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I'd like to get your thoughts on this. Good buy? Overpaid? All thoughts/feedback/advice are welcome.
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For Sale Good Buy? 1976 FJ43 - Ebay - Imported
- Thread starter CruiserShel
- Start date
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Looks good. Bit cheaper than this one 1981 Toyota FJ43 Land Cruiser
Can anyone on here explain what makes the difference between your one and the Gooding one???
Can anyone on here explain what makes the difference between your one and the Gooding one???
PPI? _ _inspection?
- Thread starter
- #6
Devo: It has already been imported. I have a guy going to look at it for me today to make sure it does in fact look like the pictures and that the paperwork is ready. I did a title search and found it with a clean title, so I'm feeling confident. I'm looking forward to picking it up.
Cabs: I'm assuming that PPI = Pre Purchase Inspection
Cabs: I'm assuming that PPI = Pre Purchase Inspection
Duh...lol
If it's what it appears to be (not a bunch of rust hiding under that nice paint job; mechanically works like it looks, etc.), you got a great price.I'd like to get your thoughts on this. Good buy? Overpaid? All thoughts/feedback/advice are welcome.
1976 Toyota Land Cruiser BASE SPORT UTILITY 2D | eBay
Many of the ones coming i to florida are from south america. and i would venture to guess that 80% or more of them are what i would deem as "lipstick on a pig" with new paint potentially hiding lots of issues.
without a proper inspection and magnet to the body......only time will tell what patches/ bondo are likely to appear. Once the bubbling starts.......they start to reveal the lengths to which rust is covered up on the body.
personally pictures are almost worthless when purchasing a rig and are equivalent to a mere 50 foot overview of whwt they would like you to believe.
imho- 19k would be the avg price for a diesel version of one of these in normal surface rust around the edges condition.
without a proper inspection and magnet to the body......only time will tell what patches/ bondo are likely to appear. Once the bubbling starts.......they start to reveal the lengths to which rust is covered up on the body.
personally pictures are almost worthless when purchasing a rig and are equivalent to a mere 50 foot overview of whwt they would like you to believe.
imho- 19k would be the avg price for a diesel version of one of these in normal surface rust around the edges condition.
- Thread starter
- #10
Thanks to those of you that weighed in with your thoughts and advice.
I may be off here, and I still haven't seen the FJ43, but my thought as far as lipstick on a pig goes is that it's a Land Cruiser. Bulletproof, simple, etc. The worst part of most every Land Cruiser I've ever dealt with is the body and paint, which seem decent on this one. So if it's lipstick on a pig, it's lipstick on a really reliable pig built by Toyota.
My two biggest concerns are whether or not the body's solid underneath that good looking paint, and is the title legit? Title search came back good, so now it's just a matter of getting my hands on the Cruiser. Some pictures I found show some non-factory weld seams under the rear floor, so I take that as a good sign because it means they cut out and replaced rusted sections. I guess only time will tell as far as the quality of the Colombian paint and body work.
I'm curious to see how the influx of Colombian (and South American in general) FJ4x's in to the U.S. market changes things. I imagine that the more they bring in the more buyers will know the difference, and it will become a bit of a secondary market to the true U.S. spec Cruisers. I'm fine with that. I really just want a FJ4x that will fit my whole family (five kids) for our mountain backroad exploration trips, so the only option there is an import since our country never had FJ43's.
I will keep everyone posted on this FJ43 once I pick it up. I know I've got some work to do adding a heater to it and probably eventually replacing the split rims (the added labor and tube cost means it's more economical to replace the wheels than keeping the split rims).
Overall, I'm looking forward to owning an FJ43.
I may be off here, and I still haven't seen the FJ43, but my thought as far as lipstick on a pig goes is that it's a Land Cruiser. Bulletproof, simple, etc. The worst part of most every Land Cruiser I've ever dealt with is the body and paint, which seem decent on this one. So if it's lipstick on a pig, it's lipstick on a really reliable pig built by Toyota.
