HOLY CRAP!!! I've found my Cruiser!! (1 Viewer)

[lanceman]

I bought a 75 FJ40 and after 6 months of rebuilding and $12000 it got stolen the day I brought it home!! Freaking suckers!! With no insurance and no leads, I was pretty SOL! I had just put in a SB400, SM465, new tires, roll cage, spring over, seats, etc. This happened in October 2003. Well, just last Friday I got a letter from a tow company saying they had found it!!!

INCREDIBLE!!!

Well, except that EVERYTHING had been stripped from it. From what I can tell, I think it originally got stolen, stripped and left for dead. Then someone got hold of it and started a rebuild. Everything is gone except now, instead of the stock axles/springs, I now have a dana 44 front and a 14 bolt rear. Put on with some giant springs and pretty nice shocks! And now, instead of the tri-color primer paint job, they did a pretty decent job painting it orange.

Anyway, I'm totally bummed that it ended up stripped so bad but man, I can't help but get a smile on my face to see my baby again!!

Anyway, I'm no mechanic...I lived in Utah and had a company there do all the work. Now I live in Oregon and I have no clue who to go to help me with this new project. Since it's the end of summer, I'm really thinking of spending some time and doing it right.

So, I need some suggestions. First, who is good and cheap that I can take it to who can build this up for me again. I live in the Eugene area. And then the fun part...what should I do first? I'm wanting something that's EFI, and an auto transmission. The gauge panel is missing and a lot of things are a real mess. I'd like to redo everything...put in painless wiring, customize the gauges and switches. Put in nice seats and roll bar, etc.

What a project, eh? But what should I work on first?

THANKS!!!


I'd show pics but I can't get it to attach them?

 

[wantatlc]

got any before and after picts of this rig??

 

[lanceman]

Pictures...

The orange pic is the most recent.

 

[my64fj40]

Nice

And it would be even better to find the people that took it in the first place

I hate thieves

 

[lanceman]

Really!

Yeah, I'll leave that to the inept Eugene police dept! It took them 6 weeks before they finally reported it as stolen in the first place!!

POLICE!! I've been stolen from 8 times since I've lived here (3 yrs) and the police have never found a thing!

 

[Ian Rogers]

glad you got it back

 

[fj40ec]

glad you got it back

x2!!

 

[Nomis]

I've been stolen from 8 times since I've lived here

You need to move. If you have been robbed that many times - then chances are once you put a little more money into it - you will get robbed again. Save yourself some grief and either fence in your yard and get a biga** rottweiler or pit bull - or better yet just get out of Dodge. I can't stand to see ppl taken advantage of. I am glad you found your rig though - and the paint looks pretty good to boot.

 

[HawkDriver]

That's great news man. It looks pretty good. Congrats.

 

[lanceman]

We moved about a year ago...We just got stolen from a few weeks ago for the first time in our new house. But I'll be installing some good security here real soon!

 

[armourguard]

Glad you got it back also.

The first thing i would suggest you work on is insurance

 

[MJ_Oregon]

Great news!

That is great you got it back.

Eugene is well known for rampant theft problems. The psuedo hippies that don't want to work just want to take the fruits of your labor. $%$%$#

Move to Salem or Portland or Creswell or Corvallis or well just about anywhere and you are less likely to get ripped off.

Good luck

 

[CruiserMax]

Show it to "W" Harold. I am sure he will have some "ideas" and enjoy the story..

 

[projektdotnet]

Insurance and Security first...then worry about the build. Upside is that's a nice paint job...too bad you lost your other killer mods. Glad to see people get their stuff back after it gets stolen.

 

[PabloCruise]

Wow...

 

[JuttyShabango]

Congrats bro...What was the previous owner doing with it? It got towed...okay...was he DD it? Trial Rig? How did it get towed in the first place?

Bet theres a good story in there somewhere.

 

[bigndn]

Congrats!!!!! I h8thieves, too.......fawking bastids.

 

[crazylandcruiser]

there are a few places in portland that are pretty good for land cruiser build up places i do most my work my self so i use a guy named tim at land cruiser specialties but he works on customer cars as well. Also a guy by the name of tony at land cruiser northwest i have heard very good stuff from people i cant say i have used him but i heard amazing things about his work

 

[poseidon]

Happy you got your cruiser back.

You seriously need to move if that kind of stuff is happening. Get ahold of me and I will find you a nice place around Corvallis/Albany. If you are stuck on Eugene have a long talk with an insurance man about how to protect yourself before you spend a bunch of $$$$ again.

As for a good shop I have met W at Over the Hill a few times. He seems like a nice guy but I have never takens tuff to any of the shops. I do the work myself. Ask on Cascade Cruisers forum and you will probably get some good answers.

E

 

[baldboy]

Great news!

Congratulations on finding your cruiser.


My 78 FJ40 got stolen three or four years ago and the police found it the next day...... It had been set on fire and left for dead . Some delinquent kids had gotten it stuck in a dry riverbed and used my Jerry Can to douse it (at least thats my theory).

I bought it back from the insurance company and sold it to Jason H. who reincarnated it with his truck.

I should have kept mine but my spirits had been crushed about the whole thing and I just wanted to move on.

Good luck with yours!