78 FJ40 Refurb/Document Thread (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Nov 1, 2011
Threads
9
Messages
217
Location
Asheville NC
With the work I've been doing to prep for the FJ40 Cross Country Expedition (Link) I figured it was time to start my own thread to "give back" since this forum has helped me immensely in the roller coaster of 40 ownership. This is no Rust Bucket level of entertainment but should be a source of at least what not to do :hillbilly:

I started out as a Samurai guy having built, refurbished, and wheeled them (10 of those little guys) up until I started wheeling my SAS'd dual cased 94 4runner exclusively. It will go wherever I need but wanted to get back to a more stock rig that the top can be removed and always loved 40's.

My budget was pretty slim after paying off my wife's car and you cant get much on a slim budget with 40's as I learned. My criteria was; running 2F engine, complete hard top, 4 speed, front disks, "mostly" original, salvageable tub and most importantly clean title. Oh and all this at the sub $2k price range :hmm:. I had a couple false starts, driving 6+hours one way to look at one in KY but one man's idea of clean frame differs from others...(aka completely rusted out) and showing up a day late on a couple others. Ended up finding my cruiser in southwest Indiana via Craigslist.

Its a 10/78 with a 2F, H42 and factory t/case/axles(more on those later) with decent doors/hardtop sides and ran with starting fluid before loading on the trailer.


Thinking back, should this have been a parts rig?... probably... is it going to be more work than I anticipated?... likely... do I enjoy working on it?... most definitely!

It does have some PO modifications/hack jobs like any self respecting midwest 40 should.
SPUA (bone jarring) lift springs

Rusted transmission hump and el cheapo eBay floors crapily installed

Diamond plate to cover the usual suspects. Guy I bought it from seemed perplexed when I suggested there was rust under them...

Ironically better than I expected :grinpimp:

It will need a rear sill, quarter panels, rockers, front floor, windshield/frame, fiberglass roof/gutter, and much more but is usable in current condition body wise.

First order of business was get it running decent, removed scary house wiring and got it to fire up. I tracked down many parts in the classifieds here. Big thanks to all those I purchased from, everyone was extremely nice, helpful and generally went out of there way to get the deals to run smoothly. I also picked up a brand new Fuji brand carburetor from Racer65 which replaced the clogged Mopar 318 holley junk that was on it when purchased. The Fuji carb is awesome and made in Japan! Also put on new Aisin water pump, fan clutch, fuel pump and washed 5lbs of clay out of the radiator.

Rebuilt free melted light switch, painted over the rusty spots with some green paint, and installed some used front turn signals so it actually looks like a 40.

The latest round of repairs included all new rear brakes, rebuilt fronts and new seals on the tcase output and pinions, and steal the tires off the 4runner since it broke a Longfield and 4 knuckle studs the last time out. Still need to bleed the brakes so my wife can have her parking spot back even though my son loves it in there, he always goes "vroooom... vrooom" when he see's it. Had to pose the Gelande II Cruiser on the real thing, interestingly I have owned the RC version longer... and it was cheaper...



So now that we are up to date I can add to this as things progress. Trying to get some new to me leather Subaru seats mounted up so I can meet up with the guys on the cross country run in mid October. Hopefully its good enough to play with them :bounce:
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the write-up. Keep it coming. The truck in the last picture barely resembles the first picture. you're a braver man than I. :clap:
 
You have made a lot of progress-you have to be tenacious with these things, they take time(mine is also a '78)....................I have been working on mine for three years now! Welcome to where the 40's live!:beer:
 
Finally got the brakes 100% buttoned up, took the 40 to my old school exhaust shop (i.e the actually bend pipe) because there is a trail run Saturday with my local club. On the way home from the shop I was able to get the clutch to slip with a load :mad: so overnighted an Aisin clutch from Rockauto (great price btw) and pulled the trans last night (Thurs) so I could slap it back together tonight and head to the trail tomorrow morning.:steer:

Good thing I'm replacing it, PO had gotten it really hot in the past and had some pretty bad glazed spots. Easier to change in the garage vs. dragging it from BFE and burdening others :slap: No pics of the clutch job but will post trail pics after the weekend.
 
Got to love when a plan comes together... or things just work out in spite of pitiful planning and general disregard for sleep. Made it into the garage around 7pm after my son went to bed to start putting my pile of parts back together. The clutch kit arrived at my house and while at work I had a local machine shop resurface my flywheel. Used the "Bread Trick" to remove the old pilot bearing and began reassembling the clutch/trans/tcase. Did have a mishap involving gravity and the 4wd selector shaft housing resulting in a cracked selector housing(need to find one BTW). Since its not a load bearing part some 2 part epoxy was forced into the crack and popped it back on there to cure for a temporary fix. Also checked valves tracing a dead or weak #3 cylinder and wired up my taillights to make it in bed at around 5am. Only to be back up at 7:30 to leave for the trail ride

Hauled it to the trail ride, filled up the tcase with oil an pulled the doors off. Weather turned out to be perfect and the 40 ran better than ever. Must have been wanting to be in its element vs. being poked and prodded in the garage.


I have to admit, I was thoroughly impressed with the torque the 2f put out. I suspect I have a burnt valve on the #3 cyl but it was able to lug at the 2-300rpm range and just tractor along with barely any throttle input. Only had a couple new rig "teething" issues pop up but were easily remedied like a valve cover leak caused by the 4am installation of said cover.


Overall was a great day in the woods and much needed therapy from wrenching with no driving. I did find a few things to be improved on that hopefully will be tackled before next month's run. Those should include finally installing my 8274, more clean up and tinkering, de-carpet glue the inside of the top and maybe some sliders that wont interfere with factory steps in the future.

Going from a vehicle that I only heard run on ether to a full day in the woods bopping around has been quite the journey.
 
Last edited:
Have spent some time tinkering and enjoying the 40. Most of my time has been spent dialing in the carb and taking it out when I can. I was able to take it out for my club's February trail ride with my pup Maggie. Recent warm spell made for some slick trails with 3in of slop on top of frozen ground.


The warm spell, winter erosion and the limited capability of an unlocked flex less 40 kept us from climbing the longest hill of the 2nd trail. So we hiked around and waited for the group to finish the trail and come back.


It was nice to be out and the 40 ran great all day, no troubles driving an hour each way to and from the trails. It does take a toll on you after that many miles, just need power steering, lockers and to ditch the 3 leaf Rancho springs that are killing my kidneys.

I did track down a set of stock 40 springs so I'm trying to decide if I want to do a low spring over or go with a more "resto" setup with OME lift and 33x10.50s.
 
Looks like you will have a successful build on this 40. Good luck.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom