'Abandoned' 1969 TLC Baja rig.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

So my question becomes, why do a body swap? Is there something wrong with the drivetrain in the new rig? Chevy, correct? Same as the original rig you got?

I’m going to just make the suggestion to take the good stuff from the original rig and put it in this rig and go with it. Put the 69 aside for a resto, or just sell it.
 
RUSH55 said:
So my question becomes, why do a body swap? Is there something wrong with the drivetrain in the new rig? Chevy, correct? Same as the original rig you got?

I’m going to just make the suggestion to take the good stuff from the original rig and put it in this rig and go with it. Put the 69 aside for a resto, or just sell it.
Click to expand...
That’s something I considered, but the 69 was a TLC build that only has 2k miles on the drivetrain, and all parts on it are nearly brand new, including axles, etc. but the body shot from salt so I’d end up swapping everything but the frame anyway, and having to fab new mounts for everything on the 72 cuz the trans / PS, etc is diff. My thought was to pull the body off the 72, and do a full “frame off” strip / seal / paint on the underside alongside the exterior + interior paint, upgrade the front suspension on the TLC drivetrain to coil while the body is off, repaint that, clean everything up then re-assemble as a proper resto mod, then sell the Baja body with the 72 chassis/drivetrain as a cheap project for someone to take over.

It’s basically me trying to keep the “provenance” of their build and just short cutting all the body work.
 
Anyone have any recommendations for a shop to either swap the drivetrain or do a body swap? Either way I’d like to get the body fully blasted/painted up and the drivetrain freshened up so taking the body off to do the swap makes sense to me. Problem is I don’t have a garage large enough to do the work, and can’t drive into my back yard so building a gantry crane and doing it myself isn’t an option. I’ve gotten a few leads to some hot rod and off road shops locally but wanted to check here and see if anyone had places they would recommend taking these to. I’m in Pasadena Ca but I’d be willing to take them within a few hundred miles to the right shop. Mexico included. Any suggestions?
 
I would consider Stockton, Ca. & speaking with Georg @orangefj45 Valley Hybrids.
 
Last edited:
Not exactly an update on the rigs, but more of a life update. I have been prepping land in Joshua Tree for the past couple years that im building my next house on. Been working with neighboring parcel owners to bring a road and utilities up to the land we own. I was anticipating it not starting for a couple more years but we were able to push through things much quicker than we planned and are going to start this year.

Which means I’m going to be offloading both pigs and putting the money and time towards the house. I will be making a proper for sale thread in the next couple days and probably posting outside the forum a week or so later, but if anyone here has any interest, please reach out directly. Buy both and I will definitely be open to striking a good deal. This is a great start to a high dollar restomod if you’re looking to build one.
 
scrapdaddy said:
Best wishes with the upcoming house build. I have no idea what it takes to build a house in a desert area.
Click to expand...
It’s probably the easiest place to do so, it’s just the fact of being in Ca that makes it more work. The good thing is the property is within a city limit so I don’t have to deal with San Bernardino County which is a huge nightmare.
 
MojaveGhost said:
Not exactly an update on the rigs, but more of a life update. I have been prepping land in Joshua Tree for the past couple years that im building my next house on. Been working with neighboring parcel owners to bring a road and utilities up to the land we own. I was anticipating it not starting for a couple more years but we were able to push through things much quicker than we planned and are going to start this year.

Which means I’m going to be offloading both pigs and putting the money and time towards the house. I will be making a proper for sale thread in the next couple days and probably posting outside the forum a week or so later, but if anyone here has any interest, please reach out directly. Buy both and I will definitely be open to striking a good deal. This is a great start to a high dollar restomod if you’re looking to build one.
Click to expand...
Wow, congratulations!
Building a home at/near Joshua Tree sounds pretty awesome!
Be sure to link to your FS ads when you post them.
GLWS
 
This is MojaveGhost, but I cant log into that account anymore so posting under my original lurker account name. Somewhere along the line my authenticator app decided to reset and all of the accounts I had linked to it are locked out.

ANYWAY... I didnt end up selling the cruiser last year - house plans got delayed a bit due to some easement negotiations and permitting weirdness with the city. Decided to keep driving it around and enjoy it as much as possible over the winter. Took it out to Death Valley, up 395, and around Jtree. That being said, I'll be doing some needed maintenance on it shortly and selling it alongside a nearly complete '72 donor truck with VERY minor rust and a decent amount of original parts. Hoping that someone else can put the energy towards restoration that it deserves.

Pic as it's currently sitting on 35s that are WAY too wide for the wheels.

IMG_9129.jpeg


Repairs happening over the next month on the TLC truck:
  • 2 brand new Optima batteries.
  • Front Axle: knuckle rebuild (right is weeping, might as well do both), new diff fluid.
  • FJ80 power steering box reseal.
  • New rear driveshaft seal
  • OME shocks and steering stabilizer / Alignment. Might install the 3" lift.
  • Tanks Inc in tank fuel sending unit to replace the in line pump / new fuel lines (ones I put on in Baja already cracked after 2 years)
  • Clean and repaint OEM wheels
  • New 33x10.5x15 tires
  • Will probably strip and repaint the frame / axle housings while Im at it.
Info about the 72:
  • Clean title in my name.
  • SBC 350 with new Edelbrock 4 barrel, new wires, distributor, headers, etc / 4 speed manual / Toyota transfer case / stock axles (drum front and rear) with superwinch locking hubs.
  • Body is in great shape, no serious rust, will need a few spots tended to.
  • Complete rear bench, needs new vinyl.
  • Rear hatch window and complete lifting mechanism (removed from tailgate)
  • 40 Gal (approx) aftermarket long range gas tank. Needs cleaning and reseal. (removed from truck)
IMG_1388.jpeg

IMG_9406.jpeg
IMG_9414.jpeg
IMG_9408.jpeg
 
Last edited:
RUSH55 said:
The 72 looks like an excellent candidate for a build or restoration
Click to expand...
Yeah it definitely is. There was some poor patching on the sides of the roof (above gutter) that im looking to possibly fix before the sale, along with some oil canning on the roof but its a minor job for a decent body guy.
 
So I started the axle tear down yesterday. As I figured, everything was in great shape other than the inner seals. Differential looked like it had never been used since install.

U bolts were siezed to hell so I cut those and dropped the leafs as well to replace the bushings with new rubber. Greasable shackles/pins were in perfect shape so just going to clean them up and relube. Then going to strip and repaint everything.

I have a question though. Having a hard time finding rear nitrocharger sport shocks rn (have fronts coming already). Does anyone know if the fj78/79 rear shock studs are the same diameter as the standard fj40/55 rears? Was thinking of using those instead.
 
Truck is back on the road after an extended time on the injured list. Ended up putting in a bit more work than I had originally anticipated, but mainly cosmetic, as the truck had a ton of surface rust from years at the beach.

Knuckle rebuild, new wheel and steering bearings.
Stripped and painted both axles.
Stripped and repainted driveshafts.
Stripped and repainted all 4 leaf springs and shackles.
Installed Dobinsons shocks.
New rubber fuel lines.
Replaced a few sections of brake lines.
Inspected and bench bled the MC
Cleaned out and resprayed the gas tank.
Resealed the power steering box.
New 33" Kenda Klever M/T tires
New Corbeau bucket seats and mounting frame.
Cleaned up some old wiring connections.

Replaced the transmission oil, alongside the brake, power steering, and axles.

IMG_3716.jpeg


IMG_3721.jpeg


IMG_3723.jpeg


IMG_3733.jpeg


IMG_3737.jpeg
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom