How Long Do Restorations for People With Decent Skills Generally Take? (1 Viewer)

[Colorado Boy-74-FJ40]

My 74 FJ was bought new by my dad. I inherited it when he died almost 10 years ago. He used it hard in the Colorado mountains. Very little rust luckily. I am just in the upkeep mode. Keeping it all stock. It still eats up my free time. I had to let it sit for about 4 years just awaiting a clutch. I had very little free time. I am in the process of getting her back on the road now. Watch your budget and monitor your family time. It was really hard on my last marriage. I won't let it wear on my new one. Working on these can and will be an obsession. Good luck and keep us mudders posted. Start with a bezel alignment check

 

[cult45]

My first frame off was a BJ42 back in 2000 when I was 19. I spent 7~ hours a day on it and 10~ hours a day on the weekends. It was a complete frame off, new sills, floors, inner sills, door bottoms, bib bottom, roll bar, seat trim [farmed out], power steer addition [stock 42], new suspension, steering, brakes and cooling. Fresh paint. Detailed it all. I started with zero mechanical knowledge and I drove out of that shed eight months later. But I was driven. There were a few whispers getting around saying I'd never do it. Learnt to oxy weld, fill, paint, do mechanical work etc. Eight months. Now I'm not gonna claim it was a showpiece like those trucks you posted, but I saw it seven years later and only one little bit of rust had come out and the 3B was still pulling strong! Extremely satisfying!

The biggest thing I would say is to manage your expectations. Whenever I do a job, even a little job I think realistically about how long it will take if everything went wrong. So when only half of everything goes wrong I'm still smiling. Cause there should be a bit of fun in the process as well as the result.

 

[bugsnbikes]

How Long Do Restorations for People With Decent Skills Generally Take?
Discussion in 'HardCore Corner'

if you have to ask........ most likely 10-20yrs would be a likely window.

 

[darwink1]

Yeah.

If i were you id buy a built 40 and go from there. Youll spend less cash and time on it in the end but could still work on it and build junk for it learning the whole time.

I undertook my first frame off type build a couple years ago and the amount of stuff that has to be done is mind blowing when youre in the thick of it. Not many have mentioned it but you have to have some organizational skills and be able to plan stuff out. You also have to be able to adjust those plans and modify them when something goes wrong or a new plan is brainstormed.

It also all depends on how youre gonna approach said build. You can be one of the guys who buys every little piece, you can buy some stuff and make the rest, or you can recycle and do a cheapo build doing everything yourself (not a bad thing at all). The more you do the better youll feel about it in the end but you also have to be honest with yourself about your skills, available time and finances.

Any way you look at it you have to be realistic about what you intend to do and how it will impact you financially as well as socially. My build took roughly 2 1/2 years and is still ongoing (wiring). I am also single with no kids and a full time job so that helped out a lot lol.

D



D

 

[rick_d]

one year with $25,000 in cash for parts, $$$ for base rig, and all tools in hand, and the knowledge. A full time job.

paying subs will eat your lunch (find a good body guy, ha).

The tv shows are a farce. timelines are 10-15x what the episode displays.

SEMA trucks are done in 6-9 months with huge budgets, $50,000 in parts is conservative- closer to $100,000 or more. Sponsorship and smoosing make those happen.

Do you even know what you want in the end?

 

[Tigerstripe40]

Buy someone elses project that they are sick of working on and spending money on (or SWMBO is sick of it and putting the pressure on to get rid of it).

When I started my spring over, I had all of the parts that I could preorder sitting in boxes ready to go. It still took me over a year to get it to the point I could move it under its own power. That said, I have a job, and something approaching a life. Nasty weekend where it's raining (I did everything in my car port) I wouldn't want to work on it. Or... It's too hot outside to be wearing all that welding stuff and oh, lets go mountain biking instead, or, we just got a massive dump of snow, lets do some backcountry telemark skiing. Oh, my kegs are empty, well I should work on the 'Cruiser, but I need to make some more beer.

It takes time, money, and skill.
Pick 4...

 

[toyotaspeed90]

General rule of thumb that I've thought....

Take you budget and double it
Take your timeline and triple it

then double it all again


As someone already said - if you have to ask..... take note of the variety of answers... it's because what we all want in our rigs is different, and our available time to work on the rigs is different. What might take someone 1 year might take another 5 years even if they have similar abilities.

