I’ve been lurking on Mud for a while now, and thought it was time to introduce myself. This started out as my son’s idea when we were discussing transportation options. “It can’t go fast; it’s dead solid reliable, and indestructible!” he said. What parent of a 16-year-old male is gonna argue with that?! He found a ’76 FJ40 on eBay that was local to us, and after a test drive and some haggling, this is what we drove home in March, 2001.
4/76 FJ40, SOA, desmogged, headers, 35s (nominally – really 33s), and a brush guard - otherwise stock. It also came with a Kay Line full soft top and bikini top, Hi Lift jack, Haynes manual, and a few odd spare parts.
We really had no idea what we were getting into – which is just as well, because if someone had told me how much time and money this thing was going to consume over the next five years, I’d have walked away then and there! On the other hand, if they’d also told me how much we’d learn, how many really cool people we’d get to know, and how much fun we’d have, I’d have gone ahead anyway. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Back to “not fast, reliable, and indestructible.” It did “not fast” great right off the bat. But we spent the first year getting the truck reliable enough just for my son to drive back and forth to school. This process involved chasing down a seemingly endless series of system failures, including cooling, hydraulic, electrical, ignition, and fuel. The high point of that period came on the day of my son’s senior prom when the clutch slave cylinder failed – no replacements or rebuild kits in stock at any of the parts places within a 50-mile radius. With no expectation of success (but because it was the only thing we could think of that we hadn’t tried), I posted a plea to the LCML, and within half an hour, I had a call from a guy in Raleigh who had a spare. Two hours later, my son’s in his tux pumping the clutch pedal while I bleed the slave cylinder, and then he’s off to pick up his date! We did almost all the work ourselves – the only exceptions were a Jim C. carb rebuild and the addition of GM power steering by Terry Moorefield.
The following year we spent getting the truck reliable enough for my son to drive back and forth to college 200 miles away. This mainly involved the drive train. The PO who did the spring-over, rotated the rear pinion up, but left the original (slightly bent) drive shaft unmodified, and it vibrated pretty badly at speed. He used longer shackles on the front, which rotated the front pinion up a little, but the drive shaft would still only barely rotate without interference. The eventual result was pinion bearing failure in both differentials. We had the rear differential rebuilt by a local shop, and, with their consultation, did the front ourselves. We decided this would also be a good time to put in 4.56 ring & pinion gears. We had the rear drive shaft re-tubed with a C.V. joint by High Angle Driveline, and Rich Quinlan (RnR Fab) cut and turned the steering knuckles for us. We didn’t take a lot of pictures, but here are some before-after shots of the engine bay that kinda capture the extent of the transformation over the first several years.
So now we were ready to see about indestructible. We had our first trail run with the Central North Carolina 4X4 Club in the Uwharrie National Forest. We went with the “stockers,” so there was nothing really strenuous, but we had a ball! We also got lots of good driving tips and began to get a sense of the Cruiser’s capabilities.
So, finally, after three years, we had a little taste of what this vehicle could really do – and we were hooked! We made a couple more runs with CNC4X4 that Fall and Winter, installed a Lock Right in the rear, picked up a used SuperWinch S9000, and headed for GSMTR in the Spring.
Tellico was a whole different level of wheeling than what we’d done up to that point. Even though we stayed away from the hard-core stuff, we found plenty of opportunities to push our limits. We got away with only a little pinstriping and a slightly bent rear spring.
This past year saw the addition of traction bars in the rear, a 4-point roll cage, a 3-speed transfer case, and some “luxury” items like a storage drawer for the rear, CO2, in-cab winch control, hand throttle, and seats out of a 90s Corolla to replace the rapidly rotting originals.
Here are a few more action shots (from Uwharrie NF).
And some shots of the interior:
When gas prices topped $2 a gallon, the Cruiser lost a lot of its charm as a daily driver for my son, who has a 40-mile round-trip commute to class. So, it came back home and is now my DD.
So, it only took three years, but not fast, reliable, and indestructible isn’t a bad description. Though “not fast” is relative – it’ll push you back in the seat a little going through the gears, and will cruise all day at 75 mph – not bad for a 30-year-old truck. As for reliable - since we started wheeling the truck, we’ve always driven it to and from the trail, and it’s never let us down. We’ve only had one actual breakage. The rear pinion flange exploded while trying to get over a rock (it was an after-market part from Randy’s R&P – who, by the way, replaced it without hesitation). We were able to get off the trail with front-wheel-drive only and an occasional strap. Back in camp, we swapped the front pinion flange to the rear for the drive home.
So, now what? There’s a long list of “elective” modifications we’ll continue to chip away at (a lower-geared transmission, selectable front locker, rear bumper/tire carrier, rear bench seat & roll cage) – all as time and finances allow. Patience has been a pretty good strategy up to now.
Well, that's my story - so far, anyway - and I'm stickin' with it.
Cheers,
Alfred
4/76 FJ40, SOA, desmogged, headers, 35s (nominally – really 33s), and a brush guard - otherwise stock. It also came with a Kay Line full soft top and bikini top, Hi Lift jack, Haynes manual, and a few odd spare parts.
We really had no idea what we were getting into – which is just as well, because if someone had told me how much time and money this thing was going to consume over the next five years, I’d have walked away then and there! On the other hand, if they’d also told me how much we’d learn, how many really cool people we’d get to know, and how much fun we’d have, I’d have gone ahead anyway. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Back to “not fast, reliable, and indestructible.” It did “not fast” great right off the bat. But we spent the first year getting the truck reliable enough just for my son to drive back and forth to school. This process involved chasing down a seemingly endless series of system failures, including cooling, hydraulic, electrical, ignition, and fuel. The high point of that period came on the day of my son’s senior prom when the clutch slave cylinder failed – no replacements or rebuild kits in stock at any of the parts places within a 50-mile radius. With no expectation of success (but because it was the only thing we could think of that we hadn’t tried), I posted a plea to the LCML, and within half an hour, I had a call from a guy in Raleigh who had a spare. Two hours later, my son’s in his tux pumping the clutch pedal while I bleed the slave cylinder, and then he’s off to pick up his date! We did almost all the work ourselves – the only exceptions were a Jim C. carb rebuild and the addition of GM power steering by Terry Moorefield.
The following year we spent getting the truck reliable enough for my son to drive back and forth to college 200 miles away. This mainly involved the drive train. The PO who did the spring-over, rotated the rear pinion up, but left the original (slightly bent) drive shaft unmodified, and it vibrated pretty badly at speed. He used longer shackles on the front, which rotated the front pinion up a little, but the drive shaft would still only barely rotate without interference. The eventual result was pinion bearing failure in both differentials. We had the rear differential rebuilt by a local shop, and, with their consultation, did the front ourselves. We decided this would also be a good time to put in 4.56 ring & pinion gears. We had the rear drive shaft re-tubed with a C.V. joint by High Angle Driveline, and Rich Quinlan (RnR Fab) cut and turned the steering knuckles for us. We didn’t take a lot of pictures, but here are some before-after shots of the engine bay that kinda capture the extent of the transformation over the first several years.
So now we were ready to see about indestructible. We had our first trail run with the Central North Carolina 4X4 Club in the Uwharrie National Forest. We went with the “stockers,” so there was nothing really strenuous, but we had a ball! We also got lots of good driving tips and began to get a sense of the Cruiser’s capabilities.
So, finally, after three years, we had a little taste of what this vehicle could really do – and we were hooked! We made a couple more runs with CNC4X4 that Fall and Winter, installed a Lock Right in the rear, picked up a used SuperWinch S9000, and headed for GSMTR in the Spring.
Tellico was a whole different level of wheeling than what we’d done up to that point. Even though we stayed away from the hard-core stuff, we found plenty of opportunities to push our limits. We got away with only a little pinstriping and a slightly bent rear spring.
This past year saw the addition of traction bars in the rear, a 4-point roll cage, a 3-speed transfer case, and some “luxury” items like a storage drawer for the rear, CO2, in-cab winch control, hand throttle, and seats out of a 90s Corolla to replace the rapidly rotting originals.
Here are a few more action shots (from Uwharrie NF).
And some shots of the interior:
When gas prices topped $2 a gallon, the Cruiser lost a lot of its charm as a daily driver for my son, who has a 40-mile round-trip commute to class. So, it came back home and is now my DD.
So, it only took three years, but not fast, reliable, and indestructible isn’t a bad description. Though “not fast” is relative – it’ll push you back in the seat a little going through the gears, and will cruise all day at 75 mph – not bad for a 30-year-old truck. As for reliable - since we started wheeling the truck, we’ve always driven it to and from the trail, and it’s never let us down. We’ve only had one actual breakage. The rear pinion flange exploded while trying to get over a rock (it was an after-market part from Randy’s R&P – who, by the way, replaced it without hesitation). We were able to get off the trail with front-wheel-drive only and an occasional strap. Back in camp, we swapped the front pinion flange to the rear for the drive home.
So, now what? There’s a long list of “elective” modifications we’ll continue to chip away at (a lower-geared transmission, selectable front locker, rear bumper/tire carrier, rear bench seat & roll cage) – all as time and finances allow. Patience has been a pretty good strategy up to now.
Well, that's my story - so far, anyway - and I'm stickin' with it.
Cheers,
Alfred
