For Sale Charleston 1988 FJ62 Help Please

Location

United States

I would like a second opinion on this cruiser. I am going to look at it tomorrow morning. If you follow the facebook marketplace link there are a few more pictures as well as a description. The owner claims that (according to the carfax) a restoration was done on the vehicle at 170k in 2006 and the odometer was reset. Any insight is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Paul DiNapoli]

general thoughts are - that's a nice long list of high dollar maintenance/repairs/upgrades that are already done. if it's rust free that's not a bad price for a well sorted rig.

the bfg 33's are roughly $800.00
the suspension roughly $2000.00
paint - easily 5k to ?? 8K - 10K if done right.

odometer reset is kinda odd...reset to what? if seller has a lot of pics of the restoration and it was done well - and you can't find any rust...might be a good truck.

post more pics after look at it.

 

[GodSaveTheGreen]

general thoughts are - that's a nice long list of high dollar maintenance/repairs/upgrades that are already done. if it's rust free that's not a bad price for a well sorted rig.

the bfg 33's are roughly $800.00
the suspension roughly $2000.00
paint - easily 5k to ?? 8K - 10K if done right.

odometer reset is kinda odd...reset to what? if seller has a lot of pics of the restoration and it was done well - and you can't find any rust...might be a good truck.

post more pics after look at it.

Thank you for your reassurance. This will be my first cruiser so I am just a tad apprehensive about paying this much but you have a good point it is basically a complete rig. Ill let you know how it goes!

 

[Paul DiNapoli]

Thank you for your reassurance. This will be my first cruiser so I am just a tad apprehensive about paying this much but you have a good point it is basically a complete rig. Ill let you know how it goes!

look for rust!!

check this 60 series faq too

FAQ - 60-series FAQ

forum.ih8mud.com

and this one about rust

1988 FJ62 Buying/Rust Advice

Hi all, I have been lurking for awhile, but new to posting. I have been shopping for an FJ62 for some time and finally came across one I wanted to move forward with. The catch is there is some interior frame rust on the rear end. I have taken it to a few shops in our area, and the responses...

forum.ih8mud.com

i'd ask about true mileage on the engine - and see if you can get a compression test done? if the previous owner was religious about oil changes - then 250K wouldn't worry me. but if there's slim records of general maintenance, then at that price i'd walk.

 

[Shes Mad]

Check the insides of the rear frame rails, the bar that crosses in front of the rear bumper, , and the tube that the rear shocks mount to. They are rust areas. If you can pull up the footwell carpet, the rear carpet, and the rear wheel well covers, you can check for rust there.

If the front driver and passenger foot well are wet under the carpet, most likely the fenders need to be pulled and the seam seal replaced behind them Look at the sides and seams of the interior compartment of the rear wheel wells. Inspect the bottom of the rain gutter, front to rear. Should be a nice round bead of seam sealer on it. If it’s smooth, it’s been repaired.

Look for paint on door and window seals/rubber. Tells you how extensive they went on paint. Just outside color or full paint job . See if they painted the door jams and inside the doors. Make sure you look at the bottoms of the doors for Rust repair on the inside. Check all the panel gaps.

Ask about or look at the seats under the covers.

Looks like a nice rig overall!. Tell them to fix the hood alignment. It is off in front.

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

When you test drive it, run the transmission through all forward gears in drive at various start intensities (easing into throttle, mid punch, full punch) to see if any gears slip as it shifts to final gear. Auto transmissions are known to give up their ghosts if not maintained or abused. You can always add a 5spd manual later.

 

[Ghetto Fireman]

Looks nice, if the seller did the repairs he should know it’s axle and not axel. Rust and filler would be my greatest concern. Check to see if the seam in the rear fender is still visible. I can’t tell you how many rigs I’ve looked at that were filled in.

Best of luck

 

[GodSaveTheGreen]

Gentlemen. Thank you for your help. I dont think ill be buying the 62. I think it needs a little too much work for the price. Ill make sure to post pics If I do find one though!

 

[GodSaveTheGreen]

Looks nice, if the seller did the repairs he should know it’s axle and not axel. Rust and filler would be my greatest concern. Check to see if the seam in the rear fender is still visible. I can’t tell you how many rigs I’ve looked at that were filled in.

Best of luck

Thank you for this. I looked on this one and sure enough they were filled in.

 

[Paul DiNapoli]

Thank you for this. I looked on this one and sure enough they were filled in.

what else did you find that helped inform your decision? we're all generally curious of the outcome on these threads.

 

[GodSaveTheGreen]

what else did you find that helped inform your decision? we're all generally curious of the outcome on these threads.

My main cons for the vehicle are as follows:
-No maintenance history other than "I change the oil every six months."
-I opened the hood and while checking the fluids I noticed that the coolant overflow reservoir was completely empty, below the cold fill line. This to me, was an indicator that the seller might not pay enough attention to the truck.
-Although the paint job was recent, there was already signs of bubbling on the rear passenger fender, on the bottom of all four doors and the tailgate, and a few other spots.
-I am still unsure what the actual mileage of the truck is.
-The power windows were operated on what appeared to be an aftermarket master panel on the driver door. This panel clearly did not function properly. That being said the regulators seemed to operate with the rear passenger door as an exception. It did not operate.
-There was a hole about the size of a quarter through the wheel well on of the rear wells. (I guess this is common)
-I am not to experienced with these engines, but there was some vibration from the engine/drive train (I couldnt tell) when you got on it. This was more than what seemed normal for me however it could be expected.
-The seller disclosed to me that the reason for the restoration was due to the previous owners kids mistreating the truck.
-The windshield had a pretty good chip in it. Not sure if it would propagate.
-The seat covers were of good quality, but they were needed as the original interior was badly worn.
This covers most of what I saw. There were plenty of GOOD things to say about it as well. For one thing, the owner was very upfront with me about the cruisers issues, and even pointed a few out to me that i might have missed. The new tires, Lift, Stereo, brake work, and a rebuilt transmission make this an attractive truck however I wasn't feeling it for 18k. Maybe im off, but for 18k I believe I could expect a bit cleaner/rust free vehicle with a reasonable amount of service history.