Hunting Down Dad's Old FJ40

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Oct 21, 2023
Threads
1
Messages
4
Location
Columbus, OH
Hello,

As the title suggests, I REALLY want to find my Dad's old FJ40. He regrets selling it, we're both really into cars, and I've always had a fascination with his old FJ40, leading me to want to try and track it down.

STORY:

My Dad purchased the FJ in Columbus, Ohio, (I'm pretty sure) in 2007. He had bought it off a work friend who used it as a farm truck, with surprisingly little to no rust. Soon after, in 2008, he made the move to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, bringing the FJ40 with him. He lived right next to the beach there, in an A-frame house. During his time there, he kept it in great cosmetic shape, still not letting any rust get to it. However, it was not in the same mechanical shape. My Dad doesn't say it was too bad, but he rarely drove it and just took care of it. My Mom, who drove it more than him to get groceries and food on the weekends, always complained about how bad it ran and how it always had something wrong with it. I tend to believe my Mom more on this, since my Dad really never drove it and he was always working on it. With my sister being a baby though, and only my Dad having a job, he didn't always had the money to keep up with maintenance, and it soon became a money pit. They lived in Hilton Head for another 2 years, moving to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2010. In Cincinnati, it was much of the same as before. Dad never drove it that much, always had something wrong with it, not a whole lot of money to dump into it. He ended up selling it to this guy in Ohio after listing it on craigslist in 2011, after my Mom finally had enough of him pouring money into it just to not drive it. He was very hesitant, and he got many offers. He declined most, and he even declined the guy who ended up buying it multiple times. The individual who bought it was, according to my Dad, a douche who called him multiple times and was incredibly persistent on purchasing the FJ40. My Dad eventually caved in, since my Mom really wanted it gone. Again, all according to my Dad. When the guy came to pick it up, my Dad asked him what he was going to do with the truck, and the buyer replied, "You don't want to know what I'm gonna do with this truck haha." I'm sure he said it jokingly, but it made my Dad (and me now) kind of worry about the possibility the guy turned it into a rock crawler, lifted it to the sky, or even parted it out. Those are all the detailed I have on the story of the truck.

ABOUT THE TRUCK:
1977 Model
Ambulance doors
Red, however the paint was faded, so much so that my sister remembers it as the "pink car"
Sold in Cincinnati, Ohio
Sold in 2011
ALL STOCK when my Dad owned it
Practically no rust when my Dad owned it

NOT CERTAIN BUT THESE MAY BE THE LICENSE PLATES (multiple for each because I don't know which one it may be)

Ohio:
EDQ 6493 (more likely)
EWW 2639 (less likely)
South Carolina:
ACZ 890 (more likely)
DMR 844 (less likely)

My Dad may have photos in a box hidden in the basement somewhere, but he doesn't really like talking about the FJ and I don't want to bug him too much about it. If it would help a lot, I could probably find them. But for now I then the description I gave of the car is good.

If you know what I can do to try and track it down, or even by some miracle you know where it is or who may own it, PLEASE leave a reply.
 
License plates change but if you can figure out the VIN either referenced off an old plate, registration or insurance document you can post it on here. As we’ve seen here recently, old FJ40’s do pop up. Good luck.
 
License plates change but if you can figure out the VIN either referenced off an old plate, registration or insurance document you can post it on here. As we’ve seen here recently, old FJ40’s do pop up. Good luck.
I would have to really go digging through stacks of files for those! Not sure if they're still around honestly. I'm sure I'd be able to find something eventually. Thanks you!
 
As said, finding the VIN will be key. Otherwise, basically, you’re looking for a red 40 series that was maybe mostly stock 14 years ago in Ohio?

Another maybe helpful hint, in the event the buyer from 2011 or their kid still owns it and sees this, maybe don’t call him a douche on a forum when you’ll be trying to buy it back?
 
As said, finding the VIN will be key. Otherwise, basically, you’re looking for a red 40 series that was maybe mostly stock 14 years ago in Ohio?

Another maybe helpful hint, in the event the buyer from 2011 or their kid still owns it and sees this, maybe don’t call him a douche on a forum when you’ll be trying to buy it back?
That was just the term that my Dad had used when describing him. I personally don't think he was a "douche," just someone who was persistent. My Dad also likely overexaggerated in order to make himself feel better about selling it and feeling like he was "forced to" instead of just, making the wrong choice in selling it. I will try to find the VIN however. Thanks.
 
As others have suggested, having VIN will be very helpful. Tracked our ‘58 Corvette down that way that I sold back in 2006, so it is possible provided it’s still registered somewhere.
 
As others have suggested, having VIN will be very helpful. Tracked our ‘58 Corvette down that way that I sold back in 2006, so it is possible provided it’s still registered somewhere.
Thanks for your comment. Was there a certain database or website you used to track it down?
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom