Thoughts on pricing for 74' FJ (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Sep 24, 2019
Threads
2
Messages
6
Location
Baltimore MD
Hi,

I've been looking for an FJ for some time now and recently found one relatively close by to where I live. I've posted here before and received some great feedback...

The seller is pretty firm at 28k. Photos can be found here as well as a cold start and driving video. 74 FJ40 Pics - Google Drive

Below are his notes:

1974 Toyota FJ40 with a 1F engine, 3 speed on the floor transmission.

This vehicle is an excellent mechanical condition and the body is sharp with a driver quality paint job. The vehicle has been upgraded with front disk brakes and power steering which wasn't available until later models. The vehicle easily cruises at 65 mph. Front and rear heater work.

Here is the documented work done in recent years

2013:
New front and rear bearing differentials
New ring and pinion
Repacked outer seals
New calipers and brake hoses
New brake master cylinder
New brake lines
New brake shoes and cylinders on rear brake drums
New Painless wiring harness

2017
New voltage regulator
Replaced transfer case output seal
Replaced engine oil pan seal Replaced engine lifter cover seal Transmission and transfer case oil /seals and gaskets replaced
Replaced valve cover gasket and performed valve adjustment
Replaced front driveshaft u joints
Replaced radiator

2018:
Installed Power steering w/ Saginaw steering box
New front disk brakes

2019:
Installed Davis Unified Ignition Distributor and live wire plugs
Acquired and installed FJ40 OEM style soft top and bows

2020:
Rebuilt transmission from Mark's Offroad.
New Clutch kit, slave cylinder and master cylinder

Things you should know:
1974 was the last year of the lift-up hatch (much better than ambulance doors), the 1F engine and the 3 speed transmission.

I spent a minor fortune when I first acquired the truck to make sure there are no leaks - mission accomplished.


The odometer, gas gauge, oil temp and oil pressure gauges do not work in the gauge cluster, but there has been an external oil temp, oil pressure and gas gauge added to the vehicle that do work.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!!

FJ40_1.jpg
 
Thought the same... going to view it today and will pay close attention. Anything else (besides the norm) you think I should ask / look closer at?
 
My First FJ40 was a '74 and that was a transition year in the motor, between the F1 and F2 - created some challenges in parts availability. Also noticed the front wheel was blocked - Parking brake issue?
 
Morning - The rust in images 6720 all along the seam and 6712 under the doors would lead me to believe there is more.

Lake

I agree with Lake. That rust is going to break through the paint sooner or later. Some of the bad rust on mine was the rocker panels under the doors. My inner rockers are in pretty decent shape, but the outers are being replaced. Also look underneath the rockers where the floor panel connects. My floor was completely rotted out there and it would be hard to hide that with paint. Otherwise it looks pretty nice.
 
As others have mentioned, the 1/4s will need attention, and maybe the sill. The rt frt fender has been hacked between the shock and frt of the fender. Weber carb, the dash has been hacked for aftrmkt gauges, its missing the door stops, the jumps seats are for a later 40. Not all the brakelines have been replaced, and the one on the left rear one looks funky, which would
concern me about other repairs and mods. Check the tierod end at the pitman arm. Have someone shake the wheel back and forth and look for movement. The pitman appears to be from a jeep which would have a larger tapered hole than the stk fj40 tre stud. It looks like it has aluminum caster shims in the frt. All lot of the work looks like it was done ok, but not really correctly or with attention to detail. Check it out carefully. The price seems to be at a premium.
 
nope, not for that price. I've seen much better for around there

People see some selling for a premium and must think they have the same
 

I would take this one in a heartbeat over it and pocket 10k
 
The more I see shiny paint jobs the more I appreciate patina and surface rust.
 
yeap thats a lip stick pig. those quarters are already gone, it's the paint keeping it from being a hole there now.
$28k and a weber is not kosher. nor is power steering and/or a shackle reversal.
not saying it's entirely scrap, just not worth $28,000.00.
 
Thanks everyone for the feedback. Had a look today and although it drove well, the rear quarters definitely had some rust bubbling under the paint in multiple areas.

For my understanding, what would be a decent price tag for this? Low 20s?

Seems that a lot of work has gone into it and the owner is trying to get it back out (which I understand) but don’t want to buy at a premium if this is my first as there’s bound to be other issues that come up.

