Opinions on this 1977 FJ45 (1 Viewer)

[BlackAura]

So a local dealership just got an 1977 FJ45 in, and I'm going to go take a look at it tonight. I'll report back with my findings but if you have any thoughts please let me know!

1977 Toyota FJ45 Longbed Pickup XXXXXXXFJ45150576 for sale in Seattle Bellevue WA

New 1977 Toyota FJ45 Longbed Pickup at Park Place LTD XXXXXXXFJ45150576 for sale in Seattle Bellevue WA

www.parkplaceltd.com

More photos of undercarriage here:

1977 Toyota FJ45 Longbed Pickup

bit.ly/ToyotaFJ45Longbed

www.flickr.com

From what I can tell this is probably a Canadian FJ, it has the heater, and a mph speedo (which that year in Canada may have had; they didn't switch until late '77 so really probably the '78 model year). Door plate says May 1977, FJ45 - 150576. I'll try to find the plate in the engine bay to see if has the destination letter at the end.

Random thoughts:
- Tailgate doesn't have embossed Toyota text, the painted text is the wrong font (compared to the embossed one)
- Underside looks pretty clean, some surface rust on the leaves, and in photo IMG_0884 on the Flickr site you can see surface rust around the joint that is mounted above the leaf spring mount. Which makes me think they sanded down what they could and sprayed it black, but didn't take the time to remove everything.
- IMG_0883 on Flickr the frame side of the body mount has a bit of rust around the edge and doesn't look in great shape; could indicate worse rust under the paint.
- Air intake hose in the engine bay doesn't attach to anything? Wonder if it had a snorkel at one point?
- Brake booster is painted the same as the rest of the engine bay, so I'm assuming they repainted the engine bay at some point, so the paint is definitely not new.

The price seems high, but this dealership is known for pricing things a bit high (they have a lot of fancy stuff), so if interested I'll talk them down and be ready to walk away.


Anyone know this cruiser? See anything that I missed?

I'm new to cruisers, and am going with the "don't buy the first [few] you look at" rule, so I won't be jumping into anything quickly. Trying to do lots of research first.

Thanks!

 

[3_puppies]

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.

 

[Varty Yo]

I dont think its an aqua bed the one pictured has a rolled lip the aqua beds are just flat around the openings.

 

[brian]

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 .

 

[whitey45]

Rusty Canadian spec truck rebuilt with aqualu parts, if you want original, look elsewhere, she is a mut!

 

[LongHaulCruiser]

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.

 

[BlackAura]

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.

 

[brian]

Those guys

 

[Bear]

I see boxed Land Rover under-frame shots above. Not sure why included in this discussion.

 

[middlecalf]

That looks put together very well from my view of pics. Not all original but my repaired rusty stuff isn’t technically original either. If motor runs well and drivetrain has no issues, and you could get that into the $20’s (but not outlandish where it sits now) seems like a solid rig that’ll service you for a good bit. (I have no issues with drum brakes but I don’t drive in LA type traffic). Black knobs under dash are the windshield releases. I’d put some sort of hockey puck supports on the running board mounts just to keep from bending the rocker panels, if you step on them. Keep us posted.

 

[Airdale]

A couple of minor details:
- black headliner instead of white - was there rust repair to the roof?
- cover plate where stock radio sat - is there an after market radio/stereo somewhere? (not critical, but should be included at that price)
- looks like something missing in the connection between frame and front bumper - perhaps there used to be a winch there that was removed?

 

[BlackAura]

Didn't get a chance to get over there this weekend so hopefully I can leave work a bit early on Monday and swing by to check it out and test drive it.

Those guys

Ah, totally see what you're talking about, thanks! Great call out, I'll take a closer look when I look at it. I'm guessing it's originally held down with bolts? Or are there studs welded to the body sticking up? Hopefully all it needs is pulling those out, drilling out the holes nicely / cleaning them up, maybe throwing something protective on the aluminum, and putting in proper hardware. Maybe use it to talk down the price; can definitely use the damage to talk them down.

That looks put together very well from my view of pics. Not all original but my repaired rusty stuff isn’t technically original either. If motor runs well and drivetrain has no issues, and you could get that into the $20’s (but not outlandish where it sits now) seems like a solid rig that’ll service you for a good bit. (I have no issues with drum brakes but I don’t drive in LA type traffic). Black knobs under dash are the windshield releases. I’d put some sort of hockey puck supports on the running board mounts just to keep from bending the rocker panels, if you step on them. Keep us posted.

