1966 FJ40 preservation/build (1 Viewer)

[middlecalf]

My kind of fix. Love it. Even with the Coors (doesn't Oregon have some great micro-brews? )

 

[daner]

My kind of fix. Love it. Even with the Coors (doesn't Oregon have some great micro-brews? )

Thanks, It is what it is, I'm broke and have to make do with what I have. Except for the Beer- probably could swing one of those tasty microbrews, but would still take a Coors.

 

[wesintl]

coors yellow bellys are great. Nice work on the cruiser. love the early ones!

 

[daner]

After watching a few YouTube videos, I'm starting to get comfortable working with fiberglass. Of course, the upside of working with a top that is not restoration quality is that messing it up (worse case scenario) doesn't really matter. It does make me appreciate the skill and patience a high-level restoration takes.

Flipped her over and am working on the topside now:

 

[daner]

And a few more pics: I built up the lip with a few layers of fiberglass then riveted it to the metal subframe. I also cut a piece of aluminum to brace the interior, which looks a little ghetto...but really stabilizes the weak and floppy fiberglass-and is reversible if I decide to do a restoration rather than just preservation

 

[daner]

Just a hypothetical question: Rewire the whole truck or try to patch together the existing 50 year old harness? What have ya'll done on yours?

 

[daner]

I think the question is answering itself. To borrow a term from our Aussie friends, the electrical system on this ol girl is in worse nick than anticipated....feel free to correct me if I used "nick" in the wrong context, it just seems the Aussies have better words for the same things.

 

[daner]

I was able to find a small brass wire wheel for my Dremel that fit inside the light bulb socket and polish it to clean metal. despite having had an inch of moldy crud, both are now working

 

[daner]

After spending the afternoon on it, it is clear that the rest of the wiring harness is not happy. I hooked up the fuse box (after cleaning the contacts and replacing the fuses) for the first time to see what worked and what doesn't....and nothing works. No wipers, no lights, no heater etc.

 

[BretwithoneT]

@Coolerman is using my old original as a pattern and makes a sweet new one with original connectors and better factory colored wiring. Worth every penny.

 

[oregon fj]

Sounds like your wiring is much like I thought mine was. Nothing worked on mine either, despite fiddling with the fuses and cleaning the fuse box. I replaced the fuse box with a new one and suddenly everything was better. I will still have @Coolerman make me a new rear chassis harness, as the tail light section of mine was hashed during multiple trailer wiring episodes by the original owner. But the rest of the harness seems pretty good now that I did the fuse box and removed all the stuff the PO added.

 

[daner]

That answers my question about availability of a new wiring harness. After hearing Oregon fj's experience I'm going to give the old harness one more chance next weekend before doing anything drastic. Thanks for the help and feedback.

 

[HelloKitty65]

My fairly boring stuff-and to be frank I'm not really sure why I bother as the top is so rough it is beyond saving as far as restoration goes, but I'm hoping to salvage it as far as daily driveable goes.

The fiberglass part of the top is creased and cracked. It leaks and cannot be driven as it will certainly do its impression of a sardine can if I get over 50mph...so I'm reinforcing the fiberglass in the creased areas with a fiberglass cloth and a healthy layer of fiberglass resin. Let's see how this goes:

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The wasps nest is a nice touch...

 

[daner]

I didn't count them, but there had to be about a dozen wasp nests.

 

[HelloKitty65]

I think the question is answering itself. To borrow a term from our Aussie friends, the electrical system on this ol girl is in worse nick than anticipated....feel free to correct me if I used "nick" in the wrong context, it just seems the Aussies have better words for the same things.

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Going to restore the rear end? I took a similar bumper off, it weighed 130 lbs.

 

[daner]

Going to restore the rear end? I took a similar bumper off, it weighed 130 lbs.

130lbs? Ouch, didn't realize it was that heavy.

I am going to keep it unless I decide to paint the truck. Currently have no plans to repaint as I like the original Lily white, warts and all.

 

[daner]

Thinking about the weight if the bumper: A few weeks back I took the FJ40 down to a local certified scale. With no top, doors, full tank of gas she only weighed 3150 lbs. if I did pull that bumper she would be down to a svelte 3000lbs or so.

 

[HelloKitty65]

Thinking about the weight if the bumper: A few weeks back I took the FJ40 down to a local certified scale. With no top, doors, full tank of gas she only weighed 3150 lbs. if I did pull that bumper she would be down to a svelte 3000lbs or so.

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Svelt is good. I _agonized_ over pulling mine. It's a beautiful piece, and oh so functional. See my media pics. It had a tiny, precise cutout for the lower spare tire hinge, and a deeper platform, so probably heavier than yours. But I'm glad I spent half a day on it. You'll need something else to make ~3,000. What did they weigh new?

 

[oregon fj]

The ‘63 sales flyer shows FST curb weight 3263 lbs., hard top at 3414 lbs.

Looking at your picture above, doors, seats (incl. jump seats) and spare tire will add a noticeable amount.

 

[daner]

Two weeks later, we finally have taillights.

Sometimes I wonder if I have angered the Land Cruiser Gods, or if the Land Cruiser Gods want to test me and see if I am worthy by making every step towards getting this truck roadworthy as difficult and frustrating as possible.