Evening fellow Cruiserheads,
Starting a build thread for our 1976 FJ40. We acquired this FJ40 in August 2009 from the second owner in Texas, and it has been in our family ever since. I have a few other Cruisers now (an FZJ80, a UZJ100, and other Toyota 4WDs), but I wanted to start a thread for this one as I begin to tinker with it again.
In 2009, we drove to Texas from Virginia in our 80-series to pick this FJ40 up. The FJ served as a hunting vehicle for both previous owners; the second owner towed it all over the continent for elk hunts during his 20 years of ownership. It wasn’t perfect when we got it, but it had been maintained and was otherwise close to stock (aside from an added Holley carb). It had AC, a tow bar, and a Warn 8274 winch from the original owner, who supposedly had those items installed at the dealership when it was purchased new in New Mexico.
We purchased this vehicle as something for my Father and I to tinker with and for me to learn to drive in (I learned to how to parallel park with no power steering and off-road in this truck). Over the years, we have done our best to maintain it while still enjoying it as a driver. We’ve towed it across the country a few times and even drove it under its own power from the Boulder to Carbondale area twice. We even have a folder of receipts for it.
Colorado 2011:
Yard duty 2025 (the 100 was getting a new steering rack):
Summer 2025 (First time its seen the Atlantic, maybe even the first time seeing salt water since 1975):
Notable Modifications:
Our dream was originally to restore this FJ, but the longer we have had it the more the “patina” has grown on me. I don’t think we would enjoy it as much after a full restoration. Most of the rust it has is surface rust, except for the doors and rear hardtop to tube seal. Once the top comes off, it’s not going back on without new metal. That will need to wait until I have garage space.
The long-term goal is to make this a period-correct patina off-roader that is bias towards crawling and can go topless; mechanically restoring the vehicle with some tasteful modifications and doing minimal body work to preserve the patina. In the immediate future, I plan to do some basic maintenance and daily drive it this summer to get a better idea of what it needs long term.
Summer maintenance:
Starting a build thread for our 1976 FJ40. We acquired this FJ40 in August 2009 from the second owner in Texas, and it has been in our family ever since. I have a few other Cruisers now (an FZJ80, a UZJ100, and other Toyota 4WDs), but I wanted to start a thread for this one as I begin to tinker with it again.
In 2009, we drove to Texas from Virginia in our 80-series to pick this FJ40 up. The FJ served as a hunting vehicle for both previous owners; the second owner towed it all over the continent for elk hunts during his 20 years of ownership. It wasn’t perfect when we got it, but it had been maintained and was otherwise close to stock (aside from an added Holley carb). It had AC, a tow bar, and a Warn 8274 winch from the original owner, who supposedly had those items installed at the dealership when it was purchased new in New Mexico.
We purchased this vehicle as something for my Father and I to tinker with and for me to learn to drive in (I learned to how to parallel park with no power steering and off-road in this truck). Over the years, we have done our best to maintain it while still enjoying it as a driver. We’ve towed it across the country a few times and even drove it under its own power from the Boulder to Carbondale area twice. We even have a folder of receipts for it.
Colorado 2011:
Yard duty 2025 (the 100 was getting a new steering rack):
Summer 2025 (First time its seen the Atlantic, maybe even the first time seeing salt water since 1975):
Notable Modifications:
- Man-a-free rear bumper with swing outs – Aug 2011
- Fronts seats and console – Aug 2011
- OME lift kit 4’’to 5’’ (leaf springs and shocks) – Aug 2011
- OEM rims and 33’’x10.5’’ BFG KOs – Aug 2011
- Extended front driveshaft (Tom woods) – May 2018
- Mini truck power steering conversion – May 2018
- Full exhaust, radiator, hoses, sparks, “tune up” – Sep 2010
- Front Brakes (soft lines, calipers, pads) – Feb 2014
- Oil pressure switch – Feb 2017
- Knuckles - May 2018
- Oil pan replacement – Jun 2021
Our dream was originally to restore this FJ, but the longer we have had it the more the “patina” has grown on me. I don’t think we would enjoy it as much after a full restoration. Most of the rust it has is surface rust, except for the doors and rear hardtop to tube seal. Once the top comes off, it’s not going back on without new metal. That will need to wait until I have garage space.
The long-term goal is to make this a period-correct patina off-roader that is bias towards crawling and can go topless; mechanically restoring the vehicle with some tasteful modifications and doing minimal body work to preserve the patina. In the immediate future, I plan to do some basic maintenance and daily drive it this summer to get a better idea of what it needs long term.
Summer maintenance:
- Cooling system (radiator, hoses, clamps, water pump, fan, etc)
- Leaking brake hardline
- Engine tune up (sparks, plugs, cap, rotor)
- Valve cover gasket
- Fuel filter and soft lines
- Belts
- Fresh fluids all around
- Air filter
- Rear exhaust hanger