Found my old 40. Need advice (1 Viewer)

[BBQ BOY]

in January, i managers to track down my old 40. Missed it since the day I sold it. Kids missed it and going trail riding and camping. Fast forward 11 years later. It’s 5 hours away and has been a frame off restoration. The owner messaged me a few nights ago saying he broke the crank shaft of the 2F and Said he doesn’t have the time or resources to have it fixed but will sit on it if need be.
local cruiser shops and surrounding areas don’t want to touch it. Time, space and zero labor available is making it tough to find someone to do it. There’s a reputable cruiser tech nearby the cruiser to be purchased. He has a rebuilt ‘87 2F that would replace the ‘77. Asking $5,000 and will swap out motors for another $3,500. The kicker is, he will use a lot of the parts on the old 2F as the rebuild is basically a long block with a new water pump. This sounds crazy to me but the truck has been restored, maintained and was my old 40.
“Engine comes with new water pump, oil pump, new camshaft & cam bearings, new con rod & main bearings, reman head. New pistons & rings. No flywheel, harmonic balancer, distributor, valve cover, fuel pump, rocker arms, manifold. It is basically a long block with sheet metal covers installed.”

it seems this climate had everything inflated to the point where I don’t know what to do. I don’t work on them…I drive them.

 

[FJ404345]

You start up your story with emotion and end up with finances, these things will never match,

in my case as much as I enjoy and get attached to the cars I would never buy it back, once it's gone it's gone forever, end of story.

I bought a 80 very close to home, when the PO was saying "ooh I will miss it so much etc" on the day it left, his wife said to him :

"Be happy it got sold so close by, now you will even see it sometimes and have the possibility to wave at it"

 

[3_puppies]

what is meant by he broke the crank?
$5000 for a long block??? $3500 to swap it in????? WOW times have changed, both seem inflated but I'm still remembering picking up decent rigs for $1000

 

[greenbeasty]

That seems steep. I have a good $1,500 in my rebuild, without buying a crank. Of course, if you're not doing the work, you are at someone's mercy.

 

[Whiskerz]

That is really steep labor to swap engines. It is high for the cost of the engine as well. I would buy it and tow it home and deal with it on my time. Swapping the engine should be under 20 hours labor and probably closer to 12-15. His labor rate is on crack. Odds are one of the crankshaft rebuilders may have a crank. I would pull the engine and see how bad it is hurt. His rebuilt engine should have a warranty for that kid of money. What is interesting is his rebuilt price is the same as one of the online places

 

[White Stripe]

in January, i managers to track down my old 40. Missed it since the day I sold it. Kids missed it and going trail riding and camping. Fast forward 11 years later. It’s 5 hours away and has been a frame off restoration. The owner messaged me a few nights ago saying he broke the crank shaft of the 2F and Said he doesn’t have the time or resources to have it fixed but will sit on it if need be.
local cruiser shops and surrounding areas don’t want to touch it. Time, space and zero labor available is making it tough to find someone to do it. There’s a reputable cruiser tech nearby the cruiser to be purchased. He has a rebuilt ‘87 2F that would replace the ‘77. Asking $5,000 and will swap out motors for another $3,500. The kicker is, he will use a lot of the parts on the old 2F as the rebuild is basically a long block with a new water pump. This sounds crazy to me but the truck has been restored, maintained and was my old 40.
“Engine comes with new water pump, oil pump, new camshaft & cam bearings, new con rod & main bearings, reman head. New pistons & rings. No flywheel, harmonic balancer, distributor, valve cover, fuel pump, rocker arms, manifold. It is basically a long block with sheet metal covers installed.”

it seems this climate had everything inflated to the point where I don’t know what to do. I don’t work on them…I drive them.

3500 seems a bit steep. On the other hand cruiser mechanics are few and far between.

 

[Downey]

Too bad you can't do the labor, you could install a Chevy V8 for $3500 if you could do the install.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

I would buy it and tow it home and deal with it on my time.

x2

 

[BBQ BOY]

Spoke with my local LC Club. We are going to rebuild the current motor. Will cost about $4k

 

[Living in the Past]

x2

X3. Just getting it home was my first thought. Looks like the OP is doing that. Wait a month and contact the seller might say sorry sold it to someone else. Want your old cruiser back really didn't have many options. Selling price was never mentioned.

Too bad you can't do the labor, you could install a Chevy V8 for $3500 if you could do the install.

While this wouldn't be an option for me I can see how this could be a smart choice. Find shops that work on this old vehicles seem to be getting harder all the time. I know Toyota dealers in our area won't work on any Land Cruiser older than a 80 series. I'm getting old and should have enough spare 2Fs laying around. I was planning for when they would become unavailable not the ridiculous cost involved with working on them.

what is meant by he broke the crank?
$5000 for a long block??? $3500 to swap it in????? WOW times have changed, both seem inflated but I'm still remembering picking up decent rigs for $1000

Have to agree Paul times have changed. Ten years ago I paid $10,000 for a one owner FJ40. That is four times what I have ever paid for an FJ40. Believe I once paid $200 for a good 2F which is the most I have ever paid for an engine.

 

[Ming89FJ62]

just checked my file - Chester's 2F rebuild 10 years ago was $5700 that included .030 over pistons, rings, a new crank bearings, new valves in the head, pushrods, etc. plus removal and installation. FWIW. One of the valve seats had dropped on #5. Seemed that the pocket for the valve seat was over bored and the shop's solution was to stake the valve seat to the head.....bad move for me.

 

[brooklyn]

Agree with the above. You need to find a local shop that works with the older stuff. If it were me, I would source a 2F engine and just swap it out. Keep it simple.

 

[BBQ BOY]

Agree with the above. You need to find a local shop that works with the older stuff. If it were me, I would source a 2F engine and just swap it out. Keep it simple.

I have sourced a ‘87 rebuilt engine from a very reputable Cruiser Shop. I literally have one of the best Crfuiser shops 3 doors down from my bonuses and he use to work on this 40 and several other cruisers. Unfortunatel, he cant find help. He had 7 Techs and its literally him by himself now. The other Cruiser techs in the area doe want to touch engine rebuilds.

 

[brooklyn]

Understood, but any good shop should be able to pull an engine and swap it in especially if doesn’t involve custom work.

Might take a little research, but there are people out there who enjoy the older cars/trucks. It’s actually part of the enjoyment, talking trucks and sourcing parts, and mechanics. Good luck.

 

[firemanj92]

I just went shop hunting for rebuilding my original 35k mile Fj40 F motor-long story of it's failure. Prices ranged from $5200 to $5800 not including shipping (about $1000-I live in CA) nor pulling it. I spoke with Mosely in TN, then Classic Cruiser, in CO, then BTB in Reno. I finally settled on the builder Georg at Valley Hybrids uses who is local. My son and I ended up pulling it in a little over an hour.

 

[Braden620]

Vintage Jap engines are not hard to work on. Cherry picker, tractor, or your wife's outdoor swing frame, the engine can be pulled. I guess I'm one of those that once a problem occurs I find ways to solve it instead of looking for a work around. One thing I like about working in this stuff is that it can be done at home, unlike this newfangled garbage. You can buy a fsm that tells you literally everything you need to know step by step. When you get to a step that you need a machine shop for, you outsource that part of the build, giving specific instruction to the shop of what you want done. Once you get your machine work done you progress through the next steps. Time consuming, sure, money, sure, but if you want it, go for it! Life is too short.