New here; need advice on possible fj40 purchase (1 Viewer)

[daito]

Hi Team,

I am going to be buying my first FJ40 fixer upper (first fixer upper ever) and wanted some sage advice. So far I've been looking at pictures and haven't seen the unit itself so there are some things I'm not sure of. I have found a model that is a good price and looks like it has a lot of what I want in it to start with.

My question is what items should I spend a lot of time looking at when I see the vehicle in person? What do you guys find out afterwards that would have made you change your mind? What were some hidden gems you found along the way with your restorations that turned into big ticket expenses? What lessons did you learn along the way that could have saved funds?

My overall plan is a frame off restoration that will surely be years and years of a hobby. I don't plan on the purist restoration but I'd like to retain a lot of the aesthetics that are in the FJ40. The body would likely stay as stock or close to stock as possible. The suspension and everything would be more modern.

Stuff I would like or expect:

• Budget of <$2000 for the shell
• I wanted an older year model and I hear this one is somewhere around a 69 so that works out well.
• Either F or 2F motor works
• The body looks like its in decent condition for the price
• Comes with the hard top (must have)

Don't want:

• Motor swaps, if I want this option I'll do it later
• home made fender flares made out of aluminum (not for this project anyway)

Stuff I don't care about

• Rust,
• Old wiring itself, I'm not sure about which components are computerized (if any) but I'll likely switch out the wiring to a newer wiring kit like EZ Wiring or whatever its called.
• Holes in the tub... I kind of expect this

 

[ARCTICMUTT]

Pics would help but the FAQ section of this forum would give you most if not all of the answers you're looking for.

 

[daito]

PICS

Here are the pics for what I've seen so far.

 

[FishTacos]

Where you live can have an effect on value. i.e. In NJ (or the northeast or anywhere salt is used on the roads in the winter, really) it is hard to find a rust free body. If you can you will pay out the nose for it.

Here is the buyers guide from the FAQ that ARCTICMUTT referred to:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-seri...ng-fj-40-fj-40-b-u-y-e-r-s-g-u-i-d-e-f-q.html

Good luck and welcome to the madness.

And.........Welcome to Mud

 

[Leaping Deer]

My advise save up more money buy a running and driving truck. You will spend far less in the future. $2000 won't buy much for a cruiser these days.

 

[Fast Eddy]

If you're going to spend years on it, spend some extra months, find one in NM or AZ and haul it home. Not caring about rust is a big mistake unless you're planning an Aqualu tub and even then I prefer a nice steel tub if I'm going to keep it.

 

[SteveH]

What were some hidden gems you found along the way with your restorations that turned into big ticket expenses? What lessons did you learn along the way that could have saved funds?

The standard rule is to buy the best vehicle you can find to restore, in the collector car world. Too many people buy a totally rusted out (Mustang convertible) and pour thousands into it and end up with a patch job. If they had spend 3x as much up front, they would have invested far less $$ long term and had a much more solid result. $2000 is too little to spend on an FJ40 up front, I think. There will *always* be far more wrong with whatever you purchase than you thought. These 'wrong things' will suck up time and $$. Think about the cost of tires, exhaust, a battery, carb work, axle seals, suspension bushings, a brake booster, etc. - almost every used FJ will need these things on top of $5K in body work (or more) and another thousand in door gaskets, seals, etc.

If your multi-year resto plans run into a life-change such as more schooling, kids, a wife, etc. then the whole train can get derailed. Buy something that runs so that you can enjoy the resto as you go. Don't buy the first one you see (unless it's cherry) and post pix and ask questions on Mud, no matter how dumb they may seem.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

^^VERY SOUND ADVICE^^^

I would consider this gospel. Save up for a decent runner and fall in love with the cruiser first. It makes the tear down and modification/restoration process much more enjoyable.

I've been down the cruiser road before, and even though I have all the tools and 90% of the ability to do it myself, I often get overwhelmed at the stage I'm at on my build.

If you decide to pull the trigger and buy it make sure the frame matches the title and body VIN. Also make sure the frame is decent. They tend torot in the ass end by the spring hangers and rear crossmember areas. I would recommend reserching the year you are thinking on getting. I'm guessing it's a mid/late 60's model going by the front bib lights. Basically, the more original the better. It makes it easier for the experts on this site to diagnose problems and give you sound advice if it's OEM equiptment over a hacked up Frankencruiser.

