Hello guys,
my cousin and recently purchased a 1979 BJ40 which, albeit looking a bit like frankenstein, is actually in pretty good condition and original parts.
Being stuck in Costa Rica for 3 months now, we decided to pull the trigger on this project and hope to have it soon in ~2 or so months.
Mechanically, the vehicle is in great conditions. These old Land Cruisers in Costa Rica must pass annual inspections in order to stay in the road so brakes, transmission, engine, etc. is all pretty solid. The original B engine runs well, can climb a hill on 2nd or 3rd gear. It's not fast, but drives very nicely.
Bodywise, not much rust but lots to do. The old owner was "restoring it" and hence all the terrible weld jobs (hint: black paint spots). We're planning on replacing the tub and many body panels so no worries there.
The top isn't the BJ's original top, although it does seem to match the year (has the vents). Luckily, both the top and the fiberglass roof are in great condition.
There's an interesting story of these Land Cruisers in Costa Rica, as there are thousands of them still on the road. We met a few people here which told us that in the 1970's coffee boom lots and lots farmers purchased these as working vehicles. It definitely was the perfect vehicle for this country which has lots of plantations and dirt roads. Many are still being used, and currently there's a good community of Cruisers, lots of parts availability(although not OEM as it's extremely expensive here). Like any other SA cruisers, some of these vehicles have terrible (per US Standard) repairs, yet very repairable. I mean terrible per the US Standards since it's a workling vehicle and they dont care about the crap weld. (See picture below on the Spring Perch and Support Bracket)
Here's our project, plan is to have it here in our farm in Costa Rica for some months and then take to the US for our enjoyment.
It seems like originally the BJ40 was Nebula Green, but we're thinking of doing Spring Green which wasn't available in 1979, to our understanding. The main reason behind choosing this color is that the BJ40 came with "new" upholstery, in a light brown faux leather. We imagine these two colors will match pretty nicely.
Here are some pictures:
This is what we expect our end result to look like:
The interior:
The cluster works entirely, except the fuel gauge. Might be the fuel sender unit... Engine Cutoff works, hand brake works nicely. Both cigarrette thing and glovebox are original, including the gear and tranny plate.
Engine bay looks original, no crap jobs here, except new horns. Note the lack of wiring for the engine. The diesel B has no need for so much wiring, this was a nice surprise for us as it makes it much more simple to work on.
Under the body things like pretty good, with the exception of the Rear Spring Perchs which have been replaced and welded on. We're having them CNC cut and will build new ones.
Enjoy! Any suggestions are extremely welcome, this is our second Land Cruiser repair/light restoration so we are learning a lot doing this. We often go through these forums to learn and appreciate everyone's knowledge. An yes, all the chrome parts will go...
my cousin and recently purchased a 1979 BJ40 which, albeit looking a bit like frankenstein, is actually in pretty good condition and original parts.
Being stuck in Costa Rica for 3 months now, we decided to pull the trigger on this project and hope to have it soon in ~2 or so months.
Mechanically, the vehicle is in great conditions. These old Land Cruisers in Costa Rica must pass annual inspections in order to stay in the road so brakes, transmission, engine, etc. is all pretty solid. The original B engine runs well, can climb a hill on 2nd or 3rd gear. It's not fast, but drives very nicely.
Bodywise, not much rust but lots to do. The old owner was "restoring it" and hence all the terrible weld jobs (hint: black paint spots). We're planning on replacing the tub and many body panels so no worries there.
The top isn't the BJ's original top, although it does seem to match the year (has the vents). Luckily, both the top and the fiberglass roof are in great condition.
There's an interesting story of these Land Cruisers in Costa Rica, as there are thousands of them still on the road. We met a few people here which told us that in the 1970's coffee boom lots and lots farmers purchased these as working vehicles. It definitely was the perfect vehicle for this country which has lots of plantations and dirt roads. Many are still being used, and currently there's a good community of Cruisers, lots of parts availability(although not OEM as it's extremely expensive here). Like any other SA cruisers, some of these vehicles have terrible (per US Standard) repairs, yet very repairable. I mean terrible per the US Standards since it's a workling vehicle and they dont care about the crap weld. (See picture below on the Spring Perch and Support Bracket)
Here's our project, plan is to have it here in our farm in Costa Rica for some months and then take to the US for our enjoyment.
It seems like originally the BJ40 was Nebula Green, but we're thinking of doing Spring Green which wasn't available in 1979, to our understanding. The main reason behind choosing this color is that the BJ40 came with "new" upholstery, in a light brown faux leather. We imagine these two colors will match pretty nicely.
Here are some pictures:
This is what we expect our end result to look like:
The interior:
The cluster works entirely, except the fuel gauge. Might be the fuel sender unit... Engine Cutoff works, hand brake works nicely. Both cigarrette thing and glovebox are original, including the gear and tranny plate.
Engine bay looks original, no crap jobs here, except new horns. Note the lack of wiring for the engine. The diesel B has no need for so much wiring, this was a nice surprise for us as it makes it much more simple to work on.
Under the body things like pretty good, with the exception of the Rear Spring Perchs which have been replaced and welded on. We're having them CNC cut and will build new ones.
Enjoy! Any suggestions are extremely welcome, this is our second Land Cruiser repair/light restoration so we are learning a lot doing this. We often go through these forums to learn and appreciate everyone's knowledge. An yes, all the chrome parts will go...