[Copenhagen1]

Hey everybody,

I have been a member here for 2 years but haven't posted much. I have been reading and studying from you guys and waiting for the right project to come along.

Before I get to pics, let me say this is one of the greatest forums I have been on. You guys have answers for everything. You have "been there and done that" and you don't seem to mind passing the knowledge along. I hope someday when I have more knowledge about FJ40's, I will be able to help somebody else out.

Now my truck. It is a 1977 FJ40 that spent most of its life on a ranch in Abilene. That is good because it is dry and I seriously think it only has 44,??? original miles. It is bad because the PO made some crazy decisions on how to fix things. This is how it looked the day I bought it:



I took a power washer to it and it cleaned up pretty nice. It is very solid. It has a small amount of rust in the middle if the bed. I have punched around on it and looked under it and it does not seem to be very extensive. Since I am trying to spend money where it counts the most, I made one cheap mod in the first few days. After I pressure washed it, I pulled the chrome/painted wagon wheels and sanded them down and reshot them black. I had a set of 15" chrome trim rings at the farm and installed them. It looks pretty good but I am not sure how it would hold up under hard wheeling. Here it is 10 days after purchase:

The front bumper belongs on some kind of pickup because it has tabs on it to bolt to an existing bumper. In the case of my truck, it was welded on. The upright supports on the bumper are real narrow and my guess is that caused the headlights to have a very narrow beam. That in turn caused the PO to take the factory turn signals off and replace them ( read:new holes in fender) with auxillary lights.

I have had it about a month and my plans for it are to make it mechanically sound where it can be counted on to pull weekend duty. That could be wheeling or it could be hauling me and my son to the Little League. I ordered mirrors and Japan made turn signals and taillights from CCOT. I did that because they are about 80 miles from my house and I am in Dallas all the time. I got the tailights rewired with the original plug ( thanks to ih8mud) and everything is now working like a champ. I bought a bikini top here off the forum (thanks KgB). I plan on the top being off most of the time.Here are current pictures:



I have a couple questions. One is where do you put your license plate when you take your doors off? And second is, is there anybody out there in East Texas (Tyler) who likes to mess with these as much as I do?

Let me know what you guys think.

Copenhagen1

[Copenhagen1]

More current pics:
Body is pretty straight except fo the left rear corner seen in last post.

I will be cutting this front bumper off soon!

I went ahead and painted the rear bumper while I was doing the taillights.


Copenhagen1

[steverb]

very nice. welcome.
for the licence plate just strap it to the bumper. i have a tailgate so i have a place to mount mine.

['74 UA FJ]

Nice clean 40! Good find.

[WES1977]

Looks like a nice find. I see you ordered some stuff from CCOT. There is some stuff you should not order from them. They are a cheap but it isn't always the best. Do a search for ccot and there should be alot of info. I made the mistake of ordering there lockable center console and wrote up some stuff about it.

[Copenhagen1]

Originally Posted by steverb

very nice. welcome.
for the licence plate just strap it to the bumper. i have a tailgate so i have a place to mount mine.

Thanks steverb. I will use some heavy zip ties and strap it to my bumper.

Originally Posted by WES1977

Looks like a nice find. I see you ordered some stuff from CCOT. There is some stuff you should not order from them. They are a cheap but it isn't always the best. Do a search for ccot and there should be alot of info. I made the mistake of ordering there lockable center console and wrote up some stuff about it.

WES1977- I have seen your thread on the center console. I bought from CCOT because they are within driving distance and I could get my stuff quickly. I have read numerous threads on some of their quality and I will be careful about what I order. When I was looking for turnsignals and taillights, the reason I went with them was because I could actually put my eyeballs on the quality before I payed for them. While I was there the guy showed me the two show trucks on the floor and pointed out the center console. I asked if they were Tuffy boxes and he said no, they were CCOT. I opened the lid and said " man, that is a cheesy looking lock" . He didn't respond. I said "these must be a lot less expensive than Tuffy boxes. That was all that was said. I knew what to look for because of your thread. I went to school through you, I am just sorry you had to pay the tuition.

Copenhagen1

[WES1977]

You could probably sell that front bumper. I don't think it looks that bad. Wouldn't have it on a nice 40 but a ruff one yes.

Originally Posted by Copenhagen1

Thanks steverb. I will use some heavy zip ties and strap it to my bumper.



WES1977- I have seen your thread on the center console. I bought from CCOT because they are within driving distance and I could get my stuff quickly. I have read numerous threads on some of their quality and I will be careful about what I order. When I was looking for turnsignals and taillights, the reason I went with them was because I could actually put my eyeballs on the quality before I payed for them. While I was there the guy showed me the two show trucks on the floor and pointed out the center console. I asked if they were Tuffy boxes and he said no, they were CCOT. I opened the lid and said " man, that is a cheesy looking lock" . He didn't respond. I said "these must be a lot less expensive than Tuffy boxes. That was all that was said. I knew what to look for because of your thread. I went to school through you, I am just sorry you had to pay the tuition.

