2000 miles of back roads in a 55-year old FJ40 (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Oct 30, 2005
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38
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696
Location
Oregon
Afternoon everyone, It’s a cold, rainy day here in Oregon, and my 1965/6 FJ40 is buried in the garage behind motorcycles, plants, laundry baskets and assorted projects:
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Looking ahead towards warmer days (and getting the garage back lol), I’ve been daydreaming of doing a long road trip this summer through some of America’s more remote backcountry. I haven’t determined the actual route or destination-perhaps the western portion of the TransAmerica Trail (TAT) to Moab, or to my folks place in rural New Mexico via the Black Rock Desert and High Rock Canyon. Depends on the weather and how much time I can get away. I might even hold off until Fall and drive it the length of the Baja, we’ll see. What is important, is that when I do get a little time off, the Land Cruiser is ready and relatively safe, which it really isn’t right now. And that is what this thread is about, so hopefully y’all will bear with me and I look forward to your thoughts and advice.

A little background, I purchased the 65/66 from a Mud member about 5 years ago as pretty much a shell that had been off the road for years ( the last plates were from 1981). I installed an Om617 and 5-speed, and did a build thread in the diesel section. Since then, it has been very reliable, but it has not been tested other than a few local off-road trips.

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So, in the next few months I’ll be posting updates and, if there is interest I’ll document the road trip as well. Thanks, have a great afternoon!
 
Afternoon everyone, It’s a cold, rainy day here in Oregon, and my 1965/6 FJ40 is buried in the garage behind motorcycles, plants, laundry baskets and assorted projects:View attachment 2582692
Looking ahead towards warmer days (and getting the garage back lol), I’ve been daydreaming of doing a long road trip this summer through some of America’s more remote backcountry. I haven’t determined the actual route or destination-perhaps the western portion of the TransAmerica Trail (TAT) to Moab, or to my folks place in rural New Mexico via the Black Rock Desert and High Rock Canyon. Depends on the weather and how much time I can get away. I might even hold off until Fall and drive it the length of the Baja, we’ll see. What is important, is that when I do get a little time off, the Land Cruiser is ready and relatively safe, which it really isn’t right now. And that is what this thread is about, so hopefully y’all will bear with me and I look forward to your thoughts and advice.

A little background, I purchased the 65/66 from a Mud member about 5 years ago as pretty much a shell that had been off the road for years ( the last plates were from 1981). I installed an Om617 and 5-speed, and did a build thread in the diesel section. Since then, it has been very reliable, but it has not been tested other than a few local off-road trips.

View attachment 2582772

So, in the next few months I’ll be posting updates and, if there is interest I’ll document the road trip as well. Thanks, have a great afternoon!
sweet .cant wait ,love to join you , maybe meet half way..im in nh
 
:popcorn:
 
Curious on how you approach this as I have been planning lessor trips, but still multiple days. With my 67 FJ40, I have re-worked the engine & drive train, breaking system, suspension, and have just finished some required body work and installed a rear gas tank. Just need to sort out some minor wiring issues.

Then what does one carry as spares...
 
Wiring issues can be serious on older rigs, I’ve been chasing down minor gremlins for years.

As for what to bring? I know some will strongly disagree with the approach, but I am pretty much a minimalist. Basic tools, a highlift and extra belts and hoses along with food, water and a bedroll (not to mention a Spot device). My initial thoughts were to do this on a motorcycle, where you only have room to carry the essentials, so that is the mindset I have for this trip. The other reason is that I will be going door-less and topless, so everytime I get a hotel room or go for a hike, I don’t want to worry about someone stealing all my gear.
 
I dig it brother. Minimal baggage and an 'overcome any obstacle' attitude. It's always the journey rather than the destination.

I have to check out your build thread to see how you stuffed the om617 in there without a big lift. I thought those gave some clearance issues.
 
I always use a "club" when parking my 40 in public spaces, whether or not I have a soft top or doors on it

lately, I also sometimes put the truck in LO :p
 
I did a 2000 miles trip in my 40 all by myself from Arizona through southern Utah before attending Cruise Moab in 2011 - still with manual steering back then :steer:

some guy at a gas station warned me to be "careful out there", but even when mostly traveling on remote dirt roads, I didn't encounter any problems in those 5 days :meh:

the only carnage was a bolt in the spare tire mount on the rear bumper

collected many camera pics and memories of fantastic landscapes to last me a lifetime :grinpimp:

the next year, I took my husband -he followed me in his Blazer- on a shortened version of the same trip, and since it was pretty short, we have been planning to spend more time exploring the areas ever since
 
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I always use a "club" when parking my 40 in public spaces, whether or not I have a soft top or doors on it

lately, I also sometimes put the truck in LO :p
I’m thinking that may be my be my next purchase. Way too easy to steal a FJ40!
 
What part of rural New Mexico? Plenty of MUD members around if you decide to come this way. A lot of unknown back roads in these parts with beautiful scenery.
Thanks for the info, would enjoy meeting up with other Mudders and may ask for advice on roads as I go. My folks live in western NM near the town of Reserve.
 
Wiring issues can be serious on older rigs, I’ve been chasing down minor gremlins for years.

As for what to bring? I know some will strongly disagree with the approach, but I am pretty much a minimalist. Basic tools, a highlift and extra belts and hoses along with food, water and a bedroll (not to mention a Spot device). My initial thoughts were to do this on a motorcycle, where you only have room to carry the essentials, so that is the mindset I have for this trip. The other reason is that I will be going door-less and topless, so everytime I get a hotel room or go for a hike, I don’t want to worry about someone stealing all my gear.
Make sure you can text in and out with your Spot Device - not just sending preset messages. If not - you might want to look into the Garmin Inreach Explorer. I have the original but the new mini is great. You pair it to your phone, has great gps, earthmate maps and the ability to send/receive texts via satellite. I typically carry mine when hunting in remote areas but it would be a good tool for a road trip like this.
 
Make sure you can text in and out with your Spot Device - not just sending preset messages. If not - you might want to look into the Garmin Inreach Explorer. I have the original but the new mini is great. You pair it to your phone, has great gps, earthmate maps and the ability to send/receive texts via satellite. I typically carry mine when hunting in remote areas but it would be a good tool for a road trip like this.
That’s a good point, I have the Garmin Inreach Explorer. I really need to get up to speed with modern mapping as I seem to be stuck in the paper map phase.
 
Another good mapping option is onX gps maps. There are two versions, one specific to hunting and the other specific to "Off Road" trails, tracks etc.

 
Alrighty, it has been almost three weeks since I started this thread-and I have done nothing. In my defense I have
50F273C8-4CEF-4C99-91A0-038F6A8420B6.jpeg
an 800 page archaeology report on my desk that is due Tuesday, and the weather hasn’t been great, but today the weather is nice so I pulled the cruiser out into the sun and popped the hood. It’s a start.
 
That’s a good point, I have the Garmin Inreach Explorer. I really need to get up to speed with modern mapping as I seem to be stuck in the paper map phase.

Nothing wrong with good paper maps except it's become harder to find them.
 

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