Should I jump on this FJ62 or pass

Looking at another restoration candidate and would appreciate some opinions. 1989 FJ62, 230k miles, rare color from what I can tell. It has rust in the typical places and most likely needs a trans rebuild (won't go into gear, seller is mechanically savvy and says he has tried a lot of small fixes) but seller and I negotiated what I think is a pretty fair price for all that. I'd actually rather have a truck where it needs a transmission rebuild and that's reflected in the price than one that needs nothing. A fresh trans rebuild will reflect positively in terms of recent work.

Here's the hitch... extensive accident history on the Carfax. None of them are indicated as major accidents and the title is clean but it has fully six accidents in its history (five of them in the early 90s, one in 2013). Now, this vehicle is going to be getting a very thorough once over with new sheet metal being welded in and a full respray in addition to a thorough interior refurbishment (and obviously the transmission work) so if I was personally buying this vehicle I don't think the accident history would be an issue for me. But I'm worried that it might dissuade buyers/bidders when the time comes to sell and instead of a truck that garners $27k I might be looking at one that gets $17k instead. This restoration/refurbishment stuff is a lot of intense work and I'd hate to kneecap myself on the sale by starting with one that's doomed to a low sale price.

Bearing in mind that FJ62s are slightly on the rare side, do you guys have any opinions on this? Would I be better off just finding a 60 that doesn't have so much baggage?

 

I love these old school cruisers. Are you going to be doing a full restoration? Imo carfax is useless on older/restored vehicles.

 

@hossler1788 I've gotten some flack for using the word restoration, but I don't think "refurbishment" is exactly strong enough either. Not a frame off, but this is the basic formula:

• Cure rust by welding in new panels
• Sand down and fresh respray over the entire truck (not just the new panels)
• Interior refresh
  • New carpet
  • Dynamat/MLV under carpet and in doors
  • New seat skins
  • Steam and extraction wherever else is left
  • Headliner if necessary
  • New dash pad if cracked
  • SEM Color Coat faded vinyl/plastic
• Cure all mechanical issues big and small
• All fresh fluids, replace all filters, belts, hoses and replace any wear items that need it
  • Any ball joints, bushings, etc that seem suspect will be replaced
• Excruciatingly close detail of undercarriage and engine bay

Essentially, a few years ago I restored my second car that I sold and bought back and wound up writing a lot of checks. But, that car feels damn near showroom when you get inside and I think my attention to detail really paid off. So with any vehicle I restore/refurbish my goal is to get as close to that as possible. And while I'm doing most of the work myself at the moment my goal is to eventually do everything other than upholstery which seems like more of an art form.

 

Sounds like a mechanical restoration. I like that on a vehicle that's in decent original shape. They're only original once, and if you mechanically restore a car that already has some bumps and bruises, you don't really need to worry about it too much, and it gives it an authentic look.

I'm kind of looking for an old suburban right now, and that's what I'm looking for. I want everything to function properly, but I dig a faded paint job with some patina.

Like this truck. I see this thing driving around all the time, I think mechanically it's sorted, but judging by the appearance you know this thing has some stories.

 

You'd love the one I'm working on. I got so lucky. The clear was failing, interior was a little roached and it was a no-crank/no-start. The no-crank/no-start was due to a combination of the security system acting up and the starter being bad. Purrs like a kitten now. Currently sanded down to 180 grit and ready for a guidecoat but is in upholstery at the moment getting fresh front seats and headliner. One family car and it has the right drivetrain (22RE/5-speed/4x4) and only 143k miles. Black Truck is going to clean up so nice. I'm not rushing and I'm taking all the time necessary to make everything perfect.

Oh, and the wheels were purchased by the original owner in period.

 

The sounds like a restoration to me. Not every restoration has to be frame off.

Either way as long as the title is clean(not salvaged) you shouldnt have a problem.

 

I ultimately passed. I asked in a handful of places and got too many conflicting responses. I'd say it was about 50/50 on whether the accident history would be a problem. IME if there's any doubts it's always better to wait. The only reason to pull the trigger immediately is if something about the car is rare/unlikely to come up again (super low miles, single owner, certain options, etc) or you just KNOW you have the right vehicle.

As to the restoration piece, that's what it sounds like to me too. But people (particularly people online) have been touchy about it. Everyone loves to have an opinion. So I've been trying to be careful with how I phrase things. Hasn't helped much lol. On another forum I just had like five people jump down my a** simultaneously on how it's not actually a restoration and I'm going to lose my shirt and on and on. But I'm not trying to build an army of hater trolls who will jump on my BaT comments section so all I can do is be polite.

 

As i read your first post i said to myself
"nope... hard pass... Nobody is gonna buy it with 6 accidents on the report. You'll sell it but you'll take a beating to sell it."
I still stand behind that, i am a buyer, i buy a ton of crap, i have had like 30 toyotas since my youth, i currently have 4 and i would snatch up an old cruiser in a heartbeat if i could find a nice one. HOWEVER, i would take a look at the listing, and do a 360 and walk away after reading it had 6 accidents and a new "restoration" that would scream
"somebody doctored this up and is trying to make a buck"
I too find used gems and fix them up, my daily driver i bought after it had been wrecked, it still had problems after coming back from the body shop and the owner just retired it with stupid low mileage. It was sitting under a tree in his front yard and was green from algae and tree sap. None of the windows worked, including sunroof and rear window, almost every single light was burnt out i dont think it had a single blinker, fog light, or corner light and only one headlight. I think every light in the radio and AC bezel was out. At the time it was a 10 year old vehicle with 100,000 miles that had been sitting almost 3 years. It was a stupid rare model that i had been searching for for exactly 10 years since it came out and i just had to have it. I lowballed dude down to $8,000 and fixed it up and have driven it daily ever since. I'm somewhere around 270,000 miles now and i wouldnt sell this thing for any amount of money. My daughter wants it for her first car and i'm looking for another one to give her cause i dont wanna give mine up.
This was one wreck with a perfect exterior that was fixed from a pro body shop, the girl driver was putting on make-up and rubbed a guard rail and messed the front fender and drivers door up. I wanted it anyway and fixed it up but a "restored" 6 time wrecker..... I would pass.