New FJ40/FJ45 Graveyard found in Saudi Arabia (1 Viewer)

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I've managed to find the owner of the graveyard, he's open to discussion. Trying to arrange a visit to the place for a vehicle by vehicle inspection and photo record. Not having any experience with FJs, any guidance on what details would be most interesting for those in the know?



I dunno much about sun & sand damage, but I would suspect the vinyl seats, dash pad, inside door panels are blasted.

Don’t know why it would be a problem, but I’ve mainly had to check for rust
-the bottom of the doors (there is a thread elsewhere in the forum of a group importing a container of just doors!)
-floor boards & rocker panels (water runs to the lowest point and sits)
-45 beds are a horizontal surface and water just sits. Also check for scaring from whatever loads where hauled
-check for cracks in the frame, where spring hangers attach to the frame
-check for rust in the rear wheel wells

I suspect they are BJ’s, and @torfab has imported a lot of Toyota diesels and could maybe offer some things to check specific to the diesels. If I had the chance I’d bring a battery & fresh fuel & see if any could be started. At a minimum fog the cylinders & check compression on a few.

Frankly I would have a bunch of questions for the owner (or snooping through paperwork)
-is he under contractual obligations to demob after a project ? (Maybe a financial motivation to clear out)
-does he own the land or is he renting storage space (Maybe a financial motivation to clear out)
-was there any preparation to the vehicles for storage? I can’t imagine what would be done in that part of the world, but here in Alaska, when summer operations are shut down at the end of the season, vehicles left to freeze up over winter are “winterized”. If nothing else, may be a bargaining point.
-is electricity available at the yard for tools to prepare rigs for shipping ?
-why parked in the first place ?
-there is some heavy equipment in the yard, is any operational, available & would any be useful for loading containers?

Thanks for your suggestions.
- Rust is typically not a problem in the middle of KSA, with just a few days of rain per year there just isn't enough humidty to cause much of it.
- Diesel is primarily used for trucks, busses and industrial vehicles, most passenger vehicles are petrol. Exceptions exist of course, but if I had to guess I'd say these will be FJs.
- The yard, or rather a fenced piece of desert, is owned by a defunct construction company. Vehicles were probably parked and just forgotten when business stopped, not an unusal event here. I expect very little urgency to sell anything.
- There will have been no preparation at all for storage (maintenance is not a thing here...)
 
I suspect they are BJ’s, and @torfab has imported a lot of Toyota diesels and could maybe offer some things to check specific to the diesels. If I had the chance I’d bring a battery & fresh fuel & see if any could be started. At a minimum fog the cylinders & check compression on a few.
No BJs in Saudi that I am aware of and probably none in the Middle East.
 
X100 cool find.

I’d love to get in on buying a rust free tub, cowl, windshield frame and bib. I’ve spent too many years building my rig the way I want it to want to start over.

I’ll be subscribing and would love to get a sense of costs. I suspect getting a body from Southern California would be more economical.

Other than a body, a lower geared transmission or 5 speed would be next on my wish list.
 
X100 cool find.

I’d love to get in on buying a rust free tub, cowl, windshield frame and bib. I’ve spent too many years building my rig the way I want it to want to start over.

I’ll be subscribing and would love to get a sense of costs. I suspect getting a body from Southern California would be more economical.

Other than a body, a lower geared transmission or 5 speed would be next on my wish list.
There are no 5 speed LC transmissions in that yard. The only way I see to even begin to economically move these would be as parts. Take it all apart and stack in it container(s). Even then it would be a money losing opportunity for someone. Maybe if container prices come back down but it's a nonstarter today the way I see it.
 
Unfortunately we appear to have come to the end of the road empty-handed. Have spoken to the owner and his sons a few times over the past weeks but there is no apparent interest to sell anything at all. So much for wishful thinking ;)
 
Unfortunately we appear to have come to the end of the road empty-handed. Have spoken to the owner and his sons a few times over the past weeks but there is no apparent interest to sell anything at all. So much for wishful thinking ;)
You could on the other hand consider that a blessing. Again, short of disassembling and putting them into a container I'm not sure what else you could do with them.
 
There are no 5 speed LC transmissions in that yard. The only way I see to even begin to economically move these would be as parts. Take it all apart and stack in it container(s). Even then it would be a money losing opportunity for someone. Maybe if container prices come back down but it's a nonstarter today the way I see it.