Copenhagen1

I'm glad my post helped. As far as me losing out. I only lost time on that. I gave them some crap about it on email and they let me send it back and pay the diffrence for a tuffy.

I wonder if they read the ih8mud forum, i bet they do.

[ProvoCruiser]

i just drilled two holes in the plate and used the same screws from the door hatch and attached the plate where the door hinge would be. never had problems

[Copenhagen1]

Originally Posted by WES1977

You could probably sell that front bumper. I don't think it looks that bad. Wouldn't have it on a nice 40 but a ruff one yes.



I'm glad my post helped. As far as me losing out. I only lost time on that. I gave them some crap about it on email and they let me send it back and pay the diffrence for a tuffy.

I wonder if they read the ih8mud forum, i bet they do.

Originally Posted by ProvoCruiser

i just drilled two holes in the plate and used the same screws from the door hatch and attached the plate where the door hinge would be. never had problems

Wes1977

I cut that bumper off this afternoon and fabbed up a piece of 4" channel iron to work temporarily. I made up new brackets out of 3x5 angle iron and cut the bumper 38.5" wide. I cut D-Ring eyelets out of 1" thick steel plate but did not have time to weld them on today. I will post pics after I weld the eyelets on.

I do now remember that you got satisfaction from CCOT about that center console. Great job.

Provocruiser- I took some big tie wraps and strapped it to the back bumper. That is temporary. I do not have bumperettes on mine so I thought about building a bracket that would bolt to my factory bumperette threaded holes. I may work on that in a few days.

Copenhagen1

[pc4400]

Welcome Copenhagen1

Im happy to see another cruiser will be saved from the crusher. Keep us posted on your progress. Be sure to check yer bezel before posting pics without that bumper.

[lostmarbles]

Very nice and I agree with the work you're doing like

• refitting the fender-mounted turn signals,
• removing that front bumper.

Nice job you did on the rear lights/crossmember too.

[peterb]

C1
Good find. My first tailgate I made out of plywood with tabs on the top that went out past the opening to keep it in place. The gate kept my St. Bernard in the truck and gave me a place to attach my license plate.
Have fun.
Peter

[Copenhagen1]

Originally Posted by pc4400

Welcome Copenhagen1

Im happy to see another cruiser will be saved from the crusher. Keep us posted on your progress. Be sure to check yer bezel before posting pics without that bumper.

I have to admit that in the first two pics on this thread the bezel WAS upside down and I was aware of it. I didn't take time to fix it then, I just took the pics strategically where you couldn't see it. It is correct in the last set of pics.

Originally Posted by lostmarbles

Very nice and I agree with the work you're doing like

• refitting the fender-mounted turn signals,
• removing that front bumper.

Nice job you did on the rear lights/crossmember too.

When I cut that bumper off and you can see the new silver star headlights and the new turn signals, it was like shaving off a beard. I thought man, there is a nice face under there. It looks more like a LC now that you can see the bezel and blinkers.

Originally Posted by peterb

C1
Good find. My first tailgate I made out of plywood with tabs on the top that went out past the opening to keep it in place. The gate kept my St. Bernard in the truck and gave me a place to attach my license plate.
Have fun.
Peter

That is a great idea. I think I have some old aluminum diamond tread plate laying around. I might try to make one out of that and leave some tabs on it to bolt to the hinge area. Thanks.

Copenhagen1

[DavidW]

Copenhagen1, where in TX are you?

[werd]

I like the truck. The camo paint job ROCKS!

That bumper looks like something out of Mad Max. If you took it off how could you run over stuff??

[Copenhagen1]

Originally Posted by DavidW

Copenhagen1, where in TX are you?

DavidW- I am in Tyler TX about 100 miles east of Dallas.

Originally Posted by werd

I like the truck. The camo paint job ROCKS!
That bumper looks like something out of Mad Max. If you took it off how could you run over stuff??

Werd- great avatar. Believe me, the one I put back on will still be able to runover stuff. It just won't quite be so gawdy looking. Plus it will allow my headlights to throw better.

Copenhagen1

[cruiserfreek]

Originally Posted by WES1977

You could probably sell that front bumper. I don't think it looks that bad. Wouldn't have it on a nice 40 but a ruff one yes.



I'm glad my post helped. As far as me losing out. I only lost time on that. I gave them some crap about it on email and they let me send it back and pay the diffrence for a tuffy.

I wonder if they read the ih8mud forum, i bet they do.

CCOT gave me the same crap when i sent them an email after not receiving some of my parts. they told me next time you order we'll make sure to give you a discount on the new parts you order (that wasnt cool).

As for the quality, i enjoyed most of the parts especially the japanese turn signals and the bezel, others i didnt like, for example the hard top weather strip, it ended up being the sticky "sponge material" weather strip that u can get from any tool shop.

