Aussie FJ40: First Build

[Mtsvn]

Hey all!

First time poster, but have been using this forum to prepare for my first FJ40 build. I have never undertaken a build like this and am excited about learning the along the way.



I have known the previous owner of this FJ40 for about ten years now. The first time I ventured into his backyard I noticed the ‘Shorty sitting by itself and was quick to go up and get a closer inspection. I recognised instantly that it was an old Land Cruiser and was quick to start interrogating him into its past and how it ended up sitting in his backyard.

He explained that he had owned it for close to ever but the motor wasn’t running (probably the big end bearing) and that one day he would get ‘round to fixing it. Over the next ten years of our friendship, I would catch a glimpse of it every now and then, but we spent close to no time in his backyard. Every year or so, I would get a sudden urge to get out and just check up on it. I watched it slowly deteriorate more and more (the Australia weather doesn’t mess around).

The previous owners dog found that the FJ40 made for great shade on hot summer days

 

[Mtsvn]

I remember my old man, an Air Force engineer and skilled outdoors man, telling me fond stories of his FJ40, his first car from way back when. He grew up in the Australian desert where the sand is mostly blood red and life is sparse. Toyota, although Japanese, is seen as an Australian automotive icon for reliability in places where, if you breakdown on a outback road, you may not see someone for over a week.


About a year ago I started increasing my appetite for learning mechanics (my old man forced me to assist him whilst working on cars, knowing that one day I would thank him greatly for it, which I do).


I became friends with a mate from work, Heath, a genius in his own right with automotive mechanics. He lent me his Mahindra CJ3 Jeep for a week while he was away. It didn’t take me long to fall in love with old 4wd’s.

 

[Mtsvn]

I bought my first project car soon after that, a 1978 Jeep CJ7 with a Ford V8 power plan. This was my first project/build and loved spending all the free time I could drinking beers in his garage as we pulled it down and fixed it all up (to be fair, although it wasn’t running, it wasn’t in bad condition)

I was offered a trade for the CJ7 that was too good to refuse (‘78 Firebird Trans Am… also bloody rare here in Australia) and it wasn’t long before I was missing having an old 4wd around.

I knew exactly what I needed to do.


I met up with the FJ40’s previous owner, put my case forward that ‘the FJ40 was most likely going to sit for another 10 years and I wanted to give her a better life’. He hesitated, but knew it would be a puddle of rust by the time he got around to it... $500 and a car trailer later, I became a proud owner.

 

[Mtsvn]

I was excited about undertaking this challenge, but I was most excited about being able to complete this as a Father/Son project. I knew this would mean something special to the old man, and getting the opportunity to spend countless hours working on a joint project was something I knew we would both have a blast doing.

I would be lying if I said I had done a thorough inspection of the vehicle prior to getting it home (for $500 I wasn’t expecting much).

Little bit of surface rust

The interior had certainly seen better days.. very saggy roof liner (old Porsche seats)

Picture from the rear

First step was to pull out the garbage from the interior and give her an extended pressure hose (it had been sitting in the same spot for over 12 years).

We then decided to see if she could be started as is - no oil change, original plugs (I was not convinced this would work at all). With a small piece of fuel line dropped from the mechanical fuel pump into a bucket of new fuel, a donated car battery and a substantive spray of (we call it ‘start ya bastard’) aerosol engine starter… and she ticked over. Good news was that she ran but the knocking sound was apparent from straight away.

 

[Mtsvn]

The 2f had been sitting for a while, so we next gave that a good pressure clean. You would be amazed at what came out of that engine bay…

Before

After the pressure clean (and different battery)

This car had become what I would call ‘spider city’. There were dozens of Red Back spider families (they are slow moving, but best avoided at all costs), a few big hairy huntsman’s (they give you a fright and move fast but are harmless) along with an assorted array of other spiders that I just could identify. It took weeks and a couple of chemical warfare before I was comfortable getting under the car.

I was keen to rip as much of the interior out as possible, including pulling out the seats and petrol tanks. The original tank and a secondary tank (fitted under the passenger side). There was still a decent amount of petrol in the tank, which had separated years ago and smelt like something I had never experienced before.

This was a very satisfying job. A quick win!

I was happy with the quality of the floor after pulling out the carpet… until I found a leak it the roof seal had slowly dribbled down into the driver’s side foot well…. It had properly rusted through (about 20 – 30cm). This would be welded at a later date as I was still on a stripping rampage.

