1978 Barn door FJ55 "daily driver"

[gonzopancho]

So what’s the story with that one?

Bought it from @TachedOutOffRoad

No drivetrain and a drum brake axle on the front (“WTF?” — @bobm), but has a factory radio, and seems to be mostly there.

Honestly don’t know what to do with it, but I have drivetrain (2F, 4-speed, xfer, driveshafts, axles, brakes, …) from the barn-doored one (which is getting a 2UZ, h152, and 70-series axles), and there was an open spot in a container, so it took the ride to Colombia.

The 2F you see in it came out of the barn-doored one. I can either do a mild restoration on it, drive it for a bit before I sell it, or do a more complete restoration on it, or go nutz and do something like what Clay was going to do with it, but wilder.

one complicating factor is that Colorado is like California. You can put a different engine in, but it has to be a) larger and b) EPA certified. So a 2UZ with an auto would be OK, and a 1FZ with an auto would be OK, but either with a 5-speed or a diesel wouldn’t be acceptable to Colorado.

I can keep Texas plates on it and tell them to just deal, or I can register it in Montana, which is still part of the United States, (no emissions in MT, not emissions in Texas after 25 years, and not st all on Diesel engines) or run inside Colorado’s s***ty rules.

Colorao is also going to be weird about the 80 frame. They’ll want to issue a “remanufactured” / “home built” VIN. MT doesn’t care. Texas doesn’t seem to look.

the other barn door body will be headed (back) to Colombia soon. I don’t really need four fj55s.
So I need a plan. Soon.

 

[gonzopancho]

What's in da boxes

Parts

 

[RUSH55]

Put it back together with the better OEM stuff, get it mechanically sound, and flip it. Or enjoy as stock driver that you putt around town in.

 

[PabloCruise]

So what’s the story with that one?

“Some assembly required”

 

[scrapdaddy]

one complicating factor is that Colorado is like California.

That's because they let too many Californians move there, ruined. Sorry

 

[RUSH55]

True

 

[gonzopancho]

This one is headed to LCH in Colombia now. @FloridaFJ80 called and said there was an opening on a container, and asked if I wanted to send it. I was all, “I’ll let you know tonight.”, but da wife was all, “do it”, so here we go.

Yup. Frank imported it from Colombia (body only) in 2015, it's traded hands three times, (the person I bought it from is a liar and a thief, but it's mine now),

Now it's headed back to Colombia to make it look right.

Gotta wash it first. Rules.

 

[Megadoomer]

That's because they let too many Californians move there, ruined. Sorry

They are taking over Texas now too. It will be a blue state in 10 years.

 

[61twpw]

one complicating factor is that Colorado is like California. You can put a different engine in, but it has to be a) larger and b) EPA certified. So a 2UZ with an auto would be OK, and a 1FZ with an auto would be OK, but either with a 5-speed or a diesel wouldn’t be acceptable to Colorado.

I put a 4bt diesel and a 5 speed in my 1961 Dodge Townwagon Powerwagon while living in Colorado. That was in 2008. When I sold it in 2013 to a fellow on the front range (with emissions required), he had no issues passing and getting registered. Maybe you’re telling them too much information.

 

[gonzopancho]

one complicating factor is that Colorado is like California. You can put a different engine in, but it has to be a) larger and b) EPA certified. So a 2UZ with an auto would be OK, and a 1FZ with an auto would be OK, but either with a 5-speed or a diesel wouldn’t be acceptable to Colorado.

I put a 4bt diesel and a 5 speed in my 1961 Dodge Townwagon Powerwagon while living in Colorado. That was in 2008. When I sold it in 2013 to a fellow on the front range (with emissions required), he had no issues passing and getting registered. Maybe you’re telling them too much information.

well, that's good to know. (being serious.)

All I have thusfar is other people's stories. pre-75 is a bit of an exception.

