I'm buying this '74 FJ40 I found and picking it up this weekend. I'm pretty excited about it. I think I got a really good deal. It has the Chevy V8 conversion kit, but the motor has a cracked head (small block Chevy's are a dime a dozen, so I figure I could pick up one pretty cheap). The body has the typical rust in the rear quarters, but it doesn't look too bad. It's been sitting for about 5 years, so I'll probably have to replace the brake cylinders, clutch/slave cylinder, fuel lines, etc., but it's set up to drop in a new 350 and be good to go! I'm paying only $750 for it, so if it's more of a project than I can do, I figure I can sell it and not lose any money on it. What's your opinion?
looks like alot of rust just from the pictures but it should be a good little project. My uncle has a 74 tan fj40 that a guy that is in our hunting club has left sitting in the back yard behind the cabin on our property. It has rust in some areas, interior will have to be replaced, but it hasn't been moved or run in probably 12 years. I would love to be able to make the man an offer but he says he doesn't want to sell it. Anyways, I say go for it if you can swing it and handle the time trying to get it right.
The rockers look like they have been replaced, and I checked on buying rear quarters ($300 for both sides). I don't want something really pretty anyways, I'd be too afraid to scratch it! This will be something that I can slowly work on and maybe eventually restore. For right now I just want something to play with and not worry so much about what it looks like.
If the rear quarters have rust but are still structurally intact you can always buy some rear corners covers from Man-a-fre and have it looking good as new.
Not the actual best way to repair the damage, but when done right it will save you some coin.
My daughter's 71 that we are redoing has a similar problem with the rockers, and that is what we plan to do.
I will definitely let you know if I need some parts. I'll probably be on here a lot asking questions and picking your brains for info on it! He has the bikini top and soft doors that also come with it, but no hard top. I'll probably never have a top on it anyways. I've already got a 350 from my dad to drop in, so I won't need to spend any money on a motor. It'll probably just be some minor parts, brakes, interior stuff, new fuel lines, etc. He said the body structural frame is good, and it just needs the rear quarters replaced to get rid of the rust in the back. The tailgate is good, with just some minor rust along the bottom. He told me someone offered him $200 for the spare tire carrier a while ago, but he never sold it, so apparently it's in good shape too. I might just buy the diamond plate rear quarter covers and "hide" the rust for now. I don't need it to look beautiful right now, just to drive good and have something to play with and work on.
I actually just became a member of that sight. I heard about it from others on this site. I'm pretty excited about getting a project like this to work on. I've wanted and old FJ forever and stumbled onto this deal so I decided to go for it. It was only $750, so I'm probably not gonna lose any money on it if I decide it's too much for me to do.
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