About 6 years ago I mentioned something to one of my friends, a Jeep guru, that I wanted a Land Cruiser someday and he said "oh, my uncle has one of those" after trying to buy it for five years the uncle and I became pretty good friends. Finally, on the 6th year I went to see him with $1000 cash in my pocket. I said "are ready to sell that Toyota yet?" He said "what will you give me for it?" I mentioned that I knew he already turned down $750 for it and said "you know, if I don't get a grand for it, the darn thing will just sit there". I pulled the envelope out of my pocket and said "you read my mind".
This all took place last May. This guy bought this thing in 1970, brand new, from Sunshine Toyota in Battle Creek, MI. He drove it for 8 years and parked it in a barn. In the early 90s his son pulled it out to fix it up and drive it. He took some of the trim pieces and lights off and lost interest. When I got it all the stuff that was previously removed was piled in the bed of it.
The fenders, skirts, grill, hood, firewall, windshield, and side doors are great shape. The drivers side floor is gone, tranny hump might be salvageable, both inner & outer rockers are shot as well as both the mid and rear beds. Rear quarters, barn doors, and hatch door are salvageable. I don't have a lot of experience with body work. However, I am a fabricator and a weld line supervisor. I think I can figure it out with a little help from you guys.
I don't know if anyone here will recall or not but a few years ago there was a feature in, I think, Off Road about a green FJ40. If I remember right it was a '74 or '75 built and owned by a guy named Pruitt. Anyway it was a restomod (restored classic with modern technology) he had an Escalade 6.0L, custom dash, autometer gauges, Vintage Air climate control. This thing was BAD. This was my inspiration, I had it pinned up in my garage for a long time. I'm not going to copy Pruitt but I do like the "restomod" idea. I obtained an LT1 5.7L from a '95 Camaro to put it in, going with the 4L60E 4sp automatic, Art Carr shifter, custom dash, Vintage Air, roll cage, bullet proof bumpers, sliders, SOA, etc. We'll see how much changes as the build goes on.
"throughout the history of 4x4s only a few earned the right to be called lengendary. The original FJ40 Toyota Land Cruiser is one of the few" - TLC Icon
This all took place last May. This guy bought this thing in 1970, brand new, from Sunshine Toyota in Battle Creek, MI. He drove it for 8 years and parked it in a barn. In the early 90s his son pulled it out to fix it up and drive it. He took some of the trim pieces and lights off and lost interest. When I got it all the stuff that was previously removed was piled in the bed of it.
The fenders, skirts, grill, hood, firewall, windshield, and side doors are great shape. The drivers side floor is gone, tranny hump might be salvageable, both inner & outer rockers are shot as well as both the mid and rear beds. Rear quarters, barn doors, and hatch door are salvageable. I don't have a lot of experience with body work. However, I am a fabricator and a weld line supervisor. I think I can figure it out with a little help from you guys.
I don't know if anyone here will recall or not but a few years ago there was a feature in, I think, Off Road about a green FJ40. If I remember right it was a '74 or '75 built and owned by a guy named Pruitt. Anyway it was a restomod (restored classic with modern technology) he had an Escalade 6.0L, custom dash, autometer gauges, Vintage Air climate control. This thing was BAD. This was my inspiration, I had it pinned up in my garage for a long time. I'm not going to copy Pruitt but I do like the "restomod" idea. I obtained an LT1 5.7L from a '95 Camaro to put it in, going with the 4L60E 4sp automatic, Art Carr shifter, custom dash, Vintage Air, roll cage, bullet proof bumpers, sliders, SOA, etc. We'll see how much changes as the build goes on.
"throughout the history of 4x4s only a few earned the right to be called lengendary. The original FJ40 Toyota Land Cruiser is one of the few" - TLC Icon
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