Builds Build: 75 Fj55 "Los Lobos" (1 Viewer)

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

Joined
Jul 17, 2005
Threads
173
Messages
672
Location
Morro Bay CA
As we approach the half way point of 2022 I figured I would make an attempt at documenting things a little better and writing here on mud.

Recently obtained this 1975 FJ55 locally here on the Central Coast of California. Previous owner stated it had sat for 6 years, however most recent Oregon registration tag was 2011 so who really knows... They moved down from PNW and brought this toy along with.

You'll notice the dings and dents and added character to give it charm. Front passenger fender and the grille bent in from the son driving a tractor into it. Inside full of dead mice and droppings throughout. Back seat had the usual equipment scattered about.... 2 gallons of CAT delo, fence wire stretcher, Winchester 20 gauge, and some old Carhartt jackets.

Looking it over and cleaning it out I noticed not too much rust. No really folks, for a FJ55 i'm extremely impressed here. Mostly stock other than the V8 swap and this overly large AC conversion setup in it. I'll be debating what to do with the AC, seems like i'd be opening a can of worms.

Enough rambling.
What are the plans?
EROD LS swap, OME springs from a 70 series, Interior from a 100 series. No i'm kidding.

The plans remain very simple.

Does it run?
Get it running.
Get it to be reliableish? (Not a word but I feel it describes the goal)
Preserve the heck out of this patina. (Maybe I can get the original red roof to come back)
Clean up the wiring job, someone really liked Zip ties.
That is honestly it. The biggest thing is to do a front disc swap if I can get a
front axle for a decent price.

Follow along for more to come.


Cheers,
-Joe
Rawson Motorsports
Morro Bay, California

IMG_4101.jpg
 
Last edited:
Let me rewind here and explain the story of how this Pig Hunt worked out.

I think everyone likes a good Cruiser story?

At my work everyone is well aware I am absolutely obsessed with anything Toyota Land Cruiser. So this lead came from a co worker. Coming back from a camping trip in Santa Cruz with his family he spotted this 55 right off the freeway sitting.

I respond with "You sure man?"
Ian "Ya it's a 55 for sure. Right there between the tree line off of the off ramp." (Ian knows the models and is a credible source.)
My brain (I have driven this road my entire life and never seen it.)
Me now at the computer with Ian using google earth... Can't see it. Hummm...

3 weeks pass by and I head up to the Valley Hybrids Swap meet with the other half to see @orangefj45 and the gang.
Along the way I pull off the freeway and drive onto this property. A little further than my liking but
it was daylight and the weekend.

So worth a shot right?




IMG_3135.jpg





Confirmed Pig spotting hunt is on. Now to my other research.

In recent years I have now decided to pay for the app called "land glide". It is a Map overlay with parcel map property lines and APN numbers.
Ya know something a Realtor would use... I'm just a Cruiser nerd who cold calls people though. So that's exactly what I did.

Owner takes the call and we're on just have to line up a day that works for both of us.

Another 2 weeks pass by after contacting the owner seeing if he would be interested in selling. Finally have a moment to go
check this thing out. I bring the bare minimum essentials Cash, Truck, and Trailer.

Owner extremely nice stating they just don't use it anymore. Son ran into it with a tractor. Brought it down from Oregon.

Owner "Ya know Joe it's really funny in the last 3 weeks 3 other folks have called to see if it's for sale."
Me "Either you're pulling my leg trying to get me to offer more cash or Cal Trans just clear cut all that vegetation"
Owner "Cal Trans did just do a bunch of vegetation work along the road"
It is now clearly visible from the road and google had a good amount of trees / vegetation. Other Pig hunters are looking.



Sitting right in front of my eyes the last 6 years but blocked by trees. I was so close.

6:45PM 94 degrees outside with a nice breeze.

Me "Well those other 3 are going to do the same thing. I'm here now cash, truck, and trailer can I load it now for X amount?"
Owner "Ya that'll work."



IMG_4111.jpg



Pulled the passenger fender out with my hands to prevent the tire from rubbing it. Didn't bother to air up the tires the ole Harbor Freight 12,000 did just fine.


Now to get it to the space and have a good look at it.
 
Get air the tires and push all 4000 pounds off the trailer into a space.
Fire up the ole Harbor Freight electric pressure washer and off we go. I love this cheap pressure washer because it isn't powerful and won't tear things apart.
Dive into the interior and start between vacuuming, throwing stuff away and then lots of air being blown about between all cracks and crevices. All while looking for rust.
Need to put it up on jacks to get the undercarriage clean but it's a start...





IMG_4220.jpg



IMG_4444.jpg


IMG_4448.jpg

IMG_4321.jpg
IMG_4333.jpg
 
Last edited:
:clap::popcorn:
 
Plugs looked good, glad the motor turned nicely by hand. Anything that sits over 3-4 years I will always try by hand and lube the cylinders. Last thing I want is to snap a ring.

Changed the oil and oil filter just plain old Castrol GTX 20w 50 and a wix oil filter.

