ROTW My Yoda

bsevans · 10-03-07, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpratt

Where did you buy your 3/8 Aluminum instrument cluster? Or did you make it?

The company that offered that bezel and another style of bezel which I also own went out of business about 5-6 years ago. I think the FJ40 engraved into the bezel was a signature of sorts for their company. They did some fine FJ40 mods and offered some nice custom items.

bsevans · 10-04-07, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bsevans

The company that offered that bezel and another style of bezel which I also own went out of business about 5-6 years ago. I think the FJ40 engraved into the bezel was a signature of sorts for their company. They did some fine FJ40 mods and offered some nice custom items.

I just realized that I never posted a photo of the new instrument bezel with VDO gauges in this ROTW.

John Smith · 10-04-07, 12:03 PM

Is AC on your future mod list? I would imagine AZ heat with the hardtop on must be brutal. But it is a dry heat right.

Your truck is very nice.

bsevans · 10-04-07, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Smith

Is AC on your future mod list? I would imagine AZ heat with the hardtop on must be brutal. But it is a dry heat right.

Your truck is very nice.

Nope, no AC on the future mod list. That would make the light at the end of the tunnel get much smaller. If I really need AC, I just drive my turbo diesel Tahoe. Yeah, a dry heat, a damn hot dry heat. I do not think it much matters whether or not you can feel the sweat running down. But wait, I remember what it felt like in Virginia, my first 26 years, when it was 90 & 90. I'll take the dry heat at 110 and central AC for escape.

RAYJON · 11-25-07, 09:32 PM

very clean rig... I have a few questions on the fuse box, what did it cost and do you have a link???

bsevans · 11-26-07, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAYJON

very clean rig... I have a few questions on the fuse box, what did it cost and do you have a link???

Thanks
The link is here Centech Fuse Panels

As far as cost. You will need to call them as it has been a number of years since I purchased them.

splitshot · 11-26-07, 11:15 AM

I think I've seen that sweet rig at a mutual friend of ours in Avra Valley, am I correct?

bsevans · 11-26-07, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by splitshot

I think I've seen that sweet rig at a mutual friend of ours in Avra Valley, am I correct?

Yes. Tim is an incredible source for 40 & 60 parts. He is a stand up guy that is as honest as they come.

Ralph · 11-27-07, 04:08 AM

Very nice rig, hope you enjoy it for many years to come. And being a land cruiser I know you will!!!!

bugboy · 11-27-07, 09:23 AM

Nice truck. In 5-10 years and lots of $$$ maybe mine will look that good

bsevans · 11-27-07, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bugboy

Nice truck. In 5-10 years and lots of $$$ maybe mine will look that good

Think long and hard about the modifications you are thinking about. Some of the custom modifications I made did not happen until years after the first concept. I kept rolling them around in my mind (and altering them) until I was sure that the change would marry into the total concept of what I wanted and what Toyota gave me to play with. Over 20 years later, I am just now getting to the front bumper/brush guard. I've tried a number of off the shelf front bumpers over the years and just was not satisfied with the results. I am finishing up a design that I have been working on for about 10 years.

Working in an industry that took up 12-14 hours of my day contributed to the length of time it took me to finalize many of the modifications that are installed on my vehicle. I have additional photos of changes I've made that I need to put into this thread. Some are off the shelf and others are custom made.

sivart7208 · 11-27-07, 05:03 PM

very nice rig. 3 questions

what are your tires, size and make?

where did you get those hinges?

and where did you get that overhead speaker shelf mount?

bsevans · 11-28-07, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sivart7208

very nice rig. 3 questions

what are your tires, size and make?

where did you get those hinges?

and where did you get that overhead speaker shelf mount?

Thanks

33X10.50 BFG KO

Those are the stock hinges that I took apart, sand blasted and had powder coated Cardinal Black Hammer. All, except for the rear hinges, were put together with SS pins and nylon bushings that you can purchase from most of the Landcruiser parts houses (SOR, Man-A-Fre, BTB etc). The rear hinges were put together using SS socket head bolts with SS nylock nuts and the same nylon bushings used on the other hinges.

The overhead shelf was purchased from SOR. I added the holes for the speakers. Overhead Tray

bsevans · 02-16-08, 02:20 PM

Just got this Stainless Steel Optima Battery Tray from Camburg Engineering. I first had to make an interface plate and had a piece of .250 6061T651 looking for a new home. Getting 6 flathead screws spot on was aided by 4 threaded transfer pins. This battery tray is over 2 inches shorter than the factory tray. Eventually, I will get the Aluminum plate powder coated.

bsevans · 02-16-08, 03:08 PM

A couple more photos.

bsevans · 03-17-08, 09:42 PM

Here is the thread for my Vapor Recovery Tank replacement.

Vapor Recovery Tank replacement

pbgbottle · 10-13-08, 10:11 AM

Bump

great rig .

alkarich · 10-13-08, 05:08 PM

Fantastic detail work. Really like the antenna set-up.

bsmith123 · 10-13-08, 08:15 PM

The nice thing about this rig is the thought and care that went into everything, some really nice mods but yet it completely retains its character

.

I like the interior a lot, it seems you have been able to strike the right balance between keeping it looking classic and upgrading with some mod cons and comfort.

That trans armor looks like its ready for land mines!

Got any more pics of the build in progress?

bsevans · 10-14-08, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bsmith123

The nice thing about this rig is the thought and care that went into everything, some really nice mods but yet it completely retains its character

.

I like the interior a lot, it seems you have been able to strike the right balance between keeping it looking classic and upgrading with some mod cons and comfort.

That trans armor looks like its ready for land mines!

Got any more pics of the build in progress?

Thanks! I tried to incorporate my design modifications so that it looked as though it could be factory. Practically every time I go to either Toyota dealerships, a customer asks if this is a new Toyota vehicle and can it be ordered through the dealer. Obviously anyone with experience of the FJ40 kind can tell the modifications I’ve made. The skid plate was not photographed in its early stages of design – from my AutoCAD drawings to the cardboard prototypes there are no photos. Once I was happy with the fit of the second cardboard prototype, it was in the hands of the engineer at TA Caid until they called to tell me it was ready to be picked up.

bsevans · 01-19-09, 01:55 PM

Here are some photos of the new Alpine deck and XM Radio. XM Radio works great with excellent reception wherever I've gone. I also installed the FM modulator which dramatically improves the signal to the Alpine deck.

EDIT: 1/20/09
Well I went wheeling in the mountains today and found that there were a number of times that I lost the XM radio signal for a short period (no more than 5 minutes). Clearly there are situations that degrade or block reception of the XM radio signal. I'm still glad I installed the XM radio.

bsevans · 01-19-09, 02:04 PM

Here are some photos of the XM antenna and the LED dash light I installed in the Dash Box. The LED has about a 120 degree light dispersion and I can see my control switches at night. The light output is consistent with the LEDs I installed in the instrument panel. I decided to align the dash light with the center of the dash box as the light illuminated the instrument panel if I aligned it with the center of the dash switches.

bsevans · 01-23-09, 07:02 PM

This post is the result of a thread started, I believe by Trollhole, on a broken Windshield Knob. It got me thinking about what shape the two in my 40 were in. I removed both of them and found hairline cracks in both. I did not want to pay SOR $33.55 each to replace them, so I did some research on the web and came up with this solution. I purchased two knobs with steel M8 inserts from Monroe Engineering for under $4.00 each. MA-72005. They also had them with Stainless inserts for under $10 each. They do not have a minimum buy. I purchased SS M8 studs that were 80 mm long from McMaster-Carr for $3.31 each. You can find them on page 3141 (P/N 93805A369) M8 80mm Stud. I purchased a .02 oz of Loctite 262 for $1.69 found on page 3354 (P/N 91458A56) Loctite 262. The large OD M8 SS flat washers you see in the photos are not really needed and are used because I'm just an anal ME. If you want to use them they are found on page 3185 (P/N 95211A180) Metric M8 Large OD SS Washers. I ended up with a cost of $8.00 each plus the ride from both companies which was reasonable unlike SOR.

fj40_73 · 04-30-09, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bsevans

This is made-up of an ABS external slip to internal threads (5803-2) with an ABS plug. The white part is a PVC adapter that is external slip to internal slip (4INDWVX4SD 30 Adapter). What the PVC does is give you an external OD of approximately 4.75 inches versus the Clean out OD of 4.5 inches.

Used this trick yesterday on my buddies fj40!!! Worked great!!, Thanks for posting the pictures!!

cruiser enthuiser · 04-30-09, 11:52 AM

I know this has been said before but.....DAMN! That's an amazing FJ40! Bsevans, I love everything you've done with it and I'm sure you're very proud (as you should be). I've owned my 40 only a short time but I plan on keeping it forever. I hope it looks as good in twenty years as yours does now. Seriously inspirational! Thanks.

bsevans · 05-01-09, 05:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fj40_73

Used this trick yesterday on my buddies fj40!!! Worked great!!, Thanks for posting the pictures!!

Another satisfied user. I think Toyota should assign an SST to this setup

since they no longer make the SST to install the rear seal.

bsevans · 05-01-09, 05:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cruiser enthuiser

I know this has been said before but.....DAMN! That's an amazing FJ40! Bsevans, I love everything you've done with it and I'm sure you're very proud (as you should be). I've owned my 40 only a short time but I plan on keeping it forever. I hope it looks as good in twenty years as yours does now. Seriously inspirational! Thanks.

Thanks!!

KY Longhunter · 05-01-09, 02:35 PM

What kind of Nut Inserts do you use and is a speacial tool required?

bsevans · 05-01-09, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KY Longhunter

What kind of Nut Inserts do you use and is a speacial tool required?

I buy them from McMaster-Carr. Nut Inserts & Tools I have the Insert Combination Kit for SAE & Metric. I also have the wrench-drive rivet nut installation tools and use an impact wrench to install the larger sizes in the frame. They are designed for SAE grade 8 and metric class 12.9 screws and are very stout. When I use an impact wrench to install one, I chase the threads with a tap.