reconstruction not restoration (1 Viewer)

[scott johnson]

So I wanted a 40 since I was a kid.....Well some of my first memories from childhood are ridding in my dad's fj40. I remember being strapped into the jumpseats with my brothers wearing motorcycle helmets. I also remember sitting on a 2x6 layed across the rear section of the rollbar at the drive in. Pretty good stuff. Due to alot of factors I won't bore you with it took me a long time to get a 40. I knew I wanted a rock crawler. I couldn't bring myself to beating up a 40 that was in good condition so I searched around for a long time. Landcruisers arent very plentiful in Charleston and the ones I did see were either crazy expensive or not for sale. Sept of 2004 came around and I found my Fj40. It was a basket case but my stepdad had been a certified mechanic for years before going into business for himself and I had some time on my hands so I figured between the two of us we could make it work. He agreed to help and the journey began....

This is where we started

 

[scott johnson]

What you dont see is very important. There were more new parts (and retty new)in the 40 than you would imagine.

4" lift springs
new 35" uniroyal mt's
Hyper shackles
tie rod ends
auburn limited slip diff in rear
rebuilt carb
custom( a little strange but custom) roll cage
bumper
stainless steel extended brake lines
besides I mentioned it would be a rock crawler here are some of the first steps.. scrape off bedliner and patch holes, lots of them

 

[scott johnson]

The tub was gone and the PO had a steel floor built along with the cage. Thick steel floor and 1 3/4 "120 wall dom cage. We ripped off the wooden bed also. I thought about doing the rearend "tubed out" but I decided I wanted it to look like a landcruiser. Found a 79 with a missing front end and bought it as a donor truck. Ended up using the back half of the tub,windshield frame,hood and lots of misc parts. Also used the axles since the front was disc and the rear had a detroit locker in it.

 

[scott johnson]

The donor tub was in pretty bad shape and the custom cage was in the way so the tub was modified. The bottom couple of inches were cut off and the tub had to be sectioned in. We built a steel sub frame and use 16 ga. steel for the floor in the back of the tub.

 

[scott johnson]

The donor tub had also been set up like a pickup, Wasn't too bad so we left it that way. Bent some steel to join the custom floor to the new tub. The rear sill was replaced with a piece of 2"x5" thick wall tubing and atteched to the fram with mounting rubber my stepdad had left over from his jeep. This is a budget build so the tail lights are LED boat trailer lights

 

[scott johnson]

My dad got in on the action to. I went to his shop in Jacksonville and we built front and rear bumpers.The base is 2x4 with a 1/4 steel plate for the winch and the rear has a 2x2 upright with tabs that we mounted a tire carrier off of a Nissan Pathfinder. My stepdad added the stinger on the front. Its mostly to give you something to hold onto when operating the winch on unstable ground. Eventually I want to put the Metal tech nosegaurd / stinger combo

 

[scott johnson]

We decided to paint her up with desert tan rattle can paint for easy touchups

 

[scott johnson]

Once the modifications started they just wouldn't stop!

I spent 2007 on a goverment sponsored sufari in western Iraq. My stepdad made the mistake of telling me that he would take care of the truck while I was gone and work on it while I was gone if I wanted to order some parts. I bet he regrets that now. Everytime I got online I was ordering parts.

yukon 4:88 gears
Dui ignition
Detroit locker
livewires
Longfield axles
center force dual friction clutch
mini truck power steering

 

[scott johnson]

Some more mods:

4+ u bolt flips
hd tie rod and drag link
long travel socks
extended shock towers
BTB skid plate
4 speed tranny with the 3 speed transfer case

 

[scott johnson]

Under the hood got a Downey header, Dui distributor, Optima battery, work lights (just in case) and the radiator out of the 79

 

[scott johnson]

The interior got pathfinder seats and a ccot center console along with the dash pad out of the 79. Also installed courbeau 4 pt seatbelts and painted the inside with spray can bedlined.

 

[scott johnson]

The guys from Upstate Cruisers (especially Marshall aka. trollholes cruisers) were very helpfull through the build. If anyone is starting a project, join a club. Mud has also been great. I could have avoided alot of headaches if I had gotten on here sooner.

Upgraded the wagon wheels to a set of rock crusher monster mods and I won a set of 35" BFG MTR's at GSMTR in 2008. Added trail gear wheel spacers to clear the calipers. Also added the backing plate eliminators and hd wipers, Also put in a summit racing aluminum fuel cell with autometer gauge.

 

[scott johnson]

Everything was good and was loving the wheeling trips even helped start a low country chapter of upstate cruisers. Then the engine spun a bearing on #5 and my engine was toast. So the 40 sat for a couple of months and I had a line on a good 2f but at the last minute it got sold to someone else before I could pick it up. Then in December I took a fall and broke 5 vertabra and four ribs. Totally fubar. Trollholl found me a good f motor that has about 60k on it. I'm laid up so there it sits. So I tought.... Some of my fellow cruiserheads from upstate cruisers / lowcountry landcruisers and my stepdad(also a member) got together and pulled the bad motor, tranny and transfer. Now my back is getting a little better and were cleaning up the "new" motor. Hopefully it will be back on the road by mid summer.

her are a few glamour shots

 

[SAWTOOTH 55 LC]

I'm tired of seeing restos.You have made great progress,while keeping the truck drivable,which I like to see.Looks great.

 

[cruiserdoc]

Very strong work. You should be proud of all that custom work!

 

[waiting for time]

Great job, I love the functionality of your rig.
This is what they where made for, modify if needed but keep them going.

Sorry to hear about your back.

 

[Caddisfly]

I'm glad I decided to check out your reconstruction project. Very impressive . . .

 

[kling-on]

Very nice

 

[Cruiser Corps]

Good Work. GREAT story!
Inspiring!

Thanks for sharing this.

 

[CraigFulton]

Great rig! Doesn't that front stinger need some sort of reinforcement behind it?