Hidden Luddite (1 Viewer)

[Pitter Patter]

Hello Everyone,

I've been a long time MUD lurker and this is my first introductory post. Social media isn't my jam (so moderators please tell me if I do something wrong), but I love this forum because there are so many creative people that share my passion for all things Land Cruiser so here goes. Back in 2000, I purchased a stock but rough FJ40 for $2,800. The PO loved it and did his absolute best to maintain the vehicle but he had to sell. I was 19y/o at the time and the goal was to build a wheeler. I didn't know how to drive a manual and I had no tools or skills because I had never even changed oil. My man card was missing its mechanical endorsement and I knew it so over the following 12 years I wrenched hard, wheeled hard and then sold soft. Bad move, but I was so busy with my career that I wasn't wheeling anymore and it killed me to see the 40 sitting. It went from stock to: SOA, shackle reversal, cut/turn front axle, drivelines, power-steer/hi-steer, front disc, longfields, 4.88's, front/rear aussie lockers, 36" Irok bias, two-tone rattle can extraordinaire, cage, seats/belts mounted to cage, full spare secured in bed, highlift secured to cage, soft top, etc. I kept it minimalistic and purpose built for PNW wheeling because you rock into a lot of big fir trees if you are doing it right. Here's some photos right before I sold it:

There's a couple homage to mustard spots peeking through. These are the only photos I have of the 40. As a full fledged luddite, I didn't use a cell phone until around the time this thing was being sold. I'm upset with myself for not documenting things back then but I grew up in the 80's & 90's and it just wasn't a thing in my world. I won't make that mistake again and posting here is part of that documentation process so thank you Woody for the forum. Fast forward to December 2020 and I made a new purchase.

 

[Pitter Patter]

Decided now that I'm turning 40, I need a 40, and it should be 40 years old like me. So I cyber stalked a man named Chris Wade (one or two of you may have heard of him). I somehow convinced Chris via mental jiu jitsu, many dollars, and the fact that he is just a great guy, to sell me his un-restored 1981 that he was just weeks away from taking apart. (not a dent on the top side panel, just weird lighting)

Very different goals this time. This 40 is getting a full frame off and being restored as close as possible to how it came off the factory line back in 1981. I intend to drive it until the State takes my license away. The few exceptions will be: 1) sorry everyone, I have to go Rustic Green, and yes... I know 1981 isn't a Rustic Green year, and yes... I know the firewall plate says 857 but this is my dream and I don't have any way to go back in time and tell Mr. T to keep Rustic going 2) modern tires 3) I'm going to be practical because this will be a driver and not a museum vehicle; it shouldn't be perfect.

 

[alkarich]

Welcome to Mud.

Great looking 40!

 

[Pitter Patter]

A few more:

Shameless Land Cruisers and Labradors post

So here's the good and the bad.
Good: Damn near everything, including factory PS/AC, exterior re-spray so I don't feel bad about changing the color!
Bad: More rust than appears in the photos including driver pan, passenger pan, rear quarters/sill, door bottoms, rain gutter and a few other minor bubbles. I haven't removed the top yet so who knows about that. All typical stuff though and nothing compared to what most people deal with. Most rubber bits are perished and need replacement but it is a 40 year old vehicle. It was in a an accident 20 years ago and they did a bad job of aligning the front panels and they caulked them together so I'm hoping there's no surprises. Has a gangsta lean at the front driver side so I'm hoping its just a sagging spring and not some weird frame issue from the accident. The rear frame has a healthy crack with a negative infinity banana skill level 'solution', a few other ugly patches with both fiberglass and metal welded in but everything I just mentioned will be resolved.

 

[samatulich]

What about that one needs restoring? Great find.

 

[elderber]

Good choice on the color!

 

[Pitter Patter]

What about that one needs restoring? Great find.

Thanks! Parts are getting scarce and extremely expensive, rebuild kits don't even exist for some things any more. It lasted 40 years as is and will last another 40 years if I rebuild it with quality parts then maintain it properly. It's a preservation thing as much as it is a reliability thing for me.

 

[Pitter Patter]

I'm going to need everyone's geeky cruiser knowledge with this project so thank you in advance. I've already learned so much from the members on this site and I'm hoping to put this knowledge in action. The first order of business is asking you all 'what isn't correct or original?'. I know the door cards are aftermarket so those will go, I have the radio delete plate and will be installing that, needs a headliner, what about the backs of the front seats? Should they have the metal plates?

 

[erics]

The battery hold down isn't stock

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

What about that one needs restoring? Great find.

Kind of what I was thinking. Polish it up, tune it up, and enjoy it for 40 years.

 

[Pitter Patter]

Kind of what I was thinking. Polish it up, tune it up, and enjoy it for 40 years.

Totally get it but this is an opportunity for me to learn new things and expand my skill set. I could have saved more and purchased a restored cruiser but I want to do a restoration. This should be an easy restoration compared to what most people encounter which gives me the space and time to get the details right.

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

Totally get it but this is an opportunity for me to learn new things and expand my skill set. I could have saved more and purchased a restored cruiser but I want to do a restoration. This should be an easy restoration compared to what most people encounter which gives me the space and time to get the details right.

Should really spend a year or two driving it and enjoying it before you tear into it, it will help you get a feel for things you would le to improve or leave alone.

That being said, it's your 40, nobody else's, if you already have a solid plan get to it!

