Saw a FJ-40 for sale today, just sold one of mine and it caught my eye. It's a 1972, red with a white hard top. Paint is faided and there is rust holes under the doors and other places but the bottoms of the doors is pretty much it. It's been rolled 2 times without the factory bar and the hard top looks ok (may not be original) but it has a good dent on the hood and fenders as a result. It was used as a forest service truck. The interior is in fair shape, just ripped seats. Heres some specs

Factory PTO winch that supposeldy works, looks ok not to much rust
Old F-Engine that needs a carb fix
800 bucks worth of brake work
No battery so couldn't tell about electronics but they added a radio.
Interior was full of junk so I couldn't get a good look at it.
3-speed on the floor, 3-speed t-case on the floor and the shifter for the PTO
cheap tires

and the best part is it has sat for 3 years in NC weather (humid).

He is asking $1,500 but I think he'll go $1,000 what do u guys think?

$850.00 as is.

Tell him you will move it away for him <IMG SRC="smilies/bounce2.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/bounce.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/bounce2.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/bounce.gif" border="0">

I was able to find a '76 in good running condition, but a little more fixable body rust, from a coworker of my brother-in-law for $1,000. I haven't needed to put much into it, plus it's new enought that it has the 2F engine and factory front disc brakes. I know I got a very good deal on it, but you shouldn't pay anywhere near $1,00 for the vehicle you've described.

Supply and demand are a factor w/ a cruiser. Look for things on it that CAN'T be easily replaced. If it has body rust, that's fixable.
Frame cancer is not a good thing at all, consider walking or low balling. Figuring, if you parted it out, from what you described, you'd be just even......maybe.

Anything I should check out real close before buying it? What if I wanted to keep and drive, would it be worth it if I had to pay 500 to get it working right?

If the thing will start and run after fresh gas and oil change, it's worth 5 bills. Throw'em a bone. The worst he'll do is say "no".

I would say MAX $500. They are not that rare.

The best thing is, if you buy for $1000 or less this is what you have:

Hard Top-$500
2 3rd Members-$250
Inner axles-$100
3 sp transfer-$250
Driveshafts-$150

See it adds up quick. These are items you can move FAST!

Hell, I have donethis 3 times and ALWAYS break even or make money, plus I get a boat load of spare parts for myself. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">