new blue 40!! power steering?? (1 Viewer)

[doraexplora]

or at least new to me. SHE's a 1980 model and she is gorgeous blue. I bought her sight unseen with only pictures from an auction in the bottom of florida. Awesome part about that is there isnt a single piece of rust on her! no salt on those roads!

I plan on running her very close to stock with very few major mods. I am getting vintage air AC as we speak, cause here in tulsa its about to be triple digits for the next few weeks.

she needs new Ubolts and king bolts but overall shes in incredible shape.

since I will be driving her mainly on the road is power steering an immediate benefit or can it wait?

 

[doraexplora]

oh heres her selfie.

 

[scott fasken]

Mine is my daily driver and has no power steering. Yes I would like it but have had it a year and not a real issues.

It changes you driving style. Park our far in parking lot so you don’t need a lot of Armstrong power steering in tight places.

 

[4x4veteran]

I drove my 1970 FJ40 for ten years before I installed power steering.
A lot of my early driving was off road but the fact that I was still in my 20's-30's made it not that big a deal.
In the 80's a lot of my driving was open road with the first couple of years with out PS and after I changed out long trips were not as tiring.
Still did some off road excursions and power vs. no power is day and night.
Power steering made a difference for the better, especially when backing a trailer.

 

[Living in the Past]

Does she have a heater now? Florida and the rubber bumpers on the front suggest a import. Power steering isn't needed as much on stockish size tires. Only time I wish I had it in my 68 was when I added a auto locker up front. Thinking of adding it my 79 but that is mainly because I sourced a OEM power steering setup a number of years ago. Triple digits are a way of life in Phoenix but only FJ40 I've rode in with A/C was up to the task. I know they have better units today (last time was over forty years ago and was a add on in a 73) but still prefer a modern vehicle for city driving.

 

[doraexplora]

nope, no heater, no console. I think she might be an import but I am a newbie. does that drop value? what are the implications of that? do most guys remove the rubber bumper things? I do know the front headlight frame thing is at least right side up! I am going to go with stock size tires so Im now thinking I will leave steering as is.

 

[Catfish28]

I installed Toyota mini truck power steering. Best mod ever. 33" tires. Trying to get the wife to drive it some so power steering is going to help that effort. Straight forward and lots of good write ups on mud. Congrats on the purchase.

 

[Downey]

Make sure you get my freebie "Downey Power Steering Conversion Manual" to read up on the Saginaw P.S. conversion before you start spending money on this.

 

[1969FJ]

nope, no heater, no console. I think she might be an import but I am a newbie. does that drop value? what are the implications of that? do most guys remove the rubber bumper things? I do know the front headlight frame thing is at least right side up! I am going to go with stock size tires so Im now thinking I will leave steering as is.

To a real , real purist , an import may be an issue. To the majority who Love the FJ40, probably not. USA got more nice things over the years and imports did not. Disc brakes, heaters, dashpads etc,, are to name a few that imports may not have. Since FJ40s have been going up in value, lots of countries are trying to get them over here for the cash.

 

[doraexplora]

has dash pad, but no heater. is there any definitive way to know if its an import or not? dash has mph not kmh and steering wheel is on the correct side.

 

[doraexplora]

Make sure you get my freebie "Downey Power Steering Conversion Manual" to read up on the Saginaw P.S. conversion before you start spending money on this.

where do i get it?? id really enjy that!

 

[Simcoe]

Post up more pics. There are a ton of super knowledgeable people on this forum and it wouldn't take long for someone to tell you anything and everything you want to know about your rig....good or bad

 

[doraexplora]

cool. Ill post more pics under a new thread. Shes at the shop getting a once over by the mechanic today, Ill update soon.

 

[Living in the Past]

USA got more nice things over the years and imports did not. Disc brakes, heaters, dashpads etc,, are to name a few that imports may not have.

I know glad we didn't have to get the stripped LX models? I hate the interior on those. Wish we got the five speed, full floating rear axle and diesel engines. Then there is all the different models we never got like the mid wheel base and long wheel base troopy. Pickups were gone after 1967. Only thing I can think of we got ahead of most the world was front disc brakes and roll bar. Up grading from drum to disc is one of the easier mods. Certainly easier than trying to stretch the wheel base.

 

[ginmtb]

Probably the biggest concern with imports (and even here now that they’re increasing in value) is who did the restoration and how they did it. That doesn’t appear to be a stock color. So what’s hiding under that paint? If you’re lucky just a light skim coat of bondo to smooth out some body work and no rust. At worst it could be a really thick coat over damage and rust. If the latter you will find out down the road when rust starts bubbling through. Hopefully that is not the case but as I mentioned with the value of these increasing you’re seeing people flip these to make a quick buck and they don’t restore it like they should.

Get a magnet and put some tape on it to protect your paint job (it is a beautiful color even if non-OEM). Check the rear sill (under the rear doors and extend out to the rear quarter panels - that is a classic rust spot for these). I’d check above the wheel wells also as it appears the factory spot weld spots are gone - when I welded in my patches to make the wheel well stock I had to use some bondo there due to a little warping from my limited welding skills.

Bottoms of front doors is a good spot to check too. And front fenders.

All signs lead to this being an import - Florida, bumper boobs, no heater, funky Toyota logo... more photos for sure!

 

[doraexplora]

Probably the biggest concern with imports (and even here now that they’re increasing in value) is who did the restoration and how they did it. That doesn’t appear to be a stock color. So what’s hiding under that paint? If you’re lucky just a light skim coat of bondo to smooth out some body work and no rust. At worst it could be a really thick coat over damage and rust. If the latter you will find out down the road when rust starts bubbling through. Hopefully that is not the case but as I mentioned with the value of these increasing you’re seeing people flip these to make a quick buck and they don’t restore it like they should.

Get a magnet and put some tape on it to protect your paint job (it is a beautiful color even if non-OEM). Check the rear sill (under the rear doors and extend out to the rear quarter panels - that is a classic rust spot for these). I’d check above the wheel wells also as it appears the factory spot weld spots are gone - when I welded in my patches to make the wheel well stock I had to use some bondo there due to a little warping from my limited welding skills.

Bottoms of front doors is a good spot to check too. And front fenders.

All signs lead to this being an import - Florida, bumper boobs, no heater, funky Toyota logo... more photos for sure!

I am guessing bondo is magnetic and factory steel was/is not??

 

[skidplate]

Versa visa, Magnet will stick to metal not bondo. Nice rig and welcome!

 

[wngrog]

Put some stock wheels and narrow tires on and you won’t have any need for power steering.

Also if you go the mini truck route make sure you find AND test a mini truck box. They are getting very rare

 

[ginmtb]

And on your other thread you started you mentioned the running boards were flimsy - wonder if they left out the supports. That would be a small sign of a worrisome restore...

 

[doraexplora]

great picture! thanks so much!