Saudi FJ45 - Help requested

[Grayscale]

It is like, 'Well, the green ethylene glycol antifreeze, and two-year-old hydraulic fluid needed changing, or it is gonna need even more extensive service...'

 

[Eric Sarjeant]

@405 Awesome, thank you

 

[Eric Sarjeant]

Funny but not funny story, on my way to the dealership from the storage barn, I was driving it about 30-minutes on a 100-degree July afternoon and the radiator cap blew and blasted me with rusty water. Thank goodness we found a new radiator and remedied the truck. Not fun in the moment on the side of the interstate.

 

[peesalot]

Send it to Grogan for a proper fix up

 

[405]

Funny but not funny story, on my way to the dealership from the storage barn, I was driving it about 30-minutes on a 100-degree July afternoon and the radiator cap blew and blasted me with rusty water. Thank goodness we found a new radiator and remedied the truck. Not fun in the moment on the side of the interstate.

I've seen some GCC spec and South American fj4x come to the US with water instead of antifreeze.

The previous owner of one of my old SA 40's blew the head gasket on his 2F not realizing it had water in it instead of antifeeze.

 

[Grayscale]

BTW, it is an honor to have a Land Cruiser discussion with someone who is a professional Toyota dealer.

Did the Middle East rigs really still have working cowl vent? My '73 had such a lever, iirc. My '75 has a plate welded in place, no pull-lever, no linkage.

So, in '84, this 45 wasn't offered with an H55 (5-speed) yet? Did it come with 3.70 diffs?

It looks like there is a complete engine hand crank under the front bib? Or, it has the receiving part for a hand crank to thread thru the bumper.

 

[tex45]

Did the Middle East rigs really still have working cowl vent? My '73 had such a lever, iirc. My '75 has a plate welded in place, no pull-lever, no linkage.
...
It looks like there is a complete engine hand crank under the front bib? Or, it has the receiving part for a hand crank to thread thru the bumper.

My '82 Saudi FJ45 has the working cowl vent.

Mine has this as well, for the hand crank. Rear frame crossmember also has this same keyway (guide) cut out of it to raise/lower the spare tire hoist using the far end of this rod:

 

[Ditcherman]

I would assume you’re familiar with Bring a Trailer?
I believe you can get a very fair idea of market value from that, tons of people sharing a lot of knowledge there as well. It’s no Mud, but still a lot of knowledge. And much much friendlier site to use than Mecum. I spent 10 minutes there and still don’t know what it sold for.

If you go the bring a trailer route, or any route except the fire sale route, someone will be way ahead if you put it together and have a driving video.

If you wanna go the fire sale route I’ll be right over, it can come home to Sheridan.

 

[45Dougal]

Get rid of the split rims and bias-ply tires. The person who buys this is gonna get an ear full of nonsense, if they take it to a regular tire shop.

Needs license tag bracket and lamp in rear.

The axle inner seals appear leaking. I can see differential oil just below the steering knuckles on the floor. Fix it. No one needs oily brake components.

2F has a 4.2L displacement.

I second this. I have split ring wheels from a 60 and nobody will touch them.
On a plus side, you can change a tube at the side of the road with hand tools (eventually), but unless you're out in the bush that's not so helpful.

Also they're really really heavy, and that really shows when you hit the brakes

 

[Bear]

It is known within the Kingdom (KSA) that there is a very small group of collectors who specialize in trucks representative of how they would have been delivered on the boats from Japan. These examples are often displayed parked indoors on expensive Persian (Arabic) rugs as a sign of wealth and position among their cohorts. Less wealthy Arabs sometimes also partake in outfitting their trucks with wrapped sun visors, inner door panels, and even wrapped pedals, along with NOS parts which can be sourced from within the country--at least these trucks are actually driven, rather than the trucks with crated parts which are usually only for static display.

For someone purchasing such display trucks with the intent of driving and using, first would be knowing just what parts are in the bed crates, what was the condition of the truck before it was restored, what was done to "restore"the creation, whether mechanical items were checked and corrected as necessary to have a fully-operable functioning vehicle. As it currently sits, likely a large automotive museum or an extensive personal collection might want to retain the "packed" truck, but an enthusiast probably would like to see it assembled as it was intended.

Yes, the Dodge cars that come with the "Demon" crates seem to have extra value to some, but at least the cars can be and often are driven, however little. This example has a cluster indicating mileage, but whether it is the original-to-the-truck odometer is open to question. Looks like a decent vehicle, and to each his own, but it seems Mud owners are generally users and not posers; there are collectors for most anything it seems, and specialties abound within any field. It will be interesting to see where this goes, whether the next buyer keeps it as is or assembles and perhaps even uses the truck. Just a 2 cents opinion anyway !