Yeah I'm not looking to restore it to an original state, I intend to use it for light offroading and overlanding with some friends, and to run topless around town when it's nice out. I'm looking to find something that's in a good driveable state now without too much work required.

I did some research Saturday night and was pretty sure the knobs were hand screws to lower the window (vs. the latches on the older ones), thanks for confirming that!

I'll put the hockey pucks on the running board mounts on the project list, thanks.

A couple of minor details:
- black headliner instead of white - was there rust repair to the roof?
- cover plate where stock radio sat - is there an after market radio/stereo somewhere? (not critical, but should be included at that price)
- looks like something missing in the connection between frame and front bumper - perhaps there used to be a winch there that was removed?

Didn't realize or notice the black headliner, thanks! The previous owner added bedliner and insulation under the carpet in the cab to help reduce the road noise so it's possible insulation in the headliner was part of that work, but I'll take a closer look and ask some more questions when I go test drive it.

Thanks for pointing out the stereo cover plate. I did some research about stereos in FJ45s last night because I really have no clue where to mount any of the components. There was nothing about a stereo in the ad and I didn't see any speakers or other components when I was checking out the truck, so I assume it was stripped out. I don't mind doing the work myself to set up something like that, but I agree at that price point it really should be included.

There may have been something mounted on the front bumper, there is a photo on the main site taken overtop of the drivers signal light where you can see the bumper is warped a bit (just in front of the left frame rail) and there's rust around some of the holes in the bumper. In fact I don't think the holes in the bumper are symmetrical, looks like there have been extra ones added. I also don't know if there were two hooks on the front at some point (only one right now, passenger side frame rail). I'll look closer to see if there's evidence of it having a PTO winch at some point.


Thanks for all the posts and help so far everyone! Hopefully I can take it for a test drive tomorrow; Tuesday at the latest.

 

[3_puppies]

not sure what you will do with the 3 point seatbelt running topless?

 

[BlackAura]

not sure what you will do with the 3 point seatbelt running topless?

Hah, great question!

This photo shows the belt retractor as being mounted to the edge of lower tub:

I'm guessing you could remove the upper point mount in the roof and mount it down near the floor and run it as a dual-lap belt?
Maybe mount it to the roll bar at the front of the box?

Would any of that be safe? No idea.

I'll ask them and see what they say! (edit: they advertised removable top but with this issue it looks less removable so can maybe talk them down)

 

[3_puppies]

the headache rack is not a rollbar, I wouldn't trust that to hold me in place.

 

[BlackAura]

Shoot, well, that one fell through.

The salesperson I was working with was off Sun/Mon, so we scheduled a test drive today after work. He got someone to pull it out and get it ready for the test drive and his boss told him someone put a deposit on it. He just called to let me know, so no test drive

If whoever snapped it up is on IH8Mud, congrats!

Thanks everyone for the advice and discussions, I've learned a lot and have a much better idea of what to look for. I'll keep my eyes peeled and let you know what I find next.

 

[LongHaulCruiser]

How disappointing. But, be sure to follow up. If the sale doesn't go through, you have a second chance. The buyer may have changed his/her mind, or it didn't go well with the significant other, or the financing might be denied.

 

[middlecalf]

That’s poor business practice in my book.

 

[BlackAura]

How disappointing. But, be sure to follow up. If the sale doesn't go through, you have a second chance. The buyer may have changed his/her mind, or it didn't go well with the significant other, or the financing might be denied.

Yeah totally, I've been keeping my eye on it. They did update it to say "Pending" the next day, but it's still up, so that's maybe a good sign?

That’s poor business practice in my book.

Agreed, super disappointed because I called to test drive it and spoke to a different salesperson and he said "well I don't want to step on [first salesperson's] toes...", which I totally get, so I said I'm fine test driving it when they were back in the office, which happened to be Tuesday. I would have even put a deposit down to get the chance, had I known that was an option.

Well now I know for the future.

Still pending, so who knows what will happen.

 

[ToyotaMatt]

NEEDS : BADLY

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