Introduction..
Hello all, new member here-
I have just finalized the deal on a 1982 BJ42- haven't yet seen it with my own eyes, let alone touched it- but had many long conversations about details and history, and had one of my uncles look over it and test drive it this afternoon.
I am buying it from Brisbane and getting it trucked down to Melbourne- 1400 kms.
It seems to be in really nice shape- no rust- great mechanically, and the only bogged repair apparent is under the sill of the back doors.
Genuine 84,000 kms- imported (from Brazil? Venezuela? Japan??- the previous owner thinks it was imported but doesn't know where from) by an old Italian guy who drove it to the shops twice a week, then owned for two years by a young guy I am buying it off- who as his first car bought it with his father and poured money and love into it. He has hardly driven it himself (didn't have a license for most of the ownership apparantly) and now needs a ute for his tradey apprenticeship. Apparantly it used to be a police car in its country of origin.
heres the couple of photos I have of it
So, it is pretty much stock-
3B, no turbo, 4 speed, no lifts, etc..
original bench seat in front, rear seats removed and mod plated for a three seater (apparantly).
the previous owner put the lights and wheels on it (with a whole lot of nice internal stuff like re-doing the roof lining, sound systems, restoring dash etc,
The tires are Maxxis Big Horns, 33 x 12.5 with offset black sunny rims and some rather overdone custom flares
Tires probably wont pass roadworthy as they stick out too far- but the original split rims and tires (7 of them) are coming with it so I will put those on for roadworthy and see what I want to use after that.
Work I am going to have to do when it arrives to get it past roadworthy,
new windscreen- has a small crack,
it doesn't have a window washer tub installed (has been removed at some point)- under the bonnet the tubes just end, going nowhere- I have to find one at a wreckers, or adapt one from another vehicle - SUGGESTIONS WELCOME
swap tires/wheels,
possibly get a new front left indicator as the plastic is cracking/crazing.
And a few other fiddly little things,
Other things I want to do-
remove stickers-
probably remove the lights at the windscreen, possibly putting them somewhere on the front?
get a second battery for all those lights,
Find and install an original heater as at some point it has been removed- the holes filled and painted over- SUGGESTIONS AND/OR LINKS WELCOME
possibly remove the flares if I settle on 'normal' tires- will see how I feel about them
give it one hell of a cut and polish
and check out what the fuel lines are, and other necessary things, to run this baby on Biodiesel (bought, not made)
(I am not interested in doing any big mods- no lifts, possibly-maybee a rear locker, but thats it- this will be my daily driver)
anyway- not sure when I will get my hands on it- I will be booking the transport tomorrow- just have to find a company that will let me transport a car full of tires/wheels (1 spare Big Horn, and 7 split rims and tires, plus spare parts
)- apparantly they do not like to transport cars with anything in them- don't want to be responsible or something...
Now I have to sell my trusty old 74 tricked up but tired transit van- it's a new era
I have been looking for around 6 months for a 4x4- flipping and flopping across many different types. Decided about a month ago on a FJ40- wanted a BJ but just never found any good ones or affordable ones. I was about to buy a lovely green 70' FJ40 (with 79 motor and gearbox) running on duel fuel- NO rust, great mechanically, but just too many things to do for roadworhty- things I don't have the time for- and once considering the work needed to be done, not really that much cheaper than this one I have bought. Found this one- and the amount of effort and work I DON'T have to put into it (that someone- bless him
-has already done)- and figured for the diesel, the low K's, the added frills, the 14 year younger car, etc, it was worth the extra few grand (now into debt).
Fingers crossed it turns out to be a good one- I have gambled and not got a professional mechanical inspection- I may be a fool (maybe), but I go with my heart and intuition on these things.
So hi all-
I will have a few questions,
and comments and advice are MORE than welcome (so long as it is not- 'you should have gotten a professional mechanical inspection'
)
Hans.
Hello all, new member here-
I have just finalized the deal on a 1982 BJ42- haven't yet seen it with my own eyes, let alone touched it- but had many long conversations about details and history, and had one of my uncles look over it and test drive it this afternoon.
I am buying it from Brisbane and getting it trucked down to Melbourne- 1400 kms.
It seems to be in really nice shape- no rust- great mechanically, and the only bogged repair apparent is under the sill of the back doors.
Genuine 84,000 kms- imported (from Brazil? Venezuela? Japan??- the previous owner thinks it was imported but doesn't know where from) by an old Italian guy who drove it to the shops twice a week, then owned for two years by a young guy I am buying it off- who as his first car bought it with his father and poured money and love into it. He has hardly driven it himself (didn't have a license for most of the ownership apparantly) and now needs a ute for his tradey apprenticeship. Apparantly it used to be a police car in its country of origin.
heres the couple of photos I have of it


So, it is pretty much stock-
3B, no turbo, 4 speed, no lifts, etc..
original bench seat in front, rear seats removed and mod plated for a three seater (apparantly).
the previous owner put the lights and wheels on it (with a whole lot of nice internal stuff like re-doing the roof lining, sound systems, restoring dash etc,
The tires are Maxxis Big Horns, 33 x 12.5 with offset black sunny rims and some rather overdone custom flares

Tires probably wont pass roadworthy as they stick out too far- but the original split rims and tires (7 of them) are coming with it so I will put those on for roadworthy and see what I want to use after that.
Work I am going to have to do when it arrives to get it past roadworthy,
new windscreen- has a small crack,
it doesn't have a window washer tub installed (has been removed at some point)- under the bonnet the tubes just end, going nowhere- I have to find one at a wreckers, or adapt one from another vehicle - SUGGESTIONS WELCOME
swap tires/wheels,
possibly get a new front left indicator as the plastic is cracking/crazing.
And a few other fiddly little things,
Other things I want to do-
remove stickers-
probably remove the lights at the windscreen, possibly putting them somewhere on the front?
get a second battery for all those lights,
Find and install an original heater as at some point it has been removed- the holes filled and painted over- SUGGESTIONS AND/OR LINKS WELCOME
possibly remove the flares if I settle on 'normal' tires- will see how I feel about them
give it one hell of a cut and polish

and check out what the fuel lines are, and other necessary things, to run this baby on Biodiesel (bought, not made)
(I am not interested in doing any big mods- no lifts, possibly-maybee a rear locker, but thats it- this will be my daily driver)
anyway- not sure when I will get my hands on it- I will be booking the transport tomorrow- just have to find a company that will let me transport a car full of tires/wheels (1 spare Big Horn, and 7 split rims and tires, plus spare parts

Now I have to sell my trusty old 74 tricked up but tired transit van- it's a new era

I have been looking for around 6 months for a 4x4- flipping and flopping across many different types. Decided about a month ago on a FJ40- wanted a BJ but just never found any good ones or affordable ones. I was about to buy a lovely green 70' FJ40 (with 79 motor and gearbox) running on duel fuel- NO rust, great mechanically, but just too many things to do for roadworhty- things I don't have the time for- and once considering the work needed to be done, not really that much cheaper than this one I have bought. Found this one- and the amount of effort and work I DON'T have to put into it (that someone- bless him

Fingers crossed it turns out to be a good one- I have gambled and not got a professional mechanical inspection- I may be a fool (maybe), but I go with my heart and intuition on these things.
So hi all-
I will have a few questions,
and comments and advice are MORE than welcome (so long as it is not- 'you should have gotten a professional mechanical inspection'


Hans.
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