hi fellow 40'ers! just wanted to say hello, tell a little story, and introduce my new rig. just picked up a 78 fj40 already built and ready for the bush!
my first yota was a runner, then i moved to an hdj81 after getting married with plans for that rig to become the family minivan, dd, and some wheelin. well, did some wheelin with it and realized that it's still a bit too nice to kick the crap out off so i came to realize that i really needed a bush pig. this has become somewhat of a speedy process of falling inlove with these rigs, meeting some excellent cruiserheads, and really diggin the 4 wheelin world! (thanks to a couple nice runs with our local cruiser club during the winter) . . . so yeah, i'm hooked!
so i find a 40 for sale somewhat locally, checked it out, after reading the faq's, and talking to some fellow mudders.... i took the plunge and bought the bush pig. here are some deets on it...
" The original six cylinder engine was rebuilt a couple of years ago but I have probably put less than a 1000km on it since. I typically trailer the truck where I want to go, but it is licensed for the road and runs great. Upgrades / New Items Include;
New water pump
New alternator .
It has front and rear lockers,
4.88 gears,
8000lb winch,
35" boggers in good shape.
Exhaust header
DUI Electronic Ignition
New front tie rod ends, relay rod etc. (all)
Aluminium Wheel Spacers
New clutch, pressure plate and throw out bearing.
The entire floor was replaced with zero rust.
I have a new used windshield for it
I have the hard top and doors for it. I do not have the jump seat. It is a 4 speed manual. The tranny and transfer case are solid,..."
so i was like, wow! this puppy is ready to rock with just a little bit of tlc (lights, some rust). oh yeah, left the boggers behind and the price was dropped (couldn't really use them since it still needed to be driven a couple hours to wheelin spots, so the plan was to get mudders, which i did, found a sweet deal on kijiji for 35x12.5R15's...that same week and it was a race to buy em)
so, turns out that the buddy of the PO is a big cruiserhead himself too and owns a 78 40 too...said i should meet him.. anyway, after sealing the deal, i head home (2 hr drive back)...but i see a 40 gassin up on the way so i figured it had to be the friend. i pull over, we have a quick chat, and he offered to help me wrench on it. the rig is 2 hours away.
so i realize it needed a parking brake, did some research, and found out about the MAF disk brake....well, a fellow mudder hooked me up with an offer i couldn't refuse (thanks Bill! you are too kind and generous!). i get the parts in the mail. then i finally organize to head back to the PO's place so i could take the 40 to his buddy's so he can help me wrench the e-brake... so cool!
i arrived yesterday morning, picked up the 40, took it to the friends (Ric) place and we start wrenching....took the rear drive shaft off, drum brake, replaced rear output seal, drop the t-case fluid, figure out the disk brake, put it back together...and i learned a few things (and more maintenance stuff). i learned a few more things about the 40 as Ric really new his buddy's rig well! that was a fun morning learning from a pretty knowledgeable guy with a really nice garage!
so, Ric figured we should go wheelin somewhere in the area before i return the rig to the PO (b/c he was gonna tow/deliver it to me at some point)...so off we went and hit some easy hills and a really cool marshland (the largest in our province? i'm told...) had fun there.
now comes the fun part. Ric suggested i play in this clayish area and get to know the rig...i look over to the terrain and it's practically flat with a slight hill on the sides...i was like "what's the point in this?!".... so off i go in 4H....up the hill and down and across.....next thing you know i start to burry the rig in what is now soft clay crap!...so the rig slowly comes to a halt as it diggs deeper inot the clay/mud crap. okay, stuck, no probs! we got 2 40's with 35's, locked/winched!! (i forgot to mention that i didn't gas up, nor did i know how much fuel was in the tank/gauge not workin...)
so Ric brings his 40 around the otherside on the hill...and we start to winch....i go, the winch goes, and we inch forward every so slightly...then i get into deeper muck! i finally get close and up the hill but it really get's nasty. Ric had to reposition to re-winch...i was still stuck. so we decide to use my winch and anchor on to a rock...do that, and i'm just burried in the crap! this whole time, ric's 40 is on an angle/with a half a tank of gas.... he starts his rig and nothing, figured it's flooded. . . . long story short, my rig's out of gas and battery is dead, his rig wont start cuz it's fuel starved from the angle he's on, and his winch also went wonky on us....now we are royally stranded! lol!
hokay, so he calls a friend up to bring his rig and some gas...he finally comes and the warn winch saved the day...(it just so happens that it's mounted on a j**p) Ric's rig got to level ground after an over 100 feet pull and it finally started...next it was my turn to get winched out, but iwas in an anglue half burried uphill and the winch was on my 10 o'clock... after 3 breaks to let the winch cool down..i too was finally out!
hope you enjoy the pics/vids...
on the marsh in about over a foot of water...on 2h
up a slight hill to see the view and kick up some mud
and over some more water....felt like i was on a boat, this marsh trail went forever...
and here's where the fun begins...
so i'm humbled by what this awesome machine can do and in knowing that anything can and will get stuck, no matter what you're runnin. just gotta say that i've met some awesome folks over the last few months, learned lots about cruisers, and some wrenching, and wheeling (and i've only scratched the surface!)...and i'm lovin every bit of this experience so far. glad i found mud, thanks for all the valuable info on this site, thanks for everyone's help (you know who you are), and i hope to be part of this cool community for the next little while!
the end.
romey
oh yeah, gonna ride her for a year and see how things go then decide which way to go...but at this point, she's ready for the trails...just want to clean up some rust/rocker stuff, check the lights, and decide how to tow it to the wheelin spots (flat or dolly..)
dang this was long, sorry!
my first yota was a runner, then i moved to an hdj81 after getting married with plans for that rig to become the family minivan, dd, and some wheelin. well, did some wheelin with it and realized that it's still a bit too nice to kick the crap out off so i came to realize that i really needed a bush pig. this has become somewhat of a speedy process of falling inlove with these rigs, meeting some excellent cruiserheads, and really diggin the 4 wheelin world! (thanks to a couple nice runs with our local cruiser club during the winter) . . . so yeah, i'm hooked!
so i find a 40 for sale somewhat locally, checked it out, after reading the faq's, and talking to some fellow mudders.... i took the plunge and bought the bush pig. here are some deets on it...