 

[MAD1]

My biggest concern when I bought mine was rust. That is the most difficult to repair.

 

[Chamba]

If you're going to spend years on it, spend some extra months, find one in NM or AZ and haul it home. Not caring about rust is a big mistake unless you're planning an Aqualu tub and even then I prefer a nice steel tub if I'm going to keep it.

No. Not NM. We can't spare any. Sorry.

 

[tedzo]

Resto has a few different meanings as well.

Factory resto- plan on spending 10g or more tracking down clean oem parts,paint,etc

The earlier the year, the harder to find parts (pre 69- specter has discontinued alot)

Standard aftermarket resto- plan on spending 10g or more on fiberglass and plastic.


Driveable resto



- buy my 74 for 5g and call it good!

 

[Titan]

Welcome
Did I understand you to say, the pic you posted is a 2K truck and being sold as such?...If so..don't buy it,looks real bad, but send along the contact info so I may properly chastise owner ...
echo-ing what the guru's said..spend more..bring a magnet along to check for bondo..check compression on motor,engage 4WD,turn on all elec..i'm by no means an expert..but I've shelled out stupid amounts of money fixing up my truck,and it was in good shape, most problems you wont know about until your deep in it..Good Luck Amigo

 

[cjgoode]

I prefer the rust, I can cut and patch the metal for far cheaper then I could ever buy on without the rust. As long as the tub is still solid and stable and the edges are all intact and you are not going for the purist restoration, plus I like working on them when I have time, so my projects sit a lot waiting for me to have time. You only posted a few pics but that does not look like a bad starting point. What you can accept depends a lot on your budget, tools and skills, but even then I have seen people buy old rust buckets for cheap and use the extra money on the tools they need to fix it, and learn the skills, as restoring an old vehicle was much more their goal then just driving one right away. So stick with what you want and your real goal.

 

[RAYJON]

it all depends on where you are at and how good you are at scrounging and making stuff work. out west expect cleaner bodies but wore out drivetrain, and I mean wore out.. East bodies are gone. to echo something already said go go az or new mexico for a body.. then buy a gallon of epoxy primer and do the inside and out of everything..

the biggest problem with cruisers is the previous owners... and rust, even if you dont see it its there,

if you get a early truck, score a cheep fj60 for parts, motor, brakes etc.. saves alot of money and fj60's are cheep if rusty..

good luck there are deals out there but you have to be patient and look at alot of stuff. I have bought 2 "just get it out of here" fj40's cheep , just have to find the right seller and the right cruiser. look at alot before you buy go through the fact thread, look at all the build threads,

know what stuff is really worth, too many people think its a cruiser its worth 5k, or more with a wore out f motor and a 3 speed.....

 

[daito]

HI Everyone,

I have been reading everyones posts and I appreciate the advice. I am going to look at the unit this next week and see how it looks.

A few people have said to save up and buy a working unit. I would do this except I'd be saving for the rest of my life to get a working model that I'd like. I have to spend what I can afford to save in the next little while because I can't float a loan... plus I can't really save money because it'll get prioritized somewhere along the way. I have a bit of a break going right now so I figured I'd get my hands on something then I can chip away at it over time if it works out. I may be able to get a working unit for $5000 but for a few thousand more I could get a working unit plus less issues then a few more thousand it could be a little better. I'd be up to a 20k loan before I knew it.

Like I said before I'm pretty sure its not in running condition but after seeing pics of the motor area it looks decent in there. I'll send updates through as I get them. Do the pics look that bad? I've seen some really looking units on ebay for 1500 that look like rust with a little bit of medal left.

 

[DSRTRDR]

they always take more money than you figure - just sayin'

sounds like you can't afford one - sorry to be so blunt, but an FJ40 is not a budget car

I sympathize with anyone short on money, but please spend it in wiser fashion than on one of these rust buckets

 

[dustinuhls]

HI Everyone,

I have been reading everyones posts and I appreciate the advice. I am going to look at the unit this next week and see how it looks.

