Be careful what you wish for FJ62 project: Grey Lady

[Michael Hanson]

Hi, Any sound deadening you add will help.The Toyota trim around the front window is not that hard to install with the correct tool and soap and water. It does take extra time. Mike

 

[batthewmrown]

Don’t forget to do the galley plug fix on your cruiser. Pretty important. Don’t want it to come out and have it hemorrhage oil and kill it.
Gasket plug is just above the #5 spark plug it is a plug pressed in by the factory that eventually comes off. Do this just for piece of mind. If it hasn’t been done already.
Cheers

Been planning this fix over the summer when I knock out my exhaust leak, @kengalbraith. If you want to do it as a team, I think we can maintain social distance and get it done!

 

[kengalbraith]

Some decent, inexpensive 5-1/4" 2-way speakers for the front doors are Pioneer TS-G1345R. They are shallow speakers so they fit inside the factory door panels and clear the windows when they're lowered.

Wanted to throw you a quick thanks - finally got these ordered and installed, they sound good!

 

[KamarulF]

How this happened: I went to HS in northern NM in the early 2000s and my best friend drove this truck that her dad bought for her from an AZ relative. She got a new car when she went to college. Her dad eventually wanted this truck to be his project, he worked for the Forest Service at the time and wanted to build a trail rig. He ended up getting a Tacoma, and then an 80 series and Grey Lady (my new name for this project) fell by the wayside. At one point (estimated to be about 2008-ish) she stopped running and has now sat out in the yard for about ten years.

Fast forward to January 2018. I have been semi-joking with the father for years about the FJ62. Every time I stop by the family house (I have since moved away from northern NM but they are close family friends and I stop by when I'm in town) I tell him if he ever wants to get rid of the 62 that I want it. Keep in mind I know nothing about 62's, Toyotas, and have never been offroad, I just think the thing looks cool and would be fun to have another project car (even though I already have an E30 that mostly just sits and I talk about working on but never actually do). I have no idea of the cult following, the demand for older landcruisers, or how much people love these things. A little background on me: I am in my early 30s and live in urban Denver with no garage. I can change a tire and my own oil but the biggest project I have ever done is changing an alternator. I most definitely do not need another project in my life, but I'm also an idiot (or maybe a genius, because now I have a 62!).

So finally it happens: the dad calls me and says the wife wants the 62 gone. It has now been sitting for about ten years and they have 5-6 running other cars on the property including said Taco and 80 series. Someone had offered him $600 for it and he wanted me to have it instead. Did I want it? Um, HELL YEAH I DID.

I go down to NM the next weekend, put a wrench on the block to see if it spun (I googled a ton of wtf do I do with a car that has been sitting forever? threads) and it did so I put it on a flatbed and dropped it off across town at my dad's house.

Below is the car as I found her, after filling the tires. It had basically just been tenement housing for mice for years at this point, and we used a compressor to spray out a graveyard of carcasses and years of mouse poop. Dust is everywhere on the interior and exterior, but other than that the interior was in decent shape - the PO threw a sun visor in the windshield and an old sheet over the seats, so everything is pretty intact except the tops of the door interiors which are all cracked. The dry NM weather took care of the body - this truck has minimal rust.

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Up on the flatbed to the new home:

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Grey Lady was officially mine! Now to figure out why she wouldn't start... the previous owner doesn't remember why he parked her in the first place.

It's so satisfying when i get to see these trucks alive again..Keep up the good Job ! Great work.

 

[kengalbraith]

COVID has finally got me working on some FJ projects! Finally got around to ordering and installing carpet from @dnp. The results came out pretty good. I found a guy that said he could do the install for $100 and in retrospect, I should have done that. But now I know how to change carpet in an FJ, so I guess that's cool!

Nastiness:

Its clearly been a while since this thing was properly cleaned out, as evidenced by the blockbuster card found under the center console. The PO is a friend of mine and they did not know whose this was so it must have been in there for a while. Also, notice the full blown mouse hotel under where the console was that I've been driving around with:

Progress:

Admittedly, the old carpet wasn't the worst. I did a pretty good job cleaning it up after I got it. But mice had been living in it for so long it had a certain musk that I was getting bored of living with. The new carpet took me most of the weekend to install, I definitely didn't get the trimming perfect for the door jambs and transfer case, and its a bit baggy in areas, but it is finished and smells way better!

 

[kengalbraith]

While I had the back seat out, I decided to try to do some work on some of the stains. Not perfect, but definitely an improvement. Old seat:

And the improved:

Way better. I used a combo of dish detergent, vinegar, and warm water, and some random turtle wax cloth interior cleaner that I had. Did a lot of spraying the warm water/soap solution and shop vacuumed it out. Still can be cleaner but I am happy with the results for using stuff I had lying around the house. Also, quick shout to @RodrigzCrzr - I now have a rear tailgate card and installed the carpet on the rear tailgate so I can have a proper spot to comfortably sit and have a beer.

 

[kengalbraith]

I watched some ChrisFix vids on engine bay detailing and decided to give that a go. When it finally was starting to get dark, it felt like I had been at it for an hour or two with very little results. It still has a ways to go to be clean but after I compared the before and after I realized what a difference it had made. I had no idea there was letters on my oil cap (which looked really new and likely replaced at some point) or that my power steering cap said 'Toyoda' with a 'D' (which I am assuming is aftermarket). If anyone knows where the cap came from I would be interested. Here is the before:

And after:

Definite improvement but makes me realize how many hoses are ready to be replaced. Good that I can now notice these things though!

 

[SteveH]

or that my power steering cap said 'Toyoda' with a 'D' (which I am assuming is aftermarket). If anyone knows where the cap came from I would be interested.

Toyoda is the family name - it's a correct, original cap for your PS.

Steve