 

[MechMan]

What about time to take a decent vehicle and turn it into a good 4x4, like with good suspension and robust 4WD components, etc...?

 

[Mace]

That depends on the vehicle you are planning on starting with and what you want to get out of it.

You are still thinking a FJ40? What defines a "good" 4x4?

 

[NCFJ]

To the OP

The big message here is that what you are talking about is a learned skill. If you want to play, forget a time line and just get involved. One way to speed up the learning curve is to go take some classes. Many high schools and technical schools have beginner level adult automotive and welding courses. Not only will you learn some specific skills, you will also be exposed to a wide selection of tools. The right tool can make a huge difference in the experience you have doing the specific task.

You'll also meet people of similar mind and perhaps form bonds within the automotive community. Those bonds will also help your time line in the end. You can make similar bonds right here on this forum. We are fortunate to have people on this forum that eat sleep and breath all things Land Cruiser. If you have a question about an LC, the answer is here.

 

[darwink1]

Honestly the first step in your case would be to do a whole bunch of reading and get educated. You posted pictures of sema rock crawlers and icons but you seem to have no idea what they are and what kind of cash went into them. Now a general question about robust 4x4s...

Land cruisers are robust from the factory so how you build one depends on how you plan to use it. If you want to take trips in your 4x4 and wheel a little look at expedition builds, if you wanna crawl around on rocks its gonna be a differently built truck for that purpose. If you want to do a little of everything theres a formula for that as well. Then again there are many different ways to achieve similar results which is evident when you take the time to research suspension set ups alone.

Look through a bunch of build threads and decide what you want your truck to do then look for the actual truck. Buy one as close to perfect for your planned use as you can afford then go from there. Theres some nicely done cruisers in the classified now and then so keep an eye out. A truck built right by a member on here is worth heaps more than an unknown that you have to baseline and bodywork.

D

 

[MechMan]

I must say, thank you all for all of the information and advice so far, I do very much appreciate it. On reading, are there any good books or sources on 4x4 suspensions and setups? I have checked on Amazon, but don't really see any.

 

[darwink1]

Search this site, youll get all the info you can handle. Chances are you wont find a book about building a robust 4x4. You should also look around and post some questions on pirate 4x4, theyre a helpful bunch.

Make your first stop right here in the hardcore section and read through any of the builds that you find interesting.

D

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

this book

despite what some have said, if it has tires in contact with the ground, this book will help you understand and build a good suspension.

 

[Mudder]

^damn he beat me. I was actually gonna post it as a quote by you. I will tell you. Do research before posting on pirate as they aren't a nice bunch when I comes to the same question being asked over and over.

 

[MechMan]

^damn he beat me. I was actually gonna post it as a quote by you. I will tell you. Do research before posting on pirate as they aren't a nice bunch when I comes to the same question being asked over and over.

LOL certainly, reminds me of this:

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

lol, that's going to be reposted a lot

 

[micdon]

"grandma fresh" sounds like a line from a Massengil commercial....

Think he's saying "perfect", build from there, and I couldn't agree more.

Can't offer much on "how to", but can write a book on how not to go about it, from every perspective.

In retrospect, the biggest mistake was not finding a mint base to begin, not only from a money and time investment standpoint, but also to enjoy a period where it's operational and a relationship develops.

Think that time is critical to formulating the end goal and ensuring endurance for the long haul.

Really understand where you're coming from, but i don't completely agree. The 40 I bought turns out to be a junker. But what I am loving most about these trucks now is the ammount you can fix and fix properly, while still keeping it on the road. At least for extended periods. Mind you, before i've gone over the complete truck, it is going to take a couple of years..

I heard a wise man here on mud say: ther's 3 ways to get something done: cheap, fast and correct. Sadly only a combination of 2 is possible...

just my 2c

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

your 2c is valid - I get most of my enjoyment with cars from dragging something home then selling it later to someone who will cherish it because of the fixes, updates, and repairs I've done. That said, the OP is someone just starting in the hobby and a 5 or 10 year build probably would erase his love of cars.

of course, many of my friends think I'm nuts to sell a car right after I've spent 2 or more years doing the work - to each their own. My retort is simply my hobby pays a lot better then their hobby of watching millionaires tackle each other.

 

[MechMan]

Hopefully a five to ten year build won't ruin anything, I will just have to pursue it as a learning experience.