Hi All,
I am finally rebuilding my 1975 FJ40, a second time, sort of. I bought it back in 1996 and rebuilt the engine, drivetrain, replaced the body with one from Specter Off-road as the original was rusted out. Though looking back, it could have been fixed. Live and learn.
The engine started out with a surprise. When I took the head off and found cylinders 1,2, and 3 had a gouge in the cylinder wall from a broken compression ring, it had to be bored .030 over to clean up the cylinders.
Sandblasted and painted the frame, though I didn't treat the inside of the frame rails. Now I have some frame repair to do. Again, live and learn.
Replaced the original wiring harness with a used one that was in much better, aka no melted wires.
Rebuilt the front axle steering knuckles, center arm, and steering box.
Replaced all the drum brake cylinders and new shoes.
New to me rims and new tires. It had 12” wide rims before that would rub in the rear. The newish rims were 9.5” wide. Traded my old rims and tires for the rims I know have.
Put on a soft top since the hard top sides were rotted on the bottom in the usual manor. Not sure if I could have repaired them, but they are long gone now. Still have the top, front doors, and rear ambulance doors though.
Oh ya, my 1975 has an “F” engine with the 3-speed transmission and transfer case. The axles both have the smaller flange and drum brakes all the way around. So, is it really a 75 FJ40?? The VIN plate says it is and it matches the frame, so I don’t what happened before I got it.
That is pretty much what I did with my FJ40 from the time I got it until about 2002 when we bought our house. It was a daily driver for a few years, then would drive it on the weekends. Once we bought our house, it pretty much sat for the next 20 years. I drove it a few times around the yard with the kids in it, but nothing on the road. The drum brakes weren’t working very well.
I am finally rebuilding my 1975 FJ40, a second time, sort of. I bought it back in 1996 and rebuilt the engine, drivetrain, replaced the body with one from Specter Off-road as the original was rusted out. Though looking back, it could have been fixed. Live and learn.
The engine started out with a surprise. When I took the head off and found cylinders 1,2, and 3 had a gouge in the cylinder wall from a broken compression ring, it had to be bored .030 over to clean up the cylinders.
Sandblasted and painted the frame, though I didn't treat the inside of the frame rails. Now I have some frame repair to do. Again, live and learn.
Replaced the original wiring harness with a used one that was in much better, aka no melted wires.
Rebuilt the front axle steering knuckles, center arm, and steering box.
Replaced all the drum brake cylinders and new shoes.
New to me rims and new tires. It had 12” wide rims before that would rub in the rear. The newish rims were 9.5” wide. Traded my old rims and tires for the rims I know have.
Put on a soft top since the hard top sides were rotted on the bottom in the usual manor. Not sure if I could have repaired them, but they are long gone now. Still have the top, front doors, and rear ambulance doors though.
Oh ya, my 1975 has an “F” engine with the 3-speed transmission and transfer case. The axles both have the smaller flange and drum brakes all the way around. So, is it really a 75 FJ40?? The VIN plate says it is and it matches the frame, so I don’t what happened before I got it.
That is pretty much what I did with my FJ40 from the time I got it until about 2002 when we bought our house. It was a daily driver for a few years, then would drive it on the weekends. Once we bought our house, it pretty much sat for the next 20 years. I drove it a few times around the yard with the kids in it, but nothing on the road. The drum brakes weren’t working very well.