 

[Pitter Patter]

One way I'm going to support this forum is to disclose my restoration expenses and part sources. It doesn't seem like people talk about money on here and I think it's an important factor for us to all consider. I'm in the process of preparing tools, workspace, gathering parts and I've made my first purchase. I am keeping the stock height suspension but the current springs are tired. I have a good butt and a bad back so that combination of body panels tells me I need new springs. Leafs are NLA from Toyota so I did a lot of research and found General Spring KC. FJ40 springs are unique due to the width and thinness of the steel at 70mm wide and 6mm tall. I spent some time talking to Joe at General Spring and placed the order for a custom built set matching the measurements/leaf count/spring rate/35mm eyelet, etc. The cost including tax and shipping was $1,600, spendy for springs only but worth it to me. All my suspension hardware is in restorable condition and will be reused but I'm in the process of sourcing new OEM shocks, steering damper and all wearable steering parts from the drag link end down to the steering knuckle arms. I will post my source and the cost when I make that purchase. Trying to gather parts in logical batches so I don't miss anything that will slow me down later.

Joe at General Spring does have 20 sets of the pre-8/80 smaller 25mm eyelet springs in stock and my neighbor bought a pair for his 1976. Those should show up in a week or so. The in-stock ones were just under $1k including tax and shipping to WA state. The ones he has in stock are made in Mexico, if they manufacture you a set they are made in the USA. I will post up some pictures when they arrive. My neighbor has a lift and he's returning to stock height so there won't be anything to compare to but I will post a detailed comparison to my stock springs when mine arrive in about 7 weeks.

 

[Pitter Patter]

Should really spend a year or two driving it and enjoying it before you tear into it, it will help you get a feel for things you would le to improve or leave alone.

That being said, it's your 40, nobody else's, if you already have a solid plan get to it!

Cheers. I drive it every time the sun comes out and will project manage the restoration process so there is as little down time as possible. Pitter Patter~

 

[DEADSALT]

so what did you pay?

and how is ‘project managing’ going to expand your skill set, other than lingo?

 

[Pitter Patter]

so what did you pay?

and how is ‘project managing’ going to expand your skill set, other than lingo?

So far, $1,600 for the springs. I'll post once I make additional orders and keep a spreadsheet to track everything with part numbers for referrence if anyone wants to get the same thing. I've found a parts supplier that has good prices so I'll share those details once those I commit to the purchases. There's a lot of reasons to project manage a restoration. For example, I'm in WA and there's a short weather window for painting in an unheated garage so timing the process is important. I've never painted a car before so that's expanding my skill set.

 

[DEADSALT]

“It doesn't seem like people talk about money on here and I think it's an important factor for us to all consider.”

what was the purchase price of the vehicle?

 

[DEADSALT]

project managing by definition is a negative affinity to doing the actual work,
great to hear you will be on the tools.

 

[Pitter Patter]

“It doesn't seem like people talk about money on here and I think it's an important factor for us to all consider.”

what was the purchase price of the vehicle?

Hi DEADSALT, seems like you are a little salty by my postings so maybe I need to clarify intentions. This forum has been an invaluable resource for me in my previous 12 years of FJ40 ownership and in the nearly 20 years that I've been reading MUD and watching the 40 market, I've noticed a few themes related to the restoration and preservation of these vehicles. These are 1) costs are going up and the wealthy collector class are gobbling up great vehicles to be parked and practically hermetically sealed for eternity, this is a shame because 40's were built to be used 2) prices are going up, partly due to theme 1, but also because every day a 40 is lost to an accident or rust or parting it out creating scarcity so every 40 that can be preserved is important 3) parts are also becoming scarce and the aftermarket isn't always able to keep up with some of the unique bits (roll bar pads, factory AC parts, even simple things like starters or alternators, emissions components, leaf springs which I've already addressed and given pricing and sourcing for anyone who is interested and I will do a detailed write up of the comparison when they arrive and I tear into that part of the project 4) people don't often talk about what they put into these restorations as in what does it truly cost to restore a 40 in today's dollars? Where are the parts sources and best prices? Why did you choose X method or part over Y method or part, etc. 5) hopefully meet some great people with common interests, drink some beers, wrench on cruisers and enjoy life. There's lots of tire talk on MUD and that's awesome but I'm hoping to have people get into the nitty gritty with me about how we might be able to rebuild a factory charcoal canister or find better pricing and/or availability for the H42 rebuild parts and other random preservation solutions so we can all keep these vehicles as original as we choose and on the road as long as possible.

It's up to Chris to determine if I can disclose what I paid for the 40. I have no problem sharing the purchase price, shipping cost, tax/licensing but Chris doesn't advertise his prices and I can think of a lot of reasons why he keeps this information private. Feel free to PM him if you care so much about my finances and Chris' finances, he has my permission to disclose what I paid but my guess is that he's going to tell you to go pound sand. There's ample publicly available data to benchmark the price of a 40 so I don't understand why you would care about my individual purchase but if Chris tells you the price then I'll post it up and the shipping + tax/licensing. What there isn't good data on is the cost of a restoration so I'm going to be transparent so we can all benchmark parts pricing and share availability. Maybe we can all collectively find ways to lower our costs and put more into our vehicles. This way if I get suckered by paying too much then maybe people can learn from my mistakes and if I find a good price or good solution then maybe they can benefit from my efforts. And maybe, just maybe people will be willing to share some stuff with me so I can benefit from their efforts vs. being upset that I bought and am restoring a 40. Kinda seems like the point of all this 40's tech forum stuff and I'm not sure why that bothers you.

 

[DEADSALT]

wow, inebriated by the exuberance of your own verbosity much?

...all you had to say was the seller who you named and outed,
would prefer not to disclose purchase price of a vehicle you bought and now own??


which would even make less sense of your comment;

“It doesn't seem like people talk about money on here and I think it's an important factor for us to all consider.”



you’ve been on this site for 10 days and you come up with this;

“There's lots of tire talk on MUD and that's awesome but I'm hoping to have people get into the nitty gritty with me”