I got my 72 FJ40 a little over a year ago.
I think that one of the previous owners built this rig for offroad use only. Some of the modifications are awesome and show serious know how while others seem a little slapped together. My vision was to drive this FJ40 on the road way more than I drive it offroad. I spent the next year trouble shooting a short in the electrical, getting the wipers to work, getting the gas guage to work, and getting the parking brake to work. All things I needed to pass the Texas state inspection.
The electrical short was a shorted out alternator. one or more of the diode banks must have gone bad. That threw me for a loop and I couldn't find the drain with all of the fuses pulled....
The windshield wipers - I stalked heavily on this forum. It looks like someone had wired power to the switch. Several high speed wiper runs and several blown fuses later, I realized that the switch was a grounding circuit.
I installed a floor hand brake lever in the tans tunnel and rebuilt the transfer case mounted parking brake. I installed a double seal from valley hybrids in the transfer case while I was in there.
I passed the state inspection and enjoyed driving my FJ40 around. Now I am more informed about what I would like to do.
- Remove the 3" body lift
- Maybe swap for a 5VZ motor (it currently has a TBI 327 with a TH400 transmission mated to an Orion Transfer case build by Valley Hybrids.
- Lots of Body work
- Paint
I will take this slow, I think I will start with the body lift, then the body work (will likely stay primer gray for a while). I will likely put it all back together after that and drive a little longer before I do a total frame off restoration.
Now, I am starting on the removal of the 3" body lift. The lift was done pretty well which meens that it will be a real pain to remove. All of the blocks are welded into the frame.
I think that one of the previous owners built this rig for offroad use only. Some of the modifications are awesome and show serious know how while others seem a little slapped together. My vision was to drive this FJ40 on the road way more than I drive it offroad. I spent the next year trouble shooting a short in the electrical, getting the wipers to work, getting the gas guage to work, and getting the parking brake to work. All things I needed to pass the Texas state inspection.
The electrical short was a shorted out alternator. one or more of the diode banks must have gone bad. That threw me for a loop and I couldn't find the drain with all of the fuses pulled....
The windshield wipers - I stalked heavily on this forum. It looks like someone had wired power to the switch. Several high speed wiper runs and several blown fuses later, I realized that the switch was a grounding circuit.
I installed a floor hand brake lever in the tans tunnel and rebuilt the transfer case mounted parking brake. I installed a double seal from valley hybrids in the transfer case while I was in there.
I passed the state inspection and enjoyed driving my FJ40 around. Now I am more informed about what I would like to do.
- Remove the 3" body lift
- Maybe swap for a 5VZ motor (it currently has a TBI 327 with a TH400 transmission mated to an Orion Transfer case build by Valley Hybrids.
- Lots of Body work
- Paint
I will take this slow, I think I will start with the body lift, then the body work (will likely stay primer gray for a while). I will likely put it all back together after that and drive a little longer before I do a total frame off restoration.
Now, I am starting on the removal of the 3" body lift. The lift was done pretty well which meens that it will be a real pain to remove. All of the blocks are welded into the frame.