Wasn't able to take it for a drive unfortunately, both due to my plans this evening afterwards, and the fact it was in the back corner of their showroom. The gentleman showing it to me said I could take it for a drive though, just to call and give him some warning so they could pull it out. For the same reason I also didn't get a chance to see it fired up, and wasn't able to see the rear in person because it was backed up inches from the wall.
Dealer (Park Place Ltd) told me they actually bought it for the owner in 2009 (says he probably saw it on a website, went to them and said "buy this for me"; there's a lot of money in tech in and around Seattle/Bellevue so I could see this happening).
Had some paperwork for maintenance, but it was quite limited. Lower door seals replaced (forget date), brake master cylinder + brake job in 2014, tires recently (sorry thought I'd remember more of this but ended up meeting friends for dinner and drinks afterwards. Should have made notes
)
I took a bunch of photos, hopefully of relevant stuff but probably some that you don't care about. I also have a lot of questions, but I'll reply to your comments first.
p.s. really impressed that all of you spotted the custom lower cab and custom bed. Not something I noticed at all until I got there and looked at it up close!
looks like an aqualu bed and tailgate? and also the lower cab/tub.
I don't like the way the exhaust is run under the skidplate
depending on what market it came from it may be all drum brakes, it does have a heater so it may have come from Canada.
From what I saw, and the photos, I believe that yes this is an Aqualu bed and lower cab. Possibly the tailgate as well but not certain. It looks a lot like the one I've linked below, but it has hooks as well. Maybe a custom ask?
Yes it's drum brakes all around, and a drum parking brake on the transmission.
I dont think its an aqua bed the one pictured has a rolled lip the aqua beds are just flat around the openings.
I am a beginner, but it looks a lot like the setup in this photo:
With a few differences:
- Aqualu photo shows hooks as plates welded on
- FJ in desc appears to be round bar bent and welded on, I'll try to get another photo of them when I test drive
- FJ in desc also has hooks along tailgate
Sadly the truck was backed up against a wall so I couldn't check out the tailgate at all.
No doubt it has a new half cab on it.
The tail gate looks home made.
Looks like the trans hump is held on with self tapping sheet metal fasteners.
And it looks like the chewed on the back edge of floor opening when trying to reinstall the the trans and trxf case .
Don't see the trans hump screws, which photo are you referring to? I'll take another closer look when I go to test drive it.
Rusty Canadian spec truck rebuilt with aqualu parts, if you want original, look elsewhere, she is a mut!
Fair point, but I'm looking for a decent drivable-right-now truck that I can start with as a base and build up over time. Also I was seriously considering the Aqualu parts as a future upgrade regardless of what I bought, so having them outright is nice. That being said I was going to look into a short box, oh well.
I appreciate the comment though, and if you have any thoughts about where to look for rust I'd love to know, please look at the photos below and let me know what you think.
That tailgate! I couldn't live with the lettering. Otherwise, I like the looks of the truck. Take a look and drive it, then let us know what you found out.
Agreed, the lettering bothered me when I first realized it didn't match, and it just keeps getting worse the more I look at it.
My initial thoughts (keep in mind this is the first FJ45 I've sat in):
- For the most part I'd rate the paint decently, but there are some bad areas (around gas cap and nose of hood) and obvious areas where it's cracking a bit and rust is showing through (see front underside of hood photos)
- Frame appears in decent shape with some surface rust, but it might be lipstick on a pig
- Aluminum lower cab and bed are a plus for me; I'm from Calgary originally and I've seen what rust can do to vehicles. It's an upgrade I would have considered in the future.
- I'm used to seeing latches to lower the window on either side of the dash....are they hiding being the dash pads? I figured some of it would be exposed? I don't intend to lower the window but good to know about.
- Drivers seat feels a little cramped, clutch/brake pedals feel too close, but after reading online that appears to be the correct pedal height. That being said, the drivers seat was in this position (ahead of the passenger bench):
... and according to this other photo it can go to this position:
(what appears to be a few inches behind the passenger bench)
So I'm guessing that even though it felt like it wouldn't go back further, there's some way to make it work. Maybe I need to release the vertical portion, then move the seat back, then lock the vertical portion back in?
Either way, I'm only 5'4", I didn't expect that to be an issue.
I have plans all day Saturday, but I'm going to call and see if I can test drive it on Sunday.
Album of photos I took w/ comments (below each photo) is here on imgur; though I've forgotten how bad the site can be when you don't run an ad-blocker. If anyone would prefer I can post the photos I took here.
Edit: apparently I can't link to the imgur album externally, so I'll leave it embedded here. I believe if you click in the middle of an image it will link you to the album on imgur which will let you see the description of each photo.
Edit 2: ugh, it's showing a photo that I deleted as the cover image.