" The original six cylinder engine was rebuilt a couple of years ago but I have probably put less than a 1000km on it since. I typically trailer the truck where I want to go, but it is licensed for the road and runs great. Upgrades / New Items Include;
New water pump
New alternator .
It has front and rear lockers,
4.88 gears,
8000lb winch,
35" boggers in good shape.
Exhaust header
DUI Electronic Ignition
New front tie rod ends, relay rod etc. (all)
Aluminium Wheel Spacers
New clutch, pressure plate and throw out bearing.
The entire floor was replaced with zero rust.
I have a new used windshield for it
I have the hard top and doors for it. I do not have the jump seat. It is a 4 speed manual. The tranny and transfer case are solid,..."
so i was like, wow! this puppy is ready to rock with just a little bit of tlc (lights, some rust). oh yeah, left the boggers behind and the price was dropped (couldn't really use them since it still needed to be driven a couple hours to wheelin spots, so the plan was to get mudders, which i did, found a sweet deal on kijiji for 35x12.5R15's...that same week and it was a race to buy em)
so, turns out that the buddy of the PO is a big cruiserhead himself too and owns a 78 40 too...said i should meet him.. anyway, after sealing the deal, i head home (2 hr drive back)...but i see a 40 gassin up on the way so i figured it had to be the friend. i pull over, we have a quick chat, and he offered to help me wrench on it. the rig is 2 hours away.
so i realize it needed a parking brake, did some research, and found out about the MAF disk brake....well, a fellow mudder hooked me up with an offer i couldn't refuse (thanks Bill! you are too kind and generous!). i get the parts in the mail. then i finally organize to head back to the PO's place so i could take the 40 to his buddy's so he can help me wrench the e-brake... so cool!
i arrived yesterday morning, picked up the 40, took it to the friends (Ric) place and we start wrenching....took the rear drive shaft off, drum brake, replaced rear output seal, drop the t-case fluid, figure out the disk brake, put it back together...and i learned a few things (and more maintenance stuff). i learned a few more things about the 40 as Ric really new his buddy's rig well! that was a fun morning learning from a pretty knowledgeable guy with a really nice garage!
so, Ric figured we should go wheelin somewhere in the area before i return the rig to the PO (b/c he was gonna tow/deliver it to me at some point)...so off we went and hit some easy hills and a really cool marshland (the largest in our province? i'm told...) had fun there.
now comes the fun part. Ric suggested i play in this clayish area and get to know the rig...i look over to the terrain and it's practically flat with a slight hill on the sides...i was like "what's the point in this?!".... so off i go in 4H....up the hill and down and across.....next thing you know i start to burry the rig in what is now soft clay crap!...so the rig slowly comes to a halt as it diggs deeper inot the clay/mud crap. okay, stuck, no probs! we got 2 40's with 35's, locked/winched!! (i forgot to mention that i didn't gas up, nor did i know how much fuel was in the tank/gauge not workin...)
so Ric brings his 40 around the otherside on the hill...and we start to winch....i go, the winch goes, and we inch forward every so slightly...then i get into deeper muck! i finally get close and up the hill but it really get's nasty. Ric had to reposition to re-winch...i was still stuck. so we decide to use my winch and anchor on to a rock...do that, and i'm just burried in the crap! this whole time, ric's 40 is on an angle/with a half a tank of gas.... he starts his rig and nothing, figured it's flooded. . . . long story short, my rig's out of gas and battery is dead, his rig wont start cuz it's fuel starved from the angle he's on, and his winch also went wonky on us....now we are royally stranded! lol!
hokay, so he calls a friend up to bring his rig and some gas...he finally comes and the warn winch saved the day...(it just so happens that it's mounted on a j**p) Ric's rig got to level ground after an over 100 feet pull and it finally started...next it was my turn to get winched out, but iwas in an anglue half burried uphill and the winch was on my 10 o'clock... after 3 breaks to let the winch cool down..i too was finally out!
hope you enjoy the pics/vids...
on the marsh in about over a foot of water...on 2h
up a slight hill to see the view and kick up some mud
and over some more water....felt like i was on a boat, this marsh trail went forever...
and here's where the fun begins...
so i'm humbled by what this awesome machine can do and in knowing that anything can and will get stuck, no matter what you're runnin. just gotta say that i've met some awesome folks over the last few months, learned lots about cruisers, and some wrenching, and wheeling (and i've only scratched the surface!)...and i'm lovin every bit of this experience so far. glad i found mud, thanks for all the valuable info on this site, thanks for everyone's help (you know who you are), and i hope to be part of this cool community for the next little while!
the end.
romey
oh yeah, gonna ride her for a year and see how things go then decide which way to go...but at this point, she's ready for the trails...just want to clean up some rust/rocker stuff, check the lights, and decide how to tow it to the wheelin spots (flat or dolly..)
dang this was long, sorry!
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........but hey you got a nice 40 and I am the jealous one here in Georgia. Thanks for sharing pics.
)
