For Sale • Three Toyota FJ40s • Within 500 Miles of Bozeman
Crack PipeOr Nice Price?
A $3,000 rust project in Fort Collins, a $49,500 frame-off restoration in Stevensville and a $55,000 red truck in Cle Elum described in exactly three sentences. Same truck, three very different relationships with reality.
This week's premise
Three FJ40s, One Wide Spread
Every week I go through the classifieds within 500 miles of Bozeman, pull three old Land Cruisers and decide whether the asking price is a nice price or something the seller came up with while holding a crack pipe. This week the spread is almost comical: $3,000 at the bottom, $55,000 at the top, and a $49,500 truck in the middle that might be the most reasonable of the three.
If you're new to the 40 Series, start with my 40 Series buyer's guide. Fair warning: I'm biased. I want one of these badly enough that I built a Fund the 40 page, so read every verdict below as written by a man who has priced all three in his head.
Ad 1 of 3 • Craigslist • Cle Elum, WA • ~480 miles from Bozeman
The $55,000 Red Truck With a Three-Sentence Ad
Our first contestant is a red 1975 FJ40 hardtop with a white top, listed out of Cle Elum, Washington, for $55,000. The listing shows 61,200 miles, a clean title and a manual transmission.
That's most of the ad. The entire description reads, in full spirit if not in full punctuation: 61,200 miles, stock motor and transmission, very nice condition, needs an alignment, "serious inquiries only please."
Five photos, all taken inside a busy garage. The paint looks bright and the stance looks right. There's a winch on an aftermarket front bumper, a spare on the rear swing-out, and a hood propped open over an engine bay you'd want to see in daylight. What there isn't: a single word about rust, paint history, frame, or why anyone should believe the 61,200.
"Serious inquiries only" is doing a lot of work for an ad that put in no serious effort.
| The Ad Says | Points | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 61,200 miles | + Nice | Low, if true. Nothing in the ad backs it up. |
| Stock motor and transmission | + Nice | Original drivetrain is what collectors pay for. |
| Clean title | + Nice | Paperwork matters on a 50-year-old Toyota. |
| Very nice condition | + Nice | Bright paint in the photos. Garage lighting forgives a lot. |
| Needs an alignment | − Pipe | Could be nothing. Could be a bent steering part. On a 40, ask why. |
| No rust, frame or restoration details | − Pipe | At $55,000, silence isn't a feature. |
| Serious inquiries only | − Pipe | Serious money deserves a serious ad. |
Ad 1 • The verdict
Crack Pipe, Mildly
$55,000 is real FJ40 money. It's nearly twice the 12-month median and about $17,000 over the top of the typical range. Trucks do clear that number, but they show up with documented miles, a restoration story and a hundred photos. This one shows up with five garage photos and an attitude.
Maybe it's a great truck. A 61,000-mile original with the factory drivetrain would deserve a premium. The ad just doesn't prove any of it.
What I'd pay: $36,000 after a daylight inspection, a frame crawl and some paperwork on those miles. Show me receipts and we can talk higher.
Ad 2 of 3 • IH8MUD • Stevensville, MT • ~155 miles from Bozeman
The $49,500 Olive Truck With a 37-Page Paper Trail
Ad two is the opposite of ad one. It's an olive 1978 FJ40 hardtop in Stevensville, in the Bitterroot, listed on the IH8MUD classifieds for $49,500. Firm. No trades.
The seller calls it "Iconic," which is a bold word to put in a title. Then he backs it up with something no Craigslist ad ever has: a 37-page nut-and-bolt, frame-off restoration thread on the same forum, documented over several years. He's owned it about three and a half years, drives it roughly 400 miles a year, keeps it in a climate-controlled shop, and says it runs and drives excellent.
He's also refreshingly honest about the plan. He owns an FJ62, an FJ60 and an LX470, wants to thin the herd, and says it goes to Bring a Trailer next spring if Mud doesn't buy it first.
The ad itself doesn't list the engine, transmission or mileage (the mileage field says 00000). It points you to the build thread instead, and that's where your homework is.
| The Ad Says | Points | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Frame-off, nut-and-bolt restoration | + Nice | The single most expensive thing you can do to an FJ40, already done. |
| 37-page build thread | + Nice | Receipts, in public, for years. Gold. |
| Climate-controlled shop, about 400 miles a year | + Nice | Used, not abused, and not rotting in a field. |
| Runs and drives excellent | + Nice | From a seller with a track record on the forum. |
| Mileage field says 00000; drivetrain not listed | − Pipe | Read the thread before you ask. Then ask anyway. |
| $49,500 firm, no trades | − Pipe | Not cheap. Not negotiable either. |
| Plan B is Bring a Trailer next spring | + Nice | He's pricing it below where he thinks it could land. Interesting. |
Ad 2 • The verdict
Nice Price, Barely
On paper, $49,500 is a lot more than the $30,000 median. But the median is mostly honest drivers with honest rust. A documented frame-off truck is a different animal, and the best-documented ones on Bring a Trailer have cleared $87,000 and up this year.
