That's Tom's from http://www.n2cruisers.com/

texrover91 said:

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https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/d/1982-fj43-toyota-land-cruiser/6302013018.html

FJ43 F/S Dallas

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The top is kind of cool, and kind of not.

But square bezel I just can't get behind.

He had eleven Cruisers at his house when I went and looked at a green one he had on CL. Eventually I bought my current cruiser from him.

reddog90 said:

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That's an awesome cruiser and nice work. I am a little confused on the full floater rears. Only semi floaters were available in US models right? And does a full floater only give you more carrying capacity or is it more capable offroad?

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Yes it was only offered over seas. Yes it is stronger in all capacities, just based on the design of the axle and thus is a little "better off road", but in all honesty this cruiser doesn't really go off road anymore. It is just a neat feature to list for the truck just like the transmission.

And that sucks to be honest because it has the MetalTech tube fenders done right, they look perfect, like they are factory. It has ARB lockers front and rear and Corbeau seats with 4 point harnesses. The worst thing about it's "offroad-ness" is the god awful HFS suspension under it. God it is stiff and doesn't flex for *****

Actually now that I think about it, my Dad took this truck and spent a week running the mountains of Southwest colorado just over the summer with our buddy Woody around the same time as the FJ Cruiser Summit.

Streetfighter 02 said:

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He had eleven Cruisers at his house when I went and looked at a green one he had on CL. Eventually I bought my current cruiser from him.

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Were you happy with your transaction?

I was going to ask if you got your 43 from Tom. Was he good to deal with? And are you glad you got a 43 and not a 40?

The original 43 I looked at was asking around $25k. It needed cosmetic work but had no rot. It probably needed mechanical work as well. There is also a guy in Austin who imports them. He had one asking $19k. It ran fine but had a flyby spray paint job and the crappiest roof available from Colombia. It also had a bracket welded on the driver side to raise the seat level about 3" for the short previous owner. I could barely fit under the steering wheel.You don't see many 43's in bad shape because people have to import them. You're going to wind up with a nice original body truck or one that was "restored" in Colombia on the cheap but looks great. Those trucks are going to probably have a ton of bondo and be generally ****ty. There are a lot of polished turds in Florida if you get on CL nationwide.

A separate note about the tops. You won't find many South American trucks with factory hard tops if any. There was a substantial luxury tax for vehicles with hard tops so they were imported as soft top or no top models and the dealer added a locally made fiberglass top (MPR) like you see on most of the hard top cruisers from that area. Most of the soft tops are also aftermarket. Lots of re-sellers junk the fiberglass hard top and install an OEM style soft top with soft ambulance doors.

Tom is a good dude. He artificially inflates his asking prices. He's also emotionally attached to most of his trucks for one reason or another. If you want to see a bunch of cruisers in a single stop he's worth contacting. He knows quite a bit but isn't a mechanic himself. He will only bring in rust free, mostly original trucks so you don't have concern of bondo on anything he's selling.

reddog90 said:

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That's Tom's from http://www.n2cruisers.com/

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No idea how I've missed him online - do you know where he's located?

texrover91 said:

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reddog90 said:

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That's Tom's from http://www.n2cruisers.com/

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No idea how I've missed him online - do you know where he's located?

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Appears to be Dallas from his corporate info.

Yes and sort-of. With that many trucks he's not driving them every day. He has them serviced by a mechanic but if you buy a truck that doesn't ever get driven and start driving it daily you're going to find some things that need repair. I'm in that phase currently because I drive the cruiser to work almost every day. I've got a fuel leak off a hose near the filter. The drive belt is old and needs to be replaced. It squeals at high rpms. The rear lefttail-light is actually a right hand unit flipped upside down. It holds water because the weep holes are now on top so I've ordered new a new lens, two new passenger side OEM assemblies for stockpile (the left is NLA and the right isn't far from it), new gaskets and replaced the bulbs.

As much information as I consumed in the year leading up to my purchase it can't replace owning the truck and seeing things every day. There are tons of little things that you can't account for when you're test driving a truck or going to look at them. Ultimately I paid what I did for this truck because it's clear that it's had maybe one paint job ever. The body is as rust free as it can be and all the original factory welds are visible through what appears to be original paint.

