Great 40! Love the family vibe for cruisers.
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Get 327 Corvette engine running and put it up for sale. Then swap in a 2H 6 cylinder diesel motor and turbo it.
Are you going to repair the barn doors or are you going to seek out replacements? I have some barn doors that can provide the patch pieces for repair and I also have some barn doors.The plan is to make Bluebonnet a mechanically solid daily driver while preserving her original patina exterior and interior.
Current mechanical setup:
327 Corvette Engine
Toyota 3 on the floor transmission
Non-split case Transfer w/ Ebrake
Stock Front and Rear Drum Brake Axles
Selectro Locking Hubs
No Power Steering
Current Body Condition:
Hood, Fenders, Cowl, Aprons, Doors, Quarter Panels, and the Rear Hatch are in great condition with no cancerous rust or pitting.
Areas of Concern:
Rear Sill: Rust has eaten through a few layers of metal, but not all the way through. It also hasn’t wrapped around to the rear quarters yet.
View attachment 2017532
Barn Doors: The bottom edge of the Doors have been rusted through from the inside.
View attachment 2017533View attachment 2017534
Fiberglass Top: Several surface cracks and a few pin sized holes. Fiberglass fibers are exposed through the paint in some areas.
View attachment 2017536
This is where the fun begins:
Future Mechanical Plan:
Get 327 Corvette engine running and put it up for sale. Then swap in a 2H 6 cylinder diesel motor.
Swap the 3 speed on the floor tranny for a 4 speed Toyota tranny.
Keep the same transfer w/ Ebrake
Swap the front drum axle components with fj62 front disk break components. Keep the stock rear drum axle.
Add 4WD Solid Axle Mini Truck Power Steering
Future Body Plan:
Wash the entire truck with soap and water, including the interior. Scrub the body with CLR to remove any oxidation from the OEM paint. Wax and Buff. Treat the Rear Sill and Lower Barn door sills with rust converter. Thanks for the Patina writeup @wngrog
Good plans. If I had a strong 327 in an FJ40 when I was 16 I probably woulndt be writing this now
Turbo diesel will feel a lot more “land cruiser-y”
That being said you should have a V8-powered cruiser at some point in life
"land-cruisery" is a great description. I had a fuel injected 350 in a 40 on 37's and it was a blast, but with the SM420/350 it just didn't feel as "land-cruisery" as you put it. It's a good thing I didn't keep track of mileage ... I wasn't a total jerk driving, but I always would smoke any of the Jeeps that thought their mini-van engine was so cool. Ahh...the old times...
Now that I'm a little older I tend to just "cruise" around under the speed limit and wave my fist in the air at youngsters... Get off my lawn!!
(I'm not THAT old, but to my kids 18,15,10....42 is ancient)
"land-cruisery" is a great description. I had a fuel injected 350 in a 40 on 37's and it was a blast, but with the SM420/350 it just didn't feel as "land-cruisery" as you put it. It's a good thing I didn't keep track of mileage ... I wasn't a total jerk driving, but I always would smoke any of the Jeeps that thought their mini-van engine was so cool. Ahh...the old times...
Now that I'm a little older I tend to just "cruise" around under the speed limit and wave my fist in the air at youngsters... Get off my lawn!!
(I'm not THAT old, but to my kids 18,15,10....42 is ancient)
Are you going to repair the barn doors or are you going to seek out replacements? I have some barn doors that can provide the patch pieces for repair and I also have some barn doors.
Kevo