This isn't necessarily true... unless you've checked them all. It was an option that rarely got purchased, but I've seen at least one 5-speed 40-series in the GCC and it wasn't a modification.
 
Unfortunately we appear to have come to the end of the road empty-handed. Have spoken to the owner and his sons a few times over the past weeks but there is no apparent interest to sell anything at all. So much for wishful thinking ;)

You've given up too easily... it's the Middle East.

Let it rest... wait three months... call/WhatsApp again. Rinse and repeat. It's a looooonnnng game.

Also, build rapport. Send them holiday greetings (Ramadan, Eid, etc.). Every once in awhile share a picture of your Land Cruiser playing in the desert or an old Cruiser you think they'd like to see.
 
You've given up too easily... it's the Middle East.

Let it rest... wait three months... call/WhatsApp again. Rinse and repeat. It's a looooonnnng game.

Also, build rapport. Send them holiday greetings (Ramadan, Eid, etc.). Every once in awhile share a picture of your Land Cruiser playing in the desert or an old Cruiser you think they'd like to see.
lol No kidding. It took me months to get some seat covers made from "the" guy. I think we are friends for life now.
 
You've given up too easily... it's the Middle East.

Let it rest... wait three months... call/WhatsApp again. Rinse and repeat. It's a looooonnnng game.

Also, build rapport. Send them holiday greetings (Ramadan, Eid, etc.). Every once in awhile share a picture of your Land Cruiser playing in the desert or an old Cruiser you think they'd like to see.
Right you are, it'll involve liters of strong sweet tea ;)
But all kidding aside, will give it anither go in a couple of months....

Also agree with WarDamnEagle's sentiment, it's certainly one if not 17 headaches less!
 
Unfortunately we appear to have come to the end of the road empty-handed. Have spoken to the owner and his sons a few times over the past weeks but there is no apparent interest to sell anything at all. So much for wishful thinking ;)
@fvunen - I've also heard that the vehicles are "owned" by a member of the Royal family whose not interested in selling them. Think there are still some outstanding payment issues from the construction company. Either case, its not going to happen.

But that doesn't mean my hunt for FJ's in Saudi has ended!!! ;);). The real adventure has just begun....stay tuned.
 
While exploring Riyadh, I stumbled on a FJ40/FJ45 graveyard!. By the look of it, there are roughly 26 FJ's, including 16 FJ40's and 10 FJ45's in varies stages of decay. They look like 1983 models (at least those in the front). There are also other types of older vehicles too.

I have been trying to find the owner in an attempt to negotiate a possible sale of "scrape" vehicles; and then have them shipped out for restoration. I have never done something like this before, but it would be a shame to do nothing.

Please PM me if you are interested in purchasing any of these vehicles.

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i am interested in this 1970 model...
 
i am interested in this 1970 model...
Hi DJFBoise

Unfortunately, those FJ's are not for sale, but in my travels I found Hussam; whose now my BFF!!! He fixes / restores FJ's for clients all over the world. Look at his instagram : arabianclassics. (Leave comment...and tell him Amer sent you there...need my brownie points) .

I've got some pictures of his farm / workshop. (The KSA Project - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/the-ksa-project.1280623/) Have a look and reach out to him on instagram.
 
Hi DJFBoise

Unfortunately, those FJ's are not for sale, but in my travels I found Hussam; whose now my BFF!!! He fixes / restores FJ's for clients all over the world. Look at his instagram : arabianclassics. (Leave comment...and tell him Amer sent you there...need my brownie points) .

I've got some pictures of his farm / workshop. (The KSA Project - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/the-ksa-project.1280623/) Have a look and reach out to him on instagram.
I’ve talked with Hussam; seems like a nice guy.
 
@YODA 88 62 - Hi

They are a few Datsun / Nissin pick-up's. But they are not any Merc's. I'll thrown-in a blazer too, it you're interested. PM me.

I've just shipped my FJ45 from Qatar to Toronto. That was relatively straight-forward; but shipping rates these days are out of the world. Never shipped "scraped" vehicles.

Will search for the thread. Thanks
I’m in Qatar looking to ship a 96 LS back to the states, but I don’t know where to start. Is there a guide you used to process yours?
 
Here’s the link to a section of the forum that has tons of info. There are vendors here that will do the process for you as well.

 

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