Build Challenge Accepted: Project #FarmForty

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pmccraney

pmccraney

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Feb 12, 2010
Threads
11
Messages
1,292
Location
Stuck in Lodi (Again)
A good many of us, it seems, got into land cruisers by way of the iconic FJ40. I’ve never owned one and, somewhat strangely, never really wanted one. I’ve always been more of a wagon guy – with a few 100 series over the years (now on my 3rd), a 60 I once owned and loved, and now my 55 (gratuitous pic of pig and the aforementioned farm):

IMG_8773.webp


But… having watched my friends, @wngrog (the famous project Patina) and @ducksntrout (the MS Delta beast) work through their 40 projects the past couple of years, I started to think it may be fun to have one to use as a work truck around my brother’s farm. Plus, every cruiser guy (or gal) needs a 40 at some point in their life, right?

Of course, a “farm truck” is easier said than done when confined by a budget in the current market of sugary high prices. So, I simply bookmarked the thought of a 40 project as something I MIGHT consider tackling in a few years and mentioned it to @wngrog (nolen) in passing.

Ordinarily, that would be the end of the story…..

But…….rusted-out relics find Nolen like pigeons to a bag lady and one day, out of nowhere, he mentioned that he had a lead on a project that would have a very low financial barrier to entry (code phrase for piece of s***). His stable was full but he was willing to pass it on to me if I was willing to foster the filthy animal and give it a home in the barn.

So, with that background, an idea was born. Really, it was more of a challenge: to try and cobble together a working fj40 on a very tight budget using mostly salvage parts on hand. A true farm beater.

Given that these projects generally death spiral quickly into a frame off that steals several years of your life and all of your money, I knew that the prevailing odds and tendencies did not favor this mission.

Moreover, the only intelligence I received on the vehicle before a road trip was planned to go look at it and pick it up was the following picture and subtitle:

"Here is your piece of s***; tailgate, among other things, not included"):

IMG_0244.webp
 
Fast forward a couple of weeks, and we hit the road. I was fueled by hope and optimism. I had visions of hot laps around the farm in my vintage chariot.

And, then we pulled up… {it was like walking into your favorite bar with a smile only to encounter a hostile crowd and a record scratch}…. Through a few seasons worth of fall foliage gathered in the floorboard, I could see daylight through the kick panels.
IMG_0241.webp



There was no battery to start it, but was assured that it did turn over and crank. There were no seats, no tailgate (removed, as promised), no windshield, and the rear fenders looked like they had been cut out by a right-handed 5-year-old using left-handed scissors. Thankfully, whatever it was that was on the front bumper that resembled a cast iron apple cart had been removed as well. Beyond rust, there were at least 5 or 6 different colors, including some stenciled leaf patterns (??) that looked like a camo job that was never really started (or finished)….

IMG_0259.webp


And then the final polish.... the makeshift “snorkel” (see, smokestack exhaust coming out of the driver’s kick panel in true tractor-pull fashion):

IMG_0258.webp


Oh, and there was no title.

I started to sweat. Alarm bells went off through every fiber of my connective tissue and everything in my head screamed “bad idea”, “run away quickly” (and Nolen, also recognizing the sheer level of disaster that lay before us, graciously gave me that option).

And so, I did what any cruiserhead of sound mind would do in that situation: I said “screw it, let’s take it home and try to figure out a game plan.” And, so we did.
 
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Just let Nolan do his magic.
 
Pffff call that rusty... my rockers have more rust then that whole truck


Looks like a driver to me

Paint it and drive it (try not to give into the temptation to use house paint )

Lol

Look forward to seeing a cheap build... it is possible ... and a farm boy is just the type that can pull it off :)

One of the cheapest and biggest cruiserheads I know is a farm boy

When I say cheapest I don’t meen in quality ... he does great work

Had to add that just Incase he reads this ... I know he lurks mud now and again

:)

Congrats of the .... ummmm new cruiser !!!
 
After winching in onto the trailer, we headed to grab some lunch at a local joint in the nearest town for our initial planning session. As we pulled in, I saw there was a real, working FJ40 in the parking lot. It was like another sign as if to say: “yeah, that thing you have other there on the trailer...yes indeed, a very bad idea.”

The food was terrible (I wasn’t hungry anyway) and the point of sale system literally crashed as I was trying to pay for my lunch. Bad omens everywhere…. This is me in the parking lot assessing the pile and trying to ignore the Morgan Freeman voice from the heavens saying, “son, why must you always make poor choices.”

IMG_0261.webp
 
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He's leaving out the parts 40!!!
 
We didn't speak much on the way home.....

The first stop was actually Nolen’s farm, because I still had not informed by brother that I had a acquired a retired derby car that would be stored at his place during a very lengthy layover while we sorted through it.

First thing we did was find some seats buried in a pile in a pole barn. Mostly rusty springs, no foam and not much fabric to speak of, but hopefully we could survive the test run without getting tetanus or falling through the floor board. We propped up the fronts using a piece of a 4*4 beam as a makeshift floor mount.

Then he grabs a battery and drops it in….

So, we got +12V and we got seats…… Now what?

Oh yeah, we need gas. So, nolen grabs a JEGS can from his shop, dumps a couple gallons of non-E in it, and snakes the intake hose from the electrical fuel pump in through the spout. In a somewhat humorous move of blinded optimism, we actually strap our “gas tank” down so it won’t spill over in the event we get this thing to move on its own power.

I turn the key to the hot position and the electrical fuel pump gurgles like a kid sipping water from a fountain at recess….. [hmmm.....there may be hope here].

I fight the transmission into neutral and turn the ignition….. The old F series turned over but wasn’t too thrilled about waking up completely. Then nolen sprayed some starter fluid into the carb….. and after fiddling with the fuel pump to dial in the right setting, she came to life (rather, she back-fired and spit with un-muffled exhaust blowing right in my ear/face)...

She lurched enough to roll of the trailer and then died. The carb was clearly getting fouled so we did the old redneck carb clean (palm over the air intake until it died)... Then, we hooked up an in-line fuel filter and gave it another go..... One hub was seized, so it moved with an awkward gate like a retired running back dragging his bad knee..... But, that turned out to be a good thing, because we had no brakes otherwise....

“Peel out” says nolen and grabs the camera:

 
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pmccraney said:
We didn't speak much on the way home.....

The first stop was actually Nolen’s farm, because I still had not informed by brother that I had a acquired a retired derby car that would be stored at his place during a very lengthy layover while we sorted through it.

First thing we did was find some seats buried in a pile in a pole barn. Mostly rusty springs, no foam and not much fabric to speak of, but hopefully we could survive the test run without getting tetanus or falling through the floor board. We propped up the fronts using a piece of a 4*4 beam as a makeshift floor mount.

Then he grabs a battery and drops it in….

So, we got +12V and we got seats…… Now what?

Oh yeah, we need gas. So, nolen grabs a JEGS can from his shop, dumps a couple gallons of non-E in it, and snakes the intake hose from the electrical fuel pump in through the spout. In a somewhat humorous move of blinded optimism, we actually strap our “gas tank” down so it won’t spill over in the event we get this thing to move on its own power.

I turn the key to the hot position and the electrical fuel pump gurgles like a kid sipping water from a fountain at recess….. [hmmm.....there may be hope here].

I fight the transmission into neutral and turn the ignition….. The old F series turned over but wasn’t too thrilled about waking up completely. Then nolen sprayed some starter fluid into the carb….. and after fiddling with the fuel pump to dial in the right setting, she came to life (rather, she back-fired and spit with un-muffled exhaust blowing right in my ear/face)...

She lurched enough to roll of the trailer and then died. The carb was clearly getting fouled so we did the old palm over the intake trick until it died... Then, we hooked up an in-line fuel filter and gave it another go..... One hub was seized, so it moved with an awkward gate like a retired running back dragging his bad knee..... But, that turned out to be a good thing, because we had no brakes otherwise....

“Peel out” says nolen and grabs the camera:

Click to expand...

Almost like seeing a 90year old, who’s been in hospice care, get up, shake it off, and walk right out of the building. It’s a beautiful thing seeing something that should have been dead years ago, refuse to comply.
 
Great video !! Looks like the dog wanted to hop in but had second thoughts...
 
Good thing you left that valve cover filter in place. You never know.
 
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