Build 1977 FJ40 - USA Spec Restoration - Father & Son Project - AKA "Blue"

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dad4x4 said:
The frame looks great. Keep up the progress and don't be afraid to reach out as I am local and also restoring a 77 and I may have some parts if you end up needing something. I bought a parts 77 a few years ago to help with my build and I still have parts left from it.
You guys are doing great, keep it up

Derrick
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I will be contacting you! I do need a few little misc parts. I will PM you with a list of what I know I need.

Thank You!!!

Matthew
 
We just bought this 2018 VW Atlas. I tried to talk my wife into a new Sequoia, 4Runner, or Highlander... but in the end I let her decide (Happy wife = happy life) :rofl:!!


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Came out to visit my dad for Christmas. He lives in Glenwood Springs Colorado. It is only 2.5 hours from Moab Utah. I hope to bring the FJ40 next year and do some wheeling!!

Definitely gonna be a WHITE Christmas!

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I got back from Colorado last night and these were in my garage. I have a couple more days off and hope to get a few things done.

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I soaked the U-Bolt nuts in PB-Blaster and let is soak for about 30 mins. I thought a tire-iron might work best, but my Craftsman breaker ratchet did the job. I was surprised that they came off pretty easy.

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Pulled off the leaf-springs. Next I will disassemble them, clean and paint.

Looks like I am going to be spending some time with the old angle grinder and wire wheel for the next few days :rofl:! I am making sure to "Bag and Tag" everything.

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The passenger side rear break cylinders were leaking pretty bad. I will probably just replace all of them since I am tearing it down this far. I will do the whole nine yards... brake shoes, cylinders, etc. I will also measure the drums and see if they can be turned or need to be replaced.

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I'm really enjoying your thread. Bought a 74 FJ40 in Nov., and plan is to restore with my 5 boys. This is my first attempt at restoring a vehicle. Would love to do an off the frame restoration at some point, but may just stop the rust for now. Lacking the confidence to go all in at this point. Cool to see how supportive everyone is on this forum. The more time i spend here the more confident I become. Keep up the good work and keep posting for those of us watching closely.
 
74FJ40newbie said:
I'm really enjoying your thread. Bought a 74 FJ40 in Nov., and plan is to restore with my 5 boys. This is my first attempt at restoring a vehicle. Would love to do an off the frame restoration at some point, but may just stop the rust for now. Lacking the confidence to go all in at this point. Cool to see how supportive everyone is on this forum. The more time i spend here the more confident I become. Keep up the good work and keep posting for those of us watching closely.
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I sent you a PM
 
Good work. Just a quick note: spotted a TLC4x4 sticker above the heater opening on your firewall--so your truck has been out West. Has it come from California and any sign of the work done at TLC?
 
Bear said:
Good work. Just a quick note: spotted a TLC4x4 sticker above the heater opening on your firewall--so your truck has been out West. Has it come from California and any sign of the work done at TLC?
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Hey Bear,

This tub is not the original tub. The original tub was rusted pretty bad so the PO found this one in Birmingham Alabama, so I don't know the history of this tub. I think it is an early 77 or earlier. It has a cowl vent and from my research, I think those disappeared in early 77. Not sure if I am going to keep it or not.

My new tub has brand new back quarters and wheel wells and is now 100% rust free. Here is a pic of the original tub or what is left of it.

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I can't decide if I am going to keep the cowl vent or not. The original tub did not have it, but my new tub does. It is not a functional vent right now, so I would have to make it functional or cut it out.

I could use some advice here??? Thoughts???

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I would weld in a panel and fill that space. It's basically just a rust trap at this point. No need to keep it. And even if it was functioning how often would you use it?

:)
 
I welded a flat plate in below the grille, and kept the grille. Was more work, but I liked the look of the grille. It really opened up a TON of real estate under the dash! I agree with @thecrazygreek mine was a major rust trap.
 
thecrazygreek said:
I would weld in a panel and fill that space. It's basically just a rust trap at this point. No need to keep it. And even if it was functioning how often would you use it?

:)
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OK - I read a couple threads here on the cowl vent and heard ya'lls advice. It seems like most every says to get rid of it. This is one of the many times I am really thankful for all the wisdom found in this forum!

I am going to cut out the box and weld in a panel to cover it up. It would be cool to have if it was functional. It is hot down here in Atlanta, and I don't plan to put A/C in it anytime soon. That being said, it's not functional, and I don't want to always be worrying about rust and crud accumulating in there.

I do kind of like the look of it, but I want to keep the truck looking mostly original. I am not doing a 100% factory perfect original restoration, but I like the idea of returning it to the way it originally came from the factory. If it were an earlier model and came with the vent, I might seal it up and keep the cover for looks, but it didn't have one originally.

I might do after market rims or some other upgrades (lockers, bumpers, etc), but don't want to modify the truck to were it can't be put back to original condition pretty easily.

OK... I am getting ahead of myself... I am a long way from picking out rims, tires and bumpers... so back to cleaning and rebuilding the suspension... I post some more pics tonight.

Thanks guys!!
 
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