the unjustifiable acquisition of a 1998 FZJ70 named 'Chick' (1 Viewer)

[John Young]

I was minding my own business getting ready to head to the US for the holidays when a friend who runs a garage I use whatsapped me about a 1998 Shorty. I have mentioned a few times that the very last LC I intend to buy is a 70-series 2-door. I was holding out for a 1HZ, but shorties in general are not common here and sometimes something comes along at a weak moment. This was one such moment. I've just retired and I had my legally-mandated 'end-of-service' payment burning a hole in my pocket, then this friend send me these photos--sellers photos!

That is 490k km or about 205k miles, which is manageable on a 70 series.

It looked cute in the photos and I have been thinking that a shorty 70 series would complete my 'collection' of Middle East Land Cruisers. And this one was a 1998 model year which meant that it could come home to the US immediately and be a little daily runabout for me. (Yes I was stretching to find some kind of justification.)

I was stuck at home waiting on the delivery of some important papers and my friend offered to go look at it for me, which he did.

 

[John Young]

My friend reported that he noted some body damage on the left side and he suspected it had been through a rollover event.

But my friend said that he had crawled under it and the frame looked good and there was no apparent body damage to the underside. Just driver side above the beltline.

I normally would not have considered a high-mileage truck with a roll-over history but there are not that many shortys on the market here, and they typically command a pretty steep price, and I have been looking for one. So I set a price that I thought was fair--comparable to what I would have bid to on an auction site, and after a fair amount of back and forth he came within 300 USD of my offer and I gave him the win. I was really on the fence on this one and was prepared to walk. In fact I told my friend after my price was rejected to say thank you to the seller and we would pass. And I meant it.

My friend schlepped the seller over to the Roads and Transport Authority office (which is open quite late) and otherwise facilitated the transaction and I ended up with a Possession Certificate:

 

[LDowney]

Congratulations
I like the title of your thread because it strikes close to the mark for us.
1997 FZJ70 older sibling to your new addition?

 

[John Young]

Today I was able to go see my purchase. And we put it up on the lift.

It is kind of interesting that the wheelbase is so short that you have to drive forwards and backwards to get both arms of the lift under the car!

It definitely has body damage of some sort. The A pillars are loaded with a thick coat of bondo.

But generally underneath looks good.

Here is the right rear end. We will get the paint off entirely to make sure there is nothing untoward under there.

It has a broken leaf

The sill under the left side looks undamaged to me...or very close to it. I tentatively am thinking that the damage was restricted to the upper sheet metal.

 

[John Young]

Congratulations
I like the title of your thread because it strikes close to the mark for us.
1997 FZJ70 older sibling to your new addition?
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Your shorty is super clean Larry! Really a beauty. I suspect it is entirely identical mechanically to Chick. This truck is heading to Florida so it could well be that we could bring both of them to that 70s meetup in TN and have them side by side, which would be a hoot!

 

[John Young]

Normal amount of grime:

But straight frame rails near as I can tell.

I needs new motor mounts of course--they are so sagging that the fan is rubbing on the shroud.

So, Chick needs new perishable all around, which is fine, a new muffler, a new leaf spring and it just passed inspection so the brakes would have been checked. I think the bones are there mechanically.

 

[John Young]

The intent is to strip the body down to bare metal so we can see what we are dealing with. If the body is bad enough I may look at seeing if I can find a replacement. Happily there is another shorty in the shop right now undergoing the same work, so the guys will have become very familiar with what the body should look like.

Once we get it down to this stage we will really know the story.

I should say a word or two about the name. My shorty is named after Ella Fitzgerald's first real boss, Chick Webb. Ella had won several open mike competitions at the Apollo and other NY hot spots but nobody wanted to give her a break because her appearance was shabby. Until Chick Webb.

Chick was born in 1905 and while an infant, he fell down some stairsteps in his family's home, crushing several vertebrae and requiring surgery, from which he never regained full mobility. The injury progressed to tuberculosis of the spine, leaving him with short stature and a badly deformed spine which caused him to appear hunchbacked. The idea of playing an instrument was suggested by his doctor to "loosen up" his bones. He supported himself as a newspaper boy to save enough money to buy drums, and first played professionally at age 11. There are not many film clips of Chick Webb but you can see from this one he indeed had plenty of energy and was quite short.



Up until shortly before his death in 1938 he was a leading band leader, if not -the- leading band leader for jazz and swing. So this little shorty will be called 'Chick' because he went on to do great things despite a traumatic injury in his youth, his energy, and also because he gave Ella Fitzgerald her first big break. (My son named his new dog 'Ella' and that was what got me thinking about Chick Webb.) That and the fact that he was only 4 foot 1 inch (125 cm) tall.

 

[prwillard2]

My friend reported that he noted some body damage on the left side and he suspected it had been through a rollover event.
View attachment 3776573
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View attachment 3776575
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But my friend said that he had crawled under it and the frame looked good and there was no apparent body damage to the underside. Just driver side above the beltline.

