1986 FJ60 Frame Off Restoration (1 Viewer)

[Aircooled1]

I've been working on this restoration for a while and using your knowledge and I was inspired by another member posting their work here. I know how much I enjoy reading other build threads, whether its an awesome off road build or a concours restoration. So I thought I would contribute some pics and stories for everyone to enjoy if they like. This Fj60 prod 4/86 was orig sold in Dallas to a texas instruments executive. Daily driven in Dallas for a while. Still has the original Texas instruments parking sticker on the front bumper. I'm not taking that off. ever. It was then moved to a ranch outside of Telluride. It must have been driven in summers because there was virtually no rust. 117k miles. I believe I'm the second owner as I got it through a dealer who found it. My initial intention was to get a rough 60 and totally redo it and put a sniper and desmog it. Maybe paint it one of the olive greens from FJ40 era with the SOR seats and carpet. But once I got this one home, and started going through it i found that it was way too nice and original to do anything but as close to factory as i could reasonably get. Factory 4E8 color. Was in amazing shape. So I will post some pics and discussion about the different parts of the restoration process in hopes that someone else might be able to reference or get some inspiration like I have so many times here. And its not over yet. I've got the majority done with lots of pics to follow. But will keep updating as I can.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

 

[Aircooled1]

Here's what i looked like after a LOT of polishing and cleaning. Basically elbow grease. Paint was very oxidized but body is really straight. Underside was dirty and oily but really solid underneath the layer of dirt. no significant rust i could find. all original equipment intact. There was an electric fuel pump i needed to get rid of . Orig Aisin carb .

 

[Seth S]

I recommend you flush the brake and clutch system with fresh fluid. These always get overlooked and its really not a big deal to do once ever couple of years. You want nice clear color not that nasty darkness.

 

[Aircooled1]

Heres a shot of interior cleaned up. Also started messing with interior trim and small jobs before i got the nerve to take the body off. The gauge cluster is a fun project. comes out easy and good opportunity to replace speedo cable. Also got all new bulbs and took the clear plastic lenses off of gauges for polishing with plastic cleaning compounds. Also took the colored plastic off the "4wd" and "choke" and turn signals etc. Required using a soldering iron tip to melt the plastic that holds it on and same to reinstall. But man the result is really satisfying. I found a GM color match paint that approximated the color and finish of OEM gauge cluster. Turned out really nice. big improvement.

 

[Aircooled1]

of course the obligatory emblem repaint. could not overlook it. Got my hands on some detail brushes and it looks great now. need an updated pic .

 

[Aircooled1]

mud flaps cleaned up really nice with some scotch brite and steel wool and simple green. once that layer of oxidized rubber comes off its like new. The white lettering touched up with a high quality paint pen. Restored console and boot as well. Had to use a bit of the matching SEM brown interior paint in some placed and have been pleased with the outcome when i've used it.

 

[Aircooled1]

Removed interior at this point. Took a long time but all of the junk eventually came out. After several gallons of simple green and shop towels, it turned out really good. at this time I was sure that orig specs was the way to go on this truck . it was way to clean to do anything different.

 

[Aircooled1]

Fuel tank was dirty and had it cleaned out at local shop. Since then, I've talked to the nice people at Toyota and they want to give me a brand new fuel tank. So I will certainly let them do that. But for now, the tank is cleaned and painted. Before and after pics of the spare tire crank. Couldn't resist sending things like this in my plating box. Its a shame to have it hiding behind the spare tire. But i will always know that its pretty nice up there. At least I could show it to this group of enthusiasts. Amazing how smooth it operates after all this time. Just some grease and a spring is all it needs.

 

[Littlebilly]

Looks great !
Love it

 

[Aircooled1]

Emblems came off OK and I painted the C pillar vents with matching paint. The rubber gasket around those C pillar vents did OK with some formula 303 . That product is great for restoring old rubber and plastic. End result was nice. The radiator cleaned up pretty well and I had to have 2-3 spots patched. Eventually I had to replace the radiator with a new one. Kept the all brass OEM style but its new. I was worried about having to continue with repairing leaks. Cooling system kind of important so I went ahead and replaced that early.

 

[JayDoc]

sub'd

 

[Aircooled1]

At this point i wanted to take the body off the frame. I took a lot of measurements to make a rolling body dolly. I got some heavy duty casters with locking wheels from HF. Using treated wood and galvanized lag screws, put the dolly together. You can see where I had to use a reciprocating saw to trim a bit for a nice fit with no tight areas. i wanted to prep the body and get it ready for paint. My plan was to have the body repainted on the dolly and let the paint shop lift it up on a two post to paint the underside last. If any of yall want mroe pics of the dolly just PM me. Prob cost 100-150 to make and it worked perfectly. It uses the body mounts in positions 2, 3 and 4. Honestly it only really needs to use the ones in positions 2 and 4 to be REALLY stable. Maneuvers really easy around the garage and on and off the trailers OK. i was a bit nervous about this part but it turned out great. Nothing better than having your body on a dolly and rolling it onto your 4 post lift to really get the underside cleaned and prepped for paint.

 

[Aircooled1]

Actually you can't see where i had to use the recip saw in that pic. I hadn't done it yet. But once i was ready to take the body off, i went through inch by inch to make sure clearances were enough for me to get tools and hands in there. Turned out awesome.

 

[Aircooled1]

Body coming off at local tire shop. I love it when car guys can help car guys. Even if their insurance probably does not cover this type of thing. I can guarantee you i will take all of my tire business to them in the future. I pretty much had to force some cash on the techs. Couldn't believe it.

 

[Aircooled1]

On the topic of removing the body from frame, be aware that the clearance between stable lifting points and the frame is not huge. You have to make sure that youve got that figured out before you do it. I used some rubber "pucks" that i have for porsche jacks and it fits right onto the seams and created a nice lift point. We had it off in 20 minutes or less. I had already loosened the bolts. heres a pic of the body on the trailer coming back from the shop. What a great day. I was pretty excited.

 

[Aircooled1]

Heres some shots of the underside (before paint) and the engine bay after a good cleaning. Totally committed to orig color by this point. The dolly allowed some pressure washing of the underside prior to degreasing and scotch brite attack.

 

[Aircooled1]

Might be helpful to mention that i found some color coded zip ties on amazon that have square plates that allow you to write codes on each. I used a lot of that to keep myself organized with connectors and hoses. Of course, I ended up going to the FSM anyway because I'm OCD but the color coded zip ties seemed like a good idea. Maybe this helps someone else for 5-10 bucks its worth it.

 

[Aircooled1]

Body off. Frame and drivetrain before the action really starts. Overall in really good shape. Just needed some TLC and a lot of hours. I was planning on taking all of 2020 for this part. But corona led me in a different direction. My business was really shut down for a bit and I needed an outlet. Fortunately I had an FJ60 in the garage. I almost think I should name her "corona".

 

[Aircooled1]

Before and after charcoal canister restoration. I love this cruiser the same way I like old porsches. They're so well built, you can disassemble and rehab parts and get a few new parts that are wear items. With some time and investigation and effort you can make a 34 year old charcoal canister new again.