Barn Finds friend, Olaf, sent this one in, it’s a 1971 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 and it looks like it’s sneaking through the weeds in remote Africa in search of big game. Actually, it’s just resting in a field about an hour northwest of Corpus Christi, Texas. It’s on Craigslist with an asking price of.. wait, they don’t list a price, but what do you think this one is worth? We probably all know the history of the FJ, or, at least the origin of the name? “F” is the engine series and “J” stands for Jeep. This one, then, has the Type-F engine that was used from 1955 to 1974, a 3.9L inline-six with 125 hp and it was typically good for a half-million miles or more. And, this one runs, believe it or not! The FJ40 was made from 1960 until 1984.
It sure looks rough sitting there half-covered by brush, but there doesn’t appear to be any huge areas of damage or rust, at least on the top side. This is probably the shortest Craigslist ad that I’ve ever seen, there are just two photos and the only text is, “Motor runs clear title. Contact chris for any info”. So, there ya go. Toyota Land Cruisers are hot, hot, hot and pretty much any part that you would need to restore this one is available from numerous online companies. Grab your notepad and a pen and start making a list of the things that you’ll need to get this one back on the road again. At least it runs! With nice examples going for $20,000+, what is this one worth?
Yeeesh! Motor runs, clear title, yup, that just about does it.( and how well do you think it’s going to run) You know, I kid a lot, but this tears it. I can only hope this just is for parts, maybe for yard duty, IDK, the stuff that is coming through here lately, ( and not to belittle the authors any, it’s still fun to see) Chalmers, Mercedes, Chevy wagon, this, I never thought I’d see the day, that this stuff is actually worth anything. I had a friend that bought a parts FJ40, looked EXACTLY like this, the transfer case was blown, and the guy used it to charge his batteries.( motor still ran) I think my friend got it for $100. ( mid-80’s) I truly feel sorry for folks that missed that era. I suppose it’s worth something to a FJ collector.
Maybe we could gradually work our way back to Barn Finds and away from junk yard or field finds. What say you fellas? Less time wasted on the part of the readership opening these lost opportunities and more rewarding welcomes of better offerings that we may actually want to buy. How ’bout it?
I can agree with that. It is interesting to see a few other items , but I guess when we hear the term barn find we have come to expect it refers to a desirable car not any piece of whatever.
I know these are going for big money on BAT lately…but this is just silly
What is BAT?
Bring-a-Trailer. Can’t hold a candle to BF’s. :)
BaT is the site you check after Barnfinds. More car crack as my kids call it.
A site where people drool over and frequently pay too much for Porsche and Citroen type automobiles even if they are 100% junk.
BAT bring-a-trailer as compared 2 Barn finds? most barn finds u have 2 bring-a-trailer! Almost the same but this 1 needs a mower 2 get 2 it
I think it is worth $25.00.I may go to $50 just to get it out of my yard.
If it is unrusted, $5000. How’s that for a guess?
Hey , at least it has its own tow rig. Replace those rotted tires and away we go. Not willing to risk more than a paycheck though. 2000 tops after an up close.
Add “The Parts Shed” to the categories sidebar for things like this.
The way things are going, it will have it’s own website,,,,hey, that gives me an idea,,,
OK, Glad I ask, I ask for more photos, check out the bottom, well, there is none ! If he gives me $ 1,500.00, I’ll take it out of his field !!
My dad drives a Landcruiser 80 series diesel, got 550,000 miles and still going like brand new. This FJ would be a farely mild restoration here in the UK, not much rust
Yes, that would be a weekend project in the UK.No need for a tetanus shot.
Do they work 2 days a week in the UK, and have 5 day weekend’s ?
Might be a couple good parts here, I’d go $50……..I have owned several of these old FJ40s. These crazy prices on restored examples are out of control right now. this is a major job, not worth it……
I sold one of these in Texas about 2009ish and it went for 4k and was much better condition. It had minimal rust and had a complete floor. Clear clean title but didn’t run because I didn’t touch it. All I did was power wash it, take photos of it, and sell it. I paid $500 bucks for it.
Yawl overlookin that it’s a Flintstone unit.
Here in Northern California rusted out, beat up and/or stripped FJ40 shells are going for a grand or more, especially if they have a clean pre-1975 title.
Someone could ship that out here and make a couple of bucks.
I’m happy I got a rusty beat but complete runner for $800 a few months ago.
Demand seems to be strong for the FJ40s. You can even order a Icon reproduction if you want to spend $100K+. I got lucky a couple of years ago when I picked up a JDM FJ-80 for $1500. Under 100,000KM, right hand drive, full lockers, 4.0L 3-FE inline 6, automatic, 2.5″ lift, ARE front bumper, swing-away rear spare must and Safari snorkel because the owner couldn’t take it back to the US when he left Germany. Wish it was a diesel though but otherwise a near bulletproof truck. Drove it from Bavaria to the UK two summers ago and it is still going strong.
This one is all me. While I am having a change of heart on the early muscle cars, thanks to all you folks on BF’s, this is my dream car. If it were in the southeast and reasonable, it would be in my driveway. (or not if the wife kicked me out over it). There is nothing reasonable about the prices of these even in semi restored condition around here. For now, ill just have to settle for the 88 4runner i picked up this year, my second favorite car.