FJ40: Top 5 Things to Know

[rusty_tlc]

This sums it up for me.

1. There is no ten step program.
2. You are never done.
3. Some one else always has a better Cruiser.
4. One is never enough.
5. If you sell yours you will regret it until you buy another.

 

[Gumby]

1. Stay the Hell away from the Buckroseau FJ-45 threads. You can't do that stuff.
2. If someone offers to sell you a project truck - punch them in the neck and run away
3. If you don't already believe your spouse to be the most understanding person in the world you might as well put a couch in the garage now.
4. Nothing will make you cry more than spending your kids entire childhood fixing that rusty tub only to have rust bubbles under your paint a year later.
5. You'll never be happy once you sell it even though it'll seem to be the only way to stop hemorrhaging money.

Bottom line is that rust is the main thing to look for. The rest is doable, even easy.

 

[40's rock]

Most important of all, don't buy one, fall in love with all that is a 40, then buy another so you can have one to drive while you rebuild the first.....dont ask me how I know....

 

[webelk6]

1. Stay the Hell away from the Buckroseau FJ-45 threads. You can't do that stuff.
.

I followed that thread, and do concur with Gumby. You can't do that stuff.
Another piece of advise is to know when to say when. Instead of buying new mirrors, maybe refinish yours. If you do what I did, you will just keep bleeding money because you convince yourself, "I went this far, might as get an inner t-case boot."

If you do take the bleeding route, you may want to start buying your parts now before they are discontinued. Getting more scarce daily.
Scott

 

[camcruiser13]

1 money
2 money
3 money
4 money
and more money

 

[Poser]

It may be worth your time and money to find someone in your area who is knowledgeable concerning the 40 series and have them look at your perspective truck and point out the good and the bad about it.


Where are you located?

 

[1979fj40]

If this is your first 40 just go ahead and buy it and get started on it. Then the next one youll know what the top 5 is for yourself .
everyones gonna have a diffrent set of 5.

 

[Degnol]

Top Five Things To Know About IH8MUD

1. Learn to use the SEARCH FUNCTION
2. Check the FAQ SECTION
3. Yadda
4. Yadda
5. Yadda

Sorry, couldn't resist

Ed

 

[jeffj40]

1. Overpay for the biggest rust bucket you can find (it'll be no problem, you can fix or replace anything! Besides you just got to have it right away.)

2. Spend a fortune on new oem parts up front

3. Tear down the rig to the frame after you've had a dozen (You don't really need to take pictures or label anything--you'll remember where it all goes.)

4. Neglect wife and family

5. Go through divorce

6. Wife gets house and a garage full of scattered cruiser parts which she promptly fire-sells to some lucky cruiser hawks on craigslist.

7. Repeat steps 1-6 until you are dead or destitute.

Most honest advice here so far.....well, 1 through 4.....and surely 7.

 

[igotta40]

1. Stay away from rust. There are plenty out there without serious rust problems.
2. Be patient. Walk away if it doesn't seem right. There's lots of them.
3. Try to buy one from a used car dealer rather than an individual. As you see here, most Cruiser Heads put way too much sentimental value on their trucks. Dealers don't give a crap. Negotiate using the trucks faults to bargain with.
4. Stay away from V8 engine swaps. They sound cool and go fast but they are sure to be all screwed up and they devalue the truck.
5. Include beer in your budget.

 

[Trollhole]

1. Stay the Hell away from the Buckroseau FJ-45 threads. You can't do that stuff.
2. If someone offers to sell you a project truck - punch them in the neck and run away
3. If you don't already believe your spouse to be the most understanding person in the world you might as well put a couch in the garage now.
4. Nothing will make you cry more than spending your kids entire childhood fixing that rusty tub only to have rust bubbles under your paint a year later.
5. You'll never be happy once you sell it even though it'll seem to be the only way to stop hemorrhaging money.

Bottom line is that rust is the main thing to look for. The rest is doable, even easy.

Well said.

Oh and do yourself a favor and read the three big links in my signature.

 

[rusty_tlc]

It may be worth your time and money to find someone in your area who is knowledgeable concerning the 40 series and have them look at your perspective truck and point out the good and the bad about it.


Where are you located?

Way to stay on topic Poser.

And some good advice as well. I'd suggest contacting the local TLCA chapter. They have a wealth of information and they usually know where all the Land Cruisers that are for sale can be found.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

1-Never buy a Cruiser and think of it as an asset. Instead, consider it another dependent, like your wife and kids, with the same ability to spend money.

2-Never do or not do something because it will "increase the value" The value never increases.

3-Assume that the minute you buy it, your Cruiser is worth nothing in monetary terms. You'll have more fun with it, and be happier when you do sell it.

4-Don't overbuild your truck. Decide where you want to go, and how much truck you need to get there.

5-Never have just one Cruiser as your only daily driver. That assures that you will never do those complex projects and that you will walk to work frequently.

6-Never buy a Land Cruiser on credit. Ever.

7-If you live in a rusty state, have a winter beater. It can be a cruiser too, but don't spend any money on it. See #3

8-You'll go more miles cheaper if your maintenance program is top notch. Don't neglect baseline/tune/service to persue un-needed modifications. Spend your first year of ownership fixing the stuff that is wrong or leaks.

9-Never buy a Cruiser from anywhere but California, Arizona or maybe New Mexico. Even then, be selective. Rust is a major problem with all Land Cruisers, but particularly prior to 1991.

10-If it's a 40, make sure it is 75 or earlier to avoid the smog man. Everything else from a later truck can be added on. Your state may vary in this requirement.

 

[ChuckB]

10-If it's a 40, make sure it is 75 or earlier to avoid the smog man. Everything else from a later truck can be added on. Your state may vary in this requirement.

That is definitely the single most important factor for me as I hope to get back to San Diego eventually.

 

[Rocknroll]

Don't pay any attention to poeple telling you to get an 80...then like me you'll want of those to help offset the things that annoy you about the 40. Better yet just plan on an 80 and a 40.

 

[Volcano cruiser]

A lot of good advice so far given. My .02 are:
1) really take the time to take a deep breath before you get all caught up in this process to think about what you want to do with the rig. Write the answer down on a 3x5 card and carry it in your wallet. Everytime you are about to pull the trigger on the "must have" mod of the moment, pull out the card, re-read it and ask yourself if the "must have" mod is really in line with your goal for the rig. Assuming that it is, where does it fall in order of priority with all of the other c-r-a-p that you have on your running to do list.
2) you really do want to hook up with the TLCA guys local to you. They will know the issues that are particular to cruisers in your area. As others have mentioned cruisers in certain regions have issues that may not exist in otherse.g. canadian guys need all kinds of heaters on stuff to keep their fluids hot, guys in the NE get eaten alive every year by road salt and sand, etc. all of this gives you things to look for as you inspect the candidate rigs.
3) From there if you get a truck from out of state you can hook up with the TLCA chapter near by where the candidate rig is being offered for sale. They may know the owner and can give you some skinny on the truck's history and P.O.
4) Read, read, read threads on here and the FAQs, really use the search function. After you have read all that you can then ask questions here. You will be amazed how often some guy was agonizing three years ago about the exact same problem you are having now. I have been at my rebuild nine months so far. My running total is that the guys on Mud have saved me close to $2K in unneccessary purchases or in better, more reasonably priced sources for parts.
5) If you have done all of the above and find a rig decide if you want to rebuild it a section/system at a time and ride it to work during the rebuild, buy up all of the parts that you will ever need and give it to someone to rebuild while you get to work some other way or buy some and work some on it as you go along as the wife drives you to the train station every morning. I went with the rebuild and use option. I think that the next time I do this it will be a project in the garage that will get worked on a bit at a time. Live and learn. Now go have fun.
John

 

[ChuckB]

Don't pay any attention to poeple telling you to get an 80...then like me you'll want of those to help offset the things that annoy you about the 40. Better yet just plan on an 80 and a 40.

As you can see from my sig, I'm starting to figure it out after owning three cruisers. I'm still reading the FAQs though, you can NEVER have too much information. I wish I knew 1/2 of what some of the guys on here know.

 

[Rigger]

This sums it up for me.

1. There is no ten step program.
2. You are never done.
3. Some one else always has a better Cruiser.
4. One is never enough.
5. If you sell yours you will regret it until you buy another.

This here is pretty well right on.

 

[marcovgv]

now thats some mud humor for ya.

Are you sure this cruiser related?