A few people have said to save up and buy a working unit. I would do this except I'd be saving for the rest of my life to get a working model that I'd like. I have to spend what I can afford to save in the next little while because I can't float a loan... plus I can't really save money because it'll get prioritized somewhere along the way. I have a bit of a break going right now so I figured I'd get my hands on something then I can chip away at it over time if it works out. I may be able to get a working unit for $5000 but for a few thousand more I could get a working unit plus less issues then a few more thousand it could be a little better. I'd be up to a 20k loan before I knew it.

Like I said before I'm pretty sure its not in running condition but after seeing pics of the motor area it looks decent in there. I'll send updates through as I get them. Do the pics look that bad? I've seen some really looking units on ebay for 1500 that look like rust with a little bit of medal left.

I was in the same boat as you. I didn't want to spend a lot on my first 40, but did want to get something that I could work on over time and fix up as my project vehicle. Not a purist, but still wanted it to look mostly original. When I first started looking, I had a budget in my head of $1500. Could not find ANYTHING that was worth a **** for that. I didn't know much, if anything, about FJ40s except that I wanted one. I've always had 4x4 Toyota trucks and would not let myself buy a Heep as much as people told me to settle for one. Finally, after 10+ years of searching and a couple of failed attempts at buying one, I found the one for me. It's a '75 and all original except for that the ambulance doors had been replaced by barn doors and a flip up back hatch door from an older model by the PO. I actually like it better because it's topless for the majority of the year and I still have a tailgate. Other than that, everything else was all original and had never been screwed with by the PO. No extra holes in the dash, no diamond plate covers over rust, no aftermarket unnecessary parts, etc. I ended up paying $2800 for it and drove it on a 2 1/2 hour road trip home with no problems. Runs great. Hidden Gems?..., I ended up getting the factory original PTO winch on my 40, which I thought was cool at first, but ended up finding out later was worth some good money to the right people. Seen a couple sell on Ebay for $2500+ That was a nice bonus to find out about and knew nothing about before I bought it. You'll learn as you go after you buy one. Best advice I can give is to find one that you can actually drive when you get it. Nothing worse than letting it sit for years while you work on it. I do little projects on mine here and there, but nothing that will keep it out of commission for more than a few days. I bought it because I wanted to drive it 1st and foremost! Here's what mine looked like when I bough it:
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u181/dustinuhls/fj12.jpg


And what it looks like now after some new hood latches, cutting out the rust spots in front, knocking the dings and dents out of the hood and fenders and a backyard paint job... Still working on addressing the rust and body work on the back half, but it will eventually get there. There's ALWAYS more money to spend on these things. I've got a list of stuff I want to do, and will get to over time. Most all of them will have some rust. My rear sill is rusted pretty good, but easily repairable. Find one with a solid frame (I looked at one that looked good from the outside, but the frame was rusted in half).
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u181/dustinuhls/2012-10-06_17-43-43_742.jpg

 

[greenbeasty]

LISTEN to the fellas! Wait on a running unit, or in a year or two we will see your truck for sale as a uncompleted project for half of what you have in it. Seen it too many times. Keep saving money and keep looking for a truck you can drive while you work on it.
If you can see rust, three times as much is hidden.
Not lousing your dream, by all means go for it ,you will never regret the time you spend with a 40!
Frank

 

[exomoons]

Some very good and honest advices here.

In my opinion.

All vehicles that need restoration (doesnt matter to what extent) needs $$$ and a lot of it if you've decided to go all the way. I'm not trying to discourage anyone but before you know it this part has to be rebuilt, that needs to be replaced etc...and Im assuming you know about mechanic, welding and painting etc, a handyman if you will.

Please listen to the other members and wait/save up for a decent & running 40, then maybe you can slowly do it up over time. Best of luck, let us know how it goes.

 

[Coastline]

Four years and one week ago I trailered home a red 77 Fj40. I paid $4,500.00 in great part because of a lot of new parts that were on the truck that was 9 years out of registration. Yesterday, my Green 77 Fj40 took its 2nd trial run on rough trails. I probably have close to $25,000 "invested" now. So burned out on building it up that last week I dropped off the 8274 at Tri County Gear for a rebuild. The labor was only $75.00 and well spent.

Could I have got a better deal shopping for something in "drivable" condition? Yup. The next one will cost me more cash up front and not take all those years of lost weekends and evenings getting dirty in the shop instead of getting dirty some place nice.