My two biggest concerns are whether or not the body's solid underneath that good looking paint, and is the title legit? Title search came back good, so now it's just a matter of getting my hands on the Cruiser. Some pictures I found show some non-factory weld seams under the rear floor, so I take that as a good sign because it means they cut out and replaced rusted sections. I guess only time will tell as far as the quality of the Colombian paint and body work.
I'm curious to see how the influx of Colombian (and South American in general) FJ4x's in to the U.S. market changes things. I imagine that the more they bring in the more buyers will know the difference, and it will become a bit of a secondary market to the true U.S. spec Cruisers. I'm fine with that. I really just want a FJ4x that will fit my whole family (five kids) for our mountain backroad exploration trips, so the only option there is an import since our country never had FJ43's.
I will keep everyone posted on this FJ43 once I pick it up. I know I've got some work to do adding a heater to it and probably eventually replacing the split rims (the added labor and tube cost means it's more economical to replace the wheels than keeping the split rims).
Overall, I'm looking forward to owning an FJ43.
That is a great price for a 43. I have enjoyed mine, but you should be aware that these trucks are not up to freeway speeds in CO. I put larger tires on mine and I can get it to 65MPH on the road, but be prepared to spend a lot of time on the right shoulder if you take it up over Eisenhower or Vail Pass. Not sure that your family will be all that comfortable riding on the bench seats in the back for any significant amount of time, but it is a very capable off roader. I put a heater in mine, which will extend the season past the summer.
Let me know if you have questions about other good mods for the truck.
Best regards,
Todd
Let me know if you have questions about other good mods for the truck.
Best regards,
Todd
- Thread starter
- #12
Todd,
I saw that you had one and were working on the heater. It would be great to chat about that and other lessons learned along the way. I've got a '71 FJ40 parts truck that I can pull from as needed for things like heat, etc. I'm getting excited for this thing. My father in law is picking it up right now and shipping it to me soon.
-Sheldon
You go CruiserShel
I also am importing a FJ43 to Colorado.
Fisher67 I am interested in how it was for you to meet emission standard for the front range? I'll have to meet 1981 standards.
As far as the statement "lipstick on a pig" goes. I looked at 8 FJ43's out of Columbia and all were rust minimum, no bondo and represented well. Far better than the North American flips I looked at on and off the auction sites.
I of course will be looking for a heater system.
devo
I also am importing a FJ43 to Colorado.
Fisher67 I am interested in how it was for you to meet emission standard for the front range? I'll have to meet 1981 standards.
As far as the statement "lipstick on a pig" goes. I looked at 8 FJ43's out of Columbia and all were rust minimum, no bondo and represented well. Far better than the North American flips I looked at on and off the auction sites.
I of course will be looking for a heater system.
devo
I dig the front shackles!
There are plenty of good quality trucks in South America, the turds that get pawned off on unsuspecting buyers are from unscrupulous sellers that are misrepresenting vehicles...It's that simple.
A lot of "experts" that have perhaps never set foot in South America and hunted trucks espouse facts and statistics that are pure vaporware.
A smart buyer will ask the right questions, look into the reputation of the seller and put hands on the truck before parting with their money... One should not be afraid of a southern truck, I have seen plenty of rusty turds coming out of Spain, Canary Islands and Japan however, there are gems to be had from these regions too...All depends on who you are dealing with
I'd like to get your thoughts on this. Good buy? Overpaid? All thoughts/feedback/advice are welcome.
1976 Toyota Land Cruiser BASE SPORT UTILITY 2D | eBay
Great looking truck and very nice price. Having lived in Colombia and hunted trucks there too, I can say with first hand knowledge that a lot of nice solid rigs can be had and generally speaking, the quality of workmanship is good. Enjoy the truck, should be a blast in Colorado!
Sheldon,
My 1979 came from Colombia and does not have any emission equipment at all. Luckily, I have a place up in Eagle County and registered it up there, where they do not require any smog testing. I have heard that a P.O. Box may suffice to get a registration out of the front range. I got really lucky that the original wiring harness was not hacked up, so I found plugs for the heater and for the dash switches clicked right into existing plugs.
Good luck!
Todd