1982 fj40 lx

[dspan]

Hi Everyone,

This is maybe my second thread. A few people have asked me for photos, I will be posting them in a few minutes. I have had my FJ40 for about 8 months and it has undergone a number of changes. I wanted an FJ40 for many many years, and I have been thinking (after checking my bank statements) maybe I was better off just looking at photos. Nah... these things are amazing!!! Better yet, this forum is just insane, you all should be committed, seriously. I don't know most of you yet, but the kindness and willingness to help others renews my faith in humanity. I hope that when I am done, I can help others by contributing something useful to this forum.

Below (hopefully) will be some photos of my FJ40 LX Landcruiser. This particular FJ40 supposedly visited the Sahara briefly, but lived in Australia where it crossed and cruised the Outback, then took a boat from Australia to Martha's Vineyard, which is where I found it. I was looking into the dash from under the steering column and I saw what looked like pottery. I thought maybe someone was smuggling artifacts or something. I took the whole dash apart and removed about 50 pounds of clay! They were Australian Mud Wasp homes (looked them up on the internet), and they were pretty amazing. Anyway... The tub was a disaster when I bought it, but I really wanted an LX so I decided it was worth saving. The mustard yellow with the weird orange stripes and ugly brown interior just called to me like the saddest ugly duckling... "Save me, please". What else could I do?

The LX package, as many of you know has a few odd offerings:

-Full Carpet and Tons of Brown Plastic Panels
-Zebra Stripe Double Bench Seats (6 Seat Belts)
-Three Windshield Wipers
-Power Front Discs
-OEM Power Steering
-Sliding Rear Side Windows
-NO Rollbar
-Digital Clock!
-5 Speed
-Dealer Installed Fluorescent Orange/Brown Body Graphics
-Dealer Installed Liquid Propane System

Punchlist:

-New Aluminum Body Tub (Done)
-New Gas Tank Rust-Proofed Black (Done)
-New Exhaust (Done)
-Clean up Frame, Needle Blast, Paint Black (Done)
-Straighten Frame to Factory Specs (Done)
-New Interior Carpeting (Done)
-Repair Ugly Front Bumper (Done)
-Recondition Wiper Arms and New Blades (Done)
-Replace Missing Antenna (Done)
-New Side Mirrors (Done)
-New E-Brake Cable (Done)
-Repair Dome Light, New Wiring (Done)
-New Marker Lights (Done)
-New Front Lights (Done)
-New Rear Bumper (Done)
-New Bumperettes (Done)
-New Tow Hitch (Done)
-New Rear Lights (Done)
-Recondition Rear License Plate Holder (Done)
-Replace Interior Door Handles (Done)
-Replace Exterior Door Handles (Done)
-Dash Pad Cover (Done)
-Stereo w/iPod in Glove Box (Done)
-Driver Stereo Remote mounted in Dash Panel (Done)
-Pioneer Speakers Mounted Under Rear Bench
-New ARB OME Full Suspension - 2.5" Lift (Done)
-New ARM OME Steering Dampener (Ordered)
-New 15" White Steel Wagon Wheels (Just arrived)
-New BFG M/T 33x10.5x15 Tires (Due in next week)
-New Ambulance Doors (Due in next week, thanks Butch)
-New Aluminum Radiator Holder (Due in next week)
-New OEM Grill (Arrived but not installed)

-Repair Rust on Bottom of Front Doors (Skins?)
-Paint Radiator Cover Inside/Out Mustard
-Paint New Ambulance Doors Inside/Out Mustard
-Sandblast and Paint Spare Holder Rack Mustard
-Repair Rust on Left Windshield Column
-Repair Rust Front Edge of Top
-Repair Top Rust on Left Back Corner below Curved Glass
-New Seals on New Ambulance Doors
-Replace all Front Door Seals
-Recondition/Paint Sliding Rear Window Frames, Black Paint
-Install Ambulance Door Glass w/ New Window Seals
-Investigate Transmission "Whirring" Sounds
-Wire Brush, Clean and Paint Both Axles
-Find a padded bag to help Jack and Road Gear
-Buy HFS Bumper w/ Rollers and WARN Winch
-Seats and Frames Recon, Clean Re-use Zebra Fabric, New Vinyl, New Padding
-Find Someplace to Mount Front Speakers
-Recondition All Engine Components to Factory New
-Repaint the ENTIRE Vehicle OEM "Toyota Mustard"

 

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[3jvj]

Nice outfit.


