40 and a Baby (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Feb 13, 2018
Threads
6
Messages
95
Location
Bay Area, CA
Hi All,

Renewed member here. About to have my first kid, so thought I'd buy a Land Cruiser project (for some reason my wife isn't seeing the logic ... out of the system for 30 years, not running, how do you have time for this; BAH!). Found my third FJ40, a '74 with quite a story. Drove a green '77 rust bucket through -40c Canadian winters in my early 20's, acquired my dream frame-off refurbishment '78 and did the incomprehensible by selling it to fund a motorcycle purchase. Today's the day I try to start the new truck, a decade later, living in the Bay Area and hopefully wiser.

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Stay tuned.

BP
 
Last edited:
retro sidewinder winch.
 
Hi All,

Renewed member here. About to have my first kid, so thought I'd buy a Land Cruiser project (for some reason my wife isn't seeing the logic ... out of the system for 30 years, not running, how do you have time for this; BAH!). Found my third FJ40, a '75 with quite a story. Drove a green '77 rust bucket through -40c Canadian winters in my early 20's, acquired my dream frame-off restoration '78 and did the incomprehensible by selling it to fund a motorcycle purchase. Today's the day I try to start the new truck, a decade later, living in the Bay Area and hopefully wiser.

View attachment 1646328 View attachment 1646333 View attachment 1646334


Stay tuned.

BP

Success. It's alive. New OEM fuel pump & filter, fluids, plugs & wires, gas. Now, have to ID this carb.

This truck is out of the Cali DMV system. Anyone have experience with the process or an inside track? I have the three forms, but no title, just written bill of sale.

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Great looking truck. I have the same winch in my shop, never seen one on a 40. Is it operational?

Thanks. Not sure about the winch - on deck for testing next weekend.
 
There's a lot of Sidewinder winch info here if you search around. Welcome to the forum.
 
I started with pretty much the same thing as far as paperwork goes. No title, nothing except a bill of sale. Also out of the dmv system for a couple of decades. I went to registration express on the advice of a friend who has used them with questionable titles before. They were awesome. They charge a fee for their service, but in my opinion, it was well worth it. Never stepped foot in the dmv for my rig. I also had to have the vin verified. My 40 didn't run so I found a vin verification company that was mobile. It cost me $40 and took about 20 minutes. You sign a statement of facts form. There's a registration express group in Redwood City. Not sure how far that is from you, but it might be worth your time. Also, if you have aaa insurance, you can do this whole process through them, but everything has to be done through them including the vin verification. Hope that helps.
 
I started with pretty much the same thing as far as paperwork goes. No title, nothing except a bill of sale. Also out of the dmv system for a couple of decades. I went to registration express on the advice of a friend who has used them with questionable titles before. They were awesome. They charge a fee for their service, but in my opinion, it was well worth it. Never stepped foot in the dmv for my rig. I also had to have the vin verified. My 40 didn't run so I found a vin verification company that was mobile. It cost me $40 and took about 20 minutes. You sign a statement of facts form. There's a registration express group in Redwood City. Not sure how far that is from you, but it might be worth your time. Also, if you have aaa insurance, you can do this whole process through them, but everything has to be done through them including the vin verification. Hope that helps.

Thank you! Redwood City is 10 minutes away, so I'll definitely look at this. Happy to pay a little $ to save time spent at the DMV.
 
An awful lot of replies so far for no one to have pointed out that the bezel is upside down! Great find!

The bezel has been removed and will be flipped! (after I extract two snapped screws)
 
OEM steel wheels (PN 42601-60072) x 5 just ordered from Toyota 101 in Redwood City. $116.61 each after TLCA member discount, $116.61. $146.71 each from the Toyota dealer 10 miles up the road. Bizarre.
 
Advice request on shocks ...

One of the major items I have planned for this summer is the OME lift. Based on the archives and past experiences, clearly there are some opinions out there around a shock pairing (OME vs. Bilstein vs. Fox vs. whatever). My use for the truck will be 95% daily on my very short work commute + weekend around town, 5% beaches/camping/light 'overlanding', possibly a few Moab-like excursions in my lifetime (i.e. it's going to be a queen). I have the old sidewinder winch on the front, don't plan any additional front bumper protection, don't plan anything remarkable on the back (i.e. so likely the OME light springs).

Generally, I aim to take an approach with this truck of only touching things 1 time and planning any changes to last my lifetime, so I want to pick based on quality vs. lowest cost.

Given the above as context, and to those who are owners of a similar setup, which shocks would you recommend?
 
Welcome back to the club fellow Bay Area resident! You have an excellent resource right near you in Palo Alto:

City Racer LLC

I've worked with @Racer65 on some of his products and bought plenty from him. Great vendor - when doing your research you will find similar feedback.

Congrats on your new cruiser!

BTW, I have the OME springs and shocks. Nothing to compare them to - if I could do again I'd probably go Bilstein based on what I've read.
 
Welcome back to the club fellow Bay Area resident! You have an excellent resource right near you in Palo Alto:

City Racer LLC

I've worked with @Racer65 on some of his products and bought plenty from him. Great vendor - when doing your research you will find similar feedback.

Congrats on your new cruiser!

BTW, I have the OME springs and shocks. Nothing to compare them to - if I could do again I'd probably go Bilstein based on what I've read.

Thanks for the welcome and heads-up. I've seen that City Racer site but did not realize he was in the Bay.

I see Profit's Cruisers using Bilstein and a few archive comments about Fox. Would be good to hear from some folks who have experiences with both.
 

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