 

[bobm]

Safety only here! Goes, Stops, terns left. Turns right, all lights work. Good to go . No title necessary for our Vintage

 

[riderjgs]

Easy for me to say since I now live in a part of Colorado that doesn't require emissions testing. And I'll get ready for the flaming sure to follow.
I lived in Denver/Golden/Evergreen from the early '70s to the early 80s, had an office in Denver until 1988 and traveled to the Front Range very frequently (sometimes weekly) until 2007. While living over there, we watched the "brown cloud" creep uphill along I-70, first to Morrison, then Genessee and finally to the Evergreen exit off I-70. At times Denver's air was worse than Los Angeles. Not so anymore thanks to a lot of things, cleaner cars AND emissions testing included. So, in my world, some things are a bit more important than the ability to do whatever we want with our post-1975 vehicles, air quality be damned.
Jumping off the soap box now. Fire away.

 

[Megadoomer]

I agree with you Jim. LA and the Bay Area was terrible in the 80s. Now it is really nice. Hot days with no wind might show some smog in the valleys. It can be a pain with project cars but being able to breath is pretty nice. We have more people in CA than all of Canada and the most populace state in the union. Something had to be done.

 

[PabloCruise]

Easy for me to say since I now live in a part of Colorado that doesn't require emissions testing. And I'll get ready for the flaming sure to follow.
I lived in Denver/Golden/Evergreen from the early '70s to the early 80s, had an office in Denver until 1988 and traveled to the Front Range very frequently (sometimes weekly) until 2007. While living over there, we watched the "brown cloud" creep uphill along I-70, first to Morrison, then Genessee and finally to the Evergreen exit off I-70. At times Denver's air was worse than Los Angeles. Not so anymore thanks to a lot of things, cleaner cars AND emissions testing included. So in my world, some things are a bit more important than the ability to do whatever we want with our post-1975 vehicles, air quality be damned.
Jumping off the soap box now. Fire away.

Getting rid of the sand on the roads in winter was a big air quality win as well, eh?

 

[gonzopancho]

Easy for me to say since I now live in a part of Colorado that doesn't require emissions testing. And I'll get ready for the flaming sure to follow.
I lived in Denver/Golden/Evergreen from the early '70s to the early 80s, had an office in Denver until 1988 and traveled to the Front Range very frequently (sometimes weekly) until 2007. While living over there, we watched the "brown cloud" creep uphill along I-70, first to Morrison, then Genessee and finally to the Evergreen exit off I-70. At times Denver's air was worse than Los Angeles. Not so anymore thanks to a lot of things, cleaner cars AND emissions testing included. So, in my world, some things are a bit more important than the ability to do whatever we want with our post-1975 vehicles, air quality be damned.
Jumping off the soap box now. Fire away.

I'm all for air quality. Have you compared the emissions from a F.5 with a 3-speed to a 1FZ-FE with a 5-speed?

 

[riderjgs]

Last running F engine I owned was in a brand new '73 FJ40. Only kept it a few years. Never got the '76 Pig running before flipping it. I'm pretty sure the TBI 350 in my Pig is cleaner.

 

[bobm]

Me too. When and where it's needed. And we do have a 96 and newer smog here. Air is a lot cleaner up here, and always has been

 

[gonzopancho]

Last running F engine I owned was in a brand new '73 FJ40. Only kept it a few years. Never got the '76 Pig running before flipping it. I'm pretty sure the TBI 350 in my Pig is cleaner.

Ain’t no doubt about it.

Had to smog the1974 fj40 in NV after I finished it back in 2003. When I got it it had a carbed 350 and TH400 in it, but the bellhousing was cracked all the way around.

So I stuck a 5.7 vortec and 4L40e in it, connected the OBD2 port and everything. Pointed it out to the guy at the emissions station.

Nope. He didn’t care. It’s a 74, so he shoved the probe up the tailpipe. The needle on the tester barely moved. Brought the throttle up to 2000rpm. Needle still didn’t move.

Passed by a mile, and that was a 1996 engine. A 1fz-fe had to pass the same EPA (and CARB) rules.

That’s the thing. If the rules were “cleaner than it was when manufactured”, I’d have zero complaint.

But no, we get stupid stuff, has to be an EPA-certified engine, and they only care about being able to read the ODB-2 port to see if the ECU has declared “ready”, and there are no stored codes.


(I still have it.)

 

[gonzopancho]

More progress.

 

[gonzopancho]

More progress on the ambit-doored fj55