Cliff notes: This needs to go, $4,500 obo without the engine or trans (add $2,000 for the engine and trans). It's in pieces, but 97-99% complete. Everything looks pretty good to me, but I'm not an expert by any means. The PO said the vehicle was prepped for paint and then stored for a number of years. I only saw a couple of spots of rot on the corners of the hardtop sides. It's in Beaumont, TX
Story: I bought this for my wife because she likes the look of 40's (who doesn't?). It came mostly together and in primer (the lights and some other random parts were in boxes in the back of the truck along with a spare fender and a couple of spare doors). The PO said all the body work had been done, and there wasn't any rust on it (the PO said a lot of things/bs before I bought it like factory AC, factory power steering, etc). Once I got it back to my place, I took it all the way apart to make sure that this build was done right. Drivetrain plans were a 5.3 NV4500 splitcase. We purchased a rotted out FJ60 to use steering and axle components and the transfercase. My wife is now worried that it will be too noisy at freeway speeds and too bumpy for driving around town, and I will agree with her before I dump $10-15 grand and another year or two into restoring this beauty in hopes that she will like it. She wants the garage back, and I want to move on to other projects, so we are now trying to sell this as is in pieces.
Details:
Frame: no rot looks good and straight. I removed the stock engine and trans mounts, driver's side shock mount, and steering box mount (but I still have them) by grinding down and drilling out the rivets. The PO had a ghetto saginaw setup which I removed. He had butchered the front crossmember to make this work, so I removed the front crossmember and bought a replacement from a forum member that is currently bolted in. I boxed in and drilled a section of the frame for an fj60 steering box (I used part of an fj60 frame for this).
Suspension: I think the springs are stock, but I don't know for sure. The shackles are some h style unknown brand to me that look to have been bent from the po overtightening them without the correct bushings in place.
Brakes: discs up front (from fj60) and stock drums in back. Power brake booster that came on the 40 and the brake booster from the 60 are included.
Steering: You get an FJ60 power steering box. Also included is the tie rod and drag link from the 60 and the complete tilt steering column and steering wheel from the 60. The PO's attempt at a saginaw power steering setup is included as well (box, pump, home made ugly brackets, and weird steering column)
Axles: the front axle now has the knuckles out from an '83 fj60 (disc brakes and aisin hubs!). I have the front pumpkin from the fj60 (3.70 gears), but the rear pumpkin from the 60 was pretty much destroyed (I did pull the flange). The pumkins in the axles now are the stock ones (4.10 or 4.11). I have both sets of the birfs from the fj60 and fj40 axles. I also have both sets of drive shafts from both the 40 and the 60.
Engine: the 40 came with a locked up 1F which I removed and sold some parts off of. I have a 5.3 Chevy (out of an '05 truck) that I was planning on putting in the 40, but I didn't get around to making the mounts yet. I have other plans for it, but I will sell it for the right price if you end up wanting it. I sold most of the parts off of the 2F that came in the 60, but I still have the short block which you can have.
Transmission: I was planning on putting in an NV4500. Like the 5.3, I now have other plans for it, but I will sell it with the 40 if the price is right. I also have the 4 speed out of the 60 and the 3 speed (sans cover) that came out of the 40 that will go with the vehicle.
Transfer Case: I have bothe the split case from the 60 and the one piece case from the 40. The only thing wrong with the split case (besides needing a rebuild kit) is that one gear has got a couple of teeth chipped. I still have the PTO for the one piece case that droves the winch as well as all the pieces for the winch (though the PO did cut the round bar out of the setup). Also included is the AA adapter for the nv4500 to the splitcase.
Tub: Most of the tub has been primered by the PO, but he didn't coat the bottom for some reason, so the bottom shows surface rust. You can also tell that the PO welded in some new floor pans. It doesn't look like the best body work I have seen, but I was willling to work with it. The rear fenders have been cut (of course), and the PO butchered the cowl vent and one of the heater vents when he decided to put in a radio (which he also cut the dash for). Other than the above noted, the tub looks pretty good to me, but I'm no 40 expert, so caveat emptor.
