SOLD LHD BJ75 Troopy--Sale Pending (1 Viewer)

Location

United States

Because I've had several people contact me about "where did you get your Troopy?" and "Can you get one for me?", I decided to bring in another one and try to sell it. This one's a left hand drive model from Europe, BJ75, so has the 3B motor + H55 transmission, a little over 150k miles on it. Condition per photos. Does have some rust in a couple places, but replacement panels are readily available. The front seats are not original, but present fairly well. Rear interior is completely empty. It's currently located near Fresno CA. Asking $22,000 for it with Colorado Title in my name, less if the buyer wants to deal with the paperwork themselves. I have all the necessary documentation from the import process and will provide it to the buyer. Please check with your local motor vehicle registration department as not all states have the same requirements. Many more photos available, but I have a really slow connection here so they're taking forever to load. PM if you're interested. Happy to answer any questions, and/or arrange viewing.

 

[jfrench]

Agreed @gilmorneau and @jmlockwood. Big $$$ could be saved. My plan would be "all-in" so wanted to share what that would cost. In all honesty, nothing needs to be done to the rig to make it a fun truck. I enjoyed my morning driving it around Denver and would love it even more in the mountains. Biggest need would be the rust repair on the rockers to stop the rot. Of course there are frequently hidden issues that can't be seen until blasting so that needs to be considered to. At the end of the day, it depends on what the buyer intends for the rig how much s/he wants to spend.

 

[TonyP]

I agree. You can cut that price significantly if you just buy new, oem, metal. I mean, $1184 to repair a $170 part is absurd.

 

[SNLC]

Agreed @gilmorneau and @jmlockwood. Big $$$ could be saved. My plan would be "all-in" so wanted to share what that would cost. In all honesty, nothing needs to be done to the rig to make it a fun truck. I enjoyed my morning driving it around Denver and would love it even more in the mountains. Biggest need would be the rust repair on the rockers to stop the rot. Of course there are frequently hidden issues that can't be seen until blasting so that needs to be considered to. At the end of the day, it depends on what the buyer intends for the rig how much s/he wants to spend.

I can almost guarantee the front body mounts will be rotten.

They are hollow and completely enclosed.

Other locations to look for rust/rot are; bottom of A pillar, bottom of B pillar, rear wheel wells, rear fenders, rear floor cross member/support, windshield frame and seat mounts as well.

Salt is a real Cruiser killer be it East coast road salt, Aussie beach salt or European road salt.

Cheers

 

[gilmorneau]

Aww...hell. You gonna make me climb under there and look? It SNOWED today. lol...

Will report back tomorrow, though I'm pretty sure most of the places RMP&O mentioned are OK

BTW, you forgot Latin America ocean salt and jungle rain...

 

[gilmorneau]

OK...so I had a chance to climb under the truck and have a look at the areas RMP&O can "almost guarantee" are rusted. They're not.

The bits on this car that have some rust have been covered before in this thread and elsewhere, but for the sake of clarity and full disclosure, here's a rundown:

Front body mounts: Solid
Bottom of A pillars: Solid
Bottom of B pillars: Solid
Rear wheel wells: there's a bit of rust where the rocker/fender/wheel well join, presumably from mud getting stuck in there and holding moisture.
Rear floor cross member/supports: All Solid
Seat mounts: Solid
Rocker panels: Far and away the worst of the rust is in the right side rocker. Rusted through in spots, would need replacement. New rocker is what, fifty bucks? A hundred?
Side panels/window openings: One of the rear side windows shows a small spot of rust at the bottom of the window rubber. About the size of a dime, maybe smaller. Pretty sure there's a photo of it earlier in the thread.
Rear fenders: this is one of the areas of the car that has been repainted. Looks OK, but can't vouch for what's underneath since I didn't paint it.
Roof and gutters: Roof has been repainted, but there's some evidence some repairs may have been done first. Again, I didn't do the paint, so no idea what's under there.
Windshield frame: this area conjoins the roof and was painted at the same time. Same as above, looks OK, but can't vouch for what's underneath.
Front fenders, hood: Solid
Doors: Solid
Rear doors: Solid
Bumpers: Deep surface rust, clearly visible in the photos. Sandblast and repaint, or just replace with ARB or tube bumper to taste.
Rear floor: has been repainted a ghastly too bright shade of red, but it's solid--no perforations that I could find at all in the floor.

Am I forgetting anything?

Because the entire interior behind the front seats is out of the car, the rear (interior) sides of all panels are clearly visible. No signs of obvious rust or other damage when looking from the inside.

Look, I know this Troopy isn't perfect, but it's a damn fine start to a project for somebody, or would be great fun just to drive it as-is for a while until funds or motivation for a build overwhelmed a guy. I won't call anyone out by name, but I know guys have started builds with much worse.

 

[SNLC]

Hey man I was not trying to put down your truck at all. It is a good base for somebody for sure.

The spots I mentioned rot from the inside out, you can’t see any rust from under the truck unless it is so bad the area is completely rotted and the seams are blowing out.

On the front body mounts, you would need to pull the carpet in the front floor pans and then pull the body mount access plug. Look in the hole, put your finger in there. It is a hollow section that stretches across the entire floor pan. I have a bore scope I use to look in these kind of areas.

Bottom of A and B pillars join the top of the rockers, so if the rockers are rusty, well chances are high it is in there too.

Rear fenders down low too. Again, it rusts from the inside out and starts in the seams so pull interior panels and look way down to the bottom of the panels. From under the truck you may see evidence here at the rear body mount behind the rear wheels. That is where the rear fenders drain out.

Salt be it for winter roads or the beach shows a certain kind of rust. Wet muddy climates show a different kind. The PNW is just about as humid and wet as the jungle, it is temperate rain forest after all. PNW trucks always have way less rust than east coast salt belt trucks. Many are not rusty at all.


Cheers

 

[bugsnbikes]

All this rust talk and no price drop?

It’s been shown that price drops help a sale....

And price drops typically make rust less visible to the naked eye.....

 

[Broski]

I thought this was a for sale thread ? Not a where to find rust thread

 

[joekatana]

I am surprised this troopy has not sold yet, it is a lhd and in fair condition and in my opinion a perfect candidate for a 1HZ/1HDT or any other engine swap you have can think off.

I have been recently getting a lot of calls of people looking to buy a 3B engine so if you put the 3B out of this one on the market and deduct that from the purchase price you scored the cheapest troopy in North America in history !

Good luck with the sale , I know how hard these are to get !

 

[gilmorneau]

I can almost guarantee the front body mounts will be rotten.

Hey man I was not trying to put down your truck at all.

Just bad form. Hopefully your tips are useful for anyone looking to buy an old 70-series, but to impugn a truck you've never seen is bad form (at best).

All this rust talk and no price drop?

If you've been following the thread, you know the price has dropped considerably from the initial post. It is now at a price point that takes into account the truck's flaws (detailed above). Serious buyers are of course encouraged to make offers, but I'll not negotiate further with myself.

I thought this was a for sale thread ? Not a where to find rust thread

True that. Thank you.

I am surprised this troopy has not sold yet, it is a lhd and in fair condition...

Good luck with the sale , I know how hard these are to get !

True that, too.

 

[umpqua]

I've been talking with @gilmorneau about buying this Troopy and he was kind enough to let me drive it to a body shop in Denver to get an estimate for sheet metal repair. I'm still considering this rig but wanted to share with others what I got for an estimate, in case someone is closer to pulling the trigger than I am. Steve has been gracious with his time and if I end up passing on this I want to do what I can to help him out with the sale. I took it to a good auto restoration shop (www.themetalsurgeon.com) so these numbers are probably on the higher end but would get everything taken care of to make the body perfect. Some money could probably be saved by providing sheet metal repair pieces, either OEM from Mr. T or aftermarket, and/or not going all out on all the little dents and dings.

"Complete disassembly (label and bag all parts): $2960
Media blast: body and frame, plastic bead blast on all outer sheet metal: $1500
Inner/outer right rocker repair: $4440
Dent on hood: $592
Dent on right front inner wheel arch (fabricate new piece and graft in): $1184
Dent on left front inner wheel arch (fabricate new piece and graft in): $592
Dents right rear door: $444
Dent on inner right structure (below window): $370
Large dents on roof-need to assess and update: $1184"

Estimate Total: $13,266

Man, I got one hell of a screaming deal in Portland on body work!

 

[Gun Runner 5]

@gilmorneau ..... "Just bad form. Hopefully your tips are useful for anyone looking to buy an old 70-series, but to impugn a truck you've never seen is bad form (at best)."
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Unfortunately you are experiencing one of the most common occurances in 'MUD's classifies section. You're just lucky that no one else attached their classified ad to your thread.

 

[bcsteel]

All the money you’d save from not pulling dents and body prep etc would give a nice budget for a turbo, and some mechanicals for piece of mind. Fix the “rust” later as you go on your own dime.

 

[venetsanos]

What’s the price?

 

[gilmorneau]

$15,900. Sorry, the thread has gotten so long it got buried.

Discussions ongoing with at least two serious buyers, but no $ in hand as of this morning.

 

[SNLC]

Saying a rusty truck is rusty is bad form?



A guy here in my town bought a European rust belt BJ75 for $20k. It is bleeding rust, he was misled by the seller. Years later he is still bummed out on it.

This truck you are selling has seen salt, it has been bondo’ed over and painted over, you can see over spray on the frame.

Anyone buying this should know what they are getting into. It is certainly fixable but it is rooted in the panels. This truck could easily be very nice but it takes work, time and money.

FYI, I briefly considered your truck for a build.

GLWS!

Cheers

 

[gilmorneau]

Saying a rusty truck is rusty is bad form?

Oh, good grief!

No, Ian, it's not. But that's not what you did. What you did, that in my view was bad form, was to make claims regarding the extent of the rust, "almost guaranteeing" that the rust was worse than represented, ostensibly to ward off potential buyers, when you've never seen the truck. Just because you know a guy who once bought a truck from a guy, and that truck was really rusty, and the guy who bought it is all bummed about it, and the guy who sold it to him is a lying jerk, doesn't mean that my truck is rusty in all the same places, or to the same extent. That's just horrible logic in the most charitable interpretation.

If you intended to be helpful, you might have said something like: "Hey guys, the Landcruiser 70-series that I've seen tend to rust in areas x, y, and z. If you're thinking of buying this one, when you check out the car, look in those places to be sure it's OK", or something like that. It might have landed better.

In any case, my truck is for sale for several thousand dollars less than the truck you describe, in part to account for the buyer's eventual expense to repair the rust. Does anyone here really think they can get a pristine, rust-free 30 year old Landcruiser Troopy for my asking price? You sell 70-series Landcruisers, Ian. Would you sell one for my price if it were pristine and rust free? Of course not.

Almost all 30+ year old Landcruisers are going to have some rust, whether they're from the USA, Europe, Japan, Africa, Australia, or the ones you get from Latin America. Buyers expecting otherwise are setting themselves up for disappointment. I have described the rust that this truck has in gory detail over and over again. I've made no secret of it. I've shown it in photos. I've represented it as honestly as I can. Hell, I've probably turned off a few potential buyers with all my honesty about it. But I also have the advantage of having the truck right in front of me when I make statements about the extent of the rust. I've climbed all over, under, and inside it. You have not.

This truck could easily be very nice

At least we can agree on that.

(for the irony of it)

 

[SNLC]

Oh, good grief!

No, Ian, it's not. But that's not what you did. What you did, that in my view was bad form, was to make claims regarding the extent of the rust, "almost guaranteeing" that the rust was worse than represented, ostensibly to ward off potential buyers, when you've never seen the truck. Just because you know a guy who once bought a truck from a guy, and that truck was really rusty, and the guy who bought it is all bummed about it, and the guy who sold it to him is a lying jerk, doesn't mean that my truck is rusty in all the same places, or to the same extent. That's just horrible logic in the most charitable interpretation.

If you intended to be helpful, you might have said something like: "Hey guys, the Landcruiser 70-series that I've seen tend to rust in areas x, y, and z. If you're thinking of buying this one, when you check out the car, look in those places to be sure it's OK", or something like that. It might have landed better.



At least we can agree on that.

(for the irony of it)

People are never going to say what you want them to say how you want them to say it.

I have had people poo in my for sale threads, they have said my trucks are “worthless” blah blah blah. I wasn’t pooing in your thread I was pointing out the rust is very likely more serious than it looks as well as where to dig deeper for it. I just didn’t say it how you would have liked me to say it, welcome to the internet.

I can say this, I won’t be importing any more SWB 70’s. Not enough demand, takes to long to sell. Kind of like a rusty BJ75.



Cheers

 

[gilmorneau]

People are never going to say what you want them to say how you want them to say it.

welcome to the internet.

Fair enough, man, if you say you weren't "pooing" in my thread, I'll take your word for it.

I can say this, I won’t be importing any more SWB 70’s. Not enough demand, takes to long to sell.

Me neither. For pretty much the same reasons. I do have a workaround for anyone who seriously wants to get a 70-series--SWB, MWB, Troopy, or Pickup--but only serious buyers need inquire.

 

[FJ73Texas]

I don't think the issue is demand for 70 series, it is just that some people ask ridiculously high prices for what they are offering.

Not the case in this thread though. @gilmorneau is offering this cruiser at a reasonable price in my opinion.