scoobiedubes
SILVER Star
Hello all, as some of you already know I bought Peterman's 66 LV last week and it's on its way back to Arizona right now. Hopefully I'll have it by this weekend! I've had 3 FJ40's and 2 FJ43's and honestly never thought I'd have a chance to own an LV but absolutely thrilled to find this one - I've got two very small children and I'm excited to be able to have something we can all ride in.
My understanding is this is actually an original Arizona LV, Marc said it was a geology professor's at U of A until he bought it and restored it, so that would make me the 3rd owner I think? I actually got it registered this morning and the DMV confirmed that it was first registered in AZ in december of 1966. This one is a 4 on the floor now, so not quite original drivetrain but having had a 3 on the tree in the past I think the 4sp is a nice upgrade - personal preference though I'm sure.
The truck is in really good shape overall, although having spent the last 8 years near the coast it is showing a bit of surface rust. I'm not sure that I'll do anything about that for now since best as I can tell it's cosmetic only at this point and it's coming back to the desert, but have a few things to go through and a couple I was hoping to get some suggestions on from the community.
My understanding is this is actually an original Arizona LV, Marc said it was a geology professor's at U of A until he bought it and restored it, so that would make me the 3rd owner I think? I actually got it registered this morning and the DMV confirmed that it was first registered in AZ in december of 1966. This one is a 4 on the floor now, so not quite original drivetrain but having had a 3 on the tree in the past I think the 4sp is a nice upgrade - personal preference though I'm sure.
The truck is in really good shape overall, although having spent the last 8 years near the coast it is showing a bit of surface rust. I'm not sure that I'll do anything about that for now since best as I can tell it's cosmetic only at this point and it's coming back to the desert, but have a few things to go through and a couple I was hoping to get some suggestions on from the community.
- Tires - The tires on it are 8 years old, in Arizona I usually try not to let them go beyond 5 so I'm going to put some new ones on. I've always liked the "tall skinny" look tires but have no idea how they ride. Anyone with a troopy or LV put anything like that on, and any suggestions for size / model?
- Like a lot of LV's apparently it is missing the rear bumper. I saw a thread that I've bookmarked where buckroseau made a bumper and I thought it looked pretty great, so I'm hoping to find someone that can make me one. If there are any other suggestions / templates that anyone suggests following let me know.
- It also has a non-stock front bumper, but the stock bumper looks pretty similar to the 40 front bumpers - if I bought a 40 bumper would it be bolt-on? Or is this another thing I should look into having fabbed?
- I've always upgraded my FJ's to electronic ignition and put in a pertronix coil, easy upgrade and it made the biggest difference with the 72 F that I had, but was also considering putting in a double-barrel carb on this one (keeping the original of course for backdating later if desired). Anyone else put in a double-barrel, and was the difference significant?
I will need to get the nostalgic AC working properly before June (belt slips) when it hits 100 here in Phoenix. Otherwise it's pretty close to stock and we will just enjoy it. Definitely needs a tune for the new elevation though, will tackle that next week. New 16" wheels should be here around christmastime so I will hold off on tires until those arrive. Still debating black vs gray, I guess I'll see how it looks with the black first. 
