Hello everyone....After about a year of trolling and gawking at some awesome pictures and great threads, I’ve been inspired to tell my story, both an effort to document my build and make for good conversation.
First, a little back round... I had my first experience with a 40 back in 1992. I was a freshman at Colorado Mountain College in Steamboat Springs, CO. I’m from Indiana, so this laid back mountain life was a big change for me (Awesome experience)! One Saturday before ski season, there wasn’t much going on so we were all kind of new in the dorms and one local kid invited a few of us to go off roading /cruising/logging road adventuring. When I saw what he was driving, I was kind of taken away. It was a white jeep looking thing, that just had something about it. It had a hard top with ambulance style doors and parallel jump seats for the back seat. Well, I wasn’t really a car guy, but I did know it wasn’t a jeep (mainly because I had one waiting for me back in IN). Sure enough it was a Toyota Fj40. Something about the looks and the rareness of that thing just stuck with me.
Fast forward 22 years later...the internet, Facebook, twitter, etc. One of my “Facebook friends” posted a picture of a beautiful red jeep looking thing for sale. I recognized that look and realized, that’s a Toyota. Once I saw it I immediately had a memory of my buddies in CO. Here is the picture that sparked my current addiction..,..
About 5 months after initially seeing the picture I touched base with him to see if it was still for sale. Of course, as luck (or fate) would have it, still for sale. He explained to me how there is a strange “Cult like” following for these things and told me to google a little bit and see the values and what not. He also said, his uncle bought it new back in 1978 and it’s been in his family ever since. It has been sitting in his garage for the past 10 years or so. Well, it really looked good in the pictures. He told me the price and got it running for me.
Another strange fate like thing to this story is when he gave me directions to his house to come and look at it, his house was real close to mine, like less then a mile. The water pump was bad and the radiator was cracked, but man did it look good. His garage was one of those garages that everything was clean, and organized like a room in the house and just as much attention was given to the FJ. Since it had not been driven in so many years it was part of the garage!
He told me he had a hard top and doors for it as well, but did not know the condition of them since the doors were in his parents barn and the top had been sitting next to the barn for the last 15 years. I ended up buying it and trying to slowly drive it home that is to its new home. I made it, but when I got home it got up to temperature and radiator fluid spued out of the crack. Other then the rust colored mess, not a big deal. It did drive like a steamroller though due to the 15” wide Mickey Thompsons and no power steering.
When we went to pick up the top and doors from his parents house, they actually lived on the same street as me just a few houses down. Now, how strange is that that this cruiser and it parts have been sitting less then a mile from me for the last 15 years! Crazy!
Now I have already made some major changes to the cruiser, but I’m going to try and go through it and draw it out like I’m doing it as I write. I want to document the pictures and changes I've made and find this a great source for that, kind of like a therapy. I do have a ways to go to get her the way I want but I've got plenty of time.
The first items I intended to do were, Steps 1-3, replace the radiator, water pump, and get a power steering conversion. Then I would drive it around for the summer and go from there.
Here is some pictures of how it was when I got it. One thing that's been somewhat negative is it has a fiberglass body. This has caused some problems, but I believe I've turned it into a positive (other then value)
Me Driving away. He sent me this pic later. Sure it was a sad day for him.
More to come.
Brian
First, a little back round... I had my first experience with a 40 back in 1992. I was a freshman at Colorado Mountain College in Steamboat Springs, CO. I’m from Indiana, so this laid back mountain life was a big change for me (Awesome experience)! One Saturday before ski season, there wasn’t much going on so we were all kind of new in the dorms and one local kid invited a few of us to go off roading /cruising/logging road adventuring. When I saw what he was driving, I was kind of taken away. It was a white jeep looking thing, that just had something about it. It had a hard top with ambulance style doors and parallel jump seats for the back seat. Well, I wasn’t really a car guy, but I did know it wasn’t a jeep (mainly because I had one waiting for me back in IN). Sure enough it was a Toyota Fj40. Something about the looks and the rareness of that thing just stuck with me.
Fast forward 22 years later...the internet, Facebook, twitter, etc. One of my “Facebook friends” posted a picture of a beautiful red jeep looking thing for sale. I recognized that look and realized, that’s a Toyota. Once I saw it I immediately had a memory of my buddies in CO. Here is the picture that sparked my current addiction..,..
About 5 months after initially seeing the picture I touched base with him to see if it was still for sale. Of course, as luck (or fate) would have it, still for sale. He explained to me how there is a strange “Cult like” following for these things and told me to google a little bit and see the values and what not. He also said, his uncle bought it new back in 1978 and it’s been in his family ever since. It has been sitting in his garage for the past 10 years or so. Well, it really looked good in the pictures. He told me the price and got it running for me.
Another strange fate like thing to this story is when he gave me directions to his house to come and look at it, his house was real close to mine, like less then a mile. The water pump was bad and the radiator was cracked, but man did it look good. His garage was one of those garages that everything was clean, and organized like a room in the house and just as much attention was given to the FJ. Since it had not been driven in so many years it was part of the garage!
He told me he had a hard top and doors for it as well, but did not know the condition of them since the doors were in his parents barn and the top had been sitting next to the barn for the last 15 years. I ended up buying it and trying to slowly drive it home that is to its new home. I made it, but when I got home it got up to temperature and radiator fluid spued out of the crack. Other then the rust colored mess, not a big deal. It did drive like a steamroller though due to the 15” wide Mickey Thompsons and no power steering.
When we went to pick up the top and doors from his parents house, they actually lived on the same street as me just a few houses down. Now, how strange is that that this cruiser and it parts have been sitting less then a mile from me for the last 15 years! Crazy!
Now I have already made some major changes to the cruiser, but I’m going to try and go through it and draw it out like I’m doing it as I write. I want to document the pictures and changes I've made and find this a great source for that, kind of like a therapy. I do have a ways to go to get her the way I want but I've got plenty of time.
The first items I intended to do were, Steps 1-3, replace the radiator, water pump, and get a power steering conversion. Then I would drive it around for the summer and go from there.
Here is some pictures of how it was when I got it. One thing that's been somewhat negative is it has a fiberglass body. This has caused some problems, but I believe I've turned it into a positive (other then value)
Me Driving away. He sent me this pic later. Sure it was a sad day for him.
More to come.
Brian
