truck is sitting on 31 inch tires. the 32s are ideal.

 

[CHAS404]

I had posted another 1985 truck but this is a different and nicer truck. This is likely a 200,000 to 250,000 high miles truck but was completely restored by the previous owner. When I say restored this is not a $50,000 FJ40 frame off but it shows very clean black chassis, all new bolts and belts. The engine sounds and drives like it was rebuilt. Super clean unpainted underneath. No gunky rustproofing. Repainted not a 10 out 10 paint job but very nice for this style truck.

Has floating rear axle. Has all new suspension underneath with new shocks, near new leaves and bushings. AC. Power windows. Suspension seats (please chime in about these I want to learn). most trucks here have the split bench. Working snorkel. The top is very high quality and as new. The seats are covered in similar material made for the beach etc. They are covering supposedly new leather. I did not look because I liked the covers so much anyhow! has 2 jump seats in the rear.

I drove it only to 35 mph due to travel but it drove very nicely. These pre 1990 trucks are HARD to find down here and the very original ones are kept in the family FOREVER.

As someone who sells FJ43s I personally want an FJ73. The FJ43s are gorgeous but I drive them all the time and this FJ73 just drives so much more modern and I like the look too.

Pics are not great due to burning Colombian sun.

 

[CHAS404]

More... rear axle supposedly from an 80 series. not sure about that.

Snorkel is hooked up to air cleaner unlike most which are just for show.

needs spare tire carrier and I think we should paint that bumper black. there are some ugly speakers with no grills in the rear door. This is a super nice truck though I don't see much I would change other than tires and exhaust.

 

[CHAS404]

Looks clean under the hood. I just did a quick inspection and it will go to my mechanic. Started up easily and idled quietly. The 3F is quite a bit smoother than the 2F. No emissions. Down here they put custom headers and 2.5 inch exhausts on these and keep the carbs.

 

[CHAS404]

Cool jump seats. Someone on my company facebook said not original but I see these all the time. I think they may be a South American spec. the top is super high quality and as new. I have 2 specialists here that do tops for my other trucks can easily do them for the FJ73s. They take about a week or so to install.

 

[CHAS404]

Don't have good photos of under the truck but I crawled underneath and it was impressed. Will pull the top vinyl covers off and inspect it with my shop before we export.

was very clean underneath. The transfer case skid plate did not even have dents or scratches.

Exhaust I can have custom installed down in Colombia or I have a Tampa provider. Most Colombian trucks have the gloss black frame with no rust proofing stuff on it. That is what I look for. Some trucks do have some rust in the floors but I look for either 100% original or sometimes accept one that has good repairs done. We sometimes will catch small repairs we missed then we repair them. I can not stand rust, "some rust" or any rust. I would rather look for the best truck I can find. This truck I think is all original floors. My body man will review it. Only repairs I could think of would be to doublecheck the rear wheel wells it seems like all the 70 series are weak there. no rust in the doors at all.

 

[CHAS404]

Anyhow very very excited about doing a 70 series. This is a very nice truck and they are hard to find like this. The only truck that would beat this one out would be a super low mileage all original one but I think that is going to be hard to do. Once I get the word out though I will have these trucks being offered to me. Issue is there were not that many pre 1989 ones.

 

[CHAS404]

Finally getting to work on this truck. Very nice clean truck. Carb is way off which seems to be the biggest issue. I have only driven these FJ73s a few times and am really impressed with how smooth it rides and drives. Don't have many photos of under the truck but it is pristine. Here are the floors. They are grubby but appear to be rust free and original. This truck had been repainted before. Paint shows pretty well and white is forgiving.

 

[CHAS404]

Went ahead and put a new exhaust on the truck down in Colombia. I have used these guys before. went slightly bigger size to around 2 and 3/8 inches. Truck is really clean underneath.

 

[CHAS404]

So far truck checks out OK minus the carb and this one has power windows and a lot of options that may be fiddly to fix on a 30 year old truck. AC was working. Truck may be listing to the driver's side too we can fix that. Stay tuned as the truck gets 32 x 11.5 x 15 inch tires. We hopefully will clean up the existing 15 inch black rims. Also an interesting option will include custom front and rear bumper and spare tire holder.

Lousy pictures so far in the too bright Colombian sun.

 

[CHAS404]

Took the truck to local gas station to fill it up and get it washed as it was so dirty I could not review it. Carb flooded on it and did not want to start. Then brand new battery went dead (and big gas station had NO jumper cables or charger???!!!). Carb is way off. We adjust it or I order a new carb. I have a great guy in Tampa now that rebuilds carbs. Prefer to fix it here and have the truck finished if possible. Frustrating and hot day!

 

[theferg]

What color is the seat material under those seat covers? Hopefully gray.

I too have seen many Colombian spec FJ73s with those 1-seater jump seats in the rear. A super cool option IMO, though I also am not sure if they come factory or not. I really, really want some for my BJ74 as I have my wife and 4 kids and we all can't fit in my BJ74 at the same time....

Do you ever do any trades? I would be extremely tempted to trade my built BJ74 for an FJ73 like this.

 

[theferg]

More... rear axle supposedly from an 80 series. not sure about that.

Hmmm. Could definitely be possible that it's an 80 series axle... Can you get some pics of the axle from the underneath rear of the truck?

The 80 axle is about 8" wider than the 70 series axle: ~63" vs ~55" (WMS-WMS). It's definitely possible, but I would be surprised if it was an 80 axle given it doesn't really seem to stick out much, judging from the pics. Better chance that its from a 60 series I'd think. Those are ~58". Also much easier to move just spring perches on a 60 series axle vs all the coil/link brackets on an 80 series rear.

 

[cfortiz2000]

I don´t think is an FZJ80 axle, from 85 to 89 some FJ73 came to Colombia from Japan with FF rear axle.

I´m swapping my axles on a FZJ73 for some FZJ80s because of the e-lookers, hope everything goes ok.

 

[wardharris]

I bought an FJ75 with a 3B recently and have put around 400 miles on it - mostly at freeway speeds (60-70 on an uncorrected speedometer). Even with crappy tires and a slightly modified suspension (flat springs and extended shackles in front) it was a great ride. The motor makes lots of power, gets good mileage and is a ball to drive with the H55F.

This experience definitely changed my opinion of the potential for South American imports - at least as it relates to gasser vs. diesel engines. I could be very happy with an FJ73.

 

[Diesel Cruiserman]

I bought an FJ75 with a 3Fcarb recently and have put around 400 miles on it - mostly at freeway speeds (60-70 on an uncorrected speedometer).

 

[CHAS404]

Sorry no posts for so long. I was overwhelmed with projects in Colombia including this truck. Well turns out this pretty truck needed no paint really (other than a few touch ups) and has newer gray leather under the seats but turned out to have some serious deferred maintenance. One of the issues with buying in Colombia are unfortunately the sellers (this was a small car dealer I had not dealt with before) and with the traffic it is very hard to do a lenghty testdrive. I also commonly buy trucks sight unseen. This is why every truck gets a 30 day minimum overhaul before exporting. I thought that maybe this being a more modern 1986 FJ73 the mechanical would not be as difficult as an FJ40. Well... I was wrong...

 

[CHAS404]

Turns out we needed to rebuild the 3F. It had shiny new pistons and good cylinder walls but bad head and crankshaft. It likely was an 'in car' engine rebuild and they missed some items. I have this truck under contract for a client and it is my first FJ73 so I want to make it a great truck so we pulled the engine and rebuilt it back to 100% (no cost to client because price is fixed). I drove afterwords and it feels like it has a bunch more power and super smooth. This is my 14th truck or so. Here is the list off the top of my head that we repaired on this truck.... rebuilt 3F, rebuilt carb, new AISIN clutch, new brake pads, new rear drum cylinders, oil pump was good, rebuilt alternator, new battery, new exhaust, and rebuild/clean radiator. This is a 30 year old truck. Will post some photos.

 

[CHAS404]

Quick respray on the rear floors. No rust just needed cleaning. pulled the aftermarket speakers out the back doors and had new door covers installed. look near factory very nice. I would say this truck did likely have the rear wheel wells repaired at some point. In general though the floors look to be all original and the truck is super clean underneath.

 

[CHAS404]

Engine.... pretty cool how much room is under the hood. This was a hassle/crisis for me as I am trying to keep the truck on time and on budget but the engine was rebuilt in about a week.. Truck ran smoothly but was down on power and cylinders 1 and 6 were fouling the spark plugs. Turns out the pistons are nearly new and standard size and the cylinder walls were shiny (we polished them again later). This was likely a 250.000 mile FJ73 with light usage. It was restored cosmetically but they skipped alot on the mechanical (unfortunately I find this alot down there).