Introduction - ‘84 FJ40 non-US spec (1 Viewer)

[PiratelooksatFJ40]

Hello everyone! New member, just wanted to introduce myself. Just picked up a 1984 FJ40 on BaT, which needs a bit more work than I was hoping for but it runs well, just need to clean up some things and remove some of the mods from the PO. The FJ started life in Saudi Arabia according to Insta. My wife has taken away my internet purchasing privileges . I live outside of Boston with two Cavaliers (Louie - in the pic - approves of the new addition), wife and 2 kids, though one is in college now. Also have a 2018 Tacoma TRD Pro, which is an amazing beast. This is my first FJ though, and I’m definitely looking forward to the journey. I’ve benefitted from the MUD wisdom already and glad to be part of the group.

No Reserve: 1984 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40

Bid for the chance to own a No Reserve: 1984 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #83,114.

bringatrailer.com

 

[rghouse]

Welcome, and congrats on the new cruiser! Nice username btw. Cruisers and Buffet certainly have one thing in common, they both place you in another latitude

" I took a wrong turn. it was the right turn, I turned a happy boy "

 

[bernardbarbour]

Hello everyone! New member, just wanted to introduce myself. Just picked up a 1984 FJ40 on BaT, which needs a bit more work than I was hoping for but it runs well, just need to clean up some things and remove some of the mods from the PO. The FJ started life in Saudi Arabia according to Insta. My wife has taken away my internet purchasing privileges . I live outside of Boston with two Cavaliers (Louie - in the pic - approves of the new addition), wife and 2 kids, though one is in college now. Also have a 2018 Tacoma TRD Pro, which is an amazing beast. This is my first FJ though, and I’m definitely looking forward to the journey. I’ve benefitted from the MUD wisdom already and glad to be part of the group.

No Reserve: 1984 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40

Bid for the chance to own a No Reserve: 1984 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #83,114.

bringatrailer.com

View attachment 3118438

View attachment 3118439

View attachment 3118440

Love both of your trucks. Welcome to the club. Looking forward to seeing what you have in store for the 40.

 

[PiratelooksatFJ40]

Thx. FJ is currently with Legacy Overland - https://www.legacyoverland.com/ for some cleanup.

 

[whitey45]

Mud wisdom would have told you to steer clear of any imports…these rigs are put together to look great for about a year, until all the shortcuts and bondo start cracking..not being negative, but been here a long time, hope it works out for you and you enjoy it!!

 

[wimberosa]

Great looking 40! Lots of solid middle eastern land cruisers. I interpret conventional mud wisdom to apply primarily to south american 40s.
Go with it and enjoy!

 

[fyton2v]

Welcome! Nice truck.

… cue the he said FJ police in 5 .. 4 .. 3 ..

 

[PiratelooksatFJ40]

All good, I’ve learned my lesson. And now I’ve definitely got the bug.

 

[PiratelooksatFJ40]

Also shout outs to @ToyotaMatt and @cruiserland, among others, who have been very helpful. Love the mud community.

 

[mrldcty]

I love that interior! Full float rear axle... is that common in Saudi Arabia?

WELCOME!

 

[PiratelooksatFJ40]

Not sure if the full free floater is standard for ROW (ie, non-SA ) spec 40s, but I’ll take it. Now after living with it for a while and getting more edumacated on 40s, I’d say it probably has about the same level of issues as anything else at its price point, and has some nifty bits too (like the rear axle, front vent windows, full sliders in the back, Star Wars dash plate, hard top, hidden kill switch). I’ve gotten immense enjoyment out of taking things apart and putting them back together - which would not have been the case if I bought a pretty one. I also don’t care if I scratch, ding or otherwise mess anything up. The experience of owning one, and dare I say Zen that it brings, has been well worth it. For anyone considering getting into the game, I’d encourage you to get one that you can afford that runs well enough to drive around town and then dive in - NAS, SA or RoW, doesn’t matter. First project is always making sure the bezel is on properly . As long as it drives safely so you can get some time in the seat then go for it. Take on small projects but don’t take on something so big that you can’t put it back together in a weekend and drive to the grocery store. You’ll be much more informed for FJ40 #2 which will surely be in your future. They are a money pit, but so what. I’ve wasted money on things that brought me less pleasure.