 

[wimberosa]

I think @Bear is providing some good education that I had not previously fathomed about KSA. Do we think this is just a "poser" of a packaged truck or an original package? Its seems strange it would have this much mileage on it...yet be a real original package. Looking at the A pillar photos leads me to believe the doors have never been on this truck or someone did a jam-up job hiding the inevitable damage the door stops normally produce.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

It is known within the Kingdom (KSA) that there is a very small group of collectors who specialize in trucks representative of how they would have been delivered on the boats from Japan. These examples are often displayed parked indoors on expensive Persian (Arabic) rugs as a sign of wealth and position among their cohorts. Less wealthy Arabs sometimes also partake in outfitting their trucks with wrapped sun visors, inner door panels, and even wrapped pedals, along with NOS parts which can be sourced from within the country--at least these trucks are actually driven, rather than the trucks with crated parts which are usually only for static display.

For someone purchasing such display trucks with the intent of driving and using, first would be knowing just what parts are in the bed crates, what was the condition of the truck before it was restored, what was done to "restore"the creation, whether mechanical items were checked and corrected as necessary to have a fully-operable functioning vehicle. As it currently sits, likely a large automotive museum or an extensive personal collection might want to retain the "packed" truck, but an enthusiast probably would like to see it assembled as it was intended.

Yes, the Dodge cars that come with the "Demon" crates seem to have extra value to some, but at least the cars can be and often are driven, however little. This example has a cluster indicating mileage, but whether it is the original-to-the-truck odometer is open to question. Looks like a decent vehicle, and to each his own, but it seems Mud owners are generally users and not posers; there are collectors for most anything it seems, and specialties abound within any field. It will be interesting to see where this goes, whether the next buyer keeps it as is or assembles and perhaps even uses the truck. Just a 2 cents opinion anyway !

Spot on information. I know probably the largest collector of older Land Cruisers in the Kingdom and he has one or two restored to "as they were off the boat condition and configuration". Here's an FJ43 of his displayed in similar fashion; one of 50+ Land Cruisers in his collection.

A couple of my own comments, FWIW. I would not change the split rims; that would completely destroy the originality. Yes they are a pain but they can be worked on at any truck tire shop. Like Bear, I would completely discount the mileage. These odometers are super easy to take apart and clean. They can be put back together with any mileage. FJ45s in Saudi were bought to use so roughly 50km would be very rare unless it was wrecked early in its use.

I can't say with any certainty who did the work in Saudi but I can tell you where the seat covers came from. Below is a photo of the ones for my 1983 FJ45 Troopy. I haven't had them installed yet.

The OP mentioned a roll bar in the crate. That wouldn't be a thing. I would probably open the crate and see what's inside. If there's a condenser there then there might be an entire AC system. This example obviously has no heat and neither does my Troopy (but it does have factory AC). Some came with heat but most didn't.

 

[Grayscale]

A truck from Saudi Arabia without AC or a windshield defogger? In 1984? Well, that explains the rare-factor.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

A truck from Saudi Arabia without AC or a windshield defogger? In 1984? Well, that explains the rare-factor.

Not sure that was rare for Saudi Arabia in a 1984 FJ45 but I am guessing that more than half had AC. You might know more than me though.

 

[tex45]

Not sure that was rare for Saudi Arabia in a 1984 FJ45 but I am guessing that more than half had AC. You might know more than me though.

For what it's worth, my '82 did not have factory A/C; has factory power steering and the 2 belt crank pulley (PS and alt).

This is my daily, so this past summer with the multiple 105+ degree days was fun. Cowl vent does help, but not much when you're stopped at a traffic light!

 

[Eric Sarjeant]

I really apprecaite everyones feedback, this is amazing info. Super valuable and appreciative

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I didn’t see a data tag shot, looks like an FJ45LP-K? EDIT, tag is shared. Has the H41 low 1st 4spd with checks out for a KSA truck. They had their own transmission designation in the EPC. Tag is also in rough shape.

I’ll echo the comments on leaving the split wheels, while perhaps less desirable for some, it’s a win for a collector looking for near original. Replicated “as port delivered” Cruisers are a commonplace amongst collectors in KSA and other GSA countries. Hell, I was shocked at the auto bazaars selling fake oil change hang tags and reprint/fake Monroneys

I would recommend carefully unpacking the faux crate to see what shape the tops/doors are in. Present as such and let a buyer decide if they want to park it on a rug in the living room or drive it to a club meet with the top and doors installed.

It’s not secret everyone likes to bag on South American imports but some of the roughest “resto” jobs I’ve seen are from the GCC market. Now to be clear, this one looks quite nice and could be a super score buy for a would be buyer. Just saying, that along with the “as port delivered” faux setups, they can also kick out some rough restore that loose their luster when the dust is knocked off.

Perhaps one day this will end up as a resto headed to the US

 

[Bear]

Oh, my !

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Oh, my !

Oddly I want that in the LCHM as much as anything What do you say @cruiserdan? Can we make room?

 

[cruiserdan]

Oddly I want that in the LCHM as much as anything What do you say @cruiserdan? Can we make room?

Seems to be a concrete idea...