You're not paying for a 1978 Toyota. You're paying for somebody else's years of work, and you get to read every page of it before you write the check. That's rare.
The "barely" is the mileage field, the missing drivetrain details in the ad itself, and a firm price that leaves no room for anything the build thread doesn't answer.
What I'd pay: $49,500, if the build thread and an in-person look in Stevensville check out. That's the deal on the table, and I'd take it.
Ad 3 of 3 • IH8MUD • Fort Collins, CO • ~460 miles from Bozeman
The $3,000 Blue Truck That Tells You Exactly What's Wrong
Ad three is a blue soft-top FJ40 in Fort Collins for $3,000, reduced. And it might be the most honest ad I've read all year.
The seller has owned it for 20 years and opens with the bad news: significant frame and body rust, and it "should be considered a repair/restoration project or parts vehicle." The frame rust is at the front mounts of the rear leaf springs on both sides, which is exactly where 40s go to die. He says it needs structural repair before regular driving, and he has one replacement spring hanger to throw in.
The paperwork is its own little puzzle. It carries a 1974 title, but the seller says the body and frame are approximately 1976. The engine came out of a 1987 FJ60 in 2016, about 190,000 miles, and runs well. The original transmission was cleaned and resealed the same year, the clutch is newer, and it has power steering and an HEI distributor.
The rest: worn seats, a carburetor that wants cleaning, mirrors that need replacing, a soft top and bikini top only, rusty door bottoms, and a quarter panel replaced about 15 years ago.
| The Ad Says | Points | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Runs and drives well around town | + Nice | A running FJ40 for $3,000 is already a story. |
| FJ60 engine, power steering, HEI | + Nice | Useful upgrades and a good parts haul by themselves. |
| Transmission resealed, newer clutch | + Nice | The expensive drivetrain bits aren't the problem. |
| Rust at the rear spring hanger mounts | − Pipe | The classic FJ40 frame cancer. Bring a welder, or a friend with one. |
| 1974 title, approximately 1976 body and frame | − Pipe | Make sure the numbers on the frame match the paperwork before money moves. |
| Soft top and bikini top only | − Pipe | No hardtop parts. Fine in August, character-building in January. |
| Upfront about every problem | + Nice | I'd buy a truck from this guy just for the honesty. |
Ad 3 • The verdict
Nice Price. Bring a Welder.
The cheapest FJ40 sales this fall were still around $8,000, and those trucks didn't come with a running engine and a newer clutch. At $3,000, the parts alone (engine, transmission, power steering, axles) are worth more than the ask to the right person.
The risk isn't the price. It's the frame and the paperwork. Rear spring hanger rust can be fixed by someone who knows what they're doing, but it's not a driveway job. And a 1974 title on a roughly 1976 truck is something to sort out with your DMV before you start welding.
What I'd pay: $3,000, gladly, as a parts truck or a winter project, after matching the frame numbers to the title.
The scoreboard
Three FJ40s, Ranked
| The Ad | Asking | Verdict / What I'd Pay |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 FJ40, Fort Collins, CO (IH8MUD) | $3,000 | Nice Price. $3,000. |
| 1978 FJ40, Stevensville, MT (IH8MUD) | $49,500 | Nice Price, Barely. $49,500. |
| 1975 FJ40, Cle Elum, WA (Craigslist) | $55,000 | Crack Pipe, Mildly. $36,000. |
Check these prices against real sales on the Land Cruiser Market Tracker. The 40 Series median is $30,000 over the last 12 months.
Overall pick: the Stevensville truck. It's the only one of the three where you can read the whole story before you buy it, and it's about 155 miles from Bozeman as the crow flies.
Best deal for someone with a welder and a free garage bay: Fort Collins, all day.
Your turn
Scan Your Own Marketplace Gem
Next time you see an old Toyota with a big number on it, point the Car-Dex at it. It's free, it runs in your phone's browser, and it'll tell you what you're looking at. Then come back and tell me whether it's a crack pipe or a nice price.
And if you want to help me get my own 40, the Fund the 40 page is right there. I promise to crawl underneath whatever I buy before I hand over the money.
Photos and listing screenshots come from the sellers' public ads on Craigslist and the IH8MUD classifieds, shown here for commentary and review with links back to each listing. Prices and details are as listed on Nov 2, 2026 and may have changed. Seller and want something removed? Contact me and I'll take it down.
Seen a Listing We Should Talk About?
My friends keep sending me ads, and I keep writing about them. If you spot an old truck that's too good, too weird or way too expensive, send it my way.
If one of these is your FJ40, good luck with the sale. I'd love to hear the story.
Never Lift.
Drive Fast · Take Chances · Never Lift
