What to look For in a 40

[FJEnthusiast123]

Hey everybody. I'm going to look at a 76 FJ40 today. I was wondering if ya'll could tell me a good list of what I should be looking for, and what kinds of question's I should ask. Thanks for the help, and let me know.

-Brysen

 

[Cirbo]

That's a tall request. The short answer is to take a cruiser-savvy friend along.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

What to ask totally depends on the type of truck you're looking to purchase.

- Do you want a turn-key truck?
- Do you want a fixer-upper?
- Do you want a project?

 

[jfz80]

alot of your general car purchase questions apply, obviously they become more critical with age of vehicle. A lot more is in the inspection as the seller may not know the answer or be less inclined to convey the knowledge if it may hurt the sale. Its easy to play dumb as well as be overly proud of you pile of crap. Ive experienced both

Maintenance/repairs that they have done or had done under ownership
Maintenance/repairs done under previous ownership
how long have they had it ? how many miles did they add? how did they use it
current issues or things that dont work, or work just right
test the turn signals and wipers and headlights, and maybe even at same time
dont bother asking about rust in person but get in there and look, take a magnet, dont get fooled by shiny paint or worse diamond plate.

Solid drivetrain and little rust as possible is where to start...... but you already know this
then use the little fixables for bartering

Did you ever call Kevin in fuquay varina with the red one? or any reason you dont like?

For your search in general...
Spend time in the 40 section. Read, read and read some more and educate yourself on what you want and what years had what to offer. Ask yourself some ?s are your really gonna work on it or have the $, do you really want factory equipment or are modern mods like GM powersteering seats motors ok by you. Check out quality of swap as in is it a mess of wires, nice and tidy, clean/oily?, check in the overflow bottle and look under the radiator cap to see if oily or milky. If nothing else you will know more than the owner or at least have him thinking so which will fair well in you offer. good luck

 

[NCNole]

Good advice from everyone....what I would add is if you can't take someone that is knowledgable with you, take lots of pics and post them up here before buying or if you have the ad, post it up as well. If you can, spend the $$ to have someone give it a thorough inspection before buying. Where is it located?

I also second that it does depend on how you are planning to use it or what you want out of it, but I have been told many times, it's easier/cheaper to fix mechanical stuff than a rusted out body/frame. Most owners of well taken care of 40s will have pics of any work they have done, especially if they coated areas with liner or paint. Take your time and don't rush in to it. List out what is really important to you to have or find out what the cost would be to modify it if the truck doesn't have it. As I have learned very quickly, leave plenty of money in your budget for fixing the truck....these rigs are old and have old bolts, parts, etc that like to break and unless it has all been replaced/restored, you will be sinking money in to your 40 on a regular basis, especially if you drive it daily. Little things here and there start to add up quickly.

 

[lt1fire]

We are quickly becoming the i'm looking for a 40 forum for mud



Above all a straight body/frame with no rust is paramount.

All other things, interior (what little there is in a 40) and drive train can be found with relatively low miles and for a relatively low price.

So I would focus on body and frame above all else. These rigs are dirt simple to work on mechanically.


But then again if it is going to be an off road monster i'd focus even less on straightness of body and just on rust, since most likely you will get some dings along the way.

 

[FJEnthusiast123]

alot of your general car purchase questions apply, obviously they become more critical with age of vehicle. A lot more is in the inspection as the seller may not know the answer or be less inclined to convey the knowledge if it may hurt the sale. Its easy to play dumb as well as be overly proud of you pile of ****. Ive experienced both

Maintenance/repairs that they have done or had done under ownership
Maintenance/repairs done under previous ownership
how long have they had it ? how many miles did they add? how did they use it
current issues or things that dont work, or work just right
test the turn signals and wipers and headlights, and maybe even at same time
dont bother asking about rust in person but get in there and look, take a magnet, dont get fooled by shiny paint or worse diamond plate.

Solid drivetrain and little rust as possible is where to start...... but you already know this
then use the little fixables for bartering

Did you ever call Kevin in fuquay varina with the red one? or any reason you dont like?

For your search in general...
Spend time in the 40 section. Read, read and read some more and educate yourself on what you want and what years had what to offer. Ask yourself some ?s are your really gonna work on it or have the $, do you really want factory equipment or are modern mods like GM powersteering seats motors ok by you. Check out quality of swap as in is it a mess of wires, nice and tidy, clean/oily?, check in the overflow bottle and look under the radiator cap to see if oily or milky. If nothing else you will know more than the owner or at least have him thinking so which will fair well in you offer. good luck

thanks for the heads up! I really appreciate all the solid advice. I havn't gotten with the guy in Fuquay Varina with the red one. Is the info on it, on my other search thread? I'll definitely call him though.

 

[kulangot]

I'd highly suggest that you get it looked at by a professional mechanic, preferably and Land Cruiser specialist. Worth the time and investment, think of it like a home inspection on a house you were buying. I've walked away from many houses because of terrible home inspection findings.

Here is what I look at in a 40:

Lay on the ground and look at the inner frame just in front of the rear spring hangers - the front of the two rear spring hangers - this is the area to the left and right of the rear drive shaft on the inside face of the frame. This part of the frame has an inner and outer frame that are riveted together. Because dirt sits in here, this part of the frame can rust from the inside out. They also crack here. Check the whole inner frame working for the rear spring hanger to the front on both sides.

Then check the outside of the frame also next to the front hanger on the rear spring. Frames crack here.

Now go the rear most part of the frame. Rust in this area is super common but can fixed with replacement parts. Pretty straight foreword to do where as fixing rust in the center of the frame is not so easy. If the truck was nice, id buy a truck that needed repairs here but not in the middle.

Look at the body in above this area and check for shoddy repairs. Most cruisers will have some repairs in this area - probably all in your price range. Quality repairs done with metal are fine, but fiberglass and bondo - not so great. This goes for the rocker panels as well as the front floors and the tops and sides of the inner wheel wells. Most are rusted in spots through these areas. What is important is how it was fixed.

Move on to the center of the body. There is a structural member that is kinda of a sideways spine that goes from left to right in front of the rear tires. Check this out from the bottom and in front of each rear tire. Not good if this is rusted out. Major surgery to repair.

Look for rust in the cowl under the windshield frame. Look up under the cowl.

I am always suspicious of trucks that have spray in bed liner inside the tub. This can be good but can also be a cheap and fast way to cover up rust and shoddy repairs. It makes it hard to fix rust later. I am not a fan. This is not to say that all trucks that have this are rusty but many are. Same thing applies to diamond plate aluminum - odds are it hides rust but there are people that put it on trucks that are not rusty like my friend Donny *roll eyes*.

Look for bent front frame rails. They can be badly bent in even a minor accident.

Check the harness - do all the lights and switches work? Lots of splices and tapes up crap? Not so easy to find a clean harness anymore. Putting in an aftermarket wiring harness is a major job.

Ask for the truck to be not warmed up when you arrive. Does it smoke at start up?

Ask the mechanic checking it out to do a compression check and do a manifold vacuum test. These can tell you a lot. I'd also do a radiator pressure test and leak down test if I were paying a lot for the truck.

Plant to spend a good solid hour looking at it with a flash light and then another 30 min on a test drive under all conditions.

I think you should be open minded at looking at FJ60's as they are awesome trucks in their own right. FJ40's are getting harder to find and expensive.

Good luck in your search!

 

[kulangot]

I'd also add that I've bought trucks with all kinds of problems and shoddy body work as well as rust - and had a great time with them - the key is to pay a fair price for what you are buying. Nothing wrong with buying a truck that needs some work but is drivable. Just pay a fair price for what ever you buy.