 

[mrldcty]

Well said sir! Working on my 40 has been a real joy and kept me out of trouble during the pandemic for sure!

 

[bernardbarbour]

Mud wisdom would have told you to steer clear of any imports…these rigs are put together to look great for about a year, until all the shortcuts and bondo start cracking..not being negative, but been here a long time, hope it works out for you and you enjoy it!!

Which imported 40's have you owned? Interesting observation? Thanks

 

[PiratelooksatFJ40]

Is this normal?

 

[FJ404345]

Is this normal?

View attachment 3345487

View attachment 3345488

View attachment 3345489

Yes totally ! there supossed to be 2 sticks

 

[WarDamnEagle]

If you mean the caked on dust/dirt then, yes; that's pretty normal for a 40 year old KSA vehicle.

 

[Living in the Past]

If you mean the caked on dust/dirt then, yes; that's pretty normal for a 40 year old KSA vehicle.

But should it be normal for a recently restored KSA vehicle? If I was lucky enough to go to the Middle East and buy unrestored 40 series would expect this. But seeing this on a restored vehicle makes you wonder what other short cuts did they take. For $30K would not expect a perfectly restored cruiser but would expect better than that.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

But should it be normal for a recently restored KSA vehicle? If I was lucky enough to go to the Middle East and buy unrestored 40 series would expect this. But seeing this on a restored vehicle makes you wonder what other short cuts did they take. For $30K would not expect a perfectly restored cruiser but would expect better than that.

Restored there generally means body is straight and painted, upholstery is redone, and frame/axles have been blacked out. It rarely means the body was off the frame and the mechanicals are generally "as-is" except for the essentials (e.g. brakes, clutch, etc.).

Now if you have a shop like @Honger used or go to a place like SebSports in Dubai then you get an entirely different level of restoration. In fact, a lot of his business comes from Saudi clients.

 

[PiratelooksatFJ40]

But should it be normal for a recently restored KSA vehicle? If I was lucky enough to go to the Middle East and buy unrestored 40 series would expect this. But seeing this on a restored vehicle makes you wonder what other short cuts did they take. For $30K would not expect a perfectly restored cruiser but would expect better than that.

When I accidentally got this (impulse bid with >30 minutes to go in a NR auction), I really didn’t understand what the difference was between refurb and resto. This one was advertised as a refurbishment, but it was shiny and looked clean in the pictures, and the “60 minutes to go” notice popped up while I was in between conference calls… and the rest is history.

Could I / should I have paid less? Probably, but I don’t regret it anyway. You don’t really know / understand until you have one and taken it apart. And now I can point out the issues if I see one from this same source in KSA come up on BaT or wherever. I may have to do a build (or unbuild) thread to have something to point people to. The amount of caked-on mud, and dust penetrating every crevice, is astounding.

 

[Living in the Past]

Restored there generally means body is straight and painted, upholstery is redone, and frame/axles have been blacked out. It rarely means the body was off the frame and the mechanicals are generally "as-is" except for the essentials (e.g. brakes, clutch, etc.).

Now if you have a shop like @Honger used or go to a place like SebSports in Dubai then you get an entirely different level of restoration. In fact, a lot of his business comes from Saudi clients.

I admit I don't know the Middle East market as well as I know the 40 series. But I know if I was unable to personally inspect one that does not still have the factory paint I would stay clear. One from this region of the world would a beige one. New non stock upholstery and new paint in a color other beige to me takes the chart away from cruisers from this area. It also throws up a huge red flag which why I would need to inspect it personally. Not going to pay for work done when I would most likely need to do again. New paint makes it easy to hide the original condition of the cruiser. Mechanical is always easy to hide. Never seen anyone tear the mechanical down and take pictures of the insides. So always expect the worse. In this region would you still find drum brakes on the front axle? That is a downside of this region. Lack of disc brakes and the H55F on 83 and 84 models. Both easy to remedy.