Welcome to mud, and thanks for the pics.

 

[baas]

Very nice mate, thanks for sharing. The LX's are really cool. Looks like you've made a fair bit of progress in the 8 months, well done And clear to see you are also addicted and should be committed too

I don't believe the LPG systems were standard OEM - very common after market thing done here in Australia though (BTW the fuel companies figured out they could charge more for the LPG to the point where it is almost not worth doing that conversion here anymore.)

And that mustard colour is just beautiful, keep the pics coming!

 

[dspan]

LPG

Yeah, The LPG setup is not OEM, but it was supposedly installed by the dealership back in 1982. Strange that a dealer would do that, and I might never know the real story, but it is interesting. The LPG tank had to be removed for import into the US but I might hook my gas grill up to it someday.

 

[Slowerthanu]

Yeah, The LPG setup is not OEM, but it was supposedly installed by the dealership back in 1982. Strange that a dealer would do that, and I might never know the real story, but it is interesting. The LPG tank had to be removed for import into the US but I might hook my gas grill up to it someday.

Not at all strange back then, it was much cheaper and doesn't pollute as much.

I run LPG and love it, dual fuel would be pretty cool too.

 

[AdamKFarmer]

Man, that looks sharp! Keep up the good work. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the white wheel options that were available on the '82s were the white "D" hole ones. Similar to the FJ60 wheels but not chrome.

 

[subzali]

LPG can be used with a diesel engine? Looks very sharp!

 

[bikersmurf]

Not at all strange back then, it was much cheaper and doesn't pollute as much.

I run LPG and love it, dual fuel would be pretty cool too.

Performance is better if set up to run on only LPG since timing is different.

 

[dspan]

Man, that looks sharp! Keep up the good work. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the white wheel options that were available on the '82s were the white "D" hole ones. Similar to the FJ60 wheels but not chrome.

Yup are correct sir. The OEM wheels looks a bit different, but the problem with the OEM wheels is that they are only 5.5" wide, and as you may know, it is really hard to get 9.5" wide tires from BFG anymore, so I pretty much had to run 10.5" wide, which are still tough to get. A 10.5" on a 5.5" wide rim is a stretch, although still possible from what I have read.

The wheels in the photos are aftermarkets and all pitted and rusted, the new wheels I got from 4WP and look very similar but are actually shiny and new. The new wheels are 15" x 8" wide. There are a bunch of threads about this but in short, you should buy wheels with 3.75" backspacing and then use a 1/4" spacer to get the proper clearance. I did a test fit of just the wheel two days ago and they fit great.

The new BFG 33x10.5x15 should be in at the end of next week, hoping to have them mounted, balanced and installed by next weekend. I will take some additional pics when I get them on so you can see the difference.

I took some quick measurements, the 31 year old suspension was getting a bit weak, so the 2.5" OME suspension actually gave me about 3" of lift and now with the 33" BFGs that adds another 1", so it should be about 4" higher than stock.

 

[Roberto]

very nice rig. If you ever get down to the MD area hit me up. I have an 83' BJ42 LX.

R

 

[Poser]

LPG can be used with a diesel engine? Looks very sharp!

Where is the diesel engine?

Looks like a gasoline 2F to me.







Google/you tube propane injection for diesel engines.

 

[Folkert]

strange setup indeed, LX cruisers should have a 3B Diesel engine not a 2F engine, also noted the straight corners at the ambulance doors... looks like an older (FJ) tub is used in the past combined with the newer rounded corner ambulance doors, also the front doors look seem like they dont fit...misalignment with the hardtop. Older doors were a lillte smaller?
make sure when you swap your tub, its a 1979+ one...

 

[JohnnyC]

strange setup indeed, LX cruisers should have a 3B Diesel engine not a 2F engine, also noted the straight corners at the ambulance doors... looks like an older (FJ) tub is used in the past combined with the newer rounded corner ambulance doors, also the front doors look seem like they dont fit...misalignment with the hardtop. Older doors were a lillte smaller?
make sure when you swap your tub, its a 1979+ one...

the LX came diesel or petrol

love to see more of the LPG set-up...maybe even one day in person I dont think they would have put this setup on at the dealer...since they used a weber carb for the conversion....but...anything is possible

what carb is it? a 32/36 or 38?

 

[Fast Eddy]

Yup are correct sir. The OEM wheels looks a bit different, but the problem with the OEM wheels is that they are only 5.5" wide,

The steel hubcap wheels are 5.5". The OEM Wagons are 6" wide.

IMO, they'd be ok with 31.5 or 33x10.5 MT tires, but the flat tread profile of the ATs will be bowed when installed on narrow rims. It's maybe not unsafe, but it looks weird.

 

[JohnnyC]

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-seri...rs-manuals-factory-lit-etc-7.html#post2936786

post #126-127 originals from 'Otis' ... enjoy

 

[dspan]

strange setup indeed, LX cruisers should have a 3B Diesel engine not a 2F engine, also noted the straight corners at the ambulance doors... looks like an older (FJ) tub is used in the past combined with the newer rounded corner ambulance doors, also the front doors look seem like they dont fit...misalignment with the hardtop. Older doors were a lillte smaller?
make sure when you swap your tub, its a 1979+ one...

I saw in a later post that someone explained the multiple engine options, but despite the black smoke and smell, I really wish I had the diesel, that would be cooler. The door alignment issues are because the tub is a brand new aluminum tub, very high quality, and the company that made the tub only has the squared corners, you have a great eye for seeing that. The new ambulance doors are due in this week and I will make them fit perfect and the doors are supposedly in perfect condition. They will also be painted the OEM color Toyota Mustard Yellow. The side doors also need to be repaired on the bottoms and aligned. They are angled slightly downward front to back, about 2 degrees, which I think I can fix by just adjusting the screws. I am going to do by best to get them lined up, but I don't think I will ever be rolling ball bearings along the seams like in those old lexus commercials.

If anyone wants the ambulance doors or radiator cover shown in the pictures, I would be willing to trade them for just about anything, especially door seal or window seal kits for a 1982.

 

[subzali]

Where is the diesel engine?

Looks like a gasoline 2F to me.







Google/you tube propane injection for diesel engines.

the LX came diesel or petrol

love to see more of the LPG set-up...maybe even one day in person I dont think they would have put this setup on at the dealer...since they used a weber carb for the conversion....but...anything is possible

what carb is it? a 32/36 or 38?

:whoops: was reading too fast, and scanned the engine picture way too fast to make out the 2F. I've never seen an FJ40 LX before and thought all LX's were BJ42s. My bad

 

[Living in the Past]

Great looking cruiser. Three point seat belts for the back seat in 82. In the US the first Land Cruiser with three point seats belts in the back was the 89 FJ62. Curious is it really a 82 or a early 83? Maybe the LX got the insert dash earlier. Also the round multi switch to the right of the speedo, what is that for? Looks something like one of the climit control switches in a fourth gen. 4Runner. The bezel behind also looks like the pattern of the tach on the diesel models. Did this cruiser start life as a diesel? Either way it's a great cruiser. I would love to find a rust out one just to get the LX interior.