Pig Farm Down Under??

[Corrugated Toy]

I have a difficult question to ask the MUD community.

Difficult because I already know the answer. What I need from those in the MUDISPHERE is good, honest, and thoughtful feedback. My marriage may be riding on this decision if I make the wrong choice.

Here's the deal. Since I have been in Australia and acquired my first FJ55 I have done what so many other FJ55, FJ40, FJ45, FJ25, etc, etc, addicts before me have done. SEARCH FOR MORE! Part's, motor's, transmissions, axels, complete rigs. It doesn't matter we all look for more stuff.

I have found the mini-mother load of pig parts.

I have located a gentleman that was shall we say...a bit of a collector. Following is a list of what I saw on a 15min walk through of the pen:

TRUCKS
4 complete FJ55's (1 may not be available); 3 '78, 1 '79
2 w/ barn doors, 2 w/ tailgates
2 w/ 2F motors and 2 w/ 350 SBC
1 completely rust free, 3 with very minor rust
All glass accounted for
Interior's average (They are used for storage of parts)

PARTS
4 (that I could see) 4 speed transmissions
2 tailgates (1 with new fully functional motor/gears)
A swag of fenders, doors (all kinds), grills, and hoods
6-8 axels and drive shafts
4 pallets of additional parts (emblems, lights, mirrors, etc) that I have not yet laid eyes on
Bull bars, rims, wheels, blah, blah, blah

It seems that I may have listed a lot of stuff, but I seriously have left out half of it. I was only there for 15 minutes, and didn't have time to dig.

Best thing is, he wants it gone. All of it! $5K takes it all. This seems like a steal to me, but I'm not sure of the value of "parts".

Now is the hard part. Can I justify buying this lot? I know what I want to do, and it is more than likely what a fair few of you out there would do as well, but I have a few issues.
1. I would have to rent a place to store everything.(I currently rent a townhouse in the burbs and can't have this sitting in the yard)
2. I would have to pay to have the rigs towed to said place
3. Would somehow have to justify to my wife why this is a good idea.

All this said... Your opinion's and comments would be welcomed. I will be heading back in the next couple of days to have a look at the parts in storage, and to take a few pics.

 

[FJsnoozer]

My personal experience. I live in a high rise and keep my truck and parts in another town. It is very hard to get a solid day of work in on the truck let alone a few hours. It is a half day event to get in 2 hours of work. Ive seen people try this and most of them gave up on their project and p[arted it out and eventually gave parts away because of the inconvenience and lack of time.

If you are already stating that your marriage could hang on this, which despite being a joke, probably rings true, be honest with yourself. Are you committed to spending all of that time needed to part this lot out and is it a business that you want to be in? Do you have the time, and does your wife mind you spending that time? Is the small proffit that you make going to justify the pain in the ass having and moving all that stuff will take.


Personally, I would only grab the parts i needed to finish off one truck even if it meant spending more per part than buying the hole lot. I have recently spent several 3 day weekends cleaning and scrapping a collection of my dads parts and materials and let me tell you, it can be back breaking and time consuming.

 

[TOBASH]

My personal experience. I live in a high rise and keep my truck and parts in another town. It is very hard to get a solid day of work in on the truck let alone a few hours. It is a half day event to get in 2 hours of work. Ive seen people try this and most of them gave up on their project and p[arted it out and eventually gave parts away because of the inconvenience and lack of time.

If you are already stating that your marriage could hang on this, which despite being a joke, probably rings true, be honest with yourself. Are you committed to spending all of that time needed to part this lot out and is it a business that you want to be in? Do you have the time, and does your wife mind you spending that time? Is the small proffit that you make going to justify the pain in the ass having and moving all that stuff will take.


Personally, I would only grab the parts i needed to finish off one truck even if it meant spending more per part than buying the hole lot. I have recently spent several 3 day weekends cleaning and scrapping a collection of my dads parts and materials and let me tell you, it can be back breaking and time consuming.

I respectfully disagree.

Buy it all, sell off as much as you don't need, and then show your wife the profit.

Then fix up at least 2 pigs and enjoy.

Best.

T

 

[JohnnyC]

Have any friends that would also be interested in all those parts? I have no space here... However... I look for these and let's friends know ... Maybe a friend would buy the lot and you can get a great deal from him to offset his cost to get it all transported and then stored... And ... You will always know where to find more parts

 

[Corrugated Toy]

Thanks for the feed back everyone. I will be heading over to have a look at all the goodies in a couple of days and hopefully make an educated decision.