[Copenhagen1]

Well, I had a chance to work on the cruiser this weekend. I have been going back and forth what to do with the finish. I had a local painter that told me he would do zolatone for $500 - $600 for the whole truck (including hard top and doors). He had just done a 2008 Chevy 2500 4x4 in a gray finish and it looked unbelievably good. The beauty part of a matte finish is that it hides a lot of flaws . You dont have to get the body work perfect. The problem that I had with zolatone was that when you put it on, you are fairly committed to it for the duration. It would be tough to get it back off of there if you decided to do a showroom restoration.

Anyway, I was in Walmart the other day and they had Krylon Camo paint on clearance for $3 a can. It took me 8 cans of green and 1 can of tan. I just sanded the truck down with 120 grit and shot it on. I think it turned out nice. I like it because when I do scratch it up, I will just spray it again. If I ever decide to frame-off restore it, the finish is not near as permanent as that zolatone coating.

You can see my new bumper in these pics also. I still haven't had a chance to weld the eyelets on to hold the d ring shackles.







Copenhagen1

[Rocky_LC]

Looks Really Good.

Rocky

[rsbcruiser]

Wow, what a transformation Copenhagen X 2 the real nice. Wondering, did you notice a change in ride characteristics after ditching the bumper and how much did that thing weigh?

[D'Animal]

You are making good progress.

I love the Warn bumper!

Where did you get the mirror arms? All the ones I have found are crazy expensive.

[Copenhagen1]

Originally Posted by Rocky_LC

Looks Really Good.

Rocky

Thanks Rocky.

Originally Posted by rsbcruiser

Wow, what a transformation Copenhagen X 2 the real nice. Wondering, did you notice a change in ride characteristics after ditching the bumper and how much did that thing weigh?

Not really. The warn bumper weighed about 60# - 80# and the new one is probably 1/2 that. I have been checking my steering lately and I think it is loose where the output shaft comes out of the gearbox. I will have to check on what is more cost effective, replace factory or put in new saginaw p/s. I plan on a lift and 33" or 34" narrow tires on factory wheels at some point so p/s is not mandatory for me yet. Plus, I am about a 3 mechanic and the p/s conversion seems daunting to me.

Originally Posted by D'Animal

You are making good progress.

I love the Warn bumper!

Where did you get the mirror arms? All the ones I have found are crazy expensive.

D'Animal
I would have loved the Warn also if it had been built for the LC. It was intended for some p/u and was welded on the frame of the LC. As mentioned before, it really narrowed down the peripheral($.50 word) performance of the headlights.

The mirror arms came from CCOT here Mirrors - Telescoping
and I am fairly pleased with them. If you look at their website you can tell which set I bought. There was an option for "all wide glass" and if that meant that it had a broader field of view, I wish I would have ordered those heads instead. The ones I bought were $79.81 for the pair. If you look back at what the mirrors were the day I bought it you can tell that I had to get something different on there.

Thanks for the comments. I am coming up on a point where I am going to need some technical advice. I hope people become interested in my truck enough that it won't be to much bother when I need to ask questions.

Copenhagen1

[DavidW]

Looks good. You'll have to take it out to BMRA at Gilmer and have some fun with it.

[Copenhagen1]

I guess it is time to update this a little with some new pics. I have been doing routine maintenance and trying to get this thing running like I know a 2F should. Still not quite there yet. I drive it into town and around town but it still has some issues.

The most dramatic change since last post are the new-to-me stock steelies (thanks Hard40). I got these in and sandblasted and primed them with etching primer. Then shot grey paint on them. Got a set of used OEM hubcaps (thanks Rudical). I am putting ya'lls old parts to good use.

I bought a set of 33-10.50 BFG MT's used off of craigslist and had them mounted on the shiny "new" rims.

Also, since the last post, I bought a used Warn 8274 and drove over to CCOT and picked up one of their HFS bumpers. I am pretty pleased with the way this is turning out.

First pic... Just sizing the wheels up


Not sure I like the look of the soft half doors but I don't have the hard doors painted yet.


Couple more pics to come....

Copenhagen1

[Copenhagen1]

Another angle....


Gonna need a lift.... probably going cheap to begin with. Anybody got any extended shackles they want rid of .


Copenhagen1

[Coolerman]

Man, your truck is coming along fine. I actually like the camo matt finish for some reason, reminds me of mine!

[alkarich]

Great looking rig. Really like what you've done to it. Some sort of lift would be good. Also looking forward to seeing it with the hard doors.

[71 redwood]

I really like the look too,,,good job!!! why color is that?

[amaurer]

looks great man. do you have a lot of rubbing with those 33's at the current height?

[cruiserjunkie]

I like the work you have been doing Cruiser is looking great. I have some rancho2.5 springs I could let go real real cheap pm me. Flat green looks good with the stock wheels