Rest of the Body:
4 doors are included. The two that came on the 40 were primered and look to be solid and rust free. Also included are two spare doors that came with the 40 when I bought it that have some rust on the bottoms. The PO said he converted the 40 to have the ambulance doors, and the ambulance doors did fit nicely and shut well. They don't have any rust and are primed like most of the body pieces.
The windshield frame doesn't have any glass, and I couldn't find the wiper motors in the boxes of parts that the PO gave me.
The hard top sides have some rot in the top rear corners. That looks to me to be the worst of the rust on this 40.
I have good glass for the hard top sides and ambulance doors as well as the driver and passenger doors.
The hard top needs some attention. The sides are shipped here and there, and I don't know if that's a tough fix or not. I'm sure a good fiberglass guy would know what to do with it. The rain gutter and weather stripping were pretty much destroyed by rust and age. I have the pieces that go over the ambulance doors and driver's and passenger doors as well, and they look to be in fine shape.
I have three front fenders. Two are in primer, and I have an extra driver's side fender in the same green as the spare doors.
The hood looks to be in good shape as does the grill and other front body pieces, but it only came with one hinge (which is strange because I pretty much found everything else that went on the truck).
The original seats come with the truck. It looks to be a split bench up front, and the two jump seats are there also. An uncut transmission cover came with the truck.
I have boxes with the heaters, wiring harness, lights, one damaged and modified bumperette, a factory step, all the knobs and linkages that came out from under the dash, and a bucket of bolts in case you want to use any old ones. I also have the spare tire carrier and two license plate holders. I also have the three dash pads (the bottom ones look okay, but the top one needs work) and all the hood/windshield hardware for putting the windshield down.
I'd like $4,500 for everything excluding the 5.3, aa bellhousing, and nv4500 since I have other plans for those, but if you want them I'll let them go for another $2,000.
I don't know if that's a fair price or not. If I'm way off here, let me know. Please weigh in and tell me what you think it's worth.
Ask me questions. Ask me for specific pictures. Make me an offer. Come and get it; it's in Beaumont, TX. Someone needs to finish this.
Story: I bought this for my wife because she likes the look of 40's (who doesn't?). It came mostly together and in primer (the lights and some other random parts were in boxes in the back of the truck along with a spare fender and a couple of spare doors). The PO said all the body work had been done, and there wasn't any rust on it (the PO said a lot of things/bs before I bought it like factory AC, factory power steering, etc). Once I got it back to my place, I took it all the way apart to make sure that this build was done right. Drivetrain plans were a 5.3 NV4500 splitcase. We purchased a rotted out FJ60 to use steering and axle components and the transfercase. My wife is now worried that it will be too noisy at freeway speeds and too bumpy for driving around town, and I will agree with her before I dump $10-15 grand and another year or two into restoring this beauty in hopes that she will like it. She wants the garage back, and I want to move on to other projects, so we are now trying to sell this as is in pieces.
Details:
Frame: no rot looks good and straight. I removed the stock engine and trans mounts, driver's side shock mount, and steering box mount (but I still have them) by grinding down and drilling out the rivets. The PO had a ghetto saginaw setup which I removed. He had butchered the front crossmember to make this work, so I removed the front crossmember and bought a replacement from a forum member that is currently bolted in. I boxed in and drilled a section of the frame for an fj60 steering box (I used part of an fj60 frame for this).
Suspension: I think the springs are stock, but I don't know for sure. The shackles are some h style unknown brand to me that look to have been bent from the po overtightening them without the correct bushings in place.
Brakes: discs up front (from fj60) and stock drums in back. Power brake booster that came on the 40 and the brake booster from the 60 are included.
Steering: You get an FJ60 power steering box. Also included is the tie rod and drag link from the 60 and the complete tilt steering column and steering wheel from the 60. The PO's attempt at a saginaw power steering setup is included as well (box, pump, home made ugly brackets, and weird steering column)
Axles: the front axle now has the knuckles out from an '83 fj60 (disc brakes and aisin hubs!). I have the front pumpkin from the fj60 (3.70 gears), but the rear pumpkin from the 60 was pretty much destroyed (I did pull the flange). The pumkins in the axles now are the stock ones (4.10 or 4.11). I have both sets of the birfs from the fj60 and fj40 axles. I also have both sets of drive shafts from both the 40 and the 60.
Engine: the 40 came with a locked up 1F which I removed and sold some parts off of. I have a 5.3 Chevy (out of an '05 truck) that I was planning on putting in the 40, but I didn't get around to making the mounts yet. I have other plans for it, but I will sell it for the right price if you end up wanting it. I sold most of the parts off of the 2F that came in the 60, but I still have the short block which you can have.
Transmission: I was planning on putting in an NV4500. Like the 5.3, I now have other plans for it, but I will sell it with the 40 if the price is right. I also have the 4 speed out of the 60 and the 3 speed (sans cover) that came out of the 40 that will go with the vehicle.
Transfer Case: I have bothe the split case from the 60 and the one piece case from the 40. The only thing wrong with the split case (besides needing a rebuild kit) is that one gear has got a couple of teeth chipped. I still have the PTO for the one piece case that droves the winch as well as all the pieces for the winch (though the PO did cut the round bar out of the setup). Also included is the AA adapter for the nv4500 to the splitcase.
Tub: Most of the tub has been primered by the PO, but he didn't coat the bottom for some reason, so the bottom shows surface rust. You can also tell that the PO welded in some new floor pans. It doesn't look like the best body work I have seen, but I was willling to work with it. The rear fenders have been cut (of course), and the PO butchered the cowl vent and one of the heater vents when he decided to put in a radio (which he also cut the dash for). Other than the above noted, the tub looks pretty good to me, but I'm no 40 expert, so caveat emptor.
Rest of the Body:
4 doors are included. The two that came on the 40 were primered and look to be solid and rust free. Also included are two spare doors that came with the 40 when I bought it that have some rust on the bottoms. The PO said he converted the 40 to have the ambulance doors, and the ambulance doors did fit nicely and shut well. They don't have any rust and are primed like most of the body pieces.
The windshield frame doesn't have any glass, and I couldn't find the wiper motors in the boxes of parts that the PO gave me.
The hard top sides have some rot in the top rear corners. That looks to me to be the worst of the rust on this 40.
I have good glass for the hard top sides and ambulance doors as well as the driver and passenger doors.
The hard top needs some attention. The sides are shipped here and there, and I don't know if that's a tough fix or not. I'm sure a good fiberglass guy would know what to do with it. The rain gutter and weather stripping were pretty much destroyed by rust and age. I have the pieces that go over the ambulance doors and driver's and passenger doors as well, and they look to be in fine shape.
I have three front fenders. Two are in primer, and I have an extra driver's side fender in the same green as the spare doors.
The hood looks to be in good shape as does the grill and other front body pieces, but it only came with one hinge (which is strange because I pretty much found everything else that went on the truck).
The original seats come with the truck. It looks to be a split bench up front, and the two jump seats are there also. An uncut transmission cover came with the truck.
I have boxes with the heaters, wiring harness, lights, one damaged and modified bumperette, a factory step, all the knobs and linkages that came out from under the dash, and a bucket of bolts in case you want to use any old ones. I also have the spare tire carrier and two license plate holders. I also have the three dash pads (the bottom ones look okay, but the top one needs work) and all the hood/windshield hardware for putting the windshield down.
I'd like $4,500 for everything excluding the 5.3, aa bellhousing, and nv4500 since I have other plans for those, but if you want them I'll let them go for another $2,000.
I don't know if that's a fair price or not. If I'm way off here, let me know. Please weigh in and tell me what you think it's worth.
Ask me questions. Ask me for specific pictures. Make me an offer. Come and get it; it's in Beaumont, TX. Someone needs to finish this.
Last edited: