'68 basket case resto-mod

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Yeah, right!

I hustled all weekend to get to this point, and didn't stop to take photos. Here is what got done:
  • Seat frames sandblasted and painted, new foam and CruiserCorps covers
  • Roll bar sandblasted, shoulder belt mounts welded in, painted and installed
  • wipers installed and wired
  • new windshield installed, local shop cut it for $100 and I installed it myself. Had to fabricate a windshield lock tool out of some 1/8" rod and a cheap screwdriver
  • wide angle mirrors/arms installed
  • aligned the front end
  • Bestop installed
  • Bestop doors installed
I was able to take a short drive with a bit of daylight left, but it was misting and I hadn't replaced the wiper blades yet, so I didn't go fast or far.

Things to do:
  • adjust parking brake some more
  • adjust clutch linkage some more
  • center the steering wheel
  • weather-strip the tailgate
 
A couple daylight photos. Drove it a bit more yesterday and I am getting some erratic readings in the speedo and passenger seatback squeaks enough to drive you nuts, but neither is impossible to fix. I also need to finish the front driveshaft.

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The front and rear spring hangers I made and the shackle ends are OEM.

Tire carriers tend to just get in my way. Plug kit and compressor in the tool box are all the spare I need. I did consider mounting a couple jerry cans on the back (V8 and 16 gal tank), but we'll see.
 
Made some sliders yesterday. Like a lot of folks, I tried to make the shape sympathetic to the factory running boards.

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I wasn't a fan of the velcro strip to secure the rear window, so I slid some neodymium magnets into the loop strip on the window and had the wife put a stich between them to keep them separated. I originally tried 10mm round magnets, thinking I could have a nice continuous strip of magnet, but they kept rolling sideways and sticking to each other and bunching up.

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Ok, so over a year later, here we are. Just under 5k on the clock now and I have driven it daily except when there is salt on the road. It drives smoothly over 80 mph, but is happiest in the 70-75 range. No wandering, no bump steer, although a good bump in the road makes the springy seat bounce you around about.

My magnetic rear window mod had the unexpected benefit of being able to stick to the roll bar, so I can unzip the rear window and simply swing it in to the roll bar along the top without having to roll it up! I drove around all summer that way, tops of the doors off and the rear window up. Shade and airflow, no reason to put the top all the way down.

Driving on the interstate in the 20s (like today), the heater will keep up, but there are enough air leaks that there is a constant draft. Still tolerable, and I still do it, but letting it warm up first is the key.

My off-road dreams with this cruiser have pretty much gone out the window. I always had a Moab trip in the back of my mind when building this: shackle reversal, high clearance u-bolt flip, budbuilt quarters, sliders, bumpers, twin-stick transfer, winch, etc. When it was finally on the road, I just couldn't bring myself to risk it. I ended up building a Suzuki buggy last summer, and took that to Moab in the fall, so it's pretty much off the table for the FJ.
 
I just read though your build thread, very inspiring build, I'm glad everything is working good and you've been enjoying it the past year. I really liked all your custom sheet metal /Fab work. Just curious what guage sheet metal did you use for the rear floors and how are they holding up? I have a beadroller and was contemplating making my own as well. Thanks!
 
Last edited:
rustED71 said:
I just read though your build thread, very inspiring build, I'm glad everything is working good and you've been enjoying it the past year. I really liked all your custom sheet metal /Fab work. Just curious what guage sheet metal did you use for the rear floors and how are they holding up? I have a beadroller and was contemplating making my own as well. Thanks!
Click to expand...

The rear floors are 20ga. I have played with 18ga, but you get much crisper lines in the 20ga and it is easier to straighten out the warping. The floors have held up fine (not like I haul gravel in it) neither my dog nor any of the gear I have tossed back there have caused any damage.
 
GLWS. You know I mean it.
 
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