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Should I panic buy this FJ45?

Quick question. Am looking at the vehicle now some serious layers of filler? On the body work. Is that normal? Decals are on top of them so seem old. Photos not uploading but it’s almost visible on the side of the vehicle shits above. Worried now!

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Front wheel drive doesn’t seem to work. Using the protocol in 4h with one front wheel up and fwh locked I can still turn the wheel.
 
Ok front wheel drive does work. battery flat though got stranded a moment on the test drive.....
 
From the photos the overall condition of the truck does not suggest that it has had another million miles stuck on it. These trucks were built to last.
Aussie LCs are 12 volt but that will not present a problem for parts. For the rest of the world they were mostly 24 volt but as over 10% of all LCs went to Oz, it's not a problem.
Let us know how you get on after your visit.

Regards,
Rodger
From the photos the overall condition of the truck does not suggest that it has had another million miles stuck on it. These trucks were built to last.
Aussie LCs are 12 volt but that will not present a problem for parts. For the rest of the world they were mostly 24 volt but as over 10% of all LCs went to Oz, it's not a problem.
Let us know how you get on after your visit.

Regards,
Rodger
Some issues with it - see below. Now quite undecided. Dead battery such a basic thing to fix!
 
I know nothing about 40's (other than I'd like one) but I do sadly have first hand experience of my heart ruling my head when it comes to buying vehicles.

Be careful and be prepared to walk away if you start to think you might be biting more off than you can chew.

If you don't walk away and decide to buy, there are lots of people on this forum able to provide technical support. You'll have to fund it though!

Good luck.
 
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Head is taking over now....
Very weird - had 2 batteries installed. One read 9V the other 16v. How is 16v even possible? Unless it wasn’t a 12v battery. Anyway I had a bad gut feeling about it and have headed back home to think about it. It’s a beast - not used much for several years. The chassis did seem ok, no cracks above the front axel, fwd did work, big warn winch on the front. The seats had all been moved around and so there weren’t 4 belted seats which is a basic requirement for me. The body work was troubling though - very strange old layer of filler or something everywhere. Looks original but how can it be? Basically looks too complicated for me to take on I think,....
 
The front wing does look like brake fluid has been spilt but new wings are available - not cheap but they bolt on.
The side panels are a bit confusing but IMO :
Square panel: There are no weld marks so I think that they cut out a big patch of rust and stuck in (not welded) a panel from the inner wing. IMO it is repairable but matching the stripes will be difficult so may entail removing them completely - you would be looking, ultimately, at a respray.
Odd shaped panel on filler side: Same in that they have cut out the rust and inserted a panel but that panel crosses the B pillar. You need to look carefully at the inside from underneath and inside the truck to gauge how much of that B pillar has been removed. With luck the pillar is in tack but again this will require some major correction work to get it right.
Of course you could treat the panels and edges and then filler them in and there are sign makers who could reprint the stripes.

Just read your update - 2 batteries maybe one is for the winch(?).

Regards,

Rodger
 
Although the price to buy it is reasonable and the impression I get is that many of the areas that need addressing are not things that you have the time or the knowledge to address so they are going to cost. It's a 38 year old truck and standing idle for a time will also create lots of small problems - seals that shrink, etc., so it is not a truck that you can use without having time/money spent on it first.
It is in many areas a sound truck but IMO you are probably going to have to spend the purchase price again to get the truck completely reliable and the way you would obviously like it.
It looks to me as if the person who was doing the work ran out of time/money/knowledge or enthusiasm so to correct much of what they were attempting has to be undone first. Its advantage is that it looks to be complete but there could be other aspects to it that need addressing - as with any old vehicle.
There are people who have the skills to sort it but, obviously, their time costs but Troopies are rare and as with most 40s their value is increasing.

Regards,
Rodger
 
Although the price to buy it is reasonable and the impression I get is that many of the areas that need addressing are not things that you have the time or the knowledge to address so they are going to cost. It's a 38 year old truck and standing idle for a time will also create lots of small problems - seals that shrink, etc., so it is not a truck that you can use without having time/money spent on it first.
It is in many areas a sound truck but IMO you are probably going to have to spend the purchase price again to get the truck completely reliable and the way you would obviously like it.
It looks to me as if the person who was doing the work ran out of time/money/knowledge or enthusiasm so to correct much of what they were attempting has to be undone first. Its advantage is that it looks to be complete but there could be other aspects to it that need addressing - as with any old vehicle.
There are people who have the skills to sort it but, obviously, their time costs but Troopies are rare and as with most 40s their value is increasing.

Regards,
Rodger
I’ll definitely need to sleep on it - but a question about the body work: normally paint would have applied in layers to metal at the time of manufacture? Would there be any filler used at all?
Thanks for your advice so far (and others) - it’s been really useful!
 
