Before you jump in and buy loads of parts, you will be suprised that many of those parts are still usable. I also have a 76 and with my $15 sand blaster I was able to clean and reuse almost everything. If you replace your hardware go stainless. Also cruiserdan will give you a nice discount on OEM parts such as rubber seals and emblems. Good luck and enjoy, its loads of fun.
first 1978 FJ40 rebuild...
- Thread starter lvshust
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- #22
ha ha... yeah it was about 30 degrees by the time we got to the location after we drove about 7 hours racing daylight... nourished by only snickers, munches, jerky and hopes that it wasn't a rust bucket...
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- #23
the history is coming together a little at a time... i found it on ebay about a month ago in southern san diego. was being taken care of and driven by the PO... great guy. i had to rush back to vegas and then drive back and trailer it back to vegas the following day, only to leave within an hour to fly to cleveland for thanksgiving where i will be till january 1st.
so i have had a ridiculous amount of time going over and over every video and picture that i have of this rig and every year specific FJ that i have found since. i will be able to track history when i return...
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- #24
makomark... i should have read that a month ago... good advice. i already bought a turn signal assembly that i dont need. (because i have one on the FJ)
i have crossed many things off the list because i would prefer a truck that is as original as possible.
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- #25
has finally said..."don't you think we have enough"
So...being the idea man that I am
, I figure I'll start collecting woman
Tiger can't have them all
Seriously though, very nice looking 40 you snagged there. Good luck with it and the
with that many cruisers... how do you sleep at all!!? your
must love you... haha
Congrats on the good looking rig 
I can tell you that my was less than thrilled when I showed her the first pics of my 40...while it was still resting in an old barn
Thankfully she was impressed once it showed up...but not impressed that it did not run (I omitted to tell her the fact that the engine was stuck...but the price was good
But fear not, once my daughter and I got our hands working on the old cruiser, and we 'unstuck' the engine, I let my turn the key, and you should have seen her face when it came to life...let's just say that now she is looking forward to the day it is back on the street, and we can go for a drive 
You said restoring it back to the way it was...word of caution here...us purists have a much worst strain of the cruiser disease! Be ready to be patient while looking for original parts...but hey, the hunt is more than half the fun
I can tell you that my
was less than thrilled when I showed her the first pics of my 40...while it was still resting in an old barn Thankfully she was impressed once it showed up...but not impressed that it did not run (I omitted to tell her the fact that the engine was stuck...but the price was good
But fear not, once my daughter and I got our hands working on the old cruiser, and we 'unstuck' the engine, I let my turn the key, and you should have seen her face when it came to life...let's just say that now she is looking forward to the day it is back on the street, and we can go for a drive You said restoring it back to the way it was...word of caution here...us purists have a much worst strain of the cruiser disease! Be ready to be patient while looking for original parts...but hey, the hunt is more than half the fun
Good advice on the receipts! Wish someone had told me that. I would leave that one as close to stock as possible. It looks like its up to you on what color unless you like the primer grey. If you look on the ID tag on the passenger fender in the engine compartment you can see what color it was originally. I think though that if it were me I'd just be sure to paint it one of the colors from 1978. Check the FAQ's for color charts. Loads of good reading in there. Have fun, don't be in a hurry, and welcome aboard! Slow Poke
Sorry to hear you have been infected with this disease that lasts a life time. I was working on one of my fj40's yesterday and the smell of an old fj40 seems to be unique. It was the same smell from when I was in high school almost 30 years ago. It sticks with you fore ever. Any one who ever owned one seems to always want another one.
Nice rig. I am curious how the Suburban handled towing it. Did you feel underpowered? I am still waiting to get mine on a trailer and tow it with my Sub.
A fellow in our club up here tows his 45 with his 6.5 Diesel suburban all over the place. He said it was better towing on a dolley, figured the additional height of having it on the trailer hurt the aerodynamics.
I just towed mine all through WV and back to FL with a Toyota Sequoia with over 100K miles on it. Other then the long steep hills in WV it towed fine, so a suburban would have no problems. Had the same uhaul trailer. If you can pick up the trailer and take it empty and get the vehicle. If you rent it one way the charge you a lot.
before anybody calls the bezel police... i will call myself on it now...
its off and being prepared for paint as we speak...
Bezel patrol is out in full force. geez...
Nice truck by the way and welcome to MUD
Congratulation and Welcome to the infirmary!
Post your parts list and plans… cdan has helped lighten my wallet quite a bit but there are plenty of presents under the Christmas Tree!
More pics!
Post your parts list and plans… cdan has helped lighten my wallet quite a bit but there are plenty of presents under the Christmas Tree!
More pics!
Welcome Paul, very tidy-looking FJ40 you've snagged there. Keeping the receipts hidden is a good idea, like others have said! 40's are an obsession and we all love them here, so have fun with it.
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- #37
the burb handled it ok, i did feel sluggish and not as solid as a few other trucks i have towed with, but it did do the job from san diego to vegas alright (almost 8 hours haha)
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- #38
Thanks!
the
is actually onboard with the whole project... im luckyi have been scanning all the receipts in and i have them linked to each part in my spreadsheet. (i am a computer nerd)
I spoke with Cdan last week and his access to parts and pricing are excellent.
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- #39
Congrats on the good looking rig
I can tell you that my
Thankfully she was impressed once it showed up...but not impressed that it did not run (I omitted to tell her the fact that the engine was stuck...but the price was good
You said restoring it back to the way it was...word of caution here...us purists have a much worst strain of the cruiser disease! Be ready to be patient while looking for original parts...but hey, the hunt is more than half the fun
yeah, this purist thing adds strain to all aspects to my life, but i seem to enjoy the end result of such efforts.
i will have to make concessions so i can get her on the road to do what she was made to do!