Best year for an FJ55?

[Lucy_FJ55]

The earlier 'which is the best Fj40' post obviously gave me this idea...

So what year has the most bells and whistles, is most sought after, and has the coolest stuff?

Wondering what everyone's opinions are and what the rigs came with from the factory. I have a '70 pig and am probably going to buy a '77 pig. Thoughts? (Helpful for planning on what to do with the two pigs.) Thanks!

 

[Landpimp]

79 and 80(not many 80 however) are prolly the most desirible.

79, 1st year of OEM PS

78 I think the hood got the center bump in it.

AC was always an option but not always Nippondenso.

other than that the 55 follows the 40 as far as mechanical stuff.

I like the earlier tailgates(forget the year, 77 or earlier for sure) that are stamped Toyota.

68 has the one year only front turn signals that mount the side of the upper fender.

prolly the best one is the one with the least rust.

 

[cruiser_guy]

[quote author=Landpimp link=board=1;threadid=17556;start=msg169819#msg169819 date=1086483963]
78 I think the hood got the center bump in it.
[/quote]

'Pimp, I'm surprised! The hood with the raised center came with the 2F to clear the air cleaner over the valve cover rather than beside (1976 model year).
It's a weaker hood in my opinion. We went with the older hood on our restoration due to the strength issue.

 

[Landpimp]

but 75 was the 1st year of the 2F? hey I only have one 55 and its a 78......so that the one I know

[quote author=cruiser_guy link=board=1;threadid=17556;start=msg169874#msg169874 date=1086489500]
'Pimp, I'm surprised! The hood with the raised center came with the 2F to clear the air cleaner over the valve cover rather than beside (1976 model year).
It's a weaker hood in my opinion. We went with the older hood on our restoration due to the strength issue.
[/quote]

 

[Lucy_FJ55]

I was also thinking about swapping the older style hood on to my '77 pig but I am getting used to it-and it has got to be lighter. My old hood also has a bit of rot along the front edge and needs some love so I may leave it on the '70 pig.

I also like the older tailgates and am stoked to have them on both pigs!

The newer pig has been restored so I will definetly keep her over the '70 but the '70 was my first Cruiser and she is a legend...I am having a difficult time even thinking about getting rid of her. I plan on selling my gas-friendly Subaru to help keep both pigs.

My older pig has the ignition left of the steering wheel-on the dash...I like that wierd placement. My newer pig has the ignition on the steering colomn-normal. Little differences...

Landpimp- Does your newer pig have some material (I don't know exactly what it is yet...) layed over the factory steel floorbaords? Is it original? Is it for sound dampening/insulation? I am afraid it could collect moisture and lead to rust/rot. The factory rubber floor mats are laid over this material...I don't have anything left covering the steel floorboards of my older pig. Any ideas anyone?

Any other differences ya' all dig about your pigs? Thanks.

 

[drohweder]

Ive got a 76 and I really like the looks of the center hump on the hood. It is an area of weakness in the sheet metal and its cracked at the corners. Nothing a little weld won't fix.

Post 76 has the disc brakes, 4.11 and cool tailgate. Otherwise, I got a 350 and aftermarket AC in it so I'll shut up now.

 

[cruiserbrett]

I used to like the later ones, now i am tending to the early ones(I did just get two more, a 69 and a 71)

I like the vent windows, and cool shield style steering wheel pad of the early ones. I would say rust is a big issue with any vintage. Seems to be thicker sheetmetal on earlier ones.

-Discs 9/'75 and newer
-Early-7/'70 heater duct does not have the indent for the A/C unit that was an option for 7/'70-9/'73.
-wiring harness prior to 1976 ran down DS of body, later went to pass. side.
-Center Dash panel changed 3 times, early-9/'72?, 9/'72?-9/73? and 9/'73-end? Might be a end change in 79??
-Early dash has key on left until 9-72 IIRC
-Heater changed in 9/'73
-Nippondenso A/C option 7/'70-9/'73 is stand alone unit, with its own fan. Mounts unde glovebox.
-Later ND A/C unit replace heater duct and the center heater louvre was different as well.
-Early back seats bottoms had no latch.
-Pre 72? tailgates had lic.light below plate, later got the piar of lights on either side.
-P/S option 1979
-Doors went to rounded front top corner in 9/'77 IIRC. Same time tailgate lost the embossed TOYOTA section.
-Gas door lock 1975
-Keys changed sometime 76? to only one key for all locks, unlike 9/'72-76ish where ign key was different
-Chrome trim showed up on drip rails, quarter windows and windshield much more frequently in 75, not sure if it was even an option before that, but I have not seen it prior to 1975.
-Hood change for 2f aircleaner, 1975
-4 speed in 9/'73. My 9/'73 had a three speed in it, but the factory installed a 4 speed skid where none of the drain holes lined up until I installed a 4speed. apparently the 4 speed skid made it to the assembly line before the tranny did.

 

[Lucy_FJ55]

Cool. Exactly what I was looking for, all great info! Thanks again everyone.

Anybody have that material, that seems OEM, laying against the floorboards and beneath the factory rubber mats? My old cruiser has just steel floorboards. The '77 seems to have some sort of insulation or sound deadener (maybe?) applied over the steel floorboards. What is this stuff? I don't have my new cruiser yet and only looked at it momentarily but would like to find out how it got there and what purpose it may serve. Any Ideas? ???

Thanks.

 

[cruiser_guy]

Yes, the '76 had some sort of tar substance on the floor. Rot started below that. May have come earlier as well.

 

[Lucy_FJ55]

Just talked to the PO and his relative that completed the resto.- He also said the material was stock, looked to be in good shape other than it is less plyable now than when he bought it. The guy that did the work on the rig said it looked like it was in good shape and painted over it. I plan on ripping it out to be sure there is no rust lurking...

Does anyone have any experience with this stuff? How hard is it to remove? Is it just held on with adhesive like other insulation/dampener material? Should I just start tearing it apart? I plan on rhino-lining (or some similar product) the floors/tub soon anyway. Suggestions?

 

[dentedpig]

I got a few parts off a 76 that had this insulating stuff. It was painted off white, probably from the factory. It was about 3/8" thick, and held on with adhesive. I peeled some off to cover the tranny hump on my 1969 to keep the noise down. It came off easy, but in 2 pieces. It should be easy to remove, unless we are talking about something completely different. the stuff I removed from the 76' was pretty plyable.

 

[cruiserbrett]

I have not seen it on FJ55 floorboards that I noticed, but my FJ40 had a bunch, about 3/16 thick, black dried tar like stuff. Painted over in the factory color, so it was there from the factory.

Having problems removing it? dont use a heat gun, rather get some dry ice and let it sit on the sound deadener for about 25 mins. then gently strike the areas with a hammer and it just pops off the floorboard. you might need a screwdriver or a scraper too.

 

[Dirt_is_our_friend]

i want a 55 so bad! so does anyone reccomend a particular year?