Motor did have oil in it so that was nice. Looked half decent too.

Was curious on what the motor is read the block casting located the top drivers side rear. A true 350 Hecho en Mexico per the decoding web sites. Sounds good to me it’s just a putt around cruiser. Would I love a 2F in it? Yes but that’s not the case folks.

Turned the ignition pulled the fuel line off and cranked for a second. It cranks. Okay cool. Next.

Find some gas and see how this goes.

Vroom. She’s fine. Hell the rear window even works fine. 🙄

To do list next week.

Pull carb quick clean / rebuild.
Plugs, wires, cap, rotor.
Flush cooling system and replace all other fluids.
Compression test.
Inspect fuel tank if need to send out or not.
Wash undercarriage.

B237A1DA-91B0-47B3-B522-3480F5EB4A96.jpeg


1267D1C4-8988-48C6-976A-175FF09EEB97.jpeg


7323E4C0-C15B-4BD7-A8E7-9C99453728E0.jpeg


C7A964CC-9EB0-44AF-8DF9-667B4C17AC67.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Saweet find! Perfect shape. And some tools to add to the toolkit too!
Filled your annual pig tag, huh?!
I saw a film years ago at an outdoor sports show that showed some dudes hunting pigs in Texas with air guns. Just sayin’ 😂
 
Great photo-reportage and write up!
Thanks for sharing this amazing story!
 
Hummm where do I start with the latest…

About a week ago I located a front axle off a FJ40. The yard that had it wasn’t too familiar with Land Cruisers so I purchased a majority of the other large items that were still salvageable. 😂 (slight cruiser addiction) 🙄

F9584905-D68A-404B-A052-51C9F4FE0E98.jpeg



@RodrigzCrzr came to the rescue and loaded up everything in his 60 then brought about 1/3 of the load on his trip up to Monterey in his gas saver. Check out this legend!


2F8031FF-B108-405E-9422-6B9B6CC3EBCA.jpeg


4E3EC10E-3808-4B4D-AF54-68587596ABB8.jpeg



Removed the carb for a rebuild and tore into the wiring mess today. Surprisingly not anything too bad overall. This loom will clean up very nicely.
 
Last edited:
Gave @orangefj45 Valley Hybrids Cruiser Brothers a call today for the front axle essentials to freshen up this thing.

91B14E9A-92EE-46FE-AC94-F3B26E36461D.jpeg



Wiring loom cleanup begins…. Out with old aftermarket wires and will get around to cleaning it up.


When getting any car I usually trace the harness from end to end. You just don’t know what has been done over the years. Mice can destroy things just as well as previous owners.

Not too much to do here but it’s a peace of mind knowing that I’m not going to nuke a harness.


2A6C3359-AA76-4CA8-8E04-27F47C4DB0EE.jpeg


38BD0F7F-1ABE-47F9-89F0-45874C828149.jpeg


F5A91E2C-C1A7-4E9F-BDF9-3FBCB9DD537D.jpeg


150BF393-008E-4BD9-AA93-E5E92543813F.jpeg
 
As we approach the half way point of 2022 I figured I would make an attempt at documenting things a little better and writing here on mud.

Recently obtained this 1975 FJ55 locally here on the Central Coast of California. Previous owner stated it had sat for 6 years, however most recent Oregon registration tag was 2011 so who really knows... They moved down from PNW and brought this toy along with.

You'll notice the dings and dents and added character to give it charm. Front passenger fender and the grille bent in from the son driving a tractor into it. Inside full of dead mice and droppings throughout. Back seat had the usual equipment scattered about.... 2 gallons of CAT delo, fence wire stretcher, Winchester 20 gauge, and some old Carhartt jackets.

Looking it over and cleaning it out I noticed not too much rust. No really folks, for a FJ55 i'm extremely impressed here. Mostly stock other than the V8 swap and this overly large AC conversion setup in it. I'll be debating what to do with the AC, seems like i'd be opening a can of worms.

Enough rambling.
What are the plans?
EROD LS swap, OME springs from a 70 series, Interior from a 100 series. No i'm kidding.

The plans remain very simple.

Does it run?
Get it running.
Get it to be reliableish? (Not a word but I feel it describes the goal)
Preserve the heck out of this patina. (Maybe I can get the original red roof to come back)
Clean up the wiring job, someone really liked Zip ties.
That is honestly it. The biggest thing is to do a front disc swap if I can get a
front axle for a decent price.

Follow along for more to come.


Cheers,
-Joe
Rawson Motorsports
Morro Bay, California

View attachment 3033918
Cut polish that beauty 3 part made by 3m if I recall right or napa sells it too same stuff if your in USA from to harbour frieght and give it a try just be carful on edges. You frak as may come right back. I had a black 1999 chevy SS 454 was amazing how it came back It looked brand new.You can make patches later I used checker place
 
sweet unit I just recalled I had a buddy who swap his axles from on top of spring to below and had a V8 pull trailer well well too. hope you have power steering as sure helps makes it into a daily driver and will not break your thumbs off roading in ruts lol
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom