Wanted 75-78 FJ40 close to Arkansas

Location

United States

No Longer Looking!! Proud new owner of a '78.

Wanted ads do work. I was contacted by a mud member with a 78 that he was willing to sell (but it was not listed in the classifieds).

I bought a 95 YJ Wrangler a few years ago, but I've regretted not getting an FJ40 instead. I'm ready to upgrade. I've been a little curious if Wanted ads actually work, but I guess I've got nothing to loose.

My budget is $7,500 - $10,000
Ideally I would find one within a days drive of Little Rock, AR
Obviously at that price range I'm okay with some rust, but I really don't want any rot unless it's a piece that I could replace easily (front fender, hood, etc)....I don't want to mess with welding.

 

[overton]

I don’t want to burst the bubble but that budget will buy you a total project $15k to $20k and you can get something decent. 20k to 30K and you’ll have several to choose from.

 

[Hip2bSquare]

Well it turns out wanted ads do work. A fellow mud member located just down the road reached out. He’s got a few and is willing to sell me one which I will be picking up Saturday.
Yep it’s a project but I’m okay with that. I wasn’t expecting a daily driver with my budget. It’s fairly complete minus the rear jump seats and the rear heater. It will require a little welding but that’s what brothers are for (at least mine). I’ll just keep driving my Jeep until I can get the 40 ready.

 

[overton]

Score! Welcome to the club

 

[cruiserboy14]

congrats!! you found one faster than I did!!! post up some pics when you bring it home! and welcome to the club.

 

[Hip2bSquare]

If all goes well I should bring it home this weekend.

 

[justinpba]

If I don't back out.....lol

 

[Rube]

your brother feel like helping me out on the rear hatch of my fj60?

 

[Hip2bSquare]

Well......technically speaking he doesn’t know he’s helping me yet, but he owes me for all those times he used me for wrestling practice as a kid.

 

[Hip2bSquare]

Well unfortunately the 79 I was offered didn’t work out (and my brother really dodged a bullet). Back to the drawing board.

 

[Hip2bSquare]

Well I learned a valuable lesson......and that is to check your profile page. Someone left a message on my profile which I didn’t notice for a couple of weeks (actually didn’t even know you could do that). Can you guess where this is going? Turns out he had a 78 that appears to be perfect for me only....you guessed it.... I was too late. Boooo.

 

[Hip2bSquare]

I'm the proud new owner of a '78. It wasn't officially for sale.....a mud member reached out after seeing my wanted ad. I brought it home from Texas last night. Time to get my hands dirty.

 

[LIGOTRELOS]

Congrats. It looks like a great starting point. Very complete. More pics when you get a chance. Thanks for sharing.

 

[LIGOTRELOS]

You did good.

 

[Hip2bSquare]

I hope I did good. It was a long drive back from Dallas last night, but I had plenty of doubt and remorse to keep me company. It was quit cold this morning as you can probably tell from the photos. I'll take more pics when I have time. Obviously it's been painted and my magnet tells me there is a little Bondo on a few areas, but the body is very clean.

 

[justinpba]

That's a nice one ,if you need help you have my number .

 

[Hip2bSquare]

Here’s a couple of pictures of the interior.

 

[Gappy]

You may have stole that, it looks great in the pics!

 

[Hip2bSquare]

Yeah.....I'm waiting for the hammer to drop. It's in great shape. Came with a second 2F of unknown condition. It's basically been sitting in a garage for 12 years and the previous owner just tinkered with it a bit and barely drove it. It does run, but I think it's got several oil leaks. The transmission and transfer case are covered in oil. I've got to get it cleaned up, change the fluids, and then see what's leaking. According to PO compression is low, but the numbers were the same for all cylinders. We'll see........

 

[thatcabledude]

Congrats! If that was within your stated budget.... wow!