New Prospective 1985 FJ60 buyer (1 Viewer)

[Young Cracken]

Hey guys - I’ve been following for a while here and I’m finally going to pull the trigger on a pretty clean car (100k miles). Doesn’t seem to have major rust issues (see below) but I wanted to get your opinion on how bad (deal killer?) and what you’d address if anything. Thanks so much in advance, really appreciate it.

Rear small window rust (haven’t pulled back rub yet)

Worst of undercarriage

 

[klinetime574]

From the few pics I’ve seen it doesn’t scream run away. How did the C-Channel look? Opposite side of the frame from that last photo. Also make sure to check around the base of the rear wheel arches. Fold the rear seat bottom up and pull the carpet. Look for holes. Another common rust spot is the upper rear shock frame cross member.

Low mileage is nice. What’s the asking price?

 

[MarkBC]

Yeah that's definitely in decent shape. But it looks like the body was resprayed to hide some rust. So you'll have a few surprises and adventures to deal with when those fully present themselves. Be prepared to do some rust repair.

 

[macdaddy59]

It has been my experience that most mechanical problems can easily be dealt with to make it right or an upgrade. Rust is a HUGE GIANT problem that unless you have mad fabrication and body man skills will eat your wallet faster than any other problem. Once you start peeling back the rust to get to clean metal you are in the hunt for a donor vehicle to cut up to replace parts from. It just snowballs from there. Be very careful to look at all of the possible rust and what it will take to get it to where you want it. I cannot tell you how many times i have heard the saying " it is only a little bit of rust shouldn't be a problem to fix that"

 

[Young Cracken]

Thanks guys - This is all really helpful info. The ask on it is $18k. It was a Cali car per Carfax. I was able to speak to owners mechanic and he mentioned power steering has been updated, carb was worked on, bunch of rubber and lines replaced,
interior work (looks super clean but is a nice RE-upholster job, headliner, trunk vinyl etc overall was a solid $10k if receipts. There’s a leak around the rear main seal, but not too bad. Also some gunk On the passenger knuckle which needs repacking. Some other pics below.

 

[OSS]

The little bit of rust shown doesn't look significant at all. For a 35 year old cruiser I'd give it an A-.
So take rust concerns off your list (if I was buying it, I would).
If the engine starts good, idles good and runs good (for a FJ60) and you're happy with the interior, the seller's asking price is fair. If you bought it for $18K and engine runs good, you'll have paid a fair price.

 

[Seth S]

I feel 18k is a little high...but then again I’m probably behind the market curve given how popular these have become and how many are selling. It looks like a solid truck though. I think I saw a really clean Fj60 on corsettis site recently for about $19k. You might look there as a reference.

 

[MoaByte]

Did you get it?