Would welcome other suggestions in this price range in the mid-Atlantic region!
 
Thanks everyone for the feedback. Had a look today and although it drove well, the rear quarters definitely had some rust bubbling under the paint in multiple areas.

For my understanding, what would be a decent price tag for this? Low 20s?

Seems that a lot of work has gone into it and the owner is trying to get it back out (which I understand) but don’t want to buy at a premium if this is my first as there’s bound to be other issues that come up.

Would welcome other suggestions in this price range in the mid-Atlantic region!
It’s a nice looking 40. Hard to say on price, but to me that’s a $15-20k rig if you can take a magnet and find only minimal body filler. Full of bondo, then even less. But who knows. I’m seeing stuff sell on BAT that blows my mind. I guess there’s a reason why I haven’t bought a 40 Series in a while.

I think the best strategy in finding a good 40 is to buy original paint, some rust, and be willing to fly a round trip or two in the search. Then ship it home.

Visible rust on original paint means far less to me than the question of what’s been painted over.
 
Thanks everyone for the feedback. Had a look today and although it drove well, the rear quarters definitely had some rust bubbling under the paint in multiple areas.

For my understanding, what would be a decent price tag for this? Low 20s?

Seems that a lot of work has gone into it and the owner is trying to get it back out (which I understand) but don’t want to buy at a premium if this is my first as there’s bound to be other issues that come up.

Would welcome other suggestions in this price range in the mid-Atlantic region!


eh I wouldn't even pay 20...15k would even be tough
 
$28000 should buy you a properly restored FJ40. That truck might be worth 15K but there would be some cost in getting the right parts back on it. That gauge cut into the dash bothers me as much as anything for 28K. For 15K I might live with it a while until I could change it.
 
Funny how the veterans on here stick to his/her values. I do believe as time goes by, new generations see things differently. I believe ebay,hemmings,auctions, will show that values past are NOT present values.
 
A quick glance shows a number of incorrect for year, and missing pieces. Mine is a February 74 and has bucket seats and a 4 speed. Steering stabilizer and skid plate are missing. Seats are incorrect, pre 74 and look awful. The emblems are pre 1974. The radiator fan is really old. Wrong carburetor, the steering has been hacked, along with the dashboard.
There are other ones out there, you should keep looking.
 
A quick glance shows a number of incorrect for year, and missing pieces. Mine is a February 74 and has bucket seats and a 4 speed. Steering stabilizer and skid plate are missing. Seats are incorrect, pre 74 and look awful. The emblems are pre 1974. The radiator fan is really old. Wrong carburetor, the steering has been hacked, along with the dashboard.
There are other ones out there, you should keep looking.

This is an example sold at 27,000.00 and please look at what is not stock. Please review all the differences. ( Including GM engine). Only trying to show values of these vehicles are not what past people think.

 
The engine is pre 1973, oil fill tube in front of the distributor. Could be "F120" is for real? If so, that's a few years older yet. The engine serial number would NOT lie.

Also notice the old style fuel filter. Also that random red bar crossing over from the firewall stiffener to the radiator frame. Most likely the frame is older as well.

I would compare the frame VIN with the VIN plate on the driver's A pillar to each other.

my 2 cents.
 
Not saying that eBay ad for the 69 is suspect, but it is not difficult to make things look inflated on eBay. Especially in classic cars, people put a real high buy it now price or have a friend, employee or second account bid up the price. Then when it sells, both parties can “agree” to cancel the sale (or a lower price if the item wasn’t as described). The item will look like it sold for a high price but it really never did. Also later, the seller can point to that previous sale as justification for their high price. I think this is even more prevalent when the eBay ads include personal email and phone numbers in them, to get around eBay.

As for the red one that this thread is about; I think it depends on what you want. If you’ll buy it and drive as is and not worry about the rust issues, maybe $20k+/-. I’d be looking at it assuming it needs quarters patched and paint at minimum. That to me makes it no different than one that has poor paint or lots of rust in the quarters because you’re doing the same work. If I was doing all that work anyway, I’d be looking for 40’s at around half that asking price. I think anything north of $20k, it should be pretty dang nice, like older but really good resto or original and garage kept so near perfect. For nearing $30k and up: it had better be near perfect.
 

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