I normally would not have considered a high-mileage truck with a roll-over history but there are not that many shortys on the market here, and they typically command a pretty steep price, and I have been looking for one. So I set a price that I thought was fair--comparable to what I would have bid to on an auction site, and after a fair amount of back and forth he came within 300 USD of my offer and I gave him the win. I was really on the fence on this one and was prepared to walk. In fact I told my friend after my price was rejected to say thank you to the seller and we would pass. And I meant it.

My friend schlepped the seller over to the Roads and Transport Authority office (which is open quite late) and otherwise facilitated the transaction and I ended up with a Possession Certificate:
View attachment 3776585

Category: Jeep

How rude!

Congrats on the purchase John!

 

[OGBeno]

Addicts. So easy.

Love the shorties the best.

 

[bj70_guy]

That is 490k km or about 205k miles, which is manageable on a 70 series.

Probably was a typo but 490,000km is 305k miles.
The way you build them this won't be a problem I'm sure. Put me in the "love the shorties" category as well!

Extra marks for a Chick Webb tie in

 

[WarDamnEagle]

They are everywhere in KSA John. Lots of young kids driving them......and rolling them in the dunes.

Congratulations on your retirement. I haven't regretted that once in the last two years.

 

[FJ73Texas]

Maybe it was this stunt gone wrong at one time?

 

[SNLC]

My friend reported that he noted some body damage on the left side and he suspected it had been through a rollover event.
View attachment 3776573
View attachment 3776574

View attachment 3776575
View attachment 3776577
But my friend said that he had crawled under it and the frame looked good and there was no apparent body damage to the underside. Just driver side above the beltline.

I normally would not have considered a high-mileage truck with a roll-over history but there are not that many shortys on the market here, and they typically command a pretty steep price, and I have been looking for one. So I set a price that I thought was fair--comparable to what I would have bid to on an auction site, and after a fair amount of back and forth he came within 300 USD of my offer and I gave him the win. I was really on the fence on this one and was prepared to walk. In fact I told my friend after my price was rejected to say thank you to the seller and we would pass. And I meant it.

My friend schlepped the seller over to the Roads and Transport Authority office (which is open quite late) and otherwise facilitated the transaction and I ended up with a Possession Certificate:
View attachment 3776585

Probably from doing two wheel side drive stunts? Or a roll in the dunes I suppose it possible as well.

Cheers

 

[bj70bc]

Maybe it was this stunt gone wrong at one time?

View attachment 3776809

desert gets boring i guess

 

[John Young]

A roll in the sand is quite likely. And if it rolled all the way over onto its top and crushed the A pillars that would explain why there is something funny going on with both A pillars not explainable by standard 70 series A pillar rust. If it turns out to have serious issues with the A pillars I think I will try to find a cab somewhere to graft in.

Thanks for all the kind words. All very encouraging. But taking a contrary position cranky young man @cruisermatt pointedly suggested that I sell this one and buy a nice one already in the US. But where is the fun in (a) buying something already nice and (b) buying something already in the US?

 

[JuanJ]

Hello,

Congratulations on your new collection addition.

Check if it is possible to add an altitude compensator.







Juan

 

[OGBeno]

A roll in the sand is quite likely. And if it rolled all the way over onto its top and crushed the A pillars that would explain why there is something funny going on with both A pillars not explainable by standard 70 series A pillar rust. If it turns out to have serious issues with the A pillars I think I will try to find a cab somewhere to graft in.

Thanks for all the kind words. All very encouraging. But taking a contrary position cranky young man @cruisermatt pointedly suggested that I sell this one and buy a nice one already in the US. But where is the fun in (a) buying something already nice and (b) buying something already in the US?

I mean, he’s correct. And, there are very many good shorty examples in the GCC. I’d punt as well knowing what I know about 7x series over the past decade or so.

But hey, it’s your retirement money, so be it.

 

[JDM Journeys]

Oh no you didn't...

John you left out the critical part about the dentist in landcruiser-chick's origin story. But the inclusion of the original Chick's origin story makes up for it!

I really hope it was a 2 wheeled tarmac roll, just because it perpetuates the idea that every 70 series in the Middle East is travelling down the highway on 2 wheels. What a beautiful concept ..

Good luck with it, sir! Hope to see the collection someday.

 

[John Young]

Oh no you didn't...

John you left out the critical part about the dentist in landcruiser-chick's origin story. But the inclusion of the original Chick's origin story makes up for it!

Yes, the dentist did figure prominently. Almost 4 hours in the chair day before yesterday. I think I needed to do something life affirming after that. My resistance was low....

 

[John Young]

I spent much of the day sorting out the registration of Chick. After a couple of false starts I succeeded.

Even got a pretty good number plate.