I'm re-posting this from my blog at http://wonkywonk.net, so forgive me for the over-explanations at the beginning.
Part 1 - Interior clean-up:
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I'm taking my '72 Land Cruiser FJ55 (the rare, wagon version) and restoring/upgrading it. The old Land Cruisers, are by far, the greatest off road production vehicles ever made (with the old Land Rovers coming in at a distant second - though still very tough). They last forever and it's almost impossible to destroy them. They're still widely used under the toughest conditions on earth. If you ever go on a safari on the planes of Africa, or deep into the heart of the Congo, it's a good bet, you're going to be riding in an old Land Cruiser.
I'm going to chronicle the restoration here. I paid $1200 for it and this is what it has going for it so far:
-> newly rebuilt engine
-> newly rebuilt transmission
-> clean frame + underbody
-> straight/rust-free interior with a rhino-liner spray on the floor
-> Nice winch bumper (not installed, and rusty, dirty, etc.)
-> new front seats
-> nice, 29" tires and clean, straight steel wheels (no spare though)
I drove it down from San Francisco to Los Angeles the day I bought it, and it made it with flying colors. Some of the major issues are:
-> It's dirty as hell inside. Looks like the previous owner had been hauling logs and dirt inside or something. there's three inches of dirt and pieces of wood under the back seat.
-> No heater (the heater core is missing, as is all the duct work, and some of the cabling)
-> One windshield wiper, and the wiper motor doesn't work.
-> Tailgate handle is broken, can't open the tailgate
-> Rear passenger door doesn't catch the second latch when you close it, so it's always a little open
-> doors have some cancer (rust) problems where the window frame meets the door panel
-> roof has some moderate cancer
-> body has mild cancer in places
-> brakes aren't worth a s***
-> parking break doesn't work
-> dash cap is in need of repair
-> some of the wiring harness isn't hooked up
-> rear seat is coming apart
-> no headliner, or dome light
-> suspension is shot.
-> missing rear interior panels
Here are some shots of it. as i got it (click on any image to see a larger version):
The back seat, showing it's age, note some of the seams are ripped, you can see the foam:
underneath the seat, not all the debris, dirt, etc.:
The back, note missing interior panels:
More of the back:
And so it begins. Here is the back, after i've swept out the dirt, wood, etc.:
And the front after I've swept it out:
Still very dirty, so I took the hose to the inside, then scrubbed with a brush and car wash cleaner. The rhino-liner makes it pretty nice to wash the inside of this thing. Here it is after I've washed and scrubbed it:
So there's step 1 of the restore, cleaning the inside. Next up, fixing the parking brake.
Stay tuned.
Part 1 - Interior clean-up:
---
I'm taking my '72 Land Cruiser FJ55 (the rare, wagon version) and restoring/upgrading it. The old Land Cruisers, are by far, the greatest off road production vehicles ever made (with the old Land Rovers coming in at a distant second - though still very tough). They last forever and it's almost impossible to destroy them. They're still widely used under the toughest conditions on earth. If you ever go on a safari on the planes of Africa, or deep into the heart of the Congo, it's a good bet, you're going to be riding in an old Land Cruiser.
I'm going to chronicle the restoration here. I paid $1200 for it and this is what it has going for it so far:
-> newly rebuilt engine
-> newly rebuilt transmission
-> clean frame + underbody
-> straight/rust-free interior with a rhino-liner spray on the floor
-> Nice winch bumper (not installed, and rusty, dirty, etc.)
-> new front seats
-> nice, 29" tires and clean, straight steel wheels (no spare though)
I drove it down from San Francisco to Los Angeles the day I bought it, and it made it with flying colors. Some of the major issues are:
-> It's dirty as hell inside. Looks like the previous owner had been hauling logs and dirt inside or something. there's three inches of dirt and pieces of wood under the back seat.
-> No heater (the heater core is missing, as is all the duct work, and some of the cabling)
-> One windshield wiper, and the wiper motor doesn't work.
-> Tailgate handle is broken, can't open the tailgate
-> Rear passenger door doesn't catch the second latch when you close it, so it's always a little open
-> doors have some cancer (rust) problems where the window frame meets the door panel
-> roof has some moderate cancer
-> body has mild cancer in places
-> brakes aren't worth a s***
-> parking break doesn't work
-> dash cap is in need of repair
-> some of the wiring harness isn't hooked up
-> rear seat is coming apart
-> no headliner, or dome light
-> suspension is shot.
-> missing rear interior panels
Here are some shots of it. as i got it (click on any image to see a larger version):
The back seat, showing it's age, note some of the seams are ripped, you can see the foam:
underneath the seat, not all the debris, dirt, etc.:
The back, note missing interior panels:
More of the back:
And so it begins. Here is the back, after i've swept out the dirt, wood, etc.:
And the front after I've swept it out:
Still very dirty, so I took the hose to the inside, then scrubbed with a brush and car wash cleaner. The rhino-liner makes it pretty nice to wash the inside of this thing. Here it is after I've washed and scrubbed it:
So there's step 1 of the restore, cleaning the inside. Next up, fixing the parking brake.
Stay tuned.