Need some advice...

[fintip]

So, that pain in the ass craigslist find from a month ago?

No news on it, but I borrowed money to buy it from a friend, with the intention of selling one of my FJ's and paying him back within 3 months.

Well, I've been out of town for a while, but I'm back, and now I need to start moving on that.

Problem is, I have way too many options.

Short version:

Should I sell one bike with the second-hand plastics, convert one bike to a naked look and then sell it, or start parting out a bike?

Longer version: Which motor+frame should I keep? The one that I've been able to trust and rely on for the last 20k miles over the last year, or the one I just got... Which has 35k on it instead of 81k, yes, but was owned by a redneck who abused it. The clutch cover has been put back on with putty, and is leaking oil because of that. There is also gas leaking out of somewhere, probably the carbs? Except it runs, so I'm not sure. At least, it did in his garage, I just haven't gotten the clutch slave repaired yet so I can't say.

I know my FJ was measured with very good compression 10k miles before I got it, and was adult owned by its 3 previous owners.

I guess I'd like to replace the oil filter and see what that shows, and then when I repair the clutch slave do a side-by-side and see which feels stronger.

what do I do?!?!? 

[andyoutandabout]

Fintip, everytime I read 'street fighter' in an advert, I tend to pass on by since it translates to me as 'trashed and trashed fixer, bodged together with bits from the misc. parts bin.' Surely bikes in original colors, with original parts are a more desirable start point, whether you're a modder or not. What say others?
Andy

[fintip]

Right, that's how I feel. But if it were just a clean, minimalist, nothing except for a front-fairing-ectomy, similar to this:



Surely that'd be more attractive than a banged up fairing? Though maybe keeping the red/white color scheme. I would, of course, like to be as minimally invasive as possible.

However, this would involve buying some parts and extra work, compared to parting it out, for example. (Though parting out and dealing with shipping and making ads is also work, albeit easier, if more menial).

Out of curiousity, even if I don't go that route, where are all the wires hiding?! How do people pull that off?

[jscgdunn]

Well it depends....of course... which is no help at all.
I can tell you that for our 86 which we picked up for only $500 (with a bad fairing) we spent way too much on getting the plastic repaired....my original concept was just like the pic you put in.  Over half the money we now have into it is for the plastic repair...I would not do it again.

If you can swing it, go with your pic concept and keep both...old reliable for your epic adventures and the SF for around town. 

Ask and ye shall receive...advice is free....
Jeff

[fintip]

Well, I can't afford to keep both. I have to sell one to pay off the loan to buy it, as I originally planned. I'm trying to figure out new means of self employment, so my finances are... precarious.

[movenon]

I can only give an opinion on the parting out issue. You really can't get much out of FJ parts with exception of some fairing / plastic stuff. Lots of stuff on e bay for various prices but if you notice, not much actually gets sold. And what you do sell will take some time and labor. Plan on e bay / pay pal skimming about 10-12 % of your "profit". The percentage might be a little high or low as I haven't kept up with the "seller" end of the deal, but it's there.
Just an opinion.
George

[airheadPete]

Well, a couple of thoughts. First, when I see "streetfighter" in an ad, the first thing that comes to mind is some dumb-assed kid crashed it and it's too expensive to repair properly and he didn't know how to ride, and probably didn't know how to wrench. There are a few I've seen that were done well, but they're as rare as hen's teeth.
Insofar as the mileages, you know your bike, it's been reliable, and you trust it. The other one had engine parts attached WITH PUTTY!?!? WTF!?
Mileage isn't the yardstick it used to be. A well maintained piece of equipment will last indefinitely with proper maintenance. Engineering and metallurgy have come a long way. You have good compression? Go ask Randy.
(Ex: used to fly an airplane at work that was built in 1941, still ran fine; wrenched on one that was built in 1958, she ran fine. It's all down to regular good maintenance.)
If you can afford to gamble, you can go for the low mileage engine, but it could give you a lot of heartache too.
Good luck.

[fintip]

Yeah, after sitting on it, I think I'll keep mine. Part of it is sentimentality in the end, too, but she's been faithful, and I want to return the favor.

I wouldn't list it as a "streetfighter", if it came to that. Blech. I think of it just like you do. The only decent ones are very expensive custom builds, and the majority of people that use that word on craigslist are trying to salvage something from a wreck, and do it poorly. It would be a "naked conversion".

So:

Part out,
Sell with sketchy plastic
Modify to naked?

Part out: may take a while, fair amount of labor
Sell with sketchy plastic: less demand (people will turn their nose up at it), price will likely suffer
Sell naked: Takes some labor and some parts buying (new headlight, hiding wiring, maybe painting, etc.), people may frown on missing fairing implications.

[FJ_Hooligan]

OK, tell me again why you borrowed money to buy this second FJ? 
What's the quickest and easiest way to get that money back? 
Do that!

[fintip]

Well, originally, the ad lied and said it was in great condition, said nothing of any running problems, and showed a picture that must have been from two years ago when he first bought it. By the time I had borrowed a car, borrowed money, drove an hour and a half with a trailer, paid for gas, and got out there, I felt like I had to get something.



Anyways, that's the question I'm asking with this thread. What do you guys think is the quickest way to get the most money from this, or at least $800?

[rktmanfj]

Anyways, that's the question I'm asking with this thread. What do you guys think is the quickest way to get the most money from this, or at least $800?

Insurance fraud.   

[Joe Sull]

What I would do is drive down to the shore and find out where the fishermen are having coffee in the morning. 2:30 -3:00 am and tell them your looking for a job in the stern. I would put my name up on the cork boards and look for other places where they go out of. Your about 200 miles from the shore? Sleep in your car or whatever. Two or three days and you'll be fishing. If you go on trips, you'll probably be better off. Tuff it out and you'll get use to the lifestyle. You'll make good money.

[fj1289]

Put minimum time and $ to get the engine to run well enough to demo that the engine is in good condition and part it out. Should get most of your $$ that way and quickly with the least amount of effort wasted. 

Instead of dealing with the carbs - bolt yours on temporarily.  Likewise if it needs a battery to start reliably etc.  you're just trying to show someone the lump is good vice them having to take your word for it and not being willing to pay as much.

[airheadPete]

Well, can you post a couple of pictures of this albatross? We'll give you more opinions...
(But you know what people say about those.)
Um, my guess now is: clean it up a bit, (the obviously bad shit), and sell it as is. Swap any parts to yours that seem to be notably better first, and make sure she runs. Not the best time of year to be selling a bike, but sounds like you have no choice.
I don't think the streetfighter thing would work well. FJ's are old bikes, and the target demographic for "streetfighters" probably wouldn't even recognize it. (Dumb-ass squids only remember the last fifteen minutes.)
Parting her out would be a lot of work, and how soon do you need to recover your investment? (Body parts bring money, mechanical parts don't. (Relatively speaking.))
If you're lucky, maybe there'll be some other FJ'er in the neighborhood who is game???
Fingers crossed.

[fintip]

She runs. I made sure he started it for me. It idled and ran. The clutch slave just wasn't holding pressure, so I couldn't test drive it. (In theory the transmission could be bad, but other than that, it sounded great.)

Pictures soon.