Build Project Pikachu: 1977 FJ40

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cbmontgo said:
Great point about the dumpster. I guess Waste Management probably wouldn't give out their information.

I found the owner through the County and tried to call a phone number that was listed under his name, but it was disconnected.

I may stop by the tire shop next door and talk to someone next time I'm in the area.
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Stopped by this place on Saturday and left a note on the door just for the hell of it. Also left a voicemail with Waste Management.

Sure enough, got a call from the owner today. He bought it in Cotopaxi, CO many years ago. Says the engine smokes, but would fire right up with a new battery. He also said that he's wiling to sell. Gonna meet him later this week to take a look. Wife is gonna be thrilled, I'm sure.

IMG_0169.webp
 
cbmontgo said:
Stopped by this place on Saturday and left a note on the door just for the hell of it. Also left a voicemail with Waste Management.

Sure enough, got a call from the owner today. He bought it in Cotopaxi, CO many years ago. Says the engine smokes, but would fire right up with a new battery. He also said that he's wiling to sell. Gonna meet him later this week to take a look. Wife is gonna be thrilled, I'm sure.

View attachment 4044539
Click to expand...

If you want any rust fixed, let me know
 
cbmontgo said:
Stopped by this place on Saturday and left a note on the door just for the hell of it. Also left a voicemail with Waste Management.

Sure enough, got a call from the owner today. He bought it in Cotopaxi, CO many years ago. Says the engine smokes, but would fire right up with a new battery. He also said that he's wiling to sell. Gonna meet him later this week to take a look. Wife is gonna be thrilled, I'm sure.

View attachment 4044539
Click to expand...
Present it as a Christmas present so you and your son can have matching 40s
 
Well, this was a bizarre evening. There’s just something about FJ40s.

I met the ole guy today and we just couldn’t get anywhere close to a middle ground on what the rig is worth. That’s okay. He turned out to be a car collector (like some very high dollar original sports cars and motorcycles which he showed me) and is also an airplane guy. We really connected and had a lot in common. Like an 80 year version of myself. He even had a white 1984 Mazda RX-7 GSL-SE, which was my first car and is seldom seen. The conversation was well worth the trip over.

But maybe the craziest thing is that he owns my dad’s actual 1977 Triumph Bonneville motorcycle. My dad passed in 2021 and always regretted selling that bike. He sold it around 1982/1983 when we moved from Colorado to Mississippi and brought it up many times throughout my childhood. My brother always recalled a lot of early childhood memories of riding on this bike with my dad in those Colorado summers. Dad would kill the engine at the top of the hill outside our neighborhood in Littleton and they’d coast all the way to the driveway. I was too young to remember much.

So earlier this year, we tracked it down to an unknown collector in Colorado Springs and that’s where it was left. Well, John is the owner.

My brother has had a rough time this year and I was really excited to tell him this news.

Here he is with that bike in the late 70s. He and John are going to work out a deal on it after some carb work and a rear brake repair.

Man, I wish I could tell my dad about this.

IMG_1177.webp
 
shellb said:
What a small world! Such a cool connection. Maybe he will come around on the 40 price.
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He wasn't too out of line as for as top of the market value goes for something like this, but it was way more than I wanted to pay for a rig that needs everything. As we all know, it is shocking how much it costs to bring one of these back to life with the correct parts.

The interior was totally original though. Even had the OEM floor mat and a few required 1990s Man A Fre manuals. Rear tub was rough.

IMG_0226.webp
IMG_0227.webp
 
cbmontgo said:
He wasn't too out of line as for as top of the market value goes for something like this, but it was way more than I wanted to pay for a rig that needs everything. As we all know, it is shocking how much it costs to bring one of these back to life with the correct parts.

The interior was totally original though. Even had the OEM floor mat and a few required 1990s Man A Fre manuals. Rear tub was rough.

View attachment 4045632View attachment 4045633
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^Nothing some shiny new diamond plate can’t fix :hillbilly:
 
cbmontgo said:
Well, this was a bizarre evening. There’s just something about FJ40s.

I met the ole guy today and we just couldn’t get anywhere close to a middle ground on what the rig is worth. That’s okay. He turned out to be a car collector (like some very high dollar original sports cars and motorcycles which he showed me) and is also an airplane guy. We really connected and had a lot in common. Like an 80 year version of myself. He even had a white 1984 Mazda RX-7 GSL-SE, which was my first car and is seldom seen. The conversation was well worth the trip over.

But maybe the craziest thing is that he owns my dad’s actual 1977 Triumph Bonneville motorcycle. My dad passed in 2021 and always regretted selling that bike. He sold it around 1982/1983 when we moved from Colorado to Mississippi and brought it up many times throughout my childhood. My brother always recalled a lot of early childhood memories of riding on this bike with my dad in those Colorado summers. Dad would kill the engine at the top of the hill outside our neighborhood in Littleton and they’d coast all the way to the driveway. I was too young to remember much.

So earlier this year, we tracked it down to an unknown collector in Colorado Springs and that’s where it was left. Well, John is the owner.

My brother has had a rough time this year and I was really excited to tell him this news.

Here he is with that bike in the late 70s. He and John are going to work out a deal on it after some carb work and a rear brake repair.

Man, I wish I could tell my dad about this.

View attachment 4045487
Click to expand...
Outstanding
 
fjdiesel said:
I am curious how true to size the Super Swampers are when mounted if you would measure them.
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So these are 32.25" tall by 9.50" wide (including the sidewalls for the width. The tread footprint width is only 8" wide).

~38 PSI
 
New tires are on. Got them up to about 40 MPH on the back roads and they seemed to have balanced well so far (these tires are notoriously hard to balance and take a lot of weights). Will hit the highway for the road test this weekend when the roads are dry.

Glad to be back in these shoes. They always looked just right on this rig.
IMG_0239.webp
 
cbmontgo said:
New tires are on. Got them up to about 40 MPH on the back roads and they seemed to have balanced well so far (these tires are notoriously hard to balance and take a lot of weights). Will hit the highway for the road test this weekend when the roads are dry.

Glad to be back in these shoes. They always looked just right on this rig.
View attachment 4046565
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I agree. Tall and skinnies just look right on a 40!! Looks awesome! Not many tire companies make a tall and skinny....
 
fjdiesel said:
I agree. Tall and skinnies just look right on a 40!! Looks awesome! Not many tire companies make a tall and skinny....
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I’ve been looking for tall and skinny in the 39” x 11.5 neighborhood, I was really disappointed that my 37’s measured 35.
Not that I can justify new tires already, unless I can sell a windshield frame for a fortune to a sucker; check your dm’s fjdiesel.
 
Road test this morning. Tire shop did a great job with the balancing. Drove 65 all the way into town.

Topped off the morning with a fresh oil change of Rotella 15W-40, OEM filter, and a tank of non-ethanol.

IMG_0235.webp
 
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