I like the idea of brining in fellow members on the deal. "Sharing the blame" never go's wrong. FJDAVE is only about 45k from me and he may have some space.

I'll post pics when I get a chance.

 

[Corrugated Toy]

Picture time!

Now comes the time for and

I have gone back to see the collection of goodies and snapped a bunch of photos.

First is of the trucks. The red/white and white/white have V8's in them. The others have the original 2F. The R/W one also has an interesting accessory that I will need some feed back on later.

 

[Corrugated Toy]

KEEPER?

I reeeeeaaaalllllyyyyyy want the brown and white one to restore. No rust anywhere. I need it like a hole in the head but... If I restore the Moose and this one I will have one with barn doors and one with a tail gate

 

[Corrugated Toy]

Needed Parts

This entire search began because I have a need of parts.

A few of the area's of rust on the Moose may be cheaper/easier to fix than replace. There is a load of good fenders and doors to choose from.

I have an issue with my transmission/transfer as well (I'll start another thread on this issue). All four trucks have H41 Transmisssions and factory transfer cases. There were an additional 4 H41's under an old tarp. I tried spinning the input shaft on all of them. Two turned by hand, and the other two were solid. Are the ones that are solid unusable, or would the gears still be good?

I'm not trying to justify this purchase as a whole. I just need the parts.

 

[Corrugated Toy]

More transmission shots

These are from the various trucks.

 

[Corrugated Toy]

VIN Tags

How do you read the VIN tags? I couldn't discern the manufacture year from these. I believe that all the trucks are 78/79 era due to the hoods. Someone please correct if I'm wrong in my assumption. Are parts from 78/79 interchangeable?

 

[Corrugated Toy]

Good and Bad

Most of the interiors are trashed, but they are full of goodies

 

[Corrugated Toy]

GOLD!

I view at this entire find as a gold mine. However, some nuggets are bigger then others!

Factory Air conditioning and PTO winch!

Can someone/anyone please comment on whether or not these two items are OEM.

 

[uted]

Yep factory fitted Nippondenso air con. have one the same sitting in the shed. Thats the only other one i've seen. And a toyota pto winch

 

[Corrugated Toy]

ND

The A/C unit does have the ND logo....

 

[Corrugated Toy]

Odds and Ends

As I said in my original post. This gentleman also has "enough odds and ends to fill a cruiser". He is currently storing these parts at another location. I told him I would be back this weekend to have a look. Nine pallets may produce some good stuff.

The tail gate below has had a new motor installed, and is fully functional. Does anyone know the model year for this tail gate? The other brown and white 55 had a crank for the rear.

The last photo is of the 2F that was undergoing a rebuild. The owner said that the other 2F has a blown head gasket.

Lots to think about. I would appreciate any suggestions or comments on what to do.

 

[Hugh Heifer]

How much time do you spend in Oz v Indiana and how much time do you have to spend parting out the lot?

That is a real steal.

 

[DSRTRDR]

I would ask to buy the land under the trucks, too, because you will need to have a space for your tent/van when your wife throws you out

 

[Corrugated Toy]

How much time do you spend in Oz v Indiana and how much time do you have to spend parting out the lot?

That is a real steal.

Heifer,

I currently spend most of my time in Oz, but saying that I head back to the US about every 3 months or so. My son is currently in Indiana and has been for the past 5 weeks.

In regards to the time to part it out, the answer is basically the weekend's and after work. My kids are 19 and 18 and are pretty much self sufficient. The wife has gone through a resto/mod with my 64 and is very understanding of my passion, so the time spent isn't a huge issue.

 

[My wife said no FJ!]

My first question is, why didn't you post this in the 55 section?
FJ55 Iron Pig Preservation Society

My guess is that you'd get a lot more feedback there...maybe you can ask a mod to move this thread over...

 

[Corrugated Toy]

I would ask to buy the land under the trucks, too, because you will need to have a space for your tent/van when your wife throws you out

I hear ya.

I have been in touch with FJDAVE and he may have space to store everything, and then we can share in the love.

JonnyC and Tobash both have good points. The only thing about parting and selling is the time it takes to turn the cash around. In any other situation my couldn't care less what I spend on my "addiction". The fact is we recently moved half way around the world, and still have most of our personal items/furniture on the other side. Once we get all our stuff over here it won't be such an issue.

I have spoken with the current owner and he is in no rush. I may put down a deposit to secure the lot.