 

[cruiserkreutz]

Great to see you saved her! Dune beige, my favorite color!

 

[Mtsvn]

I had no intentions on doing a ‘back to chassis’ restoration. I appreciate people who have the dedication, but I just don’t have appetite to pull the tub off. Obviously with a bottom end knocking, it was only sensible that the motor should get a full rebuild (the old man and I agreed that we would stick with the 2F as it is a remarkable motor) and something we can rely on for the long drives into the abyss we have planned for the future.


In preparation for removing the engine, the FJ40 gave me a pleasant surprise with how much access you are afforded (fold down front panel). I noticed a lot of people take the front quarter panels off, but I didn’t see any need to at this stage.

I have never rebuilt an engine from the bottom up… and was petrified of making a small mistake resulting in starting over. We decided to give the 2F to a shop to get done right the first time, while we focused on body and paint.

The 2F, exhaust and gearbox was pulled out in a couple of hours one evening after work (thanks to the quick work of my mate Heath and my old man). This was driven out to the shop, leaving us ready to focus on paint and body.

We did have a small screw up with the 2F coming off the engine stand after a knock... yes it was a dumb mistake... and falling back into the engine bay. Boy oh boy did it make a sound on landing!!

Whoops!

Gearbox out and ready for a servicing!!

2F out and ready to go off for a rebuild

Heath lining her up for towing

This brings us to present day! She is currently looking a little lighter!

We are hoping to strip the paint over the next weekend or two back to bare metal. We have decided to stick with a similar colour (sandy/khaki) but with a solid gloss finish to give her a slightly updated look before the slow process of putting it back together.


Wish us luck and ill keep you posted!

 

[Mtsvn]

Great to see you saved her! Dune beige, my favorite color!

Thanks mate. Its nice to know she wont become another FJ40 statistic but its still a long road ahead. We are looking at going for a Dune beige-ish colour, but with slight gloss to bring her into the modern world

 

[Sporty Forty]

Great to see another one under a restoration in Australia.

Good luck with it. Great thing to work with for a father son type of thing.

 

[bikersmurf]

In these parts, the cost of rebuilding a 2F is prohibative... I'd find a good running 2F out of a 60 or newer landcruiser, swap it in, and call it a day

 

[Mtsvn]

Great to see another one under a restoration in Australia.

Good luck with it. Great thing to work with for a father son type of thing.

Thanks for that. Great thing about something like this as a father son project is that once we are done, we can throw in some gear in the back and enjoy the fruits of our labour out bush

 

[Mtsvn]

In these parts, the cost of rebuilding a 2F is prohibative... I'd find a good running 2F out of a 60 or newer landcruiser, swap it in, and call it a day

I had a look at some 2F's ranging from $250 through to about $1500, which would be cheaper and easier... until of course something starts going wrong soon after the install.

 

[Sporty Forty]

In these parts, the cost of rebuilding a 2F is prohibative... I'd find a good running 2F out of a 60 or newer landcruiser, swap it in, and call it a day

Down here, we tend to give them away. I had one I got a slab of beer for (48 cans) gave the guy the engine 4 years ago still haven't received the slab yet!.

Got one sitting here as a spare for my LX at the moment now considering how things are going with these cars.

 

[bikersmurf]

The generally sit and don't sell for $300... I figure I could buy 12 for the price of one rebuild. So far, I've got 20 years on a $300 (SBC) motor, and it's still going strong.

 

[chappohj47]

Nice starting point mate great to see another one saved

 

[JohnnyC]

Nice 40!

And welcome to MUD

Looks like the PO had added some airbags in the rear

 

[skidplate]

Seems you got a bloody good deal on that truck. I have a feeling this will be an awesome build to follow. Good luck and keep the pics comming!

 

[Ken White]

Great to see another Aussie on the siteGreat truck. Are you going to take her all the way back to a chassis and start the rebuild from there.

 

[Mtsvn]

Seems you got a bloody good deal on that truck. I have a feeling this will be an awesome build to follow. Good luck and keep the pics comming!

Thanks mate, its great to have a community you can rely on for even the most obscure question about these little beasts. I hope you enjoy watching the build come together!

 

[Mtsvn]

Great to see another Aussie on the siteGreat truck. Are you going to take her all the way back to a chassis and start the rebuild from there.

Im not going to take the tub off in order to do the rebuild. Now that the motor and box are out, accessibility is pretty amazing for under body work.