FJ45 1979 Troopy Soft Top - Is it worth to fix and export?

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DaDeadDictator

Joined
Aug 7, 2017
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Location
Paraguay
Hello FJ enthusiasts!

I live in Paraguay and bought the second troopy that escorted the now dead dictator whenever he was on parade or travelling.
For more than half a year I have been trying to sell it for a reasonable price here locally but except for lowballers I haven't received a serious offer.
Before you say sell it to me, and this is not the reason why I haven't sold it yet here, it has an issue that must be fixed.
This car was imported without any documents and sold by the army outlet with falsified documents (because it didn't have any).
How do I know this? Besides that the chassis number doesn't fit the model number, there are more clues, but my partner's brothers told me so
and their (deceased) father worked as the colonel mechanic on the Toyos during those years that they were in service.
The documents that I have says it is a BJ40 from 1970, the original chassis number says it is a FJ45 from 1979.
The best and quickest way to solve this issue is to register it as a "found antique vehicle" with the national organisation called Turing Paraguay and its Club Vehículos Antiguos.
But for a Paraguayan buyer it is best to buy it and do it themselves because then the car is directly registered in their name, saving time and money.
The car has had an engine change before I bought it, and is now a diesel car with a working 3B engine and gearbox.
It is in decent condition with rust in the usual places and has some damage at the back.
So my question is: Are there FJ aficionados who would be interested in importing this car from Paraguay after its identity issue is fixed, and if so, how much would this rarer model be worth?
My name is Douglas, a Dutch national who has been living in Paraguay since 2012 and I speak English, Dutch, German and Spanish.

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That is not a 76 body, it is a +79 model, you can easily tell by the extended A-pillar pinch down to the side step, fuel tank under cabin (you can see the access panel in your first picture), and rear sill with bolt hole plugs. If the chassis is a actual 76 chassis that means the majority of the body mounts are in the wrong spot.
3B diesel drivetrain is not great or desirable.
I can clearly see bondo chipping on the fender so who knows what the rest of the vehicle is like.
to someone who knows what they are looking at this is not worth the cost of shipping and import to the US. Just my opinion.
 
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cruisermatt said:
That is not a 76 body, it is a +79 model, you can easily tell by the extended A-pillar pinch down to the side step, fuel tank under cabin (you can see the access panel in your first picture), and rear sill with bolt hole plugs. If the chassis is a actual 76 chassis that means the majority of the body mounts are in the wrong spot.
3B diesel drivetrain is not great or desirable.
I can clearly see bondo chipping on the fender so who knows what the rest of the vehicle is like.
to someone who knows what they are looking at this is not worth the cost of shipping and import to the US. Just my opinion.
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DaDeadDictator said:
Thanks for the reply. According to online information this chassis number rolled off the belt in 1976. I don't dispute your assessment because I am not a Land Cruiser fanatic, but conflicting information it is.
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Where are you geting this information? ToyoDIY, which is usually pretty accurate, shows this chassis number as being a
June/79 production which would line up with the characteristics of the body. What does the data plate on the driver's door jamb say the production date is?
Do the body mounts and chassis all look to line up normally or does it look like a bunch hacked together randomness? If it truely is a 76 chassis there would have to be some work done to make them fit together.
 
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The original paint color would have been 621 rustic green which ended in 79’ and interior has been reupholstered… it would have been LM11 which is a grey leatherette interior

Split rims had been repainted as well from gray to silver … in the us the rims are not desirable because the misconceptions around the split rims and toyota split ring design being the same … dangerous

There’s alot that’s changed about your cruiser that is a going to be a drawback to USA customers as compared to unmolested truck or one restored to factory-ish

It does have a bit of prominence that if you had pictures of the dictator in the truck or by the truck it could bring value… but most likely to better a local sale

Still a cool looking truck
 
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Believe a diesel in an petrol built cruiser could be a huge problem imported to the US


Otis said:
Would the cowl vent suggest the cowl is from a '76 or older model? The rest of the body does look like a '79+ model...
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40 series that did not have a factory heater continued to have a workimg cowl vent. 9/73 when the heater changed the vent was welded shut on models with a factory heater. 1/75 the drains for the vent (working or not) moved from the firewall to down thru the front of the transmission hump. Couple years later the vent went away completely from models with the factory heater.
 
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I looked into other areas and it seems to range 4-5k …but … it’s the logistics and having a port close stateside … and paperwork paperwork paperwork …. And wait wait wait … long waits lol
 
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I've imported numerous 40 series over the years. In order to be a customs official you must be pedantic and good at following orders rather than thinking for yourself.

The easiest way to be pedantic for those with room temperature IQs is to make sure paperwork is spot-on perfect. Any discrepancy at all is usually found because that's the easiest thing to find.

What you have here is a rig which will depend on a customs official who is either distracted or in a hurry in order to get through: that's a huge risk. I would give this a 90% chance is having difficulty getting cleared.
 
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Chamba said:
I've imported numerous 40 series over the years. In order to be a customs official you must be pedantic and good at following orders rather than thinking for yourself.

The easiest way to be pedantic for those with room temperature IQs is to make sure paperwork is spot-on perfect. Any discrepancy at all is usually found because that's the easiest thing to find.

What you have here is a rig which will depend on a customs official who is either distracted or in a hurry in order to get through: that's a huge risk. I would give this a 90% chance is having difficulty getting cleared.
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There was a guy on BaT that had to ship his 40 back to Costa Rica in order to appease Customs and install new seat belts on the damn rig. Ugghhh... That has to be the most expensive set of seat belts ever on a 50 year old truck.

As to this specific specimen, I would at least paint it in the original Rustic Green color before importing it. Those metallic colors were a thing in South America 30 years ago, not so much here and now.
 
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clrussell said:
Out of dumb curiosity.

What would it cost to ship and import something like this? 10k?
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My hj45 rode over on the boat roro for only about $800. It was all the other logistics getting to the port, fees etc but what really drove up the price was the 25% tax on trucks. That troopy would be considered a suv that would be taxed at 2.5%
 
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I'm curious what the local low ball offers were? For me adding 5 to 10 grand for shipping, insurance, tariffs, local sales taxes, fixing bad paperwork... is already past what I could afford to invest in daily driver. Now if I had some sort desert tour operation like meet the local prairie rattler, coyote and badger, that rig might be the ticket.

Just a thought, have you tried to sell it people like embassy guards. Back in the day the Army would ship your car for free - not sure if they had to ship it there to get the ride back.
 
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Like others have said, the engine swap makes this illegal to import now. So you have to have a US buyer that is willing to lie on the paperwork & risk losing the import to buy it. Lots of people don’t care, but I wouldn’t take the risk. The 2.5% base rate is barely enters the picture these days. You’ll pony up for the Japan reciprocal tariff now (15%). But it should be exempt from the 232 steel value due to 25 years old exemption.

Although having said all that, I like the 3b, and diesel troopies in general!
 
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gr8ful said:
Like others have said, the engine swap makes this illegal to import now. So you have to have a US buyer that is willing to lie on the paperwork & risk losing the import to buy it. Lots of people don’t care, but I wouldn’t take the risk. The 2.5% base rate is barely enters the picture these days. You’ll pony up for the Japan reciprocal tariff now (15%). But it should be exempt from the 232 steel value due to 25 years old exemption.

Although having said all that, I like the 3b, and diesel troopies in general!
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Why is this illegal? Can you point to the regulation or law?
 
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