Filler would not be used at the factory under normal circumstances. I think, although you have seen it, that the cut edges are metal - badly cut. The metal used then was considerably thicker than that used in vehicle nowadays. e.g. I can stand on the bonnet of my 40 without it denting or deforming (Don't try it on a modern car!). In the pictures one can see the primer and top coat applied on top of the metal.

You're welcome.

Regards,
Rodger
 
Filler would not be used at the factory under normal circumstances. I think, although you have seen it, that the cut edges are metal - badly cut. The metal used then was considerably thicker than that used in vehicle nowadays. e.g. I can stand on the bonnet of my 40 without it denting or deforming (Don't try it on a modern car!). In the pictures one can see the primer and top coat applied on top of the metal.

You're welcome.

Regards,
Rodger
Yes it’s maybe hard to see on the photos. I didn’t see evidence of welds or joins looking up the inside of the side panels. The owner said he’d been digging down through ‘spackel’ (translates as filler) and it may be easier to see on the photo below. Shiny metal top left that looks like he’s been grinding away, then the pink coloured filler, cracked in places, then grey undercoat maybe and finally bottom left the top light brown paint.

The same layers can be seen on the side panel (second photo close up). This time with a decal on top of the paint layer. From what I could see most of the vehicle seems to be treated in that way.

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I don't suppose it could have been originally done as a show vehicle so all the panels were completely fair.
 
I don't suppose it could have been originally done as a show vehicle so all the panels were completely fair.
Yes that could explain it - what do you think about the “Land Cruiser” decals along the side? Do they look original to you?
 
Hi LegoCruiser,
I have been following this thread with interest because that is such an amazing truck. I'm not a body repair expert and don't possess the skills that will be needed - have been hoping someone who is and does would have stepped in to advise you from their experience.
I am only like you, puzzled why there should be such a huge volume of filler all over the truck. That is absolutely not normal and sounds alarm bells. Looking at your photos the rust on exposed bare metal seems to extend under the filler in many places. It looks like you would have to chip off a lot more filler to find good sound painted metal all around before you could treat it and start building back again. What we can see is only surface rust, not rot, but it looks like it could be extensive. And who knows what lies hidden beneath.
The best advice is what Rodger said
IMO you are probably going to have to spend the purchase price again to get the truck completely reliable and the way you would obviously like it.
So I guess that's what it comes down to. Do you love the truck enough for it to be worth that much to you - not to sell but to have it in your life. Difficult, and only you know the answer to that. It's like Warren Beatty said in McCabe & Mrs Miller - Money and pain, money & pain. He was talking about women, but cars are the same.
Its good that you are taking the time to think it over. Good luck .
 
Hi LegoCruiser,
.....Looking at your photos the rust on exposed bare metal seems to extend under the filler in many places. It looks like you would have to chip off a lot more filler to find good sound painted metal all around before you could treat it and start building back again. What we can see is only surface rust, not rot, but it looks like it could be extensive. And who knows what lies hidden beneath.
.
That’s a very good observation - you are right it the rusty almost oily surface does seem to extend under the filler - then places the dude with the grinder has removed that to expose metal. If it was factory applied filler then there surely would be clean metal directly under the filler.
So the body work is in a bad condition all over. But the chassis isn’t?! Very hard to get my head round what’s happened to this truck.
I suppose I could avoid a lot of pain - but not the money- by replacing whole body panels? Presumably that would be a whole load of dosh but no real idea how much. Mechanically it seems fine - apart from the crazy battery issue (how hard is it to get a new battery for the vehicle you are trying to sell?!). Maybe there is more to that than meets the eye too so I am wary. But it’s an amazing machine! I’d forgotten how BIG they are!
He did have loads of old paperwork - even pre-import to Sweden from Victoria in Australia. Which is good I think. I half wondered if I should try and get in touch with the previous owners down under.....
 
Contacting the previous owners is a good idea as potentially you'll learn more from them than from the paperwork and the current seller.
Just had a quick look at body panels - based on front wings and lower rear panels: front wing replacements are not a problem: £182 +vat+shipping each. Lower body panels for a troopy is a whole different game but there is a chap in Costa Rica who can make them ( Paul at Pilgrim Restorations). A quick look on the web and it looks like he now be part of Vintage Resto. But most panels are made for the shorty of which all but the side panels fit a troopy.
I know a restorer who may be able to do it for you but he'd need the truck, etc.

Regards,
Rodger
 
OK panic over......I've decided to buy it, new battery has been installed by owner - hopefully collect in a couple of days! Very exciting!
 
Congratulations LegoCruiser and welcome to the world of 40s.

IMO the basis is sound with just the body to sort out , so in the 40 world, no change there. It will take time and money but in the end you will have a great truck.

It may be worth trawling back through the 40 forum on here to see what people have been through. Try www.ih8mud.com - Thread: !OY Mark Coolermans build thread. Lots of great info on ih8mud but it can take a load searching but worth it.

Regards,

Rodger
 
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