I'm that guy. 1971 40 in the Lou (1 Viewer)

[flaa1a]

I have been tallking to a guy in St Louis about this 40 (have any of you in MO looked at it?). The owner says it is in great shape an he is very straight shooter. I hesitated on asking about this, but I want you guys opinion. It runs and has no rust other than surface rust. I have studied and asked several questions and he always has the right answers. I consider myself semi fluent in fj55, but not so fluent in fj40. I have looked at many on mudd, ebay, and C list. This seems to me a good dealio...but I could be off. Please be kind to me when responding. He is asking $8500.

Randy

 

[flaa1a]

couple more pics

more pics

 

[FJ40Tiger]

Riding part looks good, what about beneath the skin?

How do things look under the hood and is it an F engine in it?

When I was FJ "cruising" a year ago, a couple I looked at were on nearly collapsing frames. Their owners took a big risk even driving them to where we were meeting (and back home again I might add).

But rust is probably not so hard on an FJ there as in Fla, unless it got caught up in the floods. I'd guess that if the body looks that good, it's probably sound underneath too, but you should at least check it out.

 

[flaa1a]

Yeah... has the original F in it. Not stock carb though.....Will check underneath.....but looks really clean.

 

[FJ40Tiger]

Check for "hotness" too if you can

I also checked over the ownership records to make sure the people wanting to sell me an FJ were in fact the actual owners of the vehicle.

You can verify addresses on Google and check local property tax appraisers records and such to see if the John Smith on the title papers is also the same person whose house you're visiting to see the vehicle... or you could ask a buddy in law enforcement to do a quick check on the tag and vin to make sure it's not stolen.

 

[shocker]

Looks like it could be all right. Any pics of the floor in the cargo area?

Any disc-brake conversion?

 

[flaa1a]

Looks like it could be all right. Any pics of the floor in the cargo area?

Any disc-brake conversion?

3 speed. Drums all around. Pics up top.

 

[My71FJ40]

I wish my 71 looked that nice. Very nice stocker... if you get it try to keep it that way. Almost no rust, all original seats, jump seats, good top. Seems to be an overall good rig, however with the economy the way it is try to see if he would go down to $7k...good luck.

 

[tyama]

Hiya,

It looks good...maybe good for what he's asking. I'm not sure if I'd pay that much. I looked at one in a pretty similar condition that was listed for $6500.00. I thought it was too much and passed. If you're planing to keep to stock specs and do nothing else for awhile, it might be a good buy. If you're wanting to put disk brakes on it and other upgrades, you might want to wait. It would also depend on what you think you need to do right off the bat: new tires, suspension, brakes, etc...

Good luck with your plans! best regards, ty

 

[softdrinkviking]

I agree, seems a tad steep to me. At 6500 it'd be happier.
Also, not just upgrades, but there maybe hidden expenses. You may need something like wheel b earings or there could be some cracked wires in the harness, ect.

 

[TCinVA]

If the body/frame arein as good shape as they appear, I think that's a good deal if everything's there and it's a good runner. Finding one with no rust and near original is harder and harder to do, I also love the color and patina that truck has.

 

[flaa1a]

I wish my 71 looked that nice. Very nice stocker... if you get it try to keep it that way. Almost no rust, all original seats, jump seats, good top. Seems to be an overall good rig, however with the economy the way it is try to see if he would go down to $7k...good luck.

My plan would be to keep it stock. I guess I would consider myself a purist in that matter. I would proll actually put an Aisan carb back on it and clean all that up too.....It is about a thousand dollars more than I want to spend, but these are very hard to come by around here especially in this shape....I do not want to have to do a bunch of rust repair because I do not have the tools or the talents to do that. That is the problem I ran in to with my pig....

 

[bikersmurf]

Looks to be a good truck. Price??

The sides almost look too smooth to be original. Check for filler... It may be a repaint.

 

[JJHACK]

Seems cruisers are one of the few vehicles and maybe the only 4x4 that break the rule of losing value the minute you drive it off the lot.

At 8500 bucks ( worth the price IMO) he is selling this for at least 1000 more then the sticker price in 1971

 

[flaa1a]

Ill aske about the repaint/bondo. The seller is an older guy and has a lot of other toys....boats, pickups, broncos, etc...he is very knowledgeable about old cars, but not that familiar with 40s. He bought it with plans to restore. He just decided that he had too many other projects. He said he bought it because it was in such great shape for restore....

Restoring is not high on my list right now. I want to drive it! But I dont want one all tricked out. I love the stock look....

Thanks for the input all.

Randy

 

[flaa1a]

Any other input? Someone talk me in to buying this....

 

[POTATO LAUNCHER]

Being raised in a 69 FJ55 and driving the same one to high school I was very partial to the old Pigs until I got my first FJ40. Top and doors off on a nice day is so much fun. 40's just scream cool and this one is in excellent shape for the price. Do it man. You wont regret it one bit.

 

[Bang Bang]

Thinking from a practical standpoint:

*It's $1k over what you want / have to spend.
*It's a 40 year old vehicle. There will be hidden costs, nothing that the owner isn't telling you about but if he doesn't know much about 40's then he hasn't done anything to it since he bought it.
*$8500 seems a bit high to me for this very clean rig but this same rig on ebay would probably be listed (and more than likely sell) for $10k.

They are a blast to drive without the top and doors but you have thrown out one big red flag: it's over your budget. You can't make this an impulse buy because your smile will quickly turn to a frown with the first thing that costs more money to fix. I am not trying to bring you down or talk you out of it but just giving you a practical outsider's view of it.

The seller may not know what he has so make him an offer that fits your budget and leaves you with some "fix it" money for if / when something does need attention.

Good luck.

 

[TCinVA]

On the other hand, fixing rust is a never ending battle if it gets a start, and you wouldn't have to deal with that on this one. To me, that's worth alot. Do it!

 

[TCSTARK]

I paid the same amount for my 1975 FJ40 and it was in the same condition. Once you start upgrading brake systems & suspension, rebuilding carbs, adding power steering you are looking at being $15 into a project. And that amount doesn't even include the purchase of tools.

That is why they call this an addiction.

I say negotiate the guy down $1k and allocate that money for emergency repairs and safety maintenance. Drive it for a year and figure out what you really want to do with your 40.