Build My Costa Rican BJ40 search begins

Member Build Threads

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

cwwfj60 said:
I have some experience buying Landcruisers in Costa Rica. Lot of rusty junk there and a lot of crappy body work as well. I wouldn't buy one without seeing it in person and take a screwdriver so you can pull off the door panels and see from the inside out. Also, they like to repair crappy fender's by welding rebar into the outer edges. Everything can be fixed but I have seen some crazy stuff come out of there, cracked frames, patched frames with 1/4'' bondo to smooth out the seems. Just be thorough.

On another note, flying into San Jose and cruising around the coffee farms all day searching out landcruiser deals is some of the most fun I've ever had. I'd recommend making a trip out of it, fly down there, hopefully buy the cruiser you want in a day or two, then spend a couple days in Jaco beach, some nice hotels there and some really cool beach cottages for rent there.

As far as driving it back, I have no experience with that (we ship out of Limon to Miami) but I'm sure it would be an adventure worthy of writing home about. Good luck and have fun!
Click to expand...
Hi,
I'm from CR and was in the back of my mind to get one import to CT where I leave.
Do you have a idea of total cost to get the car in Miami and legalize in the USA.
Thanks
 
Lobsang Fernandez said:
Hi,
I'm from CR and was in the back of my mind to get one import to CT where I leave.
Do you have a idea of total cost to get the car in Miami and legalize in the USA.
Thanks
Click to expand...
I am budgeting $1,500 for boat ride and fees.

78fj40mg said:
It looks like you'll wind up with an orange BJ40 like it or not. I think orange is a great color. What's your next step?
Click to expand...
I was slammed with work all weekend and I don't think my friend had a chance to look at it yet. He is actually coming to the US for work this week so it may be another week before anything happens.
 
meatloaf said:
Good luck finding one Mr. Cim...
Click to expand...
Thanks. On a break from looking at the moment since my friend is here is Austin at the moment. He wants me to come down in January and keeps telling me it won't be a problem finding one.
 
Cim.
Funny I have never Sean a factory orange FJ40 until I saw those from Costa Arica then I spotted this original paint clean one in central Texas last week.
image.webp
image.webp
 
Search should start picking up now that my friend is back in Costa Rica after traveling to Austin to work the ACL Music Festival with us. Bernal brought good coffee with him so we didn't have to drink the crap they had in catering while at work.
IMG_2803.webp

I also talked to another worker who moved to Costa Rica that imported a BJ40 not to long ago. He agreed with Bernal that a 4-5 day vacation down there would be plenty of time to find one. I am still going to try to get info and narrow my search down before I make the trip.
We found a 1977 close that I attempted to get info from on my own but that resulted in a broken English reply with the same photos from the website it was listed on. Hopefully Bernal can get better info and pictures tomorrow. With all the 1977s listed I think I will try to stick with that year in my search. I have always wanted a vehicle made the same year I was born. Anyway here are the photos of the next one to look at. It has been "overhauled" in the past year. Anxious to see if that means "hiding".
SAM_1460.webp

SAM_1463.webp

I also bought some 40 series axles (60 series knuckles/discs on the front) from a fellow mud member that I will be rebuilding. This gives me something to do since my 80 project is completed at the moment. Also puts me all in on finding a 40 now.
 
My buddy put his eyes on the green one earlier today. I got lots of photos and some video. Paint is definitely hiding things. Please pic it apart so I know what is normal for a 30 year old vehicle no matter where it is from. My buddy said most of the roof is rusted and said he would lean toward unrepairable. This one is listed at $6,400.
Exterior
IMG_0041.webp

IMG_0002.webp

IMG_0035.webp

IMG_0019.webp

IMG_0044.webp
 
wow that rust looks bad, and it is usually worse than it looks. I would focus on getting a good set of doors and those bubbles look concerning. Although it's pretty reasonable on price so I guess it depends on how much body work your interested in doing. If it was me I'd keep looking....
 
cwwfj60 said:
wow that rust looks bad, and it is usually worse than it looks. I would focus on getting a good set of doors and those bubbles look concerning. Although it's pretty reasonable on price so I guess it depends on how much body work your interested in doing. If it was me I'd keep looking....
Click to expand...
Thanks for the feedback. Definitely will continue the search. From what I am seeing is that they are not selling like hotcakes so I'm not to worried about having to jump on something quick. Never done body work but have been wanting to add it to my resume for some time. Although I don't want a frame off type of project some body work is something I plan on doing.
 
Green 77 is off the list. Good from far but far from good. Right now the first orange 77 is still the winner at the moment but still looking.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom