Need Advice: To sell or not to sell!

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iRoughNeck

Joined
Apr 26, 2019
Threads
7
Messages
64
Location
Houston, TX
Hello World,

I am looking for some advice on my FZJ80 and I’m hoping one of you here has been in my shoes.

I recently purchased a 95, in green. Has 156k original miles and was a SoCal/Arizona/West-Texas truck all its life. Remarkably minimal rust. I purchased it with the intention of restoring to original condition. I always wanted one of these growing up, but I don’t think I’m there yet financially. I did a lot of research before my purchase and landed on this one. Since I purchased I completely re-did the cooling system, and replaced all oil seals which are know to be troublesome.

But now when it comes to the power train and suspension things are starting to get difficult to do on my own. There is nothing wrong with it per say, and the previous owners were good about maintenance but there are some components that will need love soon, if it is to be restored to original glory. And then there is the interior and paint. Seats are the usual business, sunroof leaks (probably needs to be cleaned out), carpet is bad. I could probably do that stuff myself, but at the end of the day is it worth it? No accidents, but it has some pinstripes from shrubs.

First question: has anybody had a similar 80 that they restored? What surprises am I in for? This 80 doesn’t seemed to have been off-road much, and the original owner used it for sporadic long distance travel.

Second question: What would something like this be worth in its current state, ball park? It does not have lockers though I have sourced some that I would include if I were to restore it.

Thanks in advance!
 
Worth of your truck is hard to say - probably worth around what you paid for it? What is your goal in restoring it? If it is to sell it again, than unless you do a lot of the work yourself or know someone that does good work and gives you a great deal for their labor you are likely going to have a hard time recouping cost and making a profit.

What components need some love? How bad is the interior? If it runs well and only has some pin striping and torn seats and you hope to restore it for your own use, than just run it like it is and keep up on maintenance until it is financially feasible to restore to the condition that you hope to achieve. What kind of restoration are you looking to do? Frame off restoration, full repaint, replace all old rubber (door seals/window runs, bushings, engine/tranny mounts) springs, shocks, re-paint, re-do interior, complete engine rebuild with OEM parts if still available is going to be a big expense.

Post up some photos and it will help us know what you are working with.
 
Pictures of current condition would help. 156k miles is fairly low, not many out there anymore in that range.

Is this a daily driver for you?

If it's not a daily and it was me I would keep it. Fix the things that I could take on myself and just enjoy the truck as it is. Get the sunroof taken care of first before it leads to other issues. Clean the carpet really well after that and buy some cheap seat covers until you can spring for a new seat kit (my seats were torn when I bought mine 5 years ago and I haven't gotten around to fixing them yet). Buy other components piece by piece and replace them over time (been doing one or two weather strips a months for a while now on mine and nearly resealed the whole truck). Get a Factory Service Manual and learn how to work on the truck. Many of the repairs can be done with some time and standard mechanics tools. Anything requiring special tools save up and take it to a shop unless you have a burning desire to invest in tools (for me it's my excuse with the wife to fill my shop with more stuff).

If you've always dreamed of having one of these and this truck is the one you want don't part with it. Particularly since you already invested some time and money fixing a few things which if you bought another one you'd likely have to fix again.
 
If you’re worried about money to restore it and having the mechanical skills.. save and budget for the things you want to tackle. As for the mechanicals that you’re unsure of look for people local to you that will help! My cruiser has 158k and it’s a 93.. I don’t think I ever want to get rid of it. I daily drive it, even though I have an actual more realistic daily haha.
 
Keep it. Restore it slowly over a number of years. Life and fortunes can change rapidly. It’s a good thing to have a project and goals in front of you to keep you grounded and on task. There’s no rush to the finish line.

A phrase you often hear in the classic car crowds (including Land Cruiser people) is:

“I wish I’d never sold my...”

Don’t let that be you.
 
Buyer's remorse. You say "recently purchased". Drive it through that Houston summer - you'll either love it or hate it. Your decision will be much easier then ;)
 
Sell it, if your on the fence about keeping it vs selling it than an 80 series is not the vehicle for you. Get a 5th gen 4runner and you will be happy.
 
First ... pics. That will help tell the story a lot better.

Then, make a list of what needs to be done and what you can do yourself and what needs to be sent to a shop. Check your local clubhouse forum to see if there are locals that could lend a hand on things.

Big question to me is ... How long can you let the truck be in a non-driveable state? If you don't need to drive it often, then you have time to do repairs at a much more leisurely pace. Many jobs are simple enough with a single person if you plan it out, but suspension stuff is heavy work and having extra hands is helpful. That is where I decided to draw the shop line and paid to have it installed.

As others have said, if the end goal is keeping the truck a long time, doing the work is well worth it. If the plan is to flip it and make money, it's doubtful that it works out.
 
See this? Hold onto your Fj80's until the film hits the theaters... then if you want to sell, sell to the folks who will pay handsomely. Let Sarah Conner, and "Terminator Dark Fate" sell your truck for you .

Sorry for the typo.

Screen Shot 2019-05-28 at 11.34.08 AM.webp
 
Oh my God!

That thing's horrible!

I'll give you $500 and I'll come take it off your hands so you don't have to worry.

What's your bottom dollar?
 
First of all I would like to thank you all for some very sincere and helpful advice. A few more things to clarify about my situation.

