74 FJ40 - Family Wheeler Project

[aweber]

Been a Lurker on this board for a while. Now I have gotten around to doing a mild build on a 74 FJ40 and thought I would start a thread.

Some Background.

My Trail Truck:

Buildup Thread:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=402170

Specs:

7M swap, dual cases, SAS - all-pro 4" fronts, Custom 4-link Rear etc.


This truck is great for what I do with it, but I have two sons that are soon going to be old enough to go wheeling with me, so I need a mild Family wheeler.

 

[aweber]

Now, on to the FJ40:

Background:

A Friend of mine used to own a YJ, every time he when wheeling with me the POS would break and I would end up towing it home. I talked him into getting a TOY and he ended up buying this FJ40:

Well, before he could do anything with it, he passed away at the age of 29 from a heart condition he had at birth. I made a point to buy the truck from his estate and now I am going to do a mild build to it, dedicated to him.

This is what it looks like now, stripped down with some 31's i had lying around on it.

Rest of pics here:

http://www.webercomputing.net/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=2113

 

[aweber]

Plans:

Family Cage
Mini PS
33's
Custom Tube Fenders in front
Bushwhacker Cut-out's in rear
Kick rear seat

First up is the cage. Here is what i have to work with: (pro-tools 105 with 2" and 1.5" dies)

And this is the basic design I want to do:

Basically, two upper halos, with all external corners supported. There will also be a dash bar as well.

So, that's it for now. I am working on the cage all this weekend and will keep this thread updated.

 

[Josie'sLandCruiser]

Hi All:

"AWeber," welcome! Where are you at?

Your mini looks to be a pretty cool rig!

Your plans for the FJ40 are great!

The idea of a "family cage" for the '40 makes perfect sense; I'd suggest installing a bench seat from a mini-van as a back seat - these generally come with built-in seat belts.

Have a great time with the project and your boys!

Regards,

Alan

 

[hillcountrycruiser]

Looking forward to watching the build. If it turns out anything like your truck this should be an entertaining thread.

 

[1Fine40]

Pretty sweet start. What seats are those?

Cheers!

 

[aweber]

Thanks for the welcome

Alan - I am from Perth, Ontario, Canada. Hence the uber rusty FJ LOL

1fine40 - I actually have no idea what those seats are from but they fit perfect and are super comfortable LOL..

Made all the pads for the cage last night and finished the main hoop.

The rear of the tub is so rusty Also removed the starter last night as it crapped out on me and I had to winch the truck back in the garage.

 

[CruisinGA]

skip the mini PS...

other than that looks like a good plan!

 

[aweber]

Got pretty far on the cage this weekend. Once I started bending tube, my plans went out the window as usual, but I think the end result is pretty cool. I wanted to have a cage that made the vehicle safe but did not take away from the "open top" experience. When I had the main hoop and front halo done, I did the rest in tape like my plans where drawn out, and it felt like a jungle gym on wheels

Now I have to finish welding it and paint it.

 

[aweber]

Cage has been painted and is ready to go in:

 

[turbo42]

sweet cage, well done.

 

[bigbadshawn]

nice cage man. could you post pics of the mounts on the underside? how and where did you attach?

 

[aweber]

nice cage man. could you post pics of the mounts on the underside? how and where did you attach?

Your getting ahead of me

They are not done yet, but when they are I will post up

 

[aweber]

Took the truck to a all Suzuki event I helped organize this weekend.

It did it's job all weekend and never missed a beat so i was happy, considering this is the first time I really used it for any length of time and was questioning it's reliability.

This is our event:

http://www.suzican.ca/

Loaded up, ready to go:

Poser shot LOL - Ramped 685

Still have not tied the rear to the frame yet, have a major trail run to go to in two weeks with the Mini so will not be working on this truck for a couple weeks depending on what I break on the Mini LOL

 

[boerboel313]

Nice job. Looks great and take care of her.

 

[LC_Hamma]

Custom 4-link Rear etc.


Good to hear you're taking the time to design & build a linked rear. Why not the front too? Too many newcomers always default to: Which 4" leafs should I buy?" Nice lookin cage BTW! I'd like to see the cage to frame tie-ins too....

 

[aweber]

Been kind of slacking on keeping this thread up to date but so far I have added a SideKick Rear seat and belts, a Bestop SuperTop and 33" Truxus. I just painted the old white rims black to save some cash.

I am currently going to be working on the trail truck instead, turning it into a buggy, 3-linking the front, etc but this spring I should be back into the FJ40 doing front tube fenders and PS conversion...

 

[aweber]

Power Steering Time!

Built a bracket to mount a PS pump today.

Pump is out of a Full Size Jeep Waggy.

 

[CruisinGA]

Lookin good.

Which box are you going to go with?

 

[AKcruiserfreak]

Looks like fun! Just out of curiousity, what did those seats come out of?

TK