968shelbs 78 FJ55 Build

[968shelbs]

A number of you have probably seen me snooping around this forum for the last couple of months. I've loved 55s since I was in high school and, in February, I bought a 1978 FJ55 out of Arkansas. After driving it a bit and doing some research, I decided to start in on what I'll call an "extremely thorough refresh."

The rig I purchased has the typical FJ55 rust issues in the rockers, rear corner, and floorboards, but is super solid otherwise. It runs and drives great for how worn the suspension and brakes are. The interior is complete and most accessories function as they should. It also has dealer installed A/C (not sure on the brand), which is a big plus in midwestern summers.

My end goal is to build/restore it into a sensible, mostly stock rig that I can drive to work a couple days a days a week (in a suit, unfortunately) and take on camping trips to NW Arkansas and around. I don't have any illusions about doing a #1 level TLC or FJ Company restoration, but I intend to restore it correctly, and to a very high standard, before using it like Toyota intended.

At this point, I have the body completely disassembled, but still have a lot of undercoat to strip before it's ready for blasting. My dad and I spent the weekend building a rotisserie, but didn't quite get it finished. Hopefully, we can get the body mounted to it in the next week or two.

Fortunately, I'm outsourcing the rust repair and bodywork to a very capable metal guy locally. While he's working on the body, I plan to clean and detail the frame, and rebuild all of the mechanical components except the engine/transmission/transfer case internals.

I'm super stoked to take this project on, and can't wait to enjoy the finished ride (hopefully next summer, with any luck)! Of course, I'm also looking forward to getting more involved in this community along the way.

Shelby

 

[scrapdaddy]

Shelby,

Glad to hear you figured out the rotisserie. Good luck with the build.

 

[J Mack]

Looks like you found a great pig to start with, looking forward to see your progress, you are absolutely in the right spot posting here in the sty, these guys and gal are an invaluable resource as you will soon learn when restoring a pig..

Having just built my pig in about ~14 months, tore it down for a rebuild 7/22/2014 and jammed it back together in time for CruiserFest Moab to Tooele Trail Ride 9/8/2015 I can tell you that next summer is doable for yours but pre-warn your loved ones they are in for a lot of lonely nights unless they plan on hanging out with you in the shop and you might want to give your bank a heads up that you’ll be making some large withdraws and not to be alarmed.

 

[968shelbs]

Thanks, everyone!

Looks like a nice start. A bit aggressive on the deadline though

I've found there is a certain euphoria that accompanies the start of new projects. Ask me again in 6 months and I might have a very different timeline.

Glad to hear you figured out the rotisserie. Good luck with the build.

Thanks, Ron. I'll try to post a couple pic of our rotisserie soon. It doesn't look very pretty but should do the job--the rotisserie we modified for this project was originally designed for an SCCA production race car tub that, when assembled, would barely clear the rockers on the 55. This necessitated extending the legs of the rotisserie nearly 14 inches and adding biga@@ casters so the 55 body can roll over! I used your mounting plate design for the rear, but had to do something different for the front because my body is going to require some work around the flange the front clip bolts to.

 

[PabloCruise]

Wow, I can't wait to follow your project!
I love '78s. My first Cruiser, a 40, is a '78. It was built in 9/77, so a very early '78.
Does it have the ASCO lockouts?
Also very cool that you have the dealer AC.

 

[NikP]

I've found there is a certain euphoria that accompanies the start of new projects. Ask me again in 6 months and I might have a very different timeline.

I don't remember euphoria. Too many years have passed. It was supposed to be 2 for me...now I'm on year 4. Good luck! We're here for support, encouragement and sanity checks.

 

[968shelbs]

Does it have the ASCO lockouts?

Mine does have ASCO lockouts! I don't know anything about them, though. Are they factory or a dealer install item?

I shopped for a 55 for a long time, and decided pretty early on that I wanted a 77-79. Emission exemption isn't an issue for me and I like the later taillights.

 

[PabloCruise]

Mine does have ASCO lockouts! I don't know anything about them, though. Are they factory or a dealer install item?

I shopped for a 55 for a long time, and decided pretty early on that I wanted a 77-79. Emission exemption isn't an issue for me and I like the later taillights.

Once the Pigs got disc brakes in '76, they came from the factory with ASCO lockouts, which is different from the 40s that came from the factory with drive flanges, which effectively spun the front drive train when the t-case was in 2-High. I believe the 40s did get Aisin lockouts in '79?

