I got to go to the LCH Museum a couple weeks ago, but having not yet seen Lara it was hard to know what to look for. I snapped a few pictures but I certainly need to look for more. It does appear those tail lights are original huh? I didn’t see that until now, thanks!
Plan for now is to start in a couple of weeks taking it apart then getting started on the engine rebuild and taking the body down to bare metal. We will remake the wiring harness, which should be reasonably basic in these - few switches as there are. Actually i need to get an FJ25 wiring diagram. In the meantime hoping to get a complete list of parts i need so this thread is incredibly helpful thank you everyone for chiming in. It’ll be fun, but i can’t lie it’s really overwhelming at the moment. I’m prepared for at least a year on this, probably more.
Fortunately the mechanical is for the most part things I can somehow source, even if it will sometimes be quite difficult. But i am planning on taking it back to what it should be.
I’m not sure about the brakes though, that’s one place where I’m ok going with an upgrade. I’ll just have to figure out how to go about it. Any suggestions on an acceptable Toyota upgrade on the brakes? My LV has a booster from a geo metro

I don’t think I’ll go that route.
The Gifu / body part is where it gets difficult since none of the interior or body parts will be available. I need to figure out all the door and window mechanisms. Wipers. Seats. I’m wondering if an FJ55 rear bench could be made to work? This seems narrower though. I wish I had an FJ25 for parts, but then I would kind of hate to take that one apart.
my sister is a graphic designer so I sent her some color options and pictures. I’m hoping she can model them onto the pictures to give us all a visual.
Yes you can get under but not inside vehicles at Barrett... and I peeked inside the engine bay too. But none of this would have dissuaded it’s not like I could say “no I’ll just wait for one that’s more complete”. I felt really lucky to have the opportunity. The one thing that would bum me out is the transmission if it’s not original, I’m going to try to get a better look at that tomorrow. Fingers crossed.
Thanks everyone for all the input. I promise to do my best keeping everyone updated on the progress.