Last thought is that I didn't intend to continue dumping money into the truck but since I bought it I changed the wheels and tires, ordered a new bumper, installed a winch and recently bought a set of rear half doors for when I take the top off. Basically it's a serious illness that I'm happy to have.

He's in Dallas south of 635 and north of Forest Ln.

https://lubbock.craigslist.org/cto/d/1980-toyota-fj40-land-cruiser/6303271214.html

If I didn't have one yet I'd be looking into this one in Lubbutt. It looks ok in photos.

Streetfighter 02 said:

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https://lubbock.craigslist.org/cto/d/1980-toyota-fj40-land-cruiser/6303271214.html

If I didn't have one yet I'd be looking into this one in Lubbutt. It looks ok in photos.

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Does it look like the rear quarter panels have been cut out and replaced? It also looks like it's second paint job and they sprayed the bezel to match. I would be worried what is underneath. I haven't been in the market in a while but that seems $5K over priced at least.

AG 07 said:

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reddog90 said:

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That's an awesome cruiser and nice work. I am a little confused on the full floater rears. Only semi floaters were available in US models right? And does a full floater only give you more carrying capacity or is it more capable offroad?

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Yes it was only offered over seas. Yes it is stronger in all capacities, just based on the design of the axle and thus is a little "better off road", but in all honesty this cruiser doesn't really go off road anymore. It is just a neat feature to list for the truck just like the transmission.

And that sucks to be honest because it has the MetalTech tube fenders done right, they look perfect, like they are factory. It has ARB lockers front and rear and Corbeau seats with 4 point harnesses. The worst thing about it's "offroad-ness" is the god awful HFS suspension under it. God it is stiff and doesn't flex for *****

Actually now that I think about it, my Dad took this truck and spent a week running the mountains of Southwest colorado just over the summer with our buddy Woody around the same time as the FJ Cruiser Summit.

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That's awesome, post some pics if he took any. So do 40s come stock with only a CDL? Sorry for my ignorance. I wasn't sure if they had front/rear lockers back then.

Thanks for all your info on Tom and what he imports. The guy in Austin is AJ, we've talked some and he send me a sky blue 43 earlier today but I am sure it's out of my price range. And he imports stuff from Columbia. How do you like DDing the 43? And is there any disadvantage to owning an imported cruiser?

reddog90 said:

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AG 07 said:

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reddog90 said:

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That's an awesome cruiser and nice work. I am a little confused on the full floater rears. Only semi floaters were available in US models right? And does a full floater only give you more carrying capacity or is it more capable offroad?

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Yes it was only offered over seas. Yes it is stronger in all capacities, just based on the design of the axle and thus is a little "better off road", but in all honesty this cruiser doesn't really go off road anymore. It is just a neat feature to list for the truck just like the transmission.

And that sucks to be honest because it has the MetalTech tube fenders done right, they look perfect, like they are factory. It has ARB lockers front and rear and Corbeau seats with 4 point harnesses. The worst thing about it's "offroad-ness" is the god awful HFS suspension under it. God it is stiff and doesn't flex for *****

Actually now that I think about it, my Dad took this truck and spent a week running the mountains of Southwest colorado just over the summer with our buddy Woody around the same time as the FJ Cruiser Summit.

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That's awesome, post some pics if he took any. So do 40s come stock with only a CDL? Sorry for my ignorance. I wasn't sure if they had front/rear lockers back then.

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Well 40's aren't "all the time 4wd" or AWD like the 80's so they don't have a differential in the transfer case, so there isn't a CDL in them. Just a normal toyota transfer case with 2WD - 4WD - 4L.

No 40's were never offered with locking differentials from the factory that I am aware of. That didn't come into existence in the US until the advent of the 80 Series and over seas in the 70 series that I am aware of.

Let's see if facebook pics work here...



He mainly uses this buggy to wheel now, but overkill for the alpine loop

I think the biggest disadvantage will be parts under the hood. General market trucks have some parts that weren't used on US spec trucks. The carb and air cleaner are different. Most of them lack the stock heater and fan. If you want to install a vintage air A/C unit it won't bolt directly on because the alternator is on the opposite side of the engine bay. There are subtle differences like that that could be moderately troublesome. I don't think there are major things that won't have parts or solutions. I also like the appearance of the factor metal tops. Unless you can import a used top from Japan you'd have to fabricate it from a couple US tops if you wanted a non fiberglass option.