In other useless trivia, the '76-'79 birfs were longer, so the lockout body for these ASCOs were longer as well.

Some more info here: Lock out 101 (FAQ)

 

[968shelbs]

Rotisserie is built and I've almost finished scrapping the undercoat. After scraping, I cleaned most of the undercoat film off with my little Harbor Freight sandblaster in the driveway (my neighbors love me). I think it turned out ok.

The body, tailgate, front clip and fenders are heading to the sand blaster tomorrow morning for blasting. The more fragile pieces like the roof, doors, dash area, and hood will only be soda blasted prior to final bodywork and paint.

I'm looking forward to finally handing the body off to the professionals so I can start on the frame and mechanics!

 

[scrapdaddy]

That's a lot of work but very much worth the effor. Good Job!

 

[968shelbs]

Does anyone have experience buying 55 parts from Cool Cruisers of Texas? Generally good experiences or bad? Seems like the Mud community generally likes CCOT, but I am somewhat concerned about their quality.

I'm slowly making a list of the best deals on all of the gaskets, seals, mounts, brakes/clutch parts, and other consumables I am going to need. I've heard fantastic things about Cruiser Outfitters, and plan to use them for most parts, but CCOT prices (and some of the kits they offer) seem hard to beat.

I've been burned on remanufactured parts in the past so typically try to avoid those. I also try to buy new OEM when it matters, but have generally had good experiences with high-quality aftermarket parts. This is my first time ever buying parts for an FJ, though...

Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[968shelbs]

I noticed today that my rear sway bar is missing one of its mounting bracket. This appears due to the little mounting perch (tacked to the crossmember) failing.

Does anyone have spare bracket laying around? SOR wants $21+shipping for a used one, which seems pretty steep to me.

Even better, does anyone have a junk crossmember they'd be willing to cut the sway bar perch off of? I can probably just fab a new perch, but thought I'd check here first before spending the time.

See pictures below:

Mounting bracket

Good perch

Bad perch

 

[bobm]

Fab it

 

[scrapdaddy]

Yeah, I'd make your own, also.

 

[968shelbs]

Well, it seems the rust cancer so endemic to FJ55s has gotten the best of my piggie.

Before setting in on this project, my fab guy estimated $4-5k in metal work to correctly repair the rust in my FJ55. After stripping the body to bare metal, however, his estimate increased to $13-15k + surprises. I've tried everything to rationalize continuing but just can't figure out how to restore this pig properly without burying myself several times over, and, unfortunately, I'm not at a point in my life where I can throw that kind of money around - 'tis is the Landcruiser ownership experience, I guess. Maybe in a few years, I can source a less rusty base to begin with.

At this point, I am currently debating how to proceed. I have a TON of great parts, but since the rig is so rusty and completely disassembled, I doubt anyone would be interested in taking over the project as it sits. I'm thinking I'll start parting on it soon to cut my losses. If anyone needs anything from a 1978 piggie let me know, she was running and driving well 4 months ago.

Thank you all for your help and support over the last couple of months - you have a pretty awesome community here. Look for my ads in the classified section and an occasional comment... I'm sure I'll continue hanging around for some time!

Best

 

[Peters Moose]

Dang it really sorry to read that. Sure hope something changes and you can figure something out.
All the best in your plans!!!

 

[bobm]

2nd and 3rd estimate

 

[968shelbs]

2nd and 3rd estimate

I'm working on finding a second opinion locally. Gotta be careful through, there are lots of shops who will weld in ugly, sloppy patches for you and very few who I trust to do it correctly.

I knew I was taking a risk when I decided to purchase my rig, but was amazed at how much rust appeared once it was sandblasted. Seemingly sound floorboards, firewall panels, body mounts, etc are just riddled with pinholes. I can do the simpler repairs myself, but I just don't have the time, experience, or equipment to do the the more complicated repairs to the rear fenders/body mounts, etc.

 

[968shelbs]

He got started on the tailgate and front clip before I pulled the plug. Super impressive work but, like I said, so much more extensive than either of us originally thought. With paint on the tailgate I thought it'd need maybe 2x2 patches in both lower corners. Once blasted and finding pretty thick bondo up top, it basically required a full re-skin.

Beautiful work.... but you don't want to know what it cost me.

 

[Napster]

Sorry to hear the rust is so bad. I can't afford that kind of work either but I thought about paying someone to repair just the cab and then I would repair the doors as I accumulated funds or found clean doors and fenders.