Frame welding, lol (2 Viewers)

[Dianna]

Thought y'all would enjoy seeing some expert frame welding. Question, what actually was welded here? I belong to a female toyota FB group and a woman posted this truck and that her and her husband were flying to FL to take a look but they don't know much about them. I suggested she post here and see if anyone is available to look with them but then I glanced through the photos and saw this. And yeah.... I already told her the bezel is on upside down, hahaha! 1977 Toyota Land Cruiser Coral Springs, FL - https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/listing/1977-toyota-land-cruiser-coral-springs-fl-2717976

 

[charliemeyer007]

Not a great weld IMHO - just a guess but looks like a frame swap to get the correct #. Way more than I could/would pay.

 

[Living in the Past]

Florida is 99% a South America HJ45. That kind of money and can't even get the bezel right. Going to speed $50K for a 45 wound go FJ45 and look in the Middle East for a 8/80+ with a split transfer case. If the possible port buyer wants a diesel your limited unless you want a RHD from Australia. From what I read and discussed with a few Australians your better off with 2H if you want to add a turbo.

 

[B y r o n]

I'd tell her to save her money on air fare and keep looking. More than a few wonky things on this one.

 

[kerplunk]

Looks kinda like my welding, except that I have enough pride to grind it down before anyone else sees it....

 

[ETX FJ40]

Unless they are in love with that truck i would take a hard pass. Looks like a very heavy respray.

 

[45Dougal]

I'd guess that the welding is just to repair some accident damage to the bumper mount and could easily be redone if so.

Z12 on the VIN tag is for an assembly plant in Costa Rica I think??
I see that the ammeter has blown - fairly common, just check it does actually charge.

The bed looks twisted on photo 87 or so. Maybe just some mounting bushes lost but could be a twisted chassis.

Seems like they've spent some money on tidying it up, and it's shiny, but unless you want the slowest non turbo diesel engine option available, you might look around for gas engine or at least a 2H or later diesel. The 1H is a bit too slow on today's roads and they'll quickly be looking for an engine swap.

If it turns out to be clean and straight, and comes with a spare 1HZ engine ready to swap in, then it might start to be interesting

 

[cruisermatt]

As @HemiAlex says, decimal point truck

Definitely Costa Rican.

Definitely junk

 

[brian]

seeing that, on a $53,000 price tag, hard pass.

 

[HemiAlex]

$5300.00 over there. $53,000 over here.

Run.

 

[majdomo]

It's like a bad copy of a 45. Weird..

 

[dmaddox]

Yikes.

 

[Roastchestnuts]

For that price I would not gamble on it. I have seen way better stuff pop on on FB marketplace than that for 20 grand less.

 

[secretsquirrel]

I didn’t have to look at any pictures except the one you posted to say run! They want to spend that kind of money refer them to the classifieds on this site.

 

[JuanJ]

Hello,

Heavy respray on the outside, poor respray on the driver's footwell.

The dash does not look period correct.

They did put in a fancy stereo, as is customary in Latin America. I guess that is why they are charging so much.

I would run from this truck.





Juan

 

[brooklyn]

For that price point you can do a lot better— as others have said walk away from this one.

 

[jvincig01]

Not that I am in the market for a new rig, but I look for a few things when I see one going for $30k+ claiming to be a restoration. #1 Is the bezel upside down? That is the first sign of novice work. It is literally one of the first things every Land Cruiser owner learns about their FJ.

If someone goes through a restoration not knowing that, I sure bet there will be issues with it.

 

[kerplunk]

I'm not really sure who pays that kinda money for that old of a land cruiser and what they do with it.

But I am sure, even if they don't know much about which way the bezel is supposed to go, they would expect the white toyota lettering and 4x4 emblem on the tailgate to be, um, white, or something that contrasts with or is at least different than the body color.... And no dents in the air filter housing...

There is really so much shown that isn't just non original for a restoration, but sloppy work.

 

[jim land]

I can smell the thick coat of bondo

 

[brooklyn]

Question, would you buy a vehicle from a specialty shop that looks clean without seeing the before paint/resto pictures?

When I am looking for a vintage car, my first question is how long have you owned it and what have you done to it. I stay away from the car dealers who say how great the vehicle is and the have multiple page disclaimers. Facebook marketplace is full of them!

Buying from an enthusiast (many on this site) is a safer bet.