Possible 1st Fj40...Rookie question

[T2D2]

Newbie to the Forum and to (potential) FJ40 ownership. So thank you all in advance for humoring me.

Have read through Overton's guide, value threads, best FJ40 year threads, a lot of the FAQs, etc., but need a little neutral-party confirmation, I guess. Considering driving >a couple hundred miles in the next day or so to make a potential purchase. Have got the checklist responses from owner which all look good. In fact, everything looks good...so good that 'the little voice' is making me question if its one of those 'too good to be true' deals that my grandfather warned me about. So I thought I would ask your knowledgeable opinion on the pics below...

I know its only 2 pics but: Do you see anything that makes you hesitant?
A little more random: Based on these pics alone, what price would you pay/consider reasonable?

 

[Ezra]

If you are unsure of what potential problems you are looking for, the best advice you are going to get is to take it to a Toyota service center and pay them to do a full inspection. I believe its under $200, and you will know every detail you need to know mechanically. If you offer to pay for the inspection, and the current owner is hesitant, i would be quite suspicious.

 

[TheHardWay]

What year? Asking price? I drove over 400 miles RT last fall to look at one, asking price 12,500. Frame was in a good a condition as this one looks to be, body had rusted through in rear sill, lots of pitted rust on driver's side floor and bed. After driving around for an hour, decided it wasn't worth even the 10k I had prepared to offer before driving it. Turned around and went home. You're lucky if you only have to drive that distance to check it out. Take lots of photos, bring a magnet.

 

[AlaskanWheeler]

Skid plate has been removed, after the frame was painted. Also a bracket missing that supports the running board.

 

[FARMAN33]

Bezel upside down is a $750 deduction. The fact that it is chrome is another. Kidding aside, the engine bay looks nice. What are they asking? Year?

 

[Yellow Jacket]

Do yourself a HUGE favor and get a local Mudder to go with you. Post up in the appropriate club house and ask for volunteers. Biggest mistake I made was not having a knowledge 40 owner with me. It's just too easy to get caught up in the emotion of buying "your" 40 and while the guides are good, nothing beats experience.

Good luck with your search!

 

[Downey]

Cripes, now you are going to have to get one of my heavy duty skid plates, plus spent some bucks to re-route that tail pipe above the frame (above the skid plate).

 

[winnie]

nice colour ... if there's a local Cruiser club, for a stipend, maybe you can get one of them to have a look at it with you ... I asked for a gizzillion pics when I bought mine, and I had a Cruiser-head check it out for whatever I missed which helped, but they are old trucks and there's always something that shows up later, in my opinion ... I always have to remind myself that the truck is old and there will always be maintenance issues ... factor that into your decision, i.e. ongoing cost ... welcome to the Forum ...

 

[sggoat]

Based on the 2 pics, that is a nice looking rig-engine bay looks clean(not sure of the year, but the coolant overflow bottle is on the psngr side of my 77)
The under pics show a nice frame-(the exhaust is too low--no skid plate-you will need to re-route the pipe to clear the frame and skid plate(if you plan to install)--The pic is too far rearward to tell if the running board bracket is there(my guess is that it is)
Don't know prices, but sure would like to see more pics of this rig--

 

[sterling]

Looks like a later model engine bay 1979 plus?
I would ask if those stripes are factory, need mas pics!
Good luck! Location and price would help too.

 

[T2D2]

Thanks everyone for the quick responses. I guess not knowing folks here too well yet, being fairly new to the market (at least as a 'found what I want, ready to drop the cash' buyer) and having been looking for almost 2 years, giving me a chance to realize the strong demand and how fast these things go, I didn't want to post too much information for the sake of competition. I assume you all understand...

If you are unsure of what potential problems you are looking for, the best advice you are going to get is to take it to a Toyota service center and pay them to do a full inspection. I believe its under $200, and you will know every detail you need to know mechanically. If you offer to pay for the inspection, and the current owner is hesitant, i would be quite suspicious.

I didn't realize that Toyota Service Centers would inspect vehicles of this age. Thanks for that info.

Do yourself a HUGE favor and get a local Mudder to go with you. Post up in the appropriate club house and ask for volunteers. Biggest mistake I made was not having a knowledge 40 owner with me. It's just too easy to get caught up in the emotion of buying "your" 40 and while the guides are good, nothing beats experience.

Good luck with your search!

nice colour ... if there's a local Cruiser club, for a stipend, maybe you can get one of them to have a look at it with you ... I asked for a gizzillion pics when I bought mine, and I had a Cruiser-head check it out for whatever I missed which helped, but they are old trucks and there's always something that shows up later, in my opinion ... I always have to remind myself that the truck is old and there will always be maintenance issues ... factor that into your decision, i.e. ongoing cost ... welcome to the Forum ...

I've got a couple of Mudders in my area who have seen the same collection of vehicle pictures that I have (as well as the asking price) and agree with the thoughts I expressed in the OP. Unfortunately, neither of them can go with me to look at it this weekend. That being said, I will do some searching to see if I can find someone local to the area of the sale that I can get in touch with and is available to accompany me. Again, thanks for the recommendations.

To appease one of the more harmless but important questions, the machine is a 1978, and holy schnikes am I excited! The thrill of the chase! Again, I appreciate the replies and any additional responses that may come. I'll definitely provide an update after my visit and decision, and will provide more pics/info/pricing/details.

Cheers!

 

[Racer65]

Based on these 2 pics, it looks like a very nice, clean, original truck with all smog equipment intact.

 

[shawnfj40]

Based on the two pictures it is going to cost you some money. It will be worth money when you own it. It may or may not run and it does have a section of frame intact. It has at least two tires and a matching number of driveshafts. Not sure if it has anything else but based on the information the closest I could guess is 800 to 900 dollars if the title is clear.

 

[overton]

I guess my question would be, "why only 2 pics?" I wouldn't drive to far to see a truck that owner only had two photos of. I mean really? who on the planet cannot take photos and send them via text or email. If it's a screaming deal, it would likely be gone! I the owner works on a oil rig and can't talk on the phone. Its a scam for sure.

 

[FARMAN33]

@overton I believe the OP has all the pictures, he is reticent to post them and further details here lest we snipe him.

 

[T2D2]

Well, turns out my grandfather was right once again. WAY too good to be true. Seller bailed on us, we never even laid eyes on the vehicle.

After getting back and spending some time with the family, I was perusing the online forums/classifieds before turning in and see quite a few of the exact same pictures that I received now posted on Craigslist. Definitely a scam... Never had someone actually talk to me on the phone, answer all my questions, etc., etc. and it turn out to be a scam. 1st time for everything, I guess.

The search continues...

 

[TheHardWay]

Lesson learned. Thanks Grandpa. A little skepticism can go a long way!

 

[4mydogs]

That's lousy. Why would someone do that? Was he asking you to send a deposit ahead of time? Unless there was a money angle, what was he trying to accomplish -- just jerk someone around?

 

[T2D2]

I don't know. I'm assuming he was hoping to get a deposit out of it, but someone would have to be pretty desperate to comply. Maybe he's just trying to figure out the scam game. Pretty freakin' lousy any way you look at it.

Lesson learned. Moving on...

 

[winnie]

luckily, no harm done except wasting your time ... if someone really wants to sell something and have nothing to hide, they'll post info and pics, and answer your questions ... I had a similar experience with someone local (well, fairly local) trying to sell a 1985, bj70 ... 2-3 pics, and a big price, take it or leave it ... I left it ...

plenty of decent 40's out there ... you'll find one ...