1978 Toyota FJ40 - $49,000 - Venice, CA - This excellent, fully restored, numbers matching, and original spec FJ40 has been in our family for 24 years. I’m sorry to see it go. A US 1978 vintage (VIN FJ40-294408), it underwent a complete ground up, nut and bolt, body-off restoration by famed restoration house Hibernia Auto Restorations in New Jersey in 2002. The restoration process was total. Frame and chassis media blasted and gloss powder coated. A '74 California body tub was shipped in, completely stripped, blasted, repaired and repainted in the factory blue you see today. Any minor differences that existed between the two years were corrected.
Engine was rebuilt 2 years prior to restoration. Transmission and Transfer case rebuilt. Axles rebuilt. 3.73 gears (introduced in ’79 to the four-speed) are one of only several modifications made to make her more comfortable and less stressed on the freeway. Our restoration was done to be historically accurate and she can be returned to complete original with just wheels and seats. Currently, however, the Recaro sport seats are a vast improvement over the OEM torture devices.
Not a single detail went untouched, and 14 years later, she still looks almost brand new. She runs clean, burns zero oil, keeps her oil looking and feeling fresh between changes, has no leaks, passes CA smog with a leaned out carb (standard fare out here), and has a clean California title.
Hibernia does restorations on some pretty rare and high-end metal, and they do amazing work. This reconstruction was impeccable. 14 years later, she is both beautiful in the flesh, and still sits prominently on Hibernia’s gallery page. It was one of their special projects. By special, I mean challenging and expensive.
She was an east coast car had been everywhere and acquired some body rot. But my father and I were the sentimental type. We had bought it together in ’92, and it was my first car. We worked on it together. I drove it all over the country. It got me though blizzards, into remote areas, to school in Colorado, and then New Hampshire. Eventually, I needed something bigger and more practical, so it rested a while. If you’ve ever lived with one of these things, you know how they get under your skin. They’re so overbuilt, so unstoppable, so fun to drive that they’re completely infectious – and if you’re reading this, you probably understand the folly of a sentimental resto.
I’m proud we saved her, but it was a folly nonetheless. However, that’s to the benefit of whoever ends up with her. We put so much into it (deep into six figures) that my father locked it away in his garage, and rarely drove it. It took me the better part of a decade to convince him to ship it out to me in California. I’ve had her out here in Los Angeles (currently Venice) for four years. During that time, I’ve driven it regularly, but sparingly, and fettled her to near perfection.
She’s not an absolutely perfect time capsule, but she’s close. The frame, while perfectly sound, has scars from pre-restoration pitting (no current rust), and there are a couple of paint imperfections.
The end result is probably the nicest, highest quality 'non-show' FJ you'll find in Southern California. You really must see it to believe it. Take the roof off and enjoy, without worrying about someone breathing on it wrong. Hit the trails. I don’t, but you can. I’ve had multiple mechanics say it's the nicest one they've seen, period. It turns heads, and garners smiles everywhere it goes. It could be brought back to show quality, but as it is, it’s just a beautiful, fun, well built, classic, bulldozing Jeep killer. Every time I get in it, it's love all over again.
Recent service items: (past few years - receipts for all) New carburetor, new steering box (wasn’t replaced during resto and I didn't like the feel), new manifold gasket, new viscous fan clutch, new smog pump, new clutch slave and master cylinders, timing gear service, water pump, rear axle shaft adjust, and all fluids (obviously), among some other minor details.
Currently addressing: A cooling fan that appears to be running too often. An exhaust leak I suspect at the header and exhaust flange. An alignment is on the books for the next oil change.
We never intended to sell her, but the unforeseeable happens, and circumstances and desires change. Her name is Moe, and she need a new family to go to – one that will love her as much as we do.
Full size Beauty shots: http://imgur.com/a/Id95r
Full size Every day look / full disclosure: http://imgur.com/a/o9J4z