gmac1
SILVER Star
Hopefully I'm creating a new build thread the right way. A bit of background on the vehicle.
My wife's dad bought a 1971 FJ40 new in Arkansas. He installed a Warn 8274 winch and did a SOA conversion at some point. My wife has a lot of fond memories of 4 wheeling with her dad - but at some point (probably in the 1990's) it stopped running (reason unknown). We moved it up to Virginia and then I started a complete tear-down on it about a year ago. Some good news is the frame and body don't have much rust
I have a bit of mechanical/engineering abilities but certainly not a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination... I'm blessed with a garage where I can work on it and have acquired a decent amount of tools in the last year. Part of the Capital Land Cruiser Club. I definitely need advice from the knowledgeable people here on ih8mud - what an incredible resource from a bunch of reading I've been doing on different topics.
My goal is to make it a really nice daily driver and be able to easily pass the Virginia state inspection - which is needed every darn year. Some specific upgrades I plan include upgrade to 2F motor and 4 speed transmission, convert to disc brakes (front and rear), steering upgrade and power steering. Perhaps A/C and some seats with lumbar support but we'll see...
Here is a picture before I started taking it apart. I'll be posting a question regarding some rear axle stuff in a moment.
My wife's dad bought a 1971 FJ40 new in Arkansas. He installed a Warn 8274 winch and did a SOA conversion at some point. My wife has a lot of fond memories of 4 wheeling with her dad - but at some point (probably in the 1990's) it stopped running (reason unknown). We moved it up to Virginia and then I started a complete tear-down on it about a year ago. Some good news is the frame and body don't have much rust
I have a bit of mechanical/engineering abilities but certainly not a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination... I'm blessed with a garage where I can work on it and have acquired a decent amount of tools in the last year. Part of the Capital Land Cruiser Club. I definitely need advice from the knowledgeable people here on ih8mud - what an incredible resource from a bunch of reading I've been doing on different topics.
My goal is to make it a really nice daily driver and be able to easily pass the Virginia state inspection - which is needed every darn year. Some specific upgrades I plan include upgrade to 2F motor and 4 speed transmission, convert to disc brakes (front and rear), steering upgrade and power steering. Perhaps A/C and some seats with lumbar support but we'll see...
Here is a picture before I started taking it apart. I'll be posting a question regarding some rear axle stuff in a moment.