FJ40's restoration companies experience

[SteveH]

Avoid (in general) any 'fully restored' truck on eBay. eBay is a scammers paradise, and it's a shame, but that's the way I see it. Tons of complete garbage sold by shady sellers.

I would seek out an already-restored truck (even at a high price) and then have a good shop independently verify the quality of the restoration. Body filler is still cheap!

 

[3_puppies]

there is 1 place in AZ? to stay away from

is Kina still doing work in NH?

 

[The FJ Company]

Hello - chiming in here as we saw our company name pop up in the discussion.

I think some of the comments nailed it already. Your son needs to decide if he’s looking for a restomod or something more classic. If it’s a restomod, there are tons of options out there, including FJCO. But we work within a very narrow set of specs. We specialize on modernizing 40 series trucks with all new Toyota mechanical components www.fj.co/g40. We can use a customer provided “donor” or we can use one from our inventory. To clarify some of the comments, our top seller is the 43 body style/chassis so we typically source those from Latam. Regardless, the source country matters little to us because we only use the chassis (which gets heavily modified) and we use approximately 30% to 40% of the original body. Everything else is new.

Unfortunately we are no longer accepting traditional restoration projects. So.... that may or may not be what he’s looking for. ICON, Proffitts (Jeremiah), Scott Gesik, are great companies to contact as well, but again, they have a specialty as well.

@gericurl the picture you posted is in fact a vehicle we serviced and photographed in 2014 on behalf of a customer who bought one of ours. He sold it at auction for a decent 59k. 1974 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 Hard Top for sale at Bonhams Greenwich Concours D'Elegance (2014) - CLASSIC.COM Not bad all things considered.

 

[WyattEarp1789]

My advice as an absolute “FNG” is have your son research, when he feels he’s done enough, have him do more. And once he’s completely sure he’s done enough, have him do some more. He needs to decide year and model. He needs to decide how deep into the rabbit hole he wants to go. Does he want a short body? Long body? Discs? Steering? Does he want modern conversions? Certain years are more conducive to modern conversions than others. Does he want to keep it as stock and clean as possible? Look on facebook and instagram and even Pinterest for ideas. Certain years are easier to restore than others. It’s all very much up to him and his desires. I am....maybe four months into this and I’ve probably got another 4-6 to go....at least.

Research, research and more research...cuz when its all said and done and he has his car....who’s gonna maintain it?

 

[coonassjohn]

Take your money and go to Barrett-Jackson. I have seen some nice rigs go for reasonable prices.

 

[Trucktruck]

My son is currently exploring the option of buying a FJ40 from one of the various complete restoration companies operating in the USA.
It's not my business to get too far into his personal business but as any father I am concerned about him getting in way to far over his head.
My extremely limited knowledge of such companies is not very deep. My only knowledge is from one guy who used a company from Texas.... was promised a completely rebuilt landcrusier in 6 months after he signed the contract ... turns out he waited over three years for the finished product, spent extra money to finance the thing and said it was the worst experience of his life... the truck was nice but not worth the price or the hassle he endured for over 3 years. I guess the contract was no worth the paper it was printed on. ( i don't want to name the company in public because I don't want to slander or say something which I have no direct knowledge of the truth)
I checked out the webpage as well as a few others... boy they all are slick and flawless .. the promise the best and most advanced techniques utilized in record time.
I don't want to see my son get involved in a mess and regret it.
Does anyone have any knowledge of or experience with really professional and skillful restoration companies. If he wants to do this, I guess I would like him to do his research and although nobody is perfect, at least he knows what to look for with a good restoration company.
They all look great.... but do any have time honored just good reputations for cruiser restorations? Any things to be wary of when looking at a specific shop?
thank you and any opinions will be appreciated.

I would stay away from Elite Landcruisers. I see a lot of their restorations at mechanic shops or sold right after the buyer buys from them on Bring a trailer. Seems like they look pretty but dont run well.

 

[cruisermatt]

I would stay away from Elite Landcruisers. I see a lot of their restorations at mechanic shops or sold right after the buyer buys from them on Bring a trailer. Seems like they look pretty but dont run well.

What did they do to you to make you join this forum and make two posts about them? Do you have any actual experience with this business or are you just randomly guessing?