Opinion of this 1978 FJ40 for sale

[tmckeon]

Hello all looking to hear people's opinion on this 1978 restomod FJ40 that is for sale. I really love this one and am close to purchasing but i have some concerns that I'm hoping the experts here could help me sort. 350-Powered 1978 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 - WOB Cars - https://wobcars.com/product/350-powered-1978-toyota-land-cruiser-fj40/

This vehicle sold on BaT 01/2023: ($75,002)
350-Powered 1978 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 - https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-toyota-land-cruiser-fj40-133/#comments-anchor
Then was list on Bat again in May of this year and didnt meet the reserve:
350-Powered 1978 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 - https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-toyota-land-cruiser-fj40-190/

I'm wondering if this is just bad timing in the soft market, or is this something that I should be concerned with. The comments made during the two auctions were for the majority very positive about the build and restoration by Scott Gesik at Restored FJ40 in Oregon. (restoration occured in 2011). Some commenters did not like the black trim and accents and the diamond plate... I tend to agree and would address those over time ( to me easy things to tweek). There was some question with the driveline geometry being odd. I'm 100% clueless with that stuff so i have no clue what is right or wrong or just opinions and splitting hairs. I would like to see if i could bring the overall height down as she sits at 82". Could anyone tell me if that would be possible from looking at it. is there a body lift present and a suspension lift? Maybe remove the body spacers? Not sure at all.

Anyway.. I'd love to hear any all opinions that you may have. Thank you for looking into for me if you do make a comment!

 

[3_puppies]

it's odd in the pics, the background looks the same but the license plate changes states

I don't know how much it is selling for now, but if paying a large sum of money it should be what you want and not have to work on it to get it where you want

 

[pbgbottle]

only thing I notice is use missing all the original heater blower and ducting.
And lots of nice bolts in the rear of the frame which usually was hot riveted . Has lots of add ons. Steering column is after market. Why the check plate these days most people take that off. What’s the price is the big question. Looks good though. Need pics of the driveshafts to see how that looks and maybe power steering conversion to see the position of the steering box and how they addressed the drag link or tie rod. Doh. What’s it called. Haha ,with the lift they used. Could drive all over the road with bump steer or death wobble. Who knows. Needs test drive.

 

[liko]

Pull the trigger. I like the black accents, the diamond plate not as much. You could remove a leaf from the leaf pack to lower a lil bit, I did not see a body lift block, but I didn’t look too hard.

You have a 40 in your avatar, so assuming quite a bit here: for 75k you are getting a loud, stiff, cruiser not a 100 series luxury suv. Nice 40, good luck.

 

[devo]

To me it looks like a modified 40. An example of a NA FJ40 Lipstick on a Pig! Do you want a real FJ40 or a hot rod? That’s how I look at it!

 

[EWheeler]

Hello all looking to hear people's opinion on this 1978 restomod FJ40 that is for sale. I really love this one and am close to purchasing but i have some concerns that I'm hoping the experts here could help me sort. 350-Powered 1978 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 - WOB Cars - https://wobcars.com/product/350-powered-1978-toyota-land-cruiser-fj40/
View attachment 3787114
This vehicle sold on BaT 01/2023: ($75,002)
350-Powered 1978 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 - https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-toyota-land-cruiser-fj40-133/#comments-anchor
Then was list on Bat again in May of this year and didnt meet the reserve:
350-Powered 1978 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 - https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-toyota-land-cruiser-fj40-190/

I'm wondering if this is just bad timing in the soft market, or is this something that I should be concerned with. The comments made during the two auctions were for the majority very positive about the build and restoration by Scott Gesik at Restored FJ40 in Oregon. (restoration occured in 2011). Some commenters did not like the black trim and accents and the diamond plate... I tend to agree and would address those over time ( to me easy things to tweek). There was some question with the driveline geometry being odd. I'm 100% clueless with that stuff so i have no clue what is right or wrong or just opinions and splitting hairs. I would like to see if i could bring the overall height down as she sits at 82". Could anyone tell me if that would be possible from looking at it. is there a body lift present and a suspension lift? Maybe remove the body spacers? Not sure at all.

Anyway.. I'd love to hear any all opinions that you may have. Thank you for looking into for me if you do make a comment!

The $75k BAT seller is a member and has a business consigning/selling FJ40s. I would reach out to him directly for questions/concerns, and if this rig isnt right, maybe he knows of one that is. @overton

His website: Land Cruiser Nation | fj40 for sale | Johnston, IA, USA - https://www.lcnation.com/

 

[Grayscale]

Is the battery tray connected to the frame or just the fender?

It looks like Grade8 flange head bolts holding the rear spring shackle hangers in place. That isn't what I'd want to see.

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

I have visited Scott at his shop. He does exceptional restorations. Dont know what scope he did on this project, but his restorations usually removes every weld pinch to address rust that most places never do. Door skins are blown apart, all support structures are removed to address rust where the sun don’t shine. Super anal. I would suggest you call Scott directly and get details from the horse’s mouth. He is a nice guy. Knows his s***

 

[mattressking]

Covid was peak selling for cars - unlikely it will happen again anytime soon. Market is soft now for selling anything and hotrod trucks rarely get the price most folks demand - even if they are very nice which is why that didn't move past 40k.

If you are a flipper after owning a couple years at most - stockish is the way to go.

 

[pb4ugo]

There's a few things I would have done differently, but some of that is just a personal choice. Looking at the build pics it appears to have been blown apart and rebuilt, which is what you like to see to confirm the quality of the build. It's missing a breather or something in the pass side Valve cover. I prefer V8's but not automatics, but that's just me. I don't care for front shackle reversals either. If it has a front locker, I would ask if it has alloy birfields/axles in the front. If not, I would want that addressed. As @mattressking mentioned, the market is soft right now. The seller isn't going to get close to the original BAT auction. Covid pricing on most things were nutz. My customers had the 2 best years they ever had.

 

[Grayscale]

By far the longest front driveshaft and the shortest rear driveshaft that I've seen on an FJ40. photo 168 of 273. The transmission and transfercase (with the parking brake drum) are too long, placing it too far back. I'd say that the rear needs a double-Cardan driveshaft. But, is there room, or, why not move the axle back a bit? The pinon will be rotated with an axle spring-perch adjustment (welding and cutting) to fix the current sharp angle of the U-joints.