Hey new to the scene here

White Stripe · Jun 15, 2017

Since your 40 is so far gone, I would consider converting it to a fj43. You would get more interior room, longer wheel base, it would be very unique as they never sent fj43's to the USA. You could have aqualu get you a fj43 body out of aluminum and a fj43 frame which they make as well, or extend your current frame depending on how much labor you want to do yourself. Making a fj43 would only cost a few thousand more over making a 40 from the point your are currently at now. You could get a fj43 soft top made in the US custom or get one imported by landcruiser heaven in columbia. Coilover is a ton of work, I would consider a simpler spring over axle setup. It will ride pretty nice, look good, and will do great off road if you are careful to not make it too tall. Try to keep frame height less than 23 inches. If you are going hardcore, I would also consider wider axles. Something in the 63" to 65" wms(wheel mounting surface) to wms width would still look good but greatly improve stability. You could do this with toyota axles or american axles.

BubbaFJ40 · Jun 15, 2017

White Stripe said:
Since your 40 is so far gone, I would consider converting it to a fj43. You would get more interior room, longer wheel base, it would be very unique as they never sent fj43's to the USA. You could have aqualu get you a fj43 body out of aluminum and a fj43 frame which they make as well, or extend your current frame depending on how much labor you want to do yourself. Making a fj43 would only cost a few thousand more over making a 40 from the point your are currently at now. You could get a fj43 soft top made in the US custom or get one imported by landcruiser heaven in columbia. Coilover is a ton of work, I would consider a simpler spring over axle setup. It will ride pretty nice, look good, and will do great off road if you are careful to not make it too tall. Try to keep frame height less than 23 inches. If you are going hardcore, I would also consider wider axles. Something in the 63" to 65" wms(wheel mounting surface) to wms width would still look good but greatly improve stability. You could do this with toyota axles or american axles.

I have never been inside or even seen another FJ40 in person let alone a 43 so that would be a cool and interesting concept. My only concern with an aluminum tub is 1 the price, and 2 how I would bond it to the cowl and other pieces made of steel, with the steel tub I just planned to weld everything together. I would be willing to stretch the frame as I considered doing that anyway since I was seriously contemplating the Cummins engine. I like the soft top, but I absolutely love the look of the hard top (it almost feels like sacrilege but I cannot help it. Will I be able to accomplish the same droop and axle travel out of a spring over setup? I like the idea of the wider axle but I don't know much about axles and gearing yet. The biggest reason I was going to do the coil-over setup even though it is a lot more work is because of the weight of the 4bt. I know they are extremely heavy and I plan to put a bit of armor on the vehicle as well. I am learning quite a lot from all of you folks here!

White Stripe · Jun 15, 2017

BubbaFJ40 said:
I have never been inside or even seen another FJ40 in person let alone a 43 so that would be a cool and interesting concept. My only concern with an aluminum tub is 1 the price, and 2 how I would bond it to the cowl and other pieces made of steel, with the steel tub I just planned to weld everything together. I would be willing to stretch the frame as I considered doing that anyway since I was seriously contemplating the Cummins engine. I like the soft top, but I absolutely love the look of the hard top (it almost feels like sacrilege but I cannot help it. Will I be able to accomplish the same droop and axle travel out of a spring over setup? I like the idea of the wider axle but I don't know much about axles and gearing yet. The biggest reason I was going to do the coil-over setup even though it is a lot more work is because of the weight of the 4bt. I know they are extremely heavy and I plan to put a bit of armor on the vehicle as well. I am learning quite a lot from all of you folks here!

You can get steel fj43 tubs from land cruiser heaven and teseven in France which makes pretty high quality tubs although I'm not sure what shipping runs. You could also get a half tub. You can get a hard top for a fj43 as well although getting a oem hard top for a fj43 will be a bit expensive. Aftermarket fj43 tops are cheaper and can be gotten through landcruiser heaven. They may be able to get you a oem hard top but you would have to ask. If you move the wheel opening back on the rear of a fj43 you can get a very long wheel base. aqualu fj43 - Google Search:

BubbaFJ40 · Jun 15, 2017

White Stripe said:
You can get steel fj43 tubs from land cruiser heaven and teseven in France which makes pretty high quality tubs although I'm not sure what shipping runs. You could also get a half tub. You can get a hard top for a fj43 as well although getting a oem hard top for a fj43 will be a bit expensive. Aftermarket fj43 tops are cheaper and can be gotten through landcruiser heaven. They may be able to get you a oem hard top but you would have to ask. If you move the wheel opening back on the rear of a fj43 you can get a very long wheel base. aqualu fj43 - Google Search:

Judging from the photos I'll need new jump seats then if I decide to go with a 43 over the 40 correct? How much longer is the wheelbase of a 43 over a 40 before shifting it? I sincerely appreciate the insight and assistance!

White Stripe · Jun 16, 2017

BubbaFJ40 said:
Judging from the photos I'll need new jump seats then if I decide to go with a 43 over the 40 correct? How much longer is the wheelbase of a 43 over a 40 before shifting it? I sincerely appreciate the insight and assistance!

I think it's about 5" longer wheel base.The 4bt isn't a lot of weight for leaf springs. The stock 2f weighs about 700lbs.

BubbaFJ40 · Jun 16, 2017

White Stripe said:
I think it's about 5" longer wheel base.The 4bt isn't a lot of weight for leaf springs. The stock 2f weighs about 700lbs.

I had no idea that the factory 2F was that heavy! Maybe I wont need coilovers after all...I may just stick a 4bt in there on all of the upgraded stock stuff. I think the wider axle is definitely something i want to do if it will bolt up. Otherwise if I'm gonna fab the axle it might make more sense to go to the coilovers.

BubbaFJ40 · Jun 18, 2017

Got the hood removed this morning/afternoon. Only had to break about half of the bolts off. Good thing they sell replacement sets

BubbaFJ40 · Jun 19, 2017

Thought this thread could use a photo update so I took some photos of what I am currently working with. I know they are not pretty, but fantastic machines are not built in a few days but over the course of time.