77 FJ55 Montana to Florida

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You can have it cheap...
You can have it fast...
You can have it well done....
You gotta pick one sometime... Grins.. Paint and body is taking a little longer than I hoped, but I'm good w it because this truck is straight!! PnB man is fitting it in as he can, and I'm onto my 82 FJ40 and my 77 red/white FJ55... Little things...
This truck was sold new by Neibauer Toyota in Bozeman, MT,,,, so I've been periodically surfing EBay looking for a dealer 'hard' glue on decal and found one yesterday!! Got that enroute as well as an adhesive decal duplicate being made from photos of the original that was still on the truck's right rear corner... Seat covers from Cruiser Corp (thanks to Adam!!) are arriving in a couple of days, new rear door quarter glass gaskets from slocruisers are in hand and look great... Emory (PnB) has the hood and doors waiting paint... things are cooking..!
 
Sophia, this 77 green/white 55, needed front and rear seat covers as most do, after 45 years anyway... I decided to go w the Cruiser Corps product.. I ordered the rear seat covers first, and got the backrest done w/o issue. Looks fantastic..Moved to the bottom (seat) and there were two issues (1) not enough material on the side panels to install (2) no sewn in seam 'tunnel' for the metal rod to insert and cinch down on...Man...frustrating.... Plus it had been about 40 days since I took delivery, and CC has a 30 day no hassle return policy.. I was worried about protocol/business model... SO .. I call and speak w Adam, and he says "we'll make it right, don't worry,,,,we'll make it right" I had also purchased the front seat covers by the time I discovered the problem, and Adam suggested I look at the fronts as well, which were still in the box... I saw the bottom cover had the seat belt cutout in the seat, and on 77's the belt enters between the backrest and the seat cushion.. He said box it up, send it back, "we'll make it right"... I'm writing this because like most 55 owners on mud, we've learned not all products/vendors are equal... But, Cruiser Corps absolutely stood up and 'made this right'. I want to tip my hat in appreciation to Adam and Mike at Cruiser Corps.. They dug into it, discovered the reason behind the issues of the backseat 'seat bottom", corrected them both, and sent me the new product yesterday... I installed it today, and WOW! Perfect fit! Eaasy installation.. I also received the new front seat covers, and will install those tomorrow... I'll get some pics tomorrow, not installed in the truck of course, due to PnB.. Professional customer service in support of the FJ55 tribe.. Appreciated... Note: I had offered to take care of return shipping, but they took care of all the shipping expenses... Nice touch.. Well done..
 
MacDaddyRabbit said:
Sophia, this 77 green/white 55, needed front and rear seat covers as most do, after 45 years anyway... I decided to go w the Cruiser Corps product.. I ordered the rear seat covers first, and got the backrest done w/o issue. Looks fantastic..Moved to the bottom (seat) and there were two issues (1) not enough material on the side panels to install (2) no sewn in seam 'tunnel' for the metal rod to insert and cinch down on...Man...frustrating.... Plus it had been about 40 days since I took delivery, and CC has a 30 day no hassle return policy.. I was worried about protocol/business model... SO .. I call and speak w Adam, and he says "we'll make it right, don't worry,,,,we'll make it right" I had also purchased the front seat covers by the time I discovered the problem, and Adam suggested I look at the fronts as well, which were still in the box... I saw the bottom cover had the seat belt cutout in the seat, and on 77's the belt enters between the backrest and the seat cushion.. He said box it up, send it back, "we'll make it right"... I'm writing this because like most 55 owners on mud, we've learned not all products/vendors are equal... But, Cruiser Corps absolutely stood up and 'made this right'. I want to tip my hat in appreciation to Adam and Mike at Cruiser Corps.. They dug into it, discovered the reason behind the issues of the backseat 'seat bottom", corrected them both, and sent me the new product yesterday... I installed it today, and WOW! Perfect fit! Eaasy installation.. I also received the new front seat covers, and will install those tomorrow... I'll get some pics tomorrow, not installed in the truck of course, due to PnB.. Professional customer service in support of the
backseat 1.webp
backseat 2.webp
backseat 3.webp
backseat 5.webp
backseat 6.webp
FJ55 tribe.. Appreciated... Note: I had offered to take care of return shipping, but they took care of all the shipping expenses... Nice touch.. Well done..
Click to expand...
 
Very nice, So does that go over the old seat cover or did you remove the old one. And did you need new foam, I just went a upholstery shop today with the same seat. Looking for prices $1500 front and rear but they don’t have that Original look,still looking but I also need new foam yours look great
 
Last edited:
Half Wacked aka Split Pea said:
Very nice, So does that go over the old seat cover or did you remove the old one. And did you need new foam, I just went a upholstery shop today with the same seat. Looking for prices $1500 front and rear but they don’t have that Original look,still looking but I also need new foam yours look great
Click to expand...
I looked far too long for a good factory match, never did find. With the difference in our dollar I paid about the same…new foam and fixed several broken springs.
 
Half Wacked aka Split Pea said:
Very nice, So does that go over the old seat cover or did you remove the old one. And did you need new foam, I just went a upholstery shop today with the same seat. Looking for prices $1500 front and rear but they don’t have that Original look,still looking but I also need new foam yours look great
Click to expand...
Thank you sir... I decided to remove the old, which fortunately was OEM.. so I took multiple pics in the real possibility I couldnt remember the 'How' of installation.. I also knew the seats needed foam issues addressed ...
Once I got the rear seats stripped of the covers, I found the rear seat bottom has a form molded green seat foam laying over a thin pad and springs. the thin underlying pad needed attention. I added a cut to form 1/2" floor insulation pad on top of the existing thin pad, using spray adhesive. I then placed the form fitting OEM green foam on top of that. Next step I cut to form and added/spray glued a 1/2" thick layer of 'firm' upholstery foam (EBay) on top of the OEM green foam.. I used Gorilla headliner spray adhesive and it worked great.. Then placed the new seat cover on.. Perfect fit..
The rear seat backrest was freshened up by adding another layer of the 1/2" floor insulation padding across the entire backrest, following the spray glue on process..

For the front seats, my driver's seat foam was exposed/deteriorated. The passenger seat cover area was still intact. I had purchased several items of foam in prep for the removal/install, but what I ended up doing was straight forward,, Once stripped of the old cover (I took multiple pics of how the original covers were installed due to a faulty memory)
On the seat bottom, I added layers where needed of 1/2" cut to form foam (firm).. for a feathered layer(s) again using headliner adhesive to ensure shape maintenance.. I built up the areas that needed it, using the original seat foam as the base layer.. the most I needed to add were two layers.. While I had it out, I flipped the seat over and had found the OEM foam was intact and in good shape, but I slid in a layer of fiberglass cloth between the foam and the springs in the high wear area..thinking to further preserve the OEM foam.. also found a broken driver seat coil spring which I'm replacing..
The front seat backrest got the same treatment as the backseat backrest,,, It's got a layer of OEM insulation/padding that needed a new layer.. I did not remove the OEM, just spray glued a cut to form layer of 1/2" floor insulation pad to the existing material..
I can tell a big difference in how the seats 'feel' to the touch when compressed. I don't feel the springs at all..
Last step yesterday was to expose my four headrests inserts and that was easier then I anticipated as well..
I'll get the front seat backrest reattached to the bottom sometime the next couple of days and put up pics... Thanks again...
 
MacDaddyRabbit said:
Thank you sir... I decided to remove the old, which fortunately was OEM.. so I took multiple pics in the real possibility I couldnt remember the 'How' of installation.. I also knew the seats needed foam issues addressed ...
Once I got the rear seats stripped of the covers, I found the rear seat bottom has a form molded green seat foam laying over a thin pad and springs. the thin underlying pad needed attention. I added a cut to form 1/2" floor insulation pad on top of the existing thin pad, using spray adhesive. I then placed the form fitting OEM green foam on top of that. Next step I cut to form and added/spray glued a 1/2" thick layer of 'firm' upholstery foam (EBay) on top of the OEM green foam.. I used Gorilla headliner spray adhesive and it worked great.. Then placed the new seat cover on.. Perfect fit..
The rear seat backrest was freshened up by adding another layer of the 1/2" floor insulation padding across the entire backrest, following the spray glue on process..

For the front seats, my driver's seat foam was exposed/deteriorated. The passenger seat cover area was still intact. I had purchased several items of foam in prep for the removal/install, but what I ended up doing was straight forward,, Once stripped of the old cover (I took multiple pics of how the original covers were installed due to a faulty memory)
On the seat bottom, I added layers where needed of 1/2" cut to form foam (firm).. for a feathered layer(s) again using headliner adhesive to ensure shape maintenance.. I built up the areas that needed it, using the original seat foam as the base layer.. the most I needed to add were two layers.. While I had it out, I flipped the seat over and had found the OEM foam was intact and in good shape, but I slid in a layer of fiberglass cloth between the foam and the springs in the high wear area..thinking to further preserve the OEM foam.. also found a broken driver seat coil spring which I'm replacing..
The front seat backrest got the same treatment as the backseat backrest,,, It's got a layer of OEM insulation/padding that needed a new layer.. I did not remove the OEM, just spray glued a cut to form layer of 1/2" floor insulation pad to the existing material..
I can tell a big difference in how the seats 'feel' to the touch when compressed. I don't feel the springs at all..
Last step yesterday was to expose my four headrests inserts and that was easier then I anticipated as well..
I'll get the front seat backrest reattached to the bottom sometime the next couple of days and put up pics... Thanks again...
Click to expand...
Locally I was quoted 2200 $$$... Got em done w my time for half that.. plus discovered the broken coil spring as OY did...
 
This truck came w the OEM vinyl sunvisors, and after being parked outside for an unknown umber of years, the vinyl and foam guts had deteriorated.. I found that 97-99 F-150 sunvisors are almost exactly the same shape and length.. So, on the red/white from Arizona I had covered them w the tan fabric material from a purchase I made off EBay.. I cut the stitching open on one end, slipped the Ford guts out, and inserted the OEM pig frame and guts in, and sewed the end back up.. Works great, but I don't like the cloth, and air bag warning...grins ... but better then having broken vinyl and foam falling out...
For this green/white, I found 'autoleatherinteriors' and ordered a set of tan visor covers w the velcro lip, made for the 97-99 F-150.. I had to trim a bit of the old vinyl at two corners of the 55's (but the vinyl was badly deteriorated anyway) but they look great... FYI 35$'s....
 
This is great thank you for your write up great info, So I have a question about the head rest I’ve had this pair for over 20 years I thought they were from my old 74 fj40 but Iam not sure.I know now they are to wide for the 55 seat love to see pics of yours, thanks

7854FE34-56EF-4CAA-A05A-6004E6ECBE58.webp


DED290C5-128C-4893-9F0D-E7ABD80F238B.webp


7AF837F4-6C9C-4E8D-BFD0-D46AA7435BAB.webp
 
scrapdaddy said:
MacDaddy is becoming quite the rebuilder/restorer. Good Job!
Click to expand...
Whoooaaaa.. I have to respond to that compliment w a smile of appreciation, and a reality check.. Grins.... I'll confess I vicariously know a bunch of SME's and restorer's here on mud, and to reading a ton of threads!! Thank goodness for this forum and the real rebuilders.. I love these old trucks, and putting them back on the road w a strong tilt to keeping them OEM is my thing.. This green/white is an incredibly complete truck... needs some lipstick.
BTW, my PnB neighbor told me he may be putting some paint on it this coming week... Jazzed.. Nebula green and white...
 
MacDaddyRabbit said:
Sophia, this 77 green/white 55, needed front and rear seat covers as most do, after 45 years anyway... I decided to go w the Cruiser Corps product.. I ordered the rear seat covers first, and got the backrest done w/o issue. Looks fantastic..Moved to the bottom (seat) and there were two issues (1) not enough material on the side panels to install (2) no sewn in seam 'tunnel' for the metal rod to insert and cinch down on...Man...frustrating.... Plus it had been about 40 days since I took delivery, and CC has a 30 day no hassle return policy.. I was worried about protocol/business model... SO .. I call and speak w Adam, and he says "we'll make it right, don't worry,,,,we'll make it right" I had also purchased the front seat covers by the time I discovered the problem, and Adam suggested I look at the fronts as well, which were still in the box... I saw the bottom cover had the seat belt cutout in the seat, and on 77's the belt enters between the backrest and the seat cushion.. He said box it up, send it back, "we'll make it right"... I'm writing this because like most 55 owners on mud, we've learned not all products/vendors are equal... But, Cruiser Corps absolutely stood up and 'made this right'. I want to tip my hat in appreciation to Adam and Mike at Cruiser Corps.. They dug into it, discovered the reason behind the issues of the backseat 'seat bottom", corrected them both, and sent me the new product yesterday... I installed it today, and WOW! Perfect fit! Eaasy installation.. I also received the new front seat covers, and will install those tomorrow... I'll get some pics tomorrow, not installed in the truck of course, due to PnB.. Professional customer service in support of the FJ55 tribe.. Appreciated... Note: I had offered to take care of return shipping, but they took care of all the shipping expenses... Nice touch.. Well done..
Click to expand...
Great to hear the positive review on Cruiser Corps!
 
MacDaddyRabbit said:
Thank you sir... I decided to remove the old, which fortunately was OEM.. so I took multiple pics in the real possibility I couldnt remember the 'How' of installation.. I also knew the seats needed foam issues addressed ...
Once I got the rear seats stripped of the covers, I found the rear seat bottom has a form molded green seat foam laying over a thin pad and springs. the thin underlying pad needed attention. I added a cut to form 1/2" floor insulation pad on top of the existing thin pad, using spray adhesive. I then placed the form fitting OEM green foam on top of that. Next step I cut to form and added/spray glued a 1/2" thick layer of 'firm' upholstery foam (EBay) on top of the OEM green foam.. I used Gorilla headliner spray adhesive and it worked great.. Then placed the new seat cover on.. Perfect fit..
The rear seat backrest was freshened up by adding another layer of the 1/2" floor insulation padding across the entire backrest, following the spray glue on process..

For the front seats, my driver's seat foam was exposed/deteriorated. The passenger seat cover area was still intact. I had purchased several items of foam in prep for the removal/install, but what I ended up doing was straight forward,, Once stripped of the old cover (I took multiple pics of how the original covers were installed due to a faulty memory)
On the seat bottom, I added layers where needed of 1/2" cut to form foam (firm).. for a feathered layer(s) again using headliner adhesive to ensure shape maintenance.. I built up the areas that needed it, using the original seat foam as the base layer.. the most I needed to add were two layers.. While I had it out, I flipped the seat over and had found the OEM foam was intact and in good shape, but I slid in a layer of fiberglass cloth between the foam and the springs in the high wear area..thinking to further preserve the OEM foam.. also found a broken driver seat coil spring which I'm replacing..
The front seat backrest got the same treatment as the backseat backrest,,, It's got a layer of OEM insulation/padding that needed a new layer.. I did not remove the OEM, just spray glued a cut to form layer of 1/2" floor insulation pad to the existing material..
I can tell a big difference in how the seats 'feel' to the touch when compressed. I don't feel the springs at all..
Last step yesterday was to expose my four headrests inserts and that was easier then I anticipated as well..
I'll get the front seat backrest reattached to the bottom sometime the next couple of days and put up pics... Thanks again...
Click to expand...
Any pics of these steps?
 
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