Builds Good Ole Rusty (1 Viewer)

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rusty_tlc

rusty_tlc

Dain Bramaged Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2005
Threads
494
Messages
13,848
Location
Reno, NV
Website
forum.ih8mud.com
What would you do with this 1975 FJ40? I think I posted a similar thread a while back, times have changed and I'm re-visiting this.

The Good;
SOA
Metal Tech family cage
PSC power steering conversion, gear box ported for hydro (I have all the hydro assist parts just not installed.)
Orion 4:1 T-Case
Marlin 2.5:1 Crawl box
ARB Air lockers F&R(need new seals)
Original 2F which will not effing die.
Specialty Tops soft top
Longfield birfs, inners and hubs rings.
Chicago lives less than a mile away ;)

The bad;
No cut and turn.
Lots of oil seepage/leaks; pinion seals, t-case to crawl box, t-case rear main, oil pan, etc.
A tangle of wires from multiple add on of stuff, switches that don't work, just stuff that embarrasses a guy who makes his living doing stuff with Lectricity.
Junk yard mix and match spring packs
Bad skin cancer, enough bondo to make another Cruiser.
20 year old ARB compressor already re-built a couple of times
Original seats, and upholstery which are an embarrassment in themselves
Broken anti wrap.
Issues with the steering linkage clearance
Not much time or money.
Not a lot of welding skills.

Not sure if this is a plus or minus;
Trail Worthy Fab Re-Centered Hummer run flat double bead locked wheels with mil 37x12.5 16.5" Goodyears. These bastids are HEAVY and may have contributed to the last few trail breaks I have had.

Resources:
The hydro assist package
A Sanden AC compressor
Reduction geared starter
Most of the stuff to build a nice swing out tire rack.
A Lincoln "tombstone" AC stick welder
A Harbor Freight wire feed welder
I could probably come up with an SM420 and some FJ55 springs.
I also have a set of Detroit lockers with 4.56 gears in my FJ60, the 40 has 4.11 gears. Pretty sure the FJ60 with 33's would be happier with 4.11 gears and the FJ40 with 37's would be happier with 4.56 gears.
 
Tapage said:
how much spare time you have .. ?
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never enough, I'll be manufacturing time somehow.

SuperBuickGuy said:
everyone starts somewhere, and that's a good starting point... don't worry about pretty, worry about done
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It's been done once, now it's time to start again. This time I'd like to try for "not hideous" and done.
 
Hi all,

Turn the rig into a "buggy" by chopping the frame & body?

Or, find a decent frame & body tub to swap in.

Regards,

Alan
 
Josie'sLandCruiser said:
Hi all,

Turn the rig into a "buggy" by chopping the frame & body?

Or, find a decent frame & body tub to swap in.

Regards,

Alan
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Finding a donor Cruiser was my wife's suggestion. There is a lot to be said for a plan endorsed by the CFO. :lol:
 
SuperBuickGuy said:
meh, builds are like supermodels - some think they're amazing, others a waste of oxygen
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Following that line of thought I could just fix a few things and be done. Not saying that isn't an option. The truck performs well enough to cruise through Rubicon and Fordyce with no real issues.
 
Steal Chicago's rig, you can take him...
 
rusty_tlc said:
Following that line of thought I could just fix a few things and be done. Not saying that isn't an option. The truck performs well enough to cruise through Rubicon and Fordyce with no real issues.
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my point was that no matter how you build it, there will always be a critics. I miss doing the Rubicon in my 2nd '40... golly was it slow up mt. rose, but it was always a fun weekend to be slogging up to run the Rubicon in both directions... it made no sense to drive the highway, I'd still be doing 25 mph on the climb - only on the highway, having fully loaded semis blowing you off the road going up was nearly as bad as them blow you off the road going down... so Mt. Rose with a stop at the now-burned mid point was the right choice... dang, I just realized that was nearly 25 years ago...
 
SuperBuickGuy said:
my point was that no matter how you build it, there will always be a critics. I miss doing the Rubicon in my 2nd '40... golly was it slow up mt. rose, but it was always a fun weekend to be slogging up to run the Rubicon in both directions... it made no sense to drive the highway, I'd still be doing 25 mph on the climb - only on the highway, having fully loaded semis blowing you off the road going up was nearly as bad as them blow you off the road going down... so Mt. Rose with a stop at the now-burned mid point was the right choice... dang, I just realized that was nearly 25 years ago...
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Ummm yeah....no, don't really care what the critics think. Just want some input and ideas.
 
Big english mastiff vs Mace I think we could sell tickets to fund the build... lol.. would hate to meet that dog in the dark,

I may know where there is a tub, let me find the guys number, it needed a cowl repair on top but the bottom was alot better than yours..

btw if you buy that tub it I will fix the cowl if you fix my big gas welder, it blew something in the circuit board..
 
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On the build I vote for fj60 axles cut and turn.. fj60 steering column and wiring harness..new to you tub paint and clean up, suspension seats, Reseal/gaskets for the drive train.. vortec swap if you get really motivated. ..

. ohh and let me fix my upside down in the dark trail repair.. welding....
 
Ray, I'll look at the circuit board when I drop of that wheel and tire. Chicago already fixed the trail repair on the Power steering gear box, probably the most solid part of the rig right now. :eek:
 
cool, long as there is no evidence.
 
I found some other stuff;
A viair compresser that needs a new cylinder and piston.
A Sanden single pulley compressor
A Blue sea fuse block
 
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