Hello MUD. Back in September of last year I purchased a 1972 FJ40 as a long-term project from someone who lived west of Denver around Ken-Carl canyon for $900. The previous owner said he had been using the vehicle to plow snow from his driveway for the past four or five years and killed it in the process in the spring of 2005 -- the engine actually has holes in the side of the block and oil pan with connecting rods poking through in multiple locations. As history he said he had purchased the vehicle from a friend who had bought it new at Stevinson Toyota. The engine was rebuilt around 1981 with about 160k on it. The PO told me a couple of brothers who had a small shop took it home and did the rebuild. They also did all the maintenance work on it and now have a larger shop out on Colfax east of I-225. [Anyone know which shop it could be? Doesn’t really matter but might be a source for more history.] As part of the package, I got an extra F block and two cylinder heads - just bits and pieces really. At this point, my plan is to just get the old cruiser running again and have some fun driving it while I slowly bring it back to its original condition. Not wanting to do a complete rebuild of an F block, I just purchased a supposedly running ’75 2F for $500.
Now the fun begins along with questions for the board! So far, all I’ve done is clean up the 2F and ordered some port plugs to block off the air injection manifold. I’m open to any and all suggestions on how to best approach this project. Again, the goal is to simply get the Cruiser back on the road and restore it over time.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Here are a few photos of the project:
The previous owner blew up the F motor plowing the drive of his mountain home. Here's what the old FJ40 looked like when I picked it up.
After a little clean-up and wax
Now the fun begins along with questions for the board! So far, all I’ve done is clean up the 2F and ordered some port plugs to block off the air injection manifold. I’m open to any and all suggestions on how to best approach this project. Again, the goal is to simply get the Cruiser back on the road and restore it over time.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Here are a few photos of the project:
The previous owner blew up the F motor plowing the drive of his mountain home. Here's what the old FJ40 looked like when I picked it up.
After a little clean-up and wax
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