FJ40:What to look for & stay away from??

[Gappy]

Howdy,
I have had a 62 for several yrs and am looking at maybe adding a 40 to the herd. I am wondering what to look for when shopping for a FJ40. Is there an engine, trany and transfer case that is better than another? Any crucial areas prone to rust to look for? Any options for certain yrs that are prone to failure? Any yrs have lockers as standard equipment? (Was that a stupid question?) Lower gearing in certain yrs? This would get mostly street use with hopefully occasional trail use. Any input would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks!!

 

[trucruiser]

Stay away from V8 hack jobs. It must be done right or you will have overheating and fitment issues. Check for rust around the rear sill (prone to rust on most). Rust is the biggest thing to look for (body mounts).
It is a start.

 

[REZARF]

Gotta say that 76-79 are the best years, but that will be debated. My overall choice would be a 78 because of the intro of electronic ignition.

That said, the 76 to 79 vintage has:

Disk Brakes
2F engine
4 speed
Ambulance Doors
4:11 gears (swapped to 3.70's in 80 iirc)

Pre 76 and you loose most of those options. After that you get better road gears at a cost off road.

Hope it helps!

Rezarf <><

 

[John Smith]

Gotta say that 76-79 are the best years, but that will be debated. My overall choice would be a 78 because of the intro of electronic ignition.

That said, the 76 to 79 vintage has:

Disk Brakes
2F engine
4 speed
Ambulance Doors
4:11 gears (swapped to 3.70's in 80 iirc)

Pre 76 and you loose most of those options. After that you get better road gears at a cost off road.

Hope it helps!

Rezarf <><

79 was the big switchover year for gears and gas tank under the truck along with factory PS and AC. So I believe you are a fan of the 76 - 78. And I agree that 78 is the most desireable year of that vintage.

 

[yotawheeler]

check for rust on the frame, rear sill and on the front cowl. if there have been any mods done to it take a look at them and make sure they arnt just kind of slapped on there. i would look for somthing '76 or newer because of the disc brakes and 2F in '79 they went to 3.75 R&P gears so if its gunna be mostly on the road you might want to consider looking for somthing 79 or newer, i think the ring and pinion gears were about all that changed from 78-79 (feel free to correct me if im wrong) good luck finden a rig

 

[jibber]

RUST, amount and locations. Obvious spots well noted prior. Bottoms of doors(x4), hard top to body mounting, look w/ flashlight at firewall/cowl from inside behind dash. Have a look for rust on frame. just my 2 cents happy shopping!

 

[LC_Hamma]

'78 & earlier, look around the gas tank area - top & bottom of tub; underside of both door sill bottoms & the closed channel behind where the tub steps up @ the seats. Most have already added the main problem areas.... X2 on the P.O. mods - look out for poor quality structural welds (ex. roll bar, bumper extraction points) Post up when you get one!

 

[corsair23]

My 2 cents worth...

First, determine what you are going to use the Cruiser for and what if any mods would be desireable for that...Your answer is mostly street and occassional trail use

From there determine what style you like best: Hard top, soft top, no top, ambulance doors, hatch style, marker light style, etc. etc. etc.

Consider any registration or titling issues you may run into depending upon age of vehicle...

Do a LOT of searches here on similar questions, do a lot of searches on line, etc.

Once you have decided what year you want and whether you want something stock or with mods start looking. If you find something throw up a new thread (WITH pics) and ask for comments

I don't think anyone answered the locker question but I don't believe any yr FJ40 came with factory lockers. But, if you are going to use the 40 mostly on the street you may not want locker(s) and most certainly (IMO) not an automatic locker.

My suggestion based on your post: Whatever year you like the look of, stock engine or WELL done conversion, 4-spd stock tranny or automatic for street driveability, and gearing appropriate for the tire size. Stay away from anything with an SM420 or SM465 tranny (not real in town friendly due to low 1st gear). Stay away from anything with automatic lockers unless you enjoy the noise . Look for something with no bigger than 33's for streetability.

Last suggestion....DRIVE as many FJ40s as you can to get an idea for how they drive and don't impulse buy on looks alone.

 

[my64fj40]

I don't know about your state, but I would get a cruiser that is smog exempt..

I believe it is pre 75s that are exempt.



76-79 comes with some good factory stuff, like disks, 2F, 4 speed, etc..
BUT there are alot of mods that can be done to a 40, you can buy a cruiser with drums and swap to disks, not a big deal. I say find one with very little rust and then mod it from there to get what you want...




And susprisingly there are cruisers out there with V8 that are nice and mechanicaly great, just because there is a V8 doesn't mean run away..

And the earlier the cruiser, typically the better the steel the cruiser had in which means less rust.. If you can get a cruiser that lived in Arizona, those are nice.


And don't impulse buy, a friend of mine bought a heep with a manual because he thought they were cool. He sold two months later relizing he couldn't and didn't want to drive a stick.

 

[zach]

buy a diesel.... thats my two cents

 

[Gappy]

Wow, that is exactly the info i am looking for! Thanks for all of the responses! Leads me to:
What is the dif between the 2F and the previous engine? Is the 2F in the 40 the same as the drive train in the FJ60?
Did Toyota make a factory diesel or are they conversions? If factory, is it still a FJ or some other lettering system?
Are all of the hard tops removable?
Thanks again!!

 

[Lupdog]

Factory diesels are labed BJ or HJ instead of FJ. Diesel's were more common in markets outside of the USA. BJ's had the B and 3B diesel motors and HJ's had the H and 2H diesels. Don't think there were any HJ40's but definately HJ45's and HJ47's (LWB troopy and ute models).

Hardtops are removable but not really a one person job that you would want to do all that often.

Lup

 

[paulj]

My $.02:
Either get a basic rust-free chassis and build it up the way you want, or get one that's been reconditioned, restored, or built up by someone you know and trust or by someone who can independently inspect it and give it a thumbs up. IMO it would be a mistake to get a basket case and fix or replace most of the major components unless you just love doing that sort of thing and you can find a bargain fixer-upper.
One of the major repairs I had to do on mine was replace the brake booster. It's that large drum on the driver's side firewall behind the brake master cylinder. If you push down on the brake pedal and it makes a hissing sound, beware!

 

[brian]

this such a general question,,,,,,,,that still gets asked on an almost weekly basis.


my standard answer is, buy the most rust free cruiser you can find in your budget range, that has not been hacked to badly, nothing else matters period.
anything that makes the later 40's "better"(using that with a grain of salt) can be easliy installed on the earlier ones.
the most inportant part is a solid base to start on or atleast maintain on.

 

[my64fj40]

My $.02:
Either get a basic rust-free chassis and build it up the way you want, or get one that's been reconditioned, restored, or built up by someone you know and trust or by someone who can independently inspect it and give it a thumbs up. IMO it would be a mistake to get a basket case and fix or replace most of the major components unless you just love doing that sort of thing and you can find a bargain fixer-upper.
One of the major repairs I had to do on mine was replace the brake booster. It's that large drum on the driver's side firewall behind the brake master cylinder. If you push down on the brake pedal and it makes a hissing sound, beware!

Replacing the brake booster was a major repair??

 

[aandy767]

Get your heart set on one year. Then through that out the window when you see the deal for you.

 

[Lupdog]

Get your heart set on one year. Then through that out the window when you see the deal for you.

I have ended up with 2 cruisers made in 1984 and both white for some reason but I love the later years and white for that mater. Square bezels rock!!

Lup