Build 1978 US Market FJ40 Factory Restoration

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Fixed it for you:

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"No Land Cruisers were harmed in the filming of these brochures."

I find it interesting, that the chrome bezel and bumper were not more popular of an "upgrade". Yet, you could order a PTO or electric winch. Noting, also of interest, that if you ordered the electric winch that must have included a new black warn/slotted bumper, fairlead and mounting hardware. Obviously all dealership added goodies here in the US. Pictured above is Sally Fields and Hugh Jackman circa 1977. he he he...
 
Good Morning Dallas

I think it would be a wise move to Rough In your transfer case with a PTO gear now

you have access to draw off the t-case
And make short work of it

then in future , simply pop pto Delete plate off and bolt
On the PTO
Gear box option.

in the USA and Canda markets , toyota could not trust
The average college educated or ex military trained skill sets to operate a PTO properly , Americans would ADD off and forget the Wind-up or
Rewind was in motion and the cable would ecetqlly
Get tangles in bind

Thus the cast iron cases would fracture at the 4 eweek
Spots with the least amount of meat at the bones so to soeak

However :

- Japan SPec

-saudi spec region

- EU destination markets

- and also Global Spec,s like Columbia Spec my 83 FJ43L-kc was born in and at as a CNK. Or knock down unit

Getting to the tech points :

factory toyota made by ASCO corp.

we’re indeed offered up

ina all the non~USA regions

I outline above the entire 1/78-12/78 modle year

I am sure u are familiar with the odd spacer inside your t-case

yuh simply remove the tube like spacer and then install the gear

oarnge FIPG back together 00295-01281 non Hardening, FIXED iN PLACE GASkET material ….

or fipg for short …


I also have oem period correct #10 marked heads for you

one is in today’s mail to you , i would like to contribute to

you quest for a all
Period correct usa spec. Land Cruiser

not sure if we ever spoke about this or not ?

my first car or Land Cruiser was a 12/78 when I was 15 and 9 months.

u. Could get your learners permit if Yuour be parents would chaperone

u you in the shot got gun riding position …

below is my first car and the beginning of a life long passion and life style as well

I am so very very impressed with your period correct attn to Factory

Focus Points Mind Set Approach,s you are applying in generous portions

most excellent my friend

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While a hurricane was festering outside, I decided to repair rust issues on the fenders.

Three identical issues on both fenders.

1. A crack at the running board mount point.
2. 1" x 4" section of rust at the fender brace lip.
3. 3" x 3" section behind the turn signals due to signal brace.

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I cut out the rust and then cleaned and hosed weld-through etching primer on the underside of the braces:

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Cancerous sections:

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In order to properly repair and flatten the 3x3 areas behind the turn signals, I had to drill out the turn signal supports:

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After cleaning and cutting new steel using paper templates, I tacked in new steel.

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This isn't really a new process, I know you have all seen this, but for documentation, I'm writing this up. After grinding:

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Same with the front, welding in the 3x3 sections, then grind, then re-well in the signal support.

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Will look much better breaded on your plate. But, clean and ready for epoxy and plastic work.
 
Oh-h, no-o, now I'm getting the urge again to learn how to weld o_O
 
Last couple mornings/evenings I have been sorting out the bib. If you have good eyes, you can see the dimples on the lower bib in my profile icon to the left.

I had this stashed aside thinking I could pound it flat in preparation to paint. Wrong. Not with this disastoration.

One bonus of swollen rusty metal on metal is the spot welds are VERY easy to locate. I drilled out the spot welds that held in the lower support:

Ugh.....that's not coffee.

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In the above photo, you may also notice little random pieces of metal tacked in place. You guessed it. BONDO on the other side. This bib looks to have been the host of a few different styles of grilles, license plate locations, car alarms, and sack of lies that most cruisers these days have.

So, I plucked those off and cleaned them all out.

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So, the first thing I did was to wire brush/wheel off any of the loose rust to see what bones I was left with. I then pounded everything nice and flat using the good ol hammer and dollies.

The bib is compromised, but there is JUST enough life in this to repair the weak spots, seal it with epoxy and weld it back together. Any more and I'd have to replace the lower section.

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Here, you can see all of the holes/damage I have to fix. There are seven, not including the factory welds for the inner channel. I used a stripper disc to clean off all of the layers of lies. (giggles to himself)

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Cleaned up I can ensure things are flat and begin work on the holes.

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All holes patched except for the spot welds. I then am going to prime the bib and channel and weld back together:

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Ground, prepped and ready for an epoxy primer job on the whole thing:

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I'll have to use a very minor amount of metal glaze or finishing plastic on the places I repaired, but it will be next to minimal with high build primers and blocking.

Thank you for tuning in.
 
Nice work on patching the Titanic. Your FJ40 will now overheat without all that extra flow-through air making it to the radiator! ;-)
 
Another publication update. I *think* I now have all of the Toyota publications that pertain to a 1978 FJ40. I'm sure there are a few more out there, like a radio user manual that came in the glove box?

Anyway - I have learned something cool. There are actually TWO supplements I needed - one for each of the Chassis books. The original chassis & body book, published in 1974, has a companion Supplement published in 1975, which contains the updates to disc axle, and a few others.

The earlier 98127 and its' companion, 98139:

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Then, the updated 98154 and its' companion, 98344 (which is the power steering supplement)

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Sorry, looking for a nicer 98154 original print. Soon!

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The two supplements look similar, but one covers the updates in 1975 and the other covers the updates in 1978.

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To be honest the first Supplement containing the updated axle documentation is contained in the updated 98154, but for Land Cruiser owners/technicians, this data was not available outside of the supplement until 98154 was printed. Same situation with the power steering supplement, it is contained in the tan chassis and body (the thick one I picture above).
 
I was able to find the third 1978 "Land Cruiser" sales brochures for the US Market - not sure why they are so huge, but then again, maybe they wanted them to be annoying and "in the way" to remind people to buy one?

Here are the three that relate to an FJ40:

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Inspired by @GA Architect and his build, I decided to bend up my own fuel lines. Against everyone's suggestion that stainless is a pain to work with, I thought I'd give it a try. I bought a roll of 5/16" stainless tubing from Amazon and found out quickly (especially after building the 'nicop' brake lines) how difficult it is to work with.

Out of the gate - the only effective way to cut this was with a grinder with a cut-off wheel, then using a drill bit and file, cleaning up the cut area.

I used a standard tubing bender and just started at it.

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I had to remove the alternator and mounting bracket so work around the bends.

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With the alternator off, I decided now would be a good time to add some @ToyotaMatt newly plated pieces to make it look even better.

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Fuel lines bent and installed with new hardware as well as the alternator gear:

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Forgot to add, using Matt's "proper" alternator pivot, too:

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Well, more good news. The front doors are effectively.....garbage. I decided to dig into them a bit more today and I have decided the work to get them where I want them is just not worth the trouble.

Rust is one thing, but all of those cobbled fixes (you know....more of those pesky field repairs) warped the hell out of the doors. They are as wavy as the ocean in a storm.

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Before starting the patching process, I decided to take another look before spending hours on fixing them.

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So, with BOTH of them near garbage, I'm setting them aside and looking for a clean/new/straight set. TBD.

The ambulance doors were sourced as a clean set on Mud. They were pretty clean, but one of them needed a new bottom.

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I am using Real Steel bottom and also fixing several little holes drilled for some cover and likely an electrical line to the spare tire/brake light.

I cut out the bottom front and rear above the rust.

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I then matched and cut the front and rear new steel. Here is new and old side by side.

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Measuring and fitting again.

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tacking

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Triple checking measurements.

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Same with the front.

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