The biggest advantage is there was never any smog equipment installed so the carb works far better than a US spec truck. With the longer truck i can fit a mountain bike inside the truck with the front wheel off. I can also easily carry 6 adults.

I drove one of AJ's trucks as well. He's not, in my opinion, bringing in as nice a truck. He's having work done in Colombia. I don't think he will use a ton of bondo. He brought a magnet out to show me all the panels are metal without my asking.

AJ's Truck

The best thing about the good MPR tops is the air ducting. It takes air from above the windshield and vents out at the driver, passenger and rear passengers. It makes a huge difference when I've driven in the rain with windows up.

What's the story on MPR tops? Is that an option for a 40? Im in need of a replacement top and heard someone in Florida was bringing them in from overseas

Did your dad put diff locks in the 40? And his other buggy is pretty sweet.

Dammit. Now y'all have me jonesing for an FJ60 or FJ62...

Does anyone know anything about the guy in Carrollton that has like 8 project 40s on craigslist right now?

He buys junk really low and resells it for a little profit. I think he's a nice guy. He has a hangar off the tollway kinda behind Costco with several cruisers in stages of disassembly. If you needed a weird part he's probably a good contact.

Is soft top not a consideration? There are several folks making bows and tops. The guy in Cedar Park, AJ, would probably know if it's a possibility. Many of the "remodel" companies toss the MPR top and put a soft top on. There have to be some laying around.

edit - Potential Hard Top Source

Yeah. There's a seam. I didn't see it before. It's probably not cut out and replaced. It's probably installed over the existing quarter and sprayed over with paint.

edit - I looked again. Maybe just a bad patch job.

When I bought mine that guy had a mustard colored 40 that was 'junk' but was really cool in its own right - Imagine someone bought a brand new 40 and parked it in a barn with a leaky roof and dirt floor where the humidity stayed 100% and never dried out. It was eaten up with rust - and everywhere - yet it was otherwise completely unused. Perfect upholstery, all the dealer stuff, nearly 0 miles, every possible little trinket was there and undamaged..... just rust. Kinda like the time machine car that got wet.

Oh - and for the thread, so simple.

https://instagr.am/p/BZ3ip2JBxpX

I looked at one in Smithville like that. 1974 FST. No top and doors had no panels. Great patina. I probably should've just bought that one and put the top on it. It needed a bit of mechanical work, too. I bet he still has it if anyone on this thread wanted one with original paint.

Haven't seen it on CL. You got his contact?

I got a lead on an off market '74 40 that's basically all original and looks like a good project for me. Only problem is it's current color. I wouldn't mind many other colors with patina as a driveable project until I did paint and body work, but this think looks pink in the pictures... Idk if it used to be pumpkin or had a crappy tan paint job years ago that faded to pink. What does a paint job even cost? Not looking for show quality work. I think I'd want under the tub and floors bedlined (maybe raptorliner?) Would CCOT be a good resource for that work or could any paint & body shop around me do it?

reddog90 said:

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I got a lead on an off market '74 40 that's basically all original and looks like a good project for me. Only problem is it's current color. I wouldn't mind many other colors with patina as a driveable project until I did paint and body work, but this think looks pink in the pictures... Idk if it used to be pumpkin or had a crappy tan paint job years ago that faded to pink. What does a paint job even cost? Not looking for show quality work. I think I'd want under the tub and floors bedlined (maybe raptorliner?) Would CCOT be a good resource for that work or could any paint & body shop around me do it?

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Does Cool Cruisers do resto work?

Nvm they don't do work anymore, just sell parts.

1974 FJ40 FST

I offered $15k and he wasn't willing to go below $20k. I'm not sure if he sold it or not. Storage was his biggest issue and Smithville historical overlay wouldn't let him build a carport or garage.

Streetfighter 02 said:

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He buys junk really low and resells it for a little profit. I think he's a nice guy. He has a hangar off the tollway kinda behind Costco with several cruisers in stages of disassembly. If you needed a weird part he's probably a good contact.

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Is that Dallas Air Park?