Help me find an FJ40

Rezerve not met...AT $131,000.00

This might be the one. Besides the stupid hole in the roof, what else you guys see that should keep me from making a very expensive mistake?

The sunroof I can ignore even though I would rather it was not there. 

1978 FJ40 on bring a trailer

In reply to Slippery :

Mine is very similar to that one right down to the color combo.  I’m thinking about doing a 4 speed swap,  adding disk brakes up front,  and power steering.

Slippery said:

This might be the one. Besides the stupid hole in the roof, what else you guys see that should keep me from making a very expensive mistake?

The sunroof I can ignore even though I would rather it was not there. 

1978 FJ40 on bring a trailer

You need to recognize the sunroof is period correct after Market accessory.

https://www.resurrectionlandcruisers.com/vehicles-for-sale/

These guys always have some listed and can do the complete restoration if needed.

Slippery said:

This might be the one. Besides the stupid hole in the roof, what else you guys see that should keep me from making a very expensive mistake?

The sunroof I can ignore even though I would rather it was not there. 

1978 FJ40 on bring a trailer

Seems steep to me, but I have nothing to base that on. The roof is easily fixed it you don't like it - worst case $3-5k for a hard top, less if you're willing to mess with buck rivets and gel coat. I think my guard is up simply because of all the "reportedly" and "apparently" in the description. Ultimately, anything on these trucks is fixable, so you can't really go wrong....

Just my uninformed $.02. Good luck!

Eric

Done!

Ignore the final price guys, it is exactly what I was looking for and with a couple of mods will be ready for next summer up in Vermont.

Just won this 1978 FJ40

In reply to Slippery :

Schweet...well bought considering quality of truck.  Enjoy!

Nice looking rig!  Did you end up bidding on the blue one as well or pass on it to go for the yellow one?

Cotton said:

Nice looking rig!  Did you end up bidding on the blue one as well or pass on it to go for the yellow one?

Thanks guys!

I skipped the blue altogether once I saw this one. For some reason I felt it was closer to what I was looking for.

Nice rig, but man I can't believe the value on these.  I really should have bought the pristine pickup version I saw locally 2 years ago for $12k.

That thing is beautiful. 

Small update. Been out of town for a week but the FJ arrived a couple of weeks ago. 

You would think that getting a car from Virginia to Florida this time of the year would be cake, but it took about two weeks for the truck company to get it here. 

Anyways, it is very nice. Has a few flaws that I expected but that’s OK. I am going to try and fix/go over what’s needed in the next few months but the list is quite short. I can post it if there is any interest. 

Here are some pics:

I went for a drive and saw a new FJ 

In reply to Slippery :

Yeah man,  keep the thread going.  I’m sure there are several here definitely interested.  Looks great in the pics!

Is that a factory PTO winch?  I let one of those slip out of my hands a few years back and now run a Warn 8274 on my FJ.

In reply to Cotton :

Yes, its a PTO winch. Not sure its factory, but I have all the manuals. Most likely a dealer add on? I had no idea FJs had PTO, was that an option?

The guy I bought the car from claimed it did not work, but he barely drove the car. 

It looks very serviceable, so I am going to try my best to get it up and running again.

I will post more in a bit. 

I had read PTO winches were a factory option,  but I can’t remember what brand winch they used.  Very cool regardless.

Preliminary list I wrote yesterday while on a plane back to Fl. 

FJ40 to do list:

• Order gas tank cap - missing
• Radiator - recore or order new. Coolant was low and looks to be leaking from top tank. 
• Brakes, rebuild front calipers / new rear drum cylinders - They are soft and pulls to one side when braking hard. 
• Get PTO winch working. 
• Check both heaters and make sure they work. Rear heater might not be needed. 
• Extra lights - Get a couple of Hella round LED possibly Rallye 4000 + a lightbar + a couple of smaller ones for the rear. 
• Soft top - research who makes a quality soft top and door options. 
• Check roll bar - keep factory or aftermarket. Factory is preferred if a roof rack can somehow be mounted to it. 
• Roof rack for soft top - Want to be able to carry a bicycle or canoe. 
• Cooler rack
• Check 4wd system operation and make sure it works ok. 
• Retrofit seat heaters - maybe. 
• Source correct lock for back door. No key at the moment. 
• Source original back doors - For use with soft top. 
• Jack and tools kit - none in the car. 
• Valve adjustment. 
• All fluids changed. 
• Small oil leak on driver’s side of engine - Valve cover gasket possibly. 
• Check belts (one is new)
• Install hidden ignition cutoff switch ???
• Inside lights - Does not work, check. 
• Check condition of wiper blades

I will start going over those in the next few weeks and update, plus most likely more items will come up to be checked. 

I put about 300 miles on it in the last three days. The more miles I put, the better it drives and the more I like it. It also makes my list of things to go over longer. A few more things to check:

• Cluster lights - they dont work.
• I believe there is a light above the pull knobs - If so it does not work. 
• Needs e-code headlights.
• Cigarette lighter does not work - Dont smoke but need a phone charger. 
• The speedo is way off - It will do 70 mph on the interestate according to the phone GPS but the speedo says 50 ish. 
• Fuel range is not super - this one I will have to live with. Its probably running a tad rich, but it runs so well and smooth I dont really want to touch the carb.

Driving on I-95 at night with no cluster lights sucks:

Took it to my favorite taco joint tonight:

Everytime I drive it people will either snap pictures or ask me what year it is or give me thumbs up. It’s insane the amount of attention it gets. 

Beautiful!  congratulations man!

My favorite FJ40 quote:  "Well you certainly wont be passing much traffic, but at least you wont be passing many gas stations either."

Hungary Bill said:

Beautiful!  congratulations man!

 

My favorite FJ40 quote:  "Well you certainly wont be passing much traffic, but at least you wont be passing many gas stations either."

Thanks!

It will do 70 no problem!!!  but I am afraid of calculating how many mpg it gets  

Weekend MPG ... 8.5!! 

Fixed the front driver’s side marker/parking light combo. The wire had come off of the connector in the engine bay. Did not look like a Toyota connector, I did not use much better ... just what I found at Autozone. It works. 

Slippery said:

Weekend MPG ... 8.5!! 

*SMILES per gallon

There's more to life than gas mileage!  Looks like a great truck.

Dude! I live off of Belvedere and Parker! Zipitios is the taco spot imho. Looking forward to seeing you around town! 

In reply to grover :

I am further west, Hypoluxo and Tpike. Next time I plan on being that way, I will pm you and show you the FJ.

BTW, Zipitios is at the Grand View, right? I think its very good, but Cholo Soy is better :D