The elusive combination of time and money! We all know it well. Here is my story.
I bought my 79 FJ40 in the summer of 2000, and it was great until Jan 2003... at which point I slid sideways into not one but two lamp posts. Body was toast, everything else fine. Almost a year later One of the local club members brought in a JDM 40 series that wasn't in good enough condition to sell as a whole, so he decided to part it out. While him and some other club membersRMLCA were taking it apart they figured the tub would be perfect for me. The other guys even offered to do the left hand drive swap for me. So I bought it! As you can see in the next link, the LHD swap turned into a complete armouring and rebuild of the JDM tub. Tub rebuild pics!
The tub rebuild was finished some time in July last year, and it has sat in another friends back yard waiting for me to do something to it.
Here are the options I have too many of, What would you do?
Original Frame:
Remove and or rebuild engine, sandblast frame, replace rear crossmember(It was munched by the lamp posts), paint, assemble, drive.
Leave engine, wire wheel frame as best as I can around engine and drivetrain, replace rear crossmember(It was munched by the lamp posts), paint, assemble, drive.
Buy custom frame from local guy:
it's set up for 350 and auto, coil sprung and multilinked, has mini-truck axles. Previous owner regularly won ramp competitions.
Buy it get a V8, tranny etc., put my body on it, drive it.
Buy it, put in my 2F and four speed, (offset transfer, centered rear diff), put my body on it, drive it.
Buy it, put in my 2F and four speed, change the axles out with either my FJ40 axles, or a set of BJ60 axles that I have, put my body on it, drive it.
I'll see what kind of responses I get from these questions, then I'll post more.
BTW my imagined use for this truck... Capable, frequent wheeler, with out fear of breaking. Combined with reliability on the street, to and from the trails, even over long distances. Some day I want to put in a Toyota Diesel, but I want to get it back on the road for this summer first.
Thanks everybody!
I bought my 79 FJ40 in the summer of 2000, and it was great until Jan 2003... at which point I slid sideways into not one but two lamp posts. Body was toast, everything else fine. Almost a year later One of the local club members brought in a JDM 40 series that wasn't in good enough condition to sell as a whole, so he decided to part it out. While him and some other club membersRMLCA were taking it apart they figured the tub would be perfect for me. The other guys even offered to do the left hand drive swap for me. So I bought it! As you can see in the next link, the LHD swap turned into a complete armouring and rebuild of the JDM tub. Tub rebuild pics!
The tub rebuild was finished some time in July last year, and it has sat in another friends back yard waiting for me to do something to it.
Here are the options I have too many of, What would you do?
Original Frame:
Remove and or rebuild engine, sandblast frame, replace rear crossmember(It was munched by the lamp posts), paint, assemble, drive.
Leave engine, wire wheel frame as best as I can around engine and drivetrain, replace rear crossmember(It was munched by the lamp posts), paint, assemble, drive.
Buy custom frame from local guy:
it's set up for 350 and auto, coil sprung and multilinked, has mini-truck axles. Previous owner regularly won ramp competitions.
Buy it get a V8, tranny etc., put my body on it, drive it.
Buy it, put in my 2F and four speed, (offset transfer, centered rear diff), put my body on it, drive it.
Buy it, put in my 2F and four speed, change the axles out with either my FJ40 axles, or a set of BJ60 axles that I have, put my body on it, drive it.
I'll see what kind of responses I get from these questions, then I'll post more.
BTW my imagined use for this truck... Capable, frequent wheeler, with out fear of breaking. Combined with reliability on the street, to and from the trails, even over long distances. Some day I want to put in a Toyota Diesel, but I want to get it back on the road for this summer first.
Thanks everybody!