I never got in it with the intention of making money. I overpaid for this vehicle because of the miles and minimal rust. I wanted one of these growing up, and my goal was to restore it to use as a weekend driver, 2-3 k miles a year, tops. I put some time and effort after the purchase in dealing with the cooling system (it is back to factory spec now) and all known possible oil and transmission leaks (the crank was leaking, rest was preventative).

Then came the fun stuff. I would occasionally hear some noises which my local cruiser (LC Specialists in Austin, TX) expert designated as bushings etc. He said it was normal for the age. I started researching, and it turns out that given the age, I needed to replace them if I wanted the original driving experience. Not that it drives bad. Drives smooth as silk till 75 mph, and I can do 80-90 mph no problem, with minimal vibration (a balancing would fix). Steering feels solid and I can turn it at the smallest radius, smoothly.

My goal was not a frame-off or rotisserie restoration. I was perhaps thinking, of replacing the soft stuff and the cosmetics, tidying up the interior (new carpet and new front drivers seat). I just wanted it to look nice and respectable.

When I looked into doing things such as the U-joints, shock and springs, calipers etc., is was when I realized that this might be a little more money than I originally thought. Primarily because I do not have the tools nor facilities. I wanted to do these things as preventative, but I could perhaps let them be for now. In some cases even some rubber components require a spare hand, or a proper lifting mechanism. Again, I could perhaps leave them be.

The things that are must fix are the upholstery, front seat and sunroof at this point. The interior is coming to around $1400 with both seats redone and brand new carpet installed with padding. I have no idea what the sunroof holds, and it scares me a little bit.

But I guess that is the FZJ80 life-style. As for 4Runners, I purchased one about a year ago that was SoCal rust free with the intention of restoring it. Went on a trip with a friend who loved it so much that he made me an offer I could not refuse, and it allowed me to get into the 80. The difference between the two is night and day, as most of you would already know.

Thank you once again for your advice.
 
cahill said:
Worth of your truck is hard to say - probably worth around what you paid for it? What is your goal in restoring it? If it is to sell it again, than unless you do a lot of the work yourself or know someone that does good work and gives you a great deal for their labor you are likely going to have a hard time recouping cost and making a profit.

What components need some love? How bad is the interior? If it runs well and only has some pin striping and torn seats and you hope to restore it for your own use, than just run it like it is and keep up on maintenance until it is financially feasible to restore to the condition that you hope to achieve. What kind of restoration are you looking to do? Frame off restoration, full repaint, replace all old rubber (door seals/window runs, bushings, engine/tranny mounts) springs, shocks, re-paint, re-do interior, complete engine rebuild with OEM parts if still available is going to be a big expense.

Post up some photos and it will help us know what you are working with.
Click to expand...

I posted some pictures. I was never in it to restore and sell. I wanted to keep it, and hopefully may be able to do so if I am clever about it. I just want it to a point where it is clean and presentable. It runs fine just as is, I just wanted to redo most of the rubber and perhaps a paint job towards the end. I think at this point the U-Joints would benefit from replacement and it seems as if though I cannot do that job myself based on the skill and tool requirements.

I would not want to do a frame-off, as I believe that would be too much. Once I have the money, I would try and replace as much as I can without unbolting panels.

Thanks!
 
iRoughNeck said:
:frown::cry:
Click to expand...
Ya know I'm pulling your leg????

Minimal tools you need:
Grease gun
Paper Towels
17MM wrench / 6 pt socket
14mm wrench / 6 pt socket
13MM wrench / 6 pt socket
12MM wrench / 6 pt socket
10MM wrench / 6 pt socket
Car ramps.

That will get you 80% of what you need. You can do basic maintenance with all that and it doesn't take up much room!

I have a neighbor that has never done wrenching. I have talked him through a lot of things, he has since rebuilt his front axle, changed the valve cover gasket and spark plug tube seals, changed the distributor cap and plug wires, and changed coolant hoses.

I let him borrow a few tools, but I offered him my ear and a voice when he needed it. Sometimes it was just a text and a few pics and it was resolved.

You can do it!
Don't pay others to do it or you WILL be broke!
 
Pascoscout said:
Pictures of current condition would help. 156k miles is fairly low, not many out there anymore in that range.

Is this a daily driver for you?

If it's not a daily and it was me I would keep it. Fix the things that I could take on myself and just enjoy the truck as it is. Get the sunroof taken care of first before it leads to other issues. Clean the carpet really well after that and buy some cheap seat covers until you can spring for a new seat kit (my seats were torn when I bought mine 5 years ago and I haven't gotten around to fixing them yet). Buy other components piece by piece and replace them over time (been doing one or two weather strips a months for a while now on mine and nearly resealed the whole truck). Get a Factory Service Manual and learn how to work on the truck. Many of the repairs can be done with some time and standard mechanics tools. Anything requiring special tools save up and take it to a shop unless you have a burning desire to invest in tools (for me it's my excuse with the wife to fill my shop with more stuff).

If you've always dreamed of having one of these and this truck is the one you want don't part with it. Particularly since you already invested some time and money fixing a few things which if you bought another one you'd likely have to fix again.
Click to expand...

Not a daily driver, I have 3-series diesel that I like to put on miles on.

The sunroof scares me the most. A full replacement is $700 for the part alone, it would probably take just as much to install it in terms of man hours. According to some threads here, the U-joints would be on the top of the replace list for power-train for this age. Both those jobs are probably outside my skill-set and tool capability. I got a FSM and I am working through it slowly.

One big concern is since I am replacing everything with Toyota parts, the cost is adding up. But may be I am just getting impatient and need to relax and